A few days ago, some villagers gathered around the house site to watch the excitement, but today quite a few people have come.

Sun Fuhua has sharp eyes and was spotted as soon as he appeared: "Hey, Wuya, it must be really difficult for your village to build houses, there's too much groundwater."

Lu Wuyai asked, "What happened? A puddle has been dug out."

Sun Fuhua said, "Hey, this isn't just a puddle. Come and see, a spring has been dug out, and its mother's eyes are quite big."

Lu Wuyai was startled by these words. There was no problem with the springs on Dalong Mountain; several streams flowed down the mountain, all filled with sweet spring water. But how could the village possibly find spring water?

Sun Fuhua took him to see the house site. Hou Banshuang's old house had been demolished. The house site had been dug to a depth of more than a meter, with stones for the foundation placed next to it.

The pit was full of water, and there was a strong, gurgling current behind it.

The rising sun shone on the water-filled pit at the foundation, and the calm water rippled with a faint golden light.

"It's all water flowing from this spring. The spring was dug out yesterday, but it was just a small pit at the time. I didn't expect it to be a living spring. I thought it was just filled with water that would disappear in a while," a worker said.

Lu Wuyai squatted down and examined the spring carefully. The spring opening was about the size of a basketball. Clear spring water gushed out continuously, almost filling the pit.

Li Qianyao squatted down beside him and said, "Yangzi, this building might not even be able to be built. Why don't you just build a big brick house?"

Li Zhibing, an old man in the village, with a pipe in his mouth and a frown, said, "Qian Yao, stop talking nonsense. Why can't we build houses here?"

He then turned to Lu Wuyai and said, “Don’t worry, Yang Ba, this is a good thing. As the old saying goes, to prosper, one must rely on favorable winds and flowing water. Look at our local village, there’s wind blowing from the sea every day. That’s wind. And now there’s a spring dug behind your house. Isn’t that water?”

Sun Fuhua thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Yes, it's true. This is a place with excellent feng shui, where things will flourish."

"But there's a spring here that flows every day, how can we lay the foundation and build a building?" The workers were very worried.

Lu Wuyai said, "Let me see first whether the waterway is straight up or down, or whether it leads to the back. If it leads to the back, then we'll cut it off, find another route, and try diverting it to Lake Longzali."

He spoke while burying his head in the water to look.

The indigenous people suddenly laughed: "What can you see when you look like that?"

Lu Wuyai had no choice but to think this way; his eyesight was better underwater, like a fish's eyes, able to see even in the dark with just a little light.

He peered around and suddenly noticed a glimmer of golden light in the spring's waterway.

The golden light floated in the water in front of him. The seawater was churning, but the golden light was not affected by the current. It was also churning, but at an extremely slow speed, like a small reptile, moving little by little in the water.

Upon seeing the golden light, Lu Wuyai felt a tightness in his chest.

He closed his eyes and looked into his chest, only to find that the golden core, which had remained calm since entering his body, was now trembling slightly in all directions.

He could feel the golden core trembling because of the golden light.

Lu Wuyai's heart stirred. The light of the golden core was exactly the same as this golden light. Could it be that there was also a golden core floating inside?

However, there is still a difference between the two. He remembered that when he encountered this golden elixir, it was moving at high speed, and the light it emitted was much stronger. The light in the water was just a golden dot.

He tentatively reached out to touch the golden dot, and the instant his finger touched it, he felt as if he had touched a drop of warm, viscous water.

Instantly, the small golden dot penetrated his skin, turning into a drop of golden water that dissolved in the golden elixir.

Immediately after it merged with the Golden Core, the original Golden Core began to change. Its appearance still radiated a golden light, but it was no longer the same dazzling golden color. It became a viscous liquid.

At this point, Jin Dan stopped trembling slightly and returned to a calm state.

Lu Wuyai didn't know what this little scenic spot was, nor what its purpose was. Regardless, the Golden Core absorbed it, undergoing a tremendous transformation.

As for what this change represents, he still has no idea.

