1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2163
"Monk, look, the official road outside the village leads from Dinghai Port to Baiquan Town. With this road, it is very convenient to transport our products to the port, and then ship them from there. Sell ​​it at a good price thousands of miles away. Whether it is building a port or building a road, it has practical benefits for us, right? If there are benefits, then everyone can do it and it’s over. It doesn’t matter if it’s corvee or not. Hurry up? Besides, besides the government, who else can organize so many people to work on such a large project?"

Whether it is a large-scale project such as Dinghai Port, or the most basic infrastructure such as farmland irrigation and road transportation in various villages on the island, the Zhoushan authorities have always organized the people to build it, and it is not much different from traditional corvee labor. .

However, the benefits brought by these projects to Zhoushan are immediate, and even ordinary people can benefit directly. Therefore, the people are not disgusted with this kind of corvee apportioned by the government, but they will firmly believe that the purpose of implementing these projects is under the continuous publicity of the government. All for the benefit of the people themselves.Since he was doing things for himself, there would naturally be no resistance.

Although Xiu Nian still doesn't quite understand the operation mode of the Zhoushan authorities on infrastructure projects, she can feel the people's support for the government from Wang Dagui's description.Before he came to Gaoxie Village, he felt that he might be rejected by the local government because of his official position, but after he came, he found that he was too worried. Wang Dagui obviously had no barriers or guard against him, and he answered all questions frankly. , and even left him to have a meal in Gaoxie Village.It seems that this attitude is actually out of trust in the government, so it will fully cooperate with this official post.

Recalling that when he first arrived in Baiquan Town yesterday, Jiang Zian arranged for him to visit ten villages in the area alone. At the time, Xiu Nian thought it was Jiang Zian's intention to test his ability, but now it seems that it may be Jiang Zian's feelings towards Baiquan Town. However, in his heart, he thought that Xiu Nian would not encounter too much resistance when he went to various villages to do business, and there was no need to send another person to assist him in completing this task.

After a simple lunch, Wang Dagui took Xiu Nian to the ancestral hall at the entrance of the village to check the living environment of the Japanese immigrants.

Baiquan Town received the resettlement allocation order from the Zhoushan authorities only two or three days earlier than Gaoxie Village, so there was no time to formulate a more detailed resettlement plan, but it was roughly determined to allocate 20 people to each village.However, Gaoxie Village has been in the busiest bayberry picking and processing period of the year in recent days, and it is also unable to spare manpower to prepare residences for these new immigrants, so the ancestral hall in the village came in handy.

The ancestral hall in Gaoxie Village was built during the Jiajing period and has a history of almost a hundred years. However, in recent years, Gaoxie Village has made a lot of money through the management of bayberry. So last year, the village raised funds to renovate and expand the ancestral hall. The original ancestral hall was used as the hall. All the roof tiles were replaced, a courtyard was expanded outside, two rows of side rooms were added on the left and right, a magnificent archway gate was built on the front, and even the ground was re-paved with stone slabs.

The reason for renovating the ancestral hall is that, on the one hand, after the economic situation improves, it must make the appearance of the ancestral hall a little more beautiful, so that when the sacrificial activities are held every year, the villagers will feel honored; on the other hand, Gaoxie Village The population of the village is increasing year by year, and the space of the original ancestral hall is too small. When the village is about to hold a meeting, it can no longer accommodate the participating villagers.

The newly built two rows of wing rooms were originally intended to be used to store all kinds of public agricultural tools and agricultural supplies in their spare time. It happened that twenty new immigrants came to the town. Without thinking about it, Wang Dagui placed these people in the ancestral hall first. In the wing.

At this moment, almost all the old and young in the village were busy picking red bayberries, and there was only one lame old man doing odd jobs left in the ancestral hall. Wang Dagui asked him to open the wing room where the new immigrant lived, and let Xiu Nian go in to check.

There are only three beds in the wing room, and the rest are all made of straw mats and quilts on the floor.The personal belongings of the immigrants are placed on their respective bunks, and it doesn't look messy.

"There are only a few extra beds in the village, so most of the people have to sleep on the floor for a few days first, and then we will find a place for them when they are busy." Wang Dagui introduced next to him: "Meals are provided by the village, and we guarantee that there will be no food." Just make them hungry!"

