Chapter 2363: Agricultural Company (Part 3)

"How much land does his family hold now?"

"I'd estimate five or six thousand mu. Besides what was allocated when he first arrived, he applied for new land deeds several times as the municipal government opened up wasteland for cultivation. At least three thousand more. His family has always been the second-largest among the local gentry, so land is never in short supply for them." Yuan Fei said.

Developing and planting six thousand mu in a place like Sanya was no small feat. Xu Yanliang nodded to himself; this Hu Wumei had real talent for management.

In truth, if Xu Yanliang had paid more attention to outside affairs, he would have known that Hu Wumei had long been held up as a model "New Farmer" by the Senate. His accomplishments had been featured in the Lingao Times, and he had attended commendation meetings in Lingao and participated in the representative assembly of the Hainan Provincial Consultative Council. He was a rising star.

Shortly, Hu Wumei emerged from the inner residence, freshly changed.

He wore a semi-new short-sleeved shirt, linen trousers, and rattan sandals on bare feet. The look was both dignified and simple. A fountain pen was clipped in his shirt pocket, and a wristwatch adorned his wrist—no ordinary timepiece, but a prize awarded for his participation in the Senate's Agricultural Front Commendation Conference, where he had earned the title of "New Era Agricultural Leader."

His entire ensemble, including his hairstyle, made him look very much like a Senate "cadre." This was a deliberate image he had cultivated for himself. Unlike many Consultative Council members who retained—or even deliberately maintained—remnants of their former attire, Hu Wumei strived to erase every trace of his past.

He had been supervising work at the newly opened coconut plantation that day. When the messenger child arrived saying a Senator had come, he was initially puzzled. The only Senator in all of Sanya was Mayor Tang, and Mayor Tang had visited his farm just a few days earlier. He wouldn't make a casual visit without reason.

This meant a new Senator had arrived. On his way back to the farm, Hu Wumei began calculating. As a veteran who had taken root here since first landing in Sanya, he had witnessed the city's transformation from initial bustle to its current quiet. Since Senator Wang left office and Senator Tang took over, Sanya's development had slowed to a crawl—stagnated, even. With this stagnation came a steady exodus of Senators. The original ones departed one by one as their terms ended, and almost no new ones arrived to replace them.

At Monday's Sanya Consultative Council meeting, Senator Tang had made no mention of a new Senator coming to take office. If this was a short-term business trip, the most likely visitor would be someone from the agricultural sector—otherwise, Hu Wumei couldn't fathom why they would want to see him.

Unfortunately, the messenger child was too young to provide useful details. He couldn't even state the Senator's surname, only that it was a "man" who had "arrived by bicycle." This narrowed nothing—it covered over seventy percent of all Senators.

Sure enough, Hu Wumei didn't recognize this Senator. The visitor clearly wasn't from the agricultural sector and claimed to have been "just transferred"—yet Senator Tang had mentioned nothing about a new arrival... Who exactly was this suddenly appearing Senator Xu, and what were his intentions? A knot of unease formed in Hu Wumei's chest.

Of one thing, however, he was certain: this Senator Xu was not an important figure in the Senate.

He changed his clothes and hurried back to the courtyard to pay his respects.

"Please, there's no need for such formality. I was merely passing by and decided to look around." Seeing his excessive deference, Xu Yanliang felt somewhat uncomfortable. "You're doing well here. Yuan Fei tells me you're also recognized as a model in the agricultural sector—a demonstration farm!"

"It's all thanks to the Senate's generosity. I've only done my small part." Hu Wumei offered a few humble words.

Despite his outward display of respect and reverence before this Senator, Hu Wumei had in fact met many Senators and had been received as a guest by Wen Desi, Wang Luobin, Wu De, Wu Nanhai, and others. Mayor Tang Menglong's official residence was always open to him. He understood the hierarchy within the Senate with perfect clarity. But he had grasped one essential principle: when facing any Senator, he never revealed the slightest hint of pride, always wearing an expression of tearful gratitude.

"...In the end, it's the Senate's policies that are wise. As for me, Hu Wumei, I was a decent farmer back in my hometown. If the Ming Kingdom hadn't been so chaotic, if pirates hadn't ravaged everything, I would never have taken up that trade." He made no attempt to hide his history. "As long as the imperial court can ensure peace and order, the common people naturally live in peace. No matter how poor, they won't be driven to desperate measures—there's always a glimmer of hope."

This was flattery so artfully delivered it left no trace. Everyone loves compliments, and Hu Wumei's were far more refined than crude phrases like "savior and benefactor." Xu Yanliang found himself instantly pleased.

"Well put. A government should be able to achieve precisely that!" Xu Yanliang said. "Your farm here—I notice it's called Baocheng Company?"

