Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 368 Rubber Plantation

Lehui County is in the middle of the eastern part of Qiongzhou, but there is a natural harbor that can keep out the wind, and the county government of Lehui County is also near the sea.

Carrying handwritten letters from two high-ranking officials, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and the magistrate of Qiongzhou, the magistrate of Lehui County received this huge scientific expedition team with trepidation, and arranged for the local people and government officials to search for rubber plantations with them.If it wasn't for Cheng Hong and the others not wanting to cause a stir, the magistrate of Lehui County almost wanted to show them the way himself.

"Gentlemen, the place you are looking for is in the mountains and forests in the middle reaches of the Wanquan River. There have always been few people there. There are only two or three Li tribes with hundreds of people. But it is strange to say that these days, they have Reported to our government that there were strangers in the forest near their tribe. At first we thought that there are only Li people here and Han people, and everyone does not interfere with the river, so how can there be other people in the mountains and forests?" A local who was the guide of the scientific expedition team The yamen servant pointed to the front and said.

"I didn't expect this place to be so difficult to walk. If I knew it, I would have gone by water." Cheng Hong and others followed the local government servants up the Wanquan River. It was quite difficult to overcome obstacles along the way.

Moreover, miasma is rampant in the mountains and forests, and there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants, which made this scientific expedition team of the Liao Army feel a huge challenge.

"We have some medicinal juices made by the Li people who live in the mountains and forests that can repel mosquitoes. You can apply them on your hands, feet and faces, and you will suffer less pain." The yamen servant took out a bamboo tube from his waist, which contained medicinal juices.

"It turns out that there is such a miraculous thing. Let me tell you earlier. I have suffered so much for nothing. Everyone came to smear it on their bodies." Cheng Hong took the bamboo tube unceremoniously, and passed it on to everyone.

"Oh, it's not easy to make this thing, and I managed to get it from the Li people..." The yamen servant felt a little pained.

"We don't take your things for nothing. It's two taels of silver. You can use it to drink." Cheng Hong said.

"This uncle is really generous!" The yamen servant took the broken silver and put it into his arms cheerfully, "You can use it anyway, I will ask the people for some later."

They traveled along the Wanquan River for about two days before they found the rubber plantation marked on the map, which is also the mountain forest where strangers were reported by the local Li people.

When the scientific expedition team encountered the workers of the rubber plantation, both sides were a little dazed, staring wide-eyed.

What Cheng Hong and the others met was a group of people with darker complexion who seemed to be different from the Han and Li ethnic groups. They held machetes in their hands and spoke a completely different language from Cheng Hong and the others.

"Who are you? Why...appear in our Lehui County?" The yamen servant of Lehui County saw a strange crowd appearing in this mountain forest, and stepped back several steps in panic.

The soldiers of Cheng Hong, who were in charge of protecting the scientific expedition team, raised their muskets for vigilance, and they still couldn't tell whether the opponent was an enemy or a friend.

The workers in the rubber plantation seemed to recognize the muskets in Cheng Hong's hands, and they were extremely afraid of the muskets, so they quickly dropped the scimitars in their hands and squatted down with their heads in their hands.

"You...how are you..." these rubber plantation workers held back for a long time and said in Chinese with a special accent.

"They can speak Chinese?" Cheng Hong and others were a little surprised.

When the two sides were at a stalemate, someone in the forest muttered to himself: "Are you little bastards getting lazy again?"

Under the watchful eyes of both Cheng Hong and the rubber plantation workers, a steward dressed as a Han came out.When he saw Cheng Hong and others appearing in the rubber plantation, he was surprised at first, and then went up to him: "Good guy, I finally waited for you!"

"You are..." Cheng Hong and the others were at a loss.

"You must be looking for a rubber plantation, right? I am the owner of this rubber plantation. You can call me Li San. By the way, these people are Batavian workers I recruited to work for me. They don't speak Chinese, I can only say how are you, this simple greeting. No matter what happens, as long as it is to the Han people, I will say how are you." The steward said.

"The military leader said that the rubber plantation he bought is your rubber plantation? Do you know who the military leader of our Liao Liao army is?" Cheng Hong asked worriedly.

"Of course it is Chu Yun, the military master of Chu. I have been waiting for you for a long time. Moreover, the military master still asked me to manage the workers here and provide a steady stream of rubber for the Liao army." Li San said.

In fact, Li San was the owner of a rubber plantation near Batavia at the end of the 20th century, but he was forcibly summoned by the system and implanted with some new ideas.

Seeing that what he said was right, Cheng Hong turned to Goodyear, who was studying rubber, and asked, "Sir, are the trees here rubber trees?"

Goodyear had observed the surrounding trees a long time ago, and soon had the result: "Yes, here are all rubber trees. You can see that there are cuts in the trees with machetes, which are the kind of curved knives they hold in their hands. It was scratched by a knife. The latex will flow into the cup along the annular gap, and the latex will be collected continuously in this primitive way without causing fatal damage to the rubber tree."

"This Westerner can tell at a glance that he is an expert. Our rubber plantation has 30 rubber trees and more than 200 workers. On average, each person is responsible for about 1000 trees." Li San proudly introduced them, "Everyone Please come with me, we still have our own farmland and farmhouse in the rubber plantation, we are self-sufficient."

"30 rubber trees, my God, why is the scale so huge?" Cheng Hong thought about the concept of 30.

"30 is not too much. Each of these workers is responsible for 1000 rubber trees, and a work cycle can be completed in 3 days. Moreover, the daily output of each tree is extremely limited, and it often takes the output of hundreds of rubber trees a day to make A product the size of a pillow."

Li San introduced to them as he walked: "The most troublesome thing is that the growth period of rubber trees is relatively long. At present, there is only one rubber plantation here. If we want to cultivate new rubber trees, the production cycle alone will take 5 to 7 years. cut."

"It will take so long, 5 to 7 years, my son will probably go to private school by then." Cheng Hong thought for a while.

"Isn't it? It's not easy to do this business. The so-called ten years of trees and one hundred years of people, it is not easy to cultivate trees, and it is not easy to cultivate knowledgeable workers. When I ran the rubber plantation in Batavia, it was also with the help of my ancestors. The accumulated funds were revived, and they were treated unequally by the local colonial government, and after many twists and turns in the middle, they reached their current scale." Li San said with emotion, "But this time I am not doing it for the Dutch. Production of rubber, but production of rubber for our Huaxia."

　4 shifts owed, and [-] shifts in two days on weekends.Thanks to locodooo and all book friends.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)