Chapter 19 Main Road
Quark came out of the small room with a red face. It took him a long time to tell Luo Li what happened inside: he was semi-forced to take off his pants, and then he was forced to lie on an iron bed, and then several people were placed on his face. A woman covered with a white cloth, with only her eyes exposed, came over and scrubbed his lower body from front to back with a brush dipped in medicine. 【Read full text】
Then his cleaned and disinfected parts were watched carefully for several minutes, and then were plucked back and forth with something as cold as pliers. Quark secretly screamed that something was wrong, but the burly man beside him made him dare not resist.
He then heard someone commenting that he had too much hair on his body to see clearly, and then someone discussing whether to shave him. Quark was shocked. He was not a woman, and if someone found out that he had shaved his private parts, he would become a lifelong laughing stock.
He repeatedly begged for mercy in Mandarin and Cantonese vernacular, saying that he was willing to give up everything and asked them not to do such a thing that would bring shame on him. In the end, I don't know whether his pleading had an effect or whether the other party thought it was unnecessary and he escaped.
"...I still smelled of the potion for several days after returning from Lingao." Quark said helplessly, "These Australians are really strange guys."
But at this time, he followed Li Luoyou out of the customs with a stern face and said nothing.
Outside the customs is another stone-paved square. While the group of people were looking around, suddenly a man in green clothes and a small hat hurried over:
"Excuse me, is this Master You not from Foshan?"
"It's my master." Sao Ye nodded.
"Greetings to Mr. You." The visitor immediately crawled to the ground and kowtowed, "The younger one is a disciple of Mr. Yang Shixiang of Lingao Runshitang. On the order of our master, he came here specifically to greet him."
"Please, steward, lead the way."
The visitor quickly got up and led the way. At the edge of the square is a wide road with many signs planted along the road. What is written on it is probably the name of the place. There are several places such as the county seat, Ma Niao, and Bai Ren. Under each sign, there are some villagers-looking people waiting with baskets on their backs, and there are also "kun people" wearing Australian signature short coats.
Everyone watched with interest, when suddenly a whistle came from a row of houses at the end of the road, and a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by four cows slowly appeared on the road. The oxcart is long and box-shaped, very tall, and each wheel is as high as a person's shoulder. Two charioteers were sitting on the front of the car, and a sign with "Bai Ren" written on it was hung on the front of the car.
"Passengers please pay attention. Passengers please pay attention. The shuttle bus to Bairen is about to enter the station. Please retreat to the security line and wait in line to get on the bus."
A man in a blue cloth coat came out, put an iron funnel to his mouth and shouted. From time to time he blew the whistle fiercely.
The bullock cart slowly came to a stop under the Bairen sign. There was a commotion in the waiting crowd. You squeezed and I pushed towards the bullock cart. The man holding the iron funnel kept shouting: "Don't crowd, don't crowd."
But obviously his shouting didn't have much effect, and everyone had to push to the front. What are you doing pushing to the front? Is it possible to give money and rice on the bullock cart?
At this time, several people wearing bamboo hats and short sticks hanging from their waists appeared in the square. They waved the sticks in their hands and shouted. The order was slightly restored, and people gradually began to line up. It can be seen that people here are very afraid of the "policemen" wearing bamboo hats and short sticks. They are probably "public servants" from Lingao.
The driver climbed out of the car and lowered the folding iron stepladder. The people queuing up began to board the bullock cart one by one and took their seats along both sides of the carriage. Then the driver set up a simple awning. Those who carried burdens and backpacks used iron rings and ropes installed on the outer walls of the carriage to secure their things outside the carriage. This bullock cart turned into a strange appearance full of plug-ins.
Naturally, Li Luoyou and his party did not need to ask for public transportation. Runshitang had already prepared two sedans and four or five wheelbarrows to wait on them. Now the master is sitting in a sedan chair, and the servants are bundling their luggage in the car and walking with them.
The weather in Lingao is hot, but it is the end of February and the weather is already a bit hot, so Runshitang prepared a bamboo silk sedan chair. It is both ventilated and can be used for sightseeing. Li Luoyou sat in the sedan chair. The road to the county seat was as smooth as a stone, and it was paved with black gravel and extremely tight. The vehicles he saw along the way were smooth and fast on it, which made Li Luoyou, who was suffering from too many mule carts in the north, secretly sigh - this road is so well built that even the Tianjie in the capital is not as smooth as this.
