The flavor of any dish is determined by two factors: the chef’s skill and the quality of the ingredients.

Even a talented cook can’t make a meal without rice; similarly, a chef struggles to produce high-quality cuisine with poor materials.

The reputation of beggar chicken has spread far and wide, becoming famous through various TV dramas, but not many have truly tasted it and found it to live up to its name.

At the root of it all is money.

In the past, Xiao Mountain Chicken was used for this dish, and Xiao Mountain Chicken is one of the eight famous chickens of Huaxia. After being fattened, its meat becomes tender and juicy, with a fragrant aroma filling the air, earning it the nickname "Red Feather Capon Chicken."

But this chicken is expensive!

To make the same dish, how much does a yellow-feathered chicken cost?

If I buy yellow-feathered chicken at the price of Xiao Mountain Chicken, unless you notice the meat is a bit tough and the aroma is a bit light, you’d absolutely not discern the difference in chicken used, especially if you’re not an expert.

Some, knowledgeable about getting rich, directly buy White Rock Chicken and sell it as Xiao Mountain Chicken, thereby saving a huge chunk of cost.

Anyway, the diners can’t taste the difference, at most they’ll say this beggar chicken fails its reputation, what else can they say?

The breed of chicken is one aspect; its growth environment is another.

Wang Fan previously researched chickens that have never experienced unrestrained running in nature from birth to being cooked. Besides saying the meat is tender, he couldn’t think of any other great words of praise.

His West Lake Vinegar Fish sold out within more than four hours, so now it’s only around five in the afternoon.

The person who delivered the chickens was a very honest-looking old man, not tall, with sun-darkened skin, driving a Shifeng three-wheeler. The processed chickens were in the vehicle’s bed, sealed in bags, with many ice packs on the side to prevent spoilage.

The village where the old man lives isn’t too far, and driving here takes half an hour, ensuring the chickens are extremely fresh.

Just touching the white, elastic thighs after the feathers were removed, Wang Fan knew these chickens were good products containing the essence of nature.

The old man waited eagerly for Wang Fan to settle the payment.

Wang Fan was pleased with the quality of the chickens and smiled at the old man, saying, "Sir, you’ve raised these chickens really well."

The old man chuckled, "Not at all, not as well as you city folks."

Wang Fan said, "We can’t raise chickens at all. Did you raise all these chickens yourself?"

The old man shook his head, "No, the village head said someone wanted to buy small capons, a considerable amount, so we gathered almost all suitable small capons from the village, totaling 174 chickens."

Wang Fan nodded, thinking that the valuable find from System Mall was surely not like the chickens from a regular farm.

The old man, slightly nervous, rubbed his hands, saying, "Sir... could we settle the remaining amount?"

Wang Fan had paid a deposit of 1,000 yuan when ordering from the mall, so the old man was asking for the balance.

The large RV waiting quietly behind Wang Fan put a lot of pressure on the old man, making his little three-wheeler look quite shabby.

Wang Fan replied readily, "Yesterday, the price was 12 yuan per jin, right?"

The old man quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, 12 yuan!"

This price was already very high for them. If ordinary chicken vendors come, they usually give 6 yuan, which is considered quite generous, and this is for processed chickens.

Wang Fan picked up a few chickens, estimating each was around 1.7 to 1.8 jin, with little range fluctuation.

The old man was so anxious watching Wang Fan’s actions, his heart almost jumped. These routines were all too familiar; after checking the chickens, vendors would complain about them and try to lower the price by a bit.

But Wang Fan wouldn’t do such a thing.

The villagers inherently earn little. Pressuring them barely makes him rich; observing the old man’s sincere, worried face, Wang Fan smiled, "Let’s make it simple. These chickens are roughly the same size, how about we settle at 30 yuan each?"

"Absolutely not, sir! These chickens are the lifeline of our villagers; this price is already low, we can’t possibly... huh?"

The old man was about to use the vendors’ typical routine to complain a bit, but suddenly realized something was amiss.

"Sir, what did you say?" The old man asked Wang Fan, unsure.

"30 yuan each."

"30 yuan each?!"

Though the old man hadn’t attended much school, he understood this kind of math problem perfectly.

At 12 yuan per jin, the heaviest chicken weighed 1.8 jin. Calculating that, it comes to just over 21 yuan. This move earns at least 9 yuan more per chicken, enough to buy an extra half-jin!

"You’re not joking, are you, boss?"

The old man couldn’t believe his ears.

After selling goods for so many years, it was his first encounter with a boss not haggling but rather raising the price.

Wang Fan shook his head, "I’m not joking; these chickens’ quality is quite good. I’m very satisfied."

In the System Mall, purchasing over 100 jin usually comes with a discount. Originally, these chickens were 13 yuan, but buying more reduced it by one yuan.

If Wang Fan were buying from a professional poultry farm, he wouldn’t offer a profit margin, but buying directly from these villagers, he couldn’t stomach the profit.

After all, making money for him is much easier than for these villagers.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t give too much, or else pricing when selling would be high, and if priced too low, the system wouldn’t allow it.

"All in all, it’s 174 chickens totaling 5,220 yuan. Deducting my 1,000 yuan deposit, it’s 4,220 yuan left; here’s the money, please count."

Wang Fan was in the habit of carrying cash in the car to deal with emergencies. Inevitably, some people might not have their phones; they can only settle in cash. If he didn’t accept, that’d be illegal.

The old man rubbed his hands vigorously on his pants before taking the small stack of new bills.

A simple smile appeared on his honest face, wrinkles around his eyes gathered to the point of invisibility.

"If the boss needs other things, we’ve got them too—mountain mushrooms, daylily, August melon, wild pear, jujube, mountain chicken eggs, and fresh vegetables. Feel free to call me; I’ll gather them from the whole village for you!"

As it’s rare to meet such a generous boss, the old man began vigorously promoting his village’s specialties.

In fact, there were quite a few things Wang Fan was interested in, including wild pear, mountain mushrooms, fresh vegetables, and chicken eggs.

Given the excellent chicken quality, the eggs from hens must be top-notch too. Although mountain chicken eggs might not be nutritionally superior to regular eggs, their aroma and color are beyond comparison.

With a bit of lard and some scallions to fry, whoever eats them is sure to be captivated.