Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 163 Going to Southeast Asia

In Rong County, Guangxi, a group of ragged people, carrying the elderly and children, walked on a path in the mountains.

"Dad, I want to go home." A little girl about twelve or thirteen years old shook her father's shoulders and begged.

"Youlan, our home has been divided among the natives by the government. We can't go back." The tall and strong man carried clothes and money on his shoulders and touched his daughter's head lovingly.

Huang Youlan turned twelve after the Chinese New Year, and a Hakka girl of this age is already a little adult. More than a decade of fighting between the natives and the Hakkas led to the government's hostility towards the Hakka people. The Hakka people living in Guangxi and western Guangdong were deprived of their land, and they had nothing but to continue wandering. Huang Youlan knew that once she left, she would never be able to return to the place where she grew up, and she was reluctant to leave. She wanted to persuade her father to stay, but she didn't know what to say.

After the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in order to guard against the Hakka people in Guangxi, the Qing government deprived them of their land in Guangxi on the grounds that the Hakka people were fierce and aggressive and that their young and strong people would participate in rebellion. Only a small number of Hakka people who helped the Qing army were allowed to stay there, and the others were expelled.

Five acres of mountain fields and three thatched huts are all the belongings of Huang Youlan's family of five. If they lose their land and houses, even if they stay in their hometown, they will be bullied and retaliated by the Tujia people who hate the Hakka people, and it will be difficult for them to survive.

Huang Youlan's big black eyes were filled with mist. She turned around and looked at the three thatched cottages at the intersection at the foot of the mountain. Her tears dripped like pearls on the bluestone under her feet.

The mother leaned over and placed her rough hands on her daughter's fair face. She gently wiped away the tears from her daughter's eyes and said softly, "Along's family went to Southeast Asia two years ago. He asked someone to send a message saying that there are a lot of wastelands in Southeast Asia. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can earn a piece of land in two or three years."

"Mom, after we earn some land in Nanyang, will we come back?"

With tears in her eyes, Youlan asked with her eyes wide open,
"Wherever the Hakka people go, that's their home. There are many Hakka people in Nanyang. When we go to Nanyang, it's just like being in Shitou Town."

The mother comforted.

Huang Youlan's tears gradually stopped, and a lively look flashed in her eyes as if she thought of the happy life of building a new home in Nanyang.

"Mom, Youlan is an adult now. When we get to Nanyang, Youlan can help Dad cut bamboo and build a bamboo house, and my brother can help Mom cut grass and herd sheep..."

Groups of Hakka people, who were connected by the same clan and hometown, gathered with the money they carried with them at immigration settlements set up by human traffickers along the coast, from where they would board ships to various parts of Southeast Asia.

At Guangzhou Bay Port in Suixi County, Huang Youlan and her family followed the migrating Hakka people to a pig farm.

Hundreds of people crowded outside the pig house, and more than a dozen pigtailed thugs were holding wooden sticks to maintain order.

"Line up in two teams, come one by one, everyone will have a share!" a ferocious man with a scar on his face shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Wang, let them throw away all that garbage. The Inderwood is used to transport coolies, and there is no room for their garbage."

The blond foreigner walking in front of the scarred man said with a look of disgust.

"Don't worry, sir. I will take care of it." The scarred man bent over and lowered his eyebrows, speaking in a flattering tone. When he turned around, he immediately changed into a ferocious image. "A bunch of rubbish, I raised you for nothing, throw away all their junk!"

"Yes, boss." After receiving the order, more than a dozen thugs immediately walked into the crowd and snatched the Hakka people's packages and clothes.

"You old bastard, let go of your hands, or I'll give you a taste of the stick."

More than a dozen thugs brutally treated the Hakka people, and the area occupied by several hundred people instantly fell into chaos.

A fifty-year-old Hakka man held his package tightly. After the thug threatened him, he immediately raised a stick and hit the Hakka man, aiming at the old man's head. If the stick hit him, the old man would most likely die on the spot.

The wooden stick went straight towards the old man's head, and just as it was about to fall, a strong arm blocked the stick.

"Bang" the wooden stick hit the arm with a dull sound. The thug noticed something strange and raised his head to see the owner of the arm, but he heard a cool breeze coming from behind.

"With a thud," the thug was attacked from behind and fell to the ground.

