The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

3778 words

There are indeed people in this world who are blessed by heaven, and neither necessity, chance, nor luck can explain them clearly. — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

From that day on, Zhang Yinghao prepared to start a series of military operations. Before taking action, he naturally had to find out the situation clearly.

Zhang Yinghao immediately called Comrade Yuan Kesheng and asked him again for details about the local situation. Zhang Yinghao was not very familiar with the local situation and needed to understand it clearly before making the next move.

"Captain, our Guang'an has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. To protect themselves, the people of Guang'an have repeatedly built a large number of castles and towers along the mountains and rivers. The most recent large-scale construction of castles and towers was in the ninth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1859). More than 100,000 troops led by He Guoliang, a member of the peasant army of Li Yonghe and Lan Dashun in Zhaotong, Yunnan, came from southern Sichuan to northern Sichuan, besieged Dingyuan, attacked Yuechi, and burned, killed, and looted on the way. Guang'an suffered particularly tragically. All regions once again adopted the method of fortifying the city and clearing the countryside, and as a result, large-scale construction of castles and towers began in Guang'an.

At that time, Wang Zhaoxi, the governor of Guang'an, rebuilt Anju City and newly built Baoan Village. Wu Shangren built Jiahe Village. Other villages such as Nifeng Village, Leshan Village, Shuanghe Village, Taishan Village, Pulian Village, and Xiaocheng Village came into being. Baocheng Village, Chengzhai, Yushan Village, Zhongzhai, Anle Village, and Sanhe Village in Yuechi County were built and reinforced. These villages became important fortresses to resist banditry and provide refuge and peace for the people...

Yuan Kesheng recounted all the information he had gathered from his previous research, and then said, "In most of these fortresses, landlords and common people lived together. However, most of the good places were occupied by landlords. However, these fortresses are now decades old and their defenses are not very strict. Moreover, the bandits these fortresses were defending against at that time did not have rear-haft guns, and many of them are unusable for defensive operations today."

"What about the armed forces controlled by these landowners?"

"Some are good, some are bad. Some have bought rifles, organized militias, and even have cannons from decades ago in the fortress. However, these armed forces may be able to scare the people, but they are no match for us."

"Your thinking is wrong. We can certainly despise them strategically, but we must take them very seriously tactically. A single negligence on our part could cost the lives of our comrades. Comrade Erzhu was beaten to death by the enemy with a hoe. We must learn from this lesson."

"Okay, Captain."

"So, which landlords around here are particularly resentful? Those who resort to unscrupulous means to plunder? Let's just go after a few of them."

"Captain..."

In Zhang Yinghao's view, these mountain watchtowers were not obstacles to his attack on the landlords. On the contrary, they were natural training grounds. Zhang Yinghao's troops were newly formed and had not experienced the test of large-scale combat. The coordination between troops and the running-in of teammates required a lot of practice. These landlord watchtowers provided Zhang Yinghao's troops with this opportunity to practice.

Ten training sessions on the training ground wouldn't be as memorable as one on the battlefield. Only through repeated combat and reflection did Zhang Yinghao believe his unit would soon be officially established.

After selecting their target, the troops, led by intelligence personnel, quietly arrived outside the blockhouse. A surprise attack, or another surprise attack. While attacking the landlords, the troops also had to suppress relevant information to prevent unnecessary trouble. After suppressing the information, the troops quietly eliminated the nearby landlords and transported all the supplies they obtained back to Zhangjiagou. At the same time, they dispatched a work team to organize villagers to work on water conservancy projects.

The success of the military operation fully fueled Zhang Yinghao's ambitions. After the troops began to eliminate the landlords, Zhang Yinghao, having tasted the sweetness, had no intention of withdrawing his troops. Zhang Yinghao even went to investigate the bully landlords among the disaster victims. Then, Zhang Yinghao led his troops to start the operation to fight the landlords with the cooperation of the locals.

The more Zhang Yinghao attacked these landlords, the more he felt he couldn't stop. In this era, perhaps the compradors and a few capitalists had indeed accumulated a lot of wealth, but the real wealthy were the landlord families with centuries of inheritance. The wealth accumulated by these families over decades, even centuries, was an extremely terrifying figure, but all this wealth was acquired by him in a single day. If this continued, Zhang Yinghao felt that he was really going crazy.

