Chapter 775: Chapter 591 Xingyue First Year_2
Star Moon Island is not short of money or grain, but it lacks livestock and poultry, such as cows, sheep, mules, donkeys, chickens, ducks, and geese; they are almost nonexistent.
Of course, Yang Zhenshan saying there was no place to buy mutton was just an excuse. His Spiritual Spring Space had plenty of cattle, sheep, and poultry; there really was no shortage of food.
However, other people on the island were in need, so it was still necessary to raise some.
Luo Jingsong acknowledged this and then went to find Jiang He.
Jiang He arranged these two thousand boys and girls in the controlled villages at the foot of the mountain, then hired dozens of women to take care of these youngsters’ clothing and food, and finally selected fifty soldiers from the island to act as mentors for these youngsters.
Ever since Yang Zhenshan arrived on Star Moon Island, the island transformed day by day, with a large influx of people and materials to Star Moon Island, making the once desolate place quickly lively and bustling.
And so time passed within this bustle and entered the eighth year of Yanping. However, Yang Zhenshan decided to designate this year as Xingyue First Year.
The reign title Yanping belonged to the Da Rong, and was not universally recognized outside of it. The year titles used in the East South Sea Domain were quite disordered: some islands used the Da Rong titles, some chose their own, while others used the era titles of the Lv Sheng Dynasty; it was a chaotic mix.
Yang Zhenshan felt that Star Moon Island should also have its own era title for the convenience of time recording.
Xingyue First Year, the first day of the first lunar month.
The Yang family’s New Year was a bit quiet. Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Minghao were not around; the Yang family was left with only a few older children. With so many people gone, the New Year naturally became much quieter.
Though it was quieter, the atmosphere at home was still very good.
The children did not feel lonely; in fact, they found it more joyful here.
Star Moon Island may not be as prosperous as the Capital City, but there were plenty of fun places on the island.
The seaside, the mountains, the fields—all could become paradises for the children.
"Dad, Mom, we’re going out to play!" Yang Mingzhao took several nieces and nephews along with other children and informed Yang Zhenshan before happily heading out.
"These kids have been going wild lately!" Yu Qingyi said helplessly.
Yang Zhenshan chuckled, "Indeed, just go up the mountain and look, children running wild everywhere!"
There were two thousand young boys and girls living at the foot of the mountain. Once unleashed, you can imagine the scene.
And with so many children, Yang Mingzhao and the others had plenty of playmates.
Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi felt their New Year was quiet, but the children certainly did not share that sentiment. With so many peers together, it could get really lively.
"Let them play a few more days, it’ll be fine once school starts!" said Yang Zhenshan.
Whether it was the children of the Yang family or those kids who came from the Tenglong Guard, none were lacking in discipline.
Jiang He had arranged teachers for them, and their teachers all came from the ranks of the Yang Family Guards.
The Yang Family Guards had trained many Martial Artists before; now training these children would be easily manageable.
Now these children were having fun, but in a few days, they would start to complain.
Yang Zhenshan stood in the courtyard and looked up at the clear sky.
"Not bad. This year, there won’t be any major storms! Just a bit more rain."
"Really?" Yu Qingyi also looked up, "How can you tell?"
Yang Zhenshan smiled, "This is what you call the harmony between man and nature!"
Yu Qingyi rolled her eyes at him.
Yang Zhenshan shrugged; what he said was indeed the truth.
It really was the harmony between man and nature!
"Shall we take a look inside the Spiritual Spring Space?"
"Sure!"
Afterward, the two of them walked out of the courtyard and then disappeared around a corner.
Inside the Spiritual Spring Space, lush vegetation and blooming flowers were full of vitality.
After entering the space, they first checked the Spiritual Fruit Trees around the small yard.
The Three Yellow Plums and Ice Heart Fruits had grown substantially and looked very lush.
The Star Origin Fruit Tree reached a person’s height, but it was still early for bearing fruit. Yang Zhenshan remembered that the Star Origin Fruit Tree in Cui Xia Valley had to grow to a height of three meters before it started to bear fruit.
The Jade Dew Spirit Peach and Light Spirit Fruit had also sprouted and grown to over three feet tall.