Just then, someone grabbed his shoulder and asked, "Yangzi, what are you doing? What are you taking?"

Lu Wuyai restrained his thoughts and said, "Hehe, it's nothing. I couldn't see clearly, so I just wanted to reach in and test how deep the water channel was."

Li Qianyao, who was smoking, laughed and said, "It's okay that you're a naive young man, but your arms are so long. If my Wenchang were here, he would definitely use scientific methods to determine the location of the spring."

Lu Wuyai said, "There's no need to measure it; just let the spring water flow here."

He looked around and said to Sun Fuhua, "Brother Sun, can you help me move the foundation pit forward a bit? We were planning to build a front yard, right? Can you turn it into a back yard for me?"

Sun Fuhua was taken aback: "This building in the backyard will block the light. What can you do with the backyard? If you can't dry your fishing nets or plant some vegetables, then the yard will be wasted."

“That’s right, Yangzi. You’d rather block out this spring than have a backyard. A backyard is useless.”

"There are no backyards in the village. Everyone's in the front yard. If you ask me, cleaning springs with cement is a big deal..."

Lu Wuyai made up an excuse and said, "No, the spring is open. I just happened to have a loach pond and a fishpond in the backyard, so it's not good to raise eels and loaches."

Sun Fuhua nodded and said, "Okay, this foundation hole doesn't need to be filled. It's just meant to serve as a swimming pool for you. I'll move the foundation forward. In any case, your home is big."

The spring water kept flowing out, so the foundation pit couldn't hold it all. Therefore, Lu Wuyai decided to dig a drainage ditch to let the spring water flow through the farmland at the east end of the village and into Longxi Lake.

It's not difficult. The site is very close to Longxian Lake, and a canal can be dug from the farmland to bring water there. This canal can also irrigate the farmland, killing two birds with one stone.

Lu Wuyai's true purpose in emerging from the spring was to investigate the changes in the Golden Core. The golden droplets that triggered the dramatic transformation of the Golden Core originated from the spring water. He had a premonition that there would be many more such droplets in the future.

However, he casually mentioned that he wanted to raise eels and loaches, which was also a good idea.

As Sun Fuhua and others have said, if a small building needs a backyard instead of a front yard, and if the backyard is blocked by the building, then it has no value.

However, if it is used to build a breeding pond, then the backyard is more suitable than the front yard, because many aquatic organisms such as eels and loaches prefer shade and dislike sunlight, so they must be raised in a shady place.

Let's do as you say. Since you can't go to sea no matter what, Lu Wuyai just stayed at home.

He first paid a construction team to dig a drainage ditch, and at the same time expanded the breeding area in the backyard—not because he was raising a lot of things, but because the spring water was coming in a strong current, and the first foundation hole could no longer hold it.

Drainage channels were built, and spring water gushed out from the spring, then flowed into the aquaculture pits, then out of the aquaculture pits into the drainage channels, and finally into Longshali Lake.

Then he began cleaning the breeding pit. Gu Yuxin had previously dug up some goldfish and loaches by Longyan Lake, while Lu Wuyai selected some juvenile fish that hadn't grown up yet and some female fish that were about to conceive, which would then be kept by someone.

The fishing village had no shortage of aquaculture techniques. He asked the old man Li Zhibing to inquire, and the old man provided him with a new technology: cage aquaculture.

"I'll call you. You can have him buy a few cages. Make sure they're made of polyethylene. They're sturdy, easy to use, and won't pollute the pool. You can find out the specific models..."

"After buying the net cages, we place them in the pond every now and then, and then plant water hyacinths and water lilies at the bottom of the pond. This is what's called aquaponics."

The old man, with a pipe in his mouth, explained to him, and Lu Wuyai admired him greatly: "Master Bing, you are old but not old, you know a lot about this new technology."

Li Zhibing laughed and said, "Haha, I had nothing to do at home, so I studied the current breeding techniques and gained some insights."

The old man is a well-known aquaculture expert in eight out of ten villages. In his youth, he was the aquaculture committee member of the commune. After the reform and opening up, he was the first person in Qiantan Town to contract aquaculture ponds.

