money player

Xie Zhanran drove fast, and in less than an hour and a half, the car arrived in Hachioji City.

Okada Nōsaku, the president of the Wenzhou Agricultural Development Bureau, the Dongyang branch of Zhongfeng Company, was already waiting. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Okada Nōsaku led his people to the Wenzhou orchard.

The rule established by MacArthur stipulated that village landowners could retain a maximum of one hectare of land, with any excess being forcibly acquired. Recently, a draft of the Farmland Act has been pushed forward, raising the maximum land ownership limit for farmers to three hectares.

Whether it's the old rule of one hectare or the new rule of three hectares, it can be seen as a constraint on the Wenzhou Agricultural Development Bureau, which is committed to developing the planting industry in Japan, hindering the legal consolidation of land.

If legal methods don't work, there are gray areas. Buying land under someone else's name is one way, mortgaging land is another, and there's also an absolutely legal method—borrowing land rights.

You can't buy it, but you can rent it. You can sign a 100-year contract without any problem; it's just a matter of manipulating the contract details.

Upon arriving near the Wenzhou orchard, Okada Nōsaku pointed to the large area of ​​Wenzhou mandarin orange trees and said, "Chairman, this area of ​​Wenzhou mandarin oranges covers 120 mu (1 mu ≈ 1.5 mu), with a total of 6572 trees. One-third of them are early-maturing varieties, and they will be ready for harvest in a few days."

"Can we pick them now?"

"We need to choose."

"Let's go in and take a look."

Stepping into the fragrant orchard, Sin Yiu-man walked slowly to a mandarin orange tree. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping calmly over the golden mandarins adorning the branches, before settling on two plump, brightly colored fruits high up.

He gathered his strength slightly, then lightly leaped into the air, his arm passing through layers of lush green leaves. His fingertips precisely caught the fruit stems, and with a deft snap, two round and plump tangerines landed steadily in his palm.

He tossed one to Xie Tingyun, who peeled off the paper-thin skin, carefully removed the white pith, broke off a segment, and put it in his mouth to savor it. The aroma was wonderful, the flesh was plump and juicy, and it was sweet with a hint of sourness.

He broke off half of it and handed it to Okada Nōsaku, asking, "Is there a big temperature difference between day and night here?"

"Yes."

How much is the rent for an orchard in Wenzhou?

"It's a 100-year contract, 2600 yen per month, with the rent paid in one lump sum. The fruit trees are free."

Xian Yaowen nodded slightly and put another segment of fruit into his mouth. "What are your plans for this year's sales?"

"Chairman, the Development Bureau has signed an agreement with Sweet Fruit Company. The best quality and similar-sized batch will be supplied to Sweet Fruit Company, and the rest will be wholesaled to retailers."

"Have you made the contact?"

"The contacts are all made, the agreement is signed, this year's harvest has been sold out, and the estimated income is 240 million yen."

"The income is a bit lower. Can we try natural cultivation next year?"

“Yes, the formula for the low-toxicity biological pesticide has been successfully tested, and the technology for gravity irrigation with bamboo pipes has also been mastered.” Okada Nōsaku pointed to a higher place, “The water tower is under construction, and after the harvest is over, the ceramic pipes and bamboo pipes will also begin to be laid.”

Sin Yiu-man nodded. "We can increase the labor budget and hire more people. Fertilizer preparation, fertilization, pest control, and bagging are all crucial steps that cannot be taken lightly. We want the highest quality mandarins."

"Hay."

"Is the plan being implemented smoothly in Niigata Prefecture?"

"It went very smoothly. Niigata Prefecture has many wetlands and fragmented plots of land. Farmers hold less than three-tenths of the land. Rice accounts for about 60% of the harvest, and the surplus grain is only enough for the whole family to eat for half a year. Most of the time, they can only survive on miscellaneous grains and wild vegetables."

Farmers also have to pay fixed asset tax, income tax, and village tax, which account for 40% of their annual income. Once they get married, have a funeral, or get sick, they are unable to pay taxes, their land is confiscated or auctioned off, and they become landless vagrants.

That's why land is a burden for many farmers. Farmers who can find work in the city are willing to lend us their land, but..."

"what?"

"Most farmers are unable to go to the city to find work because they are worried that they will starve to death after lending out their land."

“This problem is not difficult to solve.” Xian Yaowen said calmly, “Accelerate the establishment of the Shikanojo agricultural and sideline product processing workshop. Considering the situation in Niigata Prefecture, it can mainly produce three types of products.”

First, there's rice cakes, which involve purchasing broken, substandard, and defective rice from farmers to circumvent government rice supply controls. Soaking, steaming, pounding, molding, charcoal baking, and seasoning with soy sauce/salt—all these processes can be done manually.

Rice cakes are a staple in teahouses, and they sell like hotcakes.

Secondly, pickled wild vegetables. Niigata Prefecture has white radishes, cucumbers, eggplants, wild vegetables, and plums. They buy deformed and leftover vegetables from farmers at low prices and hire famous chefs to determine the flavor.

Restaurants, teahouses, izakayas, and confectionery shops are in constant demand for our products.

Thirdly, there are dried sweet potatoes. Niigata Prefecture grows sweet potatoes on a large scale, and purchases small, deformed, and low-priced sweet potato tubers. These tubers are then steamed, peeled, naturally dried, graded, packaged into small bags, and sent to urban markets and fruit shops.

The processing workshops will absorb some of the labor, the farms and orchards will absorb some, and we will also contact Matsunaga Construction to select outstanding young and middle-aged laborers and send them to Matsunaga Construction's construction sites.

The wages on the construction site are high; a month's work exceeds the land rental fee, considered top-tier resettlement. Not only is the land rental fee waived, but a pre-job training fee is also charged. The first month's salary is withheld, and the land rental fee and pre-job training fee are split in half, with Wenzhou and Songyong Construction each receiving half.