There is a white line drawn in the middle of the road, and within a mile there is an arrow marking the direction. There were signs everywhere on the roadside, some with words and some with symbols, which Li Luoyou could hardly see.
What he appreciates the most is that there are obvious signs at each fork in the road, telling you where the intersection is going, not only the name of the destination, but also the names of places along the way and the distance. It looks clear and understandable.
He asked Sao Ye to call the Yang family servant who would greet him in the future.
"What do these signs all over the road mean?"
"They are all traffic symbols." The Yang family servant explained the meaning of the symbols and words on the sign one by one.
"It's really meticulous." Li Luoyou commented, "Did the Australians do it?"
"Yes, this road was also built according to the Australian method, which cost countless manpower and material resources."
Even a person like Li Luoyou, who has no engineering experience, knows that the cost of the road is not small. Although he does not know what the black material on the road is and how it is paved, there are drainage ditches with hole covers on both sides of the roadbed; There are trees planted on both sides - the trees are no more than the thickness of teacups and are extremely carefully maintained. The trunks of each tree are supported by brackets; there are pavilions, water troughs and wells for pedestrians and livestock to rest along the road; there are piers every two miles. Taiwan... all added up, the cost of this road is at least several times more than that of ordinary roads.
"With such a large-scale construction project, the people in Lingao will probably have a very hard time."
"Sir, that's not the case." The servant smiled, "How many people are there in Lingao? It's not even enough to build the road." He pointed to the large pile of gravel and sand on the right side of the road, "On this river alone There are thousands of workers working on the project, all of which were brought in by the Australian master himself."
“Where does the labor come from?”
"It's shipped from the mainland, and several boatloads of people have to be transported to Lingao every few days." The servant said.
"Transported from the mainland? They are all refugees, right?"
"Yes. When luck comes, everyone is not like a human being, and a ghost is not like a ghost. You have to live in the big camp in Bopu for two months to recuperate before you can use it." The servant smiled, "The little ones are all Said: This is not like hiring workers, but like doing a good deed. Australian gentlemen really have nothing to say to the poor."
This was very harsh to hear. Li Luoyou snorted lightly. The servant knew that he was unhappy, so he said nothing and just followed the sedan.
Although the construction site in the river cannot be seen from the road, the continuous gravel, yellow sand and excavated soil on the roadside indicate that this project is huge. Some oxcarts loaded with bricks, wood, bundles of thin bamboo strips and many sacks were neatly lined up on the roadside waiting to be unloaded. Some of the sacks were torn at the edges, spilling gray powder. The kind of squirrel cage cranes he saw in the port are also here, standing one after another. The strange thing is that no one is running inside. Instead, there is a black iron thing, wheezing and breathing, emitting white water vapor and black smoke. The large and small iron wheels were turning rapidly, making a clanging sound. Several people whose bodies were blackened by soot were wandering around this guy, constantly shoveling coal into it.
From time to time, workers in blue clothes wearing rattan hats carrying tools on their backs and pushing carts passed by. Their bodies were covered with dirt and dust, but they looked full of energy. They were all strong and dark-skinned. From time to time, he also sang songs like "...have power...". To Li Luoyu, who was accustomed to listening to low-pitched singing, this song sounded almost like howling, but it was indeed very majestic and inspiring.
The workers were very disciplined, and there were people with red and green flags directing the work, but there were no whip-wielding overseers. Everyone seemed to know what they were supposed to do. The entire construction site looks very orderly.
Li Luo couldn't help but click his tongue as he looked at the construction site along the river. How much manpower and material resources does Lingao need to invest in river management on such a scale? Not to mention building roads and housing... Australians have really spent a lot of money in Lingao
In this way, cooperation with the Australians can be discussed. Li Luoyou believes that no matter where the Australians come from, how good their goods are, or how capable they are, the most important thing is that they can protect themselves. If they are unable to protect themselves, sooner or later they will be expelled and eliminated by either the official army or the sea masters. Cooperation will not be of much benefit to themselves.
