I See through Everything

This was one of the reasons Jiang Miao chose the Kerchin Desert. Local soybeans were typically planted starting in May, and the Kerchin Desert happened to receive rainfall in June, July, and August. Even in the more arid northern parts of the desert, the precipitation during these months could still reach 210 to 320 millimeters.

According to Jiang Miao’s estimates, if these three soybean varieties were planted in a place with no rainfall at all, relying solely on two waterings and nighttime dew, the yield per mu would only be about 150 kilograms.

However, if there was 50 millimeters of rainfall during the growing season, the yield per mu would reach about 200 kilograms. With 200 millimeters of rainfall, the yield would climb to around 250 kilograms per mu. And with 400 millimeters of rainfall, the yield would hit about 300 kilograms per mu.

Once precipitation exceeded 400 millimeters, the effect on increasing the yield of these three soybean varieties dropped sharply. The maximum yield per mu would only reach about 339 kilograms—a result Jiang Miao had determined from tests in his own experimental fields.

While it was a situation that relied on the heavens, the crucial point was that these three soybean varieties had a guaranteed minimum yield of 150 kilograms per mu, even when facing extreme weather.

To develop these three varieties, Jiang Miao had iterated through five generations in his 10-mu experimental field, starting from September of last year and continuing until this November.

The first generation involved producing seeds through induced genetic mutation, then selecting a few dozen of the better varieties for planting and crossbreeding, which yielded a large batch of hybrid soybean seeds.

For the second generation, he repeated the process: inducing mutation, selecting superior strains, planting, and crossbreeding.

This was repeated for five generations.

By November, he had finally settled on three completely new varieties.

These three soybean varieties were:

Immortal Bean No. 1: Small beans, a balanced type resistant to high salinity and alkalinity. Average growth cycle of 102 days. Drought-resistant, with water-storing root nodules and dew-absorbing leaves. Can be grown in areas with no rainfall. Yield per mu ranges from 150 to 320 kg. Yield is 213 kg with 50 mm of rain, 264 kg with 200 mm of rain, and 302 kg with 400 mm of rain, with a maximum of 320 kg. Average oil content: 26.7%. Average protein content: 45.2%.

Immortal Bean No. 2: Medium beans, high-oil type. Average growth cycle of 98 days. Drought-resistant, with water-storing root nodules and dew-absorbing leaves. Can be grown in areas with no rainfall. Yield per mu ranges from 142 to 303 kg. Yield is 188 kg with 50 mm of rain, 231 kg with 200 mm of rain, and 289 kg with 400 mm of rain, with a maximum of 303 kg. Average oil content: 29.3%. Average protein content: 40.1%. The monounsaturated fatty acid content in its oil reaches 44.2%.

Immortal Bean No. 3: Large beans, high-protein type. Average growth cycle of 105 days. Drought-resistant, with water-storing root nodules and dew-absorbing leaves. Can be grown in areas with no rainfall. Yield per mu ranges from 173 to 339 kg. Yield is 224 kg with 50 mm of rain, 276 kg with 200 mm of rain, and 321 kg with 400 mm of rain, with a maximum of 339 kg. Average oil content: 15.2%. Average protein content: 52.7%.

Currently, he had harvested about 1 ton of seeds for each variety.

For the upcoming large-scale planting in the Monan Region, Jiang Miao had already decided to use the fallow winter rice paddies in Magong Town and Red Grass Town to plant two cycles of soybeans.

After all, 1 ton of soybean seeds could only plant 150 to 200 mu of land. If they didn’t hurry up and plant an extra cycle, they would never have enough seeds for several hundred thousand mu.

It was almost December now. If they planted, they could harvest one cycle by the end of next February. If they planted another cycle at the beginning of March, they could harvest it at the beginning of June.

That should be just about enough to plant several hundred thousand mu.

Although the farm in the Kerchin Desert would only be able to plant in June after the harvest, which was a bit later than the local soybean planting season.

But that didn’t matter. The Kerchin Desert could only support one crop a year anyway, and a mid-September harvest wasn’t too late.

Besides, there was another advantage to planting in the Kerchin Desert: summer precipitation in the Monan Region had been steadily increasing in recent years. If they were lucky, they might even encounter localized rainfall exceeding 400 millimeters.

This would help boost the overall yield.

Therefore, as soon as Lü Weibin returned to the company—having just sorted out the site selection for the farm and durian processing plant in Gongping Town—he was summoned to the office by Jiang Miao.

"Old Lü, I have a task for you," Jiang Miao said as he poured him some tea.

"Boss, what’s the task this time?" Lü Weibin asked, taking out a small notebook and a ballpoint pen he carried with him.

Jiang Miao put down the teapot and explained, "I need you to find farmers in Magong Town and Red Grass Town and get them to use their fallow winter rice paddies as a soybean seedling base for us. We’ll subsidize them 500 yuan per mu, and after the soybean seeds are grown, we’ll buy them back at 4.5 yuan per kilogram."

"When do we start?"

"Right away. The company is opening a large-scale farm in Monan next June and might need several thousand tons of soybean seeds."

"That soon?"

"Yes. And we have to plant two cycles to get enough seeds."

Lü Weibin’s brow furrowed. "Before next June? So, we only have six months, give or take? Is that enough time?"

"It’s enough. The new soybean varieties have a growth cycle of about 98 to 105 days. After harvesting at the end of February, we need to prepare the fields in advance and immediately plant another cycle. That one can be harvested around the beginning of June."

"Is that so? I’ll make the arrangements as soon as possible. How many mu for the first batch?"

"About 600 mu."

"Alright." Lü Weibin took a sip of tea, then grabbed the materials Jiang Miao gave him and went with a few colleagues from the Planting Division to Salt Town Village, which still had farmland.

He didn’t waste any time, directly calling the Salt Town Village chief, Lin Taizhong.