Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

Early August 1954, Yangon.

After several rounds of arguments and discussions, Wang Yaowu and the Prime Minister of Shan State finally reached an agreement on the autonomy of Kachin State and Shan State.

Nominally it's a "surrender," but in reality it's autonomy. The people of Kachin and Shan states should continue farming.

Those who need to study and learn to read and write will continue to do so. The only difference is that Wang Yaowu will have to hand over one-third of the 3% of the grain he collects to the Shan State government as tax, in other words, the government will collect 10% of the tax.

It seemed that Wang Yaowu had suffered a loss, but under Zhao Ping'an's guidance, Wang Yaowu reached an agreement with the Prime Minister of Shan State.

Taxes can be paid with money earned from the sale of primary industrial products such as meat, canned goods, matches, and textiles throughout Shan State.

Simply put, it involves paying a small amount of tax to the Shan State government.

Industrial products from Yung Province can be sold directly throughout Shan State, even though it appears that a 10% tax is payable.

In reality, they are using industrial products to exploit the entire Shan State.

After all, the price of a pack of matches is completely different whether you have industry or not.

For example, in the 21st century, lighters that cost 5 cents or a dollar in China were generally ignored.

However, once you go abroad to Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, the price at the airport can be as high as 5 to 10 yuan per piece.

Of course, getting a 20% discount when buying things by speaking Chinese is another story.

This is just a lighter, something that Chinese people consider extremely simple.

In an era when almost no industrial base existed in the world except for Europe and East Asia, the price scissors between industrial and agricultural products were extremely large.

Through Wang Yaowu's negotiations, Zhao Ping'an accomplished his plan two years ahead of schedule: to exchange basic industrial products for agricultural products and raw materials such as rice, rubber, and minerals from Shan State.

The leader was very satisfied with the results, so he assigned Zhao Ping'an another important task.

"Comrade Ping An, your business here is finished. I'm going to visit Cambodia next, so you can go back now."

Zhao Ping'an nodded.

The leader paused, then said, "Oh, right, there's something important. The Corn Emperor will be visiting in September, and you'll be one of the main people responsible for receiving him."

Zhao Pingan was stunned for a moment.

The Corn Emperor, currently the number one figure in the Red Empire.

Historically, he came to attend the fifth anniversary celebration of the founding of the Republic on September 29, where he signed and implemented a series of aid agreements.

This is the series of industrial aid projects that have made later generations feel grateful when they mention Big Brother, even though they were all charged for, even though they exploited domestic agricultural products, even though...

But this event was indeed of extraordinary significance to the Republic, because regardless of what happened afterward, the "Corn Emperor" at that time truly embodied communist spirit, helping the Republic take its first step from an agricultural country into an industrial one...

Of course, the subsequent events, such as the Corn Emperor ruining his brain by drinking corn-based vodka and his series of foolish behaviors, are another story...

That's a historical event.

The situation is different now. The Republic has entered the ranks of industrialized nations. Although it is still insufficient in terms of quantity, it is far ahead of the times in terms of technology.

This gave Zhao Ping'an a sudden idea.

"Is it ahead of schedule?" Zhao Ping'an asked his superior.

The leader nodded. "We communicated back in April. He's very interested in our high-yield corn, as well as fertilizers, pesticides, and various agricultural technologies."

Zhao Pingan smiled.

Yes, although the Corn Emperor has many shortcomings.

But there is one thing that no one in the Red Empire can criticize him for.

The "Corn Emperor" placed extreme emphasis on corn yield and scale.

He alleviated the food shortage problem in the Red Empire.

How could he possibly sit still while the corn yielded 2000 jin per mu?

Zhao Ping'an flew directly back to Turpan.

If the Corn Emperor wants to see corn, then we must show him the best corn.

In southern North China, corn is planted early, in early March, and the first batch can be harvested by the end of September.

However, Zhao Ping'an needed to make some unplanned arrangements in Xinjiang.

Zhao Ping'an thought of history,

The Corn Emperor placed great importance on Central Asia, cultivating vast tracts of farmland there to grow corn. He also built railways to transport goods out and bring in other products.

And coincidentally, the five Central Asian countries are adjacent to Xinjiang.

If the "Corn Emperor" could see that the seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and technology he wants could all be produced and supplied to him in Xinjiang, would he agree to advance the construction of the Central Asian Railway?

What if we take advantage of industrial exchange opportunities to provide light industrial products?

Xinjiang offers opportunities for developing animal husbandry, growing vegetables such as tomatoes, cultivating fruits, producing cotton and developing the textile industry, and establishing factories to develop light industrial products. All of these can be sold to the Moscow region via railway through the five Central Asian countries.

What Zhao Ping'an needs to do now is to complete the basic plans in Xinjiang before the Corn Emperor arrives.

