114: Chapter 114 Capital Inflow and Accelerated Infrastructure Construction

The morning of the third day after the advance payment entered the treasury. Blue Moon Island, Lords Mansion, accounting room.

Su Qingli opened four new pages in the ledger. First page: 'Jubao Pavilion civil agency advance payment — first half-year — Medium Grade Spirit Stone equivalent to approximately 21,600 Low-Grade Spirit Stone — deposited into the private treasury of the Lords Mansion.' Second page: 'Military long-term contract monthly settlement — 150 bottles supplied this month, unit price 55 Spirit Stone — deposited into the public treasury.' Third page: 'Private treasury expenditure reserve — Broken Star Reef hydrological intelligence (Elder Tianji), three Advanced Formation pots (customized at Xingyan), Outer Port berth expansion (stone Materials and labor).' Fourth page: 'Public treasury expenditure reserve — Spirit Field expansion (decomposed seaweed fertilizer and three-inch deep plowing labor), settlement of remaining payments for supplementary population, purification liquid Workshop raw material procurement.'

After writing the four new pages, each page had a total line at the bottom. The number on the total line was larger than the total of the entire ledger from three months ago.

"After separating the private treasury and public treasury — the method of accounting has changed." Su Qingli rested her pen on the inkstone, "Before, it was eating from one pot — spending as much as we earned. Now it is two pots — one pot manages daily operations and military affairs, one pot manages high-risk procurement and covert expenditures. The money in the private treasury can only go through secret accounts; it cannot be mixed with the public accounts."

"How much is in the private treasury now?"

"21,600 Spirit Stone — plus the remaining Medium Grade Spirit Stone inventory from the deep-sea treasury before." Su Qingli flipped to the balance line of the private treasury account page, "Enough to buy three Advanced Formation pots, all the hydrological and Formation intelligence for Broken Star Reef, plus the stone Materials and labor for the Outer Port berth expansion. There is still some left."

"How much is left?"

"Remaining about 4,000 Spirit Stone — kept as a contingency fund for the trip to Broken Star Reef."

Lu Changyuan closed the private treasury ledger. Three months ago, when he designated the deep-sea treasury as the private treasury, there was only a pile of Medium Grade Spirit Stone and deep-sea Materials that couldn't be spent directly — not a single Spirit Stone could be used to buy food or Formation Materials. Now, there were over 20,000 Spirit Stone in advance payments lying in the private treasury, and every single one could be used.

"Spend the private treasury money first — don't touch the Spirit Stone in the public treasury." He pushed the ledger back to Su Qingli, "I don't know how much the trip to Broken Star Reef will cost. The goods for the civil agency line haven't been delivered yet — if something goes wrong on the way, the money in the public treasury is the foundation for the island's survival."

Su Qingli wrote the first line of expenditure on the private treasury expenditure page: 'Outer Port berth expansion — 300 cubic meters of stone Materials, 30 workers, 20-day construction period — totaling 2,400 Spirit Stone.'

The afternoon of the same day. Thin soil area of the Spirit Field.

The first harvest of the earth vein jade spike had been completed. The spikes harvested from the forty mu of land filled three temporary grain sheds — the jade-white spike grains were stacked to half a person's height in the sheds, and a registration board hung at the shed entrance: 'First season net grain: approximately 1,520 person-portions. Seed retention ratio: 15% — reserved seeds for six mu.'

Su Qingli and Lu Changyuan walked along the ridge. Three months ago, this was a stretch of gray, gravelly thin soil — when Lu Changyuan personally pushed the first earth vein jade spike seeds into the soil, the ground was so hard he had to use his fingers to gouge out a small hole. Now, the mud in the same patch of land was darker in color — changing from gray-white to dark brown, and the soil was loose, with a moist stickiness felt when squeezed in the palm. As the roots of the earth vein jade spike grew deeper, they were also improving the soil quality.

In the open space at the end of the ridge, twenty-odd spiritual farmers were tilling the land. They plowed the gravelly ground three inches deep and piled the picked-out gravel on the side of the field — the stone pile was already waist-high. A layer of black decomposed seaweed fertilizer was spread over the plowed ground — the fertilizer was piled from seaweed fished out of the cold water layer of the Outer Port during this period, and after decomposition, it had a faint salty, fishy smell, not foul.

"Expand to eighty mu next season." Su Qingli opened the Spirit Field registration book in her hand, "Forty mu of old fields — the soil quality has been improved for one season, and the yield next season can match the theoretical value. Forty mu of newly opened fields — still picking gravel and plowing, sowing can begin early next month. The new fields have less gravel than the old fields — the gravel gets smaller the further out you go in this thin soil area."

"Are there enough seeds?"

"Seed retention from the first season is about six mu worth — enough to expand to sixty to eighty mu. To be safe, expand to sixty mu first, and store the remaining one mu worth of seeds — in case there is an accident in the first season of the new fields, there is a backup."

