My life skills in Daming Liver

Naturally, rubber is grown in this plantation.

These rubbers were the tree species that Su Ze had brought back from the Americas by paying a large sum of money to buy them from Western merchants.

After these tree species were bred in Guangxi, some of them were sent to Nanyang for planting.

Nanyang is more suitable for planting rubber trees than Guangxi. This is also the most important task Su Ze gave Zhang Lian, to open a state-owned plantation near Manila and plant these rubber trees.

Zhang Lian had also farmed. He didn't know why the governor paid so much attention to these tree species, but he also respected the governor Su Ze who valued mulberry farming very much, and he followed Su Ze's request to the letter.

Zhang Lian even comes to the rubber plantation every now and then to visit.

"My Lord Governor, there is a banana plantation next door."

Accompanying Zhang Lian during the inspection was the person in charge of the plantation. Zuo Mingxin was originally the military advisor of the Feilong Army. Later, after the Feilong Army was incorporated, Zuo Mingxin was very loyal to Zhang Lian and resigned from Southeast to recruit to accompany Zhang Lian. around.

After Zhang Lian was hired by Su Ze, he immediately recommended Zuo Mingxin, who was next to him, to come to Manila with him.

At the beginning, Zhang Lian was still very nervous.

After surrendering, Zhang Lian also read some books and understood his situation.

As the leader of the peasant army who once ruled the roost, it was not easy to survive, let alone be entrusted with important responsibilities.

Moreover, Nanyang is isolated overseas. Aren't the governors afraid of separatist rule?

But Su Zehao proudly agreed to the talents he recommended and completely left the appointment of Nanyang officials to himself.

Zhang Lian was very moved by this, and his desire to serve Southeast became even stronger.

The climate in Manila was very bad, and the rubber saplings were not interesting to see. He turned around and followed Zuo Mingxin to the banana plantation next door.

Compared to rubber plantations, the environment in banana plantations is even worse.

The banana trees that were blocking out the sun opened their leaves, and the whole banana orchard was stuffy and hot.

Today is the day of harvest. I only see a group of farmers holding long wooden poles with semicircular sickles tied to them. They stand under the trees and use this tool to cut bananas on the trees.

After putting the cut bananas in the baskets, the farmers then cut other bananas. After the baskets behind them were full, they piled the bananas in the open space and went to work on other banana trees again.

Zuo Mingxin sighed to Zhang Lian: "Mr. Governor, this Manila is really a good place. The bananas growing on this tree alone are enough for people in the city. When they are ripe, they can be eaten raw. It doesn’t need to be cooked like other grains.”

Some people also grow bananas in Fujian, but in the Central Plains, bananas are just a kind of fruit, and in the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains varieties of bananas were relatively small and not very sweet.

But in Manila, bananas are not only big, but also quite sweet.

Here, bananas can be used as a staple food.

The yield of bananas is high, but it is a pity that this thing cannot be widely promoted in the Central Plains.

Zuo Mingxin added: "We learned a method from the Malay natives. You can cut bananas into slices and dry them in the sun, so that they can be stored for a long time and can also be eaten as snacks."

I only saw a group of Malay women sitting on the ground. They used small rolling knives to cut bananas into pieces, and then spread them on the sunny open space.

Zuo Mingxin picked up a dried banana slice, and Zhang Lian also picked up a piece after him. As expected, it was sweet, dry and crispy, and tasted quite good.

"My Lord Governor, here are the lilac and pepper gardens, as well as the sugar cane gardens."

Zhang Lian followed Zuo Mingxin to visit the state-owned plantation. The plantation does not grow one kind of crop. This state-owned plantation also has the function of breeding, so it looks like a plant exhibition hall.

In addition to the local Chinese and Malay employees who work here, the technical backbone are all from Tiangong Academy in the southeast.

The Manila National Botanical Garden is also the agricultural practice base of Tiangong College. For many agricultural students of Tiangong College, this is their hope for graduation.

As Tiangong Academy begins to further reform, some subjects that require practical training, such as agriculture, need to complete a project before they can graduate.

Food is the most important thing for the people. Zhang Lian has also cultivated the land. He never thought that there is so much knowledge in farming.

These students from Tiangong Academy are working hard on their projects in the plantation every day, researching breeding, pest control and other topics, and they are very busy.

Due to Grand Governor Su Ze's obsession with tropical cash crops, the number of students in Tiangong Academy who choose tropical crops is the largest number.

But they soon discovered their frustration.

