Chapter 439 Outside Changhua City
If we want to compare living conditions, Changhua Port Area, which is still a large construction site, is far from being comparable to the base camp, and even production units such as Yinggehai Saltworks, which are gradually getting on track, cannot be compared. From Qiao Zhiya's perspective, the conditions in the area where naturalized migrant workers live are similar to those in the immigration isolation camp over at the base camp. The construction speed of many supporting living facilities, such as health, culture and education, etc., has not kept pace with the introduction of the population here.
Of course, no matter how difficult the objective conditions are, the executive committee still pays enough attention and support to the time-travelers who are sent here to lead and preside over the work, and provide the best possible living conditions within their capabilities. The prefabricated houses here were all dismantled and shipped from Fort Victory, with large solar power generation devices and water heaters installed on the roof. In addition to fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables, almost all food is delivered from the base camp on a regular basis. On the two ships Qiao Zhiya escorted this time, there were more than a dozen fat pigs and nearly a hundred chickens and ducks sent by the logistics department. The Ministry of Agriculture also Commissioners were sent here to guide the construction of a poultry and livestock breeding center to meet the growing demand for meat from the local population in the future.
Haihan has built and developed multiple disposal bases during its external expansion in the past two years. These large-scale colonial development projects have allowed various departments of Haihan to accumulate a lot of relevant experience. Therefore, the current construction work of Changhua Port Area is also It's just busy but not chaotic. As long as the subsequent transportation capacity and material supply can be guaranteed, Liu Shanxia and others who are responsible for the organization and construction are very confident that they can turn this place into another black soil port within a few months.
Qiao Zhiya came to his residence, took a nice hot bath first, and used the specially provided soap to get rid of the smell of the sea on his body. This kind of purely handmade soap costs five taels of silver per piece in the Guangzhou market. Only a few powerful and wealthy businessmen can afford this kind of luxury. However, for the Chuanchuan people, this is only their own. It is just one of the many labor insurance benefits enjoyed by those with special status.
After Qiao Zhiya came out of the shower, the orderly brought a bowl of hot seafood noodles. The aroma of flower crabs and fresh shrimps immediately whetted his appetite. Ordinary naturalized people could not eat this kind of special food, because the practice of "Yi Noodles" had not been invented in this era. In the original history, Yi Noodles was accidentally invented by the chef Yin Yi Bingshou of Huizhou Prefecture, Guangdong during the Qing Dynasty, and the person who named it "Yi Noodles" was the poet Song Xiang. In terms of its production principle, this thing can be regarded as the prototype of future instant noodles. Because of its simple production method and long shelf life, Haihan's logistics department also uses it as ration supplies for special departments such as shipping, military, and field operations.
However, since there is no flour production in Hainan Island, the raw materials must be imported from the far north. The cost after including freight is also considerable. In addition, the import volume is limited, so this product only exists in the "Special Supply of the Chief Minister" on the list. Of course, the bowl of noodles that Qiao Zhiya ate was delivered from the base operation, but the shrimps and crabs in it were caught locally and were very fresh, plus chives, garlic, Huadiao wine, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, pepper, etc. The ingredients are delicious and cannot be compared to instant noodles.
Qiao Zhiya put down the bowl, wiped his mouth with satisfaction, and was about to go back to his room to catch up on his nap, when something happened.
"Report to the chief, there is a situation at the construction site. Chief Liu Shanxia requires the base to send at least one company of armed personnel to support!" The orderly who hurried over reported to him.
Qiao Zhiya woke up from his sleep immediately and jumped up from the chair. While starting to put on the tactical vest, he ordered the orderly to quickly give the order to assemble the team. Although it is not clear what happened on the construction site, Qiao Zhiya knows that Liu Shanxia is the treasure in the eyes of the executive committee. After all, it is difficult for an experienced and skilled construction project leader like him to find a replacement. If something goes wrong , as the local military chief, it will be difficult for him to explain to the Executive Committee.
Qiao Zhiya quickly put on his combat uniform and combat boots, equipped himself with all the long guns, short guns, daggers and ammunition, grabbed a baseball cap and put it on his head, and hurried out the door. At this time, the soldiers of the militia had just received the order and were running out of the barracks to assemble. Qiao Zhiya, fearing that he would be delayed, ordered a naturalized militia officer to stay and form a team. He himself took the fastest platoon to assemble and rushed over.
The distance from the operation to the construction site was actually very close. Qiao Zhiya led the team to run forward, but they had already arrived at the construction site in a short time. But there didn't seem to be the chaotic situation he imagined. The workers on the construction site were still leveling the road foundation slowly. Everywhere, you could hear the shouts of the workers working together to pound the foundation with wooden piles. .
"Where is the person in charge of the construction site?" An anxious Qiao Zhiya grabbed a foreman nearby and asked, "Where is Liu Shanxia?"
"Chief Liu is in the east...outside the county seat..." the foreman responded in fear, apparently not knowing what was going on.
Qiao Zhiya quickly led the team to continue heading east. There was no need to worry about looking in the wrong direction here, because the road leading from Changhua Port Area to the inland was the current construction site. They only had to follow the road that was being leveled. Just move forward.
About ten minutes later, Qiao Zhiya found Liu Shanxia with his arms crossed and staring at the distant county wall at the end of the road, just over a mile away from Changhua County.
"Old Liu, what's going on now?" Qiao Zhiya was panting as he ran over. Seeing that Liu Shanxia was safe and sound, he relaxed and asked about the situation.
Liu Shanxia turned around and smiled bitterly: "You arrived quickly enough... Just now, more than twenty hard laborers escaped from custody and ran into the county! When we found out, it was too late to chase after them, so we could only watch them escape into the county. Once in the city, I didn’t know what to do, so I could only inform the base to bring troops to arrest him.”
