Wild North America 1846

Chapter 556 Civilian Life
At noon, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang restaurant was very lively. Judging by the attire of these guests, they were either merchants nearby or workers in the wharf factory. The restaurant mainly catered to the tastes of the common people, and the business was quite good.

Under the enthusiastic recommendation of the shop waiter, Li Cha ordered 4 signature dishes, a soup, and a pot of Shaoxing rice wine, and sat at the table by the window to wait patiently.

Although his eyes were looking out of the window, his ears were pricked up to listen to the guests' discussions and feel the ordinary people's life in the city.

listened for a while

Most of the guests in the restaurant talked about things around them, such as which grain and oil trader has made a lot of money recently, the Changan Hussars of the North American Major League Baseball just won the Salem Steel Team, the famous Chinese scientist Li Ru just invented the ore radio , causing a sensation...

Or how much has the price of a single-family house in Beigang District increased?Those Chinese immigrants who bought properties in the early years made a lot of money.

Boss Guan, a wealthy businessman who runs a cement factory in this district, married his sixth house, a Chinese concubine. He heard that he paid nearly 6 Tang Yuan for the wedding, which is really rich!
all these
Ordinary people mostly focus on the people and things around them, and no one pays attention to the Franco-Prussian War, which is attracting international attention.Not to mention the end of the civil war in the Fusang Islands and the suppression of the rebel army by the Spanish colonists on a large-scale and other international affairs, which are too far away from ordinary people.

"Guest officer, here is your stewed venison, fried liver tip, cold fungus and hot and sour radish sticks. Please use it slowly when the dishes are ready. There is also a soup. I will serve it to you later."

The waiter put the dishes on the tray on the table one by one, as well as the bowls and chopsticks and a pot of warm Shaoxing rice wine, and said attentively.

Li Cha looked at the rich aroma of the braised venison, and the crispy tenderness of the roasted liver tip, and he couldn't help moving his index finger, and responded with satisfaction; "That's very good, Xiao Er, go greet other guests!"

"Guest officer, take your time." The shop clerk turned around and left.

The store is busy now, and the waiter can't be free for a moment.

Pour a cup of warm yellow rice wine, paired with venison with rich sauce, Li Cha ate it leisurely by himself, feeling very relaxed.

he noticed;

Just a short while after entering the restaurant, the patrolling police on the street passed by twice.

After all, this is Chang'an, the imperial capital, at the foot of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The Police Administration is very strict on law and order. Li Cha didn't see any members of the society who were shouting and shouting. Few of the pedestrians who came and went carried guns.

Even if there are, they are only armed guards of some nobles or wealthy businessmen.

The guns of these armed guards must be recorded, and the police station will issue a legal gun certificate. This certificate needs to pay a certain fee every year, and it is limited to the province of California, and it will not work outside the province.

The empire does not ban guns, but in some large and medium-sized cities it is forbidden to openly carry them on the street, and it is forbidden to carry weapons in public places, except for those with legal gun licenses.

The purpose of this is to protect most people from the scene of hot-headed shooting each other in the street.

In some remote provinces or ranches, it is still necessary for cowboys to carry guns.

There are many wild wolves in North America, especially in the northern provinces where there are a large number of bison, brown bears and other life-threatening beasts, and in the southern provinces there are cougars, leopards and wild wolves, and gun protection is inseparable.

In the city it is unnecessary and will only cause panic among other populace.

The most common patrolling police on the street are two-person teams. They wear dark blue police uniforms, with police badges on their chests, and wide-brimmed cowboy hats with North American styles on their heads.

The police uniform is a woolen dress with the characteristics of the Tang Dynasty, with horizontal buttons and a police belt. The overall dress looks quite stylish.

Patrolmen are generally equipped with a Colt police revolver, a two-foot baton, a police whistle, and a leather case.

The mounted police will be equipped with an extra long gun, because most of the areas patrolled by the mounted police are in the outer suburbs, and they must have stronger firepower when encountering vicious gangsters.

There are punishment sheets and pens in the cowhide wallet, which can check all illegal behaviors on the street, including directing traffic, correcting street vendors, defecating in mule carts, destroying public property, drinking and making troubles, beatings and fighting, A series of things, such as going against the weather, are really all-encompassing.

The punishment sheet is a very effective means, and it is also a common method used by patrol officers.

in the restaurant

On a square table in the corner, two middle-aged men and a woman were eating with two girls, and they only ordered two dishes, one meat and one vegetarian.

The older girl was about seven or eight years old, and the younger one was only about 3 years old. She sat in a corner with a timid expression and ate a meal soaked in vegetable soup. The two lesbians did not dare to lift their heads.

The middle-aged man made a jug of wine, put the only meat and vegetables in front of him, and ate and drank by himself. His face was already slightly red, and he seemed to have drunk a lot.

The middle-aged woman looked kindly, took care of the two girls while eating, and whispered something...

It was not unusual for women to have a low status in this day and age.

It so happened that Li Cha's eyes and ears were extremely sharp, and when he heard the middle-aged woman scolding the older girl in a low voice, he said;

"If you dare to run around again, I will discount your legs and sell them to a black kiln on the side of the road..."

Li Cha's eyes sharpened immediately, and he quickly lowered his head to cover it up.

