Chapter 46: Striking the Seedlings

The motorcade transporting Old Yu drove directly into Yu Family Village.

Old Yu the Sixth, who had been waiting for a long time, caught sight of the AMG retro-styled Mercedes-Benz sedan. While calling out to his two sons to light the firecrackers, he brought along his wife and rushed forward, tears streaming and mucus flowing.

"My second elder brother, you're finally back!"

"Yes, I'm back."

For Old Yu and Yu's mother, half a year had passed, and Yu Family Village had become utterly unfamiliar to them.

It was not just the sights before their eyes, but also the villagers who used to keep their distance yet were now greeting them with such enthusiasm.

Had it not been for the distant expressway and that damned bridge culvert, the couple would have thought they had gone to the wrong place and mistaken the people.

"Blow the suona loud and clear!"

"Where are the stilt-walkers? Hurry up and get on!"

"Start up the yangge dance!"

Whether due to sheer poverty or local customs varying from place to place, whenever Shili Camp celebrated major festivals, grand ceremonies, or weddings and funerals, lion dances and dragon dances were never popular there.

Instead, the locals favored playing the suona, walking on stilts, and performing the energetic yangge-style rhythmic work dance.

The first two required no further explanation.

Although this folk dance bore the character for rice seedling (yang), it was entirely different from the traditional Yangge dance.

Roughly speaking, it involved gathering the most robust and strapping men in the township, dressing them in golden-yellow garments, wrapping their heads in golden-yellow turbans, tightening their trouser legs and sleeve cuffs, equipping each person with a pair of drumsticks, and adding a small gong and a drum around each waist.

They would start by settling into a horse stance, their left and right feet taking turns stomping heavily upon the earth. The subsequent movements were all authentic farming techniques: hoeing the earth, weeding, pulling up seedlings, guiding a plow, operating a seed drill, driving a cart, stacking hay, packing the soil down, trimming the edges, leveling the peaks...

Every single motion was rugged and fierce, every footstep unpretentious and steady, accompanied by deep roars of *hei, ha, he, you*. Viewed from a distance, the spectacle was magnificent, passionate, unrestrained, and possessed an intensely powerful rhythm.

It vividly showcased the diligence and boldness of the people of western Lu.

Yet it also carried a flavor of the southern marshland culture, tinged with a slight outlaw air and a spirit of righteous banditry.

Rumor had it that this folk dance originated from the shamanistic rituals of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, traditionally used to pray for blessings, expel evil spirits, make shows of force, and celebrate bountiful harvests.

In his childhood, Yu Yang had witnessed a grand scene involving a thousand people, the sound of their synchronized stamping overpowering the deafening din of gongs and drums, making the earth tremble even from afar.

Later on, the commune was dissolved, and the people were no longer so united. Coupled with the fact that every household had its own affairs to attend to, fewer and fewer individuals were willing to participate in the training.

Ever since the temple fair on the second day of the second month in 1996, Shili Camp had never held a performance of this folk dance again.

Now, with 156 strapping young men performing it together, their movements uniform and their low, resonant roars echoing through the air, the entire spectacle was far more breathtaking than ever before.

To the point that this ceremonial performance actually became the main attraction that people stopped to admire.

Even onlookers gathered along the expressway.

"That really looks spirited!"

"Are they practicing martial arts?"

"The Water Margin was filmed too early."

Just as the crowd on the expressway grew larger and larger, the director of the Investment Promotion Office rushed forward pulling a wooden handcart, shouting, "Bean sprouts! Fresh bean sprouts, local specialty! You'll miss out if you don't buy some now..."

"How much are they?"

"Fifteen yuan a box."

"So expensive?!"

"Look at the brand, exported to Russia!"

The onlookers picked up a box to inspect it.

Name: Organic Soybean Sprouts.

Origin: Shili Camp.

Company Name: Dongshan Province...

Category: Organic Vegetables.

Shape: As illustrated.

Seeds: Native Wild Soybeans.

Composition: Carbon, Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Carotene, Ascorbic Acid...

Efficacy: Diuretic, reduces swelling, aids digestion, regulates blood pressure, clears the intestines and relieves constipation.

Suitable For: General population, individuals with hypertension, constipation sufferers.

Contraindications: Prohibited for those allergic to bean sprouts.

Incompatible Foods: None.

