Chapter 379 - Fu Buer Joins the Society

"Finally cleared every hurdle." Wu Nanhai gazed at the rice ears swaying heavy with the coming harvest, breathing a sigh of relief. In the distance, the vigorous construction at Meitai Yang's high-yield field project filled his heart with quiet satisfaction.

Though the first early-rice crop had been bumpy, with yields falling below expectations, it had yielded invaluable experience. Many practical problems now had working solutions. He estimated that at the current construction pace, planting those fifteen hundred mu of new high-yield fields would have to wait until August—still in time for late-season planting.

Achieving modern-era yields of two thousand jin per mu was, of course, impossible. He estimated test field yields around eight hundred jin per mu—in Lingao, this would be nothing short of miraculous.

The rain-dependent fields had performed poorly—generally only three to four hundred jin. Wu Nanhai had discovered that without sufficient agricultural inputs and proper field management, hybrid rice performed only marginally better than ordinary lodging-resistant varieties. Hybrid rice on rain-dependent fields yielded merely fifty to one hundred jin more per mu than competing varieties—a difference hardly worth noting.

Still, this harvest combined with April's sweet potato haul had astonished all of Lingao County. Landlords everywhere were making inquiries: what seeds were the Australians using? Farm workers had suddenly become hot commodities—recognized on the road, they'd be dragged off for drinks while locals attempted to extract information. Several rich peasants and small landlords had even offered to marry daughters to them if they'd switch employers. As for the various schemes to ingratiate themselves with farm personnel and obtain seeds at harvest—these were commonplace.

Wu Nanhai remained unconcerned. Hybrid rice seed-saving was pointless given the genetics; sweet potatoes accumulated toxins over generations. Without the Agricultural Committee's technical support system, such miracles wouldn't recur. But for appearances, he held several assemblies announcing strict prohibition of seed leakage—anyone caught would be "sent to the labor reform camp."

"Labor reform camp" now made indigenous laborers across Lingao tremble. Camp commander Fu Youdi's reputation had grown to rival Himmler's. To strengthen laborers' law-abiding consciousness, Wu De periodically organized indigenous workers to visit the camp, allowing them to fully appreciate how fortunate it was to work honestly for the transmigrator collective.

Some who believed they had connections with the collective—like Zhang Youfu, who'd facilitated peace negotiations between the county government and transmigrators the previous year—occasionally visited Wu De, hinting at interest in the new seeds. Fu Buer, once captured and later appointed Meiyang Village representative, had heard rumors of the cropped-heads' new miracle—yields of seven or eight hundred jin from a single rice crop. He could sit still no longer. He hurried to East Gate Market to find Ma Peng, hoping for an introduction to important farm figures. "Spending some silver is no problem," he assured.

But Ma Peng told him there was no rush: "The leaders are recently establishing something called the 'Heaven and Earth Society'—specifically to help everyone farm. If you want to learn their methods, just register at the Heaven and Earth Society office at East Gate Market."

"Heaven and Earth Society?" Fu Buer was puzzled.

"Heaven and Earth Society." Ma Peng nodded sagely. "Heaven above, earth below—Heaven and Earth Society."

Fu Buer hurried to East Gate Market. A new two-story building had risen near the outer perimeter of East Gate Street. Before it stood an incongruously placed wooden arch inscribed with "Heaven and Earth Society" in large characters. Flanking couplets read: "Earth shakes the high ridge, a stream flows on for a thousand ages; Gate faces the great sea, three rivers flow for ten thousand years."

Fu Buer gathered his courage and entered. The receptionist, hearing his request, produced a registration form. Though somewhat literate, Fu Buer was effectively semi-illiterate and had to ask them to write for him. The registration covered only name, address, and family members—but then asked how much land he had, and how much was paddy versus dry field.

Fu Buer was about to answer, then swallowed his words. After a moment's thought, he said his family had only fifty mu of paddy—in truth they had over four hundred mu: three hundred mu of paddy, more than one hundred mu of dry field. He said this because it suddenly occurred to him: who knew what these cropped-heads intended with this so-called "Heaven and Earth Society"? Centuries of farmer wisdom, accumulated through generations of deception by government and gentry alike, prompted Fu Buer to set an ambush instinctively.

After registration, the clerk gave him a bamboo token with an engraved number. He was instructed: on the first of next month, bring the token to the Heaven and Earth Society office for a group meeting chaired by Society President Ye Yuming.

Fu Buer was confused: "Isn't this for buying seeds?"

The clerk smiled: "It's not that simple. You'll meet with others first. President Ye will explain the specifics at the meeting."

Fu Buer felt a flutter of anxiety: "Um, may I ask—does the Heaven and Earth Society charge fees..."

"Fees?" The clerk checked his registration. "You have only fifty mu of paddy—that makes you a middle peasant. Probably no charge. Only large landowners pay—they pay technical service fees." The clerk consulted some documents. "Charged per mu."

