Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2169 Pampa (Thirty)

"Water is the source of life. Without water, life will be difficult to survive." On the train from Nancungang to Yancheng, Jin Dalai, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture, was thinking about some problems.

He was traveling south on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture to see how crops were growing in test fields in the dry Pampa region.The Ministry of Agriculture, the Northern Seed Company, and the National Grain Reserve have set up an experimental farm in Yongchun Township and Zhongxing Township, and planted some crops to see how the local agricultural conditions are and whether they really meet expectations. .

To be honest, the Department of Agriculture still has some ideas about drying pampas.Based on the fact that Yancheng Port has become the largest wheat production area in the southern dry zone, they have reason to believe that the dry Pampa area similar to its environment is also suitable for the growth of wheat, corn, sorghum, peanuts, sesame and other crops, making a contribution to food production on the east coast own contribution.

According to the news sent back by the left-behind staff over there, the planted wheat has grown well under careful care, and the harvest should be close to the level of Yancheng County.But they also pointed out that if there is good and sufficient irrigation water in the local area, the grain yield per mu can be further improved.The Ministry of Agriculture was very interested in this, so they sent their deputy director-level inspector Jin Dalai to set off south to check the local area carefully.

Jindalai departed from Dongfang Port on a 150-ton inland/offshore general-purpose small steamer.When the small steamer docked at Nancun Port to unload cargo, Jin Dalai and several attendants didn't delay, and directly bought the train tickets to go south to Yancheng Port, and took the train to the destination.

This train is an old-fashioned East Coast Star train, and it is loaded with a whole carload of metal products, coal, and mechanical equipment, so it is very difficult to drive like an old cow pulling a broken car.It was already dark when the train left Nancun Port. Because no tickets were bought and this train was a pure freight train, Jin Dalai and his three attendants could only sit in the compartment where the fireman stayed.The fire here was very hot and the temperature was very high, but Jindal was a little sleepy from the shaking carriage, and after thinking for a while about the construction of the diversion canal in the Pampa area, he fell asleep involuntarily.

There was no place to sleep in the carriage, but Jindal didn't think it was dirty, so he directly took a pile of thatch mats under his body, and lay down comfortably without fear of gray-black coal dust everywhere.The other three attendants were also very sleepy. Having grown up in a big city, they were really uncomfortable with the environment of the tender, because it was not only dirty, but there were also lice infested in the thatch pile. If they slept directly, they would be afraid It's because I'm not at ease.Therefore, they had no choice but to lean against the wall of the carriage and doze off, while lamenting in their hearts that this business trip was really a big loss, not only did they not have delicious food, they didn’t even have a clean place to sleep. Is it so hard?I heard that the deputy director of my family is the grandson of Jin Kela, one of the founders of the agricultural system. It is really incomprehensible that a person who has lived in a honeypot since childhood does not think this place is dirty.

The train stopped and went, and did not arrive at Yancheng Port Railway Station until the next morning.Jin Dalai, who had slept all night, jumped out of the car, moved his sore limbs, took out a cigarette, and said with a smile: "I slept well last night, better than I imagined."

The three attendants looked at me and I looked at you, and they all saw helplessness in each other's bloodshot eyes.Jindalee ignored them, found a dry open space, sat down on his buttocks, lit a cigarette with a match, and started smoking.

The place where the train stops is the freight yard.There are no crowds of people here, no noisy shops, except for the sound of the steam boiler that has not been extinguished, there is only the whistle of the station dispatcher from time to time.

"This kind of old-fashioned locomotives are all eliminated in the north, and they are all used for the Yanbu Railway. It seems that the Ministry of Railways really has no money." After smoking a cigarette, Jin Dalai stood up, He patted the ashes on his buttocks, then greeted the three attendants carrying bags and luggage, and said, "Don't be dazed, find a place to eat first, and then find a way to hire a carriage to go to Yongchun Township, be quicker!"

The attendants who were also smoking were shocked when they heard the words, immediately stubbed out their cigarettes, and went to find a place to eat.

There are quite a few restaurants near the train station.Jindalai is used to eating big restaurants in the capital and Qingdao, so he directly chose a small restaurant, went in and ordered a bottle of wine, a steak, an ostrich meat, and seafood rice, it tasted very good of.