It was already evening when the plane landed in Urumqi.

Zhou Ming was waiting at the airport, holding a stack of documents in his hands.

"Minister Zhao, according to your previous instructions..."

Yesterday, a construction corps of 10 people began laying temporary roads in sections towards the Yili region.

Zhao Ping'an took the telegram, glanced at it, and nodded.

"What about Turpan and Hami?"

"The foundation work for the two fertilizer plants has just begun and is expected to be completed by the end of October."

The cotton mill, which was planned earlier, has already started recruiting. There are 3,000 openings, but over 20,000 people have applied.

"Then we'll expand the scale. We'll take in anyone who meets the standards, train them first, and then expand some textile and garment factories once they've all become skilled workers next year."

Secretary Zhou, please take note: This year we planted 500 million mu of cotton, and next year we will continue to cultivate it, striving to reach 1500 million mu.

This plan needs to be discussed before the autumn harvest ends in October, aiming to cultivate a portion of the land before the harvest and winter, thus alleviating pressure next year.

After saying that, Zhao Pingan got into the car and drove towards the city.

Outside the window, the streets of Urumqi are much busier than they were six months ago.

Newly opened shops, newly paved roads, trucks coming and going. In the distance, smoke billows from the chimneys of several factories.

Zhou Ming, standing nearby, asked, "Minister Zhao, where should we go first?"

Zhao Pingan thought for a moment.

"First, let's go to Turpan to see the solar power and cotton production there. Then we'll go to Hami to see the railway."

For the next two weeks, Zhao Ping'an visited several major construction sites in Xinjiang.

The photovoltaic zone in Turpan has become the power hub of the entire Xinjiang region, with towering towers and energy storage equipment being built and power lines connecting them.

The newly opened cotton fields next door are thriving, and the cotton seedlings will be ready for harvest in late September or early October.

The drip irrigation tape extends along the furrows, and fine water droplets drip into the soil.

The accompanying farm manager said, "Minister Zhao, this is the first year, and the crop is growing well. We previously estimated 250 jin per mu, but now it seems that the yield per mu may reach 280 jin."

Zhao Ping'an nodded. Although the results were encouraging, they were still far from enough.

After all, Zhao Dongliang's business in several Southeast Asian countries is thriving right now.

Cotton fabric, due to its excellent absorbency and comfort, is a flagship product.

Not to mention the soon-to-be-prominent Corn Emperor, an empire of over 100 million people.

Moreover, there are also a group of brother countries in Eastern Europe.

In Hami, the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway is being laid, and temporary roads are being built along its sides, making transportation smoother and accelerating the delivery of supplies.

At the end of August, Zhao Pingan returned to Urumqi and began making a list.

It's not a list of equipment, it's a list of people.

Welders: 5,000. Lathe operators: 8,000. Fitters: 6,000. Electricians: 4,000. Assemblers: 10,000.

Engineers: 2,000. Workshop foremen: 1,000. Technical school instructors: 3,000.

There are a total of 42,000 people.

Zhou Ming stared at the list, somewhat bewildered.

"Minister Zhao, so many... can the Soviet Union provide them?"

Zhao Pingan smiled.

"Can you give them to me? You don't think I only want this many people, do you? This is just the first batch!"

If the Corn Emperor sees our corn and wants it, he'll have to trade.

This quantity is for exchanging seeds, as well as fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural technology. Central Asia has such an unbalanced water resource situation, why wouldn't they want drip irrigation technology?

Forty thousand? That's too few. We need at least 20 to accelerate the training of our workforce.

Zhao Pingan paused for a moment, then continued to explain.

"Don't worry about whether they'll give it to you or not. You need to think about how they have millions of skilled workers, master craftsmen, and workshop foremen who have experienced industrialization."

They used to work in military factories, but now that the war is over, there aren't many jobs left.

What we lack is precisely what they have an excess of.

Our equipment is more advanced than theirs, but our people don't know how to use it as well.

Let them train apprentices, each taking on dozens. They can train our people in a year or two.

Zhou Ming nodded.

In early September, Zhao Ping'an received a telegram from Beiping, asking him to return to Beiping to discuss the final plans for the visit to the Corn Emperor.

The Corn Emperor arrived on September 15th, and his itinerary is roughly arranged.

The first day was for sightseeing, the second day for talks, and the third day for more sightseeing. Zhao Ping'an was given a full week of escort duties.

Zhao Pingan needs to assess whether the final plan involves issues such as technical confidentiality.

Zhao Pingan put down the telegram.

Zhou Ming asked, "Minister Zhao, when are you going to Beiping?"

Zhao Pingan thought for a moment.

"Tomorrow is the 3rd. I'll fly back to Beiping in the morning. I'll try to get back to Northeast China before the 8th to make some arrangements, and then return to Beiping on the 13th to await their arrival."