Wild North America 1846

Chapter 22 Money Matters

Two days later, which was already the eighth day after the war, the Shanhaiguan camp was officially built.

It was a lively day, and although the windows of the camp had not yet been installed with glass, more than a hundred people belonging to the armed cavalry of the Datang Society still moved in happily.

Here, from now on, it will be the nest of the Datang Society.

After the excitement
The logistics manager Gai Wangshan found Li Cha with a sad face. At this time, Li Cha was in the tall and spacious living room, carefully maintaining the revolver with gun oil, and polished it to a shiny finish.

The muskets of this era are all made of black gunpowder, and gunpowder residue will remain after every shot, so it must be carefully maintained so that there will be no mistakes at critical times.

"President, are you busy?"

"Oh... Is there anything, just tell me if you have anything to do."

"It is such a president. The task you entrusted to me is to prepare a batch of weapons and equipment. I am a little incompetent. I have not done this well. I am here to accuse you."

"What exactly is going on?"

"It's like this. The Agreement Hall is spreading rumors everywhere in the new town. Any shop that sells guns to our Datang Club is openly opposing the Agreement Hall. They will never let it go."

"Hehehe...With the small stature of Agreement Hall, I'm afraid he can't keep his word in the new town, can those white shopkeepers listen to him?" Li Cha laughed when he heard it.

Not to mention the Agreement Hall, even John Sutter dare not boast that he has completely controlled the business of the new town.

Guns and ammunition are not a big deal in San Francisco at all. They are almost like ordinary daily necessities. They are sold in various grocery stores and specialized weapon stores. There are at least twenty or thirty stores.
Gai Wangshan bowed humbly and replied with a flattering smile;

"That's the reason, but some white shopkeepers who felt that they couldn't afford to offend, bluntly refused the business, and they didn't want to be troubled.

There are also some shopkeepers who saw the signs, and directly called out several times the high price. The price of a Type 130 smoothbore rifle was [-] US dollars, and they were neither responsible for delivery nor free bullets. .

The little one went for three days in a row, but he didn't even buy a gun, and the grain and oil shops in the new town generally raised prices for the supplies we would buy in the lobby, and the prices were ridiculously high.

Small incompetence, please punish the president. "

"Oh……"

Li Cha stopped what he was doing, wiped his hands with a cloth on one side, stood up and walked around the room a few steps, a sarcastic smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth; The new town is getting more and more interested. Do the math, how many days do you have enough supplies at home?"

"I used to have some stocks, plus the cattle and sheep grazing in the valley, and the fruits and vegetables planted, and it would be no problem to persist for a month. Even if the vegetable oil and kerosene are gone, it is really impossible to kill a few fat pigs, and boil some fat."

"Okay, then you don't need to go to the new town to buy for the time being, and stick to it until the weather gets warmer."

"I understand, little one. There is one more thing, that is, we don't have much money. Last time you waved your hand at the Shanhaiguan inauguration ceremony, you got rid of this month's monthly fee, and there is only less than 300 US dollars left in the account."

In the words, Gai Wangshan revealed a trace of disappointment.

There are more than 1400 overseas Chinese living in Grape Valley, and dozens of them have recently moved in. They pay a monthly interest of 10 US dollars, which is more than 5 US dollars. With the abundant purchasing power of today's US dollars, it is not a small amount of money.

In other states of the United States, ordinary workers only earn 20 to 25 dollars a year, which is less than two dollars a month on average.

From this point of view, the monthly fee of $5 a month is too high.

actually not
This is San Francisco, where gold mines were discovered. For ordinary gold diggers, it is normal to find more than ten ounces of gold a month.

Those who are lucky can find so much in one day.

With a large population and a shortage of supplies, there is an abundance of gold, which has resulted in abnormally high prices in San Francisco, which are far from comparable to other regions.

The pan commonly used by gold diggers costs 7 cents in other regions, but here it costs 30 cents. In less than two or three years, as the news of the discovery of gold mines in San Francisco spread like wildfire around the world, people from Gold diggers from all over the world are pouring in, and a pan can be sold for up to $8, which is 110 times the profit!
same situation

A pair of boots, which sell for 65 cents elsewhere in North America, fetched $2.5 here, and three years later at the height of the gold rush, they could fetch as much as $[-].

A shovel is sold for 50 cents in other parts of North America, but it costs eight dollars here, 16 times the price in other regions, and the peak can be sold for $36 after three years.

What kind of profiteering is this?
To put it bluntly, selling opium is even worse.

If history has not changed, three years later, at the height of the San Francisco Gold Rush, an egg could sell for three dollars, a pound of rice for $8, and a glass of beer for $10. Not so exaggerated.

In 1849, Lawrence, a reporter from the Denver Chronicle, followed the gold rush to conduct in-depth interviews and came to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the report
He described a breakfast with a friend in San Francisco that included bread, cheese, butter, and sardines, along with two bottles of beer.

This ordinary breakfast cost him a total of 43 dollars. Then, he decisively gave up his job as a newspaper reporter and became a gold digger.

Now, no one outside knows that gold has been discovered in San Francisco, and that the true gold rush is yet to come, which has become a well-kept secret in the region.

Knowing all this, Li Cha plans to join hands with Fangcaodi to formally enter into the development of the new town after removing the big block in the way of the Agreement Hall. Opening a grocery store is almost the only way.

Where is this grocery store!

It is clearly a mint that is advancing every day, accumulating huge amounts of wealth in a steady stream, who can't be envious?
Wealth is an indispensable material basis for the development of a party's power. If you want to make Tanghui bigger and stronger, sufficient funds are the prerequisite.

Under the pressure of the prestige mission, Richard had to do everything possible to expand his influence, and started the banner of the Tang Dynasty. His eyes had already set his sights on San Francisco's business.

The reason why he didn't move was just accumulating strength.

Under the strict military training of French instructor Mike Rabiot, the current team of gunmen of the Datang Club has gone in good shape, shooting training is also in progress, and they can undertake basic defensive tasks.

In time, it will be a good military force if it is pulled out.

Hearing Gai Wangshan talk about the difficulties, Li Cha couldn't help grinning, showing a mouthful of white and neat teeth, and said softly; "Old Gai, don't complain, and first arrange the logistics with the money in hand." , let the brothers eat and drink enough to train every day, money matters...is that still a matter?"

"what……"

Gai Wangshan was dumbfounded when he heard this, swallowed what he wanted to say, and could only shake his head and walk away.

(End of this chapter)