Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 924 - 472: The New Year Should Bring New Developments_2
This is not enough; Lian Manman plans to sell the fish in Jinyang County Town.
She already has a ready sales channel, which is through Woo Zhonglian, Big Boss Woo’s chain of restaurants and shops. With this channel, they can expand outward, so selling her family’s fish won’t be a worry at all.
Moreover, now that her family has Lian’s Breakfast Shop, specializing in selling buns, why not open another shop that specializes in dishes made from fish? There’s no reason it can’t be done. Spicy boiled fish, pickled fish, fish porridge, fish balls... the number of delicious dishes that can be made with fish is countless.
Fish they raise themselves can supply their own shop specializing in fish dishes. Meanwhile, the fish dishes in their shop can help expand the market for the output of their fish ponds.
Looking ahead, their fish won’t just be sold in Jinyang County Town; becoming famous across Liaodong Prefecture is only a matter of time.
As they listened to the prospects described by Lian Manman, everyone in the family couldn’t help but have their eyes light up.
"There’s a shipment of goods on the mountain, procured from the south, but there were some issues, and it hasn’t been brought back yet. Didn’t Old Uncle Huang say he’ll be heading south these few days to follow up on it? I was thinking of asking Old Uncle Huang to bring back some lotus rhizomes suited for planting while he’s at it," said Lian Manman. "When the time comes, we can dig more ponds, rear some lotus, and plant some fox nuts, water caltrops, and lotus seeds. These things sell for quite a high price here, and they’re not easy to find. If we grow them ourselves and take them to market, they’ll definitely sell well. I’ve calculated it; it’s more profitable than farming crops."
"If that’s the case, then that wasteland will really become a treasure trove," said Lian Shouxin.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Since everyone approves, does anyone have any objections?" asked Lian Manman.
"I’m in favor of raising fish and planting lotus," said Wu Lang.
The area around Thirty Mile Camp was all dry land, with no fish ponds or paddy fields. Most tenant farmer families didn’t even know what lotus was, let alone fox nuts, water caltrops, or lotus seeds, which very few people had even seen. But Wu Lang and the other children were different—they could read and write, and through books, they had gained a broader understanding of the world. Not to mention, they had the guidance of Mr. Loo, their learned mentor, knowledgeable in everything from astronomy to geography.
Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. They had also been to Jinyang County Town and even as far as Hejian Prefecture, more than a hundred miles away—these travels broadened their horizons.
"However, we’ve never raised fish or grown lotus before. When the time comes, won’t we need to hire someone?" Wu Lang continued.
"My brother’s right; we’ll definitely have to hire someone. Even if we knew how to do it ourselves, we wouldn’t have enough time to manage it all," said Lian Manman. "I think, for raising fish and planting lotus, we should at least hire two experienced long-term workers, and as for whether to hire additional long-term or short-term workers, we can discuss that gradually."
"As for farming, we’ll need to hire at least two long-term workers there as well," Lian Shouxin considered and then said.
"I’ve roughly calculated the costs—buying land, fish fry, lotus rhizomes, and so on, plus hiring workers—we have enough money for it all," said Lian Manman. She had already made the calculations before presenting the plan. "Now, does everyone agree, or does anyone have any objections?"
"Agree."
"No objections."
Everyone unanimously approved Lian Manman’s proposal.
That same day, Lian Manman invited the Lizheng of the village, along with the broker Wu Yugui and his son Wu Jiaxing, to discuss purchasing a large tract of wasteland across the river.
The land had been lying fallow, and someone willing to buy it naturally made the Lizheng pleased.
Next came the surveying of the land. The large tract of wasteland across the river, along with another piece downstream of their new home on this side of the river, was measured, totaling 45 acres, give or take.
"Buy it all," decided Lian Manman. Even the areas that couldn’t be used for digging fish ponds could be planted with trees, so nothing would be wasted. Buying the entire stretch of land also made future management more convenient.
With the decision made, the following day, in addition to the Lizheng and the broker, they invited several village elders and officials from the County Yamen to draft the paperwork.
For just 40 taels of silver, Lian Manman acquired all 45 acres of land, including the costs for hosting a banquet, preparing the red deed, intermediary fees for the broker, and necessary gratuities for smoothing things over.
The County Yamen officials who were brought in were quite accommodating; with a single stroke of the pen, they even included the stretch of the river in the deed.
Thus, the vast land stretching from the North-South Official Road in the west to Luo Family Village in the east, covering both banks of the river and the section of the river from the road to the village, became the property of Lian Manman’s family.
With the red deed in hand, Lian Manman brought along paper and ink, inviting Mr. Loo to help her draw a layout map of the entire plot. Then, based on the existing water features on the land, she planned the construction of four fish ponds accordingly.
The four fish ponds only took up a small portion of the land; this was just the first phase. After all, it was their first time digging fish ponds and raising fish, and blindly expanding the scale would not be wise.
These four fish ponds were both the first phase and an experimental phase. Once these ponds were successful and the entire farming and sales chain matured, only then would they expand—achieving more with less effort.
Besides the fish ponds, Lian Manman also marked out several plots on the map.
"Simply raising fish and planting lotus won’t use up all this land. This year, we’ll also raise more chickens and ducks; they can be free-ranged here... Later on, we can add pig farming and let them roam in this area..." Lian Manman planned as she pointed out areas on the map.
*****......*** 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Here’s the first update. Asking for pink votes.
There will be a second update tonight. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
