Chapter 1217: The Farm of Justice (16)

In the morning in Kansas, as the sunlight shone through the slightly humid air, shimmering light and shadows danced in the atmosphere.

As golden rays spilled onto the land, a distant resonance drifted on the breeze. As the last chill of spring faded, the footsteps of the season brought a gentle whisper, telling the hardworking people on this vast expanse of earth that spring plowing was about to begin.

The young people staying in the Kent farm cottage rose early. By the time the sun had just climbed above the horizon, everyone was already busy packing their things.

Before dawn, the rumble of tractors joined the spring thunder from the night before. The noisy chatter of farmhands drifted over from the main house not far away. Clark pushed open the wooden door and smelled the aroma of Martha's thick soup in the damp air.

Clark had just lifted his foot to step out when he suddenly pulled it back, turning to the people behind him. "Wait a moment before coming out. The cobblestones outside are a bit loose. Bruce, help me get a shovel; I need to pack them down tight."

With a 'whoosh', a shovel flew over. Clark instinctively reached out to catch it, but upon looking up, he saw Diana's face. He raised an eyebrow in surprise; the force with which the shovel had flown over was not light.

Diana flashed a wide grin and said, "I know you're proud of your strength, boy, but I'm not bad either."

Clark laughed as he walked out carrying the shovel, saying, "I could tell you wanted to spar with me. You Amazonian women are all like this—always wanting to prove your strength."

"There's nothing wrong with that. At the very least, you'll have a good helper when we're farming today," Diana shrugged, also picking up a shovel to help Clark flatten the cobblestones at the doorway.

A sleepy Bruce stood by the door, looking out blankly. "There seem to be a lot of people on the farm. What are they here for?"

"To help with the farm work, of course," Clark said in a lighthearted tone.

But Bruce and Diana stared at him simultaneously, both wearing looks of disapproval. Clark sighed helplessly. "What are you thinking? I'm not some evil landlord exploiting the peasants!"

"The Kent farm has long been mechanized. No one plows the fields by hand anymore. But precisely because it's large-scale and standardized, we need many professionals to help the farm complete the spring plowing."

"First, we need an agricultural consultant. They are responsible for providing knowledge and technical support. They aren't the experts themselves, but they know where to find the most reliable ones."

"These experts will collect soil samples from the Kent farm, take them back to the lab for testing, analyze our soil conditions, and determine the most suitable crops, planting methods, and timing."

"We also need a procurement agent. They handle all commercial matters. After receiving professional reports from the experts, they help us analyze which seeds are the most cost-effective, which farms previously planted excellent varieties and gained good returns."

"Next, they contact seed merchants or go to the machinery markets or second-hand trading markets to purchase the farm tools we need to add this year."

"At the same time, we have a government consultant. They mainly help us solve policy issues—for example, what preferential policies have been introduced for farmers this year, whether there have been any changes to agricultural regulations, and if there are new standards for the harvest and secondary processing of agricultural products."

"Finally, my father personally handles the sales channels for our agricultural products, pushing our high-quality goods to various suppliers."

"Of course, that's not all. There are also technical consultants and skilled workers—for instance, in agriculture, there are experts in pesticide spraying and volunteers for natural forest protection. In animal husbandry, we need veterinarians to give the animals check-ups and breeders for the livestock."

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Clark listed a whole bunch of things and spread his hands. "In modern agriculture, almost all physical labor is replaced by machines, but in contrast, the knowledge and technical parts require a massive amount of talent."

"The sound of tractors you heard this morning comes from the sowers we hired. You can't expect the few of us to plow such a large piece of land, can you? Even if we ran the tractors 24 hours a day, it wouldn't happen."

"The timing for spring plowing is precious. We have to plan after the rain, wait for the soil moisture to reach just the right level, and then immediately start sowing, seizing the most valuable few days to get all the seeds into the ground."

"So, are we cooperating with those sowers today?" Bruce asked.

Clark shook his head. "No, this year is a bit special. We can have an independent plot. I can take you all to farm it together, and we'll come back to harvest it when the season arrives."

Clark turned and walked away, sighing as he went. "It's a pity Lois is busy with work; she's used up her annual leave and had to go back."

Diana teased with a smile, "You could have just asked me if she was reluctant to leave. I can tell you, yes, and what she was most reluctant to leave behind was you."

Standing by the roadside, Clark coughed twice, covered his mouth with his fist, and stammered, "It... has nothing to do with me."

After a while, Diana and Bruce had changed into waterproof boots. Clark held some small flags, an axe, and a coil of hemp rope, and the three of them set off toward the depths of the Kent farm.

