Rise of the Argentine Empire

Argentina probably produced about 37,000 pigs last year.

This number might sound like a lot to an individual, but that's Argentina's annual output.

This reminded him of an interesting news story from his previous life: the largest special economic zone city in New China, including its floating and permanent residents, had about 18 million people, which is 5 million fewer than present-day Argentina, and they consumed 6.6 million pigs a year, a staggering number.

Looking at it that way, 37,000 pigs isn't even a drop in the bucket.

Moreover, Argentina's current pig farming is mainly distributed in the relatively poor northwest and northeast regions of the country, where there isn't much pasture, so pork has become the main source of meat products in these areas, serving as a beef substitute.

And these 37,000 pigs are indeed not worth mentioning compared to the 20 million cattle raised domestically last year.

For most poor Argentinians, there's a high chance they can't afford meat, whether it's beef or lamb, which are both relatively luxurious. Chicken is somewhat cheaper.

For most of the rural lower-class commoners, the cattle and sheep they raise are usually sold; they can't bear to eat them. They exchange them for bread to barely survive. Some work on farms.

Among the major Latin American countries today, Brazil and Mexico raise the most pigs.

However, like Argentina, the taste of their pork for sale is not something to be proud of. Even the Americans raise a lot of pigs, but they all have one thing in common: they're not tasty.

In some American countries, chicken and pork are even considered food for the lower-class poor. For example, African Americans in later generations have always regarded fried chicken and watermelon as a form of discrimination.

But chicken is much tastier than pork after all, so Argentina's current broiler production is dozens of times higher than pork production.

On July 12th, at a regular city hall meeting in Blanca City,

Saint Jose made an important proposal to the civil servants at the meeting.

"I propose, in the name of the Blanca City State-Owned Assets Committee, to build a pig breeding base, a breeding pig reproduction base, and a pig farming technology center, and in the future, to establish about 20 large-scale farms around Blanca City, each with an annual output of 10,000 pigs."

"Of course, the first step is to unite with the surrounding breeding companies."

"At the same time, we will establish a pig cooperative and recruit surrounding farmers to develop our pig farming business."

He actually wanted Blanca City Breeding Company to cooperate with Sunshine Agriculture in pig farming, but a new breeding company also needs to be established with the State-Owned Assets Committee for consistent agreement and negotiation.

Saint Jose regarded pig farming as a career and spoke with considerable emphasis.

"Mr. Mayor, developing soybean planting is understandable, but why raise pigs? Raising cattle, sheep, or chickens would also work. We don't understand."

A young civil servant raised his hand after discussing with several colleagues around him. He was a newcomer to the State-Owned Assets Committee and had only recently joined the job.

The breeding industry is not like the planting industry; it cannot be rapidly expanded in a short period of time. 500 breeding pigs are only a partial foundation. It will actually take two or three years to fully realize their potential, so it is also his attempt.

Saint Jose nodded, expressing his appreciation.

He didn't want Blanca City to become his one-man show. He wanted most Blanca City residents to know about many important matters.

"I'll answer everything together later. Continue to raise your questions."

"That's right, Mr. Mayor. I heard that pork doesn't taste good. We have enough beef and lamb here. Why raise those pigs?"

Another senior official also said.

"Mr. Mayor, this doesn't seem necessary. Pork is too unappetizing."

The officials, big and small, discussed animatedly, and the venue was as noisy as a vegetable market.

Seeing that the discussion was almost over, Saint Jose slowly opened his mouth and said,

"I will explain the necessity of developing pig farming based on the following reasons."

"First, I estimate that Blanca City's population will exceed 1 million people in the next 5 years and 2 million people in 10 years. The meat products consumed every day will be astronomical figures. According to last year's estimates for Blanca City, 1 million people will consume at least 200,000 cattle worth of meat products a year."

Saint Jose's estimate was very reasonable. Last year, Blanca City had about 100,000 people and consumed 15,000 cattle. Of course, there were other meats as well, and he made a simple conversion.

Such a huge population would rank second in Argentina, but other cities are also slowly developing, just not as aggressively as Blanca City.

This is a population figure that gives the officials a headache.

"And such a huge demand for beef will inevitably lead to a rise in beef prices. As for why it's rising, just look at the beef prices in the past few years. I won't add any further explanation."

