Strongest Lord by Opening Blind Boxes

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Building an Eggshell Village

Wang Yi had also figured out the pattern. The fishing tower’s scoop brought up roughly the same number of small yellow croakers each time, between 300 and 400 fish, which weighed between 75 and 100 kilograms.

It took about five minutes for each unhurried scoop.

Based on that, a scoop every five minutes at 75 to 100 kilograms per scoop meant they could catch about one ton of fish per hour.

The Huanghua Fishery could produce a maximum of 10 tons of fish per day. This meant the fishing tower would only need to operate for about 10 hours a day to reach the fishery’s production limit.

And since the fishing tower could only operate during the day when there was ample sunlight, a 10-hour workday was quite suitable.

’Ten tons of small yellow croakers a day. Two tons for Gegeda, which leaves eight tons. Send those eight tons to the Gourmet Processing Plant, store the finished product in the Chaos Warehouse... a complete production chain. Now, how many workers will the fishery need...’

Wang Yi quietly considered the staffing for the Huanghua Fishery. First, the tower operators. They would need at least two people, each working a five-hour shift. They could take days off when it was cloudy, rainy, or the sunlight was poor.

Next were the workers who would scoop the fish into baskets. These were the front-line employees, and the work was quite strenuous. Six to ten people should be about right, which would keep the daily workload for each person manageable.

Then, they would need transport workers to deliver the small yellow croakers to the Gourmet Processing Plant.

’For the time being, the transport work will probably have to be done by hand. We managed to get a few flatbed carts from the Giant Crab Sand Factory, and we might be able to find a few more in Stone Village and Huangni Village...’

Wang Yi estimated that tentatively assigning four people as transport workers should be sufficient.

’For now, let’s allocate 12 worker slots to the Huanghua Fishery. Besides Old Mo, that’s 11 more workers... The Gourmet Processing Plant needs workers too. Let’s pencil in four for now and recruit them all at once! Should I also set up a kitchen?’

After some quiet calculation, Wang Yi publicly announced he was hiring 16 temporary workers. A crowd of applicants scrambled for the positions, and the response was far more enthusiastic than he had expected.

It took a good two hours of hustle and bustle before the 16 temporary workers were selected. All of them were from Stone Village’s Production Team, and Yang Qinggu was among them.

The 11 temporary fishery workers started their posts immediately. The fishing tower resumed operation, first catching fish to feed Gegeda.

A short while later, after confirming that Gegeda indeed loved eating the small yellow croakers, Wang Yi took Yang Qinggu and the other four new hires to the Gourmet Processing Plant.

The processing of the small yellow croakers began right away.

Soon, paper bags of Crispy Fried Small Fish were being produced.

Wang Yi took one and bit into it. CRUNCH. It was perfectly crispy and savory, and you couldn’t even feel the bones!

’As expected of the Gourmet Processing Plant! The texture and flavor are both flawless!’

Wang Yi silently mused that when fresh small yellow croakers were processed into Crispy Fried Small Fish, their weight was reduced by half. If they processed eight tons of fish a day, they would only produce about four tons of Crispy Fried Small Fish.

After settling in the four workers at the Gourmet Processing Plant, Wang Yi began to pace around the Chaos Warehouse. Yang Qinggu, who was still following him, asked in confusion, ”My Lord, what am I supposed to do?”

This Yang Qinggu wasn’t a fishery employee, nor a worker at the Gourmet Processing Plant. She occasionally helped out with the Production Team and also tended to the farmlands. Today, Wang Yi had chosen her as a ”temporary worker,” but she still didn’t know what her job was.

Wang Yi said, ”I plan to build a kitchen, or a canteen, here. We can occasionally provide lunch for the workers.”

”A kitchen? A canteen!”

”That’s right. And from now on, you’ll be in charge of it!”

As he spoke, Wang Yi opened the Chaos Warehouse and took out some Fine Flour, High-quality Peanut Oil, High-quality Sea Salt, and White Granulated Sugar.

