Chapter 176 (continued)

Qing Mengzhu: "'Fine Grade+', this batch of shrimp larvae has reached the quality of 'Fine Grade+', but it's still 88% away from 'Superior Grade-'. I wonder what it will be like next year?"

Ming Chunxi: "Next year's shrimp will definitely be even better."

As the two of them were looking at the shrimp head to head, Chen Yi walked over and said, "Mengzhu, Chunxi."

Qing Mengzhu looked up. "Brother Chen, our shrimp this year seem to be a little bigger than last year's."

Chen Yi: "They are bigger, probably because you selected better male and female shrimp, and you raised them for a longer time. I was telling my friends that I hadn't seen such high-quality shrimp larvae in a long time."

Qing Mengzhu: "Have you ever seen such high-quality shrimp larvae before?"

Chen Yi: "Yes, I've seen them. They're the best of the best. The shrimp they raise in the south are much bigger; some of the green shrimp are almost as long as my forearm."

Upon hearing this Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi looked at Chen Yi's forearm.

Chen Yi isn't very tall, probably only 1.7 meters, and his forearm is about 40 centimeters long.

Qing Mengzhu did the math in her head and couldn't help but exclaim, "This length is terrifying! How can it grow so big?"

Chen Yi: "Yes, they also call it 'King Shrimp,' and they sell it for a really high price. The temperature here isn't that high, so it's harder to raise shrimp that big."

Qing Mengzhu curiously, "Do those prawns taste good?"

Chen Yi pursed his lips. "Old-fashioned ones just look good, customers like them, and they can fetch a high price."

After exchanging a few words, Chen Yi began to introduce the situation of this batch of shrimp larvae to them and showed them the records of the shrimp larvae.

Qing Mengzhu had seen it before and didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but upon seeing it again now, she quickly determined the condition of this batch of juvenile shrimp.

Chen Yi also said that there was nothing wrong with this batch of shrimp, and that they could be moved to rice paddies and water chestnut fields after the hottest part of the day.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi then went to spread fertilizer and Spirit Pearl Dregs.

When spreading fertilizer in paddy fields, it doesn't need to be spread very evenly. Since the water in the field will flow, the fertilizer will naturally spread to every corner of the field after a period of time.

They simply stood in the middle of the field and scattered the seeds; the process was very simple and didn't take much time.

Once the Spirit Pearl Dregs lose their spiritual energy, they become just like ordinary sand. Qing Mengzhu is no longer worried about being discovered, so naturally she doesn't care about it.

In the afternoon, after 3 p. m., when the temperature dropped slightly, they began to move the shrimp to the Rice paddies and water chestnut fields.

These prawns were very robust and healthy. When they moved them, they simply carried them over in buckets, then scooped them out with spoons and poured them directly into the field.

After entering the field, the small shrimp immediately looked for something to hide themselves, and many even went into the deep, winding ditches.

Qing Mengzhu looked down, trying to catch the shrimp that had been thrown in, but found that she couldn't catch them anymore—the shrimp were too agile; they darted away as soon as they entered the water and wouldn't wait for them to catch them.

These shrimp are robust and fast-moving, which is good for them, as it means a high survival rate and a larger harvest next year.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi chatted while splashing shrimp. Just as Qing Mengzhu's attention was focused on Ming Chunxi, a small head suddenly peeked out from the Rice.

The little gray head had two big, round eyes, which blinked secretly when they met Qing Mengzhu's gaze.

Qing Mengzhu was startled. "Ah!"

Ming Chunxi immediately turned around and grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?"

Qing Mengzhu: "There's a small animal hiding in the middle of the Rice."

Ming Chunxi went over to look. "What animal? An otter?"

Qing Mengzhu had already seen it clearly. "It is an otter, but not the otter we know; it's an unfamiliar otter."

Ming Chunxi gently nudged the rice stalks. "Let me see."

The rice stalks were parted, revealing a nest of otters. They all had gray fur and big eyes, and looked somewhat like the otter that Qing Mengzhu and the others knew.