At that time, Guang'an didn't even have banks; instead, there were money houses. Depositing money in a money house not only earned no interest, but also required a safekeeping fee. Therefore, landlords typically kept their money at home, buried it in cellars, or used it to buy land. Zhang Yinghao also knew of a saying called "dividing gold with a large scale," which referred to these wealthy landlords. The idea was that they accumulated so much gold, silver, and copper coins that they couldn't count them, so they had to use a large scale, the kind that required two people to lift it, to collect the money in baskets and divide it using the scale. This also reflected the immense wealth of some of these large landlords.

It's no wonder the landlords fought tooth and nail. If the peasants knew about their families' situations, there would be no way for the landlords to survive. Although the landlord class might not have class consciousness for the time being, they would consciously maintain their rule over the local area and maintain local order. Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty would have been in flames long ago.

When Zhang Yinghao was out fighting landlords, Hu Songhui went to Shanghai and brought people back. Now the labor force had increased, and the number of workers had also gradually increased, making many tasks much easier to do.

Along the way, Hu Songhui once again felt the vastness of China and the grandeur of the land. He also began to understand what his platoon leader, now regimental commander Zhang Yinghao, meant when he said that foreigners could not swallow up our country and could only find ways to divide it. With such a vast land, who could easily swallow it all?

When Hu Songhui first boarded the passenger ship in Chongqing, he thought it was enormous. Later, when he saw the foreign warship, he felt like he was on a child's toy. But even that warship pales in comparison to the vastness of China. No wonder the platoon leader said the warship couldn't reach land and there was nothing to worry about. Still, Hu Songhui felt a shudder at the sight of the massive gun barrel.

When Zhang Yinghao received the report that all those who had gone out had returned, he knew that his next work had to be carried out, so he immediately returned to Zhangjiagou and notified all the key personnel to hold a meeting immediately.

Now more people were eligible to attend the meeting: Zhang Yinghao, the thirteen people he had originally brought with him, his mother, his girlfriend Chen Xueer, a progressive student representative named Chen Yiwei, a soldier representative, and a group of labor activists. Excellent workers from the arsenal, ironworks, paper mill, printing plant, coal mine, iron mine, salt well, and other places. Wow, at a glance, there were roughly over a hundred people.

"Haha, Lao Liang, long time no see. Where are you assigned to work now? I haven't seen you since the training."

"Ha, I was assigned to Chongqing and am studying in a shop."

"Ah, you educated people are great, unlike me, who only have a handful of strength."

"Is there something going on that you suddenly told us to come back for a meeting? Do you have any news?"

"No, I was working at the paper mill and was called back suddenly."

"Look, Zhang Feng and his group are here too. It looks like something big is going to happen."

......

Many of these people knew each other, even having worked together before, so naturally, there was no end to the topics they discussed. Many hadn't seen each other in ages and were checking in on each other's recent situations. Everyone exchanged greetings, shared their work, discussed problems they'd encountered, and some speculated about the purpose of the meeting.

Zhang Yinghao received a notification from the sign-in staff that all attendees had arrived and the meeting could begin. Zhang Yinghao cleaned up his appearance and walked towards the venue. As he entered, the previously noisy venue suddenly quieted down. Zhang Yinghao quickly walked up to the podium and looked out at the dark crowd. His heart was suddenly filled with pride.

The audience applauded enthusiastically when they saw Zhang Yinghao walk up to the podium. He got straight to the point without further ado, saying, "Why do we Chinese people feel that life is so hard? We can't eat a few meals a day all year round, we don't even eat meat all year round, we can't wear good clothes, and we often suffer from cold and hunger. Don't we work hard? I don't think so. We build reservoirs, dig ditches, make clothes, smelt iron, mine, and make paper. We do everything well."

Hearing Zhang Yinghao say that everyone was doing just fine, everyone applauded enthusiastically again. Yes, who couldn't do this job? How could it be so? After the applause died down, Zhang Yinghao continued, "Why are we still hungry and cold? For those of you who have attended my classes before, I've already explained the situation. It's the exploiting class that's taken away the fruits of our labor. My previous lectures have been printed and are now in our library. You can go and read the reasons when you have time."

Some comrades used to be illiterate, but now they can take notes while I speak. Who could have imagined this before? Do we rely on outsiders? No! Without relying on anyone, we have achieved what we have today. We have clothes to wear and food to eat, and we are now feeding so many disaster victims outside. They only need to work and they will have food to eat. The reason is simple: we have worked hard to provide for ourselves and at the same time, we have also defeated the landlords who were above us! Don't you agree?

