Chapter 566: Sa'ertu

He Yuzhu did not return to the Farm, but instead detoured directly to Ha City.

He took a winding route and, under the introduction of Lv Hong, went to a train repair factory.

The old master at the factory took one look and assumed he wanted to repair an engine; he shook his head like a rattle-drum and refused on the spot.

He Yuzhu hurriedly stepped forward to offer a cigarette, smiling as he explained, "Master, you've misunderstood. I have a way to handle the engine myself; I only ask that you fix up the frame and replace the few beams that need changing."

Only then did the old master loosen his stance and nod.

He Yuzhu felt confident. In his space, there were still dozens of brand-new M Country Tank Engines lying there, with horsepower far exceeding that of the decrepit old motors.

Once the old master had hammered the frame until it was sturdy and looked brand new, he pulled the six big machines over.

Changing the belt pulleys and couplings took a lot of Kung Fu, mainly because the steel in this place was not up to standard. He had no choice but to dismantle a tank's cannon barrel to make the pulleys.

For five whole days, He Yuzhu watched without stepping away, and he managed to get the two drilling rigs working better than new.

He also kept an extra eye out and prepared two spare engines for each machine.

The work of drilling wells runs continuously once started, and the machine wear is extremely severe; being prepared is the safest way.

That evening, He Yuzhu was washing up at the County Guesthouse when a roar of cars suddenly erupted in the courtyard.

He wiped his face and went out to greet them; the one in the lead was none other than Secretary Liu.

"Good lad, you really are a god-like person! While farming, you actually managed to find me a big Oilfield!" Secretary Liu grabbed his hand and shook it excitedly.

He Yuzhu hurriedly pulled Lv Hong and Man Yatou to the front: "Leader, I dare not take credit for this. This time, Man Yatou deserves the top credit, Cadre Lv ranks second, and I am at most an errand runner. You don't know, this girl is a genius! Relying only on the scraps of data left behind by the little devils, she overturned their conclusions and calculated that a big Oilfield is hidden under the Songliao Plain. Without her, the pile of data in my hands would just be waste paper!"

Secretary Liu smiled and shook hands with Man Yatou.

After several years of tempering, this girl was no longer the type to blush when seeing people; her whole being exuded a sense of composure and confidence.

The exploration team leader Yang Fu also came over, his eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny: "I heard you even found the exploration equipment left behind by the little devils back then?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Let's go, I'll take you to see for yourselves."

The group followed him to the repair factory.

As soon as Yang Fu saw the brand-new, gleaming engines on the two pieces of equipment, his eyes lit up instantly: "These are old antiques from Germany in the forties. Did you replace these engines?"

He Yuzhu did not hide anything: "To tell you the truth, these are Tank Engines, the family assets saved up by our Farm. If you really manage to drill out oil with these treasures later, you must remember to return them to us."

Yang Fu did not speak, his eyes seemingly glued to the machines as he touched here and knocked there, as if meeting a long-lost relative: "Did you also modify this Drill Bit? Little He, you are not simple."

"That's right," He Yuzhu curled his lips, not humble in the slightest.

Yang Fu straightened his back, his gaze holding a bit more inquiry: "Just based on those few scraps of survey data, can you really calculate the location of an Oilfield?"

There was more to these words, clearly showing he was not quite convinced.

He Yuzhu was not annoyed and smiled faintly: "Team Leader Yang, tell me, what is the difference between an ordinary person and a genius? A genius is someone who can calculate how the universe operates from a single piece of data. The little devils drilled plenty of holes in that area back then, but they all gave up at eight hundred meters. Their calculations were also rough, and they didn't take the changes after the decimal point seriously at all. This is what is called 'a miss is as good as a mile.' Our Man Yatou is the one who picked up those missing fractions."

Hearing Brother Zhuzi praising her incessantly, Man Yatou's little face turned red, like a ripe fruit on an autumn branch.

Secretary Liu waved his hand, interrupting everyone: "The Ministry has held several meetings about this matter, eagerly hoping that we can drill for oil ourselves. Little He, when can we set off?"

