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

Early July 1955, Beiping (Beijing).

When the plane landed at the western suburbs airport, Zhao Ping'an leaned back in his seat, looked at the familiar scenery outside the window, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Paris, Moscow, Warsaw—after a trip around, I'm finally back.

He stood up, picked up his briefcase, and walked out. As soon as he stepped out of the cabin, his secretary came to greet him.

"Sir, a telegram from the leadership office."

Zhao Pingan took the telegram and glanced at it.

A North Crea business delegation is about to visit China; please participate in the negotiations. Return to your office immediately.

Zhao Pingan folded the telegram and put it in his pocket.

"Let's go."

It was already dark when the car drove out of the sea.

Zhao Pingan sat in the back seat, watching the street scenes flash by outside the window.

I haven't been back for several months. Beiping is still the same Beiping, but it seems a little different. There are more streetlights and more bicycles on the streets. Usually, people rush home at this time, but now I see some community canteens on the street still packed with people. This is a benefit brought about by several consecutive years of bumper harvests and the rapid development of high-yield crops and animal husbandry.

A new set of currency has been issued, and Zhao Ping'an no longer has to mentally divide by ten thousand every time he takes out money to calculate the exact amount. What makes Zhao Ping'an most proud is that they no longer need to use ration coupons for grain and meat. Zhao Ping'an heard from Old Xu that some reactionary elements had recently made a comeback, trying to manipulate grain prices again.

The results made Zhao Ping'an so happy that he ate two extra ounces of food that day. His sales figures, which he had worked hard for over a month in Europe, couldn't match the sales figures achieved by these "wealthy businessmen" in just half a month. They had persisted for a month and a half, helping Zhao Ping'an to properly digest a large amount of soon-to-expire grain.

Most importantly, after they bought the goods, they couldn't sell them. When they tried to transport them away, customs blocked them and prohibited them from shipping them to Chiang Kai-shek's territory. When they tried to dump them at low prices, the security department, which had been waiting for a long time, intervened and confiscated their assets and grain.

This scheme of getting something for nothing made Lao Xu, the person in charge, extremely proud, and even earned him a commendation from his superiors.

For Zhao Ping'an, the only downside is that these chives are non-renewable; it would be wonderful if he could harvest a crop every year.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ping'an couldn't help but smile knowingly, while also noticing that people's clothes had become much neater.

I imagine that once the 1500 million mu of cotton in Xinjiang Province matures this year, the people will have no shortage of clothing.

After all, with the promotion of agricultural mechanization and the influx of skilled workers from the Red Empire, the eight-level skilled worker system was successfully implemented, and people's wages increased significantly.

Technological advancements have led to a dramatic increase in the amount of resources that can be produced per person. If it weren't for considerations of social stability and helping the nation accumulate reserves,

Perhaps the wages of farmers and workers can be even higher now.

Fortunately, industrialized, integrated, and technologically advanced production has driven down the prices of various daily necessities.

A family of five can make ends meet with a monthly salary of 20 yuan, and can have meat every day with 35 yuan.

Zhao Ping'an calculated that one yuan today has the purchasing power of about 50 yuan 70 years from now.

The starting salary for a regular worker during the probationary period is 26 yuan, and the minimum salary after becoming a regular employee is 30 yuan. Farmers' annual income is generally around 130 yuan.

However, the prices of meat and grains simply couldn't be lowered any further, leaving Zhao Ping'an with nothing but a sigh. Cornmeal was 0.1 yuan per jin, and pork was 0.35-0.4 yuan per jin on average.

These changes may be just numbers to others, but for Zhao Ping'an, who is living 70 years later, it means he has a long way to go and still needs to work hard.

When will we consider raising the minimum wage for workers by 1.5 times and doubling farmers' income as completing the initial stage of our struggle? Zhao Ping'an already has a plan for this.

This stems from the previous surplus of grain. We had enough grain and meat, but there was a surplus, and farmland was still being reclaimed. So we need to change the crops we cultivate. There are still many areas that need improvement, such as dairy products, eggs, fruits, seafood, fish, and cash crops.

Who says farmers can't earn more money? As long as the means of production are publicly owned, hardworking farmers will definitely earn more and increase their income.

As Zhao Ping'an was thinking, his mind turned to something else.

North Crea.

Two years have passed since the war ended. The Red Empire retreated during the Northern War.

The Republic's independence led to its victory over the coalition of seventeen nations. In this battle, the Republic's army needed absolutely no help from the Red Empire.

This battle thoroughly established the reputation of the Republic Army and made the people of North Crea realize who they could truly rely on.

So last year, North Crea suffered a poor harvest and went directly to the Republic.

Last year, we provided 80,000 tons of grain as aid, which relieved the immediate crisis.

But the fact that they are asking for help again this year shows that things are still not going well. To be precise, last year the plan was to provide 15 tons of aid, just like in the past, but Zhao Ping'an persuaded the leaders to agree to his plan.

According to the information Lao Xu gathered from the Republic faction, Zhao Ping'an estimates that the other side has a grain shortage of at least 18 tons.

