1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 3 Specialties of California
Early the next morning, the Cape Town arrived at the port of Panama.

This is a busy port with frequent merchant ships.

Gran Colombia, which Bolivar worked so hard to build, fell apart after only thirteen years.

At this time, Panama was part of the Republic of New Granada, which would later become Colombia.However, Panama was not established as an "independent" country from Colombia until 1903 under the intervention of the United States.

After finishing the work of weighing, Liang Yao felt relieved and seized the time to go ashore to purchase supplies.

Captain Frank was dissatisfied with the purchase of too many supplies. In the end, Frank reluctantly agreed to ship Liang Yao's supplies, but he had to pay five shillings for the transportation.

In Panama, Frank accepted a new batch of gold diggers.This made the already crowded Cape Town even more crowded.

There are three routes for the United States to go to California for gold mining. One is to go all the way west to Independence City, Missouri to complete the final supply, and to go to California after walking the last 1900 kilometers.

This route spans the entire North American continent, and if it goes well, it will take only half a year to reach California.

If you have some money, you can afford a ticket equivalent to US$60000-80000 for future generations. You can also choose to take a boat in the eastern United States and sail 13000 kilometers from South America to California, which takes about two months.This is the second route, which is relatively safe and fast.

As for the third route, it is a compromise. First, take a boat from the eastern part of the United States to eastern Panama, then cross the plague-ridden Central American isthmus, and take a downwind boat on the west coast of Panama to California.

These three routes are extremely dangerous, but for gold, humans are willing to take greater risks.

In the small port of San Francisco, a man in his thirties, Sam Brannan, is standing on the lighthouse overlooking the emerging city below.

It was he who single-handedly ignited the gold rush throughout the United States.

In 1848, before the gold rush, the non-Indian population of California, which was 1.4 square kilometers, was only [-], and the population of San Francisco, which is later known as San Francisco, was only [-] or [-] people.

Of California's 1.4 non-Indian population, another 7000 were Mexicans before 1848.

In just two years, California's population exploded fourteen-fold, and San Francisco quickly grew into a city with a population of nearly [-].

And he, Sam Brannan, went from a poor grocery store owner to a veritable king of California, the first millionaire west of the Mississippi River.

Brannan's purpose in going up to the port lighthouse was not to enjoy the pleasure of seeing the mountains, but to make sure he knew what was on every merchant ship that came into San Francisco so that he could make sure he was on the way. The status of the California monopoly.

The mast of the Cape Town soon appeared on the skyline not far away. Brannan stepped down from the lighthouse, boarded the boat that had already been prepared, and ordered his men to sail to the Cape Town.

"This is your first visit to California, Captain?"

Brannan boarded the Cape Town with a heavy box in his hands, and asked Frank with a happy face.

"What's the matter, wait until the ship enters the port and anchors."

Frank, whose voyage was interrupted, seemed very displeased, and he did not welcome this strange uninvited guest.

"This is a specialty of California. My name is Sam Brannan. It's a pleasure to meet you. What kind of goods are on your ship? Please contact me as soon as possible when your merchant ship comes to California."

Brannan spoke with such confidence that he seemed to be able to eat the entire cargo of the Cape Town.

Of course, as long as the merchant ship has the goods he wants, he is fully capable of buying the goods along with the ship.There was no richer man in all west of the Mississippi.

Frank felt a little disgusted with this nouveau riche western barbarian, but after opening the box of special products presented by Brannan, Frank, who had seen the world, couldn't help losing his composure.

"Oh my God! Is this gold?!"

Frank couldn't believe his eyes.

"100 ounces of gold is a little heavy. Your Excellency, if your hands are sore, you can put it down and talk about it."

Brannan is no stranger to this situation. Frank is not the first captain to lose his composure in front of Gold, nor will he be the last.

Liang Yao was stunned as he watched from the sidelines. It really wasn't Frank's fault. What's the concept of 100 ounces of gold?

One ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. After Britain officially adopted the gold standard in 1821, it was stipulated that each pound contained 7.32238 grams of pure gold.

That means Frank is holding £425.

What is the concept of 19 pounds in the 425th century?

The annual salary of sailors on the Cape Town ranges from 8 to 13 pounds.

The annual salary of high-end butlers of British aristocrats is about 20-35 pounds, and the annual salary of chefs is generally slightly lower than that of high-end butlers. As for the highest-paid executives, the annual salary is only about 50 pounds.

These people are already high-income people who live a very decent life in this era.

What is even more frightening is that it is by no means the first time that Brannan has been so proficient in bribery. Seeing how he can spend 100 ounces of gold as 100 cents, it seems that this huge sum of 100 ounces of gold is nothing to him. Not even the tip of the iceberg of his fortune.

"Not heavy, not heavy at all." Frank's voice was trembling like his hands holding gold, "California specialties are really wonderful, respectful Mr. Brannan, there are cocoa, Tobacco, sugar, and some cloth, what do you need?"

Brannan shook his head in disappointment, these were not what he needed most.

"I want all the cloth. Are there pans, shovels, picks, boots, oil lamps, wine, whale oil, etc. on board? Of course, it would be great if there were sexy women." Brannan said bluntly. Said what he wanted most.

Liang Yao had an ominous premonition. Of course, these things were on board, and Frank had personally seen the materials he purchased in Panama.

"Yes, of course there is."

Frank looked at Liang Yao and the gentle third officer on board.

Both Liang Yao and Sven knew that the price Brannan offered would be much lower than what they sold when they went ashore.

However, the mentality of the two is different, as long as they can make a fortune, no matter how much, he can accept it.

