Chapter 68

......

A quick calculation shows that although Zhuwei Lake is not a large lake, it still covers an area of about ten thousand mu. Clearing one meter of silt would amount to six to seven million cubic meters of silt...

Wang Shouzhe had seen the dredging boats in this world.

They all use manual dredging rakes to dig the silt onto the boat. One dredging boat can only carry about ten cubic meters of silt.

The silt usually contains a good amount of organic matter. When mixed with other fertilizers and fermented, it becomes a good agricultural fertilizer that can replenish the fertility of farmland.

After all, the silt at the bottom of rivers and lakes in this era is not contaminated with heavy metals or other pollutants.

However, the problem lies in the fact that six to seven million cubic meters of silt would require sixty to seventy thousand boatloads! If ten dredging boats worked year-round, with each boat clearing and filling three loads per day, it would take about twenty thousand days, or sixty to seventy years of continuous work!

Moreover, the silt shrinks significantly when dried, and the marshland is mostly mud. It is estimated that at most, only two to three thousand mu of good farmland could be reclaimed. The entire project is expected to cost more than ten thousand gold.

After expending a large amount of human and material resources, it would cost about three to four gold to reclaim one mu of land, which is not cost-effective.

If the lake were to be dredged two meters deeper, the cost would more than double, and the deeper it is, the harder it is to clear. Even buying good farmland would cost only two to three gold per mu of cultivated land.

However, the calculation is not that simple. With the large-scale dredging of Zhuwei Lake, the increased water storage capacity could support the breeding of large fish, or even spiritual fish. From a long-term perspective for the family, relying solely on wild fishing is not a sustainable source of income.

If the family could engage in large-scale breeding of economic fish, or even spiritual fish, this would be the correct way to establish a family foundation. The investment is huge and the time required is long, but once successfully established, it would become a continuous source of wealth for the family.

Moreover, the government encourages the Wu family to reclaim land, and for newly reclaimed land, the first ten years are exempt from grain taxes, which is a significant saving.

Of course, with Wang Shouzhe's personality, he would not spend sixty to seventy years on such a massive project. By then, even his great-grandchildren would have been born...

This plan had been brewing in his mind for a long time.

He originally intended to start a small-scale implementation next year, gradually increasing the scale of the project, aiming to dredge the lake two meters deeper and reclaim four to five thousand mu of good farmland within ten years, gradually transforming it into the family's next large farm, with ten thousand mu of breeding waters and several thousand mu of good farmland.

The annual output would certainly not be low, and the total cost should be kept within thirty thousand gold.

However, now, the plan has changed a bit!

Standing on the black-roofed boat, Wang Shouzhe, with his hands behind his back, watched the wilderness on both sides, exuding an air of overseeing his territory and planning for the family's thousand-year foundation.

Wang Shouye, the seventh son of the Shou generation, sat in the cabin, his initially anxious heart gradually calming down. Looking at his fourth brother standing with his hands behind his back, he felt a sense of admiration and respect.

I, Wang Shouye.

In the future, I must become a man who stands tall and firm, just like my fourth brother.

......

The black-roofed boat docked at the small pier of the Xing Sheng Farm. Under the guidance of the head of the Wang family's collateral branch, who was trembling with fear, Wang Shouzhe and Wang Shouye went to find Wang Xiaohan.

At that moment, Wang Xiaohan was tending to the twenty mu of precious spiritual fields, carefully removing the weeds. The weeds were pulled out as soon as they sprouted, to prevent them from absorbing nutrients and spiritual energy.

Even a small increase in yield from one mu of spiritual field can be a significant resource.

Wang Shouzhe did not disturb him but waited patiently.

The Xing Sheng Farm was the second farm opened by the Zouxuan ancestor. It has two thousand mu of good farmland, a small livestock farm, and a small garden for growing fruits and vegetables. Most importantly, the farm has twenty mu of spiritual fields.

The terrain here is surrounded by a small branch of the Sixping Mountain range. The original land had many scattered rocks and was not very suitable for reclamation.

However, the Zouxuan ancestor chose this place for reclamation and even dug a canal to bring in water to open the farm. This was because there was a small spring of spiritual water in the mountain gorge.

The presence of a spiritual spring indicates that there is a small spiritual vein here.

By building a spirit-gathering array around the spiritual vein, the spiritual energy in the vein can be condensed and not dispersed, nourishing the land. With the spiritual spring irrigating the land and various agricultural techniques to enrich the soil, it is possible to gradually develop fields suitable for planting various spiritual plants.

Having one's own spiritual fields means having one's own production of spiritual rice, which is the true foundation of a Wu family.

Therefore, the Zouxuan ancestor named this farm the Xing Sheng Farm, symbolizing the hope for the family's prosperity.

