Chapter 995 - The One Who Enlists

But merely serving as a "translator," Mu Min genuinely felt Bi Da's talents were being squandered. Though she hadn't had extensive contact with the girl, Bi Da was clever without guile, forthright in character, and decisive in handling matters. On several occasions dealing with the Li people, she had demonstrated impressive negotiation abilities. With proper cultivation, she would make an excellent cadre in the future. Though the directives from the Senate and Executive Committee to the Li-Miao Affairs Office were quite explicit: the Senate's ethnic policy was "no ethnic policy"—only the distinction between naturalized citizens and natives. They would not specially cultivate "ethnic cadres" or implement preferential policies like "ethnic classes."

"Whether a native can become a qualified naturalized citizen under the Senate system depends first on whether his loyalty to our system surpasses his own ethnic and religious sentiments!" the Senate's propaganda theorist Ding Ding had declared in an internal speech. "Those who cannot meet this standard cannot become naturalized citizens!"

That was the official position, but practically speaking, to penetrate deep into Hainan Island's interior and handle Li-Miao affairs without naturalized citizens familiar with local conditions as guides was pure fantasy. So Mu Min still managed to cultivate several naturalized citizen cadres of Li-Miao origin in Lingao, Changhua, and Sanya. Naturally, the specific work was handled by Fang Jinghan—he was now responsible for the office's routine operations.

Mu Min was considering how to speak with Bi Da again that evening, encouraging her enthusiasm for learning and work, persuading her to agree to return to Lingao for National School training. She planned to train a batch of Li-Miao naturalized citizen cadres, but Bi Da proved unwilling to go to Lingao for study—she felt living this free and easy life in Changhua suited her fine and had no desire to be "constrained" by "attending school" in Lingao. Suddenly there was a commotion outside the training camp gate. She couldn't help feeling puzzled: though this wasn't Changhua Fort proper, it was less than a kilometer away, equally a Senate military control zone—not a marketplace anyone could freely enter and exit. Ordinarily, whether Han, Li, or Miao, everyone kept their distance from this heavily guarded place with sentries posted day and night, let alone proactively coming to create a disturbance.

While pondering, a soldier had already run back and said a few words to Bi Da—apparently the visitors were Li people requiring her translation. But unexpectedly, after hearing a few words, Bi Da's expression actually changed and she turned and ran.

Mu Min was greatly puzzled and had to go investigate personally.

Arriving at the camp gate, she saw five or six young Li people creating a commotion at the entrance. Their leader was a young man who looked healthy and sturdy, still wearing pheasant feathers on his head and dressed quite elaborately—obviously a prominent figure in his village. Mu Min thought he looked somewhat familiar. At the moment, he was talking with someone at the gate, whom Mu Min recognized—Li Benqing, Wang Daliang's uncle.

Over the past two years, Li Benqing had served as guide and translator for the Cooperative's trading caravans, no longer living by hunting. He had accumulated some benefits and with money in hand had formally married the woman he had been seeing at the "lounge." Though he continued living in Qiandui Village, he came to Changhua Fort several times each month to report on work, counting as half a naturalized citizen.

Seeing the "chief" had arrived, Li Benqing hurried over to report: these five or six Li people had come to enlist—but recruitment had already concluded. The other party refused to leave, insisting on enlisting, and demanded he summon the person in charge.

Mu Min wasn't bothered: "If they want to enlist, just let them in to register. What's the problem with a few more people?"

Li Benqing said quietly: "If it were anyone else, fine. But this is Zhen Huan!"

Before Mu Min could recall who Zhen Huan was, Li Benqing elaborated: "The son of Zhen Aoya of Qiandui Village!"

Mu Min suddenly understood: "Bi Da's sweetheart?" All at once, memories from back then flooded up. This Zhen Huan could be considered devoted and righteous. When they had taken Bi Da away, he had even intercepted them midway. The feelings between the two were also entangled with the power struggle between the Wang and Zhen families within Qiandui Village—the complications were intricate. Mu Min had taken Bi Da away back then partly out of sympathy for this innocent victim of the power struggle, and also because she was unwilling to let the friendly Qiandui Village fall into chaos from internal strife.

"That's right!" Li Benqing nodded repeatedly. "Ever since Bi Da returned from Lingao, he's come to Changhua Fort several times trying to find her. Bi Da refuses to see him. Each time there's a scene like this."

This time, hearing that the "Australians" who had taken Bi Da away were recruiting soldiers, he had simply brought along a few brothers and companions to enlist. In his conception, since Bi Da was with the Australians, as long as he became an Australian soldier, he could see her whenever he wanted.

"He's quite the romantic," Mu Min sighed with a touch of envy. "Truly romantic."

