The rainy season came from the eastern Caribbean Sea, bringing drizzling rain to plateau and jungle alike. The busy scene of spring plowing began on the Apa Plain of the Lake Kingdom, spread to the Lake Chapala Region, then to the Patzcuaro Lake Region, all the way to the shores of Atoyac Lake!
White Stone Fertilizer and gray matured compost together fed the high-yield crops with nutrients. And as canals and dams were built, the Chinampas along Lake Patzcuaro were growing more numerous by the day. The pig-iron Iron Farm Tools shipped in endlessly from the Black Stone Mountain mining district also made opening new fields and turning the soil in mid-season cultivation much easier.
"Praise the Main God! The canals have water, the fields have fertilizer, the villagers have farm tools... This year will surely be another bountiful year!..."
As the agricultural foundation improved, the population of the entire Lake Kingdom was also growing rapidly. Though the total population of the kingdom's counties was difficult to count, it had probably already reached two and a half million mouths, drawing ever closer to the Mexica Alliance's more than three million people.
Along the fields by the rivers, children of every size could always be seen helping pull weeds and turn soil, catch insects and dig wild vegetables, or wade into the water to grope for fish and shrimp. They muttered under their breath, habitually chanting the name of the Main God. And in another ten years, when this generation of the kingdom's children grew up, the old tribes, faiths, and memories would be like melting morning dew, turning to vapor beneath the noon sun and scattering without a trace.
"Praise the Main God! Though this Cassava is poisonous and has already killed a few people... this yield really can't be