My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 844 Guangzhou Port

"We're here, Guangzhou is ahead. We can change ships when we get to Guangzhou!"

Gouzi pointed to the busy port ahead and excitedly introduced it to Uncle Qi and others next to him.

I saw that the deck of the ship was densely packed with people. Because there was no room for them in the cabin, some people simply lived on the deck. Fortunately, the weather was still relatively hot, so as long as there was no strong wind or rain, there was no problem.

Uncle Qi and others were also excited to scratch the side of the boat, and they stretched their necks to look forward. Most of them had never traveled far in their lives, and they could brag about it for half their lives when they visited the county town. Now they were going out to sea on a boat. And he also came to the famous Guangzhou, so everyone was very curious.

I saw many sails in Guangzhou Port in the distance, almost covering the sea.

"Gouzi, why is that boat emitting black smoke? Is it on fire?"

At this moment, someone suddenly pointed at a ship emitting black smoke in the distance and asked in alarm.

"No, that's a steamship. It burns coal, and its speed is much faster than sailing ships like us."

Gouzi explained with a smile.

Everyone seemed to understand. After all, for people living inland, a boat is just a boat, and they had no idea that there were many types of boats.

Behind Gouzi and the others, the victims on other ships were also sizing up the Guangzhou Port in the distance. These ships were all filled with victims. Because there were many people and few ships, the ships were filled to the brim every day. Not only were the cabins full of people, , there are people living on the deck and even in the bottom cabin.

The immigration fleet enters Guangzhou Port. Although this is the port of the Ming Dynasty, because it is far away from the political center of the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou has a strong commercial atmosphere and the Han Dynasty has a great influence here. For example, these immigrant ships can enter first Port, and there are dedicated people to receive you.

As the organizer of the victims, Gouzi naturally had priority to get off the ship, because his ship was docked in Guangzhou, and there were still some goods on the ship that needed to be unloaded before the immigrants on the ship could be transferred.

As for the victims like Uncle Qi, they were not allowed to get off the boat. The main reason was that there were too many victims. If they got off the boat, they might cause some trouble. Moreover, Guangzhou is so big that if someone got lost, it would be extremely difficult to find them.

However, although the victims could not get off the ship, they were warmly received. Local immigrant merchants in Guangzhou, as well as some Han merchants staying in Guangzhou, also donated generously to buy sumptuous meals and sent them to the ship to entertain the victims.

The victims like Uncle Qi were flattered to receive such a warm welcome, especially when faced with the chicken, duck, and fish that were brought to the boat. They were even more stunned and did not even dare to take off their chopsticks.

You must know that a few months ago, people like Uncle Qi were still fleeing with their families. They could only eat bark and grass roots to satisfy their hunger on the way. Later, when they arrived in Laizhou, although they were resettled, they could only eat rice porridge to satisfy their hunger every day. On the ship, because there are too many people on the ship, the diet is very tight, and we can only eat dry food.

As a result, they had just arrived in Guangzhou, and someone actually brought so many chickens, ducks, and fish to them and let them eat as much as they wanted. This was really shocking to Uncle Qi and the others.

However, this shock only lasted for a moment. When someone moved the chopsticks first, others immediately rushed to stuff their mouths, even children and women, as if they were reincarnated by starving ghosts. of.

Disaster victims like Uncle Qi can feast and drink, but the organizers of the fleet like Gouzi need to meet with the people in Guangzhou. Although the other party has also prepared a reception banquet, they mainly discuss some things during the meal. For example, the transfer of disaster victims, the next route, etc. After the matter was discussed, Gouzi said goodbye to everyone and left. Then he came to the dock and saw many ships docked here. One of the medium-sized cargo ships had the words "Herring" printed on it. This was Gouzi himself. ship.

"The shopkeeper is back!"

The waiter on the boat saw the dog at a glance, and immediately shouted excitedly, and someone on the boat immediately ran down to greet him.

"Brother Gouzi, how is our hometown? I keep hearing about the locust plague during this period. Is it also affected by the locust disaster over there?"

I saw a tall young man rushing over first, and asked eagerly when he saw Gouzi.

"Our hometown is indeed hit by a locust plague, and the entire Kuangcheng is in ruins. But don't worry, Zhuzi, I brought Uncle Qi and the others out."

Gouzi stepped forward and patted the tall young man on the shoulder and smiled. This young man's name is Zhuzhu. He is his brother and one of the few young people he brought out from the village when he returned to the village last time because he is proficient in water properties. , and smart and studious, so he was taken to the ship by Gouzi and became one of his good helpers.

"Uncle Qi and the others are here? Where are they? Why didn't they come with you?"

Zhuzi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately asked about the situation at home again. Zhuzi's mother died early, and his father was an alcoholic. He also drank to death a few years ago, so Zhuzi resolutely followed Gouzi to Dahan.

"Uncle Qi and the others are on the immigration boat. You don't have to rush to see them. After we unload the cargo from the boat, we can take Uncle Qi and the others to the boat. Then they will take our boat to Dahan together. , there is plenty of time on the way!”

Gouzi laughed and said again, although the big man could earn a lot of money by returning this batch of cargo on the ship, in order to transport the victims, Gouzi would rather not do this business.

"Really? Great, I'll have people unload the goods right away!"

Zhuzi was also very happy when he heard this. He immediately ran to the ship to summon his crew and unloaded all the goods on the ship overnight.

Gouzi was not idle either. He found a warehouse to store the unloaded goods. After all, these goods were paid for. He had no store here, so he could only store them in some warehouses on the dock. Of course, It definitely costs money.

Early the next morning, Gouzi drove a boat to join the immigration fleet, and then took Uncle Qi and others on the boat. However, his boat was small and could only pick up some people, and most of the remaining people were scattered. to other ships.

Uncle Qi and others had known for a long time that Gouzi had a boat of his own, and they finally saw it today, so after they boarded the boat, they also looked around. Although Gouzi's boat was smaller than the boat they took before, But it is my own boat after all, and it feels different just psychologically.

In addition to Gouzi's ship, there were other merchant ships joining the immigrant fleet. The extra immigrants from other ships were assigned to these empty ships. It was finally less crowded, at least the victims no longer had to live on the deck.

Then after the fleet was replenished, it set off again, leaving Guangzhou and heading south to the fleet's first stop, which was the port of Manlajia.

(End of this chapter)