The sun never sets in America

Chapter 55 Journey to the Far East 2
In the dim Pacific Ocean, more than a dozen sailing merchant ships with kerosene lamps are moving in an orderly manner on the vast sea. The distance between the merchant ships is quite different, like a well-trained army. Same.

In the sky, because it had rained during the day and the sun appeared, it was exceptionally clear. Dense stars dotted the night sky on the lustrous ink-colored chessboard, as if a chess game had not yet been played, but also seemed to have been played...

After people watch it, they can't stop, they want to catch the stars with their hands, imitate that god and finish the game of chess.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

Because of the lights, a large number of fish followed behind the fleet. These fish seemed to have found a guiding light and kept following behind the fleet. They had been following for several hours, but no one was seen. Any sign of looseness.

On the ship, it was another scene. Except for the helmsman who was still controlling the direction and the sailors repairing the mast, most people had fallen asleep. Except for some guys who neither worked nor slept, they were still on the empty deck. Wandering around, I would look up from time to time to look at the dazzling starry sky, and then sigh: "Human beings are so insignificant."

Then he continued to wander aimlessly on the deck, for no reason other than that he couldn't sleep.

"Master Hu is so elegant, stargazing here!"

Hu Junding, who was sitting on the deck, heard the voice coming from behind him and immediately turned around, only to see Wan Fang wearing a coat walking towards him with a smile.

"Master Wan, you can't sleep either?" Hu Junding looked at Wan Fang sitting next to him and asked with a smile.

"I can't sleep, I can't sleep at all." Wan Fang looked up at the gorgeous night sky, and then answered Hu Junding's question, "When I think that we are going to the Far East this time, I can't make up my mind." When Wan Fang mentioned the Far East, he had a complicated expression on his face. After all, for the Chinese who have come to America since childhood, the Far East was just the hometown in the mouths of their parents, although every time his father mentioned them From my hometown in Shandong, I talked endlessly about the jujube trees, persimmon trees, and even green onions in my hometown.

But unfortunately, before his father found an Indian woman to continue his marriage, their family ate in a collective cafeteria after their mother died. Most of the food they ate was noodles, steamed buns, etc., which were suitable for being in the Liujiabao Canyon. The vegetables grown are, in addition, the meat that can be eaten after a short period of time after going through the most difficult year at the beginning.

The main reason is that Liujiapu has fewer people and more land, so it can have a lot of food to feed more livestock. This has caused Wan Fang's generation to have basically no shortage of nutrition. Even during this period, many landowners in agricultural countries Even better.

Another benefit of rich nutrition is that this generation is much taller than the previous generation. If the average height of the previous generation was a little over 1.6 meters, then this generation has basically grown taller. Three to five centimeters, which is very close to 1.7 meters, and a few have even reached a height of more than 1.7 meters. This is already a good height in this era of underdeveloped industry and underdeveloped diet...

You may have noticed that even the American soldiers during World War II were only a little over 1.6 meters tall. 1.7 meters is considered tall, let alone other countries, especially Japan, which is really small.

"Master Hu, have you been to China?" Wan Fang suddenly asked Hu Junding. After all, in his impression, Hu Junding came from Nanyang, and Nanyang is the closest to the mainland of China, so he must have been to China.

"China?" Hu Junding's expression became complicated when he mentioned China. In his memory, his father missed China just like Wan Fang's father. He told him about the days in his hometown in Fujian, but he never went back for a day. I only remember that I had a cousin in Fuzhou and a cousin I had never met.

The reason for this is related to the influence of his childhood. When he was a child, he could often hear stories of white people bullying Chinese people, and even instigating local indigenous people to massacre Chinese people... Every time he thought of it, he was afraid and hateful, and he was afraid that his family would be like this. Those Chinese villages that were massacred by the natives were ordinary, but they also had deep hatred in their hearts for the massacre of Chinese by white people and natives. After all, in East India, they were the only Chinese working, and almost all taxes came directly or indirectly from the Chinese. They asked themselves that they had done nothing wrong to the Dutch, but the Netherlands just wanted to have trouble with them. Not only that, they often provoked conflicts between the Chinese and the local indigenous people.

No matter what happens, the Chinese will be threatened by the Dutch whites and the East Indian natives. They are caught in the middle and feel as uncomfortable as they want.

And when the Nanyang Chinese turned to their mother country, the Qing Dynasty, for help, they only got one sentence in exchange:

"People who are foreigners are not Chinese."

In one sentence, everyone stopped thinking about asking for help from the Qing Dynasty, and from then on they became obedient citizens of the foreigners.

Of course, a big businessman like the Hu family would not suffer the fate of being massacred. On the contrary, business was getting better year by year. The local Dutch officials were also polite and even awarded his father Hu Lingzhi a medal.

But in Hu Junding's view, this was a complete disgrace. Not only did they hand over half of the money that their family had worked so hard for a year, but they also had to spend part of it to deal with local corrupt officials in the Netherlands. This was not what it meant to be a dog.

