Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 330 Mark of the Times
A few days later, more than 20,000 Chinese left on transport ships, and the remaining 80,000 immigrants were still stranded in Songkhla.
The Han officials in charge of immigration affairs and the Songkhla government set up more than 30 temporary resettlement sites in the area near Songkhla Port to ensure the daily food and living of the immigrants.

The original group of Chinese were transported away, and a new group of immigrants poured in from the mainland. The expanded Songkhla Port, with tens of thousands of short-term residents, showed a sense of out-of-place time and confusion amid the hustle and bustle.

Those busy at the dock were the young and strong Chinese coolies who were gradually getting stronger. They arrived in Songkhla before the outbreak of the Argentine War because Britain blockaded sea transportation from Southeast Asia to South America. After they had recuperated and rested for a while in Songkhla, and regained some strength, they used their free time during their stay to work as temporary workers at the dock.

When the market was good, they would be busy for most of the day when there were new Western merchant ships or large numbers of Chinese cargo ships arriving at the port. After five or six months, the young and strong Chinese who worked odd jobs and as laborers at the docks had saved some money. Every ten days or half a month, when there was no work at the docks, the young and strong Chinese would return to the shacks in the resettlement site and buy a pound or two of fat pork for the elderly and children at home to taste.

The Western merchants who lived in the port inns or appeared at the port docks for a short period of time, directing the coolies and Chinese men to carry goods were generally dressed neatly in black suits and dark sailor hats. In order to adapt to Chinese customs, foreign missionaries wore Chinese gentry costumes. Various Westerners appeared in Songkhla Port, and the cameramen who were transferred to Songkhla with the army, while using cameras to record the marching and combat scenes of the Nanyang Corps for propaganda purposes, would also take some photos reflecting local customs and people as part of their intelligence gathering work.

Foreigners, Chinese coolies on the docks, and new immigrants in shacks with dishevelled hair and dirty faces who have just fled from the mainland. The same photo records three completely different life scenes in the same era.

The Nanyang Corps garrison camp is more than ten miles away from Songkhla Port. After the troops were transferred here from the Natuna Islands, the soldiers stayed in the barracks most of the time, carrying out the final pre-war training and repairs according to the war preparation orders issued by the officers. In the small amount of free time, the soldiers would take turns to walk out of the barracks and go to the tavern in Songkhla Port to order a table of food and drinks, invite brothers from the same company and squad to drink and chat, and by the way experience the customs and practices of the Songkhla area which are very different from those of the Natuna Islands.

The Natuna Islands cover an area of ​​only 2300 square kilometers. The islands have been built into a large military camp by the Nanyang Army. In addition to the regular troops and militia of the Nanyang Army stationed on the island, there are more than Chinese people living in the local area all year round and to Chinese immigrants. The Natuna Islands is the third immigrant reception station in the Nanyang region. When the immigrant ships encounter waves or someone on board is sick, the ships will stop at the Natuna Islands nearby to drop off Chinese immigrants who need medical treatment and recuperation, and the ships will stay to avoid storms and waves.

Chinese immigrants on the Natuna Islands usually only stay for three to five days. They will leave the island when the weather calms down, the immigrant fleet replenishes a small amount of supplies, or when the condition of the Chinese immigrants stranded on the island stabilizes.

But the city of Songkhla is different. There are people and merchants of all races and beliefs here. All kinds of things that seem strange in this era happen every day in the increasingly busy Songkhla Port, such as automatic clocks brought by foreigners and boatloads of rubber water shoes carried on Chinese merchant ships. They are comfortable and convenient to wear and not waterproof at all.

The weather in the Nanyang region is hot and the rainfall is abundant. There are many unknown small insects in the jungle and in the water flowing from nearby rivers. These small insects usually bring diseases such as dysentery and diarrhea. Many early Chinese immigrants have suffered from insects. At the beginning, the Chinese thought it was due to acclimatization and did not take it seriously, thinking that they would pass it if they endured it. Later, with the increase in the number of immigrants, even if calculated according to a very small disease-related mortality rate, there were nearly dozens to a hundred deaths among tens of thousands of immigrants. The number of abnormal deaths of immigrants increased, and the Han immigration agency also sent several doctors to check the occurrence of diseases. Then ten years passed. After ten years of exploration and summary of immigration experience, the immigration agency gradually formulated a set of detailed and complete immigration regulations, from the initial extensive immigration to the use of current medical technology and ship transportation capabilities to protect the lives of immigrants as comprehensively as possible and reduce the mortality rate during immigration transfer.