However, aquaculture requires not only ability and courage, but also luck. Li Zhibing invested in a fish farm by the sea more than ten years ago, but a storm came and the fish farm was in chaos, destroying his years of hard work.

After that, he gave up his original farming ideas. He was getting old and couldn't handle the work anymore, so he became a farming consultant. If any household in the surrounding villages encountered problems with animal husbandry, they would come to him for advice.

These net cages are available in the town, and Lu Wuyai ordered a batch. The merchant specially found the best materials for him.

He's now somewhat famous in the town. Just a few days ago, someone put up a banner at the entrance of Jin Hong City. The town's businessmen are asking around and they all know he's not someone to mess with.

The owner of the net cages didn't dare to cheat him, so he gave him the biggest discount and then sold him a batch of polyethylene net cages.

Lu Wuyai went to get the cage and introduced it to the shopkeeper: "This is a 36-mesh, knotless mesh. You see, the top and bottom parts of the cage are strung together with steel wire rope. It's 5 millimeters in diameter and absolutely sturdy."

These net cages are assembled into cuboids measuring 3 meters by 2 meters. They can be connected to each other to form larger and longer cages, or even a group of cages.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the cages, Lu Wuyai paid for a batch of water hyacinth seedlings, water peanut seedlings, and water hyacinth seedlings.

The tree seedling seller specifically warned, "Brother, please don't let them enter Dragon's Mouth Lake. These things are invasive species, and once they enter and reproduce, no one can control them."

Lu Wuyai nodded: "Don't worry, I know."

After bringing the fish cage home, elderly man Li Zhibing came to guide him through the installation.

The foundation pit was deepened, lengthened, and widened, measuring ten meters long, five meters wide, and two meters deep. This significantly improved its water-bearing capacity.

If aquatic seedlings are thrown in, they can survive. Lu Wuyai added a barrier net between the breeding pit and the drainage ditch to prevent aquatic plants from entering the downstream lake.

After planting aquatic plants, the next step is to place the cages. Li Zhibing guided him on matching the height of the net cages, which are mainly divided into five levels: bottom, half a meter deep, one meter deep, one and a half meters deep, and surface.

After setting up the net cages, the elderly Li Zhibing instructed him to erect a fence around the outside: "Your aquaculture pond is too close to the mountain. There are snakes, rats, and frogs on the mountain. These things eat loaches and eels, so be careful."

Lu Wuyai built a one-meter-high wall around the perimeter. In fact, if the little count (dog) were to guard this place, nothing could get in. However, the little count (dog) wanted to go out to sea with him during the day and go up the mountain to guard Lu Zhizi at night.

With a breeding pond, you need seedlings, and the few loaches and eels he had saved up from his meager resources were clearly not enough.

This is a joke. Lu Wuyai's breeding pond is too large for the number of seedlings he has, but too small for conventional breeding, so he can't buy seedlings from a seedling factory; they definitely won't pay attention to him.

So, a brilliant idea struck him: he decided to go to the lake himself to catch eels and loaches, especially since the golden eels and loaches of Longshali Lake were more popular than those from outside. He was going to make a fortune.

In August, despite the sweltering heat, Lu Wuyai packed his things, preparing to go to Longshali Lake that evening.

Just as he picked up the fish trap and fishing rod, Hou Banshuang's voice rang out from the doorway: "Uncle Yang, I'm back."

Lu Wuyai turned around, overjoyed: "Ha, Hu Hansan is back again. Weren't you supposed to be discharged the day after tomorrow?"

He was prepared. He would visit the mother and child at the town hospital every few days, bringing them meals and daily necessities. He was fully aware of his injuries.

Hou Banshuang patted his head with a smile and said, "Okay, I came out early. The doctor said I'm a child and grow fast. My leg is fine."

He pulled up his shorts; the wound had healed, leaving a terrible scar.

Lu Wuyai patted his head and said, "This is a lesson. From now on, your child needs to calm down for me and not do anything reckless, you know that. If there's anything I need to know, I should ask Uncle Yang. Don't fight this battle alone."

