Chapter 25: I Hate Japanese People!

  After the first snow of winter, Kang Fan and Mei Xiang returned to their home in the Ningwu military camp. The camp had been renovated according to Kang Fan's design, with modern water, electricity, heating, and sewage systems, greatly improving living conditions. The camp was equipped with classrooms, barracks, playgrounds, shooting ranges, communication centers, armories, logistics warehouses, stables, hospitals, dining halls, boiler rooms, and bathhouses, making it a comprehensive military base with multiple functions. Kang Fan named it Qing Sheng Camp, meaning "Prosperous Qing".

  After the 2,000 officers and men of the cavalry regiment arrived here, systematic training work was carried out. Kang Fan planned to let the 200 officers of the cavalry regiment receive further education first, and then have them serve as instructors to train their respective officers and men, so that they could free themselves from their duties. Kang Fan entrusted Yu Hao with printing his own military textbooks in modern complex characters, gave a set to each officer, and lectured on them himself. Since these officers had higher cultural qualities, outstanding military skills, and had followed Kang Fan for some time, after such comprehensive and systematic further education, they all passed the final examination with excellent results, which made Kang Fan quite relieved. Then, he divided these officers into four departments: infantry department, cavalry department, artillery department, and logistics department, and conducted specialized training in each department. Among them, the logistics department was a comprehensive skills training unit that covered multiple specialties, and the department was further divided into intelligence, sniping, reconnaissance, communication, engineering, and logistics specialties, which was the most technically demanding department. Especially the intelligence class was the one that Kang Fan valued the most, these officers and men would constitute the foundation of the intelligence agency he planned to establish in the future, so Kang Fan's selection of members for the intelligence class was much stricter than other classes, the qualified conditions were almost harsh, and the training content and time were the longest and most arduous.

  After the first batch of 300 German-made Mauser M1896 semi-automatic pistols ordered by Duonowan arrived, Kangfan equipped each officer in the cavalry regiment with one, making them the first army in modern times to use this expensive semi-automatic pistol as a standard weapon, which made other troops in the province envy. This semi-automatic pistol significantly improved the close combat firepower of the cavalry regiment, perfectly matching the long-range Mosin-Nagant rifle, and together with the Maxim heavy machine gun and saber, it was almost flawless.

  Kang Fan's residence in Qing Shengying was renovated, and the original kang bed was replaced with a large wooden bed. The living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, storage room, even the stable and doghouse were all brand new. Now, the window paper that separated him from Mei Xiang had been broken through, and their sibling life of mutual torture should have ended. Mei Xiang put in great effort to tidy up the house, her attention to detail moved Kang Fan, who would often help out voluntarily, doing this and that. Although they were busy all day, they didn't feel tired of it. Kang Fan's main energy was now focused on the formalization construction of the cavalry regiment, spending most of his time in Qing Shengying with the officers and soldiers, which made Mei Xiang feel at ease. Mei Xiang went to the county hospital every day by horse-drawn carriage, making four trips a day, cooking all three meals herself without letting Kang Fan interfere. Kang Fan couldn't bear to see her busy, so he took it upon himself to complete lunch. Besides, the food in Qing Shengying's cafeteria was quite good, and Kang Fan would often bring back hot meals. Over time, Mei Xiang got used to it.

  As Ningwu Prefecture's various undertakings developed steadily, Zhong Hanqiang's financial work became extremely heavy, and he had been overwhelmed for some time. Mei Xiang became his savior. In this way, Mei Xiang took over the financial work of Ningwu Prefecture with Zhong Hanqiang, and the hospital's work became secondary. Fortunately, with classmates in charge of the hospital's management, there was no need to worry. Kang Fan handed over the weapon design drawings to the students at the research center, instructing them to speed up their preparations and strive to start mass production in the shortest possible time. The students were all very excited, each rubbing their fists and palms, and set off with their orders.

  The research center was actually the original metal mechanical processing plant, which had complete and perfect scientific research hardware conditions after adopting new equipment designed by students and manufactured by foreign companies. It can conduct systematic studies on materials, processes, technologies, and equipment in industries such as metallurgy, mechanics, chemical engineering, medicine, electrical engineering, optics, etc. These research results will be used to develop the industry of Ningwu Prefecture, which will surely promote the industrial technology of Ningwu Prefecture to lead the world. For students, these things that seem extremely novel and practical in the eyes of modern people are actually just ordinary things in their living era, but modern people think this is innovation, while students think they are just reviewing, and reviewing doesn't take effort.

  Kang Fan sat in the county government, and Yu Hao jointly presided over various tasks in the jurisdiction. Now, some industrial enterprises that were built and put into production earlier in Ningwu Prefecture have begun to create profits. The pharmaceutical factory is constantly developing and growing, and several commonly used antibiotics such as penicillin, streptomycin, and cefalexin have been successfully developed one after another, and have started mass production. Other common Chinese and Western medicines have also emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. At present, the market demand for these new and strange medicines is not very large, which is because people of this generation are not yet fully aware of their existence, and most informed people only realize the high efficiency of these medicines after being treated at Ningwu Hospital. However, Kang Fan is not worried, as he believes that it's only a matter of time before the masses demand these medicines in large quantities, and all he needs to do is wait patiently.

  Next are food and condiments, the production of oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, sugar, monosodium glutamate, canned goods, biscuits, etc. have started to be put into the markets of Taiyuan, Beijing and Tianjin, and sales are currently not bad. As for toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, soap, washing powder, shampoo, matches, lighters, toilet paper, pencils, stationery, writing paper, thermoses, flashlights, batteries and other daily necessities, market demand has increased dramatically and is widely accepted by the people of today, it is currently the main profit growth point for Ningwu Prefecture's industry.

