Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 439 Journey North (Part 1)

Around noon, the "MRT-5" slowly docked at Long An (now Sydney) wharf.

Standing on the deck, Mu Shunan looked at this emerging port town and felt a strange sense of warmth.

His eldest son, Mu Tianyou, worked here for over a year, and then, a little over a month ago, he volunteered to go to the Yongning Bay colonization area.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of Shixing Port, the busyness here is orderly, with several ships moored on both sides of the cement pier, lined up in a row.

Countless dockworkers, chanting low work songs, carried cargo into the ship's hold.

Steam-powered buckets rose and fell continuously, slowly hoisting heavy packages of goods onto the deck of the cargo ship.

"We have arrived at Long'an Port! We will be stopping for two hours. Everyone must remember this to avoid missing the departure time," the boatswain announced loudly from the bow.

"Master Mu, why don't you go down for a walk?" Zhao Yonghe patted him on the shoulder. "Let's take a look at the excitement in Long'an County."

"What's so exciting?" Mu Shunan stretched his limbs and said with a smile, "It's not like this is our first time in Long'an. We can get here from Guangfeng in less than two hours by railcar."

"It's so stuffy on this ship. Taking a stroll around Long'an will help us get some fresh air. It's not noon yet, so we can have a decent meal. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so convenient if we docked at Dongpu Island tonight."

Mu Shunan glanced back at his companions, who were still slumped in their bunks due to seasickness, and felt a pang of pity.

Leaving them on the ship seems rather unreasonable.

"Old Mu, you guys... go ahead." Liu Yao said weakly, "There's no need for you to stay cooped up on the boat with us. Have a good meal when you get to the city, because we might need your help for the rest of the journey."

“Alright then.” Mu Shunan nodded. “We’ll go to the city and find a pharmacy to see if they can prescribe some medicine to relieve your seasickness symptoms.”

"Then... thank you for your trouble."

Mu Shunan and Zhao Yonghe disembarked and stepped onto the dock.

The dockworkers were using pulley systems to hoist bundles of ironware, their movements as practiced as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times.

"These ironwares must not be from Guangfeng, right?" Mu Shunan said, pointing to the goods being loaded onto the ship.

“Oh, this old gentleman has a good eye!” A dock manager turned around when he heard him say this. “These farm tools were produced by Guangfeng Hardware Processing Factory and are going to be transported to the newly established settlement in the Jinchuan River (now Fraser River) area. Speaking of which, since the railcars were put into service three years ago, the cargo volume of our Longan has more than tripled, making this port even more prosperous.”

Mu Shunan looked up and saw a railway track stretching into the distance from the dock freight station, with a long train carriage being slowly pulled by two horses.

The carriages were loaded with various goods, presumably industrial products manufactured in Shixing or Guangfeng.

"This track is 27 kilometers long and leads directly to Shixing City." The dock manager said, following their gaze, "Now it only takes three hours to travel from Long'an to Shixing, which is much faster than by water. Nowadays, about 20% to 30% of the goods shipped from headquarters to the Jinchuan River and the north are shipped from our Long'an Port."

"That should be a small or medium-sized cargo ship," Zhao Yonghe said with a smile. "If it's bulk cargo, we'll still use Shixing Port."

"That's true." The dock manager looked them up and down. "Are you from Shixing City?"

"We are from Guangfeng County."

"Are you heading to the Jinchuan River?"

"Go to the sub-state."

“Go to Fenzhou! Why not just come directly to Longan Port and take a boat? That would save at least half a day.”

"Hehe, that's how it's arranged from above. We can only take a boat from Shixing Port."

"Oh, you two are from the government office? Are you on your way to the prefecture on official business?" Zhao Yonghe glanced at Mu Shunan and nodded with feigned modesty.

Guangfeng Steel Plant is a state-run enterprise, and we senior craftsmen can be considered as half "public servants" in the government.

The two boarded a public carriage heading into the city. There were only five or six passengers, and their clothing made it clear that they were either government clerks or port workers.

Ordinary people are generally reluctant to spend money on transportation. It's only a short distance, and they can walk there in just over ten minutes. Why waste money on unnecessary travel?