"Exactly. Baocheng was the name of my former hometown village. Using it means 'never forgetting one's roots.' Though I've taken root in Sanya and will branch out further in the future, I cannot forget where my 'roots' lie. As for registering a company, that was suggested by Chief Da Wan of Tiandihui. He said my family business had grown large enough to warrant incorporation. It's convenient for diversified operations and applying for loans—no need to go through small farmer loan programs; I can apply according to the qualifications of agricultural enterprises."

"Da Wan?"

"Senator Wan Lihui from the agricultural sector," Yuan Fei explained.

"Ah, him." Among the Wan brothers, Wan Lihui was the eldest, hence "Da Wan." From this description, Farm Owner Hu's assets were substantial indeed.

"So you've established quite a few factories." Xu Yanliang said. "Could you elaborate?"

Hu Wumei's heart tightened. What was the purpose of this line of questioning? But on reflection, the Senate knew his modest assets inside and out—there was nothing to hide. He immediately adopted a frank demeanor and laughed: "Calling them factories is rather generous—they're just small workshops."

It turned out that besides the mill, his farm also operated several small facilities: a hemp rope workshop, a coir mattress workshop, and a preserved fruit workshop.

"...And there's the newly established aquatic products processing factory at the port. 'Factory' is a grand term—really just a few workshops. The smallest has a dozen workers, the largest only thirty to fifty. And they operate seasonally. This way, the workers have employment year-round."

These were all agricultural processing enterprises. Xu Yanliang was slightly disappointed. But on reflection, the Senate hadn't established any significant light industry in Sanya either. For a private enterprise to achieve this level was already commendable.

"Who provides technical guidance?"

"All arranged through Tiandihui," Hu Wumei said. "Installing machines, debugging, production—one-stop service. No problems there. The headache comes when machines break down. Repairmen have to be summoned from Tiandu, and operations halt for several days."

"That must require considerable manpower. How many workers does the farm employ?"

"Not that many, actually. Excluding Nanyang slaves, we have about two hundred workers, male and female. Add in children and elderly, and it's over three hundred people."

"What? You still use slaves here?"

"Of course," Hu Wumei looked at Xu Yanliang with some puzzlement. "All the large farms here do."

Xu Yanliang knew little about the Senate's slavery practices. He was aware that large numbers of slaves had been used in developing Tiandu and Kaohsiung. He hadn't realized that slave labor had spread to the private sector.

"How many slaves?"

"About fifty. Originally there were more. Last year, female slaves were married off to workers. That counted as manumission."

"What work do you use so many slaves for?"

"They're used everywhere—farming, clearing wasteland, working in factories. To be honest, they're not very capable workers and have poor constitutions. Last winter while digging drainage ditches, seven or eight died of exhaustion at once. A significant loss!"

Xu Yanliang studied his matter-of-fact expression and felt a chill run through him. This is the "New Citizen" we've cultivated! Yet he also understood that human nature proved unreliable in the face of profit, particularly when the person before him had once been a pirate who killed without blinking.

"So the mortality rate is quite high."

"Higher than among farm workers, but not dramatically so." Hu Wumei said. "I paid good money for them—when they die, I lose money. Honestly, if they weren't so cheap, I really wouldn't be willing to use them..."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Poor constitution—as I mentioned. Moreover, they're able-bodied people who were captured by force, so they harbor perpetual resentment. Treat them too well, and they slack off. Treat them harshly, and they run away. Running away is one thing, but then they band together outside and rob, kill, and steal..."

"No wonder your place is so heavily fortified."

"One dare not let one's guard down. There was a riot here last summer." Hu Wumei still seemed to bear lingering fear. "One or two hundred slaves escaped from the mines after killing the guards, raiding isolated small farms as they went, killing and burning, growing their numbers. Before long, they'd swelled to three or four hundred. By the time the garrison from Yulin Fortress suppressed them, they had ravaged dozens of households and killed over a hundred people..."

A shocked expression crossed Xu Yanliang's face. He had no memory of this incident. After racking his brain, he vaguely recalled seeing a few related news items in Weekly News, but they had contained no specific details.

He asked Yuan Fei: "Are such incidents common?"

Yuan Fei nodded. "There are quite a few sporadic cases, but none on that scale. Thanks to the local militia and several large farms that served as strongholds, the damage was limited. Otherwise, losses would have been far greater. After that uprising, all the farms strengthened their defenses."

"I see." Xu Yanliang murmured. Learning these things had deeply unsettled him. He had never been particularly supportive of slavery. Back then, he had considered it "tolerable" given the catastrophic losses of naturalized citizens during the development of Tiandu and Kaohsiung. But now it seemed this system was not only cruel but also generating expanding negative consequences.

It seems necessary to push for the abolition of slavery as soon as possible, he thought. Otherwise, continuing like this will create endless trouble.

For now, he didn't pursue the topic further with Hu Wumei. Instead, he asked: "So is your labor supply here adequate?"

(End of Chapter)