North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 6: Stepping on the Land Across the Ocean
“That’s the Santa Cruz Lighthouse!”

At some point, Captain Vic stood behind Zu and Vivian.

He gazed at the hazy coastline in the distance and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry! We've gone off course and drifted further south. San Francisco is still over 40 nautical miles to the north."

"Captain, you're truly amazing!" A-Zu said with a smile. "Without any navigational equipment, under your guidance, our little boat has only deviated forty nautical miles. You truly are the man who survived!"

Captain Vic didn't respond and continued, "Now, we have two options. One is to land directly in Santa Cruz. After drifting at sea for so long, I think everyone is impatient."

"What about the second option?"

"The second option is to still go to San Francisco and land at Clarke Pier. After all, that is our real destination."

A Zu thought for a moment and then asked, "Then according to Captain, where should we dock?"

"Haha!" Captain Vick laughed. "The Barbara has sunk, taking all your Chinese workers' identification documents and credit agreements with it! No matter where you land, you will face the harassment of those customs termites."

"Of course, if you have money, those silverfish are easy to get rid of."

Captain Vic looked at Azu: "The question is, do you have money?"

Ah Zu shook his head. "Money, I definitely don't have it! But, Captain, there must be another way, right?"

"What's the solution? We can just choose any deserted beach to land on. If we're lucky enough, we should be able to save our scalps before we walk into San Francisco!"

"Indians and bandits?" Zu asked.

Captain Vick nodded.

"Is there no other way?"

Captain Vic was silent for a moment before he said, "There's a shipyard in Hunters Point, just south of San Francisco. The owner of the shipyard and I are good friends, so docking there should save us a lot of trouble."

"I knew that Mr. Captain would find a way!"

"Let's go there!"
-
It took more than forty nautical miles, and more than a dozen people on the boat paddled together until dusk, when they finally passed through the San Francisco Channel.

When passing through the strait, A Zu looked up at the towering mountains and naval fortresses on the shore, as well as the location where the Golden Gate Bridge stood in later generations, and suddenly felt a lot of emotion.

The narrow strait, only two or three kilometers wide, is crowded with ships of all sizes coming and going, their masts full of sails and chimneys spewing black smoke. The cabins are like sardine cans, packed with countless gold diggers from all over the world who have the dream of finding gold.

A-Zu and his crew's small wooden boat is just an insignificant ant among the numerous ocean-going vessels!

The layers of waves raised by the big ship made the small wooden boat bump around like a roller coaster.

The sea gradually calmed down until we entered the small bay.

"Bang!"

More than an hour later, the sky became completely dark. With a slight sound, the bow of the small wooden boat hit the rocks on the shore.

After drifting on the sea for more than three months, especially the month after the "Barbara" sank, everyone on the boat was already suffocating.

Everyone rushed to the shore. Many of them knelt on the solid ground as soon as they got ashore, their eyes filled with tears of excitement, and they kept kissing the ground.

Only those who often encounter shipwrecks can understand the joy of surviving a disaster and escaping death!

A-Zu held Vivian's little hand and was the last one to go ashore.

Take a step forward with your right foot and step onto American soil.

At this moment, A-Zu suddenly remembered the famous scene in later generations! "That's one small step for a man...!"

The difference is that most of the famous scenes in later generations were shot in a studio hundreds of kilometers to the south.

But I have actually taken a solid step forward!
This step is not so pleasant! After being on the sea for a long time, when you first step onto land, you will feel that the land is also constantly rising and falling.

It was already evening, and the shipyard workers had long since left. In the silent shipyard, only the few gas lamps around cast a dim yellow light.

Turning around and taking a closer look at the environment of the shipyard, A Zu found that the shipyard was really not small!
It covers an area of ​​at least a thousand acres and has three dry docks that are hundreds of meters long. One of them houses an old sailboat waiting for repairs.

The huge clipper looked like a giant beast lying in its lair in the darkness!

On the left side of the shipyard are piles of various woods and a wooden factory building.

On the right are stacked layers of canvas, various repair materials, and a smaller factory building.

In the middle is a three-story Spanish-style wooden building, which is the shipyard's office building.

Seeing the pile of old wood and canvas, A Zu's eyes lit up slightly.

"Pa!" Vic came over and patted A-Zu on the shoulder: "Lee, come with me, let's go talk to old Jason."

"What to talk about?" Azuqi asked.

Vic's face was gloomy, and he said calmly, "I've thought it through. My affairs cannot implicate you. You have given me the opportunity to be with my family again. Although... maybe I can't be with them for long... but it's enough!"

"So...!" Vic changed the subject: "I have to repay you!"

A-Zu just smiled and said nothing.

"The boat tickets and interest you owe me are now written off. You are now free!"

The boat tickets for thirteen Chinese workers, including A-Zu, cost $650. Including interest, it was about $1,000.

In that year of gold rush and labor shortage, Captain Vic only needed to sell his interests and each Chinese worker could easily be sold for $100.

Thirteen hundred dollars!
This is a considerable fortune!

Captain Vic himself was still in debt, so how could he give up so easily?
Just as A-Zu was about to speak, Vic stopped him with a wave of his hand: "Anyway, I'm already bankrupt. If I go bankrupt and liquidate, the debt you owe me will be automatically transferred to those Jews. We can't let them get away with it."

Hearing him say this, A Zu couldn't help but feel touched.

Vic continued, "Although you are free, I have a piece of advice. Gold panning is only for adventurers! The few who get rich overnight are stepping on piles of bones! You don't have the gold panning skills or a mining license, so going gold panning is not a wise choice!"

"Then what does Captain mean is...?" A Zu couldn't help but ask
Vic replied, "I have a good relationship with Jason, the owner of this shipyard. I plan to temporarily place you here. It's up to you to choose whether to stay here and learn some ship repair skills to make a living, or to go mining for gold."

A Zu nodded and said, "Captain, thank you for your kindness. I am ready to...!"

As he was speaking, he saw a faint light flickering on and off at the dark main entrance of the three-story building.

Then, a burst of heavy and hurried footsteps was heard!

A middle-aged bald man, smoking a cherrywood pipe, wearing scarlet silk pajamas and patterned shorts, and holding a double-barreled shotgun, appeared on the porch.

"Which son of a bitch dares to cause trouble on my territory? I will definitely smash your eggs!"

Thanks to Xiaomao Sanyue and Fengqixunyanshi for their tips!
Thanks to the book friends who voted for recommendations such as When the Wind Rises, Love Pickled Cabbage Dumplings, and Love Tender Beef!
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(End of this chapter)