Cooking Methods: Stir-fried, tossed in dressing, pickled, or used in hot pots.

Production Date: ...

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

Expiration Date at Room Temperature: ...

Expiration Date under Refrigeration: ...

"Shouldn't exports be labeled in English?"

The director of the Investment Promotion Office immediately pulled out Russian labels and said, "Even if I stuck these on for you, you wouldn't be able to read them anyway."

"Looks like it's the real deal. Give me 2 boxes!" shouted a shill planted by the township while opening the trunk of a Santana.

This eighth-new sedan, awarded by the county after the great success of their investment attraction efforts, had finally come in handy.

Immediately afterward, three Santanas that had just returned from the county seat successively pulled over to the roadside.

Then, a retro-styled Mercedes-Benz with the license plate number 66666 came to a screeching halt. The township head rolled down the driver's side window and called out, "Hey, old man, give me 10 boxes!"

Motivated by the many shills, the people on the expressway instantly forgot about the high price, and in a flurry of activity, they completely cleaned out the wooden handcart.

In the distance.

The deputy township head was also pulling a wooden handcart, delivering the remaining dozens of boxes of hot pot vegetable packs up to the expressway.

"Cucumbers!"

"Garland chrysanthemums!"

"Hot pot gift packs are on sale cheap!"

One had to admit that car owners nowadays were genuinely wealthy.

Whenever anyone stopped to ask for the price, not a single person failed to buy.

...

The welcoming banquet for Old Yu was set up in the Old No. 2 plastic greenhouse.

This 2.25-mu venue had undergone meticulous decoration by the eldest sister-in-law, transforming it dramatically once again.

The ground was paved with decorative brick pathways, enclosed all around by bamboo fences.

In the distance, gourd vines, cucumber vines, and luffa vines hung down, while closer by, patches of eggplants, tomatoes, and green and red peppers grew lush and green...

Additionally, there were donkey-driven millstones, hand-operated millstones, stone rollers, a tofu workshop, a yuba drying area, and a dried noodle drying area...

Had it not been for the fact that the northern side of Shili Camp prohibited digging canals and trenches to prevent Yellow River breaches, there might even have been a picturesque scene of small bridges, flowing water, and cottages.

The benches and square tables were arranged on both sides of the three brick pathways.

When the entire village had gathered, the second, third, and fourth sisters-in-law who had hurried over from the brick kiln to help opened their respective earthen stoves, piled plates of delicacies high, and had the young men of the village serve them to the VIP tables.

Uncle Yu the Lame, who was responsible for counting the attendance, roughly tallied the heads and picked up a small megaphone: "Let the feast begin!"

The 156 strapping men took the lead in raising large bowls of wine: "A respectful welcome to the Old Fortress Master's return home!"

"Old debt collector?"

Old Yu's expression shifted, and he grew exceptionally flustered.

He turned his head to look at his own sole remaining son: "How come there are so many of them?"

"There will be even more in the future."

"???"

Assuming Old Yu was asking about the number of strong men, Yu Yang casually replied and continued flipping through the gift ledger.

Township Party Secretary: 200.

Township Head: 100.

Deputy Township Head: 100.

Director of Investment Promotion Office: 100.

"Strange, how did the township suddenly get rich?"

"You didn't know?" Sixth Uncle leaned in close to him. "The township set up a township-run enterprise targeting high-end customers on the expressway. It's just like the bean sprouts kept in insulation boxes—wholesale price is 2 yuan, and even if hauled all the way to the capital, they'd fetch 5 yuan at most. But on the expressway, they start at 15 yuan."

"Isn't that a bit too ruthless?"

Sixth Uncle arched an eyebrow. "Haven't you ever eaten a boxed meal on a train?"

"..."

...

Eating and drinking continued until nine o'clock in the evening.

The welcoming banquet finally came to an end.

Yu Yang brought Old Yu, Yu's mother, and Housekeeper Teacher Zhang to the eastern side of the parking lot.

The dwellings here, used to accommodate the strong men, were uniformly designed with four bedrooms, two living rooms, one kitchen, a fifty-square-meter small courtyard, and a dry latrine.

Although sewage pipes and collective heating were not yet installed, the conditions were undoubtedly far superior to their former houses.

Entering the living room.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

The chairs, stools, beds, and cabinets were all welded from steel pipes and steel plates, topped with wooden boards or plywood.

