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

Meanwhile, in Zhao Ping'an's office, Zhao Ping'an sat in his chair, intending to read a report, when he saw Ye Juan come in to give her presentation.

"Have those people been settled in?"

Ye Juan nodded: "I've shown them around the dormitory, the cafeteria, and the clinic. They've already started learning Chinese in the evenings."

Zhao Pingan hummed in agreement and put down the report.

"These people had a rather miserable life back home. They came here to expand our manpower."

Of course, it was also to give them a way to survive, since their country was still suffering from famine.

Although 180,000 tons of grain were sent to North Crea,

However, with the autumn harvest approaching, a poor harvest is inevitable for them.

There's still more than a year until next autumn's harvest, and that grain might not be enough to eat. I even suspect that people will starve to death for several more years!

The policy there prioritizes military personnel and officials, leaving unemployed women like them struggling.

Zhao Pingan paused for a moment.

"Whether they can stay or not is up to them."

We won't force them, but the conditions are there, and they'll figure it out themselves. This is also a rehearsal…”

Ye Juan has been by Zhao Ping'an's side for more than half a year.

Although she wasn't entitled to attend the high-level meetings, Ye Juan had listened to the meetings of the Agricultural Reclamation Corps for a long time as one of the recorders, and had gained a general understanding of Zhao Ping'an's habits and plans.

He roughly understood what Zhao Ping'an meant—just like the educated youth and ethnic minority people, except this time they were from North Crea.

Ultimately, they will all end up in the same place, becoming one of the workers and farmers in the agricultural reclamation corps.

Ye Juan nodded. "Yes, sir. I know how to take care of them next: a three-pronged approach of learning, work, and life, to make them one of us."

Zhao Ping'an nodded and continued, "Bringing in these 40 people is not simply about increasing the labor force."

"Most of the workers in our original textile factories had received basic education, or at least literacy education in the last two years," Zhao Ping'an said. "These people will be transferred to new industries such as fruit tree planting and cold-water fish farming. The technical content of these new industries is slightly higher than that of textile workers, and we need literate people to learn these new technologies."

"And they—" he pointed out the window, "are perfect for filling the positions in the textile factory."

They're young, hardworking, and can get the hang of things after a little training. The jobs don't require high levels of education, which suits their current stage of life.

Ye Juan nodded.

This is a tiered system: educated domestic workers go to develop new industries, while North Korean female workers take over traditional machinery operator positions. This solves the labor shortage problem in new industries while also providing employment opportunities for these female workers.

Once they adapt to life here and learn Chinese, they can move on to higher-level positions.

Zhao Pingan brought up Li Zhenying again.

"That girl, Li Zhenying, please take good care of her. Go see her at least once a month to check on her."

"If she has any needs that meet basic requirements, we'll allocate resources to meet them. There's no need to ask me about everything."

"At the same time, we can observe the entire female worker group through her—what they lack, what they need, and what difficulties they face."

"We must show care and concern, just like the Railway Corps Trade Union cares for every worker and their family."

"We need to make them want to stay once they arrive. The issue of ethnic integration should begin with this group..."

Ye Juan had been with Zhao Ping'an for a long time, and she understood his meaning as soon as she heard it.

She didn't say much, just nodded: "Boss, I understand. I will handle this well."

She was a Shanghai educated youth who had seen the world and learned a lot from Zhao Ping'an.

She did not dislike these North Korean female workers.

She had seen with her own eyes how they arrived, dressed in tattered clothes and starving.

Since this place offers a better life, she feels she is doing a good deed.

Zhao Pingan then went on to talk about the follow-up work plan,

My schedule is very tight; I need to attend an award ceremony in September.

Even though I don't have a military rank, I still have to participate.

Therefore, Ye Juan needs to compile and report many plans to herself, and she needs to tell the other party the key points of the work first.

"This year, 1500 million mu of cotton were planted in eastern and northern Xinjiang."

亩产大概280到300斤，按照平均值290斤计算，1500万亩能收43亿5千万斤，就是217万5千吨。

"Our national demand, including industrial use, is approximately 350 to 400 million tons."

As Ye Juan listened, she did the math in her head—more than two million tons, just half of that.

Zhao Ping'an continued explaining the plan: "So this year is just the beginning. Next year we'll go to the western Xinjiang region, and open another 500 to 10 million mu in Aksu."