Needless to say
There is indeed human trafficking in the empire, but most of them are white women and Indian women captured in previous wars, or mail-order brides from the Divine Continent or Europe, which cannot be banned for the time being.

But trafficking in children is a clear violation of the criminal law.

This is because the Tang Empire has experienced more than 20 years of economic development, and the overall economy is relatively prosperous. So far, there has never been a famine year where large-scale fleeing from famine could not survive, resulting in the sale of children and daughters.

So who does child trafficking?

It must be some villains with bad intentions, abducting and selling some girls from good people to train them well, just like training a Yangzhou skinny horse.

In the future, it will be sold into a brothel or transferred to a rich merchant's family, and a generous dowry will be collected in the name of the natal family to make huge profits.

This is an ancient and unconscionable industry. It was quite popular in the turbulent Qing Dynasty. I didn't expect this kind of sign to appear in the Tang Empire.

At this thought, Li Cha secretly felt angry.

What is wrong with Datang Empire?
As long as you work hard, you can live a peaceful, joyful and prosperous life even with a small business. Why do you have to do such outrageous things?
He glanced at it calmly, becoming more and more sure of the guess in his heart.

Judging from the eyebrows and eyes of these two girls, they both have good foundations. They are both children with fair skin and good facial features. They will not be ugly when they grow up in the future.

Don't think that these traffickers will keep girls for many years, because in the old days there was a vice called child molestation, which was very disgusting.

time travel

Li Cha has changed a lot of history, but he is unable to completely eradicate all the dross of the old era. He can only prohibit braids, bound feet, smoking opium, promoting ignorance and ignorance of human blood steamed buns, and prohibiting the use of gods. Clear regulations have been made on these obvious long-standing disadvantages.

The Tang Empire spared no effort to promote education for all, publicize new styles and customs, and advocate the public to pay attention to hygiene and politeness, gradually sweeping away the ignorance of ordinary people, and slowly affecting the general public.

As for some secret child molestation or the fashionable sleeve-cutting fetish, it is hard to come by.

Seriously
Due to the limitation of investigation methods in this era, there are many cases of robbery, theft, and even murder. As long as the criminals are not held down on the spot, it is very difficult to detect them afterwards.

Now that we met, Li Cha couldn't ignore it.

A moment later
He beckoned for the waiter to settle the wine bill, then took out an extra 5 cents, gave some instructions to the waiter in a low voice, and then got up and left.

Not long after, the shop waiter brought two patrolmen to interrogate the two middle-aged men and women.

While the two were arguing, the older girl suddenly burst into tears with a "wow..." pointing at the two middle-aged men and women and crying, "They are bad people."

As he said that, he rolled up his sleeves, and saw that the girl's white and tender arms were covered with bruises, which were obviously scars from the cruel hands of the adults.

At this time, the situation became clear, and the two middle-aged men and women were held down by the police on the spot. What awaited them would be the severe punishment of the imperial law.

At this time, Li Cha had already disappeared, and he didn't need to come forward for such a trivial matter.

He had already seen the faces of these two heartless middle-aged men and women, and the black shadows shrouded their brows. They were destined to die soon. How easy is it to change their lives?

a few hours later

In a large courtyard, Li Cha rented a room with a real estate agent acting as an intermediary, and paid the owner three months' rent and a deposit.

This is a two-story courtyard, a European-style stone house, with a well in the middle of the courtyard and a few big trees with lush branches and leaves. Although it is noisy, the environment is acceptable.

The homeowner rented out more than 20 houses, and there are about [-] or [-] renters.

Some women wash and rinse by the well, while the children play in the yard, and the cooking is shared in the bungalows in the yard, which is full of the fireworks of life.

When Li Cha, a new resident, came, he attracted the attention of many women who were washing by the well, and then there was a burst of "twittering" laughter. I don't know what to talk about so happily?
The room Li Cha rented is on the westernmost side of the first floor. It is a suite with a bed and a table, but there is no bedding. He bought some new bedding and daily necessities and moved them in. .

The reason why he didn't rent those single-family villas was because Li Cha wanted to experience the real life of the people at the bottom, and to be closer to the people in the market, instead of living alone.

Can the best villa be as big as the Daming Palace?

Is it that quiet?
Is the environment that good?

If he wanted to live in Laoshizi Villa, why would he rush to experience the life in the city?
It would be nice to rent this room and live here every now and then.

open the window
Letting the cold winter wind and the children's laughter pour in together, Li Cha sat on a chair, brewed a pot of fragrant tea by himself, and slowly savored the lively and fragrant civilian life, as if he had come to the south of the country at the end of the 19th century A courtyard in a certain city.

Except for a few weird Caucasian women washing and washing in the yard, the two-story building with a Victorian architectural style, and the smell of meat wafting from the public kitchen from time to time, everything else should be similar, right?

"Mr. Li, excuse me?" A woman's voice came.

Standing at the door was a 30-year-old blonde Caucasian woman with a well-developed figure and an apron around her waist, speaking Mandarin with a Shandong accent.

She was one of the women who were washing by the well just now, and she was looking at Li Cha curiously.

This handsome and tall young man is said to be a teacher in a noble private school. This is a respected profession!

(End of this chapter)