African Nationhood

Chapter 19 The unexpected harvest farm

Governor Freire puffed out the smoke and looked at Shi Jintang with a relaxed expression, "What other business is there?"

"Of course it's a population business, and my Nanhua Company is currently too short of population.

The white employees wouldn't approve of me, and the black natives were too stupid.

So I want Sir to help me introduce merchants to transport a group of Qing people here. "

Trade between Britain and the Qing Dynasty became the norm after the Opium War in 1840. The British Empire gradually penetrated the Qing Dynasty through the comprador class.

What's even more outrageous is that the Englishman Robert Hurd controlled the customs and taxation of the Qing Dynasty from 1861 to 1908.

From this point, we can also see how incompetent the Qing Dynasty was. The central financial core of the country has been controlled by foreigners for a long time. How could the Qing Dynasty be independent and self-reliant?
  Let’s talk about the British human trafficking to the Qing Dynasty. Starting in 1854, British businessmen began to traffic girls from the Qing Dynasty to make profits around the world.

These girls are called "pig flowers", and the "pig flowers" correspond to the earlier "pig piggy" business of selling Chinese to the Americas.

Since the discovery of the Rand Gold Mine, white gold mine owners have been in urgent need of a large number of laborers to engage in mining, and the black natives are too stupid.

British businessmen naturally turned their attention to the Chinese in the Qing Dynasty and began to engage in the "pig piglet" trade.

Since 1887, the British have successively transported 6.3 people from the Qing Dynasty to South Africa to work as mining slaves.

White gold mine owners treat Chinese and black natives equally, but Chinese are much smarter and more resourceful than black natives, so white gold mine owners prefer to use Chinese as mine slaves.

As self-government in the South African Union became the norm, the trade introduced by the indigenous white people to the Chinese slowly stopped.

Now that Shi Jintang took the initiative to mention it, the British naturally couldn't help in vain, so he asked: "I can help you transport Qing people, but how much can you pay for each Qing person?"

"15-30 pounds, 15 pounds for children regardless of gender, 30 pounds for adults."

The domestic population trade process of the Qing Dynasty was to collect people from the interior of the Qing Dynasty and then transport them to Macau and Hong Kong for unified storage.

If the quantity is sufficient, it will be shipped by one ship. The price will vary depending on the distance to the destination.

An adult male can get lucky with as little as forty taels of silver, but it can cost several hundred taels.

The Americas and Europe are long-distance destinations, and southern Africa is naturally mid-distance.

The pound sterling is still very strong these days, and 1 pound can be exchanged for 4 taels of silver.

As large silver mines were discovered one after another in the Americas, and the European and American powers established the gold standard, the exchange rates between the two gradually increased.

By 1890, the exchange rate between the two reached 1:6.2. The Qing Dynasty did not benefit from the decline in the silver exchange rate. Instead, it suffered serious blood loss from the powerful European and American powers, and was eventually replaced by the Republic of China.

That's a long way to go. It's only £15 for a toddler and £30 for an adult. It's a great deal!
  At this price, each Qing citizen could earn 1 to 1 times the profit.

After some calculations secretly, Governor Freire nodded with a smile, "I can help you arrange this business.

The population can be transported as quickly as one month, and if it is slower, it can take up to two months. "

……

The merchant ship from New York did not keep Shi Jintang waiting for long, and arrived in Cape Town in mid-April.

As the merchant ship arrived at the port, the Cape Colony government readily delivered the goods.

At the same time, the colonial government kept its promise and rushed to the Rand Basin with Shi Jintang and his 120 guards.

Since the Transvaal Republic was incorporated into the Cape Colony for such a short period of time, there was no railway going inland after Bloemfontein.

Shi Jintang and the others could only hire local carriages to help transport food and tools and continue moving forward.

After several days of trekking, a group of more than 200 people finally reached their destination.

The area selected by Shi Jintang was the location of the Zhongland Gold Mine in the future.

Preliminary measurements of the land include more than 32,000 acres.

This land is called "Ikobi" by the indigenous people, which means gold. This area is fertile soil for agricultural cultivation, with rich water resources and fertile soil. The Boers have cultivated a large number of farms here.

However, the place was sold to Shi Kam Tong by the colonial government, so colonial soldiers needed to do some "cleaning" work before the handover.

Of course, the so-called "cleaning up" is not a cordial communication between the two parties sitting down and having a cup of tea.

Instead, they rushed directly into the Boer farms and forced the Boer farmers to make a deal at a quarter or one-third of the actual farm price.

Without a deal, the indigenous soldiers were allowed to wreak havoc, with crops on the farm knocked down and livestock shot to death.

After some operations, no Boer farmer dared to fight to the end.

Therefore, in just a few days, the land of Shi Jintang was handed over.

Shi Jintang watched the whole process with a cold eye and lamented the honesty and trustworthiness of the British gentlemen. He also lamented in his heart that no wonder the Boers resisted the British again and again. It would be difficult for anyone to be treated like this not to resist.

At the end of next year the Boers would take the opportunity to rebel, and the Transvaal Republic would become independent again.

Sir Freire, the governor of the Cape Colony, will also step down as a result.

In the next two years, the governor of the Cape Colony changed three times, and it was not until Summer Robinson that he settled down.

……

The accompanying Chinese guards were greatly shocked by this and even more admired their employer.

Other Qing people wanted to kneel down and lick them in front of foreign adults, but they would not be looked at seriously.

And this boss Shi not only drives the foreign adults to serve, but also makes the foreign adults work hard to fawn over, which is very thought-provoking.

The white guards had a look of disdain on their faces. These British guys were so depraved.

For the sake of a few pounds, he even disregarded the dignity of a gentleman.

They completely forgot that they also went to Africa to take risks in order to earn twice as many US dollars.

……

According to statistics, there were more than 30 Buer farms on the land purchased by Shi Jintang, with a total area of ​​almost 5000 acres.

These farms are mature fields, and April is the autumn season in southern Africa. The corn and potatoes planted by the previous owners will be harvested in another month.

It’s so cool to take advantage of this!
  Three-quarters of the 120 guards in front of him were Chinese, and Shi Jintang immediately held a meeting with everyone.

"After so many days of getting along with each other, you should all know me, but I still want to emphasize once again, yes, I am your employer.

At the same time, he is also the new owner of 3.2 acres of fertile land in front of him.

As you all have seen, when we took over the land, the land of the previous farmer was full of crops.

These crops need human hands to take care of the harvest, otherwise these crops will go to waste.

And I am only one person. In order to prevent these crops from going to waste, I want to negotiate a deal with you. Who is willing to abandon our employment contract and come over to take over these farms? "

As soon as Shi Jintang finished speaking, the 120 people present were immediately excited. Even Tian Liang, who had followed Shi Jintang for the longest time, was also moved.

"Boss, is it true? Can you really take over such a farm?"

Seeing Tian Liang's face that was bloodshot due to excitement, Shi Jintang laughed, "Of course what I say must count, not just you, but anyone present."

Shi Jintang said it in Chinese, and the already itchy Chinese guards around him went crazy.

Being a farmer is a wonderful thing that most people never dream of. Is it really coming true today?

"Boss, what are your conditions? Tell me quickly!"

(End of this chapter)