Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 636 All Quiet on the Eastern Front ([-])

The weather in Xinhua Island in the rainy season has always been like this. It has just been sunny for one day, and soon it will be cloudy and rainy for several days.The torrential rain continued until November 11th, when it became a little lighter.

Charles McKinley walked through the rain-soaked dirt road with deep feet and shallow feet. Behind him were four or five people. These people were all investors from the mainland, and it was said that they were already abandoned some plantations for several months.Before McKinley set off, he had already received an order from Assistant Kyle in Xinhua Town, that is, to take this group of people to see the various plantations around Xinhua Port.

You have already seen the sisal plantation on the Xixiang Peninsula, and generally speaking, you are quite satisfied.Those areas are already well-developed. The earliest sisal planted can be harvested on a small scale in about a year, and it will enter the large-scale harvest period in three or four years. The profit margin is very large.Therefore, the merchants of the two major business groups from the mainland—the Chamber of Commerce of Luocha County and Dongfang County—are eager to take over these vacant plantations, and have already begun fierce competition.

Chen Tingmei, as an inconspicuous little person in the industrial circle of Dongfang County, saw that the competition in the sisal planting industry in Xinhua Port was too fierce. He didn't want to mix his small body into it, so he joined several small and medium businessmen in the county, Came to a small piece of coffee plantation located in the back mountain.

The variety to be planted in this coffee garden is a medium-grained variety native to West and Central Africa. This coffee is the predecessor of the famous Robusta coffee beans. It is all diploid and has a high caffeine content. There are certain differences in the world's mainstream small-grained species (Arabica species).But there is no way. The east coast control area of ​​Xinhuaxia Island lacks the conditions for planting Arabica species (alpine areas), and can only grow West African species that can grow on low-altitude and peaceful land.

This area is said to be a coffee plantation, but it is actually a barren hill. The logging team has cut down all the trees on this hill, leaving bare tree stumps and large messy bushes.The government considered that the mountain should not be exposed, so it was planned as a coffee plantation.As for the mature and established coffee plantations, how could it be the turn of outsiders like them?The farmers of the local coffee planting association, if you offer a share, they can take over the vacant plantations if they gather together. It is impossible to make cheap for outsiders?Even if the local farmers can't afford it, most of these mature plantations will be bought by those relatively powerful businessmen.

Among other things, Chen Tingmei knew that among the businessmen who came from this county this time, there were quite a few big businessmen with deep backgrounds. There are tens of thousands of yuan, which is staggering.And he, Chen Tingmei, only has 2000 yuan on hand, so what can he do?Of the 2000 yuan, only 1000 yuan was his savings for many years. Another 20 yuan was lent to him by his friend Xu Wenxuan to start a business. The remaining several hundred yuan was also borrowed. This amount of money is not enough.Fortunately, at least these wastelands are not included in the auction. As long as you register with the town government and pay the rent for the first five years, this piece of wasteland is yours ([-]-year use right).After the lease expires, there is still the priority to renew the contract, which seems to be a good deal.

After walking up the mountain in the rain along a road cleared by lumberjacks, they took a closer look at the surrounding environment and found that the surrounding mountains were covered by large expanses of tall trees.Most of the mountains are made of red sandalwood, yellow sandalwood, red sandalwood, and ebony (African ebony), which are more expensive in Ming Dynasty. They have grown for hundreds or thousands of years, but here they are just ordinary wood.The areas on the mountain where the trees have been cleared are to avoid soil erosion, so they are all planned as plantations, and the main crop is coffee, a commodity that is in great demand in the world.

"Everyone, I also know that it is troublesome to clean up these wastelands. For example, these wooden piles have to be dug by special personnel; these bushes have to be set on fire during the dry season. But everyone knows that those mature plantations are It’s not your turn. For example, the plantation on the hillside in front covers a total area of ​​more than 2000 mu. The coffee trees have been planted for a year or two, and the growth is pretty good. But as far as I know, there are already several chambers of commerce. Given the bid, I estimate that the rent per mu of land has more than doubled on the basis of [-] cents. And next, there will be an organization from Ping'an County named 'Residence Soldiers Investment Association'. Come to investigate the investment. They have already arrived in South Africa, and it is estimated that they will arrive at the beginning of next month. There are a large number of investors in this organization, and all of them are soldiers who have retired from the front line. The financial strength should not be underestimated. It may continue to drive up the rent of those mature coffee plantations." Charles McKinley, wearing an oilskin raincoat, stood on the hillside, looking at five or six small and medium-sized businessmen from Ping'an County in front of him.

