Chapter 338 – The Fate of the North Manchurian Oil Fields

Autumn, Showa 8 (1933).

Japan and the surrounding regions were blessed with an unprecedented bumper harvest, one that far surpassed even the remarkable harvest of 1930.

A planting index exceeding 120 was practically unbelievable. And yet, the following year would bring a catastrophic crop failure, with planting indexes falling below those of 1931. The Tohoku region in particular would suffer severe cold-weather damage, so severe that it would be prominently covered even in the history textbooks of my previous life.

However, this year’s abundant harvest seemed to be the result of the effects of “Norin No. 1” finally beginning to appear. That was why we planned to promote its adoption even more aggressively in preparation for next year’s poor harvest.

And with this year’s exceptional bumper crop, we intended to purchase as much surplus rice as possible and stockpile it in large quantities.