Chapter 129: The Manure Problem

Only when you truly tried sharpening a knife did you realize how hard it was to put an edge on a newly forged blade. Liu Heming had been grinding away every day recently, but in Robin’s opinion, his sharpening skills still needed improvement.

After finishing his daily grinding routine, Liu Heming drove into town. This time, Alex and the Bear Kids did not come with him. Alex said she wanted to stay home and play with Mom today.

Liu Heming arrived earlier than usual. They would get news today about whether the effort to save Xiangshui Town would succeed.

Liu Heming himself felt some anticipation. The System was getting better and better. Although it hadn’t given him any new tasks yet, just the Small Lake it provided was enough to support him for a long time.

“George, stop checking the time so much. Watching you look down and up repeatedly is making me dizzy,” Liu Heming said, pulling George to sit down.

“Dexter, it’s up to you next year. You must try to get the USDA certification,” George said to Liu Heming very seriously.

“George, don’t put so much pressure on me, okay? We’ll talk about next year’s situation next year. How can I promise you anything now?” Liu Heming shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Everyone, don’t just stand around. Help me think of some ideas. Right now, I don’t have many animals on my Ranch, so handling the manure isn’t too difficult. But the Department of Agriculture people said my current method isn’t good. You all have experience, so help me figure out what to do.”

“In the future, I plan to raise a large herd of cattle. I estimate their daily manure alone would need to be hauled by truck. So I must find a reliable solution, otherwise it might conflict with the Department of Agriculture certification.”

“Dexter, this is simple. First, you could sell the cow manure to a recycling company, usually a subsidiary of those organic fertilizer companies, and they would process it. Second, you could invest some money and make organic fertilizer yourself,” George said after thinking for a moment.

“For the short term, the first option is good for you. But you have quite a lot of Land on your Ranch now. Although the second method requires more investment, it could minimize your annual Fertilizer costs.”

“Plus, if you really plan to build a plant, I think everyone would be happy to find you a piece of Land in town and give it to you. That way, we wouldn’t have to go to so much trouble buying Fertilizer in the future.”

Liu Heming gave a wry smile. He knew the main reason George favored the second method was because of Sasha. George thought Sasha was his financial backer, but the reality was far from that.

His current life seemed okay, and the Restaurant brought in daily income, all in cash, but starting a Feed plant would still be quite a financial pressure.

“Dexter, I think you could try it. You don’t need to buy high-output production lines. I think a small production line could be bought for around twenty thousand US Dollars,” John added from the side.

“Also, you’d need to hire a few workers and build a workshop. For manure transport vehicles, we could buy used trucks and modify them ourselves. But those are for later when production increases. For now, everyone can help you out during their free time.”

“You all make it sound easy, but building such an organic fertilizer plant isn’t cheap. You also need proper pollution control. All together, it would cost at least around one hundred thousand US Dollars,” Liu Heming shook his head helplessly.

“Once it’s officially operating, there are labor costs, production costs—it’s all money. And I don’t even know when my cattle will arrive at my Ranch. It’s too early to think about that now.”

“Let’s focus on the current problem. What’s the best way to handle things on my Ranch right now? There’s already a lot of manure every day. If it’s not handled properly, it will be really hard to pass the Department of Agriculture certification next year.”

“Dexter, in that case, I think you could build a biogas digester on your Ranch. But even that requires some investment. And the digested sludge still needs handling later; the smell is really bad,” George said.

“Ah, I feel like I’ve created a big problem for myself. I’ll look into the biogas digester later. If I build it far enough away and use some advanced technology, it should be okay. If the Biogas produced is sufficient, I could even save some money on fuel,” Liu Heming sighed.

Whether he liked it or not, this money had to be spent. Now he needed to carefully calculate which option had higher investment costs, which had better returns, and then weigh them.

The manure had to be dealt with. His current composting area was already full of flies. He himself found it unpleasant, and Alex was reluctant to go near there every morning. To get Organic Vegetables certification, environmental issues were very important.

“So, I think you should invest a bit more and build an organic fertilizer plant. The town can provide the Land, and… wait a moment, there’s news,” George said, stopping mid-sentence as his phone rang. He just glanced at it and became visibly excited.

Everyone else grew tense too. The result coming this quickly was somewhat unexpected; normally, it would take another hour or two.

As George took the call, his expression looked positive, which gradually eased the worries of those watching. It seemed this matter was successful.

“Haha, everyone, great news! Our Xiangshui Town is saved!” George announced after hanging up, waving his hand emphatically.

“George, I congratulate you. Your efforts weren’t in vain; you finally got the reward you deserved,” Liu Heming stepped forward and gave George a big hug.

“No, Dexter, it’s you we should thank,” George shook his head. “Senator Bauer’s chief of staff just told me that it was actually seeing Alex and the Little Bears’ performance that caught his attention, which led him to learn about your Ranch.”

“Senator Bauer values Agricultural development highly and wants to see more Organic Agriculture production areas emerge in Montana. He said if you need support for your development, he could contact relevant companies to provide you with technical assistance.”

Liu Heming was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head helplessly. These officials really knew how to talk. They said things like that, but if he actually went to them for help, they’d probably make excuses. If they had the ability, why not sponsor him a manure processing system?

Despite his internal grumbling, the fact that Xiangshui Town was preserved, even if temporarily, was still a happy occasion. They should have a small celebration at noon—after all, this was the Restaurant.