Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 344 Preparations before sailing again ([-])

Zhou Dahe and Anderson walked one after the other on the side of the railway line that was being paved. This was the last day they stayed here, because the railway officially started operation today.And it was time for them, the government staff who were transferred in turn to repair the railway, to return to their respective units.

This is not the Mianmei Line (Miannong Township-Meilingang) they have built before. The road was built as early as the end of last year.At the beginning of this year, after obtaining the approval of the Executive Committee, the Ministry of Communications decided to continue to extend the Mianmei Line Railway to the south, passing through Bingtuanbao and arriving directly at the Luocha Port Wharf.The 150 to [-] kilometers of railway extended together with the original [-] kilometers have become a land transportation artery running through the southern part of the Republic of China on the East Coast, and the Ministry of Communications has officially named this railway as Luo plum line.The total length of the railway is nearly [-] kilometers, with five stations including Luocha Station, Bingtuan Station, Miannong Station, Zhenyuan Station and Meilin Station (there may be another station added in the future), connecting the densely populated capital area in the south, Xiling The Yihe area and the Yihe area are connected with the Yazihu ​​area in the north through the well-developed river and lake system in the inland, and they are no longer afraid of the enemy's sea blockade.

"Brother Zhou, are you going back today?" Anderson asked in a low voice as he kicked the scattered stones beside the railway boredly.

"Yes, I'll go back today." Zhou Dahe said absent-mindedly, walking towards a small shop next to the railway station.

The small shop is a red-brick and blue-tiled spire house, standing alone across from several houses in the railway station.There are three rooms in total: a shop, a storeroom and a bedroom, in typical East Coast style.The proprietor, a weather-beaten Frenchman, sat behind the counter, sipping tea and flipping through the lackluster ledgers.Bingtuanbao is not a prosperous place, and there are only a few hundred farmers who grow cotton and goats in the surrounding area. Such a small shop here, the business can be imagined, so Zhou Dahe really doesn't know the owner of this shop. There is nothing to settle all day.

"Mr. Zhou is here, and Mr. Anderson." The owner said with a smile.Zhou Dahe and Anderson had been digging drainage ditches near Bingtuanbao for a while, and they had bought things in the store a few times, so they knew the owner fairly well.

The owner of the store is named Luca Ruiz, a veteran who retired due to injury. He served in South Africa for a long time, and later participated in the battle against the Guarani people in the local area. He fought bravely and was commended by his superiors many times.Later, he was wounded in a battle with the Guaranís, his left calf was amputated, and he was forced to leave the army.Today's small shop is arranged by the military department, and he never has to worry about the supply of goods. The rail carriages that regularly transport various materials to the Fort Corps will bring the goods from big cities for him, and the price is surprisingly low. A benefit given to disabled soldiers.

The owner's nine-year-old son, Lu An, was going back and forth between the warehouse and the shop, using his immature hands to keep moving things.His mother from the Ming Kingdom was also helping. The young woman from Haimen saw Zhou Dahe coming in, and greeted him with a smile, "Xiao Zhou is here, shopping for my wife again?"

"Sister-in-law, is she busy?" Zhou Dahe also quickly agreed with a smile, "I'm here to buy some cotton cloth, sugar, and salt, and I'm about to go on a long trip. I want to get all these things for the family before I leave."

Ruiz also sighed after hearing this: "Your daughter is less than three months old, and you will be transferred to a place as far away as New China. I heard that it is very hot there and there are many diseases. In short, you should take care of yourself." Go there and stay there for a few years, and try to get a part-time job before being transferred back, it's not in vain to suffer."

"Hey, I will work hard." Zhou Dahe smirked.In fact, why did he want to be transferred to the New China area? He was actually transferred to the Heishui Port, which is almost a hundred and eight thousand miles away from New China.The reason why I told Ruiz and others that I was going to Xinhua was mainly because the caliber of publicity given to me was to be transferred to the Xinhua branch of the Northwest Reclamation Bank as a supervisor.In fact, his real position is the supervisor of the Blackwater Branch of the Northwest Reclamation Bank. The higher-ups intend to gradually infiltrate, win over, and control the local barbarians in Sakhalin Island through economic means to better serve the people on the east coast. Therefore, the Northwest Reclamation Bank As the largest financial institution in the country, the bank is naturally going to be a pioneer.Zhou Dahe had never been to Heishui Port before, but he recently participated in a training organized by the National Intelligence Agency and learned a lot about it.Therefore, he soon knew that this place was very close to the Daming where he fled back then. Sometimes, you have to admit that fate has been moving certain people's trajectory.

"You can choose what kind of cloth you want to buy." Ruiz pouted towards the shelf and said.