Only if they can ensure that they stay in Lingao can cooperation be possible. Just like his main partner, the Portuguese.
It now appears that the Australians have invested a lot in Lingao. Since they have such a large investment, they must also have the ability and determination to defend their property. With these two points, he, Li Luoyou, can negotiate more in-depth cooperation with the Australians.
Li Luoyou and his party soon arrived at the county town. He had seen enough ugly houses built by Australians along the way. To say that it is ugly does not mean that the house is not strong enough or that the house is not well repaired. Instead, all the houses are built according to standard geometric shapes, with almost no curves visible. All the houses have no decoration except for being painted white, and many of the houses are exactly the same in shape, proportion and size. The biggest feature of Australian architecture is that it is practical and sturdy. There are many buildings, not only with two floors, but also with three, four or even five or six floors. Li Luoyu didn't quite understand. There was so much wasteland in Lingao - along the main road, there were many places not to mention villages and towns, not even fields, just barren grass - why Australians still used such land-saving practices.
The city wall of the county town was already in sight, but not far from the city gate stood a circular fortress-like building.
Surrounding the castle are large areas of farmland, some of which have been planted with green seedlings, some of which are full of golden cauliflowers, some of which are filled with various vegetables in batches, and some of which are planted with unknown green crops. The growth is excellent, and it is much more regular and prosperous than the farmland along the road. Li Luoyou nodded secretly, this place
When the sedan was carried by, he took a careful look. The door of the castle was open, and there were several women sitting there. Some were mending clothes, and some were holding children and talking. It was a peaceful scene, but there were people holding hands on the top of the city gate. The strong man with the spear was on guard.
"What is this place?"
"As far as I'm concerned, Master, it's to learn from the Grange."
"Studying the Grange?"
"Yes, it is inhabited by the long-term workers and their families who cultivate the school fields." The servant said, "It is surrounded by Lingao school fields."
"This school is well taken care of."
"This is a world where Australians will take over the farming."
"Australians still farm?" Li Luoyou was even more surprised. The news outside only said that they were "good at crafts" and "good at work" and could make many ingenious things. I didn't expect them to be able to farm. This was really big news.
"That's right," the servant pointed, "the academic fields in this area used to be a poor place, but it became like this after the Heaven and Earth Society came to do the planting. Master, you don't know something. Just putting in a lot of effort before planting the fields is enough." It’s scary enough.”
As he spoke, he talked with great interest about how the Australians plowed and prepared the fields and dug ditches, how the Australians used more than ten oxen to drag iron frames to do farm work in the fields, and how they transported trucks of black charcoal and lime for spreading. In the fields... Li Luoyou listened carefully and felt more and more that the Australians had different intentions from the Europeans. Europeans, no matter which country they came from, were most interested in trade when they came to the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, they would simply rob and plunder. I had never heard of anyone being interested in farming. Of course, it is understandable that they are not interested - the Ming Dynasty is not their hometown, and it cannot be used as a colony.
The Australians recruited exiles here, built roads and cities, dredged rivers, and carried out settlements... Although Li Luoyou had not read much history books, he also knew that this approach far exceeded the needs of maritime merchants-the Portuguese occupied Macau just for the purpose of seeking settlement. Now that they have a place to park their boats, the Australians are building a "little Australia". He suddenly thought: Could it be that there is another slave building here?
Thinking about it this way, we need to be cautious when cooperating with Australians.
With such a complicated mentality, Li Luoyou's sedan chair had already arrived at the city gate. There were four or five Minzhuang armed with spears on duty at the door. It seems that the county town is still under the Ming Dynasty. But when he saw that Minzhuang was as short as a monk, he knew that the world of the Ming Dynasty was just a piece of skin.
"Show me your ID"
Li Luoyou now knew that the brand was called "Certificate", and Saoye handed over everyone's certificates, and then handed over a red envelope that had been prepared for him a long time ago: two coins of silver.
"A cup of tea for the brothers."
"No need." The sentry politely returned the red envelope. Saoye was stunned: This is two coins, which is a lot of extra money for the four people. Why is it still too little?
The sentry took the documents and checked them one by one, then checked the luggage in the car. Finally, he waved his hand: "Let's go into the city." e! ~!
