In mid-February, Juhua's fishpond was the first to be dug. It was slowly filled with water, and at the same time, lotus roots were transplanted over from the old pond. The only difficulty was acquiring fish fry, so she made arrangements with the fishing families in Xiatang Market to send over any live ones they had.
Fifty mu of wasteland on the mountain had also been cleared, and they began transplanting mature bamboo. Then, a shallow layer of purchased rice and wheat husks was spread over the surface.
Amidst the bustle, the matter of the schoolhouse finally erupted into a dispute. So, Scholar Zhou, Li Gengtian, and some village elders gathered the heads of each household at the ancestral hall to discuss it. Zheng Changhe and Zhang Dashuan went.
Around noon, the two men returned, both with grim expressions. They sat down in the Zheng Family Courtyard, took the tea Liu Yunlan served them, and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls without saying a word.
