Chapter 696: The Dilemma of Soybeans

Dahong took the contract, scanned it roughly, and after confirming the format and feeling there were no issues, he handed it to his deputy to keep safe. His mission here this time could be considered successfully concluded, and there were no other matters to discuss.

He also took the opportunity to hand over these Laborers. After the count was verified, the Laborers had already set off, and at their current pace, they were already far from Lema City.

The Ministry of Revenue had also calculated the remuneration for these Laborers for the first half of the month. He took out the calculation sheet, handed it to Dahong, and said, "This is the remuneration for these Laborers for the first half of the month, totaling ten thousand catties of grain, regardless of variety. You calculate the amount yourself to see if it's correct. If there are no issues, we can go get the grain in a moment and load it onto your Boat."

Because they were all round numbers and Dahong's arithmetic was not bad, he calculated it very quickly and found no problems at all. However, Dahong still mentioned, "I would like to exchange a portion of the grain for your oil. Do you think that is possible?"

The person from the Ministry of Revenue looked at Baifeng to seek his opinion, and Baifeng nodded in agreement. Huaxia's soybeans were currently the most planted and highest-yielding crop, but if they ate them directly, they couldn't consume much. Boiled beans really couldn't be considered good food, and they were extremely bloating—not a feeling of fullness, but rather bloating from the gas produced.

Therefore, after the soybeans were harvested, they would first set aside seeds, then keep a portion as reserve grain, and the rest would be made into various soybean products. But because production was troublesome and they could not serve as a staple food, the consumption volume was not high either.

Using them directly as feed for livestock was too wasteful, so every year, one-third of the soybeans were used to press oil. Oil could be stored for a long time and could provide people with sufficient fat; adding a little when cooking could provide more energy and reduce the consumption of other grains.

The oil dregs were fed to livestock or served as a low-grade food for Slaves, tenant farmers, or were traded with other tribes. Overall, although Huaxia sold oil to its citizens at a very low price, it still had a huge reserve.

Moreover, after private individuals saw the astonishing yield of soybeans, they also chose to increase their soybean planting area. The tax rate they had to pay was not high, so the soybean reserves in private households added up to much more than those in the National Treasury.

They would also choose to use soybeans to trade with the state, exchanging them for oil and other items, so the soybeans in the National Treasury were endless and almost never decreased; they could only be pressed into oil.

But Huaxia could not let everyone stop planting soybeans. Such a good crop—high yield, drought-resistant, and capable of fertilizing the fields, because the roots of legumes could fix nitrogen, leaving nitrogen in the soil and indirectly making the land fertile—Huaxia had no reason to let everyone stop planting soybeans. Furthermore, soybeans were also the final safeguard in disaster years.

Therefore, they could only slightly reduce the planting proportion of soybeans in the national fields and increase the planting proportion of the three staple foods: Rice, Wheat, and Millet. Newly reclaimed wasteland was also the best choice for planting soybeans.

Now that the Xuanyuan Tribe said they wanted to exchange grain for oil, Baifeng had no reason to refuse. Moreover, the grain they had prepared for the Xuanyuan Tribe was oil dregs; it was impossible for them to trade other grains to the Xuanyuan Tribe. If they were to trade, they must first be stir-fried until cooked so they could not be used as seeds.

If the oil dregs were left behind, they could feed more livestock, allowing meat to appear on more families' tables. A Pasture couldn't even eat that much in a month, let alone ten thousand catties of oil dregs.

Huaxia had now expanded its Pastures significantly. All land unsuitable for planting had been turned into Pastures, raising cattle and sheep. The number of herdsmen was also increasing. The increasingly large Pastures could no longer be fenced in; they could only choose to put up fences in certain specific directions to facilitate the herdsmen in driving the livestock.

Baifeng also had the intention of handing over horses of poor quality that could not serve as warhorses to the Pastures, letting the herdsmen ride them to graze. But given the current breeding speed of the Horse Farm, Baifeng might have to wait until he was old to see that day. For now, he could only let them ride cattle to graze, or even run to graze.

The massive number of sheep and cattle herds also attracted fierce beasts from very far away. Nowadays, in the territory of Huaxia, it was truly not easy to see wild beasts like tigers, wolves, and leopards. But ever since the Pastures expanded, these beasts had actually appeared occasionally, seriously affecting the outdoor activities of the Huaxia people. Hunters also had to shoulder the profession of hunting these fierce beasts. Besides hunting to supplement meat, they now also took on the responsibility of protecting Huaxia, which made these Soldiers who failed to enter the army feel invigorated once again.

Returning to the soybean oil, Dahong proposed the exchange, and the Ministry of Revenue, based on the oil extraction rate of soybeans, gave Baifeng a ratio of one catty of oil for twenty catties of grain. However, Baifeng's soybean oil extraction rate was fifteen to twenty catties of beans for one catty of oil, mainly because their oil-pressing technology was not very good—it was purely physical pressing.

Baifeng felt this ratio was too high. There was no need to be as ruthless in pricing as with engineering. Most importantly, the oil dregs were all in their hands. If the price was too unfair, the Xuanyuan Tribe would suffer a loss once, and such a trade would never happen again.

Excluding the cost of Laborers and combining it with the oil extraction rate and such, Baifeng gave a price of eight to one. This price shocked not only Dahong but even the Ministry of Revenue. They felt that Baifeng would at least set a ratio of fifteen to one; they didn't even dare to think of eight to one. This was less than half of their asking price.

Dahong also felt this price was too low. He didn't think such precious oil would be so cheap. He was even afraid that Huaxia would adulterate it with water, but there had only ever been refusals due to high prices; this low price made it impossible for him to refuse.

Coveting this price, and since the Xuanyuan Tribe was not short of grain, they were in urgent need of food that could help their tribesmen put on weight—they lacked oil and fat. Thus, Dahong gritted his teeth and decided to exchange all ten thousand catties of grain for oil.

Baifeng was also startled: "All of it? Wouldn't that be a bit too much? This price is fixed; you can still trade in the future. Even if you bring other grains to trade, it is all possible."

Hmm? They could also use other grains to exchange? Did Huaxia have that much oil?

"Does your Huaxia really have enough oil for us to exchange?"

Baifeng nodded: "There certainly is. At the very least, ten thousand catties of oil can be traded to you. But for different grains, the price will still have a slight difference. The price for Rice and Wheat can be higher than for oil dregs, but Millet and other wild Grass Seeds will be lower than oil dregs. If you have this idea, we are very willing."

Finally, there was a chance to get rid of the soybeans, Baifeng thought to himself with secret joy.