"This is collectively supplied by the company. If you don't like it, return it and buy whatever you prefer."

With a cigarette hanging from his mouth and his eyes narrowed, Yu Yang took out a specially prepared leather wallet, counted out a stack of specially prepared blue currency featuring the founding father, and handed them to Old Yu: "Erwan, if you run short of cash, just call me later. We're not short of money these days."

"???"

"Aww, why did you let the truth slip out after drinking?"

"I've tolerated you for a whole day!"

...

Early the next morning.

News came from the motorcade heading to the Northeast that they had already passed through the Shanhaiguan Pass.

The journey had been relatively peaceful, encountering highway robbers only twice.

Yu Yang hung up the phone, got up to wash and brush his teeth, and walked over to the second-floor window of the small Western-style building to peer down at Old Yu's courtyard.

His mother was tidying up the courtyard.

Old Yu had already signed in for work and was currently sitting in the duty room at the southern gate of the parking lot, flipping through the newspapers distributed by the township compound today.

"That's more like it."

"Men turn bad once they get rich. I certainly don't want a few more half-brothers and half-sisters coming to fight me for a multi-billion-dollar fortune."

After washing up, Yu Yang wrapped himself in a military cotton coat, put on a locomotive hat, stepped into his fleece-lined tall rubber boots, and headed into Yu Family Village.

The strong men from the brick kiln had all withdrawn.

Combined with the main force remaining in Yu Family Village, there were 156 men in total.

Each person held one fen of land, and each household also possessed real plastic greenhouses capable of cultivating 15.6 mu.

Based on the standard of building heated brick beds for their own households, a single plastic greenhouse measured 2.25 mu.

15.6 divided by 2.25 equaled approximately 7 greenhouses.

If conveyor-belt style cultivation was not adopted.

A single plastic greenhouse would yield 750 crates of bean sprouts in the morning and 750 crates in the afternoon, totaling 1,500 crates per day.

1,500 multiplied by 7 greenhouses totaled 10,500 crates.

If conveyor-belt style cultivation was adopted.

Meaning dividing the 7 plastic greenhouses into sections so that the number of farmers per unit area reached saturation—farmers planted while female workers harvested, female workers harvested while male workers loaded trucks, followed by laborers loosening the soil, old men spreading fertilizer...

Yu Yang calculated it N times and was astonished to find that the yield from conveyor-belt cultivation was actually lower than that of conventional cultivation.

A single greenhouse produced 2,500; in the morning they planted the eastern, middle, and western sections of Greenhouse No. 1, at noon they planted the eastern, middle, and western sections of Greenhouse No. 2, and at 3 PM they planted the eastern, middle, and western sections of Greenhouse No. 3.

Then evening would arrive, making it impossible to plant Greenhouses Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7.

The final yield would only be 7,500.

Yu Yang pondered for a moment and understood.

There weren't enough people; the assembly line couldn't turn over.

After thinking for a moment, he immediately reverted the cultivation method back to the original approach.

One plastic greenhouse was 2.25 mu, with one farmer responsible for one fen of land, managed by 23 people.

Seven plastic greenhouses required 161 people.

They had 156 farmers of their own, so they just needed to recruit 5 female farmers.

Thus, with a balance of men and women, the work wouldn't feel exhausting.

A single greenhouse produced 1,500 crates per day, totaling 7 greenhouses, yielding 10,500 crates daily.

The wholesale price per crate was 90 yuan, bringing in a daily income of 945,000 yuan.

However, since a portion of their produce was packaged in fresh-keeping boxes with smaller specifications, even after deducting the packaging costs, it would earn more than crate-packed bean sprouts.

Thus, the daily income would be at least one million.

"A millionaire every single day..."

Pondering this, Yu Yang looked back at the plastic greenhouse layout plan.

Aside from the 7 real plastic greenhouses, they currently had 23 fake plastic greenhouses.

Since these structures had been built with real money, they couldn't just sit idle.

Growing something casually in them would at least stop the losses.

"Since our own bean sprouts taste better, we might as well designate one real plastic greenhouse to let the bean sprouts mature completely, then plant those seeds into the fake plastic greenhouses. Once they mature again, we can calculate the yield per mu of soybeans."

"That way, the 30,000-mu factory area can be rationally utilized while also adding a brand-new seed business to our operations."

Page (3/3)