From the sky, the farm doesn't look very large because it's surrounded by other big farms, but if you actually walk it, it's a long, exhausting trek. The three of them walked for over half an hour before finally reaching the target point Clark had mentioned.

Walking east along the field ridge, entering the Kent farm's natural reserve, and following a small path, they arrived at a secluded, open space that looked like a paradise.

One side was a forest, and the other two sides were protected by windbreak plants. It looked like a garden enclosed by a fence, but the actual area was quite large; the windbreak forest on the opposite side was almost disappearing into the horizon.

This piece of land looked a bit different from the other fields. The biggest difference was that the ground looked somewhat messy, lacking the obvious traces of tractor cultivation seen in other fields.

"This was originally the farm's vegetable patch," Clark introduced as they walked in. "But during last year's spring plowing, our flock of sheep caught a disease. Mom and Dad were busy working with the vet to solve the problem, so they didn't have the energy to manage the farm."

"By the time they realized it, they had missed the best planting season, so this vegetable patch was left empty. Dad originally proposed planting some late-sown crops, but Mom said it would be better to let it lie fallow."

"Fallow?" Bruce asked, a bit puzzled.

"Rotating fallow," Clark said while searching for something in the surroundings. "The fertility of the land is a gift from nature, but this gift isn't constant. Plants absorb nutrients from the soil; if you plant continuously, the nutrients drop, and so does the yield."

"So, we don't cultivate all the land. Instead, we let the land take turns lying fallow to restore fertility, much like a closed fishing season."

"Since we didn't get around to sowing last year, Mom decided to abandon this patch and open a new one in another direction. This year, they decided to continue planting that other patch."

"But I think this land is naturally quite fertile. It's been resting for a year and has recovered well enough. It's a waste to leave it empty, so why don't we plant something together?"

Bruce and Diana exchanged glances. Neither seemed to want to be the one to ask the stupid question, but Diana finally spoke up: "So, what are we planting? And how?"

Before Clark could speak, Diana gestured with both hands. "The Amazons mainly rely on hunting. We do farm, but at most, we grow some herbs. Our planting method is to burn a patch of land and then scatter the seeds directly. We don't water, we don't use pesticides; it's all up to heaven. So, you'd better not expect any constructive advice from me."

Bruce also looked at Clark. "Don't look at me either. I have almost no research on agriculture. You all know that you can't farm in Gotham. Plants there are like the people—they only have two outcomes: they either die, or they go crazy."

Clark sighed deeply. "That's exactly why I brought you to this small patch for practice. If I let you drive a tractor directly onto the big fields, you'd definitely drive it all crooked."

"What's so hard about driving a tractor?" Diana scoffed. "Isn't it about the same as driving a car? At most, there are a few more buttons. My driving is pretty good."

Clark rolled his eyes but couldn't be bothered to argue. He found a small tree that had fallen in the nearby forest, chopped the trunk into several sections, and then split the logs into thinner wooden stakes.

Next, he drove the stakes into the ground all around the plot, tied the flags to the tops with hemp rope, and after finishing, clapped his hands. "Alright, this is our experimental field. The method for planting common vegetables is about the same. We need to get a tractor over here first."

"Why do we need a tractor first?" Bruce asked, following behind Clark. "Shouldn't we pick the type of plant first, and then go pick the seeds?"

"Because we have to grab a good tractor first," Clark said, his pace quick. "The sowers we hired have their own tractors, but some don't, and they have to use ours."

"We have four tractors in total, but there are new ones and old ones. Do you want to relive the glory of German industry from my grandfather's era?"

Bruce paused, glancing at Diana, but ultimately pulled Clark aside. "Fly over there. I want the newest one."

Clark turned back in surprise, glancing at Diana. Bruce cleared his throat and stared at Diana, who raised both hands in surrender. "Fine, I absolutely didn't see you flying to kiss a wild goose last night."

"I wasn't kissing a wild goose!" Clark raised his voice, a bit angry, but his tone turned helpless. "The Bat-Cat went into the goose's dream to fight crime, causing two geese to fall out of the sky while flying. I had to send them back."

Then, Clark realized what he had let slip, and he stared at Bruce with dissatisfaction, then looked at Diana, wanting to explain.

Diana pulled her hands back and crossed her arms. Seeing the two boys staring at her, she scoffed, "Do you really think being able to fly is such a rare thing?"

As soon as she finished speaking, to Clark's shock, the black-haired princess leaped into the air.

Diana's figure traced a fluid arc in the air, like a fish in water. As her long hair danced, the waves in her eyes were brighter than the morning light.

As soon as the words fell, in Clark's shocked gaze, the black-haired princess jumped up.

Diana's figure drew a smooth arc in the air, like a swimming fish in the water. As her long hair danced, the waves in her eyes were brighter than the morning light.