The road from the port to Long'an County is about two miles wide, paved with a six-meter-wide cement road, bustling with traffic.

Leaving the dock area, neat rows of farmland lined both sides of the road, with golden waves of barley undulating in the breeze.

In the distance, several newly built mills can be seen, with tall waterwheels turning slowly.

"Long'an's agriculture is developing quite well!" Zhao Yonghe exclaimed.

“That’s for sure,” a passenger who looked like a government clerk said proudly, as if all the achievements were due to his own efforts. “Our soil and water are good here, and after more than ten years of water conservancy construction, we have become the second largest grain-producing area after Guangfeng County. In recent years, the county has also introduced several early-maturing corn varieties from the Agricultural Research Institute, and the grain output has been increasing year by year.”

“Is that so?” Zhao Yonghe said with a smile. “I remember that in recent years, as the development of the Jinchuan River area has become more and more mature, several counties there have become the real major grain producers, such as Zhenjiang County (now Richmond City) and Raozhou County (now Surrey City). With their superior river valleys, their total grain output has long surpassed that of Guangfeng County, not to mention your Long’an County.”

“Uh…” The clerk’s expression froze for a moment, then he said irritably, “I was talking about the main part of Qiming Island, not the entire Xinhua region. However, in terms of agricultural conditions, the Jinchuan River region is still slightly inferior to the Qiongjiang (now the Willamette River) valley in the Ziwu River region.”

"The soil there is more fertile, the sunlight is stronger, and the water resources are quite abundant. It is truly a treasure land for agriculture. Last year, our Xinhua Central Government listed this area as a key agricultural production base for the next five years and invested a lot of manpower and resources in it. It is estimated that in a few years, its grain output will definitely leave the Jinchuan River area far behind."

"Oh, really?" Zhao Yonghe didn't really know much about the Ziwu River region. After the clerk mentioned it, he immediately became interested. "Didn't you say that it has only been developed for three years and is still under the management of a colony? If you want to surpass the Jinchuan River region in agricultural production, it will probably take at least seven or eight years, right?"

“Don’t underestimate the determination and strength of our Xinhua government.” The clerk glared at him. “Take our country’s first horse-drawn carriage track, for example. It is nearly 30 kilometers long and used more than 100 tons of iron, but it was completed in less than three months.”

“Look at the thousands of acres of fertile land across the country, as well as the reservoirs and ponds of all sizes, and the dense network of irrigation canals. All of these were built in a very short time under the guidance of the government.”

"..." Upon hearing this, Zhao Yonghe immediately became solemn and cupped his hands in greeting, "I have learned a lot."

"I still remember two years ago, when our Long'an County was officially established, Grand Secretary Li of the Cabinet came down to inspect it and said something very inspiring." The clerk's eyes gleamed with fervor, "When the people are numerous, they can conquer nature! I wholeheartedly agree with that statement!"

Zhao Yonghe and Mu Shunan exchanged a glance, both showing expressions of deep agreement.

This new continent has been gradually transformed under our construction, turning from a wild and untamed world into bustling towns and fertile fields brimming with vitality.

Just as the carriage was about to reach Long'an County, it suddenly stopped.

Mu Shunan peeked out and saw a group of road construction workers in blue overalls laying new railway tracks at the intersection ahead.

In the sunlight, the tracks gleamed with a bluish-gray luster.

“It’s a double track leading to Shixing,” the clerk said, turning his head. “The original track was too busy and often caused traffic jams, hindering traffic.”

"Oh, then why not build a railway line to the prefecture, or even to the counties and towns further north?" Zhao Yonghe asked with a smile.

"Heh, it's not like no one has made this suggestion." The clerk chuckled. "But the higher-ups say that building a carriage track spanning a hundred miles is extremely uneconomical, far less convenient than using cargo ships."

“Uh…” Zhao Yonghe looked at the other person in confusion.

Why is it that building 20 or 30 kilometers of track can promote regional transportation, but building more than 100 kilometers of track is not cost-effective?

What is the reason for this?
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(End of this chapter)