The pond was far outside the village and was seldom visited, so the environment was peaceful. However, to use it as a fish pond it was really too small, and it didn't meet the standards at all. To breed Reeve's Shad, it would be necessary to dig on the existing basis, and build a new two-mu fish pond.

Before expanding the pond, Wang Xiaoqiang went to the newly built village committee building to ask for permission from the village secretary, Liu Mingshan. Upon hearing that Wang Xiaoqiang wanted to dig a pond for fish farming, Liu Mingshan agreed immediately and offered his unconditional support.

Reeve's Shad are rather dull-witted but strong; they could smash into a south wall without looking back, so their requirements for the fishpond were quite particular. A layer of loess had to be bound on the cement slope of the pond to serve as a buffer; otherwise, these simple-minded creatures would knock themselves dead against the cement before they even grew up.

This was not a difficult task; when digging the pond, all that was required was to inform the construction team to include this step.

After selecting the site, Wang Xiaoqiang hired a construction team to begin the excavation of the fish pond. The team was formed by a Boss Feng from the county town. Boss Feng, named Feng Yuanshan, had been doing construction work in the Huagui County area for over a decade, and his reputation was quite high.

When Boss Feng heard that Wang Xiaoqiang wanted to excavate a fish pond in the mountains, he asked about the size of the hole. After listening to Wang Xiaoqiang's requirements for the pond's area and depth, he made a budget for the project cost, which was roughly around fifteen thousand yuan. For the present-day Wang Xiaoqiang, that was just a small sum of money.

He agreed without hesitation and paid Boss Feng an advance of five thousand yuan, asking the team to start construction as soon as possible. Boss Feng, surprised by Wang Xiaoqiang's straightforwardness, was happy and immediately promised to start work within three days.

Boss Feng was indeed a man of his word. The day after tomorrow, he arrived early in the morning with his construction team at the pond in front of the old village committee building and began expanding the original pond. Two excavators roared into action at the same time and quickly dug out a two-mu-sized pond, then paved it with cement.

After the cement had dried, a truckload of loess was brought in, and a layer of yellow mud four fingers thick was bound to the slope. After filling with water, a brand-new fish pond made its appearance. The entire process went smoothly, but during the process of binding the mud on the cement slope of the pond, some workers found the layer of bound earth rather odd and felt it was unnecessary.

Out of curiosity, they asked Wang Xiaoqiang what kind of fish he was going to raise. Wang Xiaoqiang casually said he was going to raise carp and along with them some loaches. The workers then understood that it was indeed necessary to bind a layer of earth to raise loaches.

However, they wondered if the layer of earth in Wang Xiaoqiang's fish pond was too thin; though they had their doubts, they didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, it wasn't their fish farm, so why should they worry unnecessarily?

What Wang Xiaoqiang was planning to raise was the Reeve's Shad that sold for a thousand yuan per half a kilo, a single fish could be sold for several thousand yuan. The more people knew, the more likely it was to draw unwanted attention, so it was better to keep it a secret.

Moreover, during the breeding process, it was inevitable to use some unusual methods; it was best if people didn't know about it. Keeping a low profile was the smart way to go!

The cost of digging the fishpond was not much different from what Boss Feng had estimated, spending fourteen thousand and a little over three hundred yuan. Looking at the newly dug fishpond, Wang Xiaoqiang wore a happy smile.

For the following two days, idlers from the village kept coming to see what the fuss was about. Everyone was very curious about how Wang Xiaoqiang's business was developing so rapidly. It was said that Wang Xiaoqiang had just finished building the chicken farm recently, and it was uncertain whether the cost had been recouped. Yet now he apparently had the money to fuss about with a fish pond.

Money is a very private matter, and generally, people do not bring it up casually. Everyone simply asked Wang Xiaoqiang what fish he was planning to raise. Wang Xiaoqiang repeated the excuse he had given the construction team workers, which immediately sparked a round of discussion.

There were those who were encouraging, and there were those who were more pessimistic, saying that the current market for fish was increasingly depressed, particularly for carp, which at most sold for five to six yuan per half kilo, and that there wasn't much money to be made.

Some even suggested that Wang Xiaoqiang should raise some unusual species to make a big profit, like catfish, which sold for over a dozen yuan per half a kilo, double the price of carp.

In response, Wang Xiaoqiang just smiled and neither agreed nor disagreed.

Gradually, people's interest faded, and after a week, nobody came to the fishpond anymore.

The fishpond was ready; now it was time to address the water temperature. Reeve's Shad are quite demanding about water temperature. The water can't be too cold nor too hot. It must be maintained within the range of 7 to 25 degrees. Below or above this temperature, the Reeve's Shad would die.

At first glance, this seemed to be a difficult task, especially since it was currently the deep winter season and water temperature did not even reach this standard during the day, not to mention the ice-cold nights.

The usual approach was to build a polythene tunnel around the fish pond, just like the vegetable growers did. The tunnel would be warm in winter and cool in summer, and could even out the water temperature.

Yet Wang Xiaoqiang did not want to go to such trouble. Although constructing a polythene tunnel wasn't too costly, it would take a long time to build, and considering that the New Year was just twenty days away, the timing was not suitable.

Wang Xiaoqiang wondered if the Five Elements Spirit Spring could solve the problem?

That day, he squatted by the pond, contemplating this issue, with his right hand dipped into the pond water, controlling his willpower to intermittently inject the Five-Element Spiritual Qi of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth into the pond water, feeling the temperature change.

When Fire Element Spiritual Energy was injected into the pond water, he felt the water in the pond grow warm. In about half a minute, a faint trace of steam, barely visible, arose from the water's surface.

Wang Xiaoqiang didn't get too excited; he merely stopped the supply of Fire Element Spiritual Energy and then quietly observed the pond water.

He saw that the faint steaming did not dissipate over time. Seeing this, Wang Xiaoqiang started to get excited. He waited a little longer, about half an hour, then dipped his hand into the pond again to test the water temperature. To his surprise, he felt the temperature of the water still maintained a warm feel, roughly around ten degrees.

Wang Xiaoqiang still could not quite believe it, so he simply sat by the pond side, his hand immersed in the warm pond water, and tested it for another half-hour.

In the biting cold of the twelfth lunar month, with the north wind howling, when he found that the water temperature remained constant despite the chill, Wang Xiaoqiang felt a surge of excitement and thrill. Damn, this Fire Element Spiritual Energy was truly magical. Not only could it warm the water, but it also maintained a steady temperature.

Having solved the temperature issue, Wang Xiaoqiang then started looking for suppliers of Reeve's Shad fry.

Now that he had a computer, it was extremely convenient to find anything with a simple internet search. Wang Xiaoqiang quickly located a company that supplied Reeve's Shad fry on the Aquaculture Website.

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