This is the drawback of capitalism. The price system is unstable. The method to suppress prices is nothing more than sufficient supply, so that merchants dare not raise prices indiscriminately.

State-owned supermarkets do just that, and Blanca City's prices are now much lower than in other places. Behind this is actually a kind of game and balance, as well as the various means in Saint Jose's hands.

Saint Jose's grain reserves and acquired cattle farms are all preparations for this. A huge city inevitably needs huge supplies. La Plata City can get resources from the entire province, Buenos Aires from the entire country, and Blanca City needs to break the situation. In addition to uniting with surrounding cities, it is to establish some of its own supply chains.

"Although beef in our country is cheaper when exported, the price is 2-3 times higher than pork. Chicken farming is relatively more troublesome, with higher technical requirements, and chicken is not a simple substitute for pork. Our country can have enough chicken supply, and the production cost of pork is actually more than half lower than that of beef. The output is also faster. Raising a cow requires 5-10 years on the grassland, while raising a pig only takes 210 days to reach 180-200 pounds, and even faster with good breeds."

Saint Jose once again talked about the benefits of raising pigs, whether it is cost, time, or other things, even feed. Pigs are omnivores and can eat many things. Of course, feed factories and soybeans are his preparations.

Raising chickens is not impossible, but modern chicken farms require a lot of hormones and medicines. Pigs are relatively easier to raise, and many places have very rich experience.

"Cows need about 18 months of cultivation from a young age before they can be bred. After breeding, the gestation period requires 7 months before a calf can be produced. Cows normally only produce one calf per birth, very rarely two. Indoor fenced cattle also need at least 2 years of growth before they can be marketed to provide beef. As for sows, they can mate 5-12 months after birth, the gestation period is about 4 months, and they can generally produce about 10-16 piglets. They can be marketed in 7 months."

Seeing that everyone was attracted by his numbers, Saint Jose continued, comparing cattle, sheep, and pigs, these three kinds of meat.

As for chicken, he didn't mention it. Chicken supply is not mainstream, at least not now, but he will pay attention to it later.

"Also, ewes need to be raised for 7-8 months before they start mating. After mating, it takes 5 months to produce lambs. Normally, 2-3 lambs are produced per birth, and the lambs need about 7-8 months before they can be marketed to provide lamb."

Saint Jose made a simple comparison and presented a comparison picture, and the advantages of pigs were very obvious, and they could be supplied in large quantities.

This made the officials who were good at calculation do a little calculation, and their mood eased.

"Second, regarding the problem of pork tasting bad, I have eaten the pork here, and it is indeed not tasty, but this is because our country has not yet developed scientific breeding methods. I have found some pig farming experts at home and abroad, professional breeding, and scientific large-scale breeding. The taste of pork will be greatly improved, and the cost is very low."

What Saint Jose said was actually professional veterinarians, performing surgery to remove the testicles or ovaries of boars and sows, performing castration. He also contacted the Chinese in Cordoba to help them find some Chinese pig castrators in the Nanyang area for unified re-learning.

He himself is deeply disgusted with the profession of eunuch, but after all, China's more than two thousand years of feudal history has given pig castration this old craft, which also has hundreds of years of history. The Chinese are still the most authentic, and maybe Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan also have some.

"Third, it is necessary for us to do a good job in supplying the vegetable basket for so many people in the future. Pork is a very popular meat, and the current domestic breeding method is still very poor. I don't object to raising broilers, but it is mainly to take care of everyone's alternative to eating pork. Chicken farms can also continue to be built."

The so-called abundance leads to indulgence. If the people of Blanca City are well-fed, the birth rate will inevitably maintain a relatively high position. Lower-level citizens must also be able to afford meat, and relatively cheap pork is a substitute for beef.

With reasonable policies and guidance, the city's population will inevitably increase faster.

After all, even ordinary people have to eat meat. Even if Argentina is rich in products, there are many lower-level poor people who cannot afford meat. The current price of one catty of Argentine beef is 100 pesos per 500 grams. Even if the overall supply of beef is still relatively sufficient, those who cannot afford it still cannot afford it.

Saint Hecate still remembers when he was a soldier in Cordoba, the highest beef price reached 190 pesos per 500 grams. At that time, it was due to the Argentine drought, which led to reduced grain production and a large number of cattle deaths, causing beef prices to skyrocket. Although the currency has depreciated now, the overall domestic beef price is still relatively low.

