Due to the relationship between the roadbed and the front of the train, although the Lingao City Railway is a standard track, its maximum speed is only 30 kilometers per hour, and it usually runs at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour. According to the standards of old time and space, this speed is close to that of a tourist bus in a theme park. But for passengers who took the subway for the first time, it was a blast. As soon as the train moved, many people in each carriage rushed to the windows and looked out of the windows curiously.
Most of the members of the inspection team have taken the train from Great World to Dadongmen, so the experience of taking the train is relatively not that novel. However, the journey from Dadongmen to the Great World, even though the emperor has changed, is still the same as it was in the Ming Dynasty. As for the Great World, to be honest, the wealthy people have gone there a lot and are somewhat tired of it.
At this moment, they were sitting in the first-class carriage of the serious "Lingao City Railway", enjoying the elasticity of the kapok-filled cowhide seats under their buttocks. The inner wall of the carriage was made of fine wood and inlaid with black iron decorative patterns. Although there is nothing valuable about the open glass windows, the exquisiteness of the objects and the comfort of use are something they have rarely experienced in the past. As for the sedan chair that everyone rides in every day, the stiff Taishi chair is not as comfortable and close-fitting as this seat.
Sitting on such a chair and enjoying the scenery outside the window comfortably is just like the pictures in Guangzhou's "Australian Movies" and Australian "Pictures". No, it's even more beautiful, completely "Australian scenery".
The railway line from Bopu to Majiao was originally deserted hills and beaches. After the railway was built, this area entered a stage of large-scale development. Because the wind direction in Lingao is easterly all year round, there are not many industries in this area. It is basically agricultural and forestry development around the hilly areas. In addition to supporting some farmers, a number of large-scale agricultural and forestry farms have also been opened. With these agricultural and forestry farms as the core, residential settlements and simple processing industry small businesses were set up.
Windbreaks have been planted along both sides of the railway's embankment to reduce erosion along the sea breeze route. Driving out of the car window, you can see that the land along the route has been carefully developed. Most of the hills have been opened up as plantations for various cash crops. Rich families have orchards in the countryside. You can probably tell that there are orchards on some hills, but most of the hills are planted with orchards. They couldn't recognize most of them - many were new varieties brought by the elders from the old time and space.
Bananas, lemongrass, coconuts, coffee, sisal, and tea are grown in these plantations. In the valleys between the hills, rice and sugar cane farms line one another. The rice has been harvested, but alfalfa and winter wheat have been planted, and the fields are still full of fresh green. In the sugar cane garden, all the late-sown sugar cane has been harvested, and farmers are plowing the land for spring sowing of sugar cane in February.
The land is carefully managed: aqueducts extend in all directions, and the huge windmill rotates slowly, driving the piston water pump, elegantly and calmly; the steam water pump emits black smoke and white steam, making a rhythmic rumble, and occasionally chirping impatiently. With. Aqueducts are designed according to uniform elevations, and water flows through aqueducts where they meet valleys, rivers, and ponds.
Some of the precious water flows from many specially built small ponds in the hills, where the water is stored in the rainy season and used to irrigate the fields in the dry season; some is diverted from further rivers and reservoirs. Some are introduced into fields to water crops; others are introduced into fish ponds to raise fish and shrimps.
On one side of the railway track, in the fields that have just been harvested, a group of ducks are walking leisurely, looking for leftover grains and bugs; on the other side, goats wander on the land near the beach, eating the rich fruits grown here. Salty grasses.
Villages flew past the window from time to time. Each one is like a castle - because it is along the coast, the early settlements here were built according to the "standard village" designed by Wen Desi; the new settlements are not so rigorous, but they are also horizontal and vertical, and the houses are neat, fully reflecting the The Aesthetic Taste of the Senate.
Almost every wealthy family has a farm in Guangzhou and even all over Guangdong, but which place is as peaceful and wealthy as this? As for the meticulous care of fields, Australian fields are not first-class, but the canals, windmills, roads and houses where farmers live are beyond our wildest dreams. The Senate is really generous and willing to spend money!
The urban railway stops at small stations along the way from time to time to pick up and drop off passengers. The facilities of the small station are naturally not as good as Ma Niao, but no matter how small the station is, it is neat and orderly. The station staff directs and coordinates, and the arrangements are in order. The big players have seen the world, and they don't just watch the excitement: they fully understand how much wisdom and ability it takes to maintain the normal operation of such a "railway".
"No wonder the Australians were able to dominate Guangdong and Guangxi in just a few years!" Chen Ding thought to himself, "There are experts!"
"The train will start in one minute and will depart in one minute. Passengers who have not boarded or alighted, please hurry up and get on and off..."
