Harper pointed at the machine and asked his wife in a low voice, "Martha, what is that thing?"
In his mind, his wife was an aristocratic young lady who had seen the world and knew almost everything.
But this time, the woman shook her head. "I've never seen it before, darling."
The technician from the Agricultural Consulting Company did not keep everyone in suspense and immediately introduced it. "Gentlemen, this is a seed drill. Farmers in France are all using it." A Native American elder examined the machine and asked, "Mr. Chevin, what is it used for?"
"Sowing seeds." Chevin and his assistant set the machine on the ground and began filling the small opening at the top with Wheat seeds. "It's extremely fast—roughly as efficient as fifteen people sowing by hand."
In fact, the seed drill had been invented as early as eighty years ago, but its adoption rate had never been particularly high.
Through the Agricultural Consulting Company and Parish Bank working together to promote it, Joseph had made it a commonplace item found in every village in France. Of course, France's rapidly increasing steel output over the past decade or so had been the foundation that made mass production of these farm implements possible.
Moreover, the one Chevin had brought out was an obsolete model. The new generation of seed drills could do the work of more than twenty people.
Yet the Native American elder was very shrewd and beat him to the question. "Then it must be very expensive, Mr. Chevin?"
"Three hundred Francs. Very cheap, isn't it?" Chevin immediately added, "The Pacaha government will provide loans. As long as the village signs the agreement, you can get one without paying a single Denier."
These secondhand machines cost only 140 Francs in France itself, but they