"Yes!"

After listening to it, everyone responded enthusiastically and applauded warmly.

Zhang Yinghao continued, "This time I visited many villages and helped many people."

Those who understood the situation laughed out loud when they heard that Zhang Yinghao had gone for a stroll in the village. Was that just a stroll? He was raiding houses, wasn't he?

"Those villagers are in a worse state now than when we last saw them. You all know why. If the drought continues, life will only get worse. Those who didn't come to us for a meal are now lying in bed. Why? They're too hungry to move.

If the drought continues, the rivers and streams will dry up. You can also look at our reservoir now, there is water in it. Think about it, has anyone built a reservoir or repaired a canal here in the past few decades? If someone had built a reservoir or repaired a canal, our lives might not be so difficult. But think about it, would the landlords repair it? They wouldn't. They just want everyone to have no food to eat and starve to death. If everyone starves to death, your land will become the landlord's. Borrowing money from the landlord is like compounding interest, and in the end, you will sell your children..."

Zhang Yinghao was speaking on the podium with great enthusiasm, but to Chen Yiwei, he felt that everything was so strange. Such a person appeared in this mountain valley, and the people in these villages seemed to be living in a paradise. Their mental outlook was completely different from anyone he had met before.

Sometimes Chen Yiwei couldn't understand what magic this young man had that brought all these people together. Thinking carefully about what he had seen, it seemed like there was nothing special at all. The people were still the same, nothing had changed! He really couldn't figure it out.

By the time Chen Yiwei came to his senses, he had missed a lot of Zhang Yinghao's speech. At this moment, he heard Zhang Yinghao say, "Tomorrow our reservoir and ditch digging work will be fully completed."

Hearing this, everyone applauded again. Yes, the hard work finally paid off, and it was worth it for everyone to work so hard.

Hearing everyone's enthusiastic applause, Zhang Yinghao smiled and said, "Don't get excited, good things are still to come! The day after tomorrow, we will begin organizing the distribution of land. This is a groundbreaking event. From now on, everyone in our village will have land to farm, and there will be no more exploitation by landlords and officials. From now on, everyone will have food to eat. Everyone, please applaud if you are happy!"

Although Zhang Yinghao had promised to divide the land long ago, everyone was excited when they heard Zhang Yinghao's promise in person, and the warmest applause since the meeting broke out.

Chapter 27 Meeting to Discuss the Division of Land

3895 words

Where in the world is there absolute fairness? If you find it, please let me know! — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

Zhang Yinghao waited until the applause died down before continuing, "The day after tomorrow, we'll be distributing land in Zhangjiagou. From now on, we'll continue distributing land all the way. Wherever our soldiers fight, our policy of distributing land will be implemented. Our goal is for everyone in the world to have land to the tiller."

Then Zhang Yinghao continued, "Let me first talk about a few principles for our land division:

First: All land becomes state-owned land, and the land distributed to everyone does not become someone’s private land, but is equivalent to being contracted to this person for cultivation.

Second, men, women, young and old all have to share land, and the women will get as much land as the men have.

Third, the distribution of land is based on voluntary consent. If someone explicitly says that they don’t want our land, then we won’t divide it. As long as they don’t say it explicitly, we will divide it even if there are those who hesitate.

Fourth, villagers are no longer allowed to buy or sell their land. They can only exchange it with each other. That is to say, you can exchange one acre of land with another family on a voluntary basis, but you can no longer buy or sell land. If anyone buys or sells land privately, it will not be counted in my opinion.

Fifth, all land must have clear ownership, whether it belongs to individual villagers, the village collective, or the state, and it must be recorded. Does anyone have any questions?

Everyone was a little confused at this point. They naturally didn't understand what Zhang Yinghao meant. They all felt that life was a bit surreal, because they had been living a very normal life for a while, but this very normality was actually very abnormal. Everyone knew how serious the natural disasters outside were, and they certainly didn't want to go back to the days of starvation, but they were unsure how long this life would last.

I could understand the idea of ​​men and women having separate lands, after all, families were full of both men and women. If they couldn't buy and sell, then they couldn't buy any more land. This was a bit hard to understand in an age where everyone wanted to be a landlord. If others couldn't buy their own land, it was only natural that they could buy a lot of other people's land, right? But naturally, I didn't dare to voice this little thought out loud.