Liang Yao was different, he was going to stay in California to seek gold, and how much profit he could make would directly affect his initial development in California.

"Sir, how many of these do you have?"

Brannan first asked Sven. He only cared about the quantity and kept silent about the price. He thought he was sure to come up with a price that would satisfy Sven.

"500 frying pans, 200 picks, and 200 shovels." Sven answered Brannan's question with all his treasures.

In order to bring these things on board, he had a private fight with Frank, which now seemed to be worth it.

"Fifty cents for a pan, a dollar for a pick, and a dollar for a shovel. I'll take it all. Is the gentleman happy with the price? If the gentleman doesn't like dollars, I can pay in gold." Brannan Showed a relaxed and comfortable smile.

"Of course, I'm also a big fan of California specialties."

Sven is very satisfied with Brannan's quotation. Excluding the purchase cost, he can earn at least US$500, which is equivalent to 85 pounds, which is also a very considerable sum of money for him.

"Lady, how many items do you have that I need?"

Brannan had never met a person from the Qing Dynasty, and knew little about the Qing Dynasty. Liang Yaosheng had delicate features, a thin body, and was wearing a long robe with a long braid on the back of his head.

Liang Yao's attire, which is very strange to Americans, makes Brannan mistakenly think Liang Yao is a woman.

"It's a gentleman, a gentleman from the downcast nobles of the East." Sven stepped forward to rescue Liang Yao.

"It turned out to be a gentleman from the East, and I'm sorry for my insolence."

Brannan took off his hat and bowed his head slightly to apologize to Liang Yao. Seeing that Liang Yao's attitude was not as straightforward as the gentleman's, he also saw through Liang Yao's thoughts at a glance, and warned Liang Yao in a tone that could not be refused: "Sir, I know you are thinking What, but I also have to tell you that in California, especially in San Francisco, you can't sell these things without my permission."

People under the eaves had to bow their heads. Although Liang Yao was unwilling, he had to accept this reality. He could never afford to offend the smiling tiger in front of him, at least he couldn't afford to offend him now.

"Two hundred and thirty pans, ninety-five picks, and one hundred and twenty-three shovels." Liang Yao had no choice but to agree to sell these things to Brannan, but he also put forward a condition, "We want Keep some tools for your own use, and sell the rest to you."

Brannan frowned slightly, glanced at the group of Qing people with braids behind Liang Yao, whose clothes were completely different from those of the white people, and asked, "How many of you are there?"

"Nine people."

Hearing that Liang Yao only had nine people, Brannan's slightly frowned brows immediately relaxed: "No problem, it's still the same price. I'm always generous, so I'm at a disadvantage. According to two hundred and thirty pans, nine Fifteen picks, one hundred and twenty-three shovels to buy these goods from you, the total is 333 dollars, which is 13 ounces of gold, congratulations sir, you have made a fortune."

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Brannan. Like Second Mate Gentleman, I also prefer California specialties." Liang Yao clenched his fists in his sleeves, forcing a smile on his face.

The U.S. dollar in this period was no better than the U.S. dollar in later generations. At this time, the domestic currency system in the United States was more chaotic, and there was no paper money in the legal sense. The so-called paper money circulating in the market should be called bank notes or U.S. dollar bills in a strict sense.Issued by commercial banks chartered by the Central Bank of the First United States and state legislatures, its value is extremely unstable, and whether it can be converted into coins depends entirely on the reputation and gold reserves of these private banks.

Naturally, Liang Yao would not accept this kind of thing. Gold is the best currency, so it is better to just accept gold directly.

The Chinese laborers on the ship looked at Sven, who received 20 ounces of gold from Brannan, without any emotion. Instead, they were very red with Liang Yao, who only received 13 ounces of gold.Pointing and pointing at Liang Yao jealously, talking a lot.

"It's a pleasant cooperation. Welcome sir and your compatriots to take care of Brannan's grocery store in the future."

After the transaction was over, Liang Yao took the 13 ounces of gold and carry-on luggage he got off the Cape Town and set foot on the rough port.

After circling most of the world for three months and eighteen days, Liang Yao finally arrived in California in 1850.

The California, which has made countless gold diggers dream of it and is full of gold, began his gold mining journey.

Unlike the Chinese laborers who later signed contracts to lure them to the western United States to build railways, most of the Chinese who came to California in the early days were free laborers and businessmen.

Moreover, the United States is temporarily out of reach of the land that it just snatched from the Mexican government two years ago.There are no exorbitant taxes, and it is still a paradise for individual gold diggers and small gold panning organizations for the time being.

At the port, Liang Yao saw the outrageous prices in California. An egg is two dollars, a pound of rice is nine dollars, a pound of butter is $9, a pound of beer is $14, a blanket is $10, a pair of boots is $150, and a shirt $11
Damn, so 9 pounds 15p can't buy a shirt here?
Not to mention the US dollar in the mid-19th century, even the US dollar in the 21st century is sky-high.His lunch in the twenty-first century, a cheap Subway sandwich and a bottle of happy water, cost only seven or eight dollars.

Liang Yao made a rough estimate. If he and his compatriots want to survive in this place, at least one ounce of gold must be dug out of the ground every day. Of course, considering that Chinese people are more able to endure hardship, perhaps only half an ounce per day Gold can survive too, but that requires digging half an ounce of gold out of the ground every day.

In addition, there are even more terrifying things, that is, almost the entire San Francisco is the property of Sam Brannan, which means that he has a monopoly on everything here, and the prices of these necessities, he can do whatever he wants This is the scariest thing.

(End of this chapter)