Chapter 37: First Bucket of Gold

Using Year-Feather Hall as the boundary, ahead besides the main hall, Bearing Light Hall, there are several functional halls, such as those used for feasting, sacrifices, and holding large ceremonies, all clearly demarcated.

Of course, there is certainly no shortage of a place for the King to study.

On both sides there is respectively a martial arts field and a front garden, and the King, being very inexperienced, kept exclaiming in amazement.

Beyond Year-Feather Hall lies the rear palace area, divided into east and west courtyards, while the central part is a garden design covering a huge area, drawing endless reference from the Jiangnan gardens of later Huaxia, and Zhao Zhuge even dug out a large artificial lake.

The King was born in the fief of Youzhou under Long Peace, and has spent his life mingling in the north; how could he have seen such a Jiangnan garden, exquisitely crafted and full of artistic spirit!

The lake water sparkled with rippling light, reflecting the exquisitely arranged pavilions and towers around it; it was the most beautiful painting he had ever seen.

Pavilions, towers, waterside verandas and covered corridors—some simple and elegant, some exquisite and splendid—every step a scene, each step bringing surprise; the King's eyes weren't enough. Is this his home? He had never imagined the You King's mansion could be renovated like this!

The King only took a quick glance, and half a day passed.

While resting and eating, the King sighed to Zhao Bao, "The mansion previously built by the prefect and Wang Lang Official for me was just a glance; this new one is truly great—I haven't even walked through it all in half a day!" From now on there will be plenty of places to play!

The King's greatest satisfaction lies in the height of the outer walls and the large garden behind; the garden is exquisitely beautiful, needless to say, and this wall is tall and gives a sense of security. Well, the square in front of the hall is also not bad—big enough to ride horses and very imposing, unlike the old mansion which was just a patch of dirt. He couldn't help feeling proud; indeed, building it at 1.5 times the scale was correct.

As for Zhao Zhuge, Zhao Bao was also thoroughly convinced, saying, "Steward Zhao is truly talented."

Just thinking that he would leave next month made the King's food lose its flavor.

If Zhao Zhuge were to stay, it would be great; he wanted Zhao Zhuge to oversee the construction of Youzhou's city walls, to see how secure the mansion's wall is. But then thinking that he lacked the funds to do so in the short term made his food hard to swallow.

Fortunately the King is a carefree child; after worrying a while and finding it useless, in the afternoon he happily took Bai Ze and Weini to explore the garden.

When Bai Ze didn't cooperate, he brought the little attendant Weini, who was there to cheer him on, to run happily by the lakeside, sending out clear laughter; as his laughter rang out, some plump, multicolored big fish in the lake began to approach him.

The King: "Huh? So many fish! So many beautiful fish!"

The fish the King had seen before were mostly black-and-white seafood from Youzhou; he had never seen such gaudy fish before—it was extremely novel.

"These are koi; if anyone asks, Your Highness, say they come from Great Yuan." Seeing that the attendants nearby were far away, Zhao Zhuge spoke up to remind the King. The appearance of these koi corresponds roughly to this time and place—Central Asia two thousand years later, now called Great Yuan, which in the Great Jin is lumped together with the Western Regions states.

"They heard Your Highness's voice and thought food was coming, so they all gathered around."

"Wow, how smart! What do they eat?"

"This lake already has the best ecological circulation system set up; they can live self-sufficiently here. Of course, the fun of feeding fish is indispensable; the King, when idle, can give them extra snacks. Just break up human-edible husk cakes and scatter them—they love them. Once they're used to it, Your Highness can shout by the lakeside and they'll naturally come."

The King immediately had Zhao Bao, who was following behind, shout for someone to bring two husk cakes.

He crouched by the lake, seriously looking at the plump koi; these guys lived too leisurely, not afraid of people, and a red‑white‑patterned one swam straight to where he could reach out and touch, amazing the King beyond belief.

When the husk cakes arrived, the King quickly broke off a small piece and gave it to it; the big koi opened its mouth and swallowed it, and the King laughed excitedly, "Brave fish, enjoy the treat first! You're not afraid of me, and I like you too! Let me give you a name… how about Big Flower? You'll be called Big Flower, remember that~"

Zhao Bao feared the King might accidentally fall in; it's autumn in the north now, so he bent over behind him, ready to protect the King at any moment, and hearing this he almost bit his tongue.