Zhou Dahe nodded, went directly to the shelf and took a bundle of folded calico, and said, "I want this, how much is it?"

"It's still the old price, two yuan and twenty cents." Ruiz said after a casual glance.This bundle of cotton cloth happens to be one piece, and the purchase price of the new goods just brought in is two yuan.It is very popular in the market at present, because the color on this kind of printed cloth is very bright and deep, which is a higher grade than the previous cotton cloth.It is said that such a good cotton cloth can be sold for 4 yuan a piece in Europe, and the supply is in short supply.Every time a ship transporting cloth arrived at the ports of Bordeaux, Livorno, and Smyrna, they were all robbed. The market was so hot that the English, Dutch, and Venetian cloth merchants hated it.

The color of this cloth is so good, it is said that it is because of a thing called sodium sulfate produced by the Northern Chemical Factory that helped a lot.With this product, many dyes that could not be used to dye cotton can now be dyed, and the color is bright and uniform, which is very popular among consumers.

"How can this be done?" Zhou Dahe was taken aback for a moment, then quickly took out two one-yuan silver coins and one five-cent silver coin from his pocket and put them on the counter, and said, "How can this be done? Two twenty-cent silver coins are the old stamps from before." The price of the cloth has dropped, this is new cloth, both the design and color and the quality are much better than the previous ones. The purchase price in the state-run store is only two yuan and twenty cents, uncle, are you not making any money or what?"

"Uncle, my purchase price is two yuan, and I earned you two cents. Don't talk nonsense, say two yuan and twenty cents is two yuan and twenty cents. Not down to the point where you go to the Invalides Farm." Ruiz said nonchalantly.

The Invalides Farm he mentioned is located by a small river 20 kilometers northeast of Bingtuanbao, near the town of April [-]th in later generations, not far from Dayu Lake, but it belongs to Xiling in terms of administrative division area.The place is called the Invalids Farm, and as the name suggests, it naturally raises a group of disabled and retired soldiers.There were more than a hundred of these disabled soldiers, and most of them had already married. The government allocated [-] acres of land to each of them for free, and also donated a large number of cattle, sheep and piglets.These disabled soldiers receive a five-yuan disability subsidy every month for [-] years. In their spare time, they do some work within their ability. Some of them even hire some southeastern Europeans and Guarani people who have crossed the border. Those who come to farm, the income is not bad.

The military department took good care of these people. A few years ago, the Ministry of Civil Affairs intended to give the smugglers hired by the Invalids Farm official residence permits and asked for their wages to be raised. However, the military department blocked it later, and the matter fell through. , those smugglers then worked for more than a year before they got official status.The construction of the Luomei Line Railway passed through the vicinity of the Invalids Farm. Originally, the Ministry of Communications was unwilling to set up a railway station there because of the sparse population. At the gate of the project department, the Ministry of Communications was forced to rest in peace and decided to build a railway station there.

The two of them were entangled, and with the harsh sound of brakes, a passenger rail carriage stopped firmly at the side of the Corps Station platform.A middle-aged man in a sky-blue navy uniform and a barrel-shaped navy cap got out of the car, followed by a little boy.The little boy was black-haired and blue-eyed, wearing a big cap, dark green military uniform, and cowhide boots. He could be seen as a student from the nearby Corps Fort.

"Luan, I'm here, let's go back to school together." The little boy stood between the stations and shouted loudly.

Lu An, who was busy in the store, dropped the cotton cloth in his hand when he heard the sound, shot out of the store like an arrow, and responded loudly: "Li Zemin, I have been waiting for you for a long time, if I go back later, I will be punished by the instructor." Standing as a penalty."

Zhou Dahe was stunned, but he heard Ruiz's face beaming, and said: "It's Li Yi, Chief Li. He has come here to see off the children several times, and even chatted with me. He is a very easy-going person. He is also very generous. Every time he will leave the bulk of the spoils to his brothers. Although he is a navy, he is really a very good person. Alas, it is a pity that you are going to New China. If you go to the Eastern Heishui Port , you can work under Chief Li. It's a pity, you don't have such a blessing."

"Uncle, you also know about Heishui Port?" Zhou Dahe was a little stunned.

"Of course, who are you as an uncle? Uncle's news is well-informed. A few old brothers who fought together in the past are now officers in the 102nd Company of the Army. Recently, they are conducting field training nearby. It is said that soon I’m going to board the ship and go to Heishui Port later.” Ruiz said with a look of disdain.

As he spoke, there was a look of nostalgia and sadness on his face, and he still murmured: "Mr. Li Yi is a good man, a good man. We went to the Caribbean together..."

(End of this chapter)