The restaurant is also crowded with many ordinary workers, sailors, small businessmen, peasants from the upper city and other general public.These people are sitting or squatting, all feasting.Most of them eat cheap beef. This kind of food can provide people with the protein necessary for physical labor, and at the same time the price is very cheap. It is really a popular food-strictly speaking, it is actually a thing Shore's natural endowment, although the bison is not natural, it was unintentionally created by the Spaniards, but today, it has become an inexhaustible treasure trove of meat, there is nothing wrong with the natural endowment .

Such dietary conditions are indeed unimaginable for people in the European continent, and it is also unimaginable for people in the populous Chinese mainland and the Indian subcontinent.It's no wonder that every foreigner immigrating to the East Coast is amazed when he finds out that he can eat any beef—usually marinated beef, because it is cheap enough.There are tens of millions of bison on the Pampa Plain, and the population of the entire east coast is only a few million people. There are also a large number of beef cattle raised by the people. It is understandable that beef has become a public food that the people at the bottom can enjoy freely.

After lunch, several people took a short rest, and then took a carriage to Yongchun Township.The first-class national road leading to Luoyang Mansion has been completed in Yancheng County. The asphalt paved road is very smooth, and the horse-drawn carriage runs smoothly on it.Seeing this, Jin Dalai took out a copy of "Industrial Revolution in the 17th Century" from the suitcase and read it.

As the star of hope of the Ministry of Agriculture, Jinda Lai usually pays attention to learning.He keeps a few books in his suitcase all the year round, and reads them whenever he is free during the trip, and sometimes takes notes, very seriously.For example, when he went out on business this time, he brought four books to read at any time.The four books are all written by local scholars on the East Coast. In addition to the "17th Century Industrial Revolution" which summarizes the establishment of the East Coast and the technological development process, he also has "Ottoman Empire Studies", "Trade in the Indian Ocean" in his suitcase. "Times" and "New World Plant Illustrated Book".

The four books are all tomes and cost a lot of money, but they sell well in the east coast, which reflects the consumption power and thirst for knowledge of the middle class in the east coast.This is actually normal. The Eastern China Republic has a strong national strength, a prosperous economy, and a high standard of living for the people. This will naturally give rise to the consumption demand for culture.

Books and newspapers are just one aspect. In fact, there is also a huge demand in market segments such as music, drama, painting, and sculpture.Take the Haidiao Musical Instrument Factory of the Mo family as an example. The various musical instruments produced by the company, including pianos, have become popular among the middle class in China.Especially in some big cities, the sales of expensive musical instruments such as pianos are very good, which has brought huge profits to Haidiao Musical Instrument Factory.In ordinary families, the sales of violins, cellos, pipas, zhongruan, guzheng and other musical instruments are also very good. For those urban middle-class people who work on October Avenue or Expo Avenue on weekdays, it is a good idea to buy a few for their children. It is also a good thing to learn musical instruments in your spare time and cultivate your sentiments.Maybe, in the future, his children can capture the hearts of some girls or boys with these talents, isn't it?

In recent years, various musical instruments produced by Haidiao Musical Instrument Factory have also been exported to Europe on a large scale.In today's high society in London, whoever has such thoughts, who doesn't take pride in buying a Haidiao piano?They admired these musical instruments from the lighthouse of civilization very much, and even bought a lot of sheet music. Those who can play "Autumn Whispers" are generally popular in London social occasions and are admired by many people.

The carriage arrived at Yongchun Township later that day, Jin Dalai took out the letter of introduction and certificates, and directly lived in the cooperative farm.Jin Dalai is very satisfied with living here at Jishengmaodian. He feels very kind to him who lives on a family-run farm and is no stranger to farm life.

Next to the farmhouse where he stayed, he saw a lot of vegetable beds, in which were grown all kinds of vegetables that are common on the east coast, especially peppers, which made people mouthwatering.He also chatted with the management staff of the farm and learned that the vegetables were growing well, which proved that there was nothing wrong with the soil and that the nutrients were sufficient.

