Time passes very fast. It was Lunar New Year. This year, the Feng family did not flaunt their wealth. But the district had spent a lot of money on fireworks. Feng Yu and Li Na had only met 2 times during this period. The both of them had purposely not met each other. The district was too small. Any small incident that happened will be known throughout the district within half a day, and it will be discussed among the residents for days.

  The Feng family was the district’s wealthiest family. News and information about the Feng family had been circulating around the district. Li Na still does not want her family to know about her relationship with Feng Yu.

  The instructions from Bing City had arrived at the district. It was about the leasing of farmlands in Russia.

  Wen Deguang had known about this beforehand and had asked his men to spread the news. He wants to know how many farmers were willing to apply. He had wanted more people to go to Russia. The more people that went there, the lesser the farmers will be here in the district. This way, the district can let those remaining farmers farm more fields. They would be able to utilize farming machines and increase their efficiency.

  After the information was passed down to the District office, Wen Deguang asked the District’s evening news to air an hour-long segment about the conditions and advantages of going to Russia to farm.

  The next day, there was a constant stream of people that went to the District office to apply.

  They were to leave for Russia in April and May and stay there for about 6 months. They will be able to return in October. They could also return home during the 6 months periods. The money they would earn was even more. Furthermore, this was organized by the City, and they heard that the Provincial Government was also involved. The Government will even send people to talk to the Russian Government. All they have to do was to take care of their farms.

  This was an attractive offer for those poor families. The District had only assigned a small plot of land to them. There were no wastelands for them to cultivate and their family does not have tractors. They were the ones that were the most eager to farm in Russia. The higher-ups had said that the District will act as guarantors for they to take a bank loan. Even the tractors can be paid in installments. This was an opportunity for them to escape poverty.

  There were only about 10,000 people and about 3,000 families in the District. More than 1,000 people had applied, and some families had applied separately. For example, the father applied, the son applied, the husband applied, and the wife applied.

  There were also some people that came together to share the cost of purchasing a tractor and a harvester. They would share these machines, and they would save a lot. They would be able to lease 50 hectares to 100 hectares in Russia. At the district, each of them was only allowed to use 1 to 2 hectares of land.

  Even with 1 to 2 hectares of land in the district, these farmers were able to survive. With such a big plot of land, they would be able to make tens of thousand RMB in a year! In a few years’ time, they would be able to become wealthy. Just the interest from their money was more than enough to survive.

  During the news, the District Chief had said that the City will help the people from the districts first. Those that fulfilled the conditions can go to Russia to earn money! Next month, there will be a trip to Russia to look at the fields. Even if the farmers were not selected, they could also treat it as a holiday. They had lived most of their lives in Longjiang province and had never been overseas before. The was an opportunity for them.

  Many families were excited, but there were also families that had fought over this.

  “Dad, why are we not applying? Our family can lease at least 100 hectares. Even if we lease 200 hectares of land will also not be a problem. Think about how much we can earn in a year. Next year, we will have enough money for the youngest to get married.”


  “What do you know? The news mentioned that those that had cultivated wastelands must return the land to the Government before they can go to Russia. They called this the returning farmlands to the wilderness policy.

  This wasteland was cultivated through the efforts of this father and his sons. Last year, there was flooding, and they had made losses. They knew that this year, there will be no more floods. This was the time for them to earn money. Why should they return their land to the government?

  “Dad, we had only cultivated dozens of wastelands. It was still wetlands. If it rains heavier, our land will start ponding. Russia’s land is all good lands. It will be safer for us to grow crops there. Didn’t the District Chief said that if we return those cultivated land to the government, we will get some compensations?”


  “What compensations? Even if they give you 100 RMB, it is also considered compensations. There was a flood last year, and this year there should not be flooding. If we are able to grow our crops well on our farm, we will also have enough money for the youngest’s wedding next year.”


