Homo Sapiens

「After the Jinyuan counterfeit currency scandal.」

The time was now early February.

A full quarter had passed since ABCD launched its food war.

Due to Luzon’s tropical monsoon climate, the year is roughly divided into three seasons: the rainy season from April to December, the cool season from December to February, and the dry season from February to April.

Normally, while it’s possible to grow three rice crops a year, actual agricultural production is limited to one or two crops.

The late rice crop is harvested from January to February.

This year, quite a few farmers in Luzon had planted a second, late-season rice crop. The total planted area reached 3.82 million hectares, with hybrid rice accounting for 1.54 million hectares.

For comparison, the total area for a single rice crop in Luzon is about 6 million hectares, with a yield of around 3 to 4 tons per hectare.

It was estimated that this late rice crop, from the 3.82 million hectares, would yield 13 million tons of rice.

However, during this year’s harvest season, the grain consortium led by ABCD swiftly flooded the global market with massive quantities of rice.

This caused rice prices to plummet.

In Manila, the purchase price for rice had fallen by 42% compared to before the new year, and the downward trend showed no signs of stopping.

Farmers who had previously endured high prices and immense pressure to buy expensive fertilizers and pesticides now found themselves facing utter ruin.

In the northern part of the Manila District, a large number of small farm owners and farmers were wiped out in this food war.

Cries of despair could be heard everywhere. Not a single rice-farming household was spared, especially those who had taken out loans. They were plunged into hopelessness.

「Just then.」

A convoy of grain-purchasing vehicles entered the village.

A large loudspeaker on one of the vehicles blared to life.

”Buying rice! Fifteen thousand a ton...”

Hearing the price of fifteen thousand, the farmers who had rice to sell felt their hearts sink into despair. Before the new year, rice had been going for around 25,000 Pesos per ton (equivalent to 3,300 Chinese yuan).

But what choice did they have? If they didn’t sell, the price might drop even lower in a few days. The pain was especially acute for farmers who were in debt.

As an employee of the grain company under Fengrao House, Juan knew that 15,000 Pesos was already the highest price in the region.

Soon, a farmer who couldn’t hold out any longer approached him.

”Boss, how about seventeen thousand?”

Juan ignored the man’s pitiful expression and replied mechanically, ”Fifteen thousand is already the highest in the Manila Region. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask around.”

The old farmer hesitated, but then he thought of the money his eldest son had borrowed from the bank. If they couldn’t pay it back, the bank would take their land.

Seeing the old farmer’s indecisive expression, Juan knew the man probably had debts. This played right into his hands. He smiled and said:

”My friend, if you want to sell at a higher price, it’s not impossible.”

”What? Boss, you have a way?” The old farmer grasped at this like a drowning man clutching a straw.

Juan pulled out a contract. ”This is an application to join the agricultural cooperative. Once you join, we’ll all be one family...”

”An agricultural cooperative?” The old farmer had clearly heard of them. After all, the news of the Fernando Clan and the Lopez Clan engaging in large-scale land acquisitions in the south had spread all over Luzon.

Some factions hostile to the Fernando Clan had even maliciously exaggerated and demonized the actions of the Fernando and Lopez Clans within their own territories.

As a result, the old farmer’s first impression of agricultural cooperatives was not a good one.

Juan said with a smile, ”Friend, do you know why you can’t get a good price for your rice? It’s all because Marcus, Ayala, and Aquino are up to their tricks. If they hadn’t colluded with the international grain merchants, how could rice prices in Luzon have first soared and then plummeted? Don’t forget what happened in ’08.”

”Those bastards...” a few other, younger farmers muttered angrily.

’Launching a public opinion attack? As if they’re the only ones who know how.’

Homo Sapiens Company was even more comprehensive. They didn’t just work through television, radio, and the internet; they also used agricultural cooperatives, logistics channels, and rural purchasing convoys to connect directly with the local countryside.

Besides, ABCD and those powerful clans already had a criminal record. With a little guidance, the memories of the Luzon people were easily reawakened.

After exposing the conspiracy between ABCD and the powerful clans, Juan brought up the agricultural cooperative again.

”Everyone, what do you work yourselves to death for? Isn’t it for food, clothing, shelter, and your children? If you join the agricultural cooperative, you get various subsidies and land rent. You can also go work in the city or on the farm.”

”If you have loans, they can be transferred to the cooperative’s name. We can give you an extension, or you can sell your land directly to the cooperative and take the money to live in the city.”

The old farmer quickly asked, ”Can the loans really be transferred?”

”Yes, but the cooperative charges a little interest. Not much, just 10% annually.”

After Juan’s persuasive pitch, a dozen or so indebted farming families agreed to join the cooperative. A few others, who had apparently visited the demonstration farms in the south, also chose to join.

In truth, Juan wasn’t just blowing smoke. The cooperatives led by Haitian Agriculture really did offer many benefits.

Purchasing convoys just like Juan’s rapidly advanced into the rural areas of northern Luzon Island.

Meanwhile, the Marcus Clan already had their hands full. Their actions had enraged Old Du, who, despite his own selfish interests, did not want to see Luzon get fleeced by ABCD.

「Elsewhere.」

Within the Aquino Clan.

Kens Aquino, with the cooperation of the Soldiers, seized control of a dozen core family members and swiftly conducted a major purge within the clan.

The Ayala Clan, which had previously kept a very low profile, saw its Patriarch die of a sudden heart attack in North America. Less than three days later, his two sons were imprisoned for various reasons.

The new Ayala Patriarch, James Ayala, quickly appeared on a live television broadcast with Kens Aquino and Xu Yingming. He apologized to everyone and exposed how his clan and the Marcus Clan had previously conspired with ABCD.

This act of self-exposure immediately put the Marcus Clan in an extremely passive position.

It also gave ABCD a massive headache.

But ABCD was too late to save the Marcus Clan. Old Du and a coalition of other clans struck swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly, sending the core members of the Marcus Clan straight to prison.

What followed was the carving up of the Marcus Clan’s territory and interests.

But this disastrous defeat for the Marcus Clan was different from before. This time, there was basically no chance for them to stage a comeback.

Their core territories had been completely carved up, their key members had been taken down, and with the conclusive evidence of their collusion with ABCD, no one in Luzon dared to speak up for the Marcus Clan now.

With the fall of the Marcus Clan and the defection of the other three clans, ABCD’s network of inside contacts in Luzon was completely wiped out.

This didn’t mean ABCD would let the matter rest. They continued to drive down international rice prices while simultaneously raising the prices of fertilizers and pesticides sold to Luzon, as well as the purchase prices for cash crops.

Their goal was to force Luzon’s farmers to reduce the acreage for rice and corn in the next season and expand the cultivation of cash crops. If they could keep this up for a year or two, Luzon’s grain reserves would surely be unable to hold out.

Homo Sapiens Company, however, was not the least bit afraid. With the various internal clans now integrated, the situation inside Luzon had largely stabilized.

Furthermore, with Hongsawaddy as a backup granary, ABCD would ultimately find that all their efforts were for nothing.

Of course, for now, the farmers would have to bear the brunt of the hardship.

Homo Sapiens Company, in conjunction with the various clan factions, began a large-scale harvest of their own. Before ABCD could reap the spoils, they would shear the flock clean themselves.