Farm managers also pointed out that if there is no maintenance and no maintenance, the soil layer suitable for plant growth will definitely become thinner, implying either to fallow and fertilize, or to use expensive chemical fertilizers.Jindal expressed his understanding of this. Chemical fertilizers are not advisable, and the solution is to rely on fallow and planting nitrogen-fixing crops.

Early the next morning, everyone went to visit the wheat field a little further away.Farm managers took the opportunity to complain to Jindal, the special envoy of the Ministry of Agriculture, saying that the local precipitation is average and there is a lack of surface runoff, which poses a great restriction on agricultural production.What he means is that he still hopes that the Ministry of Agriculture will restart the water diversion plan that has been shelved for many years, that is, to divert the unbelievably large amount of water from the Andes Mountains to the dry Pampa Plain to irrigate the farmland here, so that this side will definitely become a huge agricultural industry. area, providing the country with a large amount of agricultural products for a long time.

To divert water from the Andes, to be honest, Argentina has also made this plan in later generations, and it has been put into practice.At that time, during the period when the military government was in power, things were done vigorously and vigorously, and it was once a start, but the finances were relatively difficult and the progress of the project was relatively slow.In addition, after the Falklands War broke out between them and the United Kingdom, the military government collapsed, and the project was completely stopped.Later, when the democratically elected government came to power, it was even more impossible to do such long-term projects. Politicians had no interest in it. Coupled with the continued instability of the domestic situation, the water diversion project was gradually forgotten in the pile of old papers.

People on the east coast first proposed this plan after obtaining the Southern Cone Patagonia Terrace, but it was rejected at that time because the local population was relatively sparse.Later, this plan was brought up several times, and the location of the diversion canal was also changed to the Pampa Plain, which caused some small-scale discussions, but in the end there were no results.

In recent months, there has been an upsurge in discussing the Andes water diversion project in China. Naturally, the reason is that La Plata has already been acquired and is about to usher in the largest development operation in history.We don’t need to worry about the wet Pampa area, but the dry Pampa and many places close to the mountainous area, although there is a lot of precipitation, lack surface runoff, the overall is relatively dry, and there is an urgent need to divert water from the mountains.

You must know that the annual precipitation in dry areas may only be more than 400 mm, but the precipitation in mountainous areas is often above 4000 mm, even close to 5000 mm. What a rich water resource this is!If there is a nationwide systematic project to make effective use of it, I don't know how many drinking water problems for humans and animals can be solved, and how many fertile fields can be irrigated.Especially the capital Luoyang is also in this area. How can you guarantee the city's water supply after the population surges in the future?Yes, it's okay to rely on reservoirs such as Mingjing Lake, but shouldn't the water in these reservoirs be replenished?

Jindal actually intended to support the water diversion project.But as a middle-level government official, he also knows that the situation inside is very complicated, and the cost of the project is too high, which may not be practical in the short term.Of course, he can't say this in front of everyone. He can only say that he will report to his superiors after he returns. As for whether the superiors will adopt his opinion, only God knows.

Although the current government income is very high, the expenditure is also very large, and there are many large-scale infrastructure projects started at the same time, the amount of money circulating in the society is very large, and there is already a lot of inflationary pressure in the country.At such a sensitive moment, if you spend tens of millions of dollars to dig the water diversion project, it will be like the old birthday star hanged himself and thinks he lived too long.

The government is rational and knows when to do what and when not to do it.The so-called water diversion project in Dry Pampa may only be a plan within ten years, and there is little hope after ten years. It will cost several 10 yuan to start the project, and the greatest probability will be in the capital Luoyang Around the government.As for other places, wait slowly!

Jin Dalai and three followers finally stayed in Yongchun Township and Zhongxing Township for a week.During the period, they carefully inspected the operating conditions of the cooperative farms in the two places, and they were very satisfied with the results.The dry Pampa land is not inferior to northern China in terms of soil nutrients. If it is well developed, it can become an important dry farming area on the east coast like the Yancheng Port.You can take this into account when making future plans.

I've been working overtime on weekends, and it's early morning tonight, so I don't have enough time for coding, please forgive me.It's not that our army doesn't want to fight to the death, it's that our armor is incomplete and food and grass are scarce. . . . . .

(End of this chapter)