Argentina does not have an all-powerful government to macro-control prices, which has also led to many evil merchants and profiteers. Prarrie Foods and Blue Cloud Textile actually suffered a lot of losses, and it was much better after establishing their own supply chains.

Pork is currently 50 pesos per 500 grams, and after Saint Hecate compresses costs, it is expected to be reduced a lot. Assuming an average Argentine civilian's monthly salary is about 3000 pesos, they can only afford 30 kilograms of beef, but they can buy more pork. Fortunately, the prices of other breads are low, and people don't eat beef all the time, so the price is not too high.

"Finally, I hope everyone will deeply realize that although our country has a large amount of beef, this has nothing to do with many people. I hope Blanca City can improve the living standards of more people."

Saint Hecate did not regard pork as a staple food, but like in his previous life, developed a model of main course + rice, which can feed more people.

Of course, the premise is that Argentinians have more children.

Finally, Saint Hecate and the officials discussed for more than two hours, and finally persuaded them with pork cuisine as the ending.

Everyone felt that raising pigs is really something that needs to be taken seriously, and Mayor Saint Hecate always takes three steps for every one he takes, and they also began to look forward to the delicious Meicai Pork and Dongpo Pork that the mayor mentioned, these magical oriental delicacies.

The meeting decided to establish the Blanca City State-owned Breeding Company, which is specifically responsible for pig breeding and reproduction, as well as the construction of other supporting facilities.

The breeding company will also purchase 3,000 piglets and breeding pigs from domestic and Brazilian sources to compare them with European breeding.

The Blanca City State-owned Pig Farm was built on a remote farm in the west.

And Sunshine Agriculture also established the Sunshine Pig Farm, next to the State-owned Pig Farm. In addition, some families in Blanca City also followed suit and established pig farms.

The School of Medicine of the National Southern University directly established a veterinary major.

Barren Bank directly launched low-interest pig farm credit services.

Under the leadership of various officials in the city hall, various tasks are progressing quickly.

......

July 22nd,

Juan and Host's Southern Petroleum team officially arrived at the port of Blanca City by boat.

Saint Hecate led a group of senior officials from Blanca City to grandly welcome them.

The port of Blanca City was filled with the blue and white Argentine flag, and many citizens of the city also came out to welcome them.

Many people were very shocked by the two things, oil and cars. These two industrial areas were the focus of publicity, and everyone was very interested in this kind of high-paying work.

This time, Juan also brought back 543 technical experts. In addition to people from ENI Petroleum, there were also people from Fiat Group, as well as some machine tool processing experts and special steel technology experts.

Help Blanca City build its own production plant.

Fifteen freighters leased from Greece, filled with automobile production lines and refinery production line equipment, quietly docked in the port.

Saint Hecate was excited, chatted with Juan and Host for a long time, and expressed his condolences to these Italian experts.

In order to ensure the smooth arrival and service of these Italian technical experts, Saint Hecate had previously arranged several newly renovated residences and dedicated dormitory areas in the East and West districts, and even built dedicated roads.

The Blanca City Western Petroleum Industrial Park and the Blanca City Eastern Automobile Industrial Park are also under intense construction of supporting facilities.

And recruit Italian professional students in China to prepare for docking in advance.

This seems to be a benefit of an immigrant country, after all, there are many Italian immigrants in Argentina.

There are many Germans in Rein Military Industry,

The Sanhai Shipyard is being built in cooperation with the Spanish State-owned Shipyard, and Saint Hecate has recruited technical workers of Spanish descent.

Of course, now the mixed-race Argentines account for the majority, and the parents of most people are not pure.

So most people in the shipyard are ordinary people.

Moreover, the arrival of Fiat technicians will be a very large improvement to Argentina's industry.

Saint Hecate now has four major industrial groups related to mechanical processing under his command,

The first is Rein Military Industry, such as the processing of firearms production, artillery, rocket launchers, and tank armor, which are all closely related to machine tools.

The second is the Sanhai Shipyard, the production of key parts for some small diesel engines. The diesel engines for 10,000-ton giant ships are still imported from abroad.