"Expand to eighty mu — calculating forty people per mu, how much will be harvested next season?"

"3,200 person-portions. Added to the stored grain from the first harvest — the grain self-sufficiency rate will increase from 57% to about 75%. After three seasons, it will reach 230 mu — complete self-sufficiency." Su Qingli closed the registration book, "According to Elder Tianji's estimation — within three years, not only self-sufficiency, but also surplus to sell."

Below the ridge, the newly plowed soil was emitting a very faint heat under the sun. A spiritual farmer squatted by the field and grabbed a handful of soil to squeeze it — the soil formed a ball in the palm, and loose crumbs fell from between the fingers.

Lu Changyuan turned away from the field and walked towards the Trial Workshop.

New coarse cloth sheds were set up outside the Trial Workshop. Under the sheds were three more wooden crates — each crate four feet long and two feet wide, with the Spiritual Artifact shop mark of the Xingyan marketplace branded on the lid. Chen Mo used a crowbar to pry open the first lid — the box was stuffed with shock-absorbing dried algae, and after pushing it aside, a bronze-bottomed, gold-patterned Formation pot was revealed.

The pot was three sizes larger than the one currently in use. Five circles of temperature control Array Pattern were carved on the pot wall — two more circles than the original three pots. An independent Spirit Stone slot was embedded in the bottom of the pot, which could adjust the heat individually, without needing to rely on adding crushed Spirit Stone to control the temperature like the old pots.

"The people from Xingyan said —" Chen Mo patted the pot body with his palm, "This five-circle Array Pattern pot has two more functions than the three-circle one. The outermost circle is preheating — passing the ingredients through the pot wall before putting them in, so cold ingredients won't explode the bottom when they hit the hot pot. The innermost circle is rapid cooling — when collecting the liquid, you don't have to wait for natural cooling; once the Array Pattern is closed, it can drop to the sealing temperature in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

He pulled a thin installation manual from the interlayer of the wooden crate.

"But installation will take half a month." He flipped the manual to the middle page — on it were drawings of the pot's accompanying piping and the installation diagram of the cooling tank, "Each pot needs to be equipped with an independent cold water pipe and a set of cooling tanks. Cold water must be taken from the cold water layer of the Outer Port — three pipes need to be laid from the Pier, through the stone road, to the Trial Workshop. The cooling tank must be dug outside the back wall of the Trial Workshop — dig three feet deep and lay stone slabs to prevent moisture."

"Can the three pots be installed together?"

"The pipes can be laid together — laying one pipe and laying three pipes takes the same size trench. The cold water tank is the same — digging one long tank saves more labor than digging three short ones." Chen Mo closed the manual, "But the pots cannot be adjusted together. The temperature control Array Pattern and Spirit Stone slot of each pot must be adjusted separately — adjusting a pot takes a full day."

"How long will it take for all three pots to be installed and adjusted?"

"Twenty days. Ten days for laying pipes and digging trenches — three days for adjusting the three pots — and a few days in between to let the new apprentices watch and learn on the side." Chen Mo glanced outside the Trial Workshop — the newly recruited apprentices were learning to weigh old sand under the shed with the old apprentices, "The new apprentices can only start working after the pots are installed — before they are installed, they can only watch from the side."

Lu Changyuan stood at the entrance of the Trial Workshop for a while. Outside the Trial Workshop, the six newly recruited apprentices were each doing their own work under the shed — weighing Materials, washing old sand, sewing cloth strips for sample bags. The old ones led the new ones; no one spoke, but their hands never stopped.

"After twenty days — the three new pots plus the current two pots, a total of five."

"Yes. But five pots cannot be opened together." Chen Mo walked under the shed and pointed in the direction of the new apprentices, "Those six apprentices — three are still learning to prepare Materials, two have just started weighing, and one can barely control the fire independently. After the pots are installed, at most two more can be opened — a total of four pots. The fifth pot has to wait for the next batch of apprentices to finish their training."

"What is the monthly output of four pots — how much?"

"Two old pots at full production — 120 to 150 per pot, totaling about 300 bottles. Two new pots — operated by new apprentices, the output in the first two months will only be 60% to 70% of full production — about 80 to 100 bottles per pot. The four pots together will have a monthly output of about 460 to 500 bottles." Chen Mo wrote a few lines on the production schedule book, "But this is a theoretical value. The actual output also depends on whether there is enough old sand."

"How much old sand is currently available?"

"After the old sand replacement cycle is shortened to one month — the current monthly output is enough for 200 bottles. Any more depends on the growth of the thunder bamboo." Chen Mo closed the production schedule, "If all five pots are opened, the monthly output can reach 750 bottles — but the old sand must keep up. If the old sand cannot keep up, no matter how many pots there are, it is useless."