Rubber-soled cloth shoes and waterproof shoes are the most mature aspects of the rubber chemical industry in the Han country. The 1880s and 1890s were the period of the start and development of the chemical industry. Compared with the steel, electrical, machinery and other industrial categories, Li Mingyuan, who was a chemical major in his previous life, served in the army for two years after graduation and went abroad after retiring, knew more about the chemical industry. Therefore, he gave the most suggestions in the field of rubber chemicals.

In the initial stage, China lagged slightly behind Western countries. However, due to the more detailed and clear technical solutions and guidance provided by Li Mingyuan, after ten years of development, the chemical industry in Han State, which relied on rubber, dyes, pigments, textiles, and refined salt refining, quickly surpassed its Western competitors in the same industry and became a world leader in technology reserves and practical transformation.

Chemical industry is one of the basic industrial systems along with machinery manufacturing, steel, coal, etc. Although the chemical production process will bring many pollution problems, for the current scientific and technological development, the pollution generated by the chemical industry is not worth mentioning at all. In the field of chemical industry, Han State was the first country to carry out practical production. After the country's industrial technology matured and various industrial shortcomings were made up, Han State could use its first-mover advantage to make advanced research in the field of environmental protection. On the one hand, it could solve the local water pollution problem. On the other hand, it could transfer heavily polluting enterprises that are highly polluting and cannot be solved by current technology to overseas colonies, territories, or other countries, while ensuring high profit margins and avoiding irreversible pollution of the local environment.

The arrival of technological products such as waterproof rubber shoes and cameras has aroused the curiosity of local Chinese in Songkhla and enriched and facilitated their lives.

Having solved the basic guarantee of food and drink and obtained the ship tickets to South America in order of priority, the Chinese immigrants staying in Songkhla no longer had any worries. When there was no work to do at the dock, they were in the mood to take their young children to the streets to look at all kinds of strange and bizarre things with curiosity.

The number of merchant ships entering Songkhla Port every day is limited. Among the tens of thousands of temporary workers who have eaten and recovered their strength, only a small number of them are lucky enough to get the job of moving freight. Most of the young and strong immigrants have been wandering around the dock for a long time, but have not been able to find a suitable job. Then they return to the resettlement site empty-handed, sitting with their families in the large open space outside the shacks, waiting for the immigration agency to cook porridge and dinner. "Everyone, pay attention. The Nanyang Corps is recruiting logistics workers. The daily wage is 200 wen, and the settlement is made every ten days. Only 6000 people are recruited. If you want money, come to me to sign up!"

A group of soldiers in military uniforms came to the open space at the resettlement site, and a Han official in charge of immigrant resettlement walked to the center of the open space and shouted loudly.

"Sir, can you exchange the copper coins for Han silver dollars or silver?" A man in the crowd asked with courage. "The price of copper coins to silver changes every day. Copper coins are inconvenient to hold and worthless. Han silver dollars are more useful. One Han silver dollar can buy 50 kilograms of rice, which is much more cost-effective than copper coins and silver."

In the late Qing Dynasty, the financial system of the Qing court collapsed. Originally, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins and buy 80 kilograms of rice. In the s and s, silver and copper coins depreciated sharply, and the purchasing power of silver decreased. One tael of silver could usually be exchanged for three or four thousand copper coins, or could only buy fifty to sixty kilograms of rice.

The Han Dynasty's financial system was in a period of transition from the gold standard to the silver standard. Both gold and silver could currently circulate in the controlled areas. According to the exchange rate between the Han Dynasty's currency and that of other countries, the face value of one Han Yuan paper currency or silver dollar was equal to 0.537 taels of silver. However, in terms of actual purchasing power, one Han Yuan could purchase 1 kilograms of rice. 40 Han Yuan, which was equivalent to one tael of silver, could purchase 1.86 kilograms of rice. Therefore, from the perspective of actual purchasing power, we can understand why Chinese immigrants were more willing to accept Han Yuan rather than copper coins.

"We have both Han Yuan banknotes and silver dollars. Anyone who wants to exchange their wages for Han Yuan can register at the logistics department after the work period is over."

"I want to sign up, and I'll be included. I'm in good shape..."

After hearing the other party's explanation, the Chinese immigrants below rushed to sign up.

"Please line up at the front one by one. Everyone will have a chance. Don't be anxious."... Looking at the crowd rushing forward, the official loudly directed the order of the open space.

"Sir, two thousand Songkhla troops are ready, and the troops of the two Generals Chen are all assembled outside Songkhla City."

In an inconspicuous location outside the resettlement site, his officials reported to Mei Dongxing.

"Have City Lord Wu and the two Generals Chen wait in the military camp. I will be there within half an hour to meet and talk with them."

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(End of this chapter)