The experience accumulated from a lifetime of farm work is really not of much use in southern Africa.
In fact, the crops grown in southern Africa are similar to those in the northern hemisphere, mainly corn and wheat. In recent years, more and more sugarcane and cotton are planted.
The main difference is the planting method. The small-scale farmer economic model of two or three acres of thin farmland used by these Chinese people in their native place is not suitable for large-scale farm management in southern Africa. One hundred acres is 600 acres. The previous business model will definitely be
No way.
Farms in Rhodesia and the Transvaal have developed business models with different focuses. Some farms mainly grow sugar cane to provide raw materials for sugar mills, some farms mainly grow potatoes and sell them to wineries, and some farms simply grow potatoes.
If you make your own grapes, you can basically find a suitable business method.
In addition to growing crops, there is also breeding, which can be regarded as the main source of income for the farm. Don’t underestimate those chickens, ducks and geese. Over the course of a year, the total profit created is actually not much less than that of a worker working in a factory. Many Translaters
The farmer in Wa used chickens, ducks and geese to save money and bought tractors and motorcycles. Large-scale breeding also requires experience, and the risk is higher than planting. Have you ever heard that people with great wealth and fur do not count? The reason is
this.
On the first night after arriving in Lumisa, the first dinner of several families was filled with fruits from around them.
To say that Southern Africa is really rich in products, Swaziland, a state called "resource-poor", has endless mangoes and apples in the wild. These two are not the most productive fruits in Southern Africa. Southern Africa
The fruits with the highest yield are oranges and grapes. Pears and peaches also have high yields. This does not include watermelons. Planting watermelons in southern Africa is not racial discrimination.
While picking fruits in the wild in the afternoon, Chen Da discovered that there were antelopes in the woods around Lumisa, so the ingenious Chen Da and his eldest son Chen Xiaoer made two ropes and went down to the woods. As a result, they found something in the morning.
, one noose was missing, and the other noose trapped an eland weighing more than fifty kilograms.
Chen Da and Chen Xiaoer were overjoyed with this harvest. The fifty kilograms of eland can only feed a few dozen people, but this means that there are eland to eat every day, although wild antelopes have too much lean meat.
It's so delicious, but with meat there's nothing to be picky about.
That’s right, fat meat represents sufficient nutrition these days. Lean meat is not only filling your teeth but also not fragrant enough. It is really not as popular as fat meat.
Another day later, in addition to children and women, adult men from several families went out together. More than a dozen traps were set in the woods at once, and people fished in the nearby river. The result was as imagined.
No fish were caught, but Chen Xiaoer, who had just received weapons training for a few days, killed a large crocodile about three meters long.
The crocodile weighed at least 250 kilograms and it took four people to lift the crocodile back to Lumisa.
When he returned to Lumisa, it happened that Guan Jing was sending the second batch of new immigrants over. After seeing the crocodile that Chen Xiaoer killed, Guan Jing thought about it and offered a price of fifteen rand.
Fifteen rand, expressed in a way that Chen Dan could understand, is about two taels of gold.
The second batch of new immigrants who came to Lumisa totaled 13 households, with a total of 104 people. In addition to the six families who came to Lumisa before, this small village is already full of vitality.
"Fifteen rands, that is to say, four such crocodiles can repay Mr. Chen's loan?" A family owner was frightened by this fact. They thought that the sixty rand loan would take half a lifetime to repay, but they didn't expect it.
I saw hope of paying it off so quickly.
"Of course, if you don't want to sell it to me, you can sell it for more if you send it to Johannesburg - well, be careful when peeling the skin. The more complete the skin, the higher the price. Don't waste the meat and bones.
They can all be sold for money. The next time you catch a crocodile, remember to collect the crocodile blood if you can, and you can also sell it for money." Guan Jing explained in detail that such a crocodile can be sold for about 20 if it is sent to Johannesburg.
Rand, if you send it over after processing, you can probably sell it for 25, but processing crocodiles is a technical job, and the value will drop sharply if you are not careful.
Chen was not stupid. After discussing with his neighbors, he decided to sell the crocodile directly to Guan Jing. Even if he could make more money by sending it to Johannesburg, he would not be able to make enough money, and it was more important to have a good relationship with Guan Jing.
Chen Da and the new immigrants are a bit poor, but they do not lack wisdom.
What's more, when people like them live in an environment like southern Africa, poverty is temporary. As long as they work hard and don't be lazy, it won't take long to repay the loan. This is all in the Transvaal and Romania.
Desia has proven it.
"That's good. The things in the car are brought for you. You can divide them among yourselves - Roger, you temporarily act as the mayor of Lumisa. Your name is Chen Xiaoer, right? You have good marksmanship. You act as the mayor of Lumisa.
