Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1035 Journey to Yi River ([-])

After lunch, the boss wanted to charge Agnelli [-] cents for the meal, but because Agnelli quickly repaired a damaged pot bottom for him, he was exempted from the meal fee, and the two parties waved goodbye.

The streets of Meilin Town are still crowded and chaotic, especially the Qiaodong Cloth Market, where people of all kinds gather, choose the cloth they need, and then return to their hometowns for sale—they are mainly from the Yihe area most merchants.Agnelli's route is the same as theirs. A 35-ton steamer he took (eliminated by the Inland River Transport Company and bought by the Rabbit Hole Flour Mill) will be fully loaded with refined flour to Xiayihe County, where the cargo will be unloaded Afterwards, by the way, I collected a boatload of wheat.Nowadays, whether it is the Western Wilderness, the Yihe area or the Northwest Reclamation Bureau, most of the surplus wheat is collected and distributed in the area around the railway station/dock of Xiayihe Town. Agnelli must go there to buy raw materials.

After another failed visit to his friend, Agnelli sighed, then turned around and left the crowded and noisy county town, and rushed to the pier outside the city. Yihe County.

The small steamboat started quickly, and the bored Agnelli sat on the bow, listening to the sound of the paddle wheel splashing water, while watching the scenery on both sides of the river.The plum trees planted on both sides of the Meilin River many years ago are now quite large, and on the banks of the river without plum trees, there are a large number of hydraulic machines, which obviously belong to some small workshops or small enterprises.Among them are small twisting mills, small smithies that use water power to roll metal, and small businesses that reprocess purchased calico (such as bleaching and dyeing).

These small enterprises are located here, one is convenient for transportation - it is convenient to transport raw materials such as waste silk, iron bars, parts, white cloth, soda ash, sodium sulfate, dilute sulfuric acid, dyes, etc., and it is also convenient to transport finished products. Make full use of the water resources of the Meilin River to save costs.Of course, there are not too many companies willing to do this now, because the domestic safe coal (inferior quality) on the east bank is cheap enough, and at the same time, companies that use the water resources of the Meilin River have to pay an additional fee so that the government has the financial resources to build coal in the Meilin River. The upper reaches of the river are dredged and the water lifting station is maintained, so that the inflow and flow rate of the Meilin River can be adjusted during the dry season.

Not all business owners are willing to pay the annual "water bill" of three hundred yuan, so you know, people are more and more inclined to use steam engines instead of limited hydraulic equipment.

There are still some public lands to be developed on the shore, and some steam pumps emitting black smoke are working, it seems that there is a swamp area.By the way, Zhenhai County also has many swamp areas like this. Some of the stagnant water in those swamps is fresh water, and some are brackish water, which is troublesome to deal with.As far as Agnelli’s Hekou Township is concerned, some people are often dispatched to carry steam pumps and other tools to drain the swamp water and build small reservoirs to transform farmland—these are from public land (often also wasteland) The farmland opened up is basically prepared for the new local population.

In today's Zhenhai County, there are more than 380 steam engines in operation, and a considerable part of them are used in water lifting stations and pumps.The average horsepower of these 380 steam engines is 25.6 horsepower, and the total horsepower is almost enough to drive a modern battleship, which is quite amazing.Of course, due to the shabby industrial level on the east coast, the lifespan of these water pumps is often not long, and many of them need to be repaired after a short period of use, which is quite painful.Fortunately, this is not a big problem compared to its efficiency, and it is tolerable, but it is true that people on the east coast need to continuously improve their technology.

At night, the ship docked at Qishan Township Wharf to supply some coal and water, and by the way, let everyone have time to eat and rest.But unfortunately, as it was approaching midnight at this time, all the restaurants on the pier had turned off their lights and closed. Agnelli and others searched and found only a bakery shop opened by a middle-aged Frenchman. It was still open, so a group of people ran over to buy some bread for dinner.

The owner of the bakery was quite kind-hearted, he let everyone into his workshop, and then moved two tables for everyone to sit down and eat.Agnelli and others are very grateful for this, but perhaps it is because the boss is too lonely late at night, so everyone has to endure his language "harassment": "Now the competition is getting more and more fierce. It is not close to the pier, and the flow of people is heavy. I am afraid that this business will not be able to continue. I heard from my brother-in-law who works in the village that in our village, there were only 2 bakers a few years ago, that is, every 2200 residents on average. There is a baker serving them (of course, many people on the east coast are not used to eating bread as a western food). But in recent years, as the country continues to recruit various craftsmen from the Old World, the bakers in Qishan Township have also begun to There are more, and according to the latest statistics, there is now one baker for every 259 inhabitants. Oh, this sucks, an absolute nightmare!"

