I am the god of this land.

08: New Species

Han Feng was peeling the last shrimp when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something moving in the fish tank.

Upon closer inspection, the little carp was opening its mouth wide, swallowing a small shrimp whole, one bite at a time. The shrimp bounced in the water, but before it could escape, the fish swung its tail and caught up, swallowing it again.

"Hey!" Han Feng dropped the shrimp shell in his hand, his eyes widening. "You!"

In the short time it took to catch its breath, the carp had already swallowed three or four small shrimp. It seemed to have never eaten anything so delicious before. After swallowing them, it wagged its tail proudly in the water and slowly swam around the newly dug lake, its mouth opening and closing as if savoring the lingering fragrance of the shrimp meat.

The shrimp, on the other hand, were terrified. The shrimp that had been densely packed together scattered and fled, flicking their tails and darting towards the shallow water. Some even jumped onto the sand, struggling desperately, their antennae flailing in the water, looking like a group of cats whose tails had been stepped on. A few larger shrimp stood in front of the shrimp larvae, their antennae held high and their forelegs raised straight up, striking a pose that seemed to say, "If you want to eat, eat me first." Although that intimidation was practically nonexistent, the carp didn't even give them a second glance.

As Han Feng watched this scene, he suddenly realized something.

He seemed to have completely forgotten to transplant aquatic plants into the fish tank.

Without aquatic plants, the shrimp have nowhere to hide, and without hiding places, they will eventually be eaten clean by the carp. His "lake connectivity project" now looks like a buffet restaurant for the carp, delivering shrimp directly to their mouths.

"A miscalculation, a miscalculation." Han Feng slapped his forehead. "I'll have to go to town and buy some aquatic plants to plant later."

While he was feeling annoyed, another question popped into his head: what would these shrimp eat? He had only put a few in yesterday, and today they had multiplied into a huge swarm. Even if the shrimp reproduced very quickly, they still needed to eat. They couldn't possibly grow up on air, could they?

Han Feng's gaze swept around the fish tank before finally landing on the lychee tree.

A few ripe lychees lay scattered on the sand, their peels already a deep red. Some had even cracked open, revealing translucent flesh inside. They must have overripe last night and fallen to the sand, slowly rotting and decomposing, seeping into the sand and water.

The shrimp were circling around a rotten lychee that had fallen into the water, tearing off a small piece of the fruit and nibbling on it.

Han Feng suddenly realized.

"So you guys are just eating lychees?" He shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "You're staying in an oasis and eating lychees; you're getting better treatment than me."

The midday sun was blindingly bright, making the stone path in the courtyard scorching hot. You could feel the heat rising up from the soles of your shoes when you stepped on it. The leaves of the old loquat tree were curled up by the sun, and cicadas chirped incessantly in the trees, making people drowsy. Han Feng turned the fan to its highest setting, and the blast of hot air blowing against his face provided a slight sense of coolness.

At noon, he was too lazy to do anything else, so he scooped out a handful of shrimp from the fish tank, about twenty in total, and steamed them. The shrimp cooked quickly, turning bright red in just seven or eight minutes, lying on the plate. He drizzled some soy sauce and sesame oil on top, sprinkled some chopped green onions on top, and served them with white rice. The shrimp meat was firm and chewy, with a sweet and slightly salty taste, even better than the ones he cooked in the morning, probably because steaming preserved the original flavor.

After lunch, Han Feng noticed that the shrimp population had recovered considerably. The carp were lazily lying on the bottom of the lake, seemingly taking a nap, while the shrimp took the opportunity to move around. After thinking for a moment, he scooped out about thirty shrimp from the fish tank, put them in a freezer bag, and placed them in the freezer to eat that evening. The shrimp in the fish tank were multiplying at an absurdly fast rate, and he couldn't possibly finish them all if he didn't eat a lot.

The midday sun was scorching. Han Feng climbed into the Volkswagen, turned the key, and the air conditioning blasted out, finally bringing him back to life. As the car drove along the winding mountain road, he glanced out the window. The village had changed a lot in the past few years. Before, the roadside was full of weeds and rocks, but now there were cement guardrails and several "Beware of Falling Rocks" signs. The mud-brick houses that used to be in the valley were gone, replaced by small villas with white walls and red roofs. Some houses even had vans and cars parked in front of them. Han Feng clicked his tongue, thinking to himself that he was the only one in the whole village who had suffered the most, having retreated from the big city all the way back to the mountain valley.

The mountain road was winding and twisting. With the steering wheel turning left and right, Han Feng felt like he wasn't driving, but taking a driving test. He couldn't help but shout along with the melody on the car radio.

"The mountain roads here have eighteen bends, and the waterways have nine loops! The eighteen bends have worn out my back, and the nine loops have wrapped around my steering wheel!"

He laughed after he finished singing. Luckily, there were no other cars on the road, otherwise people would have thought the driver had been drinking fake alcohol.

