Chapter 142: A Plan That Makes You Want to Turn and Run
Lady Cai was utterly stunned. That offhand suggestion about digging a pond had just slipped out during a momentary lapse in her thinking, and she never expected it to actually get support from the most educated person in the family—her eldest brother-in-law. Now she didn’t know what to do with her hands or feet.
Wen Xiuyi casually picked up a stick and began drawing on the ground.
“Look here, all of our family’s land is clustered around this area. This spot is near a branch of the Ping River. I’ve looked at the middle section—it’s mostly unused except for a few families planting vegetables,” he explained while sketching. Actually, that land was mostly abandoned because of its proximity to the river. The soil wasn’t great, so crops didn’t grow well there, and no one had wanted it. Otherwise, it would’ve been cultivated long ago.
Now, aside from the land privately owned, any undeveloped land belonged to the government. If they wanted it, they’d have to go through the proper channels.
Everyone craned their necks and gathered closer to look at the map Wen Xiuyi was drawing. He continued, “There’s a slope here. Over that slope is our farmland. This side connects to our village and is close to the old house, so it’s convenient.”
Raising his head, Wen Xiuyi looked at everyone. “If—and I mean if—we plan to raise ducks, then like my sister-in-law said, we need a pond. Where else are the ducks going to swim? Are we going to drive them into the river? Forget whether or not they’ll come back. Let me ask you this—if we don’t have an enclosed area, where are you going to collect the eggs? You’re all focused on raising ducks but completely forgot that ducks lay eggs too, didn’t you?”
Old Madam Luo slapped her thigh. “That’s right! Duck eggs! I knew I was forgetting something important. If we’re raising that many ducks, we’ll definitely get loads of eggs.”
Wen Yao raised her hand. “Duck eggs are great—century eggs, salted duck eggs—more income streams!”
Everyone blinked. “Century eggs? Salted duck eggs? What are those?”
Wen Yao quickly waved her hand. “Off-topic! Off-topic! We’ll talk about that later. Let’s hear what my dad has to say first.”
Everyone turned back to Wen Xiuyi.
He continued, “We absolutely have to dig a pond—and it has to be a big one. I was thinking, just raising ducks seems like a waste. Father, Mother, let’s raise fish too.”
What Wen Xiuyi didn’t say out loud was that ideally, they’d raise pigs and chickens as well. In just a short while, his mind had already laid out an integrated multi-level farming system.
But seeing his father and mother’s stunned expressions—and everyone else’s too—Wen Xiuyi held back. He was a filial son and wanted his parents to live long lives.
Old Man Wen felt like he must’ve woken up wrong today, or maybe drank the wrong way earlier. His head was spinning. He let out a dry laugh. “Hah! You haven’t even started raising ducks, and now you want to raise fish? Why not say pigs and chickens too while you’re at it?”
Wen Xiuyi’s eyes lit up. What a great idea. “It’s not like we can’t do that too.”
Now Old Man Wen’s eyelid was twitching. Every time this son said “It’s not like we can’t,” his head hurt. He glared at him. “You shut your mouth already!”
Wen Xiuyi looked genuinely confused. What did he say wrong now?
Dazhu—Wen Xiuyi’s diehard little fan—immediately leaned on his grandfather and pleaded, “Grandpa, hear him out. What if it really makes sense?”
With a grandson pleading, Old Man Wen folded. “Alright, alright, let’s hear it.”
Wen Yao asked, “How much money do we have?”
Without hesitation, she slapped down a five-hundred tael banknote in front of everyone.
“Five hundred taels.” Confident and wealthy, Wen Yao was practically glowing. This was an advance from Qiu Rongrong, her share of the upcoming roast duck shop’s profits. Qiu Rongrong figured they’d need startup capital for raising ducks, so she gave Wen Yao the funds early. After the first profit distribution three months later, they’d just deduct the amount.
That arrangement suited Wen Yao perfectly.
The Wen family members gasped. None of them had ever seen this much money before. Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
With money in hand, confidence naturally followed. Wen Xiuyi looked at his parents. “Father, Mother, let’s buy that unused land—including that hill.”
Old Man Wen stood up on the spot and turned to leave.
This eldest son was clearly possessed.
“Sit down!” Old Madam Luo yanked him back with surprising strength.
Old Man Wen nearly fell on his backside.
Ignoring him, Old Madam Luo turned to Wen Xiuyi. “Keep talking.”
With his mother’s support, Wen Xiuyi’s confidence soared. “We don’t need too much land. We dig a two-mu pond and divert water from the Ping River branch. We can even build irrigation channels, which will help with crop watering too. Then we won’t just be raising ducks—we can raise fish.”
“Big Uncle,” Wen Jin interrupted, “don’t ducks eat fish? How do you raise both together?”
“Simple,” Wen Xiuyi explained. “We divide the water—top pond for ducks, lower pond for fish—with nets separating them. The ducks’ droppings create microorganisms in the water, which become food for the fish. That way, not only can we sell ducks, but also duck eggs and fish.”
He glanced at the hill. “That hill’s not small. We plant fruit trees there and fence it off—then we can let chickens roam. Chicken droppings become fertilizer for the trees. Two birds with one stone. As for the rest of the land, it’s not good for grains, but we can plant beans or vegetables. Mother can use them for her bean paste and pickled goods.”
He rattled off ideas in rapid-fire succession, only looking up when it suddenly became very quiet. The only people who weren’t slack-jawed were Wen Yao, Wen Jun, and Dazhu. Everyone else looked stunned.
After a long silence, Old Man Wen slowly stood up. “I’m going to bed.” Listening to this son was giving him a migraine.
Old Madam Luo also felt like leaving. She could understand each part individually, but strung together like this, it became overwhelming. All they wanted to do was raise some ducks—how did it turn into buying land, digging ponds, raising chickens, and farming fish?
She really should’ve left with her husband when she had the chance.
However, the second and third sons and their wives were looking at Wen Xiuyi with bright eyes.
“Big Brother, are you sure this can work?”
Wen Yao and Wen Jun exchanged glances. If Wen Xiuyi said it could be done, then it absolutely could—this was his area of expertise.
“Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Third Uncle, Third Aunt—as long as you follow my father’s plan, nothing will go wrong.”
All four turned to look at Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo.
“Father? Mother?”
Old Man Wen’s eyelid twitched violently.
Somehow, Dazhu had latched onto Old Madam Luo’s leg. She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t move.
“Grandma…” Wen Yao and Dazhu looked at her with pitiful eyes.
What a headache.
Old Madam Luo could only sigh and sit back down. “In this household, if we count in the funeral money your father and I have set aside, we have about fifty taels. If you’re really going through with this, then these fifty taels will count as your second and third brothers’ investment with your big brother. How you divide profits is your own business. I’m just focusing on my pickled goods.”
This even included the private stash Wen Yao sometimes secretly gave her. Anyway, with the new deal to supply bean paste, she and the old man would be able to slowly save up again.
