Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1214 South Pacific ([-])

It has been more than two years since Liu Jianguo served as the head (acting) of Guanhai County, a subsidiary of the Southern Railway, but he has never been so happy at this moment—a baby girl was born in Guanhai Port just yesterday morning, and is a member of one town and three townships in the county. This made Liu Jianguo, a Southern Railway official who had participated in the construction of Guanhai County many years ago, very happy from the bottom of his heart.

After throwing the shovel to the attendants at the side, Liu Jianguo, who was wearing a whaleskin swimsuit, walked out of the swamp with one foot high and one foot low.Chiloe Island is like this, with abundant precipitation and dense swamps. It is impossible to expand the agricultural planting area without draining the water. Now, with the increasing population of the settlements in Guanhai County, the area of ​​cultivated land is slightly insufficient (originally only developed a small area along the coast), it became natural to ask for land from forests and swamps.

Liu Jianguo has been in charge of Guanhai County for more than two years, and has mobilized settlers to go up the river three times in winter to dredge channels, build reservoirs, dig ditches, and drain swamps.It lasted more than two months at a time, not only greatly improving the agricultural conditions of the towns and towns in the county, but also earning a large amount of reserved agricultural land. Pravda sent people to interview once, and Liu, who was a second generation, had also faintly become a new political star, leading the second generation with Ma Wenqiang and others.

However, being a "new political star" is not without cost. After all, the East Bank is not Europe where the aristocrats rule. Chilblains, itching and pain in the cold season, really annoying.

After reaching the embankment, Liu Jianguo pulled a horse, and then galloped south with his entourage.This is a dirt road along the coast, which can't even touch the edge of the third-class national road. It is already slightly muddy under the freezing rain in winter.On the right side of the dirt road is a lush coniferous forest, on the left side is the surging sea, and some villages can be seen faintly in the distance—those are newly opened villages, with red bricks and blue tiles surrounded by green trees and red flowers. Liu Jianguo even saw with sharp eyes that a few puppies just born outside the village were still chasing a group of chickens looking for food. They chased so hard that a rooster broke through the limit and flew up. I lifted the branches, and then looked down with proud eyes at the stunned quadrupeds under the tree.

A wise old woman (I don't know how she survived the long voyage) took a broom and drove away the group of puppies cursingly, and then carefully searched for eggs in the haystack outside with her dim old eyes.At this time, she cursed again, maybe she was cursing the flock of foraging hens for not laying their eggs in the coop but in the haystack outside. She had a reason to do so, because maybe she was young Your little grandson or granddaughter needs these eggs for nutrition.

The group soon arrived outside the county government. Liu Jianguo flicked the reins, nodded to the saluting guards, and then went straight to the cafeteria, lifted several steaming pot lids, took a closer look, and said with a smile: "Sure enough, there are delicious foods! After working all morning, I can finally fill my stomach."

The entourages were also young people, and they gathered around the stove, and saw a large pot of vegetables stewed in the pot, including clams, mussels, tofu, radishes, potatoes, meat and vegetables, almost all of which were local specialties.Delicious clams, mussels as big as your palm, tender white tofu, fragrant venison (perhaps mixed with some pork, because the local environment is very suitable for raising pigs), and vegetables such as radishes and potatoes, the taste will definitely make you happy. People are full of praise after eating it, and it is absolutely rich in nutrition. It is very suitable for people who do heavy physical work in winter, so that this dish has almost become a well-known specialty of Chiloe Island.

The chef who was cooking came limping over. He was the first batch of local pioneers. He used a huge shovel to open up the "claws" that put their hands into the pot to eat. Then he picked up a large bowl, filled a bowl full of stew, brought it to Liu Jianguo who was sitting smoking while Zhengan, and said, "Boys don't have any rules."

"Dinner!" Liu Jianguo put down his pipe and said with a smile, which aroused cheers.

"The food is still not self-sufficient!" After eating a few pieces of mussels, Liu Jianguo pointed to a bowl of rice in front of him and said, "The county has already entrusted the South Railway Company to import a batch of rice from Peru in the first few months of this year. Thousand tons of grain, cost a lot of money, it's not good, it has to change."

"Who made the population increase too fast?" A young Bingtuanbao official sat across from Liu Jianguo with a bottomless sea bowl, and said while gnawing the meat residue on the bone at an amazing speed: "The number of people increased by several thousand in the first half of the year. The county has no reserves, and there is not enough arable land and grassland. It is very rare. If it weren't for the rich seafood here and the environment suitable for growing potatoes, County Mayor Liu , I don’t like saying a word, our 2 people will go hungry.”

