Chapter Three: The Source of Wealth

"Alright, now let me see how much property the Mo Family Village has left."

In the Mo Residence, Mo Dun took a deep breath and spoke to Uncle Fu, who had just returned from delivering grain to the villagers.

Bold words are easy to say, but when it comes to real action, one finds obstacles at every turn. Mo Dun had many ideas for making money, but even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice; every plan had to be grounded in the reality of Mo Family Village.

It was no easy task to find a project that could earn a fortune and benefit all three thousand villagers.

"Young master! Here is the list you asked for!" Uncle Fu handed over a thin slip of paper.

Ten fish ponds, an abandoned kiln, and ten thousand jin of grain left in the Mo Residence. In Chang’an City there was also a dried fish shop. This was all the wealth the Mo Family Village possessed.

Mo Dun frowned deeply. It seemed like a lot, but considering the thousand households and more than five thousand hungry mouths in Mo Family Village, it was woefully insufficient. At best, this would last less than a month before the village ran out of food and fell into dire straits.

Before long, Li Yi entered the hall as well. He exchanged a look with Uncle Fu, and both stood quietly, waiting as Mo Dun racked his brains in deep thought.

"No, this won't do either!" Mo Dun kept shaking his head.

He had considered several ideas, but all were dismissed—not because they couldn’t make money. Any one of them could make a person rich in a short time, but with over five thousand people in the Mo Family Village, if a venture couldn’t benefit everyone, it was of little use.

Uncle Fu and Li Yi were both frowning, lost in their own worries.

"It seems there is only one way left!" After a long silence, Li Yi finally gritted his teeth and spoke.

"What is it?" Mo Dun looked up in surprise.

"You mean to open the ponds?" Uncle Fu’s head shot up.

"Open the ponds?" Mo Dun asked, puzzled.

"No!" Uncle Fu shook his head sharply. "That is our last lifeline. If we open the ponds now, the Mo Family Village will have nothing left in reserve!"

"But it’s the only way," Li Yi replied, his face bleak.

After listening to Uncle Fu and Li Yi argue, Mo Dun finally understood. The crux of their debate was the village’s ten fish ponds.

These ten ponds were the village’s secret to surviving hard times; whenever things were toughest, they would open one pond at a time. The oldest pond hadn’t been opened in five years.

"Then let’s open the ponds," Mo Dun interjected.

"You may not know this, young master," Uncle Fu sighed, bowing his head. "Every year, the village only opens the ponds in the most desperate moments to pull through. But now…"

"What about now?" Mo Dun asked, his brow furrowed.

"Young master, it’s too early. Even if we open all ten ponds now, we won’t have enough food to last the villagers two months," Li Yi said with regret.

"And the weather hasn’t yet turned to snow," Uncle Fu added. "Salted fish is hard to preserve in this season. If we can’t sell it quickly, it’ll all be wasted."

"Besides, salt is expensive these days. Buying enough would be a huge expense—"

"Hold on!" Mo Dun interrupted Uncle Fu’s litany, feeling his mind was spinning.

"Sell salted fish?" Mo Dun glanced at the two men in confusion. "Why do we have to sell salted fish? Why not take the live fish to Chang’an and sell them?"

As soon as he said it, Mo Dun realized he’d made an error; both Uncle Fu and Li Yi stared at him as if he were a fool.

Fortunately, Zi Yi stepped in to spare his dignity. "Young master, you may not know—Mo Family Village is fifty li from Chang’an, a journey of at least two hours. By the time the fish reach the city, they’re all dead, and fetch a poor price. Salted fish is more cost-effective for us."

"Zi Yi speaks the truth," Li Yi nodded.

"What about other villages? How do they sell fish?" Mo Dun asked.

"It’s the same for them," Zi Yi replied. "Only a few villages near Chang’an can deliver live fish to the city. Those live fish are snatched up as soon as they arrive, fetching much higher prices than our dead ones."

"Live fish are very expensive?" Mo Dun suddenly stood, staring at Zi Yi with urgent eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Live fish are reserved for the elite families; common folk can’t get any. Prices are more than three times higher, and even then, there’s not enough to go around. If you’re late, they’re all gone."

"Hahaha! We’re going to be rich! Rich!" Mo Dun suddenly seemed possessed, pacing and gesturing wildly in the hall.

A sudden splash of cold water doused his head.

"What was that for?" Mo Dun angrily wiped his head and glared at Zi Yi, who stood there with an empty teacup.

But she was unafraid, patting her yet undeveloped chest in relief. "I was afraid you’d gone mad, young master. Even if live fish are lucrative, it has nothing to do with us. Mo Family Village is too far from Chang’an."

Ignoring his somewhat dramatic maid, Mo Dun shook the water from his hair and flashed a sly grin at Uncle Fu and Li Yi. "But what if I have a way to get the fish to Chang’an still alive?"

"What? That’s impossible!" Uncle Fu and Li Yi both looked up, disbelief and hope warring in their eyes. If Mo Family Village could deliver live fish to Chang’an, the three thousand villagers would be saved.

"Fish can’t live out of water, and if you transport them in a water cart, too many die anyway," Li Yi said, hope flickering out. "People have tried all kinds of methods. There’s no way."

Mo Dun’s excitement grew. "That’s precisely why we have a chance to make a fortune! I have a way to keep live fish alive en route to Chang’an."

"Can it really work?" Uncle Fu stared at Mo Dun, hope written across his face.

"It can, I’m sure of it," Mo Dun nodded emphatically. "But I’ll need to make some tools. If we have fish tonight, we can test it immediately."

"How will you test it?" Uncle Fu pressed.

Mo Dun explained, "First, we’ll fill the water cart at the residence. Once I finish the necessary tools, we’ll load the fish into the cart. By tomorrow, everyone will see the fish still alive."

The Mo Residence, being a large household, always kept a water cart on hand for fires. More than once, it had saved the estate from disaster.

"Old Zhang used to be a master craftsman in the army. I’ll fetch him right now to start on the tools!" Li Yi called as he dashed out.

Uncle Fu was right behind him, his voice drifting back from beyond the wall, "I’ll find Old Yu and have him catch some fish from the ponds."

"Young master, I’ll go get the water cart!" Zi Yi, seeing her master’s tea-soaked head, fled at once.

Only Mo Dun remained behind, looking at his wet clothes and smiling wryly to himself.