Chapter 788 – The Ranch Couple
Wu Nanhai stood before a kapok sapling—one he had planted barely ten days ago. The young tree had come from the Farm plantation's nursery, its trunk already fist-thick. Though it had wilted slightly upon transplanting, the leaves were greening up again. Rich fertilizer lay buried beneath the roots; this tree would surely grow into a towering giant, a living witness to his and Chuqing's happiness.
A breeze stirred the clustered leaves. A trace of smug satisfaction played at the corner of Wu Nanhai's mouth.
"Master—" Chuqing's voice came from behind him. "The weather is still cool in the mornings and evenings. You should add a layer." She draped a civilian-version M65 jacket over his shoulders.
"Even at its coldest, it's only seventeen or eighteen degrees. Nothing to fear." Wu Nanhai took Chuqing's small hand in his—the skin rough and calloused. As the Farm's earliest employee, she had always been his capable assistant, participating not only in management but also performing much of the physical labor herself. The Farm Café's growth from nothing into the elders' favorite unofficial hangout was largely due to her efforts.
Chuqing had to rack her brains managing the Farm's tertiary operations and the logistical needs of the staff. She also tended to the Biolab crowd, who practically lived at the Farm as if it were a hotel—eating, drinking, sleeping, and doing everything else there. Finally, she attended to the "Master" himself—Wu Nanhai's every trivial need, from fetching face-washing water in the morning to satisfying all his desires at night.
Wu Nanhai felt that if Chuqing did so much without receiving a proper title, he couldn't face his own conscience. So he had decided to marry her formally. Though some elders questioned whether her background was too lowly for an elder's legal wife, Wu Nanhai insisted: "Status in this time-space has nothing to do with us!" This decision stemmed from gratitude and love for Chuqing, but also from practical considerations: marrying a maid with no ties—one who didn't even know her own surname—as his primary wife exempted him from all obligations to a wife's natal family. A wife with too eminent a background and too powerful a natal family might become a ticking time bomb for the House of Elders in the future.
"Master—" Chuqing lowered her head shyly but didn't withdraw her hand. A few days ago, she and Wu Nanhai had formally become husband and wife in the newly completed small chapel. He Ying had officiated the wedding. The attendees included Xiao Zishan, the Wan brothers from Agriculture, Ye Yuming, Dugu Qiuhun, and the entire Biolab crowd led by Huang Dashan, all of whom lived at the farm long-term. Fellow Christians were also present, including Ryan, as were key naturalized staff led by Wang Tian. Finally, Bai Duolu had attended on behalf of the Catholic Church, gifting a leather-bound hardcover Bible printed with Jesuit sponsorship and signed by Wu Shimang.
The ceremony was simple. At Wu Nanhai's request, the couple had placed their left hands on the Bible and their right hands on the Transmigrators' Common Program, then read their vows together. Wu Nanhai had drafted the vows himself:
"In the presence of God and the witnesses here today, I, Wu Nanhai/Chuqing, take you to be my wife/husband. From this time forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, to love and to cherish, and to be faithful to you, for all eternity. Amen."
The couple signed the vows to conclude the ceremony. Then Xiao Zishan presented "Elder Marriage Certificate No. 002," signed by Vice Civil Affairs Commissioner Liu Muzhou. Afterward, a simple banquet was held at the Farm Café for the guests. The following day, Wu Nanhai personally distributed wedding candy to all elders in Lingao and to every naturalized employee in the Agriculture sector. Everyone was delighted.
"Don't call me Master anymore—call me Nanhai," Wu Nanhai whispered. "We are husband and wife now, not master and maid."
"Mm." Though Chuqing was no stranger to his favor, this time she possessed a proper title, and the nourishment of his affection felt different from before. Her face flushed like peach blossoms, her eyes like spring water—gentle and charming beyond description. She called softly, "Nanhai."
"That's right." Wu Nanhai embraced his bride's shoulders. Though he knew the body in his arms intimately, the feeling now was different from before.
Behind them stood the newly built Protestant chapel. Wu Nanhai had paid for it himself. Since several Protestant elders existed among their number, he had intended from the start for the Farm chapel to host interdenominational services rather than cater exclusively to his own sect.
Wu Nanhai was well aware of the strong anti-religious sentiment within the House of Elders—"monotheism is entirely evil cults" was a common catchphrase. Were it not for the Jesuits bringing tangible benefits to Lingao, and the need to prepare a religion for the Li and Miao peoples in Hainan's interior, such cooperation would have been intolerable.