It is said that with Liao Xiaoyao's large-scale military operations in Huai'an Prefecture of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of immigrants from Huai'an Prefecture began to board ships and pass through the bag from the second half of 1658 (to be precise, in mid-to-late October, when the north wind blew up) Er arrived in Jinshan Port, Australia.Then these immigrants began to "divide into two routes", sailing westward along the south coast of Australia to Lonely Mountain Port (this route occupies most of it), and after a short rest, along the windy and rough South Pacific. The route goes straight to the southern waters of Chile, and finally lands at the port of Araucan. There are about 10 to 8000 people in this part.

Of the 8000 people who went ashore, about half will arrive at Xingnan Port via the Southern Cone and Ocean Railway, and then wait for the ship to return to the mainland, while the remaining half will be digested on the spot by the Southern Railway Company—at present, it seems to be sent away After arriving at Chiloe Island, the wasteland is reclaimed. After all, the environment and climate there are considered good, and there is also a foundation laid in the early stage.

However, people in Guanhai County also vaguely heard that this group of thousands of people may be far from all.Because Liao Xiaoyao "made too much news" and too many immigrants in the Qing Dynasty, there may still be a considerable number of immigrants from the Qing Dynasty who will cross the sea and settle in Chiloe Island this year. As for the number, it is unknown, but it should be There will be no less than 5000 people, which is very troublesome!Without the support of the superiors, even if the county tightens its belt, it can't afford it. After all, it accounts for a quarter of the county's population!

"The development of the northern half of Chiloe Island is probably on the agenda." Liu Jianguo scooped a spoonful of vegetable soup from the sea bowl, poured it on the Peruvian white rice in his own bowl, mixed it, and then enjoyed it While eating, he said: "The northern half of Chiloe Island is vast, densely covered with forests, and has many rivers. I have also visited the land there. It is very good, and it is virgin land that has not been developed for thousands of years. I heard that the company's early stage When the survey team sent over to delineate the scope of arable land, the standard is that the soil is below the ankles of people standing on it. Haha, it is all good soft humus soil. It must be good for growing food. Just like us It's the same here. Moreover, I see that there are many small islands along the coast. According to the company's information, the agricultural conditions of these small islands are also very good, which can be used for farming and grazing. Cut down the pine, beech, etc. Besides, the forest is too dense."

"That's right, the population of 2 in our four townships is indeed a bit dense, and we must expand northward to new land under the sun. Anyway, the entire Chiloe Island and its affiliated islands are now ours, and they must be developed as soon as possible. , or it will be a waste." The attendants who were eating all echoed the words.

"The coast there must be the same as ours, with a lot of mussels, clams and sea urchins?" someone asked.In Guanhai County, the above-mentioned seafood is almost everywhere, and they are extremely large. Later generations have been Chile's top export products (mainly distributed in the sea south of 40 degrees south latitude, where the water quality is excellent and fishery resources are abundant) , is also a local specialty product.What's even better is that this kind of thing doesn't need to go out to sea to catch it at all. Residents only need to build dams or set up nets along the coast, and then wait for the seawater to rise and fall. After a long time, they will definitely gain a lot.

Now, the Southern Railway Company has even regularly sent ships to Guanhai County to purchase seafood such as clams, mussels, and sea urchins, and then export them to the mainland in exchange for profits.The local residents of Guanhai County can also obtain certain economic benefits from it, especially for those immigrants who have not been here for a long time and are still eating subsidized food, this is a shortcut to accumulate funds.

Of course, local residents also often eat this gift of nature, so that it has become a special dish in Guanhai County, such as the people in the county government cafeteria at the moment.Rich fishery resources, excellent agricultural conditions (the local area is very suitable for potato planting, and it is one of the birthplaces of potatoes on earth, rich in genetic resources), even if it is difficult for a while now, with everyone's efforts, what else? Difficulties are insurmountable?It can be said that with everyone's motivation, as long as the environment is stable, Chiloe Island, which has a great first-mover advantage, may not become an important city on the southeast Pacific coast in the future. You can wait and see if you don't believe it!

"You can't be lazy in the afternoon after dinner." Liu Jianguo picked up a bowl of kelp soup, took two sips and said, "The third-class national road from the county seat to Mishan Township hasn't been repaired for a long time. A while ago, many people complained to me about the potholes on the road. Yes, it has greatly affected the efficiency of transportation. Liu Bachi, you are the director of the County Transportation Bureau. You have to handle this matter for me. I will also go to the construction site in the afternoon to take a look. Your people in the transportation bureau should make a plan as soon as possible. Depending on how much labor and materials are needed, our county government should make arrangements as soon as possible, this matter cannot be delayed, it will be done in the afternoon!"

"Understood." Liu Bachi is really an eight-foot-tall man of Angzang, and he immediately agreed loudly when he heard the words, no nonsense - they are all young cadres, and they don't know what to say to evade or complain, just know a word!

(End of this chapter)