When Lu Changyuan returned to the Lords Mansion from the Trial Workshop, the sun was already setting. The stone Materials for the new berth on the Outer Port Pier began to be unloaded from the ships — thirty stonemasons and spiritual farmers were moving blue stone slabs from the cargo ship, and a long new pile of stone Materials had accumulated by the Pier.

Su Qingli was organizing the return message from Tianji Pavilion in the accounting room.

"The hydrological and Formation intelligence for Broken Star Reef — the East Sea branch of Tianji Pavilion has ready-made archives." She handed a newly arrived transmission talisman to Lu Changyuan, "Hydrological part: Broken Star Reef is a ring-shaped magnetic reef in the southeast corner of the East Sea — a circle of reefs about three miles wide on the outer perimeter, the reefs contain magnetite, and spirit boat will deviate from their course if they get too close. The internal waterways are extremely narrow — only wide enough for small sampans to pass, medium-sized spirit boat cannot enter. The year-round fog is not naturally formed — it is because the magnetism in the reefs affects the water vapor, forming a semi-permanent magnetic fog."

"What about the Formation part?"

"Tianji Pavilion said there are no natural Formation fluctuations near Broken Star Reef — but there are traces of man-made Formation remnants. The type is 'Trapping Array' — it contains no killing power and is specifically designed to block people. The core logic of the Formation is 'deductive type' — it requires the person breaking the Formation to use their brain to deduce the circulation rules of the Formation eyes, and cannot be forcibly broken with Spiritual Qi." Su Qingli flipped to the second page, "The price for this intelligence is 800 Spirit Stone — to be paid from the private treasury."

"Buy it."

Su Qingli wrote the second line on the private treasury expenditure page.

Lu Changyuan walked to the window. Outside the Outer Port berth, the cold light of the Starlight Coral mother branch had spread nearly nine zhang underwater — more than a foot wider than a month ago. The water quality was clearer, and in the twilight, the reefs two zhang below the water surface could be seen inside the berth.

The supplementary population had all been settled. The first batch of 6,400 people who arrived at the port had been diverted into the Spirit Fields, Workshops, mines, and Piers. The second batch was still on the way — Commander Tie Zhan said they would arrive by the end of the month. The population on the island had risen from 9,000 to over 14,000, and it was still rising.

The operational efficiency of the territory had greatly increased — Su Qingli had assigned the tasks for each Spirit Field, each mine, and each section of the Pier to specific people. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do, how much to do every day, and where to register after finishing.

But the more people there were, the more powerful military deterrence was needed to guard them. The Sword Ray Cavalry only had fifty riders — enough to protect the Outer Port and the surroundings of Qixia Peak, but they couldn't manage more. The Purple Lightning Seahorse were still in training — it would take at least two months to complete the Formation. Although the deep-sea behemoth was still sleeping, the black turtle egg was at the bottom of the abyss — sooner or later someone would catch wind of it.

Night fell. Lords Mansion study.

Lu Changyuan read the intelligence from Tianji Pavilion for the second time. The hydrological conditions of Broken Star Reef were worse than expected — magnetic reef area, narrow waterways, man-made Trapping Array. Being able to enter only with small sampans meant that a large force could not be brought.

He folded the intelligence and put it into the secret compartment — placing it together with the coordinates of Warehouse Chief Cui.

Outside the window, a very light sound of wind came from the direction of Qixia Peak — the wind carried a faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation of Sword Intent, very light, like a blade cutting across the water surface once.

Lu Changyuan pushed open the door of the study. Luo Qingcheng stood three steps outside the door, the moonlight shining on her profile, the expression between her brows was tighter than usual.

"That thunder bamboo you planted — the commotion is a bit too big."

Lu Changyuan didn't ask "what commotion." He closed the door and followed Luo Qingcheng towards the Spirit Plant Garden.

"Is it the symbiotic effect of the tide sound spirit bamboo being realized — or is there a problem with the thunder bamboo itself?"

"Neither." Luo Qingcheng walked in front, her steps not fast, "It's a good thing — but it's too good. The concentration of wood Spiritual Qi within three feet of the thunder bamboo has more than doubled compared to a month ago. The Seal-Breath Restriction outside the Spirit Plant Garden — when I set it, it was adjusted according to the wood Spiritual Qi concentration of a month ago. Now the concentration is rising too fast, and the outer layer of the Restriction is beginning to leak Spiritual Qi."

"How much is leaking?"

"Not much. But on the sea thirty miles outside Qixia Peak — a flock of seabirds has already started flying towards here. They smelled it."

Under the moonlight, the shadows of the two crossed the stone road one after the other. In the distance, at the location of the Thunder Bamboo Garden, the silver tide runes on the tide sound spirit bamboo were flickering — the extinguishing time was shorter than before, and the shining time was longer than before.