Every time he mentioned this, his father Hu Lingzhi always said the same thing: "What's wrong with being a dog for foreigners? Some people want to do it, but they can't find one. What's more, our family is an ordinary dog, so it's okay anyway." What a wolf dog!!" Then his father would say the same old things again, like why it's better to die than to live, and when someone is under the roof, he has to bow his head.

Every time he thought of these words, Hu Junding felt a burst of shame and resentment. By the way, he also began to hate the so-called orthodoxy of the Qing Dynasty.

"I have no idea about China or the Far East." Hu Junding replied to Wan Fang indifferently, leaving Wan Fang wondering where Hu Junding was offended.

"Actually, I don't have much impression. The most impressive thing is that people there all have braids." Wan Fang remembered what his father told him when he was a child. Before his father joined the pirates, he had braids. This braid is still He cut it after being wanted by the Guangdong Yamen. "Of course, our current short hair is also learned from foreigners." Wan Fang touched the slightly longer short hair on his head and replied to Hu Junding with a smile.

In fact, short hair was originally cut by Chinese imitating white colonists in the Far Southeast, but they had no control over it anyway.

Liujiabao cut short hair on a large scale after arriving in America to make it easier to fight. Therefore, under Liu Yan's call and leadership, short hair became a mainstream, even for the subsequent naturalized Indians and honorary Chinese. He also imitated the Chinese from Liujiabao and cut his hair short. Not to mention, he was originally called a white person with short hair.

"If you ask me, these braids are like shackles on us Chinese people. They must be cut off!!" Hu Junding suddenly said loudly to Wan Fang, his expression was quite serious, and it didn't look like he was speaking out of anger.

"Master Hu is joking. No matter how bad the Qing Dynasty is, he will never die..." Wan Fang glanced at Hu Junding in surprise, and then replied with a smile. In Wan Fang's view, although the Qing Dynasty was rubbish, the fate of the country was not over yet. , maybe even in their generation, they won’t be able to see the Qing Dynasty fall! !
"So incompetent and weak, flattering superiors and bullying subordinates, there is no reason to survive..." Hu Junding replied to Wan Fang with a firm expression, "I think the Qing Dynasty will end sooner or later, and it will have to fall in the hands of us Han people. "Hu Junding continued to reply to Wan Fang with firm eyes. In Hu Junding's view, it is unnatural for a court like the Qing Dynasty to survive! ! !

Wan Fang didn't say a word, but took a deep look at Hu Junding, and then continued to look up and observe the stars in the sky.

After seeing that Wan Fang ignored him, Hu Junding also set his sights on the sky. However, compared to Wan Fang who was admiring the stars, Hu Junding was full of things about China, the East Indian Dutch, indigenous people, and Nanyang Chinese.

As he thought about it, his eyes gradually became firmer, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

.............................................

the next day……

squeak... squeak...

In the clear blue sky, a row of seagulls were circling over the fleet, and their chirping sound woke up those who were still sleeping in the cabin.

On the deck, several sailors who got up early in the morning were wiping every corner of the deck with rags. This is the first and most important thing they want to look at during the day, and that is hygiene.

swoosh...

"Damn, don't let me catch these disgusting smelly birds. If I catch them, they will have to be roasted." On the deck, the sailor who was squatting on the ground to wipe the dust was hit by a few drops of bird droppings. Butt, while cursing, he wiped his pants with a rag.

"Hurry up and wipe it, Mr. Harling will be up soon." The old sailor, while wiping the barrel, greeted several young sailors, "If Mr. Harling sees even a trace of dust, you will wait. It's bad luck." The old sailor threatened the young sailors who were still trying to wipe the gaps. This was not because the old sailors deliberately frightened these new sailors, but Harlin was indeed like this. He not only managed the fleet, It is extremely strict, even hygiene is carried out in accordance with the standards of the British Royal Navy...

In Haring's words...

"You can't expect your customers to see a miserable hull and a cabin filled with the smell of rancid garbage. If I were him, I would switch to another company immediately." This is Harlem's way of doing business, and it is also his way of life. The principle is that no matter how poor and embarrassed you are, you must appear bright and beautiful in front of others, because only in this way can you get more chances of success... No one will give an opportunity to a slovenly, unshaven person, unless He is a fool, or he is God! !
Of course, in the eyes of Harlem, a not-so-devout Christian, the difference between God and a fool is often only one, that is, God lives in people’s hearts, while the fool is right in front of them! !

"Mr. Harlem..."

"boss……"

"boss……"

Harlem had just walked out of the captain's room where he was resting. The sailors on the deck and washing in the cabin all greeted him. The only ones who did not greet him were the Liujiabao guards who boarded the ship. In this regard, Harlem could only You can think that the other person does not understand English.

"Good morning, guys!!" Harlem greeted the sailors around him.

"Good morning, boss..."

As soon as Harlin finished speaking, there was a response immediately.

thump... thump...

Harlem did not go to have breakfast, but came to a room on the second floor of the cabin where Hu Junding lived, stretched out his hand, and knocked gently.

squeak……

As soon as the door opened, the face of Hu Junding who had just woken up from sleep was revealed. After seeing Harin in his sleepy eyes, he immediately became excited.

