1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 1 I floated across the sea

At the end of 1849, a merchant ship Cape Town sailed from Hong Kong to California, USA, drifting in the vast ocean.

The salty smell of the sea permeated through the cracks in the deck into the narrow and dark cabin.

What followed was continuous ups and downs. Liang Yao covered his mouth and almost turned out the bread and boiled vegetables that had just been swallowed in his stomach.

Liang Yao looked around. Under the dim light, there were sallow, weak, and bony faces.

"Third brother, your complexion is not very good."

A middle-aged man with braids on his head walked up to Liang Yao and asked with concern.

"Second uncle, I'm fine."

Liang Yao waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. This middle-aged man was surnamed Deng Mingyan, and he was once a small general of the Guangdong Navy.

Liang Yao's family background was much more prominent than that of Deng Yan's. Liang Yao's grandfather had been an official to the military department of the fifth rank, and the Liang family was considered a scholarly family in Xiangshan.And Deng Yan was just a fisherman, and even Deng Yan's general manager was helped by the Liang family to help him from the foreign committee to the general manager.

Only this time, Deng Yan was dissatisfied with Shangguan's forced acceptance of his daughter as a concubine, killed Shangguan, and fled overseas with his family.

The Liang family cheated in the provincial examination in Guangdong. Not only did the grandfather lose his official position, but even the whole family's life was saved by selling the family property. The Liang family also fell into ruin and inevitably went bankrupt.

Although cheating in scientific examinations was common in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, once the incident happened, it was considered lucky to be able to save the lives of the whole family.

"It's the same with your Liang family. The son born to the main wife is a son, but the son born to the concubine is not a son?
I heard that Citigroup found a gold mine. If you, an [-]-year-old boy, go to San Francisco to dig gold, why don't you let the boss and the second child go?
You are also selected as a scholar, and your ability to read is no worse than the boss or the second child."

Looking at his young nephew, Deng Yan's eyes were full of pity, and he complained for his nephew, and of course for his sister who was a concubine in the Liang family.

Talking about the scientific examination, Deng Yan's wife, Mrs. Zhou, hastily winked at Deng Yan, signaling Deng Yan not to continue talking, after all, this is the sore point of the Liang family.

This is the sore spot of the Liang family, but not Liang Yao's sore spot. In this desperate and suffocating era, it might not be a bad thing for him to leave his homeland and go to California to start a career.

In his last life, in order to get rid of the bitterness of involution, he also traveled from the first-tier cities in China to Wall Street in the United States, and became a stock trader at the bottom.

I never thought that there would be no most rolls, only more rolls, and the intensity of work continued unabated. After arriving on Wall Street, the working hours changed from 996 to 007, until finally he died suddenly on the ferry going to work in Manhattan.
Perhaps in this life, in this virgin land of capital full of golden opportunities, he can show his talents, make a difference, become a legendary tycoon of a generation, and live a life that he could not have imagined in his previous life.

Suddenly, a woman's shrill scream in the cabin brought Liang Yao's thoughts back from his misty fantasies to reality.

Liang Yao followed the prestige and saw his cousin Deng Ying, who was still in shock, curled up and snuggled up to Mrs. Zhou, wiping her tears.Behind Deng Ying are several ugly smiling faces.

"The little girl's film is so juicy, and her buttocks feel more comfortable than sister Yao. It's no wonder that Mr. Zhang Qian fell in love with your Deng family. Why don't you come to San Francisco and marry you as a mother-in-law and live together? I don't mind you guys." The Deng family are fugitives."

The person who spoke was Wu Daqi, a wretched young man, a local ruffian from Xiangshan. Because of his bad reputation and the hardships of the world, he couldn’t get along in the local area. He heard that Citigroup had discovered a golden mountain, so he pooled some money with a dozen of his accomplices to buy a boat. Tickets to Citigroup give it a go.

"Bah! You mangy dog!"

Deng Yan was furious, and he raised his fist and was about to charge forward.In the cabin, except for the five Deng family children who were fleeing together to help, the rest of the neighbors and fellow villagers all looked like they had nothing to do with themselves, turning their heads to one side as if they hadn't seen anything.

Seeing that there were not many people on Deng Yan's side, and that there were many people on his side, Wu Daqi became more confident, and laughed unscrupulously with his hands on his hips.

Liang Yao was not used to taking a sea boat, and Deng Yan took care of him a lot along the way. Of course, his cousin couldn't stand idly by when his cousin was bullied.

Although he has a brain from a later generation in his thirties, his body is that of an eighteen-year-old young scholar with no strength to restrain his hands. Wu Daqi and the others are numerous and powerful, and they must suffer in a fight.

"You, a scholar who has no strength to restrain a chicken, are also here to join in the fun?"

Seeing Liang Yao standing up and approaching unsteadily, Wu Daqi said disdainfully.

In the past, he would never have dared to speak to the son of an official and gentry in such a tone.

Thinking of this, Wu Daqi couldn't help but straighten his waist by three points, and he became very proud.

"Third brother, let us rough people handle this kind of matter, you'd better go back." Deng Yan persuaded in a low voice, Liang Yao would be satisfied if he had such a heart.

"How can I say that I am also half of the Deng family, how can I ignore my own family being bullied?" Liang Yao said loudly.

Liang Yao's words won the favor of several Deng's children, but Wu Daqi still had a look of disdain: "What do you care about?"

The green-skinned ruffians laughed along, not paying attention to Liang Yao at all.

"Apologize to my second uncle and cousin, otherwise."

"Otherwise what?"

"Throw you into the sea and feed the fish!"

