Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 435 People’s hearts are broken
Batangas Immigration Center

Another fleet of immigrants arrived and docked at the passenger terminal. The Chinese immigrants who got off the ship were ragged and looked around with excitement and curiosity.

Four huge speakers placed outside the Batangas Immigration Center repeatedly broadcast the sweet voice of a woman, guiding the immigrants forward.

"Dear Chinese immigrant friends, welcome to Chu State. This is the peaceful and happy homeland that all Chinese people dream of. Please follow the flow of people to disembark and go to the immigration center to receive resettlement education."

"Immigrant friends, please follow the direction indicated by the arrow. You need soft beds and hot meals. You need to understand the immigration policy of the Chu State. Please follow the direction indicated by the arrow."

"Please don't crowd, please don't make noise, and proceed in the direction indicated by the arrows."

"Dear immigrant friends, every Chinese immigrant brother and sister who arrives here will be well accommodated. Please remain patient and have a positive attitude and obey the management's arrangements."

On the pier
Walking along the bustling crowd, the 21 members of the Mo family from southern Anhui greeted each other loudly, afraid of being separated by the crowd.

The Mo family is a landlord family in Tongling, southern Anhui. Due to locust plagues and floods in recent years, the harvests from the fields are extremely poor. Every year during the spring famine, the entire village goes out to beg for food, and it is difficult for them to survive.

He simply gritted his teeth and sold the remaining 220 acres of land. The whole family bought boat tickets and immigrated to Southeast Asia, where they heard they could live a good life.

The old landlord of the Mo family was Mo Shoucai, who was in his early fifties. He had three sons and four daughters. This time, the family moved here, with three sons and one daughter accompanying them. The other three married daughters remained in their hometown, their circumstances varying.

The family consists of 21 people, including adults and children, including nine grandchildren and two grandsons. The oldest is over ten years old, and the younger one is still in their arms.

The family of 21 gathered together and followed the flow of people, and soon arrived at the immigration hall.

The staff in the immigration hall wore red armbands and held loudspeakers to divert the crowd, shouting loudly:

"Those from northern Anhui go through Gate 1, those from southern Anhui go through Gate 2, those from Henan Province go through Gate 3, and the rest go through Gate 4. Do you understand?"

"Don't go the wrong way. Go through Gate 1 if you're going to northern Anhui..."

"Dad, Dad, we're from southern Anhui. Those red armbands told us to go through Gate 2. Which way should we go?"

"What are you yelling about? Just go wherever you're told to go. Go through Gate 2. If you don't listen to the government here, who else are you going to listen to?"

"Oh, I see. Second, third, and fourth sons, come over here. This is Gate 2."

The eldest brother, Mo Xueli, was a scholar in his 30s who knew some medical skills and was considered a capable man in the village. He quickly invited the family to go through Gate No. 2.

Follow the large arrow, pass through the long corridor, and enter a hall leading to Door No. 2.

Half of the hall is separated by a cement platform, inside which sits a row of more than a dozen staff members with paper books in front of them, registering every Chinese refugee who arrives.

In one corner of the hall, there are several large buckets of hot water and a stack of bowls for you to use. If you want to drink water, you can get it yourself.

Mo Xueli took a look and knew what this place was for. He quickly gathered all the adults and children in his family and went to the side to register.

Let the second and fourth sons go get some water for the children and the women in the family. Although they are very hungry now, drinking some water can fill their stomachs.

On one side of the registration hall, there are stalls selling white flour buns, tea eggs, tea, fruits and other snacks. The prices don't seem expensive.

Seeing that the children were all shouting that they were hungry, Mo Shoucai asked his second son Mo Zhili to buy some food. It didn't matter for the adults, but the children couldn't go hungry.

After all, he was born into a landlord family. Although he sold his land and houses to buy a boat ticket, he still had some money to spend. Buying some food was not a problem and the price was not expensive.

This family from Tongling in southern Anhui was registered in one place and registered as a large household. The head of the household was Mo Shoucai, and there was no doubt about that.

After registration, both adults and children received a bamboo tag with a rope attached, which should be hung around the neck on a daily basis.

There are three bars on this bamboo sign, which means the third zone, and there is a "丙7" written on it, which means room 7 in row "丙".

The Mo family has a large population and they immigrated at their own expense, so they were allocated a small room for more than 20 people, with each family living in a separate room.

After moving in, all clothes must be disinfected according to regulations. You have to line up next to the big pot, throw all the clothes into the pot of boiling hot water, and boil them vigorously.

Generally, it only takes one or two minutes to boil it. After taking it out, wring it dry and dry it in the sun, and the disinfection is complete.

