Chapter 365: Policy

After Lao Hai escaped to Taiwan, no sooner had he settled down than he began plotting to start a new business.

However, the six hundred taels of silver he'd brought from selling off his household goods were certainly not enough to open a shop here, so in the end, after surveying the scene, Lao Hai took out all his savings, added a two-hundred-tael bank loan, gritted his teeth, and went to a carriage dealership to buy an expensive sightseeing carriage and two Dian horses, becoming a cab driver.

Unexpectedly, Lao Hai had bet right on this one. No sooner had he bought the carriage than the number of travelers coming to Dayuan began to skyrocket; business boomed, and Lao Hai quickly paid off his loan.

After this, he began engaging in capital operations: he mortgaged his own carriage to the bank, then bought an additional carriage, so that while working as a driver, he also became a carriage boss.

On the clean, beautiful streets, Lao Hai drove while chattering away with his passengers, and when he got worked up, he even launched into a tirade against the Ming Dynasty Government's corruption and decay, which made Master Bo, dressed in a thin robe, turn dark-faced.

Yet although Laoye was displeased, he could produce no counterargument: he knew full well that the evil policy of the "Buying Agent" was the chief culprit that had ruined many families.

After hearing Lao Hai's bumpy entrepreneurial history, Fang Tangjing, sitting behind him, found his interest greatly piqued: he was quite concerned with how local immigrants made a living, because these circumstances could reflect the local government's attitude toward the subjects under its rule.

However, Lao Hai was thoroughly familiar with this kind of probing from Fang Tangjing — practically every wealthy Ming merchant who could afford to charter a carriage for sightseeing would pump him for the same information.

Lao Hai told Fang Tangjing: every immigrant who comes to Dayuan is arranged a job by the General's Mansion to support their family, regardless of gender. So you won't find idlers here, not a single one. Most of these immigrants are actually still at the bottom of society; they carry housing loans and immigration debts and need to work every day to earn money.

However, under the General's Mansion's clean governance, there are no petty officials bullying them, no harsh taxes or levies; General Daren not only takes care of everyone's retirement, but also looks after sickness and the children's schooling, so everyone is full of drive and feels that life has promise.

Next, Lao Hai spoke of himself: successful entrepreneurial bosses like him were actually few, because most immigrants were poor wretches, and those who could produce a first pot of gold were a very small proportion. So those who can be bosses nowadays, apart from a minority like him, are the local Naturalized Savages.

Speaking of the Savages, Lao Hai was quite envious. These natives, stripped of their ancestral hunting grounds and fishing grounds, now all live in big houses, and what's more, the General's Mansion implemented a policy at the beginning of the year: all of them were compensated with a sum of land requisition fees.

The silver payout wasn't all; to prevent these Savages from becoming "demolition paupers" who go from sudden wealth to sudden poverty, the General's Mansion even set up special classes, teaching the Savages secret fried chicken recipes and shop decoration plans. Now these Savages have all gotten cocky; the Kentucky Fried Chicken shops and Zhengxin Chicken Steak joints on the streets are all run by them.

"But there's no need to mind them; that lot won't amount to anything." Not noticing the strange expressions on his passengers' faces, Lao Hai, at this point, pointed to the pretty wooden house areas enclosed by white fences on both sides of the road, then told his guests: those Savages have a low level of education and can only work in the food and beverage industry. The most the Savages do after getting rich is buy up the Mess Halls in various districts; commercially, they're very conservative.

Only at the very end did Lao Hai bring up the part Fang Tangjing was most interested in: how wealthy outsiders can gain a foothold locally.

He said that on the first floor of the Chikan District Government building facing the street, there is an Investment Promotion Office window, a dedicated unit for receiving wealthy Ming merchants. Lao Hai told Fang Tangjing: the clerks in the government yamen are all very polite and enthusiastic, and they won't cheat the people; if you have any business, just go right ahead.

Additionally, Lao Hai told Fang Tangjing that the Investment Promotion Office has a "Negative List"; for any industry of the General's Mansion not on the Negative List, outside merchants can invest and trade, either partnering with the General or going it alone.

Hearing this, Fang Tangjing suddenly burst out laughing, then extended the folding fan in his hand outside the carriage and drew a circle: "So that means this farmland can be bought and sold too, eh?"

Just as Lao Hai was chatting away the whole journey, the carriage had already left the cement roads of the Residential Area and switched to the lower-grade cinder road surface. And the buildings on both sides of the road had also changed from orderly residential blocks into farmland like a green carpet, stretching boundlessly to the limit of sight.

"Hahaha." After hearing Fang Tangjing's question, Lao Hai also burst out laughing — there wasn't a single robe-wearing charter customer who didn't care about land, and today's Fang Laoye was no exception.

"Can be bought and sold, can be bought and sold!" Lao Hai now fixed his gaze ahead, concealing the strange smile all over his face: "Only five taels of silver per mu, fifteen hundred mu... hmm, that's called... right, sold by the square kilometer minimum! All in contiguous plots!"

"Huh?" Hearing Lao Hai say this, even Master Bo, who had been turning his head to look at the scenery the whole time, was visibly moved. And the equally shocked Fang Tangjing promptly voiced what was on Laoye's mind: "Truly? Sold in contiguous plots?"

One could hardly blame Laoye for being moved. One had to realize that what now met everyone's eyes was a boundless expanse of "mature fields." Even sitting in the carriage, Master Bo and his companions could see all sorts of crops growing in these fields, and the silver-thread-like irrigation channels woven into the flat green carpet, their glint visible from afar.