The third is the San Martin Aircraft Factory, which also produces parts. The core engine is also imported. Argentina does not currently have the technology to produce aero engines. Saint Hecate is also waiting for an opportunity to see if it is possible to produce its own aero engines.

The last one is Leidun Industry, mainly Leidun Motorcycle Factory and Leidun Tractor Factory. There is also a Leidun Machinery Factory that is responsible for various machine tools, but most of these machine tools are imported from abroad, and the prices are relatively expensive.

In fact, there is also an Argentine Diesel Engine Factory. Some key parts of some domestically produced diesel engines will use machine tools, but currently several diesel engines have been mainly imitated, such as the two models of Leidun tractors, driving 500-ton and 2000-ton fishing vessels, as well as tank diesel engines.

It's just that among most of the equipment imported by Argentina, machine tools are also important imports, second only to automobiles as consumer goods.

That is to say, the main key equipment of these industrial groups - machine tools and engine diesel engines are all imported from foreign countries, which is also impossible. Most of the more advanced factories in Argentina have developed in this way.

For example, Leidun Motorcycle's biggest competitor now, Zanella Motorcycle, was founded in 1948 and is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the country, headquartered in Buenos Aires.

Initially, Zanella used engines designed by Ducati Industriale of Italy and obtained a license to produce 100 and 125cc engines from Ceccato motorcycles of Italy.

The situation of Leidun motorcycles is slightly different. Although it has obtained the help of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and the first generation is mostly assembled, the second generation of Leidun motorcycles has achieved the localization of most parts, producing Argentina's own motorcycle engines and motorcycles.

Of course, most of the engine production equipment is still processed by imported machine tools from Germany, Spain, Austria and other countries.

It's just that the production and processing of motorcycles is not that difficult after all, like cars, it can only be done by importing complete production lines.

This is equivalent to entrusting the lifeline to foreigners, so when negotiating with Sofia Motors, it was also clearly required to build an Argentine domestic machine tool company, using the foundation of Rein Machinery Factory to establish a specialized machine tool factory.

The purpose of this machine tool factory is to produce real Argentine autonomous machine tools, especially to imitate and build its own automobile production line. Fiat 600 is not the end, Leidun 250 is not the end, T-54 tractor is not the end, and Arrow 2 will not be the end.

This time, the Fiat 600 has van production lines and small car production lines. If mass production is successful, 30,000 cars can be mass-produced in Argentina every year. Saint Hecate feels that it is not enough. The price of a Fiat 600 will not exceed 1200 US dollars,

After all, Argentina imports a lot of cars every year, and 30,000 cars are still a bit far away, compared to 5 million in the United States and more than 1 million in the United Kingdom, the gap is huge.

Saint Hecate's goal is to gradually develop his own production line based on the Fiat 600 series and turn this output into 60,000 vehicles.

Then, in 3 years, produce cars designed and manufactured by Argentina itself.

Finally, successfully establish its own automobile industry.

In terms of refineries, there is not much to worry about domestic personnel.

......

On the morning of August 24, a major event occurred in Brazil. Their President Vargas committed suicide at the age of 71.

A few hours before, he decided to give way to Vice President Joao Cafe.

Previously, senior Brazilian officials believed that Vargas' government's poor financial situation and other scandals led to increasingly serious public distrust of him, so they persuaded Vargas to abandon the presidency for the sake of national interests.

After Vargas committed suicide, people found a letter he wrote to the Brazilian people.

In the letter, he accused the "international financial group" of conspiring to undermine Brazil's national interests and ignoring the demands of Brazil's poor, who were the most supportive of Vargas.

After Saint Hecate learned of this information, he silently mourned for this Brazilian national hero, although many Brazilians in later generations had long forgotten this person.

He believes that Vargas is one of the greatest presidents in Brazilian history and the founder of the Brazilian industrial miracle in later generations. He left behind a relatively powerful Brazil.

He actively attracted foreign, especially American, investment to develop Brazil's national industry, established the Brazilian National Steel Company, several large hydropower stations, etc., laid the foundation for Brazil's modern industry, and developed famous Brazilian local resources such as the Vale iron ore.

This is an American manipulation of Brazilian politics and a tragedy for the Brazilian people.

Domestically, the Cordoba faction has also taken action, stepping up its opposition to Peron, and the CIA has blatantly appeared in Cordoba.