1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 297

"Grandpa is old, and my father and second uncle are mostly useless people. From now on, the main beam of our Liang family will be picked by fifth uncle."

In the wing room, Liang Yao poured a glass of sake for Liang Shaoqiong.

"This sake is a gift given to me by the general of the Wa Kingdom when I conquered the Wa Kingdom. I don't know if it suits Fifth Uncle's taste."

Liang Shaocong was not tall, but he was fat and strong, with a pair of bushy mustaches.Although he is a scholar, the bookish look on his face is not strong.

"I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed, it's not me who provoked the Liang family, but you, nephew."

Liang Shaocong, with a guilty expression on his face, picked up the wine cup and said solemnly to Liang Yao.

"Uncle Wu used to have many mistakes, this glass of wine, it's Uncle Wu who made an apology for you!"

In the past, the relationship between Liang's brothers and uncles and nephews was not harmonious. When Liang Yao was young, Liang Shaoqiong didn't give Liang Yao any good looks.

After all, the Liang family is prosperous, and everyone hopes to get more attention from Mr. Liang. The so-called brotherly respect is just a false appearance.

If possible, Liang Yao naturally hoped that his father, Liang Shaochen, would act on behalf of the Liang family to assist Pan Shicheng in organizing group training.It's just that his father doesn't have this ability now, so he can't count on it at all.

Only Liang Shaoqiong can count on one or two of the Shao generation of the Liang family.

"Hahaha, fifth uncle is refreshing, let the past unhappiness go with this glass of wine."

Out of politeness, Liang Yao returned a glass of wine to Liang Shaoqiong.

"This time you can recommend me in front of Secretary Pan Buzheng. Uncle Wu really doesn't know how to repay you for this kindness."

Liang Shaoqiong put down the wine cup, looked at Liang Yao who was impeccable in speech and demeanor, and his expression was indifferent, his eyes were full of disbelief.

Is this still the half-child who was put on a foreign ship crying?
The Liang Yao in front of him is completely different from the Liang Yao in Liang Shaocong's impression.

In just over three years, Liang Yao has changed a lot.

"We are all one family, we don't repay anything." Liang Yao smiled, "The fat and water don't flow into other people's fields. How can I forget my family on such a good job."

"Your fifth uncle is not young anymore. He is 34 years old and he has achieved nothing. Without your recommendation, if he fails in the next test, I will spend my whole life as a teacher for your fifth uncle." Liang Shaoqiong laughed at himself.

This is Liang Shaocong's self-effacement statement. Having a meritorious name is equivalent to getting a stepping stone to become an official. However, the starting point of an official career is much lower than that of a Jinshi, and the upper body space is not as large as that of a Jinshi. What's more, it is easy to be discriminated against by colleagues.

This is similar to the academic discrimination in later generations, except that there is an insurmountable gap between Juren and Jinshi, which is much more than the academic discrimination in employment in later generations.

Of course, there are not no great people who were born in Juren. Zuo Zongtang was born in Juren, but this is only a rare case after all. After all, Zuo Zongtang not only has outstanding personal ability, but also his luck and connections are ridiculous.

Under normal circumstances, if Juren can achieve the position of county magistrate, it is tantamount to smoking from the ancestral grave.

"It's always good for Fifth Uncle to have his own opinions, but don't blame my nephew for not listening to me. After all, being a teacher is dependent on others. Although I can expand my network, but it's all dirty work, and it's hard to become a master." Liang Yao put his hand on the basket-shaped fire cage woven of bamboo strips and roasted it, then changed the subject.

"I asked Jinchen to look for coal mine veins in Guangzhou. This morning he told me that he found a coal mine vein in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou. I want to buy these lands for mining, but these lands are owned by the owner. Cold legs and feet are inconvenient.

I will leave Fragrant Hills again in a few days, so Uncle Lao will be responsible for buying land and opening mines. "

The coal Liang Yao stored in the Xiangshan warehouse was basically bought from Hong Kong.

Of course, most of the coal used by steamships in the Far East was bought from the British.

I have to say that the coal quality of the British is really good.Liang Yao had personally experienced this.

When this expedition to Japan departed from California, the coal used on board was the California coal produced in California.When departing from Xiangshan, the ship used British coal purchased from Hong Kong.

Liang Yao clearly felt that when British coal was used, the speed of the ship would be faster, and the mechanical failure of the steam turbine would be less.

Whether the coal produced in California or the northeastern United States is not as good as the coal produced in the United Kingdom, this is a reality that Liang Yao has to admit. After all, the quality of fuel is also an intuitive reflection of the strength of the industry.

What's even more tempting is that the coal fired by the British is not only of good quality, but also cheaper.

There is nothing to say about the strength of Britain in the Victorian era. It is the only one in the world. In terms of coal production, it accounts for two-thirds of the world, which is seven times that of the United States.This is why British coal is of good quality and cheap.

British coal is certainly good, but Liang Yao can't rely entirely on the British to sell him coal. Now his relationship with the British is okay, but it doesn't mean that the relationship will be okay in the future.

In Guangzhou, it is best to have a coal production area of ​​its own to provide protection for Xiangshan's supply station in case of accidents.

Fortunately, the reserves of Guangzhou coal mines are also considerable.

The coal producing area in Guangzhou that Liang Yao asked Hu Jinchen to find was actually the coal mining area in Baiyun District of Guangzhou in later generations.

It's just that the current urban area of ​​Guangzhou is much smaller than that of later generations. This mining area is located in the suburbs to the north of Guangzhou City.

According to Hu Jinchen's investigation, most of this area is farmland, and the owners behind it are also relatively complex. There are big bureaucrats and big landlords, as well as small gentry and owner farmers.

The process of buying these lands is cumbersome and takes some time.

Obviously, Liang Yao didn't have so much time, and the Guangdong authorities also knew that Liang Yao was an American now, so it would be troublesome to buy the land by himself.

It is more appropriate for the Liang family to step in to buy the land.

"As long as you have enough money, it's not too difficult to buy some real estate with your current connections in Guangdong." Liang Shaoqiong took over the job, but he was still a little worried, "But none of our Liang family has ever opened a mine."

"It doesn't matter, I will transfer some people from California to take charge of the mining, and Fifth Uncle just needs to buy the land." Liang Yao said.

"That's very good." Liang Shaoqiong nodded.

When the uncle and nephew had a good talk, they heard the servant come to report.Pan Shicheng asked Liang Yao to help him select a group of brave men.

Xiangshan has ready-made places to pick Xiangyong.

This is not because the people in Xiangshan County are aggressive and there are many people who are willing to be brave, nor is it because there are many refugees in Xiangshan County, but because Liang Yao's temporary resettlement place is in Xiangshan.

Two years ago, Fragrant Hills became the starting point for Chinese immigrants in California. Tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants are here waiting for the boat to California, ready to embark on a journey and chase their dream of gold mining.

The temporary resettlement site in Xiangshan is specifically in charge of the immigrant hostel sent by Liang Yao, as well as the local Guangzhou merchants who have a good relationship with Liang Yao.

The main job of the staff at the temporary resettlement site is to register the immigrants (most of them are refugees who fled to Guangdong from war-torn areas), provide basic board and lodging to ensure that not many people die every day, and appease the emotions of the refugees.

These tasks seem simple, but in fact the workload is very heavy, because since last year, the resettlement area in Xiangshan has been overloaded, and the number of immigrants in the resettlement area has not been less than [-], and this number is still increasing. Now this figure has pushed into [-] people.

(End of this chapter)