These improved mature fields were no wasteland; if one could truly buy fifteen hundred mu of them, for Laoye from Fujian, a land of eight parts mountain, one part water, and one part field, that would be a patrimony to pass down through the family! In this moment, the landlord genes deeply buried in the blood of the Scholar-Official erupted instantly, thirstily telling the body's owner: buy land! Buy land!

"On the wall of the District Government hall hangs the detailed land acquisition guide; Laoye may go and view it." After turning his head to say this, Lao Hai turned back and broke into a sly grin again: "But this farmland, once bought, cannot be subcontracted to tenant farmers; only your own family may cultivate it!"

"Ah!" Master Bo was greatly startled to hear this and could no longer maintain his reserve. He opened his mouth and asked: "Why is subcontracting to tenants not permitted?"

"The General does not allow it, saying tenant farmers crowd out employment quotas." Lao Hai first cheerfully pointed upward, then said: "What one household can do, why contract it out to tenants?"

"Nonsense! These fifteen hundred mu of land — how could one household possibly farm it all?" Master Bo was now beside himself with indignation.

"Hahaha." Lao Hai did not turn his head this time, afraid that Master Bo would see the mockery all over his face: "Elsewhere they couldn't farm it all, but under the General's rule, they can!"

At this point, he craned his neck to look around, then loudly pointed into the distance and said: "Gentlemen Laoye, look over there — what is that thing?"

Master Bo looked in the direction of the voice and spotted a dot emitting black smoke in the distant fields.

"Giddyup!" In high spirits, Lao Hai said no more, but vigorously shook the leather reins in his hands; the two docile Dian horses accordingly sped up. After the carriage had run along the cinder road for about another ten minutes, Master Bo and his companions finally saw clearly what that smoking black dot was. Of course, upon drawing near, that dot had become a great Iron Bull belching black smoke.

"Whoa..." Lao Hai now slowly reduced speed and guided the horses to a roadside pavilion. After stopping the carriage, he first put feed bags on the two horses, then took out a folding Canvas Bucket, preparing to go down to the channel to draw water for the horses.

At the same time, Lao Hai pointed at the tractor working away and said: "Two Laoye, that is the great machine that can plow a thousand mu a day; feel free to go up and take a look."

Before Lao Hai had even finished, Fang Tangjing had already begun preparing to go down into the field. He swiftly took off his newly bought Fuguiniiao Leather Shoes, then peeled off his Playboy short socks, tied his long robe around his waist, and jumped bare-legged from the carriage, striding quickly onto the field ridge by the road.

Yet he was not the only one to jump barefoot onto the field ridge: Master Bo did the same.

When it came to farming matters, traditional Scholar-Officials were quite rigorous. As spokesmen for the Landlord Class, there were practically no Scholar-Officials ignorant of farming. From the imperial court above down to the prefectures and counties below, even the idle literati who composed poetry and painted were no laymen when it came to sowing and reaping.

So when the two Laoye saw the great Iron Bull slowly approaching from ahead, they hastily took off their shoes and entered the field.

As the Iron Bull came near with its roaring and smoking, Master Bo finally saw the marvel of this thing clearly. The driver's cab with its large panes of Glass, the driver sitting inside, and the cylindrical coal gas furnace behind the Iron Bull — these Master Bo had already seen on the machines at the dock, and none of them surprised him.

The only thing Laoye had not expected was the long steel plow behind the Iron Bull.

The steel plow was arranged horizontally; along its long body, at every interval, was a gleaming large plow blade. Then, right before Master Bo's dumbstruck eyes, the field soil was effortlessly rolled up by that row of plow blades, looking as if it took no effort at all.

Dragging the long plow, the tractor made a huge turn in front of Master Bo, then plowed its way off into the distance again.

Master Bo stood dumbly at the field's edge, watching the Iron Bull recede into the distance, before murmuring: "A thousand mu plowed in a day... I fear it is true!"

Fang Tangjing first nodded with a grave expression, then walked forward a few steps, crouched in the field the Iron Bull had plowed, and thrust his arm into the furrow to test it: "This must have gone half an arm's length into the earth — what a deep plow!"

"Mm, deep plowing means fewer crop diseases — what a formidable Iron Bull!" Master Bo, who had caught up, now picked up some field soil and examined it: "The soil is no good; it counts as medium-grade field at best."

After tossing aside the clod and standing up, Master Bo turned his head to survey the surroundings, then remarked with emotion: "Add in these irrigation channels, and I fear it's worth the price of top-grade field!"

... His face thoroughly slapped by the Iron Bull, Master Bo ultimately went to the irrigation channel to wash his feet, then returned to the carriage.

By this point, Master Bo's attitude had become much gentler. He not only had Bo Mo bring out the newly bought Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes for Lao Hai to smoke, but also brought out Orange Soda for him to drink.

After this, Laoye heard the rest: this great Iron Bull could plow the fields when hitched to a plow, and when the crops were ripe, the great Iron Bull could also be hitched to a kind of "rolling cutter" specially used for harvesting crops, capable of cutting down several hundred mu of rice entirely in a single day and night.

Next, Lao Hai, with extra enthusiasm, also gave Laoye a rundown on the Threshing Machine and other agricultural Equipment.

Master Bo now finally believed: in this world, there truly was a single household that could farm fifteen hundred mu of land.