Hal pursed his lips and said, "I know, the outside world calls Oliver the anti-government army, but the reality is just the opposite. As we all know, the second land reform in Mexico has long been underway, and the core theme is land rights."
"The policy is just as it sounds, the land belongs to whoever owns it. But the question is, would the Mob want the land to belong to the farmers?"
"Of course, they can manipulate the farmers to plant poppies for them. Many fields around Guadalajara operate in this way. It was previously mentioned that most of the northwestern regions of Mexico employ large-scale operations, while the presence of villages in the south-central regions results in smaller parcels of land."
"Each person's land is their own and no one wishes to surrender their farming rights. This results in a situation where, despite being located on flat plains which are among the world's most suitable for large-scale mechanized agriculture, they still revert to the most primitive means of manual farming."
"This leads to a significant problem - all the farmers are isolated, making it very easy for drug lords and the Mob to control them. In fact, the plantations owned by several big drug lords in Guadalajara are those so-called villages."
"American companies looking to buy land there for factory construction risk harming the interests of these drug lords. Unable to harm these American corporates, they resort to plundering other villages, ensuring the production of their illicit goods."
"Other villages that have been farming peacefully are suddenly burned down, with the Mob holding a gun to their heads and forcing them to plant poppies. They do so under duress, but the Government then deems it illegal and wants to burn their crops. The contradiction lies here."
"As the economic crisis intensifies, land competition becomes more severe, making the farmers' lives increasingly difficult. Thus, Oliver has been able to assemble such a large army in a short period of time and achieve victory."
With a unique gleam in his eyes, Hal said, "The people of this land have an incredible resilience and tenacity, beyond what I imagined."
"The grand revolution initiated in 1910, in terms of difficulty and grandeur, competes with any revolution in the world. Mexico's land reform is also one of the largest-scale land reforms in the world. They have never given up fighting for themselves. Their struggle shouldn't be overlooked."
Hal paused for a moment and then let out a long sigh before continuing, "The Mexican Government had long recognized the problems left by the previous land reform. They wanted to implement a second reform, but in reality, it is indeed very difficult to enforce this at an individual level, with political and economic pressures."
"All other places aside, Guadalajara is rife with battles for power and fraught with danger. Different forces interlock with each other chaotically. In such a perilous situation, Oliver has literally slashed out a path. I sincerely hope that he can go further."
Hal looked into Diana's eyes and said, "Just like you said, even if he ends up failing, the exploration is not pointless."
"And now, the problem that Oliver is facing is that he has taken control of the farmland once owned by the drug lords, but even if he returns this farmland to the farmers, it won't necessarily improve their lives."
"If he simply hands back the land to its rightful owners, they would just return to their small plots of land, pick up their hoes and start working. After a year of grueling work, they might still not have enough food."
"In this war, Oliver has established his prestige and now has the popular support. This is the best time for reform and transformation. But the problem is, he doesn't know how to farm, and among those who follow him, nobody knows how to farm productively."
Clark suddenly stood up and looked at Hal, "We should go there now. Isn't it 70,000 acres of prime farmland? Why can't it even support a few people? It must be due to their improper farming methods, I can help them!"
But Bruce stayed calm and remained seated. He turned to Hal and asked, "Has there been any new development from the corporation providing you aid?"
"No, they've gone eerily silent, telling us to contact them only when we need help," Hal replied.
"They are observing." Bruce's tone turned somber, "Now, it's the crossroads of their decision-making. The basis of their decisions is Oliver's performance. They want to know what kind of person Oliver is and what he is capable of."
"So, how should Oliver perform?"
"No, he shouldn't perform, but observe. This is also the best time for him to observe these partners of his." Bruce put down his cutlery and explained by tapping gently on the table with his fingertips,
"If I'm not mistaken, the aid you requested before was mostly weaponry, which to any donor is a piece of cake. But now that the fight is temporarily over and it's time to start rebuilding,"
"This is a good opportunity to observe the abilities of the aid provider and reveal their true colors. You can tell them outright that you no longer need weapons but require other types of aid, thus finding out their true capabilities."
Hal squinted his eyes. He caught Bruce's underlying message: if they could understand the true intentions of these people, they might be able to exploit information asymmetry to outsmart them in the future.
Bruce pondered for a moment, then turned to Hal and said, "I agree with what Clark said, we should go there now."
Hal opened his mouth wide and said, "Are you crazy?! You are Bruce Wayne, are you planning on going to a place where drug lords group up?!"