"So, I advise everyone to be more realistic. These wastelands will not participate in the auction, and the land rent is fixed at 108 cents per mu. I think you all came together. If you form a group to eat a piece of wasteland of one or two thousand mu Planting coffee is not bad. To tell you the truth, I have subscribed for 5 acres near here to open up wasteland to grow coffee. If you are interested, I can help you solve some practical difficulties, such as labor issues." Charles McKinley continued.He and Pei Suoning worked together to create the famous 108 drug, and he enjoyed [-]% of the rights according to the agreement.And as the fortune wine derived from the [-] drug has gradually become a mass consumer product in New China, McKinley's net worth has increased a lot in the past two years, so he can now buy it without blinking an eye. Hundreds of acres of wasteland have been reclaimed to grow coffee.

"Oh? Are you really able to help us solve the labor problem?" Chen Tingmei's heart moved when she heard this, and then she asked: "Could it be a black man brought from Guinea? I heard that this kind of black man is not born with Malaria, but most of them with hidden diseases can only live in their forties, and the death rate of their children is also very high. Is this the labor force you are talking about? But I heard that the government prohibits private employment and keeping black slaves. State-run farms, forest farms, and mines can only be used. I know that there are hundreds of Guinean blacks in the Tacheng coal mine. "

"Mr. Chen is so impatient." Charles McKinley was not angry at being robbed by Chen Tingmei, and said with a smile: "Of course the labor force I am talking about does not refer to black people, and our old Mai will not go to anything that breaks the law." I did. The labor force I mean is Persian or Baluchi. We have some familiar Muscat merchants. Yes, the same group of merchants who provide us with female slaves and children all the year round. They are now in Muscat Especially as they become more and more powerful, their business is getting bigger and bigger, and now they can dispatch thousands of people at a time to catch slaves. At the beginning of the year before last, they also ordered two flute-shaped ships from our Xinhua Shipyard, specially for Armed slave hunting was carried out near the sea. In the past, we only wanted female slaves and children, and the men they caught were sold. But last time we tentatively proposed that male slaves can also be sold, and they seemed very happy. According to my estimation, they can provide one or two thousand adult male laborers every year, and if they work harder, there may be more, which can meet a large part of our needs."

In fact, as McKinley has.Those Muscat merchants have profited a lot from the trade (slaves, commodities) with the east coast for many years, and are now a powerful and famous party.The year before last, they not only ordered two flute-shaped ships from the people on the east coast, they also bought two hundred sets of armor, three hundred muskets, one thousand sabers, and six small cannons. Xinhua sent several military officers to train them, and now this strength cannot be underestimated in the Gulf region.It is easy to attack Persia and India across the sea, provided that they do not head-on with the opponent's main force.

As the saying goes, if a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. After the "tools" of these Muscat businessmen have been sharpened, the efficiency of their work is absolutely low. Last year and this year, they were exported to New China's Persia, The number of Balochistan female slaves has doubled, which has brought good news to a large number of bachelors in New China, South Africa, and Australia. At the same time, they have also represented the sales rights of many goods on the east coast in the Gulf region, and have also re-exported goods from New China. Trade boomed a lot.

"That's no problem." Hearing what McKinley said, Chen Tingmei was also a little happy: "It is not illegal to hire Persians and Baluchi, and it is appropriate to use them in these plantations. By the way, their price is How much? I mean the price of an adult male slave?"

"Well, it depends on how strong you are." Charles McKinley said after pondering for a while: "But generally speaking, it should be around 60 yuan. I think this price is quite reasonable, and it really can't be considered high. Of course If you think it’s too high, there is no other way. Now tens of kilometers south of here, there are eight small tribes attached to us. Well, they are all Bezimisaraka people. These tribes are called by us The Eight Banners of the Islands, they bully the weak and fear the strong, and are more aggressive. Now we are instigating them to march south and invade the territory of other tribes. They have some high-quality weapons from us, so they should not be too weak in the fight. As long as this war starts, then There will inevitably be a considerable number of slaves. Women and children will probably be swallowed by themselves. After all, they also want to strengthen the strength of their own tribe. But it is not necessarily the case for adult men. According to the past practice, I guess they will be more or less Sell ​​us a batch in exchange for necessary weapons or commodities. And the price is extremely low, which is a good choice for investors with weak capital strength. You see, this can also solve a considerable part of the labor shortage.”

"It's really good." Chen Tingmei agreed.Unexpectedly, the problem of labor shortage that I had been worrying about before coming to New China is actually not as difficult as I imagined. There are still many ways to solve it.Now he can't wait to go back to his residence to discuss with several partners. Although the risk is not small, the expected return is also extremely high.

(End of this chapter)