Chapter 382 - Earthworms

"Once the county's coarse grain yields increase, I'll directly manufacture complete compound feed to sell to farmers—no more self-mixing." Wu Nanhai's ambitions ran high. "That will further increase yields, reduce technical difficulty, and make promotion considerably easier."

As he spoke, Wu Nanhai rode his Type 28 bicycle with Wan Lihui to a corner of the farm. A flat piece of land had been prepared here, surrounded on all sides by rows of small trees, with drainage ditches dug around the perimeter.

Most conspicuous were the many large wicker baskets heaped near the cleared ground. Though covered with straw mats, they emitted a pungent stench. Rotting liquid seeped onto the earth, with flies dancing happily in clouds above.

Wan Lihui immediately spotted his brother Wan Lihuang sitting idly under a grass shed, wearing a straw hat, occasionally swatting at flies.

Wan Lihui pinched his nose: "Why does it stink so terribly?"

Wu Nanhai seemed entirely unconcerned, leaning his bicycle against a tree trunk.

"Little Wan, this earthworm farm will be you brothers' responsibility from now on."

"Understood." Wan Lihui thought bitterly: Wonderful—this stinking, filthy work falls to us again. Is it because we're from farming backgrounds? He reflected sourly that his dream for this time-space had been freely playing with guns. Now here he was with no guns, just farming. Back to rural labor.

Despite such thoughts, he couldn't let it show. He quickly expressed determination to complete the organization's assignment with excellence.

Artificial earthworm cultivation was a relatively new agricultural technology. Its primary purposes were providing low-cost protein feed for livestock, poultry, and fish; processing various organic wastes; converting waste to fertilizer; and eliminating organic pollution. It could also improve soil fertility.

Wu Nanhai planned to raise red earthworms—a common breed in earthworm cultivation. These dung worms loved consuming various livestock manures and possessed strong fertilizer affinity, making them ideal for artificial cultivation.

"Look, these are the red earthworms we'll be raising." Wu Nanhai opened the wooden box. Several purple-red earthworms, ninety to one hundred fifty millimeters long, wriggled inside.

"They're easy to raise—the key is properly preparing the feed." Wu Nanhai led them toward the baskets with their frankly offensive odor.

"Earthworm feed," he explained, "can come from many sources. Basically any non-toxic, disease-free organic waste works: livestock manure, plant matter, fruit peels, sugarcane bagasse, rotten fruit. Red earthworms especially love rotting fruit and vegetable leaves—they prefer sweet-sour flavors."

"Rotten fruit isn't common locally—" Wan Lihui considered that since Wu Nanhai's comprehensive composting initiative, seemingly no organic matter escaped his grasp. He wondered how feed would be allocated to the earthworms. Those baskets contained heaven-knew-what, stinking atrociously.

"Rotten vegetable leaves work just as well. Wild fruits too." Wu Nanhai had clearly planned ahead. "Leizhou is shipping us several boatloads of jackfruit—they have abundant supplies there, along with sugarcane bagasse." He pulled back a basket mat.

The basket contained rotting jackfruit and copious sugarcane bagasse—an overwhelming sweet-sour-rotting smell forced Wan Lihui to cover his nose.

"These need composting soon as well." Wu Nanhai frowned slightly.

Organic matter for feed had to be fully fermented before use. Earthworms were omnivorous segmented animals; organic wastes required composting and fermentation before earthworms could consume them—otherwise mass earthworm deaths would result. So the Wan brothers' main task was essentially composting.

Wu Nanhai personally took up a shovel, scooping out various organic wastes for a composting demonstration.

Before fermentation, livestock and poultry manure needed watering and crushing. Crop stalks and straw should first be cut into short strips with a hoe-knife; rotten fruit and sugarcane bagasse could be used directly. After piling, water was added and mixed evenly for thorough soaking. Then the material was ground-piled to approximately one meter height. The pile should be loose rather than compacted—this aided thermophilic bacterial growth. Water thoroughly for fifty to sixty percent moisture content.

After piling the feed, cover with plastic sheeting for temperature and moisture retention. Since large plastic sheets—such luxury items—weren't available here, straw mats would substitute. Then water again to keep mats moist.

"After three or four days, the internal pile temperature can reach fifty to sixty degrees Celsius." Wu Nanhai opened his bag and extracted a rod-shaped object wound repeatedly with grass rope. Carefully unwrapping it revealed an enormous glass rod—the Glass Factory's latest product: an alcohol thermometer. The ungainly thing resembled a vibrator, certain to inspire endless imagination in the otaku-minded.

"Thermometer. You must monitor compost temperature daily. Too low or too high won't work. Turn the pile every two weeks, adding moisture. After three or four turnings, properly fermented feed should be: dark brown, odorless, soft and loose, not sticky. Then it's ready for use."