Food shortages, hardship for the people, and industrial paralysis—these are the visible problems. But what the people of North Crea truly want is probably more than just food.

Through intelligence exchanges with the Republican faction over there, tank production lines, heavy machine guns, mortars, and even large-caliber artillery are what SunGold wants.

He wanted to maintain military superiority over the south, and even the Republic's intervention, along with the successive successes of the nuclear missile and satellite, meant that his desire to take over the peninsula had not been completely extinguished.

There are also high-yield grain varieties. The people of North Correa learned from those sent by the Republic that there are corn varieties that yield 2,000 catties per mu, potatoes that yield 3,000 catties per mu, and sweet potatoes that yield 7000 catties per mu, and they definitely want them.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ping'an smiled, anticipating that to take something, one must first give something in return; it all depended on North Correa's sincerity this time.

The car stopped at the residence.

Zhao Ping'an went upstairs, entered his room, and placed his briefcase on the table.

Zhao Pingan went over the plan in his mind again.

North Crea is a place of great strategic importance.

Facing the Sea of ​​Japan and adjacent to the northeast of the Republic, if managed well, it could become a dagger piercing the heart of the Eagle-Sakura Alliance.

The Potsdam Declaration states that the Republic has the right to station troops in Sakura.

The Red Empire had it, Britain had it, America had it, and the Republic had it too. It's just that historically, their national strength was insufficient, so they didn't fight for it.

But it's different now.

If we can use the peninsula as a springboard to drive the United States into the sea, unify the entire peninsula, and turn South Crea into a special zone of the Republic—then cherry blossoms will be within reach. This is the inevitable goal of generations of time-traveling men, and Zhao Ping'an feels that he is no exception. However, he just needs some patience now.

Zhao Pingan turned around and walked back to the table, picked up a pen, and wrote down several place names on the paper:

Chongjin, Wonsan, Hamhung.

Chongjin is a steel base and has the largest port in North Crea, with a railway directly connected to the Republic.

Wonsan is a center of the machinery industry and the best ice-free port on the east coast.

Hamhung was a key area for North Crea's post-war reconstruction, and it could help with industrial recovery.

If these three places are managed well, they can establish a foothold in northern North Crea.

Then Zhao Pingan thought of the population structure of North Crea.

The war lasted three years, so many people sacrificed their lives, what was left behind? Women, the elderly, and children. In Qingjin, women aged twenty to thirty reportedly make up more than 70%.

This is an opportunity.

We recruited female workers from there to work in textile and garment factories. Over the years, they learned the skills, learned to speak Chinese, and got used to life here.

Whether I marry here or go back home in the future, my heart will always be here. Remote farming technology is not exclusive to the CIA!

At the same time, another group of male laborers were sent there under the guise of "technical assistance" to be stationed long-term in places like Chongjin and Wonsan. Over time, they had children, settled down, and naturally formed Chinese communities.

When people move around, influence grows.

And those who support the Republic.

Fang, Pu, and Jin—they fought in the Northeast back then, served in the military, speak Chinese, have an emotional connection to this area, and some of their units even participated in the Battle of Siping. They now hold relatively high positions in the North Crea military and industrial sectors.

Zhao Pingan wrote another line on the paper:

The Republican faction – a natural fulcrum of influence.

The phone on the table rang.

Zhao Ping'an answered the call; it was from the leader's office, or rather, from secretary Xiao Li.

"Comrade Ping An, the North Crea delegation will arrive the day after tomorrow. The leader wants you to prepare and come to report tomorrow. The leader is available at 9 a.m. tomorrow."

"Yes, thank you for the notification, Comrade Li."

"Comrade Ping An," Xiao Li suddenly lowered his voice, "the leader has been quite busy lately and isn't sure if he can personally receive you. Besides, Comrade Ping An, your previous trip to France was very successful, and the leader has high hopes for you..."

"Thank you, Comrade Li, for recognizing my work." Zhao Ping'an naturally understood what Secretary Li meant.

"Okay, then I won't disturb Comrade Ping An's rest any longer. See you at 9 a.m. tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Ping'an sat back down in his chair. It seemed his boss wanted to give him more responsibility? That suited him perfectly. As for the reporting plan?

The North Cretans want food? Give them some. They want improved seeds? Give them some. They want tank production lines? We can give them some, but we'll control how we give them.

We should also provide them with light industrial products so they can get used to using goods from the Republic. Textiles, daily necessities, thermos flasks—once they get used to these things, they won't be able to live without them.

Once they can no longer leave, many things will be easier to discuss.

As for the returns? North Crea has the world's largest magnesite deposits, and its iron and coal resources are also decent. Of course, the most important thing is that there's a gender imbalance there right now...

Late at night.

Zhao Pingan picked up the papers on the table and put them into his briefcase.

We need to take over Qingjin, Wonsan, and Hamhung first. We need to make contact with the people the Republic sent. We need to arrange for the female workers to come to China.

Take it one step at a time, but in this lifetime, there may be no future for a general!