12dz Chapter 385 It's up to you guys now.
Chapter 385 It's up to you guys now.
"The size of the mesh is something we really need to consider carefully," Wang Ergou pondered for a moment, gesturing with his index finger and thumb. "If it's too small, the deer's legs will easily get injured; if it's too big, the fawns can easily squeeze out."
Li Xiangyang nodded in agreement: "Yes, that's why I'm a bit worried. If we put the net on and it gets all damaged, it'll be a waste of time. If we could adjust the mesh size more flexibly..."
Hearing this, Wang Ergou's eyes lit up: "Great idea, but it's no use asking me, I don't know how either. Leave the professional work to the professionals. Old Liu from Yanhe Village has been fishing all his life, his net-weaving skills are absolutely top-notch. And let's also ask Grandpa Zhang from our village, he was a master fisherman in his youth..."
"That's settled then!" Li Xiangyang stood up. "You contact Lao Liu, I'll go find Grandpa Zhang, and let's try to start work tomorrow."
Wang Ergou grinned from ear to ear: "Alright, let's split up and try to get this done as quickly as possible."
The two hit it off immediately, and Li Xiangyang went straight to Grandpa Zhang's house at the east end of the village.
Grandpa Zhang was sunbathing in the yard when he saw Li Xiangyang come in. He greeted him with a smile, "Xiangyang, what brings you here?"
"Uncle Zhang," Li Xiangyang greeted him with a cupped hand, "I have a favor to ask of you."
Grandpa Zhang warmly invited Li Xiangyang to sit down: "Tell me, I'll do my best to help if I can."
Li Xiangyang briefly explained the construction of the deer farm, emphasizing the need for specially made hunting nets.
After listening, Grandpa Zhang frowned slightly: "I can weave hunting nets, but catching deer with a net is not as simple as fishing."
"That's why I've come to ask you for advice," Li Xiangyang said sincerely. "You've fished your whole life, and no one can match your net-weaving skills."
Grandpa Zhang felt relieved by these words and stroked his beard, saying, "Let me put it this way, deer nets are much stronger than fishing nets, and the size of the mesh is also important. Do you mainly want to catch the big ones or the small ones?"
"I was thinking, since it's about catching things, it's best to catch both big and small ones. You're an expert, could you perhaps make a net with adjustable mesh?"
Li Xiangyang said with a smile.
Grandpa Zhang's eyes lit up: "That's an idea! I'll give it a try."
The two discussed it for a while and finalized the specifications, length, and width of the net.
"Uncle Zhang, then I'll have to trouble you with this matter," Li Xiangyang said, rising to take his leave. "I have other things to arrange."
Grandpa Zhang waved his hand: "Go ahead, leave this to me."
After leaving Grandpa Zhang's house, Li Xiangyang went straight to the village committee.
As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw Wang Ergou come out from inside, looking excited.
"How is it?" Li Xiangyang asked.
Wang Ergou gave a thumbs up: "Old Liu agreed immediately, saying the web would be finished by tomorrow at the latest."
"That's great," Li Xiangyang said with a smile. "Uncle Zhang's side is fine too, but they might not have enough hemp rope. Could you ask around in the surrounding villages to see if you can buy some?"
“Okay,” Wang Ergou nodded, “I’ll go right now. By the way, Captain Zheng is looking for you. He said Ma Laosan’s men have arrived with the timber and are unloading it at the east end of the village.”
Li Xiangyang quickened his pace: "Then I'll go take a look."
On the wasteland at the east end of the village, a scene of bustling activity unfolded. Several large trucks were parked by the roadside, and workers were unloading thick logs.
Zheng Dehou and several villagers directed the work from the sidelines, ensuring that the timber was placed neatly.
Upon seeing Li Xiangyang, Zheng Dehou greeted him, "You've come at the right time. Boss Ma's people wanted to know the specifics of how to build it, but I wasn't sure either."
Li Xiangyang looked around, a rough plan already in his mind: "First, build a fence to enclose the area. It needs to be high on all sides, at least two meters, to prevent the deer from jumping out. Then divide the inside into several areas, separating the adult deer and the fawns. We also need to build a hay shed for storing feed in the winter..."
A middle-aged man wearing glasses walked over and introduced himself, "I'm Zhang Ming, the foreman at the lumberyard. Boss Ma instructed me that we'll follow your instructions regarding how to build it."
Li Xiangyang shook hands with him: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master Zhang. Let's..."
The two walked along, discussing the layout of the deer farm in detail.
Zhang Ming nodded from time to time and occasionally offered some constructive suggestions, which Li Xiangyang humbly accepted.
Just then, a young man on a bicycle came rushing over, shouting from afar, "Li Xiangyang! Good news! Good news!"
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw that it was Xiao Li, a young man from the village, who had been sent by Captain Zheng to the county to submit the application.
Xiao Li jumped out of the car, panting, "The application was approved! Super fast! The county leaders said it's in response to the call to develop collective sideline businesses, and they fully support it!"
Zheng Dehou was overjoyed: "So fast? I thought I'd have to wait a few days!"
Li Xiangyang laughed and said, "Then we can speed things up. Master Zhang, what do you think of the construction schedule..."
Zhang Ming quickly calculated: "If there's no delay, we can get the basic framework up and running in three days. The remaining details might take another two or three days."
“Excellent,” Li Xiangyang decided. “Then please get the work done, masters. I’ll also speed up the preparations for the deer hunt.”
As the construction of the deer farm proceeded at full speed, everything was ready except for the crucial deer-catching nets.
Although they had full confidence in Old Liu and Grandpa Zhang's skills, the specially made deer-catching gate was crucial to the success or failure of the entire plan, so Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou couldn't help but visit the two old men from time to time.
Old Liu and Grandpa Zhang have put in a lot of hard work these past few days. As the days went by, the two old men decided to work together, skillfully and smoothly weaving several hunting nets by connecting a series of carefully crafted rope knots to the activity nodes.
This net can be flexibly adjusted in size within a certain range with just a gentle pull, perfectly matching Li Xiangyang's original idea.
Upon seeing the finished product, Li Xiangyang ran his hands over the net rope, exclaiming in amazement, "My goodness! Uncle Liu, Uncle Zhang, you're practically Lu Ban reincarnated! I never imagined that I only had an idea before, but you actually managed to put it into practice, and make it so exquisite..."
Wang Ergou, standing nearby, practically gave a thumbs-up and shouted, "That's right! Gentlemen, with these nets, catching deer is as easy as catching turtles in a jar, so sure! Once the deer farm makes money, the first thing we'll do is give you two a big red envelope to thank you properly!"
Old Liu waved his hand with a smile, his wrinkles blossoming into a smile: "Oh, you young people have ideas and dare to take risks. We old men are happy to be able to help. These past few days, Old Zhang and I have been working day and night to figure out how to make this net work. We can't let it interfere with your plans."
Grandpa Zhang stroked his beard and continued, "This net may look ordinary, but there's a lot of trick to it. To adjust the mesh size, we tried several methods, almost pulling our hair out, but we finally got it working. Now, whether you can catch anything depends on you."