Chapter 1023 - Never Stopped (1/2)

To control people in these wastelands, the consortiums were used to keeping all the production resources firmly in their hands. Water, land, and everything that the people relied on for survival were all controlled.

When Zhang Jinglin was at Stronghold 113, he had profoundly said to Ren Xiaosu, ”This is a world that has been meticulously designed by the consortiums.”

Previously, even Zhang Jinglin did not dare to break this status quo. Fortress 178 could not even take in any refugees because if they broke this rule, everyone would start attacking them.

For example, Luoyang City had wanted to completely open its gates to everyone and sought to end any differentiation between refugees and stronghold residents. However, they were warned by the Kong Consortium, the Wang Consortium, and the Zhou Consortium as soon as they introduced those changes.

In the end, documents like ”visas” were created, and there was still a huge gulf in the treatment of refugees and stronghold residents.

But now, Ren Xiaosu not only wanted to implement land reforms, but he also wanted to completely topple the walls separating the stronghold residents and refugees in the Northwest.

Actually, Stronghold 144 had already done so. After all, it was impossible not to let people into the city if you wanted to promote trade.

Ren Xiaosu said, ”I've read a lot of books, but what we've planned is just textbook theory for now. So I need everyone to work together as a group. I'm just sharing my thoughts right now. As the largest trade hub in the Northwest, it should be more open here in Stronghold 144 than other places. So our pace of reforms should be faster than theirs. Don't be afraid of making any mistakes. If there's any, I'll take responsibility.”

The Great Hoodwinker looked at Ren Xiaosu quietly. Regarding Zhang Jinglin's uncaring attitude towards Stronghold 144, he was most aware of it.

He knew very well that Commander Zhang was doing this because he wanted to see how Ren Xiaosu would lead the people of this city to create a new world.

Perhaps even Ren Xiaosu himself did not realize that while he was only trying to solve the problem of the food shortage, what he was actually doing was planning a roadmap.

Wang Yun thought for a while and then said, ”But actually, we still have to discuss the pros and cons of the contract responsibility system. Everyone should know that when this system is implemented, there'll definitely be a lot of people who are willing to own their 'own' land even if the lease will only last for a few decades. But in terms of agricultural efficiency, it will not be as beneficial as large-scale mechanized production.”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and replied, ”I think now's the right time to reclaim the wasteland. The land in the Northwest that needs to be reclaimed will need manpower to do so. We can divide the development process into stages. It's still too early to introduce large-scale mechanized production at this stage, and we don't have the conditions for that either. We have to improve the enthusiasm of the people first to cultivate the wasteland into farmland.”

”I agree,” Wang Yun said with a nod.

”In this process of 'privatization,' we still have to pay attention to the large families swallowing up the smaller land parcels. So it's best to add certain restrictions to the awarding process of the contracts.” Wang Yuexi thought for a moment and said, ”Moreover, I feel that besides contracting out the plots, we can also contract out the building of brick kilns and other factories as well. There'll be all sorts of things that can be contracted out. But the prerequisite is that our economic lifeline must always remain in the hands of Fortress 178. This is the foundation that cannot be shaken.”

Ren Xiaosu's eyes lit up. ”Wang Yuexi has hit the nail on the head. Currently, our Northwest's productivity is still several notches below that of the Central Plains. But if we take everyone's enthusiasm into account and make use of it, the Northwest might be able to advance by leaps and bounds. However, all y'all have to be careful. Once the brick kilns are privately owned, there'll likely be extreme cases of exploitation in the industry as well. So the supporting labor laws will have to keep up to prevent that from happening.”

At the side, Yang Xiaojin just sat there quietly. She leaned her chin on her hand and looked at Ren Xiaosu's profile.

In the past, Ren Xiaosu would always be reading books whenever he had free time, even in the wilderness.