The Light Spirit Fruit grew quickly and could bear fruit in just a few years, while the Jade Dew Spirit Peach grew slowly and would probably take about five or six years to bear fruit.
Behind the courtyard, on the slope of the hill, Yu Qingyi looked at the boxes scattered all over the ground and said, "These things are too much of an obstruction here; can’t we move them out?"
"These are all valuable goods!" Yang Zhenshan said.
"What’s the use?" Yu Qingyi said disdainfully.
...
Yang Zhenshan was at a loss for words.
Alright, they really were useless.
At that time in Yemi City, he just felt it would be a waste to burn these things, but now it seemed they were of no use even when stored in the space.
But taking them out seemed useless too, for what they had no shortage of on the island were these valuables of gold and silver.
"Just leave them here, we’ll take them out slowly in the future!" That was all Yang Zhenshan could say.
Then, the two of them got busy within the space.
A man and a woman working together is less tiring.
Before, when Yang Zhenshan worked alone in the space, he always felt it was dull, but now with Yu Qingyi accompanying him, he found it much more relaxed.
Both being Innate Martial Artists, naturally they wouldn’t feel tired.
To them, doing these things was actually a kind of relaxation.
Picking tea, frying tea, tending the Medicinal Field, harvesting fruits, brewing beverages, collecting honey—the chores seemed many, but they would do them when they wanted to, and if they didn’t feel like it, they would just drop them and ignore them.
The pond at the Spiritual Spring seemed to have grown larger, and the Flame Red Lotuses in the pond had already formed a patch, but the center of the pond was still the territory of those twelve nameless lotus plants; the Flame Red Lotuses seemed to be very afraid of those, not daring to grow towards the central area at all.
Yang Zhenshan decided to get into the water and feel around, digging up some of the Flame Red Lotus’ roots.
As for those twelve nameless lotus plants, Yang Zhenshan also went over to take a close look.
The palm-sized lotus leaves spread on the water surface, and underneath were some green long stalks.
Suddenly, Yang Zhenshan was stunned, he stared wide-eyed at a sharp tip emerging from the water.
"Is this about to bloom?"
Yang Zhenshan found it somewhat unbelievable that these nameless lotuses were actually going to bloom.
Eight years!
Finally, they were about to bloom!
Yang Zhenshan was both shocked and ecstatic.
He wondered what was the use of these lotuses?
Were they like the Flame Red Lotuses?
Yang Zhenshan was full of anticipation for these lotuses.
These lotuses had grown in the Spiritual Spring on their own; their effects should not be inferior to the Spirit Fruits, right?
"Are those lotuses going to bloom?" Yu Qingyi stood by the pond, asking curiously.
Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, "The buds have come out; they should bloom soon!"
Then he looked at the other lotuses, all twelve of them were the same, each with a small bud emerging, which delighted him to no end.
He jumped out of the pond, and Yu Qingyi hurriedly brought him clothes to change into, "What’s the use of these lotuses? Are the lotus roots tasty, or the seeds?"
Yang Zhenshan had already told Yu Qingyi everything about the space, including these unidentified lotuses.
After changing into a clean set of clothes, Yang Zhenshan said, "I don’t know, we’ll just have to taste them when they bloom, but I haven’t seen any lotus roots, it might take a long time before they grow."
Usually, lotus plants need to spread their leaves across the water surface before the roots start growing rapidly, which is typically after flowering.
Right now, these lotuses had only grown a tiny bud and only had four or five leaves, not growing quickly.
Yang Zhenshan felt that these lotuses would likely take a while to grow roots; seeing this growth rate, if it took three to five years for the roots to emerge, he wouldn’t be surprised.
After checking the lotuses in the pond, Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi went to the south side of the space to check the livestock and poultry there.
Now there were many more animals in the space, with over fifty horses already forming a herd, becoming the most dominant creatures in the space.
To make sure that these livestock and poultry were well-fed, Yang Zhenshan had also scattered lots of grains like rice, wheat, sorghum, millet, and beans in the grassland.
Currently, the grassland was growing a bit messy; here a clump of grass, there a patch of rice, and beside that a field of sorghum, which hadn’t grown tall yet, and was nibbled down to just stems for some unknown reason.