  After the coal mines, coal chemical industry and building materials enterprises went into production, with the continuous improvement of industrial capacity, a huge demand for labor force was created, especially for students and technicians with modern knowledge or skills. However, the local population is scarce and cannot meet the demand for a large number of laborers.

  Fortunately, in this era of the Qing dynasty, after more than 30 years of Westernization movement and studying abroad, such talents are no longer in short supply. The vigorous industrial construction of Ningwu Prefecture has attracted people from all over the country who yearn for a better life. What attracts them most is not the generous pay here, but the modern employment system, humanized management, and fair welfare treatment.

  As a result, a large number of workers, farmers, students, handicraftsmen, merchants, intellectuals, and others have poured into the jurisdiction, and with the widespread dissemination of information, the number is still increasing, meeting the needs of various industries. In this way, although the daily patient admission volume of Ningwu Hospital has increased dramatically, medical professional talents have also increased accordingly, and the problem of lack of talent that has been plaguing Mei Xiang has been solved.

  Although the hospital has employed many people, it is still difficult to accommodate the large number of doctors, pharmacists, and nurses who come to apply for jobs. These talents are very precious, and Mei Xiang does not want to let them go. After consulting with Kang Fan, she decided to try her best to retain all of them, and have them undergo internships in batches at the hospital to prepare for the establishment of more hospitals or provide military medical services in the future.

  At the same time, with the large influx of outsiders, Ningwu Hospital is also expanding continuously. A magnificent three-story building has been erected. The next step would be to research and produce advanced medical equipment and instruments to enhance the hospital's strength, but this will have to wait until the mechanical manufacturing industry in Ningwu Prefecture takes off. For now, they still have to continue using the medical equipment and instruments brought over, despite Mei Xiang's eagerness.

  In agriculture, with the excellent crop seeds being vigorously promoted in Ningwu Prefecture first, the planting area of wheat and corn this year has not increased, but the total output has grown by more than 5 times compared to last year! Dispelling the worries of farmers, it will be easier to promote planting throughout the province later. In addition, large-scale fruit tree cultivation and planting were carried out in the river basins such as Fenhe River and Huihe River, which can increase the greening rate, protect water and soil, increase fruit production, improve people's supplementary food supply, and achieve a win-win situation. As for the utilization of local forests, Zhong Hanqiang did it very well, strictly cutting down trees according to needs and replanting new ones in time. In order to strictly control the phenomenon of excessive felling and other behaviors that damage the ecological environment, Kang Fan added the content of supervising and protecting natural resources within the jurisdiction to the task list of the cavalry regiment.

  He Shuichang and Zhong Hanqiang co-founded several state-run farms, which became the mainstay of local agricultural production. These farms were mostly concentrated in the Shenchi area with rich arable land resources and the Ningwu and Wuzhai areas with good conditions for animal husbandry and farming. Due to the typical mountainous terrain in this region, all four county towns are located in intermountain basins or river valleys, so arable land is not abundant. However, apart from meeting the normal needs within the jurisdiction, it can also basically solve the problem of food supply that has surged due to the large influx of outsiders. If developed well in the future, accumulating a certain amount of strategic reserve grain will not be too difficult. As a result, the plan to seek more suitable agricultural bases was temporarily shelved. Although Duonuo Wanan had tried very hard, the Qing government's policy of prohibiting grazing and farming in its own ethnic homeland - Northeast China - had relaxed but not yet been clearly lifted. Therefore, it is still very difficult to rent or buy a large amount of land in Northeast China, and the results have not been ideal. Kang Fan thought that Hui Feng was a Manchu from the Zhenghuang Banner, with ancestral roots in Heilongjiang, and should be more familiar with the Northeast than himself. So he had the idea of cooperating with Hui Feng. However, without meeting with Hui Feng again, he could only wait for an opportunity to make his intentions clear.

  Kang Fan understood that the living standards of modern people are far behind those in Europe and America. Through observation, it was found that most people across the country have obvious symptoms of malnutrition, not just in Shanxi Province. Therefore, increasing the intake of meat, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and fruits in local people's diets is crucial to improving their physical fitness. He Shui Chang and Zhong Hanqiang did an excellent job in developing the local animal husbandry and aquaculture industries, which already had a certain scale in the area, making this work relatively easy to carry out. He Shui Chang formulated a package of preferential policies, encouraging people in the jurisdiction to expand their animal husbandry and aquaculture businesses, achieving good results in a short period. However, another task assigned by Kang Fan to He Shui Chang did not go very smoothly, which was horse breeding.

  Kang Fan was committed to building a division-level army, which required a large number of horses for riding, traction, and transportation. However, even the current cavalry regiment of over 2,000 people did not have enough good warhorses, let alone the demand after expansion. Although Duonowan had completed the introduction of fine breeds from Arabia and Central Asia, large-scale breeding of warhorses required vast pastures, which were not available in Yanpingdao. They could only find a solution in the neighboring Guisui Bingbeidao. Guisui Bingbeidao was the northernmost prefecture in Shanxi, extending deep into the northern grasslands, with vast pasture areas suitable for horse breeding. However, crossing administrative boundaries created many problems that He Shuichang couldn't solve. In the end, Kang Fan found Hu Pingzhi, who acted as a matchmaker to facilitate cooperation between Ningwu Prefecture and Guisui Bingbeidao, with Ningwu providing funding and Guisui responsible for breeding, thus solving this problem.

  Due to the products produced by Ningwu Prefecture having 21st-century characteristics, being cheap and good-looking, and carrying the "Made in Great Qing" label, He Shuikuan's several shops rented in Tianjin's bustling areas started a buying frenzy among citizens as soon as they opened for business. For a time, the European, American, Japanese and other foreign products that originally filled the Tianjin market were severely unsold. This drew attention from various governments.