Silence fell. No one knew what to do. Who knew how to divide it? This was a first. Finally, a labor representative spoke up, "Captain Zhang, you said this land is state-owned, but you also said we need to clarify who owns all the land. And what do you mean by collective land?"

Zhang Yinghao replied, "Nationalization of land means that all land belongs to the state. There is no private land. I, Zhang Yinghao, don't own any land. All land is contracted out to everyone. The ownership of all land should be clearly defined. For example, clan land and school land in some villages should be cancelled and re-contracted out to individuals.

As for the collective, everyone in the village has a share, but it's not considered to belong to anyone. For example, let's say we built this reservoir. Who do you think should get a share? We can't just divide the reservoir into sections and prevent the water from flowing, right? Only the people in our village, including other villagers who need irrigation, have a share. How to manage it is up to the relevant villagers to discuss. For example, the road at the entrance of the village is definitely collective. The road in front of and behind your house is not yours. It is collective and anyone can use it. No one will be prevented from using it just because you have a conflict with someone. Because none of us can afford to buy the road or fly without walking. Don't you agree? Is that right? Is there anything else you don't understand?"

At this time, a villager stood up and said, "Captain Zhang, you are a man of character, and I respect you, but does the land you divided count?"

Zhang Yinghao said, "Whether it counts or not is not up to me to decide. As long as everyone works hard to farm the land after the distribution, that's all that's fine. Besides, who's preventing everyone from farming in peace? Who took away the land before? It wasn't me, Zhang Yinghao, was it? Whoever said our land doesn't count is preventing us from farming in peace and trying to seize our land. They are our enemy. I, Zhang Yinghao, have always used swords and guns to deal with my enemies. Do you understand?"

Everyone applauded after hearing this.

At this time, another villager stood up and said: "......"

Zhang Yinghao......

......

"Okay, let's stop here for the land division. We'll have a village meeting tomorrow after work to discuss how to divide the land. Today's meeting is just to give you some information. Go back and discuss how to divide the land with the others. After we divide the land in Zhangjiagou, we'll go divide the land in Liujiazhai.

Next, let's discuss the issue of taxes. Wherever our troops arrive, we'll implement land reform. After this, everyone will only be charged a 30% tax on their land. Beyond this, there will be no other miscellaneous taxes. If someone in your family is a member of our security team, their land will remain theirs to farm while they're there. And if one person joins, they'll be exempted from paying taxes by 30%. If two members join, they'll be exempted from paying taxes by 60%. If three members join, they'll be exempted from paying taxes completely, until they return home.

This caused a sensation among the people at the bottom. Tax exemption and tax refund are powerful weapons that are often used in modern times. In this era, the lower-class people are in dire straits. One less person in the family can save hundreds of kilograms of food, and planting a few more acres of land can bring hundreds of kilograms of food. The people have calculated these accounts very clearly.

"If the family members of our security team want to work in our factory, they will be given priority under the same conditions. If there are female comrades who are unable to work, we will also arrange a job within their capabilities. When our security team goes to the countryside to work, we give priority to team members. Moreover, our security team will provide them with some education after training. Positions such as factory and primary school teachers are all available to our comrades after they return."

Hearing Zhang Yinghao's words, the attendees were stunned by the good conditions. Tax cuts and job opportunities—if that wasn't just a fantasy, what was it? And now it was actually happening right before their eyes. How could anyone believe it?

"Captain Zhang, are you...are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true. With so many people here listening, it's more real than pearls."

"Captain Zhang, if we reduce the tax by 30%, does that mean we only have to pay 20%?"

Zhang Yinghao didn't need to answer this question, as someone next to him had answered it.

"Yes, if one person in the family is in the security group, the tax is 20%, if two people in the family are in the security group, the tax is 10%, and if three people in the family are in the security group, there is no tax."

Zhang Yinghao listened and said with a smile, "Okay, that's all I have to say today. Next, let's have nine of us comrades who have been to big cities share their experiences and broaden everyone's horizons. First, let Comrade Hu Songhui speak. Everyone, applaud!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Hu Songhui... Many people in that city have no homes. I often see dead bodies appearing on the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The people in those factories start working at dawn every day and work until dark, except for meal times. Many children in those factories have broken fingers, and the little money they get every day is taken away by those who manage them. I asked around and found out that many of these children were bought from other places. So Shanghai has many good and bad aspects. Well, that's all I have to say."

