Upon his initial arrival, Yang Zhenshan did not rush to arrange affairs on the island, but took some time to get familiar with the local conditions.
A night passed without incident.
The next day, accompanied by Luo Jingsong, Yang Zhenshan rode on horseback around the island.
To the east were forests and to the west were farmlands; these were the general terrains of Star Moon Island. The whole island was more than thirty miles long from east to west and more than twenty miles wide from north to south, with forests covering over half of it.
"How much arable land is there on the island?"
Riding on a path through the fields, Yang Zhenshan casually asked.
"In total, there are 38,600 acres, of which 24,000 acres are paddy fields and 13,600 acres are dry fields," Luo Jingsong replied.
Paddy fields were suitable for growing rice; dry fields were not devoid of water, they just could not retain water, especially on the slopes in between.
The island had three small rivers or streams, all originating from mountain springs.
Freshwater resources were plentiful.
" What about the population?" Yang Zhenshan continued.
"There are currently 1,800 households, with more than 6,800 people over the age of twelve, excluding those who arrived yesterday!" Luo Jingsong answered.
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly. More than 7,000 people, half of whom had moved from Da Rong, were primarily composed of the Yang family’s slaves, tenants, and guards’ families, as well as members from the Yang Family, the Luo family, and the Zhen family, among others.
"Can the island residents cultivate all this land?"
"No, the dry fields on the east side are basically uncultivated now!"
"If we want all the people to have land to cultivate, how many more people would we need?" Yang Zhenshan asked further.
"We would need about a thousand more households. Each household can cultivate up to thirty acres!" said Luo Jingsong.
Previously, there were over 40,000 people on Star Moon Island, but solely relying on the island’s farmland was insufficient to sustain 40,000 people, thus Star Moon Island had to import a large amount of food annually.
However, the island’s farmland could sustain at most over 10,000 people.
Supporting over 10,000 people means not only feeding them but also meeting their other daily needs—clothing, food, shelter, and transportation.
Yang Zhenshan did not want the island’s residents to live in poverty; at the very least, he wanted to ensure their food and clothing needs were met without issues.
"In a few days, contact Yu Tonghai and ask if there are people from the Tenglong Guard willing to move here!" Yang Zhenshan proposed.
The Yang family’s slaves had mostly moved over, and as for the tenants, not many were left.
Before coming to Star Moon Island, Yang Zhenshan had nearly wrapped up the matters concerning the Yang family’s manors, leaving only two or three near the Capital City, whose tenants were newly recruited.
Luo Jingsong nodded and noted this matter down.
Yang Zhenshan rode to the foot of the mountain and observed the Medicinal Field and the three streams.
Actually, the Star Moon Sect’s construction on the island was quite impressive; the water channels and ponds were very well-maintained, and irrigation of the paddy fields was not an issue. The reason why there were dry fields was mainly that the terrain at this location was relatively high, making water diversion inconvenient.
"There are about three hundred acres of Medicinal Fields here, planted with eighteen types of herbs, including four types of Treasure Medicine, totaling over eighty plants!"
"To take care of these Medicinal Fields, I’ve found a dozen or so medicinal farmers!" Luo Jingsong pointed out as he spoke.
This Medicinal Field was the most precious legacy left by the Star Moon Sect.
The three mountain streams flowed through the Medicinal Field and then extended seven or eight miles west before converging into one flow into the sea.
Yang Zhenshan looked up at the forested mountains.
The slopes were gentle; there was a large bamboo grove on the southern slope, and on the northern slope, there were tea plants and many fruit trees—all planted by the Star Moon Sect.
There were also numerous pavilions and towers hidden among the lush vegetation.
"Are there any pools on the mountain?" Yang Zhenshan asked.
"Yes, there are over a dozen pools, all located near several of these pavilions!" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel✦fire.net
"There is also a villa at the mountaintop, and the source of this small stream is right in the middle of that villa!" Luo Jingsong pointed towards the pavilions above.
The mountain scenery was beautiful, but it was not really suitable for living. Going up occasionally for enjoyment was fine, but residing there could be quite inconvenient.
Yang Zhanshan toured around the mountain and inspected the water pools.
Very nice—each of the three streams on the mountain had two or three pools.
The scenery here was captivating, but Yang Zhenshan was not just looking at the scenery; he planned to enrich these pools with Spiritual Spring Water.
Adding Spiritual Spring Water to these pools would benefit most of the island’s residents.
Upon reaching the mountaintop, the villa there was not large, but it was an excellent spot for sightseeing.
"Leave this villa for this old man; I can come here to play occasionally!" Yang Zhenshan brazenly claimed the villa.
Well, it wasn’t really a seizure.
Everything on the island belonged to him, and all the island’s residents were his people, which could be considered his subjects or his slaves.
People like Luo Jingsong, Luo Shang, Zhen Yang, among others, would be his retainers in the future.
Although Yang Zhenshan had no intention of establishing a small kingdom, in reality, that was exactly what he was doing.
Yang Zhenshan spent a day touring Star Moon Island and even chatted with many of the residents, inquiring about their situation.
Overall, the island’s residents were doing quite well, possessing ample farmland, and the rent Yang Zhenshan had set was not high—just six bushels of rice per acre of paddy field, and four for dry fields, roughly two tenths of the yield.
Only paying rent, without any other taxes or levies, was already a blessing for the island’s farmers.