From Xiu Nian's point of view, although the conditions of this temporary residence are relatively simple, they are far better than those days when they were waiting for transshipment in Seogwipo.Presumably, these immigrants who have suffered a lot should not complain too much about the current environment.At least there is no need to worry about food and lodging here, and the village head has already made plans for their arrangements, so their future life should be guaranteed.

Xiu Nian said: "Then there is Village Chief Lao Wang! If there are people who refuse to obey the discipline, please also worry about Village Chief Wang!"

Wang Dagui laughed and said: "Whoever refuses to be disciplined and obeys orders will stop eating him. No matter how angry he is, how many days of hunger can he endure? After a few days of hard work, he will naturally become obedient. But starting today Judging from the situation of the workers, they should all be fine, and no thorns have been found yet."

Leaving the village from the ancestral hall, Wang Dagui took Xiu Nian to the nearby fruit forest, and went to the place where the Japanese immigrants in the village were assigned to work, and asked him to talk to the immigrants by himself.

With the previous experience, Xiu Nian didn't need to spend too much time on these immigrants. He just found two or three people to check their situation after they came to Gaoxie Village, and it was basically consistent with what Wang Dagui said. , then there is no need to waste time asking questions one by one.

Xiu Nian remembered that she had to visit another village today, so she bid farewell to Wang Dagui immediately.Wang Dagui did not forget what he had promised him before, and called a helper from Fuqiang Village to show Xiu Nian the way. Before leaving, he even gave him a small can of dried red bayberry, and asked him to take it home and eat slowly: In less than two days, this management will take longer. You can also come to our place when you are free. It just so happens that the village plans to raise money to build a land temple this year. Come and help me, monk, to see Fengshui or something. Treat you badly!"

Xiu Nian couldn't laugh or cry, Xin Dao said that he was not a Feng Shui master, how could he know these messy skills, besides, he didn't know which gods were enshrined in the land temple, so how could he point fingers at will.However, Wang Dagui's hospitality still moved him quite a bit, and he said that he would visit Gaoxie Village again when he found time.

After leaving Gaoxie Village, Xiu Nian asked the young man who led the way: "If you come to help Gaoxie Village like you, Village Chief Wang will count your wages for you, right?"

The young man nodded and said: "Of course the wages have to be calculated, every day, and Gaoxie Village only needs young and strong workers who can work quickly to work as helpers, not everyone can come to earn wages... Wang Dagui is very good at calculating!"

Xiu Nian felt a little funny when he called Wang Dagui by his name, so she went on to say: "But I heard from Village Chief Wang that your Fuqiang Village is richer than Gaoxie Village, so why don't you do your own work and come here to earn money for them?" money?"

The boy said: "After a while, our village will start harvesting rice, and we have to ask people from Gaoxie Village to help."

Xiu Nian suddenly realized that the two villages had actually cooperated for a long time, staggering time slots and concentrating labor to one place to complete the work.However, the helpers hired from the other village settle their own expenses, which is very in line with the business atmosphere of Haihan Kingdom.

Fuqiang Village is only two or three miles away from Gaoxie Village, and the cultivated land between the two villages is even connected together. If the young man hadn't pointed out to Xiu Nian that an irrigation canal one and a half feet wide on the ground was the border between the two villages, he would probably have It is difficult to realize when I have stepped into the boundary of Fuqiang Village.

Outside Fuqiang Village, Xiu Nian saw a row of pottery kilns on the slope from a distance, outside were hundreds of pots and jars of various styles, as well as stacks of tiles and piles of blue bricks.There are at least a hundred bare-chested young men busy in front of these pottery kilns, and it seems that the scale of production is not small.

Xiu Nian didn't even enter the village, so she met Ren Song, the head of the village.Unlike Wang Dagui, who is in the prime of life in Gaoxie Village, Ren Song is already over sixty years old. When Xiu Nian saw him, he was teaching the Japanese immigrants who had just been assigned here to make bricks.

Hearing the introduction from the boy leading the way that the man dressed as a monk in front of him was an official dispatched by the town office, Ren Song first washed his hands in the sink next to him, then stood up slowly with his knees propped up, cupped his hands toward Xiu Nian and said, "See I'm a badass, sir!"

Xiu Nian didn't dare to trust her, she quickly introduced her identity and purpose of coming, and showed the letter of introduction from the town hall.Ren Song nodded and said: "The people brought back yesterday are all here, the master can ask them by himself."

