Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2216 Pampa (33)

Snowflakes fell down one after another, which made Li Zheng very excited.

He was born in the north since he was a child, and he has never seen a few snowfalls.In my memory, when I was very young, there were a few light snowfalls on the prairie on the east coast, and a thin layer was spread on the ground. He and his brothers and sisters rolled in the snow like having fun, until his parents grabbed him by the ears. Go home and spank your asses one by one.

After growing up gradually, the winter is getting warmer every year, and the number of snowfalls has gradually decreased to a certain extent. It seems that the whole climate is slowly warming up.When Li Zheng was a child, he thought worriedly, the weather won't keep getting warmer until it becomes unbearable, right?Fortunately, nature is not as he feared. Warming is a very slow process, and there are repetitions in the middle. In some years, the winter will be very cold. Not only will it snow, but the river will also be covered with a thick layer. ice, just like when he was a child.

Now that Li Zheng has left his hometown and came to the Pampa region thousands of miles away, he has become an honorable man—well, many people do not recognize how honorable this is, because with the development of industry and commerce, the number of non-agricultural jobs More and more young people are unwilling to open up wasteland and farm land——the pioneers of the country, open up land and plant crops in an almost primitive and wild environment.

The idyllic life of farming and herding sheep is not as beautiful as the poet's writing.In fact, on the contrary, life in the countryside is very difficult.This place is far away from big cities, and there are few supplies, so many things have to be brought by yourself.For example, you have to pick water yourself, and you have to travel far to the countryside to buy something. The environment is harsh, mosquitoes are everywhere, there is a lack of medical care, there is no entertainment, and children may not necessarily go to school, or the level of teachers is very low. Less than a good education.Not to mention, there is still very heavy physical labor in the countryside, which is enough to drain most of a farmer's energy and make him less interested in doing other things.

Therefore, rural life and urban life are really not at the same level, and the gap between the two can only be imagined by ordinary people, even in countries such as the East Coast Republic, where the income of farmers is relatively high.And this seems to be one of the main reasons why farmers on the east coast complain that the income of industrial and commercial positions gradually exceeds their own. What are you doing?

The improvement of the lives of farmers on the east bank was only after the widespread establishment of farmers' cooperatives in various places.With cooperatives, they have bargaining power when selling agricultural products, and they can also get a discounted price when purchasing seeds, building materials, daily necessities, agricultural machinery and even insurance, which is equivalent to reducing their expenditure and expanding Without income, it is no wonder that farmers all over the country support the cooperatives so wholeheartedly that the power of the village chief has been greatly impacted.

Now, the ex-farmers who have retired from the army are also somewhat willing to return to their hometowns in the countryside, instead of staying in the cities as before (a small number of them returned to the countryside to serve as village chiefs and militia directors), taking advantage of the rich income they gained during their service income, buy a house in the city, find a job, and live comfortably with peace of mind.Many of these veterans (some are even military officers) who have returned to their hometowns have the energy of serving overseas, are well-informed, and have good connections. After returning to their hometowns, they join farmers’ cooperatives. of the land of martial arts.

Li Zheng and the others are now pioneering in the dry Pampa area. In fact, there are still a lot of preferential policies, such as bonuses, loans to buy houses, and preferential sales of high-yield seeds. Bar.The three tile-roofed houses where Li Zheng lived with his wife and children were obtained by installment loans (no down payment) from the Agricultural Bank of the East Bank, and the repayment interest is also very low. Going to Zhongxing Township, a place where nothing shits like a bird, is not so contradictory anymore.

"Xiaoshan, go to the chicken coop. The snow in the south is heavy, don't overwhelm the chicken coop." After standing outside for a while, Li Zheng walked towards the sheep pen, and at the same time walked towards the chicken coop in the yard. Said the eldest son who was playing with his sister.

There are more than [-] chickens raised in the chicken coop, not for meat. The people on the east coast of Pampa are not short of meat. The main thing is to sell eggs to make money.The value of eggs in the market is not much higher than that of beef. Many government officials, engineering technicians, school teachers, soldiers, small businessmen, etc. who have a little spare money at home are willing to consume in large quantities. The market prospect is still Very good, so Li Zheng paid more attention to it, and asked his son to see if there was much snow on the top of the chicken coop.

