The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 8 Preparing for opening

At night
  More than 70 people have gradually gathered in Nanyang Company. In addition to the original brothers, there are also more than 20 new faces.

This is not surprising. The planned Nanyang Company to follow the path of mule and horse caravans was originally a labor-intensive enterprise, and the current recruitment of troops is just the beginning.

If the business succeeds in the past two years, it will expand to big cities such as Batavia and Bandung in the east of the island in the future.

The entire island of Java is the essence of the Dutch East Indies colony. It has a long history, a high degree of development, a dense population, and is a rich place for humanities.

The total area of ​​the Dutch East Indies colonies exceeds 174 million square kilometers, including the Java Islands, Sumatra Islands, Kalimantan Islands, Sulawesi Islands, New Guinea Islands, etc., stretching for more than kilometers from east to west. kilometer.

Although Java Island has an area of ​​only 13.88 square kilometers, accounting for 7.9% of the total area of ​​the entire Dutch East Indies colony, the total population on the island is more than 670 million, accounting for more than % of the total population of the entire Dutch East Indies colony.

The geography of Java Island is like a sweet potato, with a length of about 970 kilometers from east to west and a width of 160 kilometers from north to south, giving it a long and narrow shape.

The western end of the island is Batavia (Jakarta), the seat of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. It is also the largest city on Java, with a total population of about 46.

Bandung, the second largest city, is also in the west of the island, only 145 kilometers away from Batavia. It is densely covered with plantations and specializes in tea, tobacco, cinchona, natural rubber and various tropical fruit trees. It is also one of the cities with a large number of Chinese residents. .

Therefore, 3/4 of the population of the entire island is concentrated in the west, especially the towns and villages surrounding the two major cities with Batavia and Bandung as the core, which are highly populated.

In the eastern part of Java Island, compared to the western part, it is much more desolate and backward, and the population is much smaller.

Surabaya is the largest city in the area, with more than 100,000 residents. It developed based on coastal shipping trade and spices and minerals. It is a typical agricultural society town.

In Nanyang Company
  Among the long houses in the first row facing the yard after entering the courtyard, there are three rooms separated at the east end, and Feng Guohui occupies a large room alone.

This large room is a suite, with offices outside and accommodation inside. Nowadays, the conditions are simple and it is simply decorated.

The middle room was reserved as an accounting room and a small warehouse. Two tables were placed on the outside. A wall was built inside and locked with a thick wooden door to store some valuables and account books.

The remaining room was given to two capable men, Zheng Xiucai and Hu Laohu, who were both literate and able to read and write. It was regarded as a separate dormitory for the two of them, and the conditions were much better than the others.

Lin Ada, Wu Siwen, He Qiang, Mai Laowen, Chen Yong, Wang Erzhu, all of them who had served as ministers, were crowded together with others in Datong Shop.

Anyway, these people are all from the military and are very adaptable to such collective life.

Before dark
  More than half of the people were busy in the livestock sheds in the back row of houses. Some were using wood to build livestock fences and troughs, some were carrying fodder and soybean meal, some were shredding fodder for feeding, and some were carrying buckets of clean water to pour in. in the sink.

The new company has officially launched, and everyone is very motivated.

In the kitchen in the front row, Mai Laowen and a few waiters were helping with the cooking. Two large iron pots were steaming hot, and one large iron pot was steaming a pot full of white rice.

The other large iron pot is stewed with cabbage and bacon. Because there is less bacon, more than 10 pounds of salted fish are also stewed together. The rest is all Chinese cabbage.

In any case, there is finally some oily smell, which is much better than eating porridge.

There are also big steamed buns steamed in the kitchen, and each person can get one.

The aroma of the steaming food filled the air, and the seducing men who were doing the work looked back from time to time, and the gluttons in their stomachs drooled all over the floor.

Only such good days can we look forward to!

The most valuable room in the east

Feng Guohui was sitting on a chair, thinking about the transport routes for the mules and horses that were about to depart. There were only two transport routes in his mind.