Agnelli and the others were a little speechless after hearing the words.The increase in craftsmen will inevitably lead to increased competition, which may not be so pleasant for the craftsmen themselves, but it is a great thing for consumers.Agnelli still remembers that there were only two gold and silversmiths in Hekou Township, Zhenhai County, and it took a long time for ordinary people to make gold and silverware, and the asking price was also very cheating.Later, as the Heishui area in the Far East began to actively collect various craftsmen in mainland China, this almost monopolistic situation was quickly changed. The new gold and silversmiths from the Ming Dynasty suddenly broke the balance of the market, and the gold and silver jewelry The cost was instantly reduced to an acceptable level, which made almost everyone applaud.

Gold and silversmiths are like this, and the arrival of jade craftsmen is even more good news for everyone-because in the former Hekou Township and even Zhenhai County, there was not even a decent jade craftsman, which made some immigrants from the Ming Dynasty very anxious. sorry.But there is no need to worry now. A jade craftsman collected from the Ming Dynasty was settled in Zhenhai County, and then began to undertake some jade polishing business. Of course, the raw materials still need to be imported from the Far East.

After all, the country now has a population of more than 46 (as of July 1654, among which Ming people accounted for 7%, and mixed-race new generations accounted for 47%). If the number of craftsmen is insufficient, it will have a great impact The growth and development speed of this country on the east coast is why the Executive Committee has been working hard to recruit various craftsmen overseas over the years.They want almost everyone, masons, carpenters, painters, brewers, rope makers, blacksmiths, tanners, shoemakers, coopers, etc., as long as they are willing to come, they will all take their orders-this place on the east coast The newly born country is really too short of such talents.

"A lot of times, I want to close this shop and change my job to become a mason. Their income is really high. Now there are so many construction projects in China, and people who build walls and move bricks are recruited everywhere, and their daily income has exceeded I lost some workers in private workshops, not to mention the substantial increase in income during the peak construction season. Oh, I’m so envious!" The owner of the bakery poured himself a bowl of wine and sighed while drinking.Agnelli noticed that the wine he drank appeared to be homemade, rather than a department store bestseller.In fact, this is quite normal. In the rural areas of southern China today, many farmers with relatively well-off families brew their own wine, especially when grain prices have dropped and farmers’ income has declined in the past two years. Why not reduce household expenditure a little?

Agnelli was a little surprised that the baker's appetizers were some dried squid and a plate of peanuts imported from South Africa.Maybe the boss's financial situation is not bad, not as bad as he complained?But it’s hard to say, not to mention the peanuts produced in South Africa. The production costs of the Black Eight Banners tribal people are extremely low, coupled with the squeeze of the people on the east coast, so they import traditional agricultural products such as sorghum, peanuts, sesame, watermelon, etc. The price of the squid is extremely low; the squid is the same. Now that the fishing fleet of the South China Sea Fishery Company is getting bigger and bigger, the output of various catches is also getting bigger and bigger. This naturally triggered some domestic seafood on the east coast The price has fallen, so taking dried squid as a drink and dish is really nothing.

To be honest, with the end of the Second East-West War in 1648, although the number of domestic immigrants was still extremely large, with the gradual increase in productivity (which means more material wealth such as commodities), the lives of ordinary people in the East Coast Republic In fact, life is improving day by day, which can be seen from their food and clothing expenses - the common people can drink alcohol frequently, and can also buy some commodities such as salted fish, bacon, and fruits every now and then. , this is already a qualitative leap compared to their life in the Old World; the same is true in terms of clothing. Nowadays, people are more and more inclined to buy beautiful dyed cloth or silk to make clothes, and many people buy Expensive furs.Agnelli vaguely remembered that seven or eight years ago, if an ordinary person on the east coast (which means that their income and property were also very ordinary) would not buy cloth homemade clothes, but go to a store to buy such a ready-made As for clothes, people around you will still look at them strangely, and some people will label them as "arrogant" and "extravagant".

But now everything is different. Going to the store to buy ready-to-wear clothes has become more and more accepted, and it has become more and more fashionable to enjoy more consumer goods to improve the quality of life (only in a few eastern counties of course, and elsewhere. , frugality is still a common situation), this is the progress of society, and of course the progress of productivity!

(End of this chapter)