"By then, the total area will reach 20 to 25 million mu, and the output will reach about 3.6 million tons, which will basically meet our own needs, and we can even export some of it."

Ye Juan's eyes lit up.

"We have enough cotton; the next step is fruit trees."

Zhao Ping'an has already redeemed a large number of fruit tree seedlings from the system this year and is promoting their planting in the new province. He plans to double the scale next year and strive to have them bear fruit in three years.

The goal was to develop this place into a major production area for specialty agricultural products such as apples and tomatoes, just like in later generations.

"Fruit, whether transported fresh throughout the country or canned and shipped to the Soviet Union, is a valuable commodity. The same goes for tomatoes; when processed into tomato sauce in food factories, it becomes one of our flagship products in Europe. This is a key area you'll be focusing on going forward—tracking production, quality, and follow-up plans, summarizing the findings, and organizing meetings with relevant production cadres from the corps to learn from their experience and seek solutions..."

Ye Juan wrote it down.

"Aquaculture is another key part of my plan."

"The Ningxia Plain and the Ili River Valley, known as the 'Jiangnan of the North,' are suitable for cold-water fish farming."

Zhao Ping'an talked about the popularity of French caviar in Europe and the advantages of the meltwater from the Tianshan Mountains.

The presentation explained a new technology called "land-based recirculating aquaculture," which allows for the raising of 30 kilograms of fish per cubic meter of water, and can shorten the growth cycle by half.

"The fish raised in the farm can produce caviar from their roe and cod liver oil from their liver. Both are valuable."

As he spoke, Zhao Pingan turned on his computer, took out a USB drive, and started projecting the screen to explain to Ye Juan.

"The wastewater from aquaculture can also be used for irrigation, making two uses out of one and avoiding waste."

Ye Juan listened and began to understand. These new industries are much more difficult than textiles, requiring a certain level of education.

"And then there's the chemical fiber industry. A large oil field has been discovered in the Tarim Basin, and extraction may begin next year. The supporting refining and chemical fiber industries here also need to keep up."

"The chemical fiber industry in Northeast China has already started trial production. The first batch of polyester fabric has been nicknamed 'Dacron' (meaning 'pretty') by someone from Guangdong Province because it has a better effect than dyed fabric. I heard it's very popular in Beijing and Shanghai," Zhao Ping'an said. "But we're still ramping up production capacity, and this is one direction we're exploring."

"In recent years, people still have to rely on cotton and linen cloth for their livelihood."

Therefore, cotton is the foundation and must be secured first. Then, synthetic fibers are the guarantee for future development...

Zhao Ping'an explained things to Ye Juan until late at night, and by the time the two realized it, the clock had already passed midnight.

"Uh, it seems I got a little carried away while talking. Comrade Ye Juan, you should go back and rest. I guess I need to be more careful about this habit of being a know-it-all next time!" Zhao Ping'an suddenly realized what was happening when he looked at the "Queen" so close to him.

"Minister, Liu Ying, Zhu Hui, and I have always had a question on our minds," Ye Juan said, a slight blush creeping onto her face.

"Minister, you've assigned the three of us to be your secretaries," Ye Juan said, moving a little closer to Zhao Ping'an.

"Is it really just a coincidence?"

Someone from the organization had already spoken with the three women; everyone was somewhat aware of the situation.

Especially Zhao Ping'an's age of twenty-five, which is unique not only within the high-ranking organization,

Even his words, actions, and mannerisms had long left a deep impression on the three women.

Although Zhao Ping'an felt that he was merely copying and pasting the development of later generations through the system.

But in this era, by avoiding detours and staying ahead of the times at every step, the Northeast has developed in just six years to a level comparable to post-war Europe, with even North and Northwest China following closely behind and striving to catch up. This achievement is truly remarkable.

Not to mention the advancements in agriculture, industry, technology, and military technology brought by Zhao Ping'an.

This kind of command and its results are kept secret to a certain extent.

Therefore, most people in this era are not very clear about it.

But regarding my work as a secretary, I truly saw and came into contact with...

For three educated young women of this era, how spirited and ambitious they were!

Of the three women, Ye Juan is the most courageous, Liu Ying is the most rational, and Zhu Hui is the most capable in action.

So today, Ye Juan mustered up her courage and asked the question that had been on her mind...

"Minister, what do you think of me?"