Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 205 The Guild Hall

The so-called restriction is actually just talking. It is impossible to demolish the church that has already been built. If it is demolished, the impact will be great. Philip Matilda only hopes that Roque can try to limit the Catholic Church in Bigwig Town. religious activities.

This is no problem, Rock returned to Bigwig Town and went to find Frank immediately.

"Hmph, nobles are petty. If Your Excellency the Baron really wants to restrict Catholicism, why don't you build a Protestant church in Bigwig Town?" Frank was very dissatisfied with Philip's restrictions on Catholicism, but he was still very grateful to Roque for telling the truth .

"Come on, there are only so few people in Ziwei Town, one church is enough, how much more do you want?" Rock doesn't mess with religion, Christianity alone has dozens of branches, if every branch is in Ziwei There is a church built in Wei Town, and it is estimated that Ziwei Town can build a church museum.

Uh, this idea is also good, probably the only one in the world.

"Then how do you plan to restrict Catholicism, Sir Locke?" Frank still provoked desperately.

"No, I don't dare to restrict you, but I can restrict the residents of Bigwig Town." What Rock didn't want to offend was the Catholic Church, not the priest Frank. If it was just Frank, Rock really wasn't afraid.

"No, Sir Locke, it's my fault, I repent—" Frank's face changed drastically, and only then did he remember Rock's identity.

Bigwig Town is Rock's private property, and the residents of Bigwig Town, except for the police officers of the Johannesburg Police Department, are all working in Rock's property. Therefore, Rock can't do anything against Frank, but Rock can restrict Bigwig. The residents of the town participate in religious activities, and even Roque does not need to expressly limit it. It is enough to arrange enough work for his employees on Sundays, so that they have no time to go to church. Then there will be no believers, and Frank’s church can still have for what?

"Repentance must have a repentant attitude." Rock was serious, but verbal repentance was not enough, and repentance without personal pain was hooliganism.

"What's your attitude?" Frank looked blank. He, the priest, had always been the one to collect donations, but he didn't expect that there would be a day when he would be apportioned.

"A few days ago, I heard that Mr. Barker was going to build a guild hall." Rock set out the conditions, and then it depended on Frank's sincerity.

"Oh oh oh, I understand, I understand." Frank was still on his way, and immediately understood what Rock meant.

Yes, Buck’s previous Guangdong-Guangdong Guild Hall still had limitations. Most of the policemen in Johannesburg came from the northern part of the Qing Dynasty and had no sense of belonging to Guangdong and Guangxi. Therefore, Rock wanted to rebuild a Guild Hall in Bigwei Town. It didn’t matter what the name was. A common home for the Chinese.

The guild hall planned by Rock must be larger than Frank's church, so Frank alone is not enough, and Rock needs to pay for it.

"My lord, look at this posture, I'm afraid I won't be able to pay two or three thousand pounds." Buck looked at the design drawing given by Rock and was fascinated, but when he thought about the budget, he immediately started to have a toothache.

In the past, Buck’s Liangguang Guild Hall was directly placed in his home. The two doors facing the street were the living room, and the guest houses in the backyard could provide a temporary shelter for the homeless Chinese. It sounds like the name "Guangdong Guild Hall" It is all kinds of tall, in fact, there is not even a bathroom with a shower, it is very simple.

The guild hall designed by Luo Ke is definitely not so crude. The address of the guild hall is next to the Bigwig Town Hospital, and the overall area is not much smaller than the Bigwig Town Hospital. In addition to the traditional theater buildings, guest houses, and palaces, Luo Ke Ke also prepared auxiliary facilities such as gardens, horse farms, shooting ranges, restaurants, etc. The building of the guild hall is not the Rococo and Baroque in the west, but the oriental traditional carved beams and painted buildings, cornices and brackets. If you don't come, you will definitely have to hire architects and painters from the Qing Dynasty, so the cost must be very high.

"It's okay, you can spend as much as you want, and if you don't have enough money, you can pay it from the account of the mine. The quality of the project must be strictly required. Pay attention to these pavilions. They are all for military purposes. In case of emergency, just put Once the gate is closed, the entire guild hall becomes a solid military fortress——" Rock's demands are so high that it is really a last resort, and this guild hall is the last line of defense for the Chinese in Bigwig Town.

"My lord, is there something wrong?" Buck was very vigilant.

"No, don't worry, it's just a precautionary measure." Although Roque had endowed the guild hall with certain defensive attributes, Roque hoped that these preparations would never be needed.

Even if it will never be needed, the necessary preparations must be made. Born in sorrow and died in peace, the situation in Johannesburg is very good now, but in the future it will be a famous crime capital in the world. The Chinese want to stabilize their foothold in Johannesburg. Defense is not enough, you still have to strengthen yourself, so that you have the capital to settle down in Johannesburg.

