305: Chapter 305 Reclaiming Wasteland and Establishing Farms

After the camp was established, Xu Ning began sending people to reclaim land and station troops for farming.

Before the fleet left Cixi Port, Zhao Fusu had used a train to transport a batch of steam rotary tillers and steam threshers to them to facilitate their agricultural production.

Xu Ning had the steam rotary tillers and steam threshers loaded onto the ships and transported to Japan.

He then had the steam rotary tillers and steam threshers brought to the camp to cultivate the land around it; besides planting food crops, this was also to clear the line of sight.

If any enemies approached, they would be discovered much faster.

Ever since Xu Ning and his group arrived, the members of the Shimane Tribe had been watching their movements.

It was the first time the women of the tribe had seen such tall and sturdy men, and their hearts fluttered with desire.

If it weren't for the fact that the Qin Army camp was too strictly guarded at night, they would have wanted to crawl into the Qin soldiers' beds.

After the soldiers felled trees and cleared away the thickets of cogon grass, they reclaimed the land.

They burned the vegetation in the fields, as the resulting plant ash could increase the soil's fertility.

The waste from the latrines was also carried out by them to be used for composting.

Next, they began using the steam rotary tillers instead of plow oxen to till and turn the soil.

The loud roar of the steam rotary tillers immediately attracted the Shimane Tribe members to watch.

They were all pointing and gesturing, not knowing what the soldiers were doing.

This included Shimane Masao.

As he learned more and more vocabulary, he was already able to conduct simple communication with the soldiers.

Through his inquiries, Shimane Masao learned that these deities intended to plant food themselves.

This was quite a novelty to them.

They primarily lived a life of fishing and hunting.

The reason the Shimane Tribe did not grow rice was that there was no rice in Japan.

Even if they wanted to plant it, they had no rice seeds.

Rice in Japan was introduced from Huaxia.

Without a high-yielding crop like rice, the people of Japan relied solely on hunting, fishing, and gathering edible plant roots, living very meager lives.

Shimane Masao was a clever man; anything the deities intended to plant must surely be a good thing.

If their tribe could also obtain food seeds, it would certainly bring benefits to them.

He wanted to trade for food seeds.

Shimane Masao took wild game obtained from hunting and sea fish caught from the ocean to trade with the soldiers.

The soldiers reported this upward, and after Xu Ning learned of the matter, he did not refuse.

If the people of the Shimane Tribe also grew food, it would increase the food production of the Shimane region.

Just as His Majesty the Head of State had said, only with a full stomach does one have the strength to do things.

Shimane Masao traded for rice seeds and soybean seeds from Xu Ning.

To guide the Shimane Tribe members in growing crops, Xu Ning also dispatched soldiers with extensive farming experience as experts to provide guidance.

Through increasingly close interactions between the two sides, their relationship gradually grew tighter.

By virtue of his status as the divine envoy, Shimane Masao acted as a translator, and his control over the Shimane Tribe became even stronger.

His heart was also full of anticipation.

According to the experts, they only needed to reclaim fields around their settlement, plant the seeds, and by the time autumn arrived, they could harvest a large amount of food.

Shimane Masao was extremely excited.

If it truly was as the experts said, then they would no longer have to fight desperately with fierce beasts for food, nor would they have to risk their lives going out to sea to fish.

They would never have to go hungry again!