Big Flower!

This is also a name?

Zhao Bao strove to remember the markings of this big fat fish, lest he mix them up—after all, it was a name personally granted by the prince.

"Weini, look, there are little fish over there, just like you, a baby~ wow~"

The King scattered the crushed crumbs, and instantly the water surface came alive; dense masses of koi surfaced to scramble, churning the lake into a tumult. It turned out those earlier were just the curious few; the main body hadn't moved at all.

Seeing so many densely packed fish for the first time in his life, the King was thrilled beyond measure.

"So many! So plump!" — "When you need books, you regret not having studied enough."

Weini, seeing this fish‑swarm tactic, instinctively felt a little afraid; being timid, he kept stepping back. That fattest one is even longer than him~

The King bounced excitedly by the lakeside, "I'm so rich! With this many fish, I can't possibly eat them all! Wait!"

There are so many of these fish, and they're so rare—even the Great Jin doesn't have them!

Even Emperor Ningde's royal menagerie lacks them, and the clans and wealthy merchants of Long Peace certainly don't; the King's eyes shifted, turning to Zhao Zhuge, who had been silently accompanying him.

This year's autumn harvest, though not completely finished, his estates are like that, and the people's prospects are… not great. If these fish could be sold for some grain, that would be nice; the famine index of Youzhou is practically a huge stone weighing on the King's heart.

The King's eyes lit up as he looked at Zhao Zhuge, "These koi will have babies!" From then on his koi would surely only increase!

Zhao Bao was right there; Zhao Zhuge bowed courteously and replied, "Your Highness, the koi breeding technology in Great Yuan is highly mature, and they reproduce quickly."

The King continued to stare, "If I say, sell them to the wealthy merchants, is there a way to transport them alive out of Youzhou?"

Zhao Zhuge finally understood the lord's meaning: "…In theory it's possible; we, the common folk, bought these koi from a fish‑raising wizard, and these small ones are the later offspring. It's said these koi have been bred by his family for three generations, becoming a remarkably hardy, survivable strain. We can bring them to Youzhou, and Your Highness can also sell them out of Youzhou."

While saying that, he glanced at Zhao Bao, and the King realized there was still something unsaid.

He quickly tossed the last bit of crumbs into the fish school, "Zhao Bao, go back and get a few more husk cakes; today's a happy occasion, let's give the koi an extra meal to celebrate."

Zhao Bao watched him retreat a step before feeling safe to turn and leave; once he was gone, Zhao Zhuge spoke frankly, "If the lord wants to sell these koi out, there will inevitably be loss, and there's one essential thing the Great Jin lacks. Even if the fish are packed at extreme density in ceramic tanks, they will still die; the water's oxygen must be increased along the way. The Great Jin currently lacks the equipment to produce oxygen, but the lord holds the Myriad Worlds Homestead—if he could buy oxygen tablets there, putting them in the water on schedule would guarantee the koi's basic vitality, and they could gradually recover upon arrival."

This exceeded the King's knowledge reserves; he tried to memorize the name of the oxygen tablets, intending to ask Bai Yang later.

He also asked, "How much more advanced than our Great Jin's civilization are these oxygen tablets? If the cost is too high, I… couldn't afford them. Youzhou is impoverished; I don't even have the money to repair the city walls, and my funds must go to food and the guard regiment. Don't think that because I hold a prefecture, the people mostly aren't well‑fed and there's little hope."

"Oxygen tablets are a single‑use consumable, like the patent medicines sold by the Great Jin; they should be purchasable."

Seeing that the lord, though of royal birth, was still young and already aware of human hardship, Zhao Zhuge sympathized: "Selling koi out of Youzhou, does the lord have a concrete plan? As rarity brings value, koi have always been the favorite of scholars and refined gentlemen; a fine specimen can be worth a thousand gold, so if the King wants to trade in koi he must have a plan."

The King's round eyes shot open and lit up!