A westward transportation route enters the inland hinterland, first going south through Yanwang, and then turning west to the towns of Anzhu, Lengluo City, and Sanadiga. This route is longer, about 230 to 400 years old. kilometer.

Take the abundant salted fish in Surabaya as an example. 1 pounds of free fish is worth about 13 to 14 pounds. The price will double when transported to Yanwang, and triple when transported to Anzhu.

Although they are only separated by tens or hundreds of kilometers, due to the numerous mountains and rivers along the way and the rugged and difficult roads, it is difficult for these inland towns to eat any seafood.

Even salted fish is good inland.

A southerly transport route entered the hinterland, heading south first past Rock Lookout and then into the valley, a series of dotted plantations and valley-plain towns.

This route is relatively short, only 120 or 30 kilometers, but the danger is not small.

The vast rural areas are the territory of the local aboriginal nobles. They usually pretend to be good people, but when money and silk attract people's attention, they may turn their backs and turn into gangsters at any time.

This is also the real reason why you can often see small vendors walking through the streets in Batavia and Surabaya, but it is difficult to see them in the countryside below. It is too dangerous.

This is what Feng Guohui is really interested in. He likes this kind of challenge, and it is not too difficult.

These bandits and unruly people on the island of Java can only bully the good people. They are nothing like novices to the long-haired remnants who have conquered most of the Southeast China and killed countless people.

He took a brush and sketched on the paper, and after a while he drew the flag of Nanyang Company. It turned out to be a Taegeuk flag, which was similar to Nanbangzi.

Feng Guohui is also a person who doesn't like to use his brain and directly adopts the doctrine of borrowing.

The Tai Chi flag is very well-known among the Chinese, and it is easy to identify. It can easily gain a reputation, so why not use it?

As for what to do with Nan Bangzi in the future? That is not among Feng Guohui's considerations.

The Nanyang Company now wants to establish its reputation and establish its name. Having its own unique flag is the first step. This is to be placed at the forefront of the mules and horses caravans.

"Master Ding, I found the Spanish businessman's local contact you asked me to find through Mr. Yi from the agency. They are outside the door now." Hu Laohu came in to report. Hu Laohu is a capable middle-aged man in his 30s. He is not tall, with bright eyes and big rough hands as powerful as iron claws.

He was once the camp's night guard leader, and he had good martial arts skills in Fuhuquan. Now he has a 0.44-inch caliber Colt revolver in a holster on the wide cowhide belt around his waist, and more than two feet of it hangs on the other side. The long dagger looks powerful.

The revolver was assigned by Feng Guohui, and Zheng Xiucai and Hu Laohu each had one. This made the two of them immediately excited, and they looked different when walking.

After Feng Guohui heard this, he put down the pen in his hand, stood up, and said with a smile, "Why don't you please come soon?"

"I got it, Master Ding."

Not much effort
  Hu Laohu walked in with two people. The older one was Mr. Yi from the agency, and it was he who introduced Nanyang Company to the current Nuoyang Courtyard.
  Mr. Yi is a relative of the Lin clan. By virtue of his kinship, he has been taken care of by the Lin clan. He has a wide network in Surabaya City and his business is booming.

Mr. Yi not only works as an intermediary, but also makes loan sharks and collects commissions for introducing sources of goods for landing cargo ships. He is also one of the bosses of Heantang.

Heantang ranks about 5th to 6th among the numerous Jianghu gangs in Surabaya City. The gang has about four to five hundred people, and its influence is limited to the southern district of the city.

But Heantang, Anxihui, Shuifang and other local gangs are different. He is very powerful in Batavia. There are about three to four thousand gang members in the main gang. He also has branches in Bandung, the second largest city. His influence spreads all over Java. The behemoth of the whole island.

Therefore

Even the local gangs are not willing to provoke He Antang. Although the Lin family ranks last among the four major families, they can reach out directly to Batavia and are one of the most powerful families in the Chaoshan Gang.

