Chapter 317 - 160: Adjustment

Chapter 317: Chapter 160: Adjustment

While widespread drought gripped the southern regions, the vast farmlands of northern Red Grass Town exhibited two extreme phenomena.

The farmers who had signed soybean contracts with Hailufeng Company were seeing excellent results. The vast fields of soybeans grew lush and verdant despite the extremely dry weather. Sown at the end of February, they had only been watered three times and were already in bloom.

Meanwhile, in the fields where farmers stuck to the traditional practice of planting rice, some of the paddies that weren’t watered in time showed signs of stunted growth, with the rice plants remaining small.

In the more severely affected fields, the leaves’ growth was stunted. New leaves struggled to unfurl, while the older ones began to yellow and wither.

The rice plants’ resilience to stress had also weakened considerably.

Even with the timely release of water from the reservoir, it was impossible to supply every rice paddy.

Fortunately, 10,000 mu of nearby rice paddies had been converted to soybeans. Since these soybeans didn’t require watering, it was possible to save the majority of the rice crop. Otherwise, the water shortage would have been even more severe.

Worse, the upcoming month of May was the heading stage for the rice. If it still didn’t rain, they would be in serious trouble. The reservoir’s water supply was limited, after all, and subject to significant evaporation. Their only other option would be to dig wells and pump groundwater.

Red Grass Town and Taohe Town were slightly better off. The 10,000 mu of soybeans that had replaced rice allowed the reservoir’s water to be concentrated on the remaining paddies. By also abandoning some of the higher-elevation fields, they could try to save the remaining 30,000-plus mu of rice.

Other areas, however, weren’t so fortunate. If they had a large river, lake, or reservoir nearby, they could salvage some of their yield. If not, their only recourse was to apply for permits to pump groundwater for irrigation.

Jiang Miao arrived in Meilong Town, located across the Huang Jianghe.

Meilong Town boasted a large plain, but its northwestern region, far from the Huang Jianghe, had to rely on a few reservoirs for irrigation.

However, several villages had no large reservoirs nearby.

Meilian Village, for instance, which was right in front of Jiang Miao. Others, like Yu Ling Village, Yunlu Village, and Dongjia Village near the southwestern side of Meilong Town’s center, were also severely affected by the drought.

In these drought-stricken paddies, which were situated at a higher elevation and lacked any large, nearby reservoirs, the rice plants were generally stunted, their leaves scorched and yellow.

The Town Manager of Meilong Town, Chen Xingang, stood with Jiang Miao, gazing at the poorly growing rice. A troubled expression crossed his face. "I saw the weather forecast," he said. "It says there’s a high chance of no rain for the next month. This is going to be tough!"

"We could pump groundwater as a temporary emergency measure," a staff member from the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau suggested.

Chen Xingang replied with a sigh, "It seems that’s our only option."

Jiang Miao hadn’t originally planned to come, but the rice-soybean-fish project they had agreed upon last year had run into a major setback, compelling him to make the trip in person.

"Town Manager Chen, besides pumping groundwater, there’s another solution we could use to alleviate the local water shortage."

Chen Xingang looked at Jiang Miao, intrigued. "General Manager Jiang, what do you suggest?"

"Abandon some of the higher-elevation rice paddies and convert them all to our company’s new soybean variety," Jiang Miao explained. "We can then concentrate the water on the remaining rice-based fish ponds. This will save some of the Egyptian Catfish being raised there, while also allowing us to plant soybeans in the paddies that lack sufficient water."

"The new soybean variety is that drought-resistant?" Chen Xingang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The staffer from the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, however, understood immediately. He nodded. "Town Manager Chen, General Manager Jiang has a point. The soybeans currently planted in Red Grass Town, Taohe Town, and seven other towns haven’t been watered at all, and they’ve successfully held out for nearly a month. I think it’s worth a try."

Hearing this, Chen Xingang considered it for a moment. Thinking of Jiang Miao and the technology from Hailufeng Company, he felt the idea had great merit. He made a decision on the spot. "General Manager Jiang, I approve this plan. Please have your company discuss it with the village cooperatives!"

"No problem."

Jiang Miao quickly had the deputy manager of his planting division meet with the cooperatives in Meilong Town’s villages to discuss adjusting the cultivation in the rice-based fish ponds.

Based on the topography, 7,600 mu of rice-based fish ponds were quickly selected. The fields were tilled again by tractor, and then planted with soybean root tubers that had been kept in cold storage.

The roots of the 600 mu of soybeans harvested after the Spring Festival had also been collected. On average, each plant produced 12 to 15 root tubers, and each tuber could independently develop into a new soybean plant.

This meant the collected tubers were sufficient to plant all 7,600 mu.

By abandoning these 7,600 mu of rice paddies, combined with some coastal Egyptian Catfish Farms using brackish water and eel farms switching to seawater, the water pressure on the remaining 22,000 mu of rice paddies was immediately eased. Even the water supply for the lotus root fields was significantly improved.

After entrusting the matter to his management team, Jiang Miao returned to headquarters.

He hadn’t even had a few days of peace.

At the end of April, another visitor came calling.

On the vast soybean fields of northern Red Grass Town.

A dozen or so researchers gazed at the crops with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment.

"Professor, this is an impressive variety!" an agronomy PhD student from South China Ecological Park University remarked, carefully inspecting the soybeans.

Beside him, Xiao Jieshi, the head of the Shanmei Agricultural Research Institute, introduced the crop with vicarious pride. "Professor Wang, this is a new soybean variety developed by the team of our own outstanding local entrepreneur, Professor Jiang Miao. The variety planted in this field is called Immortal Bean No. 1."

"Professor Jiang Miao?" The PhD student suddenly recalled. "Is that the founder of Hailufeng Company?"

A look of pride spread across Xiao Jieshi’s face. "That’s right. Professor Jiang’s team began promoting this new soybean variety locally last year. Everything you see here was planted at the end of this February."