These were from the Basic Resource Packs. Wang Yi figured that with these ingredients, they could start cooking some proper meals.

After entrusting these items and the large Iron Pot he had previously acquired to Yang Qinggu’s care, Wang Yi called over Gegeda. He marked out a plot of land and had Gegeda create Eggshell Houses.

Gegeda ate a lot, but it didn’t slack off one bit when it was time to work. It quickly produced nine Eggshell Houses.

The nine Eggshell Houses, with the taller ones being six to seven meters high and the shorter ones four to five, formed a small courtyard. Wang Yi chose one to be the kitchen, while the other eight would serve as private dining rooms.

”From now on, this will be the Number One Canteen. Yang Qinggu, you’re in charge. Go find Dashan and talk it over with him. Have him send some people to renovate these Eggshell Houses—carve out doors and windows, compact the floors, and furnish them with tables, chairs, and benches. This will be where everyone eats. You can also start looking for some helpers in the next couple of days...”

”Number One Canteen? Renovate? What does ’renovate’ mean...?”

Yang Qinggu was completely bewildered. When she found Zhang Dashan and relayed Wang Yi’s words, Zhang Dashan just sighed, slightly displeased.

His Production Team originally had 61 people. After the Civilian Militia was formed, Yang Qingniu took four of them. Later, Yang Qingxiu was transferred to farming. Now, with the establishment of the Huanghua Fishery, 11 more had left. The Gourmet Processing Plant also recruited four. And now his own wife was going to manage some kitchen and even wanted to take Cuihua with her.

That was a reduction of 22 people. His Production Team had shrunk, leaving him with only 39 members!

Zhang Dashan counted on his fingers for a good while. He felt the Production Team had suffered a huge blow. ’With fewer people under my command, doesn’t that mean my own authority has shrunk too?’

However, despite his displeasure, Zhang Dashan didn’t dare to disobey Wang Yi. After studying the matter for a moment, he personally led a team to the Number One Canteen to handle the ”renovations.”

Meanwhile, Wang Yi wasn’t idle either. He was taking Gegeda around and building houses all over the place.

It might seem like a tedious task, but he found it fascinating, even a bit addictive. It gave him a sense of freedom, of personally building his own territory.

As for Gegeda, it had been completely reduced to a laborer-chicken, severely exploited.

’The Eggshell Houses are warm in winter and cool in summer, not to mention sturdy and good-looking. With a Fierce General like Gegeda on my side, I’ll start by building an Eggshell Village. The Chaos Warehouse will be the village center. Later, I’ll need to build a central plaza. Water supply for daily life is also an issue, and the sewer system needs to be planned properly. Latrines will have to be built too...’

Wang Yi enthusiastically drafted the ”Eggshell Village Plan.”

「Time passed.」 By evening, Man Datou and his party returned from their dungeon run. The group of six people and two scorpions had brought back two sets of General Armor, two Iron-Clad Bows, and a Hundred-Step Arrow Manual Skill Book.

After unsealing the Skill Book, Wang Yi gave it directly to Zhang Lengzi.

Zhang Lengzi could be considered the deputy captain of the Civilian Militia. He wasn’t as reckless or impetuous as Yang Qingniu, but he was much more level-headed and calm.

As for the General Armor and the Iron-Clad Bow, Zhang Lengzi naturally received one set. Wang Yi let Yang Qingniu and Zhang Lengzi decide amongst themselves who would get the remaining set.

That evening, Wang Yi distributed Crispy Fried Small Fish to everyone at the Number One Canteen as their ”wages.”

This new delicacy was very popular; everyone who tried it was full of praise.

During the dinner gathering that night, there was one additional person with Wang Yi: Qin Mo.

Wang Yi introduced Qin Mo to Man Datou, Yang Qingniu, and the others. Of course, he only said that he was the manager of the Huanghua Fishery, not revealing his true identity or strength.

Just as the dinner was about to end, Yang Wanli and Pang Damao rushed back.