Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 923 - 472: A New Year Must Have New Developments

First update, asking for support (pink tickets).

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Lian Manman nodded. In this letter, Old Master Lian merely instructed the two sons at Thirty Mile Camp to learn from the lessons of Taicang, without teaching Lian Shouxin and his grandsons how they should behave. The overall tone and spirit of the letter were very different from before.

The distressing days at Taicang had worn down Old Master Lian, leaving him dispirited. The primary reason, however, was the emotional blow he had suffered.

Old Master Lian was quite strict with himself—his flawless moral image had always been the foundation of his authority over the family. Now, because of the incident with Aunt Ping, his moral standing had been cast into suspicion, leaving a stain that couldn’t be erased and making his posture less upright. It also made him much less confident when disciplining his sons and grandsons.

If the incident with Aunt Ping was orchestrated by someone, then that person must have had an intimate understanding of the personalities of both Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou, exploiting their weaknesses to the fullest extent.

The rift between Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou, coupled with the unshakeable stain on Old Master Lian’s reputation, would undoubtedly greatly weaken their control over the Lian Family of Taicang.

It was an exceptionally vicious maneuver.

Lian Manman grew increasingly wary and displeased with the situation in Taicang.

"It’s all a mess," Lian Shouxin frowned and said, clearly in a bad mood. "You never truly know people. What a sigh."

"Exactly, what kind of people are they?" Lady Zhang chimed in.

Both Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang felt put off and guarded toward what was happening in Taicang.

"Father, Mother," Lian Manman spoke up, "I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Everyone turned to look at Lian Manman.

"I plan to buy all the vacant land across the river," Lian Manman said.

"The plot south of us?" Lady Zhang asked.

Lian Manman’s family’s new house was located on a large piece of land that was bordered by the river on the south side. Across the river lay a stretch of ownerless wasteland. To the west, the wasteland bordered the north-south main road out of Qingyang Town. To the south, it extended to the east-west main road. On the east, it was adjacent to the fields belonging to Luo Family Village.

"Yes," Lian Manman nodded.

"What’s the point of that land? Planting crops or vegetables would be a waste," Lian Shouxin said.

Due to erosion from the river and villagers digging sand and soil, the wasteland was uneven, dotted with various ponds of different sizes. Reclaiming the land for farming or planting vegetables would require extensive work and wasn’t cost-effective.

"If we buy that land, we won’t grow crops or vegetables on it," Lian Manman revealed her plan. "We can excavate fish ponds and raise fish there."

"Raise fish..."

The family was drawn to the idea and naturally set aside the matter of the letter.

"Can it work?"

"Manman, how did you come up with raising fish?"

"Sis, raising fish sounds great; let’s do it."

"The fish farming idea only came to me in recent days," Lian Manman explained.

Lian Manman enjoyed eating fish, as did Xiao Qi. But around Qingyang Town, there were no local fish farmers. As a result, buying fish was inconvenient. This inconvenience became even more noticeable recently, as the family increased their fish consumption to support Wu Lang’s exam preparations.

Only at the big market in Qingyang Town would fish merchants bring in fish from other regions to sell. However, the supply was often limited, and if you arrived late, you couldn’t get any. Moreover, the freshness of the fish wasn’t guaranteed.

One day, with nothing else to do, Lian Manman had wandered across the river. Upon seeing the unthawed ponds and pits on the icy surface, she was struck with the idea of purchasing the wasteland to dig fish ponds and raise fish.

In Liaodong Prefecture, the common freshwater fish included grass carp, common carp, crucian carp, silver carp, bighead carp, and the slightly more expensive mandarin fish. Grass carp, carp, and crucian carp were priced similarly, at roughly fourteen Wen Money per jin. Silver carp was cheaper, costing eleven Wen Money per jin, while bighead carp cost fifteen Wen Money per jin. Mandarin fish, being rarer and possessing more tender meat, could sell for up to twenty-five Wen Money per jin.

These averages could vary depending on the freshness and size of the fish.

Seasonal changes also caused slight fluctuations in fish prices.

As for fish fry prices, Lian Manman had consulted Wu Jiaxing. Fry of carp, grass carp, crucian carp, bighead carp, and silver carp cost about Three Wen Money per tail, while mandarin fish fry were priced higher at Five Wen Money per tail. Bulk purchases, such as buying by the thousands, would allow for negotiation on the price.

Regarding market channels for selling fish, Lian Manman had already formulated a strategy. If her family raised fish, Qingyang Town and the surrounding villages’ markets would undoubtedly become theirs to dominate.