Everyone can also use the bamboo sign to take a bath and get food, which is porridge and pickles.

If you want to eat better, there are shops selling food at the immigration center. They have meat buns, vegetable buns, sesame cakes, eggs and various cakes, as long as you have money to buy them.

After moving in, the immigration center held classes every day to explain the laws and regulations of the Chu State, the rights and interests that can be enjoyed, the geographical scope of the Chu State, the strictly prohibited illegal acts, and that urinating and defecating anywhere and spitting are not allowed. You can apply for a loan, apply for a job, or farm, but the loan must be repaid before you can move freely, etc. All matters were explained one by one.

Everyone sat in the open space outside and listened to the counselor's explanation through the loudspeaker. If they didn't understand, they could raise their hands and ask questions.

Those who shouted and yelled were whipped, those who disobeyed the rules, snatched food, or bullied the weak were dragged out. They were whipped fiercely in the open square of the immigration center, each lash leaving a bloody mark and causing them to cry out in agony.

Anyone who has been punished will be assigned to a remote island in the future and will not be able to get any good places.

After five days of education at the immigration center, all 21 members of the Mo family were registered. Then they came out of the immigration center, holding copies of their registered household registration documents, and prepared to go to Manila to obtain local citizenship.

This household registration document attachment is valid for half a month. If you fail to become a citizen by the deadline, you will be judged as a displaced population, or at least a person with bad intentions and a criminal record.

If you are caught by the police, you will definitely be sent to a labor camp, and your life will be ruined.

You said you didn't know the validity period was half a month, haha... It's all written on the attachment of the household registration information. It is publicized over and over again every day at the immigration center. If you say you don't know it, you are kidding.

The 21 members of the Mo family took the train and arrived in Metro Manila smoothly. After learning about the local situation, they quickly became citizens of the Southern Metropolis District.

The divisions of Metro Manila are very clear. The land in Longshouyuan District, where most of the powerful people live, is very expensive and the houses there are very expensive, which ordinary people cannot afford.

After Longshouyuan, the second most expensive area is Wangcheng District, home to many middle-class people, military officers, and government officials. The buildings in this area are tall, spacious, and exceptionally clean, and naturally, the prices are high.

Most people live in Nandu, Sihanoukville, Bac Hoa, and Pasig. Here, too, the streets are wide, the main avenues paved with asphalt, and well-established sewer systems. Rainy days are not flooded, and sunny days are dust-free. The streets are interspersed with numerous urban gardens and green belts, and residential areas have public restrooms, making for a pleasant environment.

The Mo family became naturalized in Nandu District. After re-registering with copies of their identity documents, adult men and women received their own identity papers, which were all under the name of Mo Shoucai, the head of the household, and they were considered a family.

Since the family has no place of their own, they are temporarily registered on the street.

Only when you have your own fixed residence can you register in your own house and be considered to have settled down completely.

The Mo family was not without support. Mo Shoucai had family-inherited skills in traditional Chinese medicine, and he knew how to prepare medicinal materials and had family secret recipes. He soon rented a storefront and opened a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

The women in the Mo family are good at delivering babies, and this is also a family skill.

Relying on these family skills, the Mo family quickly settled down in Manila. Not long after, they took out a loan to buy a house and finally settled down.

this day

"What? You want to go to East Africa and live a good life there? Are you crazy?" Mo Shoucai jumped up in shock when he heard the bizarre idea of ​​his youngest son Mo Xingli, who was only 19 years old.

Mo Xingli has been settled in Chu for more than half a year. What he hears and sees here is eye-opening. The scenery from all over the world has been reported in newspapers. He is no longer the Wu A'mon of the past.

Take the city of Manila for example. There are almost all kinds of women, including blonde white women, dark-skinned black women, and red-skinned women who are said to be indigenous to the Pacific Ocean. They parade through the streets every day, which is simply subverting your worldview.

I heard that those wealthy families have all kinds of beautiful women. It makes people feel itchy and inevitably give rise to extravagant desires.

Many wealthy families in Manila started out as ordinary refugees, but they followed His Majesty the King earlier, and now they have all become prosperous.

He has a house, a field, a woman, status and identity, and his life is very comfortable.

In Manila
There are so many stories about immigrants and adventurers who became rich overnight. Many of them are neighbors who became rich through adventures overseas and have now become respectable people.

In such an environment, it is inevitable that young people with boiling blood will be tempted.