Thank goodness! Fu Buer rejoiced inwardly. Sure enough, nothing in this world came free. Fees were required! Fortunate he'd reported only fifty mu—otherwise wouldn't he be paying extra grain tax for nothing? Officials everywhere were equally rapacious! But the cropped-heads apparently did favor smaller households. He'd likely receive free seeds.

Fu Buer departed the Heaven and Earth Society office secretly pleased, already calculating: once fifty mu worth of seeds arrived, not a single grain would go to tenants—he'd personally supervise long-term workers planting them on his best fields. Then he'd save the finest for seed stock; next year all his paddies could be planted.

"The Heaven and Earth Society president is no longer Chen Bachi," Ye Yuming reflected with private satisfaction. "'Ye Bachi' didn't sound quite right anyway..."

He now stood in a second-floor meeting room at the Heaven and Earth Society. The freshly whitewashed walls were still slightly damp; black paint on the wooden board serving as a blackboard hadn't fully dried. This room would be the venue for future promotional meetings with Heaven and Earth Society clients. Technical training would be conducted at the farm—learning through practice.

The meeting room had gathered personnel from the Agricultural Committee, Civil Affairs Committee, and related departments, preparing to hold the first "Agricultural Work Conference" to discuss Heaven and Earth Society implementation methods.

Everyone agreed on using the Heaven and Earth Society as the external organization for agricultural technology promotion. Many local farmers and landlords had already demonstrated demand for new agricultural methods.

Originally, Ye Yuming's Heaven and Earth Society plan had involved only small poultry loans for contract farming, plus simple agricultural technical training for local farmers. After several days of discussion, the plan had expanded dramatically.

The new Heaven and Earth Society would have two departments: the "Heaven Department" for technology, and the "Earth Department" for promotion.

Improved varieties and agricultural techniques would be promoted through two client groups:

First were landlords—defined as those with over one hundred mu of directly managed land, cultivated personally or using hired workers. Also termed "entrepreneurial landlords."

Agricultural technology promotion would primarily target this group. The model: the Heaven and Earth Society provides seeds and trains field management personnel. In the first year, the Agricultural Department dispatches Heaven Department staff to assist purchasing landlords with field management while training their own personnel. Technical services for grain-producing households would require patent fees, bundled with seed purchase. Charging was intended to cultivate early intellectual property awareness.

Thereafter, these clients would pay annual membership dues. In return, the Heaven and Earth Society would continue providing improved seeds and basic services: crop disease and pest control, technical guidance, and supplies of pesticides and fertilizers.

"Wait!" Ye Yuming suddenly interjected. "Fertilizer's manageable—lignite and such, plus the synthetic ammonia industry. But pesticides? Doesn't that require an organic chemistry industry?"

"Traditional pesticides," Wu Nanhai explained. He'd accumulated considerable experience with folk pesticides during the early crop—his confidence had grown significantly. "This early rice crop succeeded largely thanks to traditional pesticides. They're not as effective as modern ones, certainly."

"Bordeaux mixture? Copper sulfate plus lime water? How effective? I remember it's for spraying fruit trees—can it work on rice?" Ye Yuming was recalling high school biology lessons.

"Bordeaux mixture is a protectant—effective if sprayed before disease appears, with protection lasting two weeks. Very effective against downy mildew, less so against rust. Early inorganic pesticides also include lime-sulfur mixture—quite effective as a fungicide, especially against rust and powdery mildew. Lasting effect, plus some insect prevention." Wu Nanhai had mastered materials excavated from old agricultural records. "Rice insect pests can be controlled with 'Yellow-Mouth Soil 666'—basically Chinese medicinal materials combined with simple inorganic compounds, effective against rice aphids. Many such formulas exist in the literature."

His enthusiasm grew: "I plan to propose to the Executive Committee that the Agricultural Committee establish a pesticide factory, plus a crude fertilizer factory. These two items alone would be agricultural super-weapons in the Great Ming. Besides our own use, we can sell commercially—they'll be in tremendous demand!"

Wan Lihui raised a concern: "External sales won't be highly profitable. Volume and weight are too large—profit per unit weight too low."

"No matter," Wu Nanhai explained. "First year, we use the Heaven and Earth Society to bring fertilizer and pesticides to the countryside. Besides supplying Society members, we provide free use to Green Zone and Blue Zone villages. Second year, we can sell countywide. Let farmers haul it themselves. Volume and weight aren't problems—these products cost little. Folk pesticides' costs are essentially labor costs—raw materials are virtually worthless."

"But, Committee Member Wu, I don't understand why the charter proposes targeting only 'entrepreneurial landlords.' Aren't all landlords the same?" Wan Lihui looked puzzled.

(End of Chapter)