417: Chapter 418 Family Annual Summary!

"Regarding the harvest—the total production of Spirit-Nurturing Rice is 12,300 jin, Crescent Rice is 14,100 jin, and Water Spirit Rice is 10,900 jin. Additionally, there are over 10,000 jin of by-products such as rice bran and straw, all of which have been used as bait for the fish ponds and feed for the Spirit Beasts."

Lu Shiyin paused slightly at this point, her gaze sweeping over the jade slip in her hand, and continued: "Next, the First-Tier Spirit Fields."

"The Family has cultivated a total of 1,080 mu of First-Tier Spirit Fields, mainly planting the First-Tier High Grade crops 'Red Bud Ginseng' and 'Jade Marrow Wheat'. Both are crops that mature every year and a half, and this year happened to be the harvest period. A total of 24,000 stalks of Red Bud Ginseng were harvested, with 60% being of superior quality; 21,000 jin of Jade Marrow Wheat were produced, and all have been put into storage."

"In addition, parts such as the ginseng roots and leaves of the Red Bud Ginseng have also been fully harvested, totaling over 12,000 jin, and have been handed over to the Medicinal Pill room for processing to be used in refining Low Grade Medicinal Pills."

A low murmur of admiration sounded in the hall.

Lu Shiyin's expression remained unchanged as she continued: "Thirdly, the Second-Tier Spirit Fields."

"The Family currently has 157 mu of Second-Tier Spirit Fields under cultivation, currently planted with the Second-Tier Spirit Plant 'Blood-Rich Rice'. This crop matures every two years and is still in its growth cycle; it is expected to welcome its first harvest next autumn."

She paused here, finally putting down the jade slip, and raised her eyes to look at Ye Changge in the main seat, her tone carrying a trace of apology: "However, Husband. A considerable portion of all the aforementioned Spirit Fields were taken over from the Li Family. Because the Li Family's destruction was sudden, there were many oversights in the handover of Spirit Field management. Coupled with the fact that the servants in the Family are not yet familiar with the planting techniques for some High Grade Spirit Fields, the total production of various crops this year has decreased by about 30% compared to the theoretical peak."

She paused, then added: "Fortunately, after a year of exploration and training, the stewards in the Family have gradually mastered the essentials. Next year's production should steadily increase, and it is expected to recover to over 90% of the theoretical output."

Ye Changge listened quietly, tapped his fingers gently on the table, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Does the decrease in the production of First-Tier crops have any impact on the bait supply for the fish ponds?"

He remembered clearly that a large part of the purpose of this batch of crops planted in the Family's Spirit Fields was to serve as food for the Spirit Fish in the fish ponds. If the bait supply could not keep up, the growth of the Spirit Fish in the fish ponds would slow down, and even those newly cultivated Dao soldiers would be affected.

"I have confirmed this with the Cultivators at the fish farm, and there will not be too much of an impact for now." Lu Shiyin nodded slightly, her tone calm, "There is a reserve of pre-prepared fish feed in the warehouse, enough to last until the end of next spring. But if the production decrease continues next year, it will have a certain impact on the fish pond bait supply."

Upon hearing this, Ye Changge tapped his fingers gently on the table, pondered for a moment, and then nodded: "Alright. Next year, I will find a way to allocate some Spirit Grain from elsewhere to supplement it. You should also have the stewards of the fish farm prepare a contingency plan in advance so that we won't be in a rush when the time comes."

"Rest assured, Husband, I have already made arrangements." Lu Shiyin replied, and immediately her gaze returned to the jade slip in her hand, "In addition, I have communicated with the stewards of the fish farm, and the current situation regarding the Spirit Fish is as follows—"

She paused, her voice clear: "The total output of Spirit Fish this year is 10,300 jin. Among them, there are 219 Blood-Rich Bass, with a total weight of 2,890 jin; 86 Seven-Star Bass, with a total weight of 1,200 jin. The rest are ordinary Spirit Crucian Carp, Silver-Scaled Carp, etc., which have been sold in batches."

"Regarding the Spirit Medicine, because the planting cycle is long, there has been no mature harvest yet. It is expected that the earliest batch of Spirit Medicine will not be ready for storage until next autumn."

She paused here, raised her eyes slightly, and looked at Ye Changge: "Combining the above data, the estimated income from the Spirit Fields is approximately—19,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The estimated income from fishery products is 6,700 Spirit Stones."

"The fishery income is this low?" Ye Changge frowned slightly, "Shouldn't the fishery income be higher than the Spirit Fields?"

He remembered very clearly that the main source of income was fishery products. The Spirit Fields were merely an auxiliary industry; who would have thought that the income from the Spirit Fields would now exceed that of the fishery by nearly three times?

Lu Shiyin seemed to have anticipated that he would ask this, her expression remained unchanged, and she explained gently: "Husband, you are unaware. The income from the Spirit Fields seems to be 19,000 Spirit Stones, but crops such as Spirit Mulberry Leaves, Red Grass, Green Seed Fruit, and Blue Moon are basically self-produced and self-consumed, used directly to prepare fish feed to feed the Spirit Fish, and do not actually generate real profit. After removing this part, the net income of the Spirit Fields is around 9,000 Spirit Stones."

"And regarding the fishery products—" She paused, her tone slightly lower: "First, not long ago, the fish farm just sold a batch of mature fish, resulting in a low stock at the current stage, and it cannot be sold on a large scale again in the short term. Second, the fish farm lacks a Carp King to maintain the ecological balance of the fishery, which has caused the fish population breeding speed to slow down, affecting the overall production. In addition, there have been fluctuations in sales channels. The long-term supply contracts originally signed with several restaurants in the White Bird Market were interrupted because one of the restaurants changed owners, and we are currently negotiating with new partners."

"With various reasons combined, the fishery income has dropped significantly compared to previous years. Under normal circumstances, the annual income of the fishery should be stable at over 20,000 Spirit Stones."

After listening, Ye Changge's expression gradually cleared. He nodded slightly, tapped his fingers on the back of the chair twice, and after pondering for a moment, said: "So that's how it is."

He then looked at Lu Shiyin, his tone serious: "Lu Shiyin, in the future, you don't need to list every item of income in such detail for these reports. Just calculate the total income and total expenditure to get the net profit. Then compare the growth and decline with the previous year annually, and mark the reasons for the changes—this way it is clear at a glance, and it also saves us from spending too much time on trivial data."

Upon hearing this, a flash of realization crossed Lu Shiyin's eyes, and she nodded in response: "Husband is right. It was my lack of consideration; in the future, I will follow what Husband said and only report the total accounts and core change points."

Xiao Caiyue, who was sitting on Ye Changge's right side, had been listening quietly to this report. She held a cup of clear tea in her hand, her fingertips gently stroking the rim of the cup, her gaze drifting between Lu Shiyin and Ye Changge, with a faint, elusive smile on her lips.

Although she was a newcomer, just by listening to this Family ceremony report, she had already roughly grasped the operational pulse of the Ye Family. Spirit Fields, fisheries, Medicinal Pills, Talismans, Dao soldiers... all sorts of things, although the scale was not yet huge, it already had the Foundation and framework that a Cultivator Family should have. What made her admire even more was the natural tacit understanding between Ye Changge and Lu Shiyin. One asked precisely, and the other answered calmly;