Liang Yao said very seriously, and then there was a burst of laughter, obviously Wu Daqi and the others didn't take Liang Yao's words seriously.

"Just you?"

"Last month, the ghost suspected that Chen Awei was infected with the plague. The ghost threw him into the sea without saying a word. In the eyes of those ghosts and water guides, we are not human beings at all, but white silver and golden gold. .”

Speaking of this, the smiles of Wu Daqi and others finally froze, and they began to chew on Liang Yao's words.

Although I don't know if the boy's words have the weight to make the ghost throw him into the sea, but it is true that the ghost threw Chen Awei into the sea. Thinking of the sound of splashing into the water, Wu Daqi still has lingering fears.

And on the whole boat, apart from the water guide who works for the ghost, the only one who can talk to the ghost is this brat.

"Liang Yao, Captain Frank is looking for you."

The water pilot Zhang Bingliang stamped his feet on the deck, poked his head out and shouted to Liang Yao in the cabin, and then left holding his nose in disgust, not wanting to stay in this ghostly place for a moment.

"Whether it's an apology or a dead body, you can't leave a whole body, it's up to you."

Liang Yao left the cabin without looking back after saying a harsh word.

Liang Yao naturally knew why Captain Frank was looking for him.

The weigher on the Cape Town fell ill while passing through Malacca, and Frank had to leave him nearby in Singapore.Sanitary conditions are limited in this era, and there are too many uncertainties in long-distance voyages, and crew attrition is common.

Frank originally planned to recruit a weightlifter in Singapore, but Liang Yao volunteered that he could be a weightlifter.

After all, all he has now is the eight Spanish gargoyles that his mother stuffed into him before leaving, and the monthly salary of ordinary crew members on this ship is much higher than this figure.

Liang Yao wanted to earn some money to buy some supplies. California is still a barren land, and supplies are extremely scarce.Even if there was, the price of goods was extremely high due to the impact of the gold rush, and with the eight Spanish silver dollars in his hand, he probably could barely eat a few full meals there.

At first, Frank refused to hire Liang Yao, who had no experience, as a weigher. Although Liang Yao showed him his English proficiency and accounting ability, Frank still shook his head nonono, until Liang Yao offered an offer that he could not refuse. The condition is that he only needs half of the salary of the weigher, and then Frank burst into a long-lost smile, nodded and said a long-lost yes.

"If there is no accident, the Cape Town will arrive in Panama tomorrow. Here is the list for tomorrow's shipment. Go to the cargo hold to check the goods."

The captain's cabin at the stern is spacious, bright and clean. Although it is on the same ship as the so-called "cabin" below, it is like two different worlds.

With previous experiences, Frank felt very at ease with Liang Yao, and he even proposed the idea of ​​hiring Liang Yao as a crew member.After all, he often travels to China, and it would be of great benefit to him to have someone on board who is proficient in English and the local language.

The point is that this young man from the Qing Dynasty is really cheap, and he is neat and handsome in his work. Hiring him is definitely a good deal with no loss.

"Tomorrow we will arrive in Panama. If only Panama could open a canal, we would be able to reach California by now."

Liang Yao is no stranger to Panama, but now there is no shadow of the Panama Canal.When the canal was completed and opened to navigation, the Qing Dynasty was dead, and the First World War was in full swing.

The people of the Qing Dynasty in this period were still ignorant of the outside world, and very few people could name the names and capitals of several major Western countries.

Arrogant and ignorant, this is Frank's view of the Qing people in this period. It is beyond Frank's expectation that this young man from the Qing Dynasty knows Panama so well.

In the early years, President Bolivar of Gran Colombia had the idea of ​​digging the Panama Canal, and the subsequent Republic of New Granada also proposed to let Britain, France, the United States, Spain and other countries work together to dig the canal, but in the end it was abandoned due to various factors. .

"Yes, when you finish tomorrow's work, your work will be over. This is your salary." Captain Frank took out a bag of coins and threw them on the table, squinting his eyes and showing an unconcealable smile on the corner of his mouth.

"From Singapore to Panama, you served the Cape Town for a total of fifty-seven days. I am always generous. I paid you two months' compensation for your fifty-seven days of service. This is what you deserve for 13 days. reward."

Frank is a typical example of getting cheap and acting good. The contract they signed at the beginning was a monthly contract of 26 shillings for the whole voyage including short-term allowances, which is the total of normal weighers.According to the contract, the money was also paid by the British Steamship Company to which the Cape Town belongs.

Liang Yao weighed the 13 shillings in the money bag, and knew in his heart that the rest of the money naturally went into the pocket of Frank, a benevolent man.

However, Liang Yao had no intention and was unable to argue with Frank, so he just made a request to go ashore to purchase some supplies to California tomorrow.Frank, who was in the right mood, readily agreed to this reasonable request.

13 shillings and 8 Spanish silver dollars, this is all Liang Yao's property, his first pot of gold.

Liang Yao was thinking about how to spend the money, and his understanding of the history of the California Gold Rush was also very superficial.

It's not that the people of later generations don't understand the history of the United States, but that their understanding focuses on World War II and the United States that became the world's hegemon after the war, but they know little about the United States before its rise.

Liang Yao was no exception. He was familiar with World War II and every major military operation that the United States participated in and the economic policies it implemented after World War II, but he only had a superficial and vague understanding of the United States at this time.

After thinking for a while, Liang Yao decided to use the money to buy pans, shovels, picks and other tools for gold panning.

The first millionaire in the history of the western United States, an ordinary store owner, Sam Brannan, started his business by monopolizing gold panning tools. He bought these things and sold them in California, and the profits were absolutely considerable.

　Internally signed works, you can invest with confidence.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)