Thus, Wu Nanhai had kept an exceedingly low profile regarding his chapel. He paid for it out of pocket, settling the arrangement with Mei Wan over dinner. Hearing it was a small project financed personally by Wu Nanhai, Mei Wan agreed on the spot—as long as it didn't involve controlled materials or tools, the Lingao General Construction Company had the right to undertake general local construction projects.
The chapel was a colonial-style wooden structure, single-story with a small bell tower—designed by Zhang Xingpei, a bona fide Chinese-American architect. It was tiny, barely accommodating fifty people for services. The stained glass had been purchased from Mo Xiao'an, and Wu Nanhai had commissioned a carpenter to fashion the cross. Beyond these, there were no other adornments—fortunately, most Protestant denominations aside from Anglicans cared little for ornamentation, so simplicity sufficed.
Nailed outside the chapel door was a "Religious Venue License" plaque, uniformly produced and issued by the Religious Affairs Office. All religious venues were required to register with He Ying's office. After paying registration fees, data collection fees, and license fees, signing a guarantee to pay religious tax, venue usage tax, and believer poll tax—the "Three Taxes"—and signing a declaration accepting the "Senate Religious Affairs Officer" as the church's "Protector" while paying an annual "management fee," only then was the registration considered legal.
Wu Nanhai had spent an entire day running errands to bring this "006" plaque back to the Farm, granting the little chapel official status. The night before the wedding, attended by a few fellow believers, he had performed a Protestant baptism for Chuqing in the chapel. Naturally, he had reported this to He Ying beforehand—believers had to be registered individually, as this formed the basis for the poll tax.
"Dean Wu is very unhappy," He Ying had laughed after completing the filing.
"That hypocrite," Wu Nanhai scoffed. "I couldn't care less whether he's happy. He merely wants a State Church. If he actually became the Pope of Lingao, he'd burn me and Ryan and the others at the stake."
He Ying laughed it off. But the exchange reminded Wu Nanhai: making a splash would do him no good. Better to maintain a low profile.
"Chief, Chief Ye is here, waiting for you to start the meeting," a maid appeared from beside the chapel and reported respectfully.
"Alright, tell him to wait a moment; I'll be right there." Wu Nanhai replied, releasing Chuqing.
Ye Yuming sat in the Nanhai Farm's small conference room. Wu Nanhai drew no distinction between farm and headquarters; it was less accurate to say the Farm belonged to the Ministry of Agriculture than that the Ministry was located within the Farm. This small conference room was where the core meetings of the Transmigrator Group's agricultural sector were held.
As head of the Tiandihui—the Heaven and Earth Society—Ye Yuming maintained an independent office in East Gate City, but the Society's roots were at the Farm, and he primarily worked here.
"Old Wu, happy events really lift the spirit," Ye Yuming joked, noticing the joy on Wu Nanhai's face.
"Don't tease me. Let's talk business." Wu Nanhai sat down heavily, realizing only the two of them were present. "What's this? Just us?"
"Dugu and the Wan brothers will arrive soon. I wanted to brief you first," Ye Yuming said. "The Hong Kong development project passed the Executive Committee work meeting. It's been decided that the Ministry of Colonial Trade will lead development for now. The Planning Academy is currently drafting the master plan."
"Isn't that Old Si's business?" Wu Nanhai couldn't recall any modern agriculture in Hong Kong. "I've been to Hong Kong many times; it lacks water and isn't suitable for large-scale farming."
"Not suitable, but still necessary. Si Kaide wants some agricultural settlements—appropriate agricultural development to raise Hong Kong's self-sufficiency rate."
Wu Nanhai nodded. "Hong Kong has sufficient sunshine, and there is some arable land. The key lies in building reservoirs—that's not just the Agriculture Ministry's responsibility. I think we should start with non-staple food production: growing vegetables and raising chickens."
"Why not pigs?"
"You call yourself head of the Tiandihui? Pig farming consumes enormous amounts of water—we can't afford it without sufficient water sources initially," Wu Nanhai said. "But Hong Kong does have one advantage: it backs onto the Pearl River Delta, an agriculturally developed region in this time-space. Acquiring feed is extremely convenient. We can launch large-scale farming there. Start with poultry—chickens and ducks. Quail would be good too; they're easy to raise. We can promote intensive farming in Hong Kong."
"Let's set aside the specific agricultural details for now," Ye Yuming said, seeing the topic drift toward technicalities and fearing they would digress. "I want to establish an Agricultural Reclamation system."
Wu Nanhai's interest perked, though his expression remained impassive. "Oh? Agricultural Reclamation?"
Ye Yuming nodded excitedly. "Isn't Ag-Reclamation perfect for developing a place like Hong Kong?"
(End of Chapter)