America 1883: The Western Homeland

Chapter 162 Paradise Valley's second largest industry is agriculture.

Tom looked tense as he inspected Paradise Valley.

Just then, someone came looking for him. It was the foreman from Livingston, bringing the news he had been waiting for: what he wanted had arrived.

Without saying a word, Tom immediately led his men in a horse-drawn carriage straight to the railway company's engineering team.

Upon meeting the contractor, he cut to the chase: "Where are the things?"

The foreman quickly led them into the warehouse.

It's grain seeds and vegetable seeds; the goods Tom ordered have finally arrived.

"Here's the money." Tom settled the bill and told Cooper to lead the cowboys to transport the seeds back to Paradise Valley.

Only then did he realize that a familiar face was missing from the crowd.

"Where's the old cowboy?" Tom asked casually.

The foreman stiffened almost imperceptibly, then replied as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, "Reporting back to headquarters."

Tom didn't reply, but just stared at him silently.

The foreman felt extremely uncomfortable under their gaze, and finally couldn't take it anymore, so he confessed honestly: "He's been thinking about setting up some kind of research lab for you—Tom, do you know what he used to do? I'd be happy if he stayed here quietly, after all, he's an engineer!"

Sure enough, the old cowboy's identity was not simple; Tom was right.

"So, you've become a traitor."

"No! I'm not a traitor, this is my job!" the foreman replied earnestly.

Tom nodded, didn't pursue the matter further, and turned to leave.

What else can we do to them?

He only hoped that he would have the chance to see the old cowboy again in the future.

Back in Paradise Valley, Tom immediately instructed his men to properly store the seeds.

Although the weather has warmed up, no one can guarantee that there won't be another cold snap, and the seeds will be ruined if they get cold.

"These—are all the seeds you bought?" Mother Margaret was surprised to see several truckloads of seeds.

Leaving aside how much effort it would take to scatter all these seeds in the ground, we're short a huge number of people.

"Tom, do you know how to farm?" the mother asked bluntly.

Tom answered decisively, "No."

Margaret laughed in exasperation: "Then why did you buy so much?"

"But you do."

These words hit home.

In such a vast paradise valley, does farming really require the rancher's wife to personally go to the fields?

Before Margaret could speak, Tom continued, "I'll find someone skilled in farming. If I can't—then I'll have to trouble you to do it yourself."

His frank tone made Margaret take a closer look at her son.

"I hope this is the last time."

That was all she said at the end.

She knew that if she really couldn't find anyone, these seeds could be saved for next year, but their viability would definitely decrease.

For someone who once made a living by farming, this was an intolerable waste.

After his mother left, Tom looked at Cooper, who was standing to the side, and asked, "What did you say?"

When Cooper went to find the woman who was feeding the animals, he discovered that she was a farmer and her husband was a skilled farmer.

"I can invite them here so you can ask them in person?"

"No," Tom shook his head, "Go and ask her husband to come over."

Cooper understood immediately, turned around, and rode out of Paradise Valley.

Tom wasn't idle; he suddenly realized that he didn't even have a room to handle official business. Simply put, he was missing an office.

That's not difficult to solve.

He went straight to the school.

When the school buildings were built, there were plenty of rooms prepared, so it was no problem to move one room to an emergency room temporarily.

Chop wood, start a fire, and ignite the cast iron stove in the office.

He instinctively reached out to call for help, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized that he had practically no one under his command.

He needs to hire people!

Tom stayed in the makeshift office, scribbling and drawing, until Cooper brought the man over.

The man was in his thirties, and he seemed uneasy as soon as he entered.

"Sit down," Tom gestured, "I heard you're quite the farmer?"

When the man heard that the question was about farming, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly: "I do know a little about farming."

Tom nodded, but his next words struck the man like a thunderbolt: "If I gave you three hundred acres of land, could you manage it?"

"This—" The man was completely stunned and could not even speak properly.

Tom frowned: "Can't you control it?"

According to his inquiries, this person had clearly worked on other farms.

Tom was in a hurry to get people working so that they could seize the farming season and start planting.

In his mind, how difficult could farming be?

In fact, it's quite complicated.

"Yes!" The man, spurred on, quickly agreed.

"Okay, that's good. Let Cooper take you to see the seeds and the land. Hurry up, we have to plant them!" Tom gave him a look, and Cooper was about to lead the people out.

Unexpectedly, his mother, Margaret, came in from outside and stopped him.

She asked the man a few questions before letting him leave.

"Is this the expert farmer you found?" the mother asked, turning around.

Tom nodded: "What's wrong?"

"Look again." His mother's suggestion surprised him.

"He's not good enough?"

"It's not that it's impossible. But how many do you plan to plant?"

"At least three hundred acres."

Upon hearing the number, Margaret sighed inwardly: "Then we need at least two more skilled men like him."

"

Tom asked, puzzled, "Can't he manage three hundred acres by himself?"

"I can't control it," the mother said firmly. "Besides, have you done all the preparations before planting?"

Tom replied, "As long as he nods, I'll immediately have him make a list, and I'll fill in whatever's missing!"

When the middle-aged man returned, Tom asked for his opinion again, but the man shook his head.

"That's barren land. You think you can plant it this year? Impossible—unless you hire a professional reclamation team who know the ropes."

"Even if we force it, this year's harvest won't be high. But it's still a viable option; we can plant some soil-nourishing crops to prepare for next year."

Upon hearing this, Tom's brows furrowed deeply.

He looked at his mother, Margaret, who nodded gently.

After seeing the man off, Tom turned and headed straight for the railroad foreman in Livingston.

Do you have a professional land reclamation team here?

"Ha ha! Tom, I thought you only raised cattle, not farmed!" the foreman laughed. "I have everything here!"

Tom didn't say much.

Railway companies are indeed at the heart of large-scale projects. They have connections everywhere, not only with those who build the roads, but also with a large workforce, and they are on friendly terms with major contractors.

"I want to develop 300 acres of land. Do you have enough manpower?"

"Enough!" The foreman's eyes lit up.

"Start work immediately; it must be planted this year."

The foreman shook his head: "Tom, that's impossible, time is too tight!"

"We have to do it, even if the yield is low! We have to sow the seeds; at least it will help nourish the land and prepare for next year!"

The foreman pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Then you need to make some preparations first."

"What preparations?"

Tom emerged from the foreman's office with an even deeper frown.

He hadn't expected the contractor to give him such a long list of things to prepare!

Time is tight and tasks are heavy.

In order not to affect the subsequent planting.

His first task was to find the Pinkerton Detective Agency.