After Hu Songhui finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

Zhang Yinghao said, "We comrades are telling you this to tell you one thing: there are people everywhere who are being bullied and impoverished just like us, people who just as well have nothing to eat or clothes to wear as we do. I am distributing land to tell you that as long as we unite, everyone will have food to eat, clothes to wear, and land to farm. We will not be bullied or impoverished. I, Zhang Yinghao, will fight anyone who doesn't allow us to have enough food to eat, good clothes to wear, or land to farm. And everyone must always be vigilant. Those landlords and corrupt officials don't want us to have a good life. Everyone should sleep with one eye open."

Hearing the harsh realities of the big city, and Zhang Yinghao's discussion of death and the weighty topic of life, many people immediately realized that while they were living a comfortable life here with their land divided, some people wouldn't allow peasants like them to live that way. Thinking about the past and envisioning the future, they realized that if they couldn't live a comfortable life in the future, they wouldn't be able to live like this.

Zhang Yinghao knew that as long as people had hope, and that it was tangible hope, nothing could stop them. He suddenly remembered something his grandfather had said: "Nothing is as solid as a hoe."

Yes, in the past, people could only dig for food in the fields. Anyone who loved life trusted only the land and the hoe. With these two things, they had hope. There's a modern saying: "Those who have constant property have constant perseverance." It's the same principle; the land has simply been transformed into something else. Since people fight tooth and nail for the smallest of things, Zhang Yinghao believes that those who received land will also fight to defend their hard-earned land.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yinghao said loudly: "This land has been distributed to everyone. Unless you don't want to farm it anymore, it will be available to everyone forever. Only with land can everyone live a good life. So don't worry, as long as our security group is still here, no one can take this land away. Of course, if anyone is afraid and wants to leave the security group, you can report to your squad leader or instructor. If you leave without reporting, you will be a deserter, and I will never be lenient with deserters. Or if someone doesn't dare to take the land we distribute, you must tell them in time. I, Zhang Yinghao, will never make it difficult for you. The land will be distributed to others and will never be left barren. You must pass these words to everyone. Is there anything you don't understand or want to ask? If so, please speak up immediately."

At this time, a labor representative said, "Captain, will those officials come to stop us from dividing the land?"

Zhang Yinghao said, "I understand everyone's concerns, but as long as our security team is here, it won't happen. Does anyone else have any questions?"

Zhang Yinghao looked around for a moment and saw no one wanted to talk, so he said, "If you have any questions, you can come to me privately. Now let's hear what Comrade Luo Zelin saw and heard in Wuhan."

"Hello everyone, I'm Luo Zelin, and this time I'm recruiting in Wuhan..."

......

Although these attendees were uneducated, they were savvy and understood the significance of the land distribution. This wasn't the Liberation War era, when there was no central government to enforce the law. The Qing still held sway over the common people, but it was impossible to say they didn't want their land. It wasn't human to refuse a piece of meat that was already in your mouth. Therefore, many people were still anxious about the consequences, unable to see the future clearly and unsure of what to do.

Of course, Zhang Yinghao didn't blame them, but he lamented that his own power was too limited. When power grows, forming a torrent, what can stop it? Now, in this small pond of Zhangjiagou, no matter how much he jumped, it was useless. Zhang Yinghao was only accumulating experience through the land distribution. After all, he had never experienced this in his past or present lives. After he was born, land reform had already been completed throughout the country, so Zhangjiagou was just his experimental field.

After the meeting, Zhang Yinghao took the attendees on a tour of his farm. He wanted to raise chickens, ducks, and pigs on a large scale, so he sent several teams to various rural areas and the city to buy chickens, ducks, and pigs for breeding. However, due to the famine, there were few chickens, duck eggs, hens, and piglets for sale, so the scale of the breeding is still small.

Zhang Yinghao knew how to hatch chicks electrically and knew the required temperature, but he didn't have a thermometer, electricity, tungsten filament lamps, or temperature control equipment. He had to give up for the time being and could only rely on hens to hatch the chicks.

Zhang Yinghao also conducted comparative breeding of two groups of chickens, ducks, and pigs. It was easy to see that the earthworm-based farming method was different from conventional methods. The resulting pigs had an exceptionally thick layer of fat. The chickens and ducks were also exceptionally plump. Because many people in Zhangjiagou ate at the canteen, dishwater and other waste were used to feed the pigs. Chicken manure was also used to feed the pigs. The pigs now had no shortage of food and grew exceptionally fast.