"Everything is ready, just waiting for your order," He Yuzhu replied.

Lv Hong spoke up at the right moment: "The county leaders have prepared a simple meal and want to welcome everyone. Deputy Minister Liu, what do you think..."

Secretary Liu nodded: "After traveling for several days, everyone should rest their feet, have a hot meal, and we will set off tomorrow morning."

After returning from the meal, Secretary Liu did not go back to his room but followed He Yuzhu straight inside.

He Yuzhu understood immediately; this was to ask about the land reclamation.

He turned and took a stack of black-and-white photos from his bag, spreading them on the table.

The desolate meadow before reclamation, the rolling black waves of farmland after reclamation; the simple, drafty Earth Pit they lived in when they first arrived, and now, rows of neat wooden houses... the contrast was sharp and clear at a glance.

Secretary Liu nodded repeatedly as he looked, carefully putting the photos away to take back for the people at the Ministry to see.

He asked again: "How much grain do you estimate you can harvest next autumn?"

He Yuzhu pondered slightly: "The local folks estimate five million jin. I think at least ten million jin. After all, the land we've opened up is black soil that can be squeezed for oil; I am confident in a yield of two hundred jin per mu and up."

Secretary Liu slapped his thigh: "Good! If we can really have ten million jin, our Ministry won't be short of anything!"

He Yuzhu continued: "Actually, our Farm now has more than six hundred people; later, we took in over eight hundred more refugees. I'm thinking of continuing to reclaim land next year, and I'll take in anyone who comes as a refugee."

Secretary Liu agreed deeply: "Your idea of hoarding grain is excellent. I went to Guangdong Province and saw Liu Sanman; she said that according to your instructions, over this past year, the Lingnan Food Factory has quietly saved up five hundred thousand tons of grain, enough for two point two million people to eat for a whole year. If we really encounter a disaster year, how many lives can this save!"

He Yuzhu smiled and said: "I've also agreed with the county here that they will allocate a large piece of beach land to me next year. That place is soaked in water for half the year and looks like wasteland, but as long as we dig a large canal to divert the water, it will be sixty thousand mu of fertile land. By then, another ten million jin of grain will be added to the account."

Secretary Liu patted his shoulder, sighing with emotion: "You, I really think you should go to the Ministry of Agriculture to be an official!"

"Don't," He Yuzhu waved his hands repeatedly, "I'm the type of person who thinks of one thing and does it; if you really made me follow a routine every day, I really couldn't do it!"

The next day, just as the sky was turning bright, a mighty motorcade set off.

Over a hundred people and more than thirty vehicles kicked up dust that filled the sky.

It took a full three days to reach the vicinity of Gaotaizi.

He Yuzhu immediately directed the Farm workers to level the ground, build simple houses, and set up large military tents.

Two high-power Generators roared to life, and in an instant, the camp was brightly lit, with the light reaching out for a mile.

Yang Fu watched in amazement: "Little Factory Director He, the scale of your Farm is too extravagant! When we did exploration before, we lived in Earth Pits and lit Candles, but you all are better off—you brought three Generators and even live in such impressive tents."

He Yuzhu laughed: "The tents are temporary; in two days, we will build wooden houses."

The north wind grew stronger, and the clothes Man Yatou brought were too thin, leaving her shivering and huddled.

He Yuzhu saw this and, without a word, took off his own down jacket to wrap around her, while he took a wolf-fur coat from the car to wear.

Secretary Liu saw the wolf-fur coat and said: "This thing of yours is much warmer than a military overcoat."

He Yuzhu hurriedly took out another one: "I had your clothes prepared long ago."

After putting it on, Secretary Liu said: "This thing is truly warm."

In the following days, Man Yatou spent all day riding in the car across the wilderness, measuring one moment and marking the next, determined to find that treasure land most likely to yield oil.

After two days, she had traveled dozens of kilometers and stepped over every one of the well sites the little devils had drilled back then.

After comparing them, Man Yatou handed a military map with a red circle drawn on it to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu took it and looked, his eyeballs nearly popping out—the place circled in red clearly had three characters written there: Saertu!