Mo Xueli stiffened his neck and said:

"Dad, I'm not crazy. The second son of the Wang family over there sent me 500 silver dollars through the post office. He said he made a fortune as a mercenary in East Africa, with horses, houses, and women. He's already found a blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman to be his wife, and he sent the money back to buy a house for our family. I want to be like him, too, and go out and make some money to honor you."

"Bullshit! If you dare to go out, I'll break your legs. You're living a good life, you're crazy." Mo Shoucai became furious after hearing this, and raised his crutch to hit him.

Mo Xingli did not dodge or evade, and took several blows from his father's cane. He was really beaten so hard that his teeth were bared, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

The second brother, Mo Zhili, and the third brother, Mo Wenli, rushed over and stopped their furious father, Mo Shoucai. While trying to calm their father down, they blamed the seventh brother, Mo Xingli, and said:
"Seventh Brother, why did you make Dad angry again for no reason? Why don't you come up and apologize quickly, take back those nonsense, and stay home and be good to yourself? Wouldn't that be a waste for you?"

"Don't be crazy, Old Seven, apologize to Dad quickly and never have such thoughts again."

"It's so wonderful to be reunited with your family. Now you don't have to worry about food or clothes. I'll find you a wife and give you a few children. Aren't these days so beautiful that you're practically snotty. What the hell are you doing?"

"Hurry up and apologize to Dad. I won't dare to do it again."

The Mo family migrated to Manila. Relying on their ancestral medical skills, they prepared medicinal materials and treated their neighbors. Their lives improved steadily and they soon became wealthy.

In Manila, as long as you have skills and are willing to work hard, you will never have to worry about having enough food to eat.

Both cities and rural areas are in a stage of prosperous development. Even if you don't have any skills, you can pull a rickshaw on the street and still have enough food and clothing to support your family.

In Manila, as long as you are willing to work hard and pull a rickshaw, the starting price is 2 cents, and you can earn at least 1 or cents a day. After paying a -cent share of the bill, the rest is enough for food and drink.

The local prices are cheap. Braised pork head is only 5 cents per pound, shank beef is 1 cents per pound, three baked buns are 1 cent, and meat buns are cent each. You can eat whatever you want to fill your stomach.

Because of this, many local rickshaw pullers are unwilling to do this job and only want to seek adventure outside.

Take the East African Company and the Congo River Company as an example. Almost half of the rickshaw drivers in Manila ran away, including the second son of the Wang family in the neighborhood, who also ran away to East Africa.

I never thought that I could really become something of a person.

The impact of this example is infinite. A stinky rickshaw-pulling coolie went to an East African company and worked there for half a year, and was able to send back 500 silver dollars. What a concept!
If you pull a rickshaw and work hard every day, it will take you more than ten years to save this little money.

It's no wonder that Mo Xingli was tempted. He had studied in a private school for several years and could read and write. He was much better than the second boy of the Wang family. Why was he not doing as well as him?
The eldest brother Mo Xueli has studied medicine with his father for more than ten years, and the second brother Mo Zhili has followed his father to prepare medicinal materials. Now he can also become a master and has no problem preparing medicinal materials on his own.

The third brother, Mo Wenli, took care of the clinic, but the seventh brother, Mo Xingli, did not want to study medicine or run around the family clinic, so he became an idler.

Normally, if I want some flowers, I have to ask my dad for them, but I can't resist his suggestion.

It just so happened that after the seventh brother Mo Xingli turned sixteen, his family suffered a series of disasters and the harvest was greatly reduced. Due to this delay, he was unable to find a wife and is now a lonely man.

Seeing that his neighbor Wang Er was doing well in the East African company, he was really tempted.

If you follow the East African company on an adventure, you will be given 100 acres of land when you get there, and you will also be given a loan to buy horses, guns, and women. As long as you dare to take risks, making money will be a piece of cake.

If you just rob a few Arab women and a few horses, wouldn't they all be shining gold?

Even if you are in a bad situation and don't have the courage to kill or rob, you can still buy a few slaves on credit from the East African Company, and you can make money by growing crops, vegetables and raising livestock. I heard that the prices given by passing cargo ships are not low, so it is a good business.

Even if you hitch a horse-drawn carriage and work at the port, you can earn more than ten silver dollars a month, which is much more than what you can earn at home.

In the native land of Chu, because there are many Chinese people, the competition is fierce. Growing crops, vegetables, raising chickens and ducks cannot be sold at a good price, and land and houses are extremely expensive.

People who are not doing well locally are all trying to run away.

When they arrived in Southeast Asia, the Chinese who had originally been honest farmers became disillusioned. Since there were so many ways to make money, why couldn't I do the same?
(End of this chapter)