After nearly an hour of driving around, they finally descended the mountain and turned onto the asphalt road leading to the town. Han Feng rolled down the car window and took a deep breath, relieved that at least they wouldn't have to go in circles anymore.

Upon arriving in town, he opened his phone's map and searched for the largest aquarium in town. Although it was called the largest, it was actually only about the width of two storefronts. There were several plastic basins placed at the entrance, filled with pothos and pennywort. On the glass, there were faded red words that read "Specialty Store for Aquarium Supplies, Tropical Fish, and Aquatic Plants".

Han Feng pushed open the door and was immediately hit by a wave of damp steam mixed with the smell of fish food and disinfectant. The owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, was hunched over in front of the aquarium, scooping out dead fish. He didn't even look up when he heard the door open: "Take your time looking around. Call me when you're done."

Han Feng squatted in front of the aquarium for a while before the boss slowly walked over, wiping his hands, his expression saying, "Business isn't so good today."

"Boss, do you have any aquatic plants here? The kind that's easy to grow."

"That's all." The shopkeeper shook his head decisively, pointing to several empty display tanks in the corner. "The aquatic plants were sold out last week. The last clump of aquatic plants was bought by an old man the day before yesterday. There aren't any left, not even the roots."

Han Feng was taken aback: "Why don't you stock up on some goods?"

The shopkeeper sighed, pulled up a plastic chair, took out a crumpled pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of gray smoke that slowly diffused under the aquarium lights.

"Business is tough, buddy," the shop owner said, flicking his cigarette ash. His voice carried a weariness that had worn down his edges. "All the young people have gone to the city. There are only old men and women left in town. Who raises fish anymore? I've had this shop for eight years. I could barely make ends meet the first two years, but this year I can barely afford the rent. My contract expires next month, and I'm planning to close it down and go back to my hometown to farm."

Han Feng opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words of comfort, but didn't know what to say. The boss waved his hand, seemingly not needing any comfort. He took a couple of puffs of his cigarette, then suddenly remembered something, put the cigarette in his mouth, turned around and pulled out a plastic bag from under the counter, shaking it vigorously.

"I'm really out of aquatic plants, but I still have some seaweed, the kind used for raising saltwater fish. It's green and quite pretty. Do you want some?" The shopkeeper handed over a bag containing a clump of bright green filaments floating in the water. It looked quite vibrant. "This is hardy and will grow on its own without any care. Just put it in the tank."

Han Feng stared at the clump of seaweed for three seconds, his mind racing. Seaweed is from brackish water, but the fish tank is currently filled with fresh water. Would it work? Then he thought again, that fish tank can even simulate the sun and moon, so why would it matter if it's brackish or fresh water? Besides, the shrimp are almost all eaten by the fish. If he doesn't find a way to make them hide, in a couple of days he won't even see any shrimp larvae.

"Okay, I'll take it." Han Feng nodded.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. He placed the bag of seaweed on the counter and enthusiastically pointed to the shelf: "Want some fish food? It's imported, thirty-five yuan a bag, buy two bags and get one free. And this cactus, it looks especially nice in the tank, a desert vibe, five yuan a pot, cheap."

Han Feng glanced at the cactus, which was about the size of a palm and grew in a small plastic pot. It was covered in thorns, but five yuan wasn't expensive. Buying it was better than having nothing. Maybe one day he would want to create a desert landscape.

"Three bags of fish food, and a pot of cactus, please." Han Feng took out his phone to pay.

The shopkeeper quickly pressed a few buttons on the calculator: "Seaweed is 20, fish food is 35 for two bags plus one free bag, that's 70, cactus is 5, totaling 95. Oh wait, there's one more step in the formula, let me recalculate. Seaweed is 20, fish food is 70 for two bags, cactus is 5, totaling 95, right."

Han Feng smiled, scanned the code to pay, picked up his things and went out. The sunlight outside was so bright that he squinted, and a layer of fine sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.

He first put the things in the car, then turned into the vegetable market next door. The vegetable market was not big, just a tin shed with dozens of stalls inside, selling meat, vegetables, dried and fresh seasonings. The stalls at the back against the wall sold seafood. Han Feng walked over and squatted in front of a basin of water, in which several lively carp swam, their scales shimmering silver in the sunlight.

"Boss, how much are the carp?"

"Twelve per jin."

"Give me one." Han Feng picked out a medium-sized one, not too big or too small, enough to keep alive and eat. The vendor knocked the fish unconscious with a swift chop, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to him for twelve yuan. Han Feng then bought ten yuan worth of scallops from the stall next door. They were clean and white, with the fishy smell of the sea still on their shells.

Having spent less than fifty yuan in total, Han Feng carried his things towards the parking lot. Suddenly, he remembered a problem: the carp in the fish tank had eaten the shrimp, and he had bought a new carp today. Would the two fish fight if they met? Then he thought again, who cares? Anyway, the fish tank is big enough; let them fight first.