Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 916 - 914_1

"What’s the meaning of a ’mulberry fish pond’?" The village chief looked somewhat puzzled upon hearing this term.

He understood the concept of a fish pond, but he didn’t quite grasp the idea of ’mulberry fish pond’.

Xiao’er, after hearing his confusion, simplified the complex explanation of what a mulberry fish pond is and explained each benefit that came along with this ecological cycle. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

"Brilliant! astonishing! Absolutely fantastic! Who came up with this idea? Why didn’t we think about this before?" The village chief, deeply impressed by Xiao’er’s explanation, repeatedly praised, "By doing this, we not only harvest silk from each acre of land but also sell fish! It’s indeed a two-for-one deal!"

Zhu Yan nodded with a smile, "Yes, that’s the crux of it. Initially, we thought to purchase the two hundred acres of paddy fields and cultivate them ourselves, but I speculate that the villagers would be reluctant to sell. If some villagers sell and others do not, the distribution of fields would be scattered, and that would make management complicated. Hence, we thought of letting the village chief inquire if the villagers are willing to construct the mulberry fish ponds."

"Why wouldn’t they agree?! They would absolutely be thrilled! Most of the time, those paddy fields yield abundant crops only once every three years. Otherwise, they can barely provide a subsistence livelihood! If they’re still not persuaded by this, then what else do they expect?" responded the village chief emphatically.

If the villagers were to sell all their fields, the village chief could understand why they might object—after all, the selling price for these paddy fields is not high, and the money earned would not be enough to buy a new acre of land.

Although the farmland is poor, and whether they have enough to eat and wear depends on good luck, at least there’ll be something to harvest every year, right?

Indeed, to these common folks, their farmland is like their own children. Even though the ’child’ is naughty, not smart, and doesn’t have any great achievements or special abilities, as parents, they are still reluctant to abandon their ’child’.

"Then we’ll have to trouble the village chief to inquire about the villagers’ opinions regarding this matter," Xiao’er suggested with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Uncle Village Chief," added Zhu Yan.

"Sure, I’ll get this sorted out. But I was wondering, how will the price for the villagers’ silk and fish be determined?"

On hearing this, Zhu Yan replied, "The purchase price for a fresh cocoon ranges between 30 to 40 coins per pound, depending on its quality. On the other hand, the purchase price for dried cocoons is roughly between 80 to 90 coins per pound! For a pound of real silk, the price varies from 360 to 400 coins, all dependent on quality. The current quoted prices are only for mulberry silk, not tussah silk."

The lowest price for a fresh cocoon is 30 coins, which is indeed not cheap—it’s rather expensive, in fact.

The village chief was pleased to hear this because he knew people in his family that used to rear silkworms, thus he had a general idea of the yield quantity of fresh cocoons, "An acre of a mulberry forest can rear silkworms four times a year, each time with two to three broods, each brood can produce around 80 pounds of fresh cocoons. Just how much money can we earn over the year? Let me calculate."

"By selling fresh cocoons at 30 coins per pound, rearing silkworms four times a year, and owning two broods each time, you can make up to 19.2 taels," Xiao’er quickly presented the minimum profit that could be made. It surprised her that silkworms could be reared four times a year here—this area’s climate truly was ideal for sericulture.

Before the village chief could rejoice, he was bewildered, giving Xiao’er a bewildered glance—how did she calculate so quickly?!

Zhu Yan had just finished making the same calculation. She thought she was already gifted in math but didn’t expect others to be faster.

Master Zhu also looked at Xiao’er in surprise: Talent is truly something to be feared!

Shangguan Xuanyi and Jingrui were already accustomed to things like this.

"However, the mulberry fish pond can’t be compared with the traditional method of growing mulberry trees and rearing silkworms. Mulberry fish pond involves planting mulberry trees on the pond’s banks, feeding silkworms with the mulberry leaves, using the silkworm waste to nourish the fish, using fish waste to fertilize the pond, and using the pond mud to nourish the mulberry trees, which is a mutually beneficial cycle.

Even though the mulberry trees are planted just on the banks of the pond, and the actual area used for planting is less, the yield of the mulberry leaves from each tree will increase. Moreover, I will provide high-quality mulberry tree seeds and silkworm eggs to everyone, which yield more leaves and produce more silk."

When the village chief heard this, his eyes lit up—there’s no denying that using high-quality seeds can double the yield!

Just look at those super rice, super wheat, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cotton... and so on that the Imperial Court provides! Which of these doesn’t yield double or triple the normal amount?!

Thanks to these high-quality breeds, many people have enjoyed a good harvest over the past few years!

Last year, he met a businessman from Nangong Country, who expressed envy for not being born in Minze!

Right, as the rumour goes, every one of those seeds was researched by the family of Marquis Shengping, who happens to be the local magistrate!

The appearance of such a magistrate in their region, is a blessing from the heavens!

He wondered how this magistrate would improve the lives of the locals, and with this thought, the village chief looked eagerly at Jingrui.

Jingrui couldn’t help touching his face, wondering if there was something on it, due to the village chief’s intense gaze.

"May I know when the village chief will be able to talk to the villagers and give us a response?" Zhu Yan’s words interrupted the village chief’s gaze.

Upon Zhu Yan’s words, the village chief thought for a moment and then declared, "The day after tomorrow!"

The thought of transforming the fields into a mulberry fish pond and focusing on raising silkworms and fish instead of crops might be opposed by some traditional villagers. But that doesn’t matter, as he was confident that his persuasive skills will convince them within a day!

"Alright, we’ll come back the day after tomorrow."

"Since it’s a mulberry fish pond, where we both rear silkworms and fish—do you purchase the fish as well?"

"Yes, if you deepen the pond a little more you can raise more carp. Carp can be co-raised with grass carp and crucian carp."

"Carp? The long, thin fish that’s only about the size of two fingers?" The village chief showed three fingers, felt it was too wide, then retracted one, indicating the size with two fingers.

Xiao’er glanced at him and nodded, "Yes, ideally, the carp should weigh between one tael and two taels."

Large carp are not easy to deep-fry until the bones become crispy.

"Those kinds of carp are plenty in the river. The village children often catch them but many people don’t like to eat them because they have a lot of bones.

Since they have so many bones, it’s dangerous for children to eat it since they could easily choke. Moreover, they can’t cough it up, so people don’t like to eat it.

When children catch these fish, they usually boil them directly without adding any salt or oil, and just use them to feed cats or dogs."

Xiao’er was not aware of this. Carp made into fried dace with salted black beans tastes really good and goes well with rice. Even the bones can be eaten, which means the issue of choking on fish bones wouldn’t exist.

Also, for nursing mothers who don’t produce much milk, deep-fried golden-brown fish can be cooked into a milky white fish soup, which is exceptionally good for increasing milk production.

"So, how much does a carp sell for per pound here?"

"No one purchases them, even if it’s one coin per pound, nobody would buy it! If there isn’t any meat to eat, would they buy it just to eat the bones?"

Xiao’er: "..."