The homeless Hakka people tried their best to be patient when the thugs entered the crowd, but when they saw that the thugs wanted to kill the old man, they could no longer endure it, and several hundred people surrounded more than a dozen thugs and beat them up.

The situation is out of control, and the scarred man has insufficient men under his command. If the situation continues to develop, more than half of his men may be killed.

"Sir, let them take their luggage with them. Once they are on board, we have the final say on whether to throw away their luggage or not!" The scarred man asked hastily. "My king, I am a businessman. My goal is to make money. I don't want the pigs to have any problems before they get on board. I'll leave this matter to you. You must not delay the departure of the Inderwood!"

The blond foreigner had no idea that the riot was caused by his words. He left the problem to the scarred man and immediately left the pig house.

"Fellow villagers, please stop it, this was all a misunderstanding!"

"You were the ones who started this trouble. If you don't give us an explanation, no one here will be able to leave!" The Hakka people were aroused to ferocity. More than 300 people surrounded the pig house and forced their way towards the scarred man and his two thugs.

The scarred man forced an ugly smile and said, "Brothers, we were wrong just now. Wang Erganzi apologizes to you on behalf of the brothers."

"Wang Erganzi, don't think you can act arrogantly just because you have some reputation in Suixi County. Others may be afraid of you, but we Hakka people are not. Uncle Wu's arm was injured by your people. What do you think we should do?"

"Ah Zhong, don't be rude!" Youlan's father walked out of the crowd and bowed to the scarred man, saying, "The Hakkas came to Southeast Asia to make a living. The luggage they brought with them was all their belongings. Isn't it too much for Brother Wang to throw away the luggage?"

"May I ask what is this elder brother's name?"

The man with the scar understood that the other party was the leader of a group of people, so he asked politely.

"Huang Ping, Shitou Town, Rong County."

"Haha, it's Brother Huang. I've heard a lot about you." The scarred man was polite and explained, "The action just now was ordered by the foreign devils. Wang makes a living under the foreigners and has to obey his orders. But I have just persuaded the foreigners. You can keep your brothers' bags and luggage with you. I have done everything I can for you. You can release my people now, right?"

"The villagers go out to sea to make a living and don't want to cause any more trouble. Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, Brother Wang's men will naturally go back."

Youlan's father turned to a man in a red turban and said, "Ah Zhong, release Brother Wang's men."

"Uncle Wu, they haven't compensated you for your arm yet!"

"It's just a minor injury on the arm. It will heal in two days. Just listen to me and let him go."

After hearing Huang Ping's words, the man reluctantly lifted the thug under his feet and put him back on the side of the man with the scar.

"Brother Huang, see you next time!" More than a dozen thugs with wounds all over their bodies came back to his side. The man with the scar suppressed the rage for revenge rising in his heart, bowed slightly, and led his thugs away.

"Uncle Huang, you're just going to let them go like this?" the man wearing a red cloth hat said indignantly.

"We still have to deal with them once we get on board, so we can't offend them too badly."

Huang Ping groaned in pain and held his left hand that was hit by the stick with his right hand.

"Dad, your hand is injured!" Youlan ran out of her mother's arms and looked at her father's red and swollen left arm, saying worriedly.

"It's okay, just apply hot water for two days and it will be fine." Huang Ping endured the pain and smiled.

Yulan's mother held her husband's injured arm and applied the herbs she brought with her to his arm. She told the man standing nearby, "Ah Zhong, your Huang Shu's arm is injured. He can't move his arm for a month. Go to the bamboo forest in the west and cut some bamboo."

The Hakka-Putonghua fighting lasted for more than ten years. Most Hakka women knew some traditional remedies for treating diseases and helped the young and strong men in their families deal with the injuries and illnesses caused by the fighting.

Huang Azhong is Huang Ping's nephew. His father died in a fight between natives and Hakkas, and his mother died of illness four years ago. Therefore, he was raised by Huang Ping and his wife.

Huang Ah-chung drew out the short-handled hatchet from his waist and was about to leave when Huang Ping stopped him.

"Wang Erganzi will not let go of what happened today. Ah Zhong told the other people in the village to hide their hatchets and bring them to the boat to prevent Wang Erganzi from doing anything bad to us."

"Fifth Uncle, I know." Huang A Zhong responded and called two young men from the same tribe to leave quickly.

(End of this chapter)