Ruan nodded, his expression turning serious.
He knew that Aksai wasn’t criticizing him for two bad crops. However, that didn’t stop him from feeling the weight on his shoulders. After some pondering, he spoke up.
“Overall, the crops are in excellent condition. However, there are two crops on the farm fields that need some extra care. The Golden Sunflowers show signs of elemental imbalance, likely due to an inconsistency in the earth’s arrays.
We’ve started adjusting the arrays and adding supplementary nutrients to the soil to rectify this. The other crop, the Verdant Clover, has been affected by a sudden influx of water elemental energy, causing some stunted growth. We’ve recalibrated the water arrays and implemented drainage solutions to stabilize the conditions.”
Aksai listened attentively, appreciating Ruan’s thoroughness. No matter how sophisticated the Spirit farming got with the use of the formations, Aksai knew that not everything would yield the best results. Harvest of some cultivation resources relied highly on luck and some other factors one couldn’t control.
Aksai was never fixated on getting everything right for this reason. As a Spirit farmer, he knew that his job was to get most things right while focusing on minimizing the luck factor.
Thus, Aksai didn’t say any words of criticism to Ruan. He spoke up when Ruan gave him the rest of the details.
“It sounds like you’ve got a handle on the issues. Anything else you want to share with us?”
Ruan smiled, relieved that Aksai did not blame him for the poor growth of some cash crops. He was glad that the man sitting as a ruler of the island was still the old Aksai he knew despite the difference in their statuses.
“Certainly, big brother Aksai. We’ve implemented a rotational harvesting schedule to prevent any strain on the crops. Additionally, we’re using Spirit-infused fertilizers to enhance growth and potency. These are the same fertilizers we derived after exposing the soil to your special wood-element Array Disks.
The rental farmers have been trained in new harvesting techniques to ensure we collect the crops at their peak condition. Regular inspections and adjustments to the Array Formations are being carried out to maintain optimal growing conditions.”
“Excellent work, Ruan,” Aksai said, nodding in approval. “How does this season’s production compare to last year?”
Ruan’s smile widened as he delivered the good news.
“Except for the two crops that need extra care, the rest of the crop production has significantly increased. We’re expecting higher yields, which will allow us to gain greater profits than last year when the resources were sold to the mainland. The quality of the Spirit crops and cultivation resources has also improved, which will undoubtedly fetch better prices.”
Aksai leaned back, clearly pleased with the progress. “That’s great to hear. It sounds like we’re on track for a successful season. Keep up the good work, Ruan. Your efforts are invaluable.”
Ruan bowed respectfully. “Thank you, big brother Aksai. I’ll continue to ensure that everything runs smoothly and keep you updated on any significant developments.”
Aksai turned his attention to Jasmine, the last of his subordinates to be questioned about the various projects under his domain.
“Jasmine, how is the Spirit fish farming on Shamrock Peak going?”
Jasmine smiled, clearly proud of her work. “It’s going quite well, Master Aksai. I’ve created five fish ponds not too far away from your vineyard. Each pond is dedicated to cultivating a different species of Spirit fish.”
Aksai nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
“I’ve exposed them to specific elemental energies using the Array Formations you taught us. For instance, the first pond has a Water Array Formation that enhances the growth of Bluefin Spirit Fish.
The second pond uses an Earth Array Formation for the Mudscale Spirit Fish. The third employs a Fire Array Formation, suitable for the Embertail Spirit Fish. The fourth utilizes a Wood Array Formation for the Verdant Carp, and the fifth has a Metal Array Formation for the Silverstripe Spirit Fish.”
Aksai’s interest was piqued. “And their feed?”
“I’ve formulated specialized feeds for each species. The Bluefin Spirit Fish, for example, are fed a mixture of aquatic herbs and Spirit grasses, which enhances their natural affinity for water. The Embertail Spirit Fish get a diet rich in Fire Spirit fruits, boosting their fiery nature.
Of course, we produced these resources on our farms as well. We have dedicated a special greenhouse for this.
However, most of the feed is obtained from the waste we obtain from processing our cultivation resources. Similarly, we use the waste we obtain from the Spirit fish as main ingredients to produce fertilizers, which we then use to grow the cultivation resources required for the growth of the Spirit fish.
I have assigned a few of my subordinates to oversee the process. I… I’m proud to say that my faction has managed to reduce our dependence on master’s cultivation resources by 80% this year. That means we will have higher profits this year with only 20 percent investment compared to last year.”
Aksai’s efforts to incorporate symbiotic farming concepts came into play here. It also helped that he had obtained all of Jiren’s legacy related to these topics. At first, Aksai’s farming profits were limited due to the efforts he took to establish the setup. However, these efforts were starting to pay their dividends to him.
Aksai smiled, impressed by Jasmine’s thoroughness. “Have you managed to trigger any evolutions in the Spirit fish?”
“Yes,” Jasmine replied with a note of pride.
“For instance, the Verdant Carp has shown signs of evolving into a higher-order species. By periodically infusing their pond with concentrated Wood elemental energy, we’ve accelerated their growth and triggered the early stages of evolution.
Of course, these are only the early signs. And we’d like to wait for a few generations of the Spirit fish to pass before we see a genuine 2nd-order organism in our ponds. However, I’m confident that we’d likely see a variety of 2nd-order Spirit fish within a decade or two. Since the evolution of these Spirit fish would be triggered by the special conditions we create in our ponds, they will be native to Emerald Cove. It means that nobody from outside will be able to cultivate these Spirit fish.
Thus, we will become the sole suppliers of the 2nd-order Spirit fish species native to our land.
But all of this is planned for the future. Currently, our Spirit fish business is based on the cultivation of the 1st-order Spirit fish. We are taking necessary steps to increase their quality and quantity to meet the demand.”
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AN: Aksai plans to establish a symbiotic ecosystem in his Spirit farms in chapter 92.