This Ren Song's attitude is not as enthusiastic as Wang Dagui's, but Xiu Nian feels that he is neither humble nor overbearing, more calm, obviously someone who has seen the world.Wang Dagui said before that the head of Fuqiang Village is an immigrant from the north, so it seems that he has some special experience.

Like Gaoxie Village, the new immigrants who were assigned to Fuqiang Village did not have any rest and adaptation period, and began to receive labor skills training on the second day they arrived here.Although the language is still difficult to communicate effectively, the skill of making bricks and tiles is not complicated. After a few times of teaching by skilled workers, as long as people who are not too stupid can learn it, it takes half a day to familiarize themselves with the skills , you can make do with it and start working.

Xiu Nian asked a few people and confirmed that their food and accommodation had been properly arranged, so she didn't ask any more questions.He is very clear that for these Japanese immigrants who were forced to settle in Zhoushan, survival is the top priority. As for issues such as living conditions and working conditions, they are not yet qualified to make more demands on the government.

Instead of wasting saliva with these ugly immigrants, he would rather have a chat with the old village chief and hear his attitude towards the new immigrants and his views on the development prospects of the local area.

"When you know how to make bricks and tiles, then pick some smart and studious ones from among them and teach them how to make pottery. If you can learn a craft, you will be able to have a meal no matter where you go in the future. Like Gaoxie Village It looks very beautiful to rely on mountains and eat mountains like that, but people can only guard one-third of an acre of land, and it is difficult to go outside."

Xiu Nian silently savored Ren Song's words, and felt that there was some truth to them.When I visited Gaoxie Village in the morning, I felt that the bayberry industry there was doing well, and that the village head Wang Dagui was a capable person who could sell the fruit produced in this Haidao mountain village to the Haihan capital thousands of miles away.However, what Ren Song said made him realize that the industrial development prospects of Gaoxie Village can be viewed from another angle.

Wang Dagui said that the varieties of bayberry in Gaoxie need to pick water and soil, and only Gaoxie village on Zhoushan Island can grow that kind of high-quality bayberry. This certainly formed the condition that rarity is the most expensive thing, but it also restricted Gaoxie village. village development.They can only grow and process this special fruit locally, and if they leave Gaoxie Village one day, they will no longer be able to rely on this industry to make a living.

As long as the villagers of Fuqiang Village have learned the skills of firing bricks and tiles or making pottery, even if they leave Fuqiang Village, Baiquan Town or even Zhoushan Island in the future, they don’t have to worry about not having the skills to support themselves—as long as there are people living in a place, they will eventually need it. Bricks and tiles and pots and jars are used.

In comparison, it seems that the development prospects of Fuqiang Village are indeed better.Xiu Nian also remembered that Wang Dagui mentioned to herself that the pottery industry in Fuqiang Village does not distinguish between seasons. Although the output is all cheap daily necessities, the market must be much wider than that of fruits in one season. Wang Dagui said that Fuqiang The village is richer, and it seems that it is not a lie.

But is the industry that allows villagers to go out must be the best development direction?Xiu Nian also thinks not necessarily, his hometown Hirado has always been based on navigation and transnational trade as the pillar industries, but what is the result of going out?After the Matsuura family took over the Hirado Domain, it only had a golden development period of more than 30 years, and then attracted powerful enemies and led to complete destruction.

Xiu Nian still doesn't quite know the real reason why the Haihan army attacked Hirado, but it is undoubtedly directly related to Hirado's development strategy.If Hirado Island, like other places in Japan, was based on agriculture with peace of mind, it would certainly not attract the Haihan army from thousands of miles away.

Xiu Nian's limited knowledge and experience made it difficult for him to fully understand the differences in industrial development in the two different environments of Hirado and Zhoushan.Although he can also realize that Haihan's social system is very different from the Hirado clan he used to live in, there are still many questions that cannot be answered.

"I heard that Village Chief Ren used to live in Daming? Do you think there is any difference between Daming and Haihan?"

Ren Song glanced at Xiu Nian, not quite sure what the purpose of this official monk asking this question was, so he only gave a balanced answer: "The old man is indeed from the Ming Dynasty, and he went south to avoid the war a few years ago I voted for Haihan. If there is any difference, I feel that Haihan is more peaceful than Daming. This Zhoushan Islands was a place where pirates were rampant in history, but after I came here, I have never heard of the nearby waters There are pirates in and out. People can live and work in peace and contentment without worrying about being involved in wars. I think this is the biggest difference.”

(End of this chapter)