On the platform, a naturalized citizen wearing a navy blue uniform held a large iron loudspeaker and shouted along the platform in "Newspeak" for a while, and then in Cantonese Mandarin and Hokkien.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion on the platform, as if someone was making a noise. Chen Lin poked his head out curiously and saw a middle-aged man with a bun and patched shorts squeezing out of the door of the third-class train.
At this time, there were not many passengers getting on and off the platform. The reason why he struggled so hard was because he had several large and small baggage hanging all over his body, but he was still holding a pole in his arms.
There were so many things on him and it was so messy that two railway employees helped him get off the train safely without losing all his "treasures".
Immediately afterwards, a woman with the same shabby clothes came out, also holding several bundles in her arms. On the back was a baby under one year old, sitting in a bamboo basket, looking around curiously with dark eyes.
Behind the woman, there are several children, the oldest is thirteen or fourteen years old, the youngest is only four or five years old, all of them have dark eyebrows and unkempt hair. The big one is holding the little one, and the little one is pulling the big one, and they are following their mother closely. His eyes were filled with fear and uneasiness.
"Third brother!" Suddenly someone ran over to greet him, but it was a man with short hair and short clothes, "You are here!"
At this time, the train whistle blew, and Chen Lin never had the chance to hear what they said. The last thing he saw was a man named "Third Brother" carrying luggage on a pole, and followed the person who picked him up at the station with his wife and children. After getting off the platform, we walked all the way towards the depths of the painting-like scenery.
"These are probably immigrants from Laigao," Chen Ding said. "The family is desperate. There are relatives here."
"I heard that in Laigao, people are allocated fields and houses. Is this true?"
Chen Ding only shook his head: "I have only heard of this..."
Chen Xiaobing, who was sitting in front, heard this and turned around and said: "Of course there are land and housing divisions, but it is not a general rule. It depends on the immigrant's own situation and needs. Do you want to work or farm? Or be a vendor? Or sailors, too. There are people who are divided into houses and land, and there are also people who reclaim wasteland for themselves, or people who work on farms as farm laborers. They are all different."
"I heard that there is not much land left in Lingao. Most of the new immigrants go to Nanyang or Taiwan? The best place is Sanya, which is far away from the world?" Chen Lin asked curiously.
Chen Ding suddenly became pale after hearing this. I was thinking of changing my words. Chen Xiaobing smiled and said: "This is a rumor. I have already said that where to go depends on the immigrant's own situation and needs. If someone commits a serious crime and the Senate is lenient and sentences him to exile, then naturally Whether to go to Taiwan, Jeju or Nanyang; if you are an ordinary immigrant with some savings and no shortage of labor at home, and want to open up wasteland and farm to buy a family business, there are many suitable places on Hainan Island, so why go overseas? He said Sanya on the main island has summer all year round and three harvests a year. It is a fertile land. In the past, there was miasma there, and Li Dong and pirates caused trouble, so the people were naturally reluctant to go there. For example, there are medicines to treat miasma in the Senate. , Lidong has been surrendered and reorganized, and the pirates have also been eliminated. What's wrong with going there to build fields and houses? Even if you have to stay in Lingao, there are still a lot of undeveloped wastelands. If you are penniless, your home will be poor. There are old and young waiting for food, and several state-owned farms are recruiting workers all year round. If you work on a farm as a worker, you will have a house, land, and school for your children..."
Chen Xiaobing's words were very exciting, but the uncles and nephews of the Chen family were somewhat suspicious: This is too nice to say! Where can there be such a good thing in the world!
It was so real and fake that even when they first arrived, they couldn't tell the difference. However, many people have flowed into Hainan from Guangdong in recent years. Especially after the Australians occupied Guangdong and Guangxi. Come to think of it, what Chen Xiaobing said is somewhat true.
Chen Lin thought about what his cousin said, and became playful and asked: "Master Chen..."
"Just call me comrade."
"Comrade Chen," Chen Lin asked curiously, "your surname is Chen, and our uncle and nephew are also surnamed Chen. I wonder where your ancestral home is, and where is your county? Maybe we were a family five hundred years ago?" "
Chen Xiaobing smiled slightly: "I'm ashamed to say that my surname is not Chen, and I don't know my ancestral home and county title."
"That……"
"I was born an orphan." His voice was slightly deeper. "I have been wandering in the city since I can remember - I don't even know which city it is. When I was ten years old, I heard people say that Fucheng is a big place and it is easy to make a living there. , so he came to Guangzhou with the adults. He registered with the Guandi Temple and begged for several years. Later, he contracted a disease and was abandoned by his companions. Only then was he rescued by the Senate and Lingao. This surname and the name were given by the Senate.”
"That's it!" Chen Lin said hurriedly, "Here, heroes don't ask where they come from..."
"Hahaha, blah blah blah," Chen Xiaobing said with a smile, "I'm not a hero, I'm just an ordinary person. I only rely on the kindness of the Senate to live like a human being."
(End of chapter)
