Fuzhou, Fujian.
Since the establishment of the customs, Fuzhou has replaced Yuegang and become the main trade port in Fujian.
The difference between the Municipal Shipping Department and the Customs is that the Municipal Shipping Department has a wide range of jurisdiction, including ship pilots, shipowners' protection, group ships, combating smuggling, etc. Even tribute ships are under his jurisdiction.
The customs is only responsible for collecting taxes and combating sea smuggling. There are no restrictions on trading cargo ships. It can be said that there is wide access and free trade.
This is a surprise to Fujian people who are keen on doing business.
Naturally, the rise of commerce has led to the development of docks and created a large number of job opportunities. For Fujian, a country with a narrow territory and dense population, it has saved countless people.
"The ship is coming——"
At the pier, under the shade, hundreds of big men were naked from the waist up, with their heads hanging down, their shabby linen clothes tied around their waists, their long and messy hair tied up casually, and pairs of longing eyes staring at the pier.
Suddenly, someone shouted, and hundreds of people rushed forward to look after him.
Others can only wait and wait.
As soon as the ship docked, the tax collectors boarded the ship to collect taxes.
Later, a man in short clothes, his clothes were relatively clean, led someone to talk.
After a while, he got off the boat and shouted: "About fifty people are needed. The rest should retreat and wait for the next one."
After working the boat like a sweat, Shi Dahu took a breath and drank a lot of water.
At this time, he glanced sideways and saw his younger brother, who had attended private school for two or three years, sitting down in the shade and reading the newspaper.
I moved my butt, leaving a wet mark on the ground, which was dry in a blink of an eye.
"Third brother, why don't you go to work? If you don't work, you won't have food to eat. Don't you know?"
"Brother, this coolie's job is boring."
The relatively thin Shi Sanhu carefully folded the newspaper and mustered up his courage.
"Third brother, thirty dollars a day is not much, but we managed to get it with great difficulty."
Erhu on the side was not happy. He had been envious and jealous of his youngest brother since he was a child. All the good things were done to him. Why should he give up the only opportunity in the family to go to private school?
"Let the third child finish speaking first." Shi Dahu said, but his eyes kept staring at the dock for fear of missing the opportunity.
"Brother, I read the news in the newspaper. The Taiwan government is going to open up wasteland and be tax-free for five years. The court also borrowed iron tools and cattle under the guise."
Shi Sanhu said impatiently, his face full of eagerness.
With that said, he handed over the Ming Dynasty Gazette, the reclamation order issued by the cabinet:
Allow people from Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces to migrate to Taiwan to cultivate land...
What follows is a series of temptations, such as land reclamation, five years of tax exemption, corvee labor, the court's pretense of borrowing cattle, iron tools, etc.
"Taiwan House?"
Shi Dahu turned his attention back and asked, "Is it the high-ranking official and Taiwan that those merchants mentioned?"
"That's right." Sanhu said hurriedly: "Any amount of this wasteland is yours."
Erhu saw his elder brother's move and hurriedly said: "Sanhu, don't talk nonsense. Is opening up wasteland something that humans can do? Our family doesn't have the savings!"
Opening up wasteland is indeed laborious and even fatal.
Let’s be clear, land reclamation in ancient times was not a matter of a government order. People flocked to the area and a large area of land could be added in a year.
In fact, if you are not a middle-class family, there is no room for land reclamation.
Land reclamation requires manpower, and these laborers must devote themselves wholeheartedly. Within a year or two, the family's farm work will definitely not be able to take care of it.
In addition, since it is land reclamation, enough food must be prepared so that the family will not starve to death. Otherwise, a small disaster will cause the family to go bankrupt immediately.
Therefore, in ancient times, land reclamation was either organized by the court or the family worked together, and small households simply did not have this ability.
Shi Dahu knew very well that his family of three brothers and his father were just four laborers, and reclaiming wasteland would cost their lives.
"Sell the land."
At this time, Shi Sanhu raised his head and said: "Our family still has three acres of land, and the grain produced in a year is not enough for my parents to eat. It is better to sell it and go to Taiwan..."
"Shit, Taiwan is full of savages, how can we go there?" Erhu said angrily.
"The imperial court has prefects, and the officials are not afraid. What are we afraid of?" Sanhu said stubbornly.
"Okay, come to life!"
Shi Dahu didn't say anything, raised his buttocks, and went to work wearing dry shorts.
Until nightfall, after packing a few worthless sea fish, the three brothers gathered together in the shack and grilled themselves over the fire.
"Brother——" Sanhu hesitated.
"Sleep!" Erhu said impatiently: "Opening up wasteland is not something people do. Our family is not suitable. Don't think that you can be the master of the family after studying for a few years."
"In our family, the eldest brother has the final say."
"Second dick."
"Why, brother, you think what I said makes sense..."
"I feel that I must go to Taiwan."
Dahu turned around, his dark eyes extremely bright under the firelight.
"Brother, you can't be confused!" Erhu was shocked.
"Second brother, don't you want to marry a wife?" Dahu confided quietly.
Erhu fell silent for a moment.
"Our family has several acres of land and there are many poor people in the village. If it weren't for the help from our relatives, we would have died of hunger long ago."
Dahu said helplessly: "Working at this dock means you won't have enough to eat and you won't die of hunger. It's even more difficult to find a wife. I'm twenty-five and you're twenty-three. At this age, which family in the village doesn't have a son?"
"Fuck--" Shi Erhu gritted his teeth and said, "Let dad sell the land, otherwise the three of us won't be able to get wives, and the Shi family will lose their incest, so what's the use of this land?"
These words left the two of them stunned.
But if you think about it carefully, this is indeed the truth.
If you don't have children, wouldn't you be taking advantage of your brothers in the clan?
Several brothers got together and felt that they must go to Taiwan, but the three brothers were unreliable, so they had to recruit more family members from the clan to take care of them when the time came.
The next day, the three of them couldn't wait to return home. They instigated their father to sell the land, kidnapped two more families, and went to Taiwan with all their belongings worth twenty silver dollars.
In order to attract people to reclaim land, the Taiwan government even directly canceled road diversions, which made it easier for many people.
The influence of the Ming Dynasty Commune was so great that in less than half a month, more than 3,000 people from the three provinces came to Taiwan, which Yang Tingjian did not expect.
"Oops, there won't be enough food again——"
In Beijing, at Yuquan Villa, Zhang Qi, the head of state, reported on the status of the internal funds.
"According to your request, except for the salt shop and the grain shop, the rest of the inner shops were sold, and the buyers were mostly nobles. We took back half a million silver dollars!"
Zhang Qi said, feeling extremely distressed.
These shops are all in the inner city, and their value is incalculable. Now that they are sold at a low price, isn't it equivalent to giving away money?
The origin of these shops was naturally that they were plundered by Li Zicheng, then captured by the Qing Dynasty, and now they are in the hands of the emperor.
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