Chapter 393 - Heaven and Earth Society Customers

Funding shortages constantly plagued the county academy. Regarding educational investment, Lingao County's academy fields totaled four or five hundred mu—quite substantial. Academy fields were a type of official land, traditionally farmed by official tenants. This system worked well initially, but over time problems accumulated. Official tenants' burdens grew excessive; gradually tenants began fleeing. Now barely one in ten remained. Wang Ci was a scholar—what did he know about economics? Besides seeking help everywhere, he was helpless. Several hundred mu of prime riverside paddy fields lay fallow while the academy was penniless.

As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. Seeing the academy deteriorating daily, Wang Ci knew getting county funds was impossible. Hearing that Australians were willing to help with farming, he came requesting their assistance.

Ye Yuming couldn't decide himself, quickly reporting to the Agricultural Committee. Wu Nanhai had long coveted the academy fields outside the west gate. Hearing this, he immediately agreed, telling Ye Yuming to accept and provide "VIP" treatment.

The Heaven and Earth Society and Lingao County Educational Officer Wang Ci signed a technical service contract—strictly speaking, more like a management contract. Academy fields now had barely a few struggling official tenants. Everything depended on the Society.

This matter drew Wu De's keen attention—this was the transmigrator collective's first step into Lingao's official lands. The Executive Committee agreed this was an excellent opportunity to deepen control of Lingao county government. Gaining good reputation here would greatly help win local intellectuals' hearts.

Finally, following Chinese customs, this originally simple commercial activity was elevated to political importance. Both county yamen and Executive Committee "highly valued" it.

Prefect Wu preferred not provoking these Shorn Bandits, but couldn't obstruct Wang Ci. The county's famous Moli Pavilion was nearly collapsing; the academy was dilapidated. He'd never allocated a single repair coin. Wang Ci had maintained the academy through constant fundraising.

Secretary Wang advocated for this arrangement. County Magistrate Wu had adopted a laissez-faire attitude; Wang Zhaomin's analysis convinced him it benefited the county without harm. He tacitly approved.

The Agricultural Committee commissioner personally took charge—Wu Nanhai became the academy fields project's main supervisor. He brought Lu Jia and Lu Yi to inspect the fields.

Wang Ci led the remaining tenants, including the Lu brothers' father Lu Da—the fields' overseer. This dozen people waited at field's edge, respectfully welcoming this "Chief's" arrival.

Wu Nanhai exchanged pleasantries with Wang Ci. The educational officer spoke crude Cantonese; combining speech and gestures, they communicated without interpreters.

Wang Ci was seeing a "Shorn Bandit" leader up close for the first time. Finding this person with proper features and kind expression, not the fierce villain imagined, he felt relieved.

"This time we trouble Mr. Wu." Wang Ci bowed. "Academy field quality affects Lingao's scholarly morale..."

"I understand." Wu Nanhai smiled. "Rest assured—come autumn, there'll be a good harvest!"

Wang Ci thought: this man boasts without basic pleasantries—truly an overseas barbarian.

"Then we rely on everyone."

"This is the fields' overseer, Lu Da—come greet Master Wu!"

Lu Da ran over and kowtowed. Wu Nanhai was meeting his disciples' father for the first time. Thin and small, typical traditional farmer, blue cotton clothes patched to tatters.

Wu Nanhai inspected the fields, repeatedly expressing regret. These fields were far better than the Meitai Yang land—near the river, easy irrigation. Excellent local land.

Lu Da presented the field register. Wu Nanhai asked: "How much land? How much paddy, how much dry?"

"326 mu 4 fen paddy, 115 mu 1 fen dry, 13 mu garden land."

"What do you plant?"

Lu Da reported the main crop was rice; dry fields grew local millet. Some tenants grew sweet potatoes and peanuts, but little.

Plenty of land but lacking cultivators. Lu Da had considered recruiting hired hands for fallow land. But calculations showed hiring hands meant paying more taxes—he'd gain nothing. Better to leave it fallow.

Wu Nanhai had his assessment and began planning his transformation.

One morning, laborers from Bairren Commune arrived carrying tools, pushing "Purple Lightning" wheelbarrows, appearing outside the west gate. Students studying surveying brought measuring instruments. A branch began extending from the Bairren-Lingao highway toward the west gate.

Building roads before working was the transmigrator collective's consistent style. Lu Da watched dumbfounded—wasn't the Society supposed to help with farming? Why first building roads? He'd thought they'd deliver seeds, send a few people for guidance—hadn't expected this.

He hurried to bring the able-bodied tenants out, encountering "Chief Wu" leading the team, his two sons beside him. Lu Da was about to kowtow when Wu Nanhai stopped him.

"No need for ceremony. Gather all tenant households—I need to count population and assign work."

"Able-bodied men are here—"

"Bring out women, elderly, and children too. Lu Jia, prepare registration!"

"Yes!" Lu Jia took out a notebook.

Lu Da wondered what was happening. He rushed to the side street where tenants lived, summoning all household members.