"Didn't you drive all the drug lords away?"
"That doesn't mean... wait a minute, Bruce, it's very dangerous there!"
"More dangerous than Gotham?"
"Uh..."
Hal remained silent as he carefully contemplated what he had witnessed in Mexico. Then he realized, if Batman could wreak havoc in Gotham City, then the gangs in Guadalajara didn't stand a chance against him.
"The most important thing is that farming isn't something that can be handled remotely," Bruce addressed Clark. "We need to be on-site, survey each plot of land, and decide the appropriate crops. More importantly, we must communicate with the locals to see what they need."
Clark was urgent. He directly went up to Hal, grabbing his arm and said, "Do you know that it's the crucial period of spring plowing? Aren't your lands lying uncultivated?! The spring plowing season is almost over!!"
"Many high-yielding crops are planted early. A delay of one day could lead to a 50% decrease in yield!"
"Hurry! I'm going to call my parents right now, then we'll head out! We better be able to start sowing seeds by tomorrow morning, that way, at least half the production can be salvaged!"
Clark rushed out, while Diana touched her cheek and said, "Though I'm not sure if you'll welcome me, but I'd like to come along if I can be of any help."
Hal hesitated, about to refuse, but Bruce cut in, "Of course, we need your help; it would be wonderful if you could come."
After speaking, he gave Hal a sign. Hal swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue and instead said, "Indeed, beautiful lady, being able to welcome your arrival is our honor."
"I don't fall for that." Diana rose, preparing to go upstairs and change her clothes. As she climbed the stairs, she continued, "Don't call me a beautiful lady. If possible, call me a strong warrior."
Soon, Clark rushed back and said, "Spring plowing at our place is essentially done, and I can't provide much help. The holiday isn't over yet, so my parents agreed to let me go to Mexico."
"Now, I'll go pack up my luggage... oh, right, how will we get there? The three of us are easy to handle, but what about Bruce... I could carry him and fly over, but after all, it's quite far…"
"No problem, the Green Lantern ring can open a portal. Just get your luggage ready, and we'll teleport directly."
Clark didn't say anything else. He hurried back to his room and started packing up his luggage at high speed.
It wasn't long before the trio finished packing. Hal opened a green portal at the back of the farm warehouse. But before leaving, Clark suddenly turned to Hal and asked, "How is Little Kryptonite doing? Has his mood improved?"
"Although I'm not too worried about his safety, after all, we're leaving for a long trip. Well, shall I have a round trip to the East Coast and bring him back?"
"Rest assured." Hal looked at Clark and said, "To thank you for your help before, I've found him a very professional doctor, promising that you will see a healthy and lively puppy when you come back."
After finishing, the green light flickered, and the portal vanished in the farm.
In the apartment building of Seashore City, a red portal floated in the center of the room. Beside the portal, Shiller, his arms crossed, looked at Brand and said, "So, you came here to ask me to provide psychological counseling for a dog?"
He then shifted his gaze downwards to a white dog lying on the ground. The dog looked like a white Labrador with drooping ears and a pink nose and paw pads.
Before Brand could say anything, Shiller continued, "The idea of a carefree puppy being depressed is already unbelievable. It's driving you to seek my help for treatment, what's going on? Is the world coming to an end?"
Brand wanted to speak again, but Shiller interrupted, "Even if I could understand this, what's with these two?"
After saying that, Shiller turned his gaze to the other side. To Brand's left, stood Harley and Jason.
There was a bandage on Harley's forehead and a thick bandage around Jason's neck. Judging from the way they looked at each other, they must have just engaged in some less-than-friendly interactions.
"Put the dog problem aside, explain what happened to these two first," Shiller pointed at the two kids and said.
"As you can see, the two of them have been scrapping. They've been doing so, without stopping, ever since they met in your office. Neither Gordon nor I can stop them. That's why we had to send them to you."
"You can't handle them, so you sent them to me? The blood from the last student under my care hasn't even dried yet, are you serious?"
The issue here is that they're always arguing about whether or not you're a good person."
"Jason firmly believes you're a responsible good teacher, as well as a good person. But Harley thinks you must be the most evil and worst serial killer. However, they are both proud of you."
Sure enough, the gaze Jason and Harley directed at each other was filled with anger and defiance. However, both of them looked at Shiller with sparkling eyes filled with longing.
Shiller covered his forehead.
"Let's talk about the dog problem instead."