Therefore, Rock is conducting military training for Chinese miners in batches, not only for technical and tactical training, but also for strengthening the body, and more importantly, for barbaric Chinese souls. No matter what it is, you must dare to fight for it when it is time to fight. You can't just accept it, this is what Roque values ​​more.

The benefits of Rock's title as "Cong Baron" were not limited to the change of title. In just three days, the news that Rock was going to build the Chinese Guild Hall in Bigwig Town spread across most of Johannesburg.

Ordinary people don't even know where Bigwig Town is, so they are naturally indifferent to this news.

But in the eyes of those with a heart, they quickly acted.

"Sir Locke, congratulations on joining the ranks of the nobles. Mr. Cecil Rhodes Jr. knows that you are going to build a guild hall. He is now in Salisbury and cannot return to Johannesburg, so let me send Cecil Rhodes to you." A wish from Mr. Rhodes." Aiden became more and more humble in front of Roque. As the regional manager of De Beers Consolidated Mining Company, Aiden used to have a bit of an advantage in front of Roque. Now The psychological advantage brought by that skin color is gone.

"Thank you Aiden, please take me to convey my thanks to Mr. Cecil Rhodes Jr." Rock did not open the envelope, which contained a check, and the amount must not be small.

"Is there any news from the Governor's Mansion? Can the Chinese workers enter Johannesburg now?" Aiden couldn't wait. The last two batches of Chinese workers were sent to Kimberley. As a result, Kimberley's diamond production increased steadily, while Johannesburg's gold production stagnated, so Aiden Very anxious now.

"Not yet—" Rock was also very helpless. Unless Alfred Milner took the initiative to change his attitude, Rock couldn't go to Alfred Milner to fight for this kind of thing.

"Think about it, Sir Locke, we discovered a new gold mine last month, and it is impossible to construct it now because there are no miners." Aiden was very anxious. As the general manager, the output of the gold mine is closely related to his salary. If it were Rock, Rock would be in a hurry.

"What can I do, let me go to the governor?" Rock was not in a hurry.

Rock does not intend to expand the production of the Rock Gold Mine, and would rather let the workers idle than let them go down the mine.

Many workers are really idle and have nothing to do, and gradually shift their interest to the farms around the gold mine.

Those miners who have purchased land and changed their identities to become farmers have set a good example.

In fact, these gold mines were farmers before they went abroad, and farmers are very sensitive to everything related to land.

Johannesburg has unique advantages. Even if the underground gold mines are not considered, the land is fertile enough to drive the Chinese crazy. Compared with the land around Johannesburg, the land in the Qing Dynasty has been overwhelmed by cultivation for thousands of years. The land is barren and the people are poor. To improve the harvest, the Chinese have become accustomed to intensive farming and try to increase every ounce of yield, which is why the Chinese farming skills are full.

In Johannesburg, there is basically no room for intensive farming.

In the past, Rock thought that the agricultural technology of the Boers and Zulus was not good enough, so the output continued to slump.

It wasn't until he got to know the farms in Johannesburg that Roque really understood why the Boers and Zulus had so extensive farming techniques.

It's too busy!

In the Qing Dynasty, under normal circumstances, it would be considered good for a free citizen to own ten or eight acres of land. With such a small amount of land, it was indeed necessary to cultivate a large family intensively.

In Johannesburg, the land here is in acres. Rock’s farm for Chinese miners has the smallest area of ​​50 acres, which is equivalent to about 300 acres. With so much land, even if you want to cultivate it intensively, you can basically There is no possibility.

To give a brief example, let’s say weeding, how long does it take to weed a 300-acre field without herbicides?

If the farming methods of the Qing Dynasty were followed, even if people were exhausted to death, they would not be able to finish the work.

Therefore, Chinese farmers around Johannesburg have to adopt extensive farming methods.

To put it simply, it is to plant the seeds in the ground, and then how much food can be harvested depends on the character——

In other words, it depends on the mood of God.

Under the premise of adopting extensive farming, the work of the farmer is actually very leisurely. Unless it is the busy season, when the farm is slack, three or five farmers often meet together to drink tea, hunt, or even fight cocks and dogs. From the perspective of the miners who have not yet purchased the farm, this is simply a fairy life.

In May, the number of miners who bought farms with loans increased suddenly. In just half a month, nearly 300 miners bought farms with loans from mines. Most of them are mutual guarantees and collective loans. Sex borrowed hundreds of pounds from mines to buy farms of hundreds of acres around Bigwig.

The war is not over yet, and the role of these farmers cannot be seen, but their power is taking root. One day, they will burst out with energy that will stun everyone. At that time, this energy will be enough to influence Johannesburg, and even the entire city. Political trends in the Transvaal.

(End of this chapter)