Those students who study staple foods only need to complete their projects in experimental fields near Nanjing. Some can even complete their projects on the balcony of the college dormitory.

Those who study tea trees only need to go to tea gardens in Zhejiang and Fujian to complete their studies.

Only those of them who study tropical cash crops can even go to Guangxi, and some projects can only come to Manila.

Looking at these busy academy students, Zhang Lian said:

"You must take good care of these talents. The Governor treats them as his treasures."

Zuo Mingxin immediately said: "Don't worry, Governor, they are also the treasures of our plantation. Don't you know that last time a scholar was idle and helped a Malay tribe cure diseases in their banana plantation? Guess what happened next?"

Zhang Lian also asked curiously: "What happened next?"

"Later, the Malay chief insisted on marrying his daughter to him, but in the end his subordinates came forward to calm the situation."

Zhang Lian burst out laughing. No wonder the Governor regarded them as treasures. These people were indeed treasures!

The gardens managed by these agricultural students have high yields, produce good things, and can control diseases. Aren’t they treasures?

Zhang Lian was completely convinced by the governor at this time, otherwise how could he easily defeat him.

As the leader of the Feilong Army who was born as a farmer, he did not pay as much attention to agriculture and mulberry as Southeast did after he started his army.

It seems that these Tiangong Academy students are farming, and Zhang Lian doubts that he will not be able to farm at all in the first half of his life!

After visiting the plantation, Zhang Lian went to the port of Manila.

The southeast transport ship has docked and unloaded some equipment.

The person responsible for receiving equipment at the dock is also a graduate of Tiangong Academy. His name is Li Dongxing.

"Your Majesty the Governor."

Li Dongxing was counting the goods. Looking at these strange devices, Zhang Lian asked curiously:

"What is this?"

"If I tell you, Lord Governor, these are cement-making equipment. They are all manufactured in the southeast, dismantled, and then delivered in batches."

"cement?"

Zhang Lian remembered that this was the most discussed thing in Southeast newspapers nowadays, because it was the most needed material in Southeast.

Those who invested in setting up cement workshops in the early days made a lot of money. Nowadays, in the southeast, whether it is paving roads, building bridges, or building houses, this material is needed.

Zhang Lian was also very curious about this material and asked:

"Why not just bring cement here from the southeast? Why not also send equipment here to build a factory to make cement?"

Li Dongxing smiled and said: "Your Majesty Governor, cement is very susceptible to moisture. Once it absorbs water and gets damp when transported by sea, it cannot be used. Moreover, cement is in great demand, so it is more cost-effective to build the factory in one step."

"And we have many volcanoes in Southeast Asia, and volcanic ash is the best cement raw material."

Zhang Lian also didn't expect that cement, which is in high demand in the southeast, is actually made of volcanic ash.

Li Dongxing continued: "The resources in Nanyang are really great, such as sulfur and saltpeter. My subordinates have sent people to explore several veins, and they are all rich ores. As long as they are mined, it will be a huge income."

Zhang Lian was overjoyed. Of course he knew the importance of economic development.

When he rebelled, on the one hand, the Ming court exploited him too much, and on the other hand, he just couldn't survive anymore.

He was from southern Fujian. The Ming Dynasty banned the sea, and Fujian didn't have much land, so he had no choice but to rebel.

Before coming to Nanyang, Zhang Lian also returned to his hometown once.

Nowadays, there are workshops everywhere in my hometown, and small docks have been built near the sea. The whole county is very lively, and every household has built a small building.

Zhang Lian saw the state of his hometown and knew that if he wanted to rebel, it would be difficult to rally a team in his hometown.

In Zhang Lian's view, Nanyang's problems are also development problems.

The resources that the Chinese and natives in Nanyang compete for are not big to begin with, but as long as Nanyang is so rich in resources, manpower will be the scarcest resource as long as it is well developed.

For example, the wages of employees in state-owned plantations are much higher than before, but local people are still unwilling to work in the plantations.

Many jobs are urgently needed on Manila's docks. Even working as a porter in the city is better than cutting bananas in a remote plantation.

Cities have a strong pull on rural populations, and Manila is siphoning off the surrounding population.

Zhang Lian said to Li Dongxing: "The cement factory must be built as soon as possible. In addition, I am also reporting to the cabinet about the steel plant you mentioned last time. When people from the Ministry of Industry come to complete the exploration, if it is really suitable, we will start it immediately. project!"

"You should train your team well and cultivate more technical management talents. If anyone from Tiangong Academy is willing to come to Nanyang to work, the Governor's Office will give you double salary!"