This small spring and the small spiritual vein can support up to sixty mu of spiritual fields. However, when the Wang family first started, they were unfamiliar with the techniques for planting spiritual rice and did not want to waste the spiritual vein. Therefore, they initially built only one spirit-gathering array and developed twenty mu of spiritual fields.

They planned to develop the remaining forty mu of spiritual fields once they became more proficient in planting spiritual rice. However, before they could implement this plan, the Wang family suffered a major disaster.

After that, the family was in a state of panic and lacked resources.

Investing in spiritual fields is a large investment with slow returns. The family focused on cultivating a Lingtai ancestor first, then gradually accumulating money to develop the spiritual fields and build the family's foundation.

However, the first family heir, the second uncle Wang Dingtian, at the age of twenty, went into a mental breakdown and died. It is unclear whether this was due to the psychological trauma he experienced at the age of five, the pressure from the family elders, or his own anxiety.

The Wang family's cultivation technique, the "Xuan Yuan Jue," is known for its balance and harmony. Even from a thousand years ago, the number of practitioners who experienced mental breakdowns was very few.

After the family's grief, they focused on the second son, Wang Dingyue, and the sixth son, Wang Xiaohan. The elders, having learned from past mistakes, did not put too much pressure on Wang Dingyue but cultivated him systematically.

More pressure was actually placed on the talented direct-line descendant, Wang Xiaohan. However, it was already late when he started on the Lingtai path. It was only about twenty years ago that, in a confidential manner, he took the "Tian Ling Dan" obtained by the family through the sale of many assets.

He failed to advance!

Then, Wang Dingyue also died outside the territory.

This matter is also suspicious. Originally, Wang Shouzhe thought that the family had run out of resources and could not buy the Tian Ling Dan for Wang Dingyue. However, upon closer reflection, something seemed off.

The Longyan ancestor could sell her personal spiritual treasure, the "Turtle Scale Shield," to gather resources for Wang Shouzhe. Why did she not do the same for his father, Wang Dingyue?

Moreover, after the family head's death, the Longyan ancestor did not even show her face, possibly to avoid being seen as suspicious. There is a high possibility that she took action during this period.

If the ancestor took action, who did she act with? Was it not just his father, Wang Dingyue, who went to the outer territory, but also the ancestor?

If this speculation is correct, why did the ancestor and his father, Wang Dingyue, go to the outer territory at such a critical moment? Was it really just to gather resources and seek opportunities, as publicly claimed?

It must not be.

Wang Shouzhe has reason to believe that the ancestor and the clan elders are hiding a significant secret from him. And this secret is very important to the Wang family! Perhaps there is an opportunity to advance to the Lingtai realm in the outer territory, but his father, Wang Dingyue, failed?

The more he thinks about it, the more he believes this to be true. Otherwise, the Longyan ancestor would have chosen to sell the Turtle Scale Shield to get the Tian Ling Dan for his father, rather than taking the risk of going to the outer territory to seek some opportunity.

If there is a chance, he should try to pry some information out of the ancestor.

As Wang Shouzhe was deep in thought, the Sixth Grandfather, Wang Xiaohan, finished dealing with the weeds and walked out of the fields. Seeing Wang Shouzhe and Wang Shouye waiting outside, he smiled and said, "Shouzhe, why are you here? Did you wait long? Why didn't you call me earlier?"

Although Wang Shouzhe could not see through his cultivation, he could sense a sense of depression and weariness in his spirit. It was clear that he had not yet recovered from the failure of his massive investment to advance to the Lingtai realm. At sixty-five, he looked older than the Fourth Grandfather, Wang Xiaozhi, like a true old farmer.

"Sixth Grandfather, hello." Wang Shouzhe bowed.

"Grandfather." Wang Shouye rushed over.

"Oh, you little rascal, why did you come with your fourth brother to see me?" Wang Xiaohan picked up Wang Shouye, teased him for a few moments, and then had the head of the collateral branch take him to play.

Then, Wang Xiaohan invited Wang Shouzhe to sit in front of his humble thatched cottage and drink a cup of ordinary tea: "Shouzhe, are you here to persuade me to try the Lingtai path again?"

Previously, Wang Shouzhe had sent a family guard with "Pei Yuan Dan" and spirit stones, and wrote a letter explaining his plans. However, Wang Xiaohan refused, saying that his ambition was gone and he only wished to live out his life in a thatched cottage by the spiritual fields.

Wang Shouzhe did not blame him for this defeatist attitude.

He took a sip of the ordinary tea, looked around, and glanced at the humble thatched cottage, smiling and said, "No, Shouzhe is just here to say goodbye to Sixth Grandfather and take one last look at the spiritual fields left by the Zouxuan ancestor. After all, Shouzhe is a man who is about to die."

"What?"

Wang Xiaohan almost crushed the cup in his hand, shocked and angry, "Wang Shouzhe, what are you talking about?"

A shocking aura burst from his body.

......