Wan Lihui watched Wu Nanhai dig into a small pile and extract a handful of fermented feed: "Just like this."

This hands-on demonstration somewhat impressed him: indeed, this was how an agricultural technician should conduct themselves.

Then Wu Nanhai began guiding them in constructing earthworm beds. Fermented feed was piled into ridges eighty centimeters wide and two to three hundred centimeters long, then watered. Finally he emptied the wooden box's earthworms onto the surface. The creatures burrowed almost immediately into the feed.

"If they refuse to burrow in, the feed isn't properly fermented," Wu Nanhai explained. "This batch is breeding stock from the ship—just a few dozen specimens. Normally each earthworm bed can be seeded with a thousand. In approximately three to four months, density can reach fifteen thousand per square meter—harvest time. Not only can earthworms serve as feed, but earthworm castings can feed fish and shrimp, plus function as high-quality fertilizer."

Wu Nanhai handed him a mimeographed booklet titled Earthworm and Housefly Maggot Cultivation Technology, stamped with: "Internal materials, Agricultural Committee only."

"Earthworm cultivation is relatively straightforward. Mainly maintain proper temperature, moisture, and ventilation, plus process feed correctly."

"Raising them this way—won't it take at least a quarter to reach batch production capacity? Is there enough time?"

"There's time," Wu Nanhai assured him. "Initially our lending scale is small—not that many chicks, so formula feed demand won't be large either."

Wu Nanhai finished his instructions and provided an equipment list for earthworm cultivation: rakes, shovels, and similar tools, plus medical factory face masks.

"These are now yours. Use masks as needed—maintain proper labor protection. Take care of the tools."

Then he mounted his bicycle and departed in grand style. The Wan brothers sat by the earthworm bed, staring at each other in mutual commiseration.

"Brother, didn't you say coming here we could shoot Japanese for entertainment?" Wan Lihuang gazed at his sibling. "All I see is farm work all day..."

"Well—" Wan Lihui had no good answer. This reality diverged too drastically from casually using Japanese pirates as target practice. "Let's just focus on building the new countryside first."

"Then why come all this way just to build? Could've simply gone back home to build..."

"Enough questions!" Wan Lihui finally lost patience. "Go compost!"

And so the Wan brothers commenced their new countryside construction in this new time-space.

Wu Nanhai leisurely cycled along field paths, occasionally encountering his farm workers. Everyone had grown accustomed to these "iron-wheeled vehicles." No one came to gawk anymore—they simply stood respectfully as he passed. Wu Nanhai would greet workers as usual—not to "connect with the masses," but because good nature came naturally to him.

Now, rather than returning to the farm office, he headed toward the newly-constructed livestock area.

Previously, the livestock section had been a minor component of the farm—essentially courtyard-style farming. Following battles, trade, and various acquisitions, livestock and poultry numbers had steadily increased. Moreover, during spring, under professional veterinarian Yang Baogui's guidance, the Agricultural Committee had launched an ambitious artificial insemination campaign—results had been significant. Clearly by late summer or early autumn, population numbers would expand substantially. The Agricultural Committee decided to establish permanent livestock facilities before that surge arrived.

The livestock area was located near Nick's previously-built horse stables. The Agricultural Committee had actually coveted this land for some time—when building Nick's stables, they'd contemplated purchasing the entire tract.

But within this large expanse of wasteland lay one piece of owned land—approximately two hundred mu, which had grown some peanuts though clearly lain fallow for years.

Ownerless land required only registration at the county government—pay a fee, receive a deed. But negotiations with this particular plot's landlord had consumed considerable time. This landlord proved a stubborn type. When Wu Nanhai visited with Zhang Youfu, he could scarcely believe this person was actually a landlord—his house had a thatched roof. Though poor as any ordinary smallholder, the man absolutely refused to sell this land he neither farmed nor could farm. Supposedly, selling it meant he would no longer be a landlord. To preserve this hollow title, he adamantly refused all offers. Multiple negotiations failed.

Dugu Qiuhun, hearing about the impasse, had even proposed deploying policemen for forcible seizure. Zhang Youfu suggested: if the transmigrators didn't wish to act themselves, they could forge a deed, then through Secretary Wang's connections spend one hundred taels to sue in county court—guaranteed victory.

"No, absolutely not." Wu Nanhai shook his head vigorously. Such collusion with officials to bully common people—he fundamentally opposed it. Everyone agreed these methods were too distasteful, seriously damaging the transmigrator collective's image. The Ming might be corrupt through and through, but in the early revolutionary stage, the glorious righteous image had to be maintained.

(End of Chapter)