The count showed seven tenant households, over forty people. All checked and registered. Then Lu Jia assigned work based on gender and physical condition. Strangely, all able-bodied men were told to stay, awaiting further notice.

Another work team arrived—tools, vehicles, oxen, and horses. Leveling land, digging channels. The crisscrossing field ridges were demolished, replaced by large square grid fields. Crude earthen ditches became a channel system with separate irrigation and drainage.

Then came herds of cattle pulling huge iron-and-wood agricultural machinery. Before diesel and steam engines, America had already developed large draft-animal farm machinery. Lu Da was seeing such equipment for the first time. Over a dozen oxen spread across the field, dragging massive equipment for deep plowing.

The entire transformation site buzzed like a hornet's nest. This massive concentration of manpower and materials for agricultural production deeply impressed Lu Da:

"Farming can be done like this!" he muttered. He saw his elder son standing imperiously on a field ridge, holding some strange object and gesturing. His younger son held a wooden board, writing something. Lu Da felt proud—the boys had made something of themselves! But also a bit sour—he himself hadn't advanced...

His reflections didn't last long. Academy field tenant men, led by Lu Yi, were assembled and sent to Bairren Commune for fifteen days of Society farming training.

Training participants included other Society customers. Per notice, each household sent one to three people. Most were landlords themselves and household laborers. Fu Buer came with his hired hand.

Wu Nanhai's curriculum focused on common crop cultivation and field management. He'd discovered Lingao's agricultural technology level was extremely low—many techniques widely used elsewhere were completely absent. Even important classical farming texts were unknown to scholars like Wang Ci.

So Wu Nanhai's textbook prioritized simplicity, incorporating contemporary advanced techniques, focusing on rice, wheat, and sweet potato cultivation. "Appropriate to current social productivity levels."

Clearly, the Agricultural Department's strategy of demonstrating success before promotion was correct—otherwise, with Wu Nanhai's occasionally bizarre theories, farmers would never believe him.

While teaching, Wu Nanhai drafted planting plans. He didn't intend giving customers too many new crop varieties. Rice was the main focus. He planned promoting short-stalk lodging-resistant varieties. Given this time-space's lower accumulated temperature, he'd adopt rice-rice-wheat rotation.

Though wheat yields were lower, it required far less field management labor. Another factor: many transmigrators liked wheat-based foods. The Navy hoped future hardtack could be baked biscuits rather than rice cakes.

Next was sweet potatoes. He planned planting this high-yield crop in all customers' dry fields. Mass sweet potato production meant starch industry; starch industry meant modern food industry.

With feed, livestock scale could expand further. Livestock manure returned to fields provided abundant soil nutrients.

Meanwhile, contract poultry farming promotion continued. Ye Yuming signed breeding agreements with farmers near Bairren.

Chicken applications exceeded expectations. Only 20 eggs exchanged for one chicken, with guaranteed future purchases—quite attractive.

Chick quantities were limited; only twenty households received the first batch. Ye Yuming separated breeding households, adopting one per village. This aimed for better demonstration effects.

Besides intensive promotion work, the Agricultural Department was developing high-yield fields. Wu Nanhai delegated this to Fa Shilu. Everyone was busy. The planned pesticide factory was neglected. After consideration, Wu Nanhai decided to jointly establish the Agricultural Pharmaceutical Factory with the Health Department.

After fifteen days of training, Wu Nanhai announced everyone could return to prepare tools and fields. On-site "agricultural technicians" would soon arrive for guidance.

The attendees had been confused by class content—mostly illiterate, unable to take notes. Hearing about on-site guidance, they burst into praise.

"On-site technicians require no payment—included in your service fees. You provide lodging; they pay for their own meals."

Hearing technicians paid for meals, everyone felt it too generous. Someone said:

"That's unnecessary—even hiring laborers means providing meals."

"Technicians eat three meals daily, half a jin of rice each meal..."

"Even a full jin, we can afford that."

"One chicken daily; if no chicken, a fish—one jin each; plus one egg daily..."

Those enthusiastically offering free meals fell silent. Only Liu Youren from Jialai said:

"No problem—my household can provide this."

Wu Nanhai studied this person. Man appeared around thirty, stocky, dressed like ordinary farmers, but clothes weren't torn—neat and clean, feet in blue cloth shoes splattered with mud. He knew old-time farmers rarely wore cloth shoes—field work wore them out. Someone this careless with shoes must be wealthy. His waist held a Xiangfei bamboo pipe with a white jade pendant.

He checked the file. Liu Youren came from Jialai Village, self-reporting over 300 mu. But Intelligence Committee noted Liu Youren actually lived in a fortified compound—a typical rural strongman. The entire Liu Family Stockade controlled at least five or six thousand mu. Liu Youren joining the Society was probably testing the waters.

Note: Moli Pavilion is Lingao's most famous landmark, founded in Southern Song Dynasty. When Hanlin Academy's Hu Quan was exiled to Jiyang Army, he passed through Lingao. County Magistrate Xie requested he lecture at the academy. Several years later, local student Dai Dingshi passed the provincial examination—Lingao's first-ever juren.

(End of Chapter)