The otters weren't afraid of them; they stayed where they were, craning their necks to look at them.

Ming Chunxi examined it carefully and said, "It's the otter that wreaked havoc on our shrimp last year."

Qing Mengzhu: "Huh, I was wondering why they looked so familiar? It's them. Have their families grown so large?"

Ming Chunxi: "It's possible that the large otter gave birth to a baby otter."

Qing Mengzhu: "They reproduce so quickly, and the baby otters are quite cute."

Just as they were chatting, one of the little otters stared at the shrimp that had just been splashed in the water, its eyes darting around, and it stretched out its paw to scoop them up.

The moment it moved, it was spotted by the otter and the red fox who had rushed over—these two were the fox and otter that Qing Mengzhu and the others knew.

Their friend, the otter, glanced around and spotted the unfamiliar otter, immediately rushing forward, ready to fight.

Qing Mengzhu only managed to call out, "Little Otter— "

The otters they recognized had already started fighting with this unfamiliar otter family, a one-against-seven battle, displaying extraordinary ferocity.

The red fox, not to be outdone, also rushed in to help the otter fight, making it two against seven.

The normally adorable creatures instantly turned into a brawl, their fur flying everywhere.

The otters and red foxes that Qing Mengzhu and the others knew had eaten plenty of good food over the past year and had grown very strong. Even when facing seven opponents, they were not at a disadvantage at all.

The fight was so intense that a lot of fur floated out of the air.

Qing Mengzhu wanted to break up the fight, but Ming Chunxi stopped her by grabbing her waist. "Don't go up there, you'll have to get vaccinated if you get caught."

Qing Mengzhu: "Oh, this—"

Ming Chunxi stared at the otter and the red fox. "They defend their own territory. The Little Otter and the Little Fox are bigger and more experienced in combat, so the battle should be decided quickly."

Qing Mengzhu had no choice but to stop interfering.

As Ming Chunxi had predicted, the unfamiliar otter family quickly fled in disarray. Their friend, the otter, still fuming after seeing the runaway otters, turned its back to Qing Mengzhu.

It saw it all; Qing Mengzhu was talking to the group of otters.

Qing Mengzhu felt wronged. "I didn't intend to play with them; they came to me on their own."

The Little Otter still had its backside facing the two of them. "Eek!"

Ming Chunxi looked at the fields. "This shouldn't have been the Little Otter's territory before, that's why that otter family roams around here."

Qing Mengzhu: "I guess so too, but the area has probably become the Little Otter's territory."

Wherever they go, the red fox and the otter follow. They should take over this territory.

The Little Otter got angry, Qing Mengzhu took advantage of the fact that no one was around and quickly bought some jerky from the Interstellar Mall to feed the Little Otter and the red fox.

The red fox happily ate the dried meat from Qing Mengzhu's hand—its territory was in the mountains, so it wasn't too angry that a strange otter had come to visit.

The Little Otter was both angry and wanted to eat, so it finally took the jerky and went to the side.

Qing Mengzhu hurriedly chased after her and coaxed her with a whole string of sweet words, but she didn't know if the Little Otter understood.

However, it's a good thing that the Little Otter have claimed this territory, as it means that the shrimp in their rice paddies and water chestnut fields will not be disturbed by other wild animals— the Little Otter are very territorial and won't let other animals run rampant here.

Qing Mengzhu estimated that if they brought the geese over again in a couple of days to supplement the patrols, that should be enough.

Thinking of this, Qing Mengzhu patted the Little Otter's head again.

This time, the Little Otter didn't bump his hand with its head; instead, it turned around and continued to face him with its backside.

It seems that Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi's behavior of speaking to the new otter family really provoked it.

Aside from the otter family incident, Qing Mengzhu and his team's process of releasing the shrimp went quite smoothly. By evening, they had released all the shrimp from the six acres of land.

If you're diligent these next couple of days and patrol more often, the shrimp should be fine once they adapt to the environment.

The two of them had done a lot of work today and were quite tired. They were too lazy to cook dinner, so they went to the farm and packed six meals to go.