Chapter Thirty-Four: Raising Fish

Fang Han informed Lin Qingwei that a master in agriculture had arrived at the estate. The maid, Hongye, immediately had the herbs brought over for Sun Shengyuan to examine. Upon inspection, it was determined that the issue stemmed from poor cultivation practices.

The following day, Liu San told Sun Shengyuan that Fang Han wished to see him. Sun Shengyuan went to Fang Han’s room.

"Sir, you sent for me?"

Fang Han asked, "I want you to raise paddy fish in the new terraced fields. Is that something you can do?"

Fang Han did not know how many paddy fish Sun Shengyuan possessed, nor did he know the attrition rate that might occur from moving them to a new environment, which was why he asked. Upon hearing this, Sun Shengyuan found himself in a difficult position. Liu San had told him that there were three thousand mu of terraced fields, all of which had been planted with crops. This meant that all three thousand mu would need to be converted into paddies for fish farming. The small number of fish he had was nowhere near enough to cover such a vast area.

"Sir, the number of fish is currently too low; they need to be bred."

Fang Han understood this and had no intention of completing the task immediately. "I know they need to be bred. I am asking if it is possible to breed them in the new fields."

"Sir, the conditions for raising paddy fish are demanding. I fear there may not be enough water for such a large area of farmland. I need to inspect the new fields."

Fang Han nodded and said, "Very well. Have Liu San prepare the carriage; we shall go now."

The group set off in a grand procession toward the largest expanse of terraced fields. A military detachment was stationed there. With the bandits cleared from a radius of a hundred miles, Fang Han was already considering withdrawing these soldiers.

Stepping out of the carriage and seeing the hundreds of mu of terraced fields before him, Sun Shengyuan could hardly believe his eyes. "This... this... am I dreaming?"

"The Master is truly remarkable," Sun Shengyuan muttered to himself. He gazed upon hundreds of mu of advanced terraced fields. Overcome with impatience, he ran into the fields and saw a thin layer of water covering them. It was easy to imagine how difficult it must have been to retain water in such a vast area of terraced land.

Fang Han walked up to Sun Shengyuan and asked, "What do you think?"

Sun Shengyuan was deeply moved. "It is breathtaking. Simply breathtaking. Sir, as long as the water levels in these fields can be maintained like this, I can guarantee that within two years, this entire area will be stocked with fish."

Sun Shengyuan’s implication was clear: the water supply for the fields had to be guaranteed. He looked around and finally spotted a river in the distance below the mountain. He frowned and said, "Sir, the river is quite far from here. Drawing water will likely be difficult."

Fang Han smiled. "Is that so? Come with me."

The two followed one another to the location where the pulleys were set up. A long rope woven from rattan stretched from the mountain all the way down to the riverbank. Teams were stationed at both the river and the hillside to manage the scheduled water collection.

Seeing Fang Han arrive, the farmers stationed there were overcome with excitement. Ever since this new Protector had arrived, he had led the efforts to reclaim wasteland and build fields. At first, the farmer had joined the reclamation project just to earn a meal, but he had eventually earned enough merit to be granted a plot of land in these terraces—a full two mu in size. Furthermore, the Protector had decreed that the grain produced from the fields only needed to be surrendered this one time. In the future, they would only need to turn over one-tenth of the harvest. That meant if a mu of land produced a hundred catties of grain, they only had to turn over ten. The remaining ninety were theirs to keep.

This field, spanning five hundred mu, was divided among more than two hundred people. They worked in shifts: ten people at the water collection point by the river, and twenty at the collection point on the mountain. They managed the fields by drawing water at fixed times every day. Although they had to turn over the first harvest, it provided them with valuable experience.

"Lord Protector."

Fang Han nodded. This method of distributing land to households was quite effective. Those who had contributed the most during the initial reclamation were granted the largest plots.

"When is the water collection?"

The farmer replied, "My Lord, we collect water once every day at noon. There is half an hour left."

"Very well." Fang Han told Sun Shengyuan to find a place to rest and wait for half an hour. Although Sun Shengyuan did not understand Fang Han’s intent, he waited obediently. During the wait, he even went into the fields to check the soil depth.

Soon it was noon, and the farmer came to inform Fang Han that they were ready to collect water. "Lord Protector, we are about to begin."

Fang Han gestured for Sun Shengyuan to come and watch. Sun Shengyuan followed the farmer to the pulleys. He saw two or three farmers turn a massive horizontal pole, causing the wheel in the center of the pulley system to rotate. The rope acted like a conveyor belt. Before long, a wooden bucket filled with water slowly ascended from the bottom of the mountain, one after another, hanging from the rope. When the water-filled buckets reached the top, the farmers took them and carried them to the fields to pour the water in. They then hung the empty buckets on the other side of the rope to be lowered back down the mountain.

Seeing this, Sun Shengyuan could not believe his eyes. Water was being transported up from the bottom of the mountain just like that?

"This... this..." Sun Shengyuan was so moved he could not speak. The entire process of transporting the water was effortless, save for the labor of carrying the buckets to the edge of the fields. Even the watering itself was done only at the very top terrace. Sun Shengyuan hurried to examine the terraces and saw a small gap in the middle of the uppermost plot. Once the water reached the height of the gap, it would flow automatically to the next level, and so on, down to the final tier.

Sun Shengyuan watched the farmers at the pulley station. Twenty buckets moved continuously up and down the mountain. For such a vast area of farmland, transporting water by hand would have required hundreds of people working continuously for an entire day. Yet now, using only twenty buckets and this simple device, the work was finished in just one hour. It was simply inconceivable.

Sun Shengyuan rushed to Fang Han’s side. "Sir, this... this is a miracle. With this device, I can guarantee that I will be able to fill this place with fish."

"Good. Then I leave this task to you. I will send people to assist you."

A month later, the development of the capital was in full swing. Several of Old Wu’s blacksmith apprentices had also found their rhythm and begun crafting simple items. One day, Old Wu ran excitedly into Fang Han’s courtyard, holding a round object.

"My Lord! My Lord! I’ve forged it! I’ve forged it!"

Hearing the commotion, Liu San broke into a cold sweat and hurried over. "Old Wu, what are you howling about? Who let you in here?"

Fang Han stepped out of his room, and Liu San immediately took a step forward. "My apologies, sir, I..."

Old Wu, suddenly realizing he had broken the rules in his excitement by trespassing into the master’s courtyard—the Protector’s courtyard, no less—froze. That single offense was enough to warrant ten executions.

Fang Han said calmly, "It is fine. Let this be the last time." Seeing how excited Old Wu was, he knew there must be an urgent matter to report. When he saw the bearing in Old Wu’s hand, Fang Han was stunned; he had not expected them to actually succeed in forging it.

"Bring it here and let me see."

As Fang Han spoke, Old Wu handed it over with the utmost care.