Uncle Wen hurried over when he heard Dabao speaking. Lin He had never once inquired about the He Cai Dolls business for so long; if she said she had something to discuss with him now, it must be something crucial that needed saying, otherwise, she wouldn't still be waiting for him at the He Cai Dolls at this hour.

Arriving there, Uncle Wen saw Lin He waiting and smiled, "He'er, what is it? Why the rush to have Dabao fetch me? Is something amiss?"

Lin He cut straight to the point. "I have an idea of my own. Uncle Wen, what do you think? If it’s not suitable, we can just stick to your original plan. I just suddenly thought of it."

Uncle Wen nodded, signaling for her to continue. Lin He explained her idea. Uncle Wen pondered for a moment and thought Lin He’s suggestion was quite good. Although she spent little time here at He Cai Dolls, he was aware of the situation over at Cai Die Xuan. They had even more staff there, and managing meal times certainly presented a dilemma.

Everyone had to take turns going to eat, and by the time the last group finished, it was already late afternoon. This was not good for the employees. However, if they all went together, the shops would be too busy to manage. Although Lin He’s proposal involved spending a little more money each month, in the long run, the profit would surely exceed this cost.

Furthermore, the kitchen facilities at the shops were already in place. If they hired a cook (laomazi), there would be housing available if she needed to reside there; if not, she could live at home. She would prepare two meals a day—one in the morning and one at noon. No dinner needed to be provided, although the staff could certainly grab a bite if they wanted something in the evening.

Uncle Wen said, "He'er’s idea is excellent. We will do as you say. I will find suitable cooks. I'll implement this at Cai Die Xuan too and find someone there to cook. This will also improve overall shop management. The staff’s meal worries will be resolved."

After agreeing, Uncle Wen shared the news with a few people in the shop. Everyone was overjoyed, and they were even more delighted when the proprietor announced that they wouldn't need to contribute any money—it would be considered a benefit. This was practically a pay raise, truly wonderful.

Seeing how happy they were made Lin He feel a surge of joy as well. As long as the staff felt satisfied with the shop and believed the owner treated them well, they would naturally commit themselves wholeheartedly to their work. This meant the shops would have long-term employees, which was better overall.

Lin He had only proposed the idea and concerned herself with nothing else, leaving the rest of the planning to Uncle Wen. After exchanging a few words with Dabao, she left with Xiaojun. This time, Dabao didn't see Lin He off to the town entrance, only to the shop door. After watching them leave, he returned inside to resume his tasks.

Lin He had overheard Uncle Wen mentioning Dabao earlier. Uncle Wen held a very high opinion of him, saying he was honest and reliable, never slacking off in his duties. Every day after school, he arrived promptly to help at the shop, and the other staff members liked Dabao too, noting he had no airs and humbly learned from them.

Lin He felt confident about Dabao’s character; he was naturally a good child. Her only worry was that he might be too honest and struggle to learn the intricacies of business dealings, though those skills would be necessary for future ventures.

A few days later, the riverbank land at Lin He’s family property was finally cleared. Although they had purchased one mu of land, the usable area was slightly less than one mu. However, this size was just right for creating a pond; if it were any larger, the few people available couldn't manage it, and if it were smaller, they couldn't stock many fry. This size was perfect, and later, they could clear a few more adjacent ponds for raising ducks or other fowl.

After the pond was dug, the next step was to divert water. Once the entire pond was filled, they needed to acquire fish fry. Most of the fry would be caught from the river, though some rarer species could be purchased from the town.

Er Niu took Dajiang and Dasheng to the river to catch fry. Most of what they caught were crucian carp, grass carp, and common carp. Er Niu mentioned that these three species were predominant at this time. Lin He wasn't sure exactly how many fish they could stock, but she felt stocking fewer was better than stocking too many.

If there were too many fish, the pond would become overcrowded, and the fish would still grow. When they became too cramped, the survival rate would be low. Stocking about five hundred small fry seemed appropriate for now. Once they grew to about two or three jin each, they could start harvesting them gradually and reassess then.

Lin He explained this to Er Niu, instructing them to catch no more than five hundred fry and to ensure a good variety of species. While catching fry together, the group also netted some river mussels. Initially, they planned to discard them, as they seemed useless and nobody locally ate them. However, Lin He insisted they were valuable, telling the men to put them all into the pond, explaining that once they grew larger, they could be eaten, and perhaps even yield pearls.

Er Niu and the others were skeptical; they had never seen a pearl inside a mussel. But since Lin He said they were good things, they placed them all into the pond. In her previous life, Lin He had greatly enjoyed eating such things; river mussels could be prepared in many ways—in soup, stir-fried, or stewed—making them quite a delicious dish.

Just thinking about the taste of river mussels from her past life made Lin He’s mouth water. After the fish fry were stocked, Er Niu, Dasheng, and Dajiang went to the bamboo grove near the mountain and cut down a large quantity of bamboo. They used the bamboo to construct a fence around the pond, obscuring the view from outsiders.

When some villagers learned that Er Niu’s family was raising fish, many expressed schadenfreude, remarking that despite so many people in the village failing at fish farming, Er Niu’s family, flush with recent earnings, was challenging fate. They hoped the venture would result in a complete loss.

Er Niu’s family members paid no heed to the gossip. After all, this fish farming venture hadn't cost much; they had only spent money on purchasing the land and building the courtyard, which were fixed assets that wouldn't go to waste. Moreover, the fry were caught from the river, costing nothing. Besides, Lin He had already devised plans for all future aspects of fish rearing.

Lin He learned from Er Niu that in the past, the villagers raised fish by feeding them grain, believing fish only ate grain. They thought feeding grain was uneconomical, considering how much grain was needed to yield one dish’s worth of fish.

Eventually, when the household grain ran out, there was nothing left to feed the fish, causing them to starve to death, leading to a loss. But Lin He knew that fish ate more than just grain; many other things could feed them—things that were free and would make the fish even fatter.

Lin He told Er Niu that they should have a few people go out daily to pull fresh weeds and place them in the pond. After some time, they could clear a small, separate pond on an empty patch nearby and purchase some ducks to place in it. Then, the family’s duck manure, chicken manure, and pig manure could all be added to the pond to feed the fish.

Er Niu had never heard of these things being used as fish feed before, but since Lin He said it was written in books, he no longer doubted it. Everything Lin He mentioned that she read in books had always proven to be correct.