Sheriff, make good use of your guns to protect your family and neighbors." It is indeed beneficial to have a good relationship with Guan Jing, but this appointment is temporary and needs confirmation from the Swaziland government.
Roger is a newly retired private. He has nothing to do with anyone in Lumisa. The reason why Roger came to Lumisa was arranged by the Ministry of Defense. After the world war, hundreds of thousands of soldiers retired in southern Africa.
Many of them were assigned by the Ministry of National Defense to immigration settlements such as Lumisa and were responsible for resettlement work in the settlements.
"Yes sir, I will definitely do my job well." Unlike other new immigrants who came to Lumisa with only simple luggage, Roger not only brought his horse, but also a shotgun and
A pistol.
In addition to basic daily necessities, the materials Guan Jing brought to Chen Da and others also included chickens, ducks, geese, and some seeds. These are all necessities for running the farm.
Roger also brought a few hounds with him when he came. These hounds can not only guard the house and the courtyard, but are also good helpers in hunting.
That night, Roger had dinner at Chen Da's house. The gift was a newborn beagle. Chen Xiaoer immediately fell in love with the hound.
"Don't worry about the loan. You have also seen the situation in Lumisa. Those Africans who were lazy and lazy in the past were starving to death. As long as we Chinese are more diligent, there is no reason why we can't survive in Lumisa." The farm under Roger's name.
There are 200 acres, and intensive farming is possible. Roger plans to go to Lourenço Marquis in a few days to buy some Angus cattle, and then some Merino sheep, and hire a few more workers on the way.
"There are indeed a lot of good things here. The fruits in the woods can't be picked completely and rot on the trees, and a whole layer has fallen underground. There are so many fish in the river that they can jump to the shore. Just put a few traps and you can catch dozens of kilograms.
Sheep, I can’t believe it even if I tell you—" Chen Da is full of hope. His family now raises two eland.
If you catch too many and you can’t eat them all, you might as well raise them.
"This kind of good land was wasted by the Lumisa people before. This is not the best land in southern Africa. The best land is in the Transvaal. The farms there are so good. Some people just
Buy a farm, discover a gold mine on the farm, then sell it casually for tens of thousands of rands, and move directly to Los Angeles to become a rich man - "Roger is envious, but he will not lose his mind because of envy. After all, lucky people
They are a very small number, and running the farm honestly is the serious business.
"I don't dare to think about that kind of good thing. I'm going to buy a cow in two days, and then I'll start clearing land when I get back. I have to think carefully about what to plant on six hundred acres of land-" Chen Da is also sensible. Just before Chen Da and Luo
While Jie was chatting, Chen's family was stewing mutton in the kitchen, and there were washed fruits on the table. Several underage children ate too much fruit in the afternoon and now they were lying on the corridor a little bit groaning. Chen Xiaoer was sitting there.
Playing with his newly acquired beagle.
This was a scene that Chen Da had never seen in his dreams before.
"What are you going to plant?" Roger was curious. With 600 acres of land, the Chen family, a family of five or six, could work hard enough to die from exhaustion.
Among the six members of the Chen family, apart from Chen Da and his wife, only Chen Xiaoer can provide some help. The other children are all minors, so their help is very limited.
"Corn must be grown, chickens, ducks and geese must be eaten, potatoes must be grown, they can be eaten as vegetables and dry food, and wheat must be grown. No matter if you only eat fruits and meat, you still need to eat dry food -
—" Chen Da's thinking has not jumped out from his previous life. Food and clothing was the main theme, and he basically didn't think much about cash crops.
"Then you have to work hard. It's not easy to fully cultivate 600 acres of land." Roger didn't interfere. In a few days, agricultural experts would come over to guide the management of the farm. It doesn't matter if it's unreasonable. You can adjust it slowly.
"I have to dig it out even if I work hard. In the past, in my hometown, I only had ten acres of land. One acre of land was worth a hundred pounds of hard work all year round. If I farmed it all out, it wouldn't be enough to pay the rent. Ever since I learned that there are people in our county in southern Africa.
After we got rich, most of the people in our village came to southern Africa. Life in my hometown was hard. It either didn’t rain or it rained endlessly. There were wars and bandits in the city every day. Life was really hard to live by—
—" Mr. Chen burst into tears. If it wasn't for the difficulty of living, no one would be willing to leave their hometown.
"It's fine now, everything will be fine -" Roger knew what life the Chinese had lived in the past, and it hadn't been many years since he came to southern Africa.
"The meat is ready, waiter, come and help -" Mrs. Chen had stewed the meat and asked the waiter to bring it to her. The yard was suddenly filled with the rich aroma of meat.
Several humming children in the corridor immediately became energetic. The tail of the little milk dog that was just one month old was wagging like a windmill. In the yard, several chicks that Guan Jing had just sent over were taking a nap. They had just eaten their fill of bugs and were