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In spite of these small interruptions, Wang Shouzhe didn't care too much. Instead, he steered the conversation back on track: "Second Brother, the live fish hold the highest value in your fish stall, right?"
"Yes, apart from the Spirit Fish, some superior live fish have the highest value. Like perch, herring, mandarin fish, eel, shad, snakehead, and others that are known for their freshness and are quite popular among prominent families and wealthy businessmen. The only requirement is that they remain alive." Wang Shoudi frowned, "Auntie Liu's fishing team has live-water cabins. After disembarking from the live-water cabins, specific carriages have to be used to transport the fish to Changning Guard City overnight. They also need to be delivered to the buyers in the shortest possible time. Even the shortest delays can lead to many errors. Out of ten fish, six or seven would die, and when they die, their value drops by half and can only be sold as fresh fish."
Wang Shouzhe thought for a moment before speaking. "So, the cost of transportation and the high death rate of live fish are the two critical issues here. If we can solve these problems, even without increasing the quantity of catch, we could earn quite a bit extra every year."
The reason he was inspecting every aspect of the family business was that he wanted to see if he could implement some optimizations using his modern Earthman's mindset to increase the family's productivity.
"If Fourth Brother can find a way to reduce the death rate of the fish, we could confidently make an additional seventy or eighty Qian Gold. The loss hurts," Wang Shouyi said, "All profit lost with the dead fish."
"I can't say anything now, I need to take a look at your existing approach."
"Come with me, Fourth Brother." Wang Shouyi led Wang Shouzhe to the courtyard where two horse-drawn carriages were parked. Unlike ordinary carriages, they didn't have passenger compartments but were fitted with large wooden barrels. He said, "One carriage carries live water and fish, while the other carries live water alone. Every two hours, some water in the fish barrel needs to be replaced. However, even then, if there are slightly more live fish, some will die. I had been considering adding another carriage to carry live water, but this would significantly increase the costs."
Upon seeing Wang Shouyi's method of transporting live fish, Wang Shouzhe's eyelids twitched. The number of valuable live fish caught every day wasn't high; the highest was a couple of thousand pounds in a day.
Is such a shocking method necessary for transportation? The fish barrels were unexpectedly crude, with neither oxygen boosters nor filters—just a simple water change!
To change the water, they astonishingly needed one carriage just for that. Moreover, was Wang Shouyi really considering adding another carriage?
But then, Wang Shouzhe understood. It really wasn't Wang Shouyi's fault. Because this was the Profound Martial World where everyone was focused on improving their cultivation realm and individual martial power.
Not all human elites ignored the natural sciences. However, even if they achieved something in their research, they would selfishly hoard it. Knowledge was kept strictly confidential, making it difficult to disseminate.
One couldn't blame them. Even if Wang Shouzhe came up with something, he would keep it for his clan's secret use. To think that he would share it with other families was ridiculous.
In his past life, Wang Shouzhe was just a workaholic with no aspirations. During weekends and holidays, he often went fishing with his friends. When he caught too many fish, he once tried to use an oxygen pump to keep the fish alive for slow consumption. Still, the fish died quickly even with increased oxygenation. After some research, he learned some basic principles.
To keep fish alive for slow consumption, the aquarium has to meet three conditions.
Firstly, it's the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Fish need oxygen to survive, and the oxygen in the water is limited. A bucket with more fish consumes oxygen faster. This can be alleviated by increasing the oxygen.
Secondly, it's the cleanliness of the water. Fish excrement and food residues produce ammonia and nitrite. Respiration results in nitrogen. These could cause the death of fish which can be solved by changing the water or filtering.
Lastly, it's the temperature. The higher the temperature, the more active the fish, the more oxygen it consumes, and the more toxic ammonia it produces. Therefore, keeping the water relatively low-temperature is also quite effective.
Combining these three points, Wang Shouzhe and Wang Shouyi went into his study. After some thought, Wang Shouzhe drew a simple sketch on a piece of paper. The fish barrel had a filter at the top, and the filtered water rained down into the barrel. A simple drip-oxygenation method was applied.
Also, he explained the principle of oxygen and toxins to Wang Shouyi as simply as he could.
