1875, the year of the Pig in the Chinese lunar calendar!
The Spring Festival is the time for pig tails, and the Qing Dynasty really had a fat year this year!
For a whole year, the court encountered no troubles. Except for some pirates in the ocean trade and some fluctuations in the stock market, there were no other frustrating things at all.
There is no war within the four borders, and the Qing Kingdom's more than 10 million square kilometers of land are completely at peace!
The vast countryside has not changed at all according to the old rhythm of life, but the newly rising industrial power has begun to show its unique magic to the world!
Needless to say, there are more and more chimneys in Tanggu City, and the black smoke billows down, and the capitalists are making more and more money!
Mountains of coal and iron resources were transported to the industrial zone, and finally turned into the best-selling industrial products under the magic of flame refining!
The poor handicraft workshops of the Qing Dynasty were hit to pieces, especially the blacksmiths and carpenters in the countryside. Under the impact of industrial products from large factories, life became even more difficult!
But some people laugh while others cry. Some people are suppressed by industry, while others benefit from it!
Smart people are good at change. They will not rest on their laurels. When they see the wealth created by new industries, they will naturally want to get a share of it!
If you have the strength, just go in and work as a loader, and you can make money even if you put in a little effort!
Those who are smart and know a few words can work as apprentices. After three years, once they graduate, the money they will earn is beyond what ordinary people can imagine!
If there is no other way, you can still build the railway and take care of food, drink and housing. If you follow the project, you can still have enough food and clothing by throwing stones, and you can even give your family a few silver dollars in the New Year!
Industry has fragmented China's countryside. In those simple mountain villages, there are only one or two young people who go out to work. So this spring they will definitely make the whole village a storm!
On New Year's Eve, the migrant workers who braved the wind and snow returned to the village. Dogs all over the village were barking, and idle men from every household gathered around the migrant workers asking questions!
There were old people standing at the door of every house, looking at the two young men carrying huge bags and pointing!
It is impossible for a family that is not extremely poor to let its son go out to work. In ancient times, leaving one's hometown was the most ridiculous thing!
But today these migrant workers have slapped many people in the face!
The pocket was untied, and what rolled out were small bags of Siamese fragrant rice. Before the rice was cooked, the strange rice fragrance came out of the bag.
The villagers inside and outside the thatched house twitched their noses desperately. No one knew how to describe the aroma. This was a smell they had never smelled in their lives!
This huge pocket was like a treasure chest, and then I took out several pieces of oily bacon!
The room was filled with the sound of drooling. This is bacon! It is said that it will not go bad if stored for three to four years, and it will have a unique flavor when cooked!
There are some good things at the back. Is that long piece of pig intestines? How come there is only one buckle fastened to one length?
They don’t know what Western sausages are. Such good things are only sold in the capital and provincial capitals!
The parents, who have missed their son for a year and scolded him for a year, feel today is the most proud day in their lives. Their son is returning to his hometown in glory, and he has never eaten in the landlord's house.
The grandfather who was paralyzed on the bed hit his grandson on the head with a cane. It looked very strong, but it didn't hurt at all!
The old man feels sorry for his child who spends money indiscriminately, so why should he eat so much meat during the Chinese New Year? This is a crime!
Where is Siam? This fragrant rice is all for the emperor to eat. How can ordinary people be lucky enough to taste it?
Even when his grandson was beaten, he still smiled and stuffed the fruit candy produced in Naha into his grandfather's mouth. The unique aroma of tropical fruits was a taste that the old man had never had in his memory.
Life has been bitter all my life, and even if I have this hint of sweetness before I die, I am already satisfied!
The mountain village was in a state of excitement. Almost everyone in the village came to watch the peep show!
The workers brought back mercury glass mirrors, which were placed piece by piece on the kang cabinet. It could illuminate every eyebrow of a person so clearly that I couldn’t even imagine it!
The folks who have been smoking dry cigarettes all their lives don’t know how to smoke the Western paper cigarettes given by their children. The scent is in their noses!
The eldest girl in the village who had not left the pavilion also came over. Watching Faxiao, whom she had grown up with since childhood, eating the fruit candies given to her, her face was as red as the door curtain.
What day is this? These days are all like a heavenly palace! If I could get married, I would be blessed for the rest of my life!
At this moment, the most unruly girl has forgotten what she said before and what she swore! In the past, they would not marry these two poor families even to death!
"A prodigal son... that's a prodigal son... I went out to work for a year, working under the Japanese devils. I wonder how much fatigue I suffered and how much suffering I suffered!"
"You waste the copper coins you earned by being beaten and scolded like this? I'm about to die. I can't bear such a great blessing!"
The grandfather lying on the bed bit into the fruit candy and said angrily, how could he be scolding his grandson? The whole village could hear it and knew that he was showing off!
Before grandpa could finish his words, a piece of gray wolf skin without seams fell on grandpa's lap. The old man touched the shiny old wolf skin. He had nothing to say now, and tears fell down his face!
"Grandpa... didn't spend money blindly... he saved all his money!"
Crash...More than twenty silver coins with dragon patterns were scattered on the wolf skin, and the silver light from the oil lamp illuminated the whole room!
"Ah! Third child...you didn't go out to be a robber, did you? Or did you become a thief? How could you be so rich?" The whole village was dumbfounded.
"You are the one who is a thief! Your whole family is a thief! I earned this in the Capital Iron Works!"
"You looked down on me before, and you still dare to look down on me now? My master is a great craftsman of the Chinese ethnic group, and he knows the Emperor's Xin Jian!"
"He taught us crafts and how to read... I could earn four silver dollars a month in the steel factory, and he also took care of our food and drink!"
“The steel rails used on the Beijing-Hankow Railway were cast in the Jingshi Iron Works... That’s what we did!”
Ouch... Now the whole village is excited. New Year's Eve is always a sleepless night. Everyone comes to listen to storytelling. In the eyes of these people, the colorful world outside is simply an incredible paradise!
How tall are the city walls of the capital, how prosperous is the Nanchang Dashilan, and how dilapidated the three mountains and five gardens are? They have sneaked in to take a look. How can these common people imagine the royal bearing?
What telegraph lines, trains, steamships, rickshaws, gas lights... the outside world is completely incredible!
That night, there were ladies and aunts in the village who wanted to be matchmakers. Given the family conditions, they could pick the most beautiful girls from all over the country at random!
The lively New Year's Eve is always coming to an end. When midnight arrives, everyone has to go home for the New Year's Eve dinner even if they don't want to leave!
There were candy bars, sausages, cigarettes in their pockets... People dispersed one after another.
When everyone was gone, the grandson was still looking forward to the future while drinking sweet potato shochu. "Grandpa... keep these silver coins and build a tile-roofed house after the first month!"
"We can no longer live in this shabby thatched cottage. From now on, my grandson will honor you and live in a brand new big house... and when my grandson comes in, she will also honor you when she comes in!"
Grandpa smiled and wiped away his tears, but his expression soon became serious, "Grandson... I can't listen to you when it comes to building a house, you must listen to me!"
"We can't build a house next year, we have to buy food!"