Wang Ming gave an embarrassed, silly smile.

Gu Yuxin handed him the fish trap and said, "Let's go, follow your uncle to catch loaches and eels."

Wang Ming chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll find a few partners; we're very good at this."

It was evening, after the tutoring class, and the children, like stray dogs, ran around the local village. They were all happy to see Li Xiaoniu return, and then Li Xiaoniu grabbed them and dragged them to help.

Lu Wuyai had only come to see Lu Wuyai, but when he saw him packing his things to go out, he became interested: "Come on, let's go fishing together."

"This is for loach and eel fishing, don't be afraid."

Lu Wuyai picked up a fishing rod and said smugly, "I have nothing to be afraid of. Listen, I'm here to help you today."

Lu Wuyai smiled and said, "Fishing for eels and loaches is not an easy task, but you can definitely do it."

Lu Wuyai's expression grew even more smug: "Absolutely. No problem."

Summer is the season when both air and water temperatures are high, making it the time of year when fish are most active.

Thus, many people believe that summer is the best time for fishing, and that the fish are at their best compared to other seasons.

Actually, this is a misunderstanding. Fish are indeed very active in summer, with large appetites and easy bites. However, the most abundant fish in rivers and lakes are small, juvenile fish. These small fish will grab the bait and cause significant disturbance.

Seeing that Lu Wuyai was holding a fishing rod, Wang Ming said, "Uncle Yang, you go fish for loaches, I'll take some people to dig for eels."

Lu Wuyai asked, "Is this thing easy to dig up? Your wealthy uncle is a rare sight these days."

Wang Ming said with a smile, "I'm not going to dig by the lake. I'll go check the fields first."

Hongyang is located at the intersection of temperate and subtropical zones. Some farmland is used for wheat cultivation, while other farmland can be converted into paddy fields for rice cultivation. A wide variety of agricultural products are available.

Rice paddies are a great place to look for eels, especially the rice paddies in Coconut Grove Village, which are close to lakes, making it easy for eels to cross over and survive in the rice paddies.

June and July are the breeding season for paddy field eels. It's August now, and most of the paddy field eels have already given birth. Fishing for eels using this method not only doesn't waste water resources, but also has little impact on their population.

Holding the fishing rod, Lu Wuyai asked curiously, "Catching eels in the rice paddies? I've heard of this method, but I've never seen it done. How do you catch them?"

Lu Wuyai said, "It's very simple. Just find the eel's burrow. Eels like to dig burrows under the rice roots outside the paddy field ridges. This will leave a ventilation hole on the ridge, about the size of a soybean. Everyone can look carefully."

"If there are holes in the field, won't water leak out?"

Lu Wuyai smiled and said, "You're right. The water does leak, which is why rice farmers hate eels the most. In the past, people in the village welcomed eels."

"What do we do now?"

"Now there are fewer rice paddy eels, and gold is more expensive. Everyone treats the rice paddy eels in their fields as their own property, so of course they are not popular."

Seeing that Lu Wuyai was very interested, he continued, "Don't go, let's go fishing for loaches. It's easy to get mud everywhere in the rice paddies."

Lu Wuyai chuckled and said, "I'm not afraid, I'll just take a shower when I get back."

Lu Wuyai said, "You'll be so embarrassed when the girl goes to the fields naked with the others."

Lu Wuyai said nonchalantly, "What's so embarrassing about that? It's not like I haven't seen that little boy before..."

Lu Wuyai stared wide-eyed in shock. He continued, "What kind of expression is that? I was doing a holiday internship at a kindergarten, and I even had to help the children use the toilet. Of course, I saw a lot."

“This, this, this,” Lu Wuyai said somewhat embarrassedly. He then changed the subject, “Your internship experience is truly impressive. You’ve interned at a newspaper and a hospital. That’s remarkable.”

Lu Wuyuan said, "University students have eight holidays, so what should I do if I don't do an internship? Internships can earn money, improve skills, earn credits, and also provide certain certifications."