  “Dad, then what about your grandson’s high school’s expenses? What about second brother’s daughter’s kindergarten expenses? The youngest will be getting married, and he also needs a house. His house will also need furniture and home appliances. Just look at Huan Zi. He is poor and had gotten married. Both his wife and him had been quarreling over money every day. His wife has been blaming him for earning so little.”


  The youngest son said: “Dad, I want to follow elder brother and second brother to go and farm in Russia. Both you and mum have health issues. We should just return the land to the government and take the compensations. Your field in the District can be rented out to others. Just the rental alone will be sufficient for both you and mum. We will go to Russia and farm there. There is so much land, and with the eldest brother and second brother’s skills, we will not make losses. That Blackie Lee is also applying. Do you think that we are worse off than him?”


  The father lowered his head and snubbed his cigarette. He lit another cigarette at looked at his two elder sons: “Does both your wives agree to let you farm there?”


  The both of them nodded. There were many people from the district applying to go over to Russia. They could take care of each other there. Furthermore, this was headed by the City Government. They would be protected. This was an excellent opportunity for them!

  “Then the 3 of them can go. But I will not return the cultivated land and your fields. I will farm by myself!”


  Wen Deguang looked at the report in his hands. This report was compiled from all the villages. There were a total of 70 plus households with cultivated land. The cultivated land amounted to over 900 hectares. This was not a small figure.

  When Wen Deguang was still a village head, he had also cultivated wastelands. He had no choice. He had bought a tractor, and he needs to earn more money. But when he was promoted to the deputy chief of the District office, he had given his cultivated land to 2 poor families in his village. Now, he needed to take back those land. It was too difficult for him to do so.

  Luckily Feng Yu had given Wen Deguang some suggestions, and the higher-ups will also give some compensations for the farmers to return their lands.

  “The few of you are from the 3rd village, I also know what the few of you have in common. The cultivated land behind 3rd village belongs to the few of you? Don’t panic. I am not giving you fines. Now the higher-ups had issued a regulation, stating that cultivating wastelands is against the law. The few of you should return those land to the government. Stop panicking. Let me finish first. I saw that the few of you had applied to go to Russia. Let me tell you something, but keep it to yourselves. In Russia, you are allowed to cultivate wastelands too. The rental for those wastelands is half of those fields. You do not need to pay anything during the first year and 50% rental for the second year. If the few of you agrees to return your land to the government, then the higher-ups will allow you all to cultivate wastelands in Russia. This will be more profitable than leasing those ready fields.”


  Many people tried to interrupt Wen Deguang when he was talking, but he stopped them. He needs to finish what he had to say in one go. If not, this discussion will go on forever.

  Huh? We can also cultivate wastelands in Russia, and it was permitted by the government? Although we still need to rent those lands, the rental was much cheaper. The rental saved every year was a considerable amount.

  “District Chief, if we return our cultivated land here, how much land are we allowed to cultivate in Russia?” Someone asked.

  “Double!”


  Double? All of them were excited. If they were allowed to cultivate double the area of the land, then they would be able to earn much more. Especially if they signed 8 years lease. After the first 2 years, those cultivated lands will be the same as those ordinary fields, and they only need to pay half the rent. It was a good deal!

  “District Chief, we had discussed, and we agreed. But I had heard that there are compensations when we return those land?” These people will not let go of any opportunity to get more money!

  “The government will be compensating all of you 10 RMB for every hectare. The City and District will compensate another 10 RMB. You think it is too low? If you think the compensation is too low, then you can carry on farming there. In Summer, when the new regulation takes effect, don’t blame me for bringing people to confiscate those lands!” Wen Deguang had finished using the soft approach, and now, he was using the hard method. As for the compensation amount, he was the one who decided it.

  “District Chief, what are you talking about? We had not mentioned anything about not returning those lands. If the rest agreed, we would also agree!”


  “Remember what all of you said today. If you change your minds later, don’t blame me for taking actions against all of you!”


  Wen Deguang looked at those people leaving his office, and he smiled. It was as what Feng Yu said. It was easy to get these people to return their lands.