Wang Shouyi had been working at the fish stall for more than ten years and quickly understood the principle Wang Shouzhe was explaining. He exclaimed, "After hearing Fourth Brother's explanation, I understand a lot more. The elders used to say we needed to change the 'live water' because the fish needed the 'live Qi' in the water. When the 'live Qi' was insufficient, the water became 'dead water,' and the fish would die. It never occurred to me that the rainwater drip method could increase the 'live Qi' in the water."
"This idea comes from ancient books. Whether it's effective or not is uncertain and requires more experiments for comparison," Wang Shouzhe nodded to himself. The term "vital energy" was easier to comprehend than the mouthful "oxygen."
"Fish eat vital energy and exhale dead energy. The increasing excrement in the water generates poisonous gas. It can be filtered out through layers of cotton cloth, crushed charcoal, and gravel, making the water non-toxic and therefore, preventing the fish from dying. Why didn't I think of this before?"
Wang Shouyi grew more excited as he spoke: "The points about temperature conditions my younger brother mentioned also make sense. Fewer live fish die in cold weather during transport, while more die in the summer. It turns out when the weather is hot fish are more active, meaning they require more vital energy…No wonder transporting them during daytime is not as good as at night! If we added some ice to the water..."
The theory that Wang Shouzhe imparted seemed to open a door to a new world for Wang Shouyi, as things that had been perplexing him were suddenly clear now.
"As long as you understand, brother, you can have craftsmen build a few small devices for testing," Wang Shouzhe glanced at the sky, "It's getting late and I have other matters to handle, so I need to take my leave."
As the Clan Leader, Wang Shouzhe wasn't here to invent and create. Besides, knowing is easier than doing, he might not be particularly good at manually handling such things.
As long as Wang Shouyi understood the principles, he was capable enough to undertake the following work.
"Don't rush off, younger brother," Wang Shouyi grabbed his arm, "You rarely come to the fish stall, and I, as your elder brother, have not yet properly hosted you. Let's take lunch at the Hundred Taste Pavilion. The live fish they serve are supplied by us, and their dishes are all exceptionally good. There are still several things I haven't figured out. What is this siphon effect drainage you mentioned? And how does a manual pump increase the water tank's vital energy? How does the manual pump principle allow water to flow upwards…"
Enough already!
Listening to his brother's endless string of questions made Wang Shouzhe's head spin a bit, but he acknowledged that it was a good thing. Wang Shouyi had been running the fish stall for many years and if he could really master this knowledge, the business would definitely prosper. This would also mean making a significant contribution to the family.
In Changning Weicheng, the Wang family was not the only ones in the fish stall business. Over ten prominent families were managing such businesses. In particular, the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan were even larger than the Wang family.
If their fish stall could have better performance, they would squeeze the living space of their competitors while generating more wealth for themselves.
Therefore, Wang Shouzhe took some extra time to give Wang Shouyi a "primer course". Both the siphon effect and manual pumps require pipes. The use of pipes in this world was relatively crude, limited to only bamboo, clay, and copper, but these would suffice.
It was fine that they could not yet produce a manual pump. They could use the siphon principle to draw water from the bottom and manually pour water into the filtration layer. This way, the transport capacity of one cart was greatly increased and the survival rate of the fish was significantly boosted.
Wang Shouyi was fascinated by the conversation and continued to barrage Wang Shouzhe with questions even over lunch at the Hundred Taste Pavilion.
"Elder brother, is the Hundred Taste Pavilion really one of the best restaurants in Changning Weicheng?" Wang Shouzhe found the food there average at best, though the ingredients were undoubtedly high-quality.
Of course, in terms of seasoning, it was superior to the cooks in the Wang family, but the flavour still lagged considerably behind those on Earth.
"Younger brother, this meal cost us 32 copper coins and 73 shillings…" Wang Shouyi grumbled about the cost, "These hard-earned savings of mine are spent on such delicious dishes, and you're still not satisfied?"
Wang Shouzhe stroked his chin, guessing that the disparity was due to monosodium glutamate (MSG), which had been omnipresent in all corners of the food world on Earth, raising the bar for his taste buds.
If he could figure out how to make MSG, could it become an industry as well?
…