The Li family also has a sheep pen, and there are seven or eight sheep in the pen, all of which can be harvested for wool.In the Pampa region, raising cattle is basically doomed to lose money, and raising horses costs too much. For ordinary farmers who do not have a lot of money, it is the most cost-effective to apply for an in-kind loan from the Agricultural Bank to raise some sheep.This can not only increase their cash income, but also promote the development of the local wool textile industry in Yancheng County, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Li Zheng also planned to catch a few ostriches from the village market after this winter and bring them back to raise more income.Recently, people from the State Development Bureau frequently appeared nearby, and the convoys transporting building materials were one after another. It seemed that a group of settlements would be set up in a concentrated manner.If there are too many people, the demand for meat, eggs, and milk will definitely rise in a straight line. Although Li Zheng's education level is not high, he still has some brains, not to mention that the president and committee members of the farmers' cooperatives also persuade everyone to do so. Then there is no problem, the cooperative will not lie to everyone!

In fact, the settlements in the Dry Pampa just mentioned are not groundless, but a solid plan formulated by the State Development Bureau.These settlements are basically located on both sides of the first-class national road that is under construction from Yancheng Port to the new capital Luoyang Prefecture. The later town of Santa Teresa), Hongshi Township (near the later town of Kuchiyoko), Gaoqing Township (near the later town of Makachin), Ningshuo Township (near the later city of Santa Rosa) , Hut Township (located near the later town of Chachalamendi), a total of six settlements, to make full use of the transportation capacity of this high-grade road and the possible future Luoyan Railway.

Of course, the railway has not been seen yet, and the national road is also in the difficult construction process, so the expansion progress of the people on the east coast in the dry Pampa area is destined to not be fast. The six new settlements are already very radical. If it is set, the marginal cost will increase without limit, and the State Development Bureau is destined not to bear such a heavy expenditure.

The focus of their expansion is still on the banks of the Bian River.For example, recently, six settlements have been set up in Xinbiangang and Xincaogang areas in one go, namely Zhongcheng Township (located near the small town of San Andres de Siles in later generations), Linbian Township (located in the later Attu Cha town), Xiaochang Township (located near the later town of Arecifes), Shuangting Township (located near the later town of Pergamino), Huangchi Township (located near the later town of San Pedro), Fan Taiwan Township (located near the later town of Perano).In addition, the transformation of Rosario, the original Spanish colonial town, was initially completed, and it was officially named Hening Port.Officials from the National Development Administration predict that over [-] residents will be relocated to this line in the next three years. Naturally, this development effort is not comparable to that of the dry Pampa area in the south. It is far worse.

But no matter what, it is impossible not to develop the dry Pampa area, and there is still a certain amount of immigration quota allocated every year, at most it is less than other places.Otherwise, how will the local core area communicate with the southern cone from land in the future?How to build railways and roads to the south?Connecting various places into an organic whole has always been an important goal of the East Coast government.I didn't have La Plata before, so I didn't have this opportunity. Now that I bought it from the Spaniard, I naturally have to start taking action.

As a common man, Li Zheng was naturally not very clear about the vertical and horizontal road network and railway network of the superior officials.He only knows that the nearby area will enter a new wave of construction in the next few years. The sideline business he invested in should not be in vain, and it will continue to bring a stable income to the family, which is enough.I didn’t study much in my life, so I didn’t expect much, but his son Li Xiaoshan was smart since he was a child, and even the teachers in elementary school praised him for his “mathematical talent”, so naturally he had to earn more money for him to go to the city. Go to middle school, otherwise it will only waste his talent, which is unacceptable to Li Zheng.

"Recently, some Spaniards and Portuguese have come to the village. It seems that they have come to invest. After this winter, after the winter training of the militia, I will go to the village to see if there is any chance to do odd jobs. It is really difficult to build roads on the construction site. It’s too bitter and dangerous, Lao Zhang from the village was injured there, and his legs and feet are bad so far, so it’s better not to go there in the future.” After checking whether the sheepfolds are firm and whether the measures to prevent cold and heat are effective, Li Zheng I lit a pipe for myself, let the pungent smell of tobacco permeate my heart and lungs, but my thoughts have already drifted to the sky: "But if the Portuguese don't live there, I have to go to the city (Yancheng County) to find a way, there There are plenty of opportunities, and you might be able to find a good part-time job. Well, last time I heard people say that the wages for moving woolens over there are very good, but there is a shortage of manpower. If it doesn’t work, try your luck at those textile factories or docks. Now that woolens are selling so well, there is no reason why there is no chance.”

(End of this chapter)