Okada Nōsaku wiped non-existent beads of sweat from his forehead and stammered, "Chairman, Matsunaga Construction alone can't accommodate many people. Are there any other companies we can cooperate with?"

Sin Yiu-man replied calmly and steadily, "HK Consulting is currently setting up its Oriental branch, which will mainly provide employment services. The headquarters will handle the coordination, and the cooperation agreement will be sent over soon."

"That's great. With job placements, the land consolidation plan in Niigata Prefecture can proceed quickly."

“Okada-kun, it’s not a merger, it’s a land loan. Please be careful with your words.”

Okada Nōsaku bowed and said, "I'm sorry, Chairman, I misspoke."

"Be more careful next time."

"Hay."

Ota Ward, Tokyo.

In the office of the "Labor Supply Association" of HK Consulting's Oriental branch, President Yoji Ueno had one hand on a female employee's buttocks.

Has the Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Cooperative approved our use of the sign "Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Cooperative Tokyo Branch"?

"It has been...approved."

"Okay, go order the nameplate right away, it needs to be hung up tomorrow morning."

"Ha... Yamete... Hai~"

"Starting tomorrow, I will visit all the factories in Daejeon-gu to collect their labor needs as soon as possible."

"Hai~"

After visiting the Wenzhou orchard, we went to see the volcanic mulberry garden (217-fold) and the large root vegetable garden (63-fold).

Hachioji City has been a mulberry capital since ancient times, with silkworm breeding and silk weaving being the largest local industry. Chung Fung Laboratory has set up a special cocoon research institute here to conduct in-depth research on natural colored silk and feeding dyeing methods, as well as improving the strength of silk. Ultimately, they developed a fabric that is both beautiful, cut-resistant, puncture-resistant, and bulletproof, creating a unique clothing brand.

Hachioji City is close to Tokyo and has convenient transportation, allowing for direct supply of fresh vegetables to the Tokyo market, resulting in high profits. Daikon Vegetable Garden focuses on organic vegetable cultivation, supplying the high-end market. For a long time to come, it will not be for profit, but rather to serve as a tool for Yoshiko Matsuda and Keiko Nagumo to expand their networks.

After leaving the vegetable garden, I went to Hamura-cho in Nishitama, pretended to be of Japanese-Brazilian descent, and had an in-depth conversation with silkworm farmers to listen to the voices of the lowest rungs of the raw silk industry.

The group then traveled south along the banks of the Tama River, inspecting the vast stretches of wasteland and scattered fields of miscellaneous crops on both sides.

The river breeze rustles the grass along the bank, and the mudflats and wastelands are scattered here and there. Some are overgrown with weeds and have never been cultivated, while others have been turned into small plots of miscellaneous farmland by a few farmers.

As he walked, Sin Yiu-man surveyed the terrain, soil, and river location, noting down the size, orientation, and development potential of each plot of land.

In 1951, the Tama Riverbank was seen by ordinary Japanese people as just the countryside, mulberry groves, farmland, and barren slopes. They felt it was far from the city center, worthless, and unwilling to hoard land. But in the eyes of those who could understand urban planning and the logic of postwar reconstruction, the Tama Riverbank was destined to become Tokyo's top residential area, a desirable place to live, and a core area where land prices would skyrocket.

The Tama River flows eastward from Nishi-Tama, Hachioji, and Ome, connecting Setagaya, Ota, and Meguro. The commuting distance to central Tokyo is just right—neither too close nor too far—making it ideal for developing new suburban residential areas.

The Tama River boasts clear water, expansive green banks, and humid air, free from later industrial pollution. Japanese people have long considered riverside locations ideal for living—comfortable, a summer retreat, and scenic—making them perfect for high-end residences and villa communities.

The Tama River has many high-altitude terraces along its banks, making it less susceptible to flooding and with stable soil. It is much safer than the low-lying downtown areas of Tokyo, and after the war, everyone wanted to move to the higher ground.

There are large amounts of mixed farmland, wasteland, abandoned farmland, and uninhabited forests along the coast, which can be legally and cheaply stockpiled.

Sin Yiu-man divided the land into three categories: high-quality land directly acquired by Song Yong Construction, general land targeted by Song Qing Construction, and super-high-quality land given to the women in his family.

Su Lizhen had already learned to diversify her investments, acquiring several plots of land in Ginza through Matsuda Yoshiko. She did this not because she was smarter than others, but because she had access to more family secrets.

He wanted to treat everyone equally, giving each woman a plot of land where she could build a luxury house, thus drawing their attention to Tokyo. As for whether they would hoard land, that was their own fate and choice; he wouldn't force or guide them.

His woman should have her own career and hobbies, and when she's bored, she can fly to various places for vacation, so naturally she needs to have her own vacation villas in various places.

As for love, one-twentieth of your life is enough; don't revolve your entire life around him. Achieve economic independence first, then personal independence. Don't be his appendage, much less a status symbol.

Upon returning to Tokyo, he did not go back to Kono Garden, but instead went to the Tokyo Station Hotel, which had just reopened a few days earlier—an Edwardian-style building with all-European decor, a preferred accommodation for Western travelers.

Pauline Goddard came to Tokyo with us and is staying here.

She wasn't in her room; she was still filming on set at Fujiyama Film Studio, using her precarious fame to promote a newcomer poised for international acclaim.

She took a shower in her room, changed into a jacket suit, and went to the main dining room on the second floor.

Before she could even sit down, she saw the bespectacled German woman she had met at the Lion's Beer House. She was also alone and had only been sitting down a short while ago, as there was only one appetizer on the table. (End of Chapter)