"Good morning, Mr. Harlem." Hu Junding immediately greeted Harlem with a fluent London accent.

"Master Hu, good morning." Harlem also responded to Hu Junding in English, but compared to Hu Junding's authentic London accent, Harlem's English always has a rural flavor, probably because his family is originally a farmer. Bar.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Harlin asked Hu Junding politely.

"It's not bad. Thank you for the hospitality, Mr. Harlin." Thinking of the duck quilt in his room, Hu Junding replied to Harlin with some gratitude. After all, if it weren't for the other party, he might have been a little nervous in such a cold weather last night. Can't bear it.

"Master Hu, just get used to it." Harin heard this and nodded to Hu Junding, "Would you like to have breakfast with me? I just asked someone to make black tea." Harin invited Hu Junding to have breakfast with him.

"Then thank you Mr. Harlin." Hu Junding glanced at Harlin, who had a kind face, and then followed Harlin to the restaurant that belonged to Harlin himself.

The restaurant is not too big, and is even about the same size as the cabin where Hu Junding stayed last night. Of course, on this merchant ship, where land and space are at a premium, in addition to a large amount of cargo in the bottom cabin, there are also several floors above, where dozens of people live. It is normal for the sailors and gunners, plus the 100 or so of them, to have a smaller space. They cannot move into a cabin large enough to live just for the sake of eating, right? ?
Harlem is stupid and would not do such a thing.

"Master Hu, please!" Harin used a knife to put a layer of blueberry jam on the bread, and then handed it to Hu Junding who was drinking black tea opposite.

"Thank you..." After Hu Junding took the bread, he thanked Harin and started to eat it. It was obvious that after a night of stargazing, Hu Junding was indeed hungry.

"Master Hu, we will arrive at the Sandwich Islands this afternoon." Harlin said to Hu Junding while spreading jam on his bread, "This archipelago is mainly composed of one large island, surrounded by some small islands with good geography. , there is an indigenous kingdom called Hawaii on the island." Harlem introduced the situation on the island to Hu Junding. Hu Junding listened carefully while eating bread, not missing a word.

"The current monarch is a man named Kamehameha III." Harlem knows the situation of the Kingdom of Hawaii very well. After all, this is also a large transit area in the Pacific. Since the British discovered it, there are people like Hawai'i every year. Businessmen like Lin passed through Hawaii.

Of course, the current number is still small.

After all, the core of world trade is still in the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Far East, and even the Cape of Good Hope, not the so-called Pacific Ocean.

If we say that during the Spanish Kingdom, the Pacific Ocean still connected them with the Philippines, and transported silver from the Americas to China to purchase porcelain and silk. It can be said that most of the world's silver at that time, a large part of it, flowed to the Far East. Especially China.

Therefore, even though the location of Hawaii, or the Sandwich Islands, is so important, no one cares about it in this era. Even the British, who discovered it as early as the [-]th century, did not care about this island. Unlike later For decades, the United States and Japan have fiercely competed to send immigrants to Canada, which is completely different.

Even if Haring hadn't been a shipping businessman and had traveled to the Far East several times, he might not even know what Hawaii was and what the Sandwich Islands were.

"Approximately where on the map is it?" After hearing this, Hu Junding suddenly became interested in the Sandwich Islands and the Kingdom of Hawaii, and then asked Harlin.

"Probably here." Harlin stood up and pointed to a world map hanging in the restaurant. He pointed at a place not too far in front of the west coast of North America. In fact, on this map, there was not even a The existence of Hawaii, even Harlem, relies on memory to roughly find the location of Hawaii.

"Hawaii, Sandwich Islands??" Hu Junding put down the almost-eaten bread in his hand and stared at the place where Harlin had just pointed. He didn't know what he was thinking, and his eyes kept flashing.

"Mr. Harlin, besides passing through Hawaii, where else should we pass?" Hu Junding looked away from the blank space where Hawaii was, and then continued to ask Harin about the places he might experience along the way.

"After passing the Sandwich Islands, we will probably go north and enter Japan." Haring replied to Hu Junding, "Of course, in my opinion, Japan is a country very similar to you Chinese, even the writing is similar." After Harlin mentioned Japan, he suddenly remembered the Japanese characters he had seen. Although some characters seemed different from Chinese characters, the general feeling was that they should be the same characters.

"I know Japan. It is a country that has learned from us since the Tang Dynasty." Hu Junding still has a general understanding of Japan's history. When he went to North America, he also passed through Japan. Although it was different from this time, mainly along the Walk along the continental shelf, pass through the Arctic Ocean, enter Canada, and then enter the west coast.

"Mr. Harin, our government has given instructions to us, and we hope that we can rest in Japan for a longer period of time." Hu Junding remembered Liu Peng's instructions when he came, and then said to Harin.

"Okay, absolutely okay." Harlin heard this, thought about it, and then agreed.

(End of this chapter)