Accompanying Mr. Yi is a blond Caucasian young man, who must be the local liaison of the Spanish businessman. At this moment, he is looking at Feng Guohui with a haughty expression on his face.

"Mr. Yi has invited me. What should I call this person?"

"Mr. Feng, you're welcome. This is Garvey Torres, the nephew of the Spanish businessman Torres. He is responsible for all commercial operations of the Andean Trading Company in Java."

"Oh, can Mr. Garvey-Torres speak in English?" Feng Guohui asked in fluent English.

Garvey Torres obviously did not expect that the young Chinese in front of him could use English proficiently, and he looked stunned.

After looking at Feng Guohui again, he said, "Of course, I can talk in Spanish, English, French and German. Every Spaniard is a genius language master, and I am the same."

"It can be seen that you have your own pride, Mr. Torres, but that's all." Feng Guohui commented calmly.

His words aroused Gavi Torres' competitive spirit, he raised his head and said disdainfully;
  "I'm sorry! Feng, I don't think you have the right to evaluate my achievements. It's like a Pyrenean eagle flying high and not paying attention to the murmurs of a few pigeons."

Feng Guohui didn't say much, and struck the wall next to him with a wave of his hand. The wall was dusted with such rapid force, and a clear handprint appeared on the wall.

look carefully
  The solid stone wall has been cracked with thin cracks by this palm, and the stone struck by the palm has broken into pieces, showing a radial shape, which is simply unbelievable.

Feng Guohui said calmly;

"Unfortunately, Mr. Torres, the quality of the warehouse built by your family is not very good. One more thing, have you ever seen a pigeon with such a hard shot?"

He directly shows his strength to foreigners, and talks a lot of nonsense to no avail. All ghosts believe in hard power.

"Oh, God!"

Garvey Torres screamed in surprise. He leaned over the cracked stone and looked at it carefully, and then pounded it twice with his fists.

He was gasping for breath as the hard stone bounced off him, and he cried out in pain while covering his hands.

This warehouse is made of gravel plus Roman ash. It is extremely strong after solidification, and the stones built in the wall form a whole, making it more difficult to destroy.

This man was able to break stones with one palm. It was simply incredible. How hard must this fist be?

"I'm sorry, can I take a look at your hand? Are all the bones broken?" After receiving permission, Garvey Torres reached out and grabbed Feng Guohui's hand and looked at it carefully, pinched it from front to back, and said Tsk-tsk.

"God, this is really unbelievable. Your hand didn't even scratch the skin? You just got hit, don't you feel pain? Or are your hands made of iron? Why is it like this?"

Feng Guohui calmly withdrew his hand. Tongbei Fist focuses on exerting force from the heel, using the waist as the axis, driving the arms to gather a little strength, and instantly bursting out with incredible power.

When the skill is advanced, you can bend a finger-thick iron plate.

As for whether it hurts or not?
  No one's hands fall out of thin air. Of course it hurts to hit brick walls and iron plates, but the more you exercise, the stronger your endurance will be.

Facing Gavi Torres, who suddenly turned into a curious baby, he was so angry that he put his hands behind his hands and said calmly;

"This is the magical Kung Fu of the East. If you want to learn it, I can teach you."

"Oh...can I learn it too?"

"Of course, as long as you have perseverance and perseverance, I have been walking for two hours every day since I was 5 years old, and repeatedly slapped the thick paper with my hands thousands of times. Winter training is three-nine, and summer training cannot be wasted in the hot weather. It will take about ten years to reach this level.”

"Ah..." Garvey Torres was so surprised that his mouth was as big as a duck's egg. He didn't know it would be so hard. After thinking about it, he shook his head bitterly and said, "Let's forget it, dear Feng, I think It’s hard for me to hold on.”

In Garvey Torres' mouth, from "Von" to "Dear Von", the title has quietly changed, and his attitude has become much more friendly and respectful.

This is due to strength, and you have to take a high look wherever you go.

(End of this chapter)