While they were talking, Zhen Huan had already run over. His movements were remarkably agile; in a few nimble moves he dodged soldiers trying to intercept him, charging straight to within a short distance of Mu Min. Several guards accompanying her immediately raised bayoneted rifles, forcibly stopping him.

Zhen Huan was quite agitated, but he remained wary of these soldiers holding muskets mounted with gleaming short blades. He just jabbered something, making no further violent moves.

Li Benqing hurried to translate. Mu Min listened to Zhen Huan's request: still the matter of recruiting him to enlist.

Mu Min nodded: "You want to be our soldier—that's good. But why do you want to be a soldier?"

Zhen Huan was momentarily stunned. As a privileged class in his village, he had never wanted for food or clothing. His hunting skills were formidable as well. There was originally no need for him to leave home to eat military rations; the thought of enlisting stemmed entirely from wanting to be near Bi Da.

After hesitating a moment, he declared loudly: "You took Bi Da away! I want to be with her—the only way is to become your soldier!"

Mu Min said: "I understand you want to see Bi Da. But being a soldier doesn't necessarily mean you can see her. She is she; you are you. She's now a cadre of the Senate. If you become a soldier of the Senate in the future, you must obey the Senate's commands in everything. You can't even decide where to go yourself—how can you expect to see her?"

Zhen Huan answered without hesitation: "Since she's with you, someday we will meet."

Mu Min nodded: "Then let me tell you: once you enlist, in just a few days you'll be sent to a foreign place to fight. Maybe for a few months, maybe for a few years. You might die on the battlefield before having a chance to see her. Besides, even if you do see her once, that may not change anything. Do you still want to enlist?"

But Zhen Huan remained unmoved, firmly insisting on enlisting. Mu Min nodded: "Alright, take him then. Since he volunteers."

Li Benqing smiled helplessly and led him away. The several companions and friends beside Zhen Huan enlisted together.

Fang Jinghan was somewhat uneasy. He said quietly: "He's coming specifically for Bi Da. Bi Da is the training translator. When they meet on the training ground, who knows what new drama might unfold!"

Mu Min smiled: "No problem. She's not the only Li cadre who speaks Chinese. Besides, this way Bi Da will be begging to follow us back to Lingao to study."

"Director, you truly have foresight." Fang Jinghan didn't miss the opportunity to flatter her, then sighed. "Young Zhen is so pitiful—such a devoted man. That woman Bi Da is truly heartless!"

Mu Min shook her head, smiled, and didn't continue.

Under soldiers' escort, they strolled along the simple road. The seaside near Changhua Fort featured many visible sand dunes covered with shrubs and pasture grass—the result of human intervention.

The Changhua coastline, due to early human development, had suffered severely damaged vegetation. Combined with the special geographical and natural environment, this had caused continuous inland invasion by coastal sand dunes, resulting in large areas of desert-like grassland terrain. In the twentieth century, such coastal desert invasion had penetrated more than a dozen kilometers inland.

Because rainfall here remained adequate, supplemented by the Changhua River's nourishment, hardy low shrubs and wild vegetation could still survive. After Kong Lingyang assumed his post, he applied his agricultural knowledge to plant large-scale legume pasture grasses—tolerant of poor soil—on the local pastures for animal husbandry. This simultaneously served to stabilize and improve the soil.

On the summer pastures, vegetation flourished lush and green, emitting the fragrance of grass. By the Changhua River, scattered flocks of sheep and herds of cattle grazed. Besides Changhua sheep and Li-area yellow cattle and water buffalo, there were also quality cattle and sheep collected from Hainan Island and Guangdong, plus some old-dimension quality breeds bred using frozen semen with local mother stock. All were now pastured here to expand populations. Though Lingao possessed abundant arable land, industrial and agricultural production occupied extensive areas, making land resources far tighter than in Changhua. So now South Sea Farm mainly conducted breeding animal husbandry and small-scale dairy farming. Meat, hide, and wool livestock husbandry had all been transferred to Changhua.

By the river, many cattle drank at the water's edge. Summertime Changhua River was in its high-water season, with substantial flow. River levels had risen, and the banks were dotted everywhere with large and small pools, growing dense reeds and other aquatic plants—quite different from when they had first arrived here.

Mu Min noticed there were now some irrigation channels and water-lifting waterwheels. Kong Lingyang, using local labor and materials supplemented by a small number of specialized workers dispatched from Lingao, had constructed a simple irrigation system for the pastures, enabling the artificial pasture grass to thrive even more vigorously—to have natural grasslands support large numbers of livestock, relying solely on natural pasture grass and natural irrigation was far from sufficient.

On the mudflats of the Changhua River, survey team personnel from Lingao were conducting measurements. One of them Mu Min recognized—Yan Quezhi. He had originally worked at the Wenlan River hydrological station in Lingao; this time he had accompanied the survey team to Changhua, probably to investigate water resources here.

(End of Chapter)