Zhang Yinghao now wishes the pigs would grow like balloons so he can eat as much meat as he wants. But Zhang Yinghao can't do that now. He has to keep the sows to give birth, and he also has to keep a breeding pig. Zhang Yinghao still needs to hunt to eat meat regularly.

Chapter 28: God is busy planting

3796 words

When luck surrounds you, accidents often follow. — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

Zhang Yinghao brought these comrades to visit the farm not because he was idle, but because he hoped that these comrades would be able to establish farms and engage in large-scale breeding when they were in power in the future. In this way, the people's living standards could be greatly improved.

Zhang Yinghao planned to have a meal with everyone after the reservoir was built. Seeing how well everything was going, Zhang Yinghao was quite satisfied. He recalled how the village had grown in size and how there was no place to eat. Fortunately, the weather was dry, so they could just borrow tables and chairs from everyone's homes. Back then, no one was able to eat enough, and there was never enough food. Everyone had to queue up with tickets to get food, and meat was out of the question. Hot soup was all they had.

It was the little earthworm that finally gave everyone a taste of meat every day. Zhang Yinghao, channeling his inherited foodie spirit, managed to create something truly special with earthworms. I wonder if a better life in the future will make those who currently enjoy earthworms feel a nagging tug at their stomachs.

Zhang Yinghao was now feeling very excited, because land reform was always a powerful weapon. The reason why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be considered the pinnacle of peasant uprisings was that it had a relatively complete land program. It was only due to the internal strife between Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, the increasing extravagance of the upper echelons, and the growing strength of people like Zeng Guofan that the peasant uprising was finally quelled.

If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had truly implemented the Tianchao Land System, they might have established a Jin Dynasty. The phrase "All land under heaven is cultivated by all people under heaven" would have frightened countless landlords. Their political ideals also called for an ideal society where "everyone has land to cultivate, food to eat, clothes to wear, money to use, and no one is left without warmth." They also stipulated a method for land distribution: land was divided into nine grades. Regardless of gender, anyone over 16 received a share; if they were under 16, their share would be halved. Good and bad land were evenly distributed. These regulations reflected the peasants' urgent desire to abolish feudal land ownership and embodied the principles of equal distribution of wealth and land, which had been promoted in past peasant wars.

In Zhang Yinghao's view, there was nothing wrong with the land reform documents issued by Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuzhen; the problem lay in their inability to implement them. Some say this was an overcorrection, and Zhang Yinghao certainly understood this. However, if a piece of wood is bent, to straighten it, you must bend it in the opposite direction; otherwise, it will never be straightened. Therefore, to correct a wrong, one must go too far, but not far enough. As long as the policies are adjusted later, there will be no problem at all. Comparing this to New China, we can see that reform and opening up was merely an adjustment after an overcorrection.

Anyone who truly understands the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom knows that Hong Xiuquan lacked the ability to make adjustments, as he was merely a spiritual leader. Yang Xiuqing may have had the ability, but he was killed by internal strife. Of course, history doesn't rely on hypotheses to change, but Zhang Yinghao hoped to find a solution to the problem through his land distribution experiment before taking drastic measures.

As luck would have it, the weather had been sunny for most of the day, but when the villagers finished their work and returned to eat, the wind suddenly picked up, and soon, a torrential downpour began. Many villagers excitedly shouted, "God has seen through this!" The village children rolled around in the mud and water with joy. Zhang Yinghao was also particularly happy to see the rain. Although he was not particularly superstitious, he could not help but silently pray to himself, "God bless us." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he quickly ate a few mouthfuls of food before going to find Bao Shilin.

Zhang Yinghao knew that this was a blessing from heaven. It was only October now, and as long as he could plow the soil immediately, he could plant a crop of potatoes right away. No matter what, there would be a harvest. Even if the harvest was smaller, hundreds of acres of potatoes could still be a life-saving food in a disaster year, and they could also be used to feed chickens and pigs. Land could be distributed at any time, and the villagers' enthusiasm couldn't be aroused and then not distributed. However, the planting season couldn't be delayed too much, otherwise they would starve. Zhang Yinghao didn't know that potatoes were planted at this time in Sichuan, and he thought he had missed a month.

Bao Shilin reacted as soon as he heard it. Yes, as long as they planted a crop of potatoes now while it was raining, then they would have a solution to the food problem in the spring of next year.