"That's it?" Qiao Zhiya let out a deep breath, turned around and ordered the militiamen who had been running along to rest on the spot.
The matter was far less serious than Qiao Zhiya expected. He originally thought that Liu Shanxia had encountered obstruction from some official forces in Changhua County, or had conflicts with local people or even the people of Limiao Mountain, but he did not expect the hard labor on the construction site. Escape from this situation.
Since the militia garrison currently deployed near Changhua is not large in number, there are two companies with less than 300 people in total. They are responsible for guarding the port, maintaining security at the station, and supervising the hard labor on the construction site. Some manpower is also allocated. To take care of the personal safety of Haihan leaders, and the vigilante group itself has a rotation mechanism, the manpower is actually very tight. The construction area is now more than three kilometers long, and the militia group responsible for guarding the relevant areas only has two platoons. On average, the alert level is about two soldiers per 100 meters. In this case, something happened Accidents of slave laborers escaping are nothing unusual. Of course, this is just Qiao Zhiya's view of the current situation from his own point of view. Liu Shanxia was obviously more excited than him: "More than twenty people ran away! This is the first time such a thing has happened in the hard labor camp. When Black Earth Port was first developed, there were also slave laborers escaping, but never more than five people, and no one ever succeeded in escaping! If these guys escape like this, how can I explain it to the Executive Committee?”
"Old Liu, don't worry. It'll be fine. Leave it to me." Qiao Zhiya patted Liu Shanxia on the shoulder and said, "Wait for my people to rest for a while. When all the people are here, we will go directly to the city to arrest them!"
"Go directly to the city? Is this appropriate?" Liu Shanxia asked with some uncertainty.
Before the construction started, Haihan and the yamen in Changhua County had reached a certain degree of tacit understanding through underground means. The county yamen would not ask about the Haihan people building roads outside the city, and Haihan would not openly send out armed forces. When people enter the city, everyone takes care of their own areas, collecting money from those who should be paid, and building roads from those who should be built, without offending each other.
It was precisely because of this underground agreement that Liu Shanxia did not rashly lead his team into the city to hunt down the fleeing slave laborers. Of course, he did not have many armed personnel to command, so he had to send people back to the port base. Report the news and ask people to bring troops to reinforce. Liu Shanxia did not want to let the militiamen go into the city to arrest people, but asked them to keep a close eye on the remaining hard laborers, lest some people imitate the same example. If there is a big escape later, Liu Shanxia really can't control the situation. .
However, when Qiao Zhiya arrived, he said that he would lead a team into the city to arrest people, which made Liu Shanxia feel a little uneasy. This kind of thing can be big or small. If the Changhua County Government admits it with its eyes closed, then that's it. But if the other party doesn't allow this kind of behavior, wouldn't it be easy to break up? The executive committee has repeatedly issued orders that it must handle the relationship with local governments and indigenous peoples in the Shilu development project and avoid conflicts as much as possible, especially armed conflicts that can easily cause subsequent troubles.
Seeing Liu Shanxia's nervous look, Qiao Zhiya guessed what he was thinking, so she comforted him and said, "There's no need to be nervous. You go do your thing. Just leave it to me to negotiate."
Hearing that he took the matter so proactively, Liu Shanxia felt a little grateful. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave this to you. When we finish work in the evening, we two brothers will have a drink. I still have a bottle of Wuliangye in stock."< br>
After sending Liu Shanxia away, the follow-up militia troops also arrived. Although the team is not large in size, with only over a hundred people in a company, Qiao Zhiya has full confidence in his own strength. After regrouping, Qiao Zhiya led the team to Changhua County in the south.
When they were still two or three hundred meters away from the county seat, the defenders on the county seat had already discovered the group of people outside. Someone immediately notified the highest-ranking local military attaché, Mr. Xiao, the commander of the military station stationed in Changhua County. three.
Not many people know the real name of Xiao Laosan, because his family has been serving as a guard here for generations. He has been called "Xiao Laosan" and "Xiao Laosan" since he was a child. Although he took over the position of the garrison commander, most people still referred to him as "Xiao Laosan" when talking about him behind his back.
As a member of the Guard Army who inherited his father's legacy, Xiao Laosan's growth process actually has many similarities with Luo Shengdong of Yazhou Water Village, but the difference is that his luck is not as good as Luo Shengdong , he met a group of "noble people" like Haihan early on, which provided a huge boost to his promotion and fortune. Changhua County, where Xiao Laosan lives, can be described as remote. If nothing else happens, the rest of his life will probably be spent until he retires and then passes the general position to his next generation. .
However, the arrival of the Haihan people gave Xiao Laosan some hope. His brother-in-law's brother used to eat military rations in Yazhou Shuizhai. Later, he also made a little fortune with Luo Shengdong, and now his family has moved to to the Sanya area. Xiao Laosan has also heard about the various ways the Haihan people make money, but due to the fact that the business of selling smuggled salt has been monopolized by Yazhou Shuizhai, which has unique conditions, it is not easy to make a small fortune through the light of the Haihan people. easy. Changhua has neither local specialties that can be sold at high prices nor sufficient labor force to export people. It was not until the Haihan people appeared in Changhua Fishing Village and sent people to contact the local government of Changhua County that Xiao Laosan finally found a place where he belonged. your own path to wealth.
The condition that the Haihan people offered Xiao Laosan was that he would turn a blind eye from now on and just pretend that he could not see Haihan's actions, and every year he could get a sum of money that was ten times his military salary. the above remuneration. Although this figure may not be considered a good price in the eyes of an upstart like Luo Shengdong, a private salt dealer, it is an irresistible price for the Changhua garrison who are so poor that they cannot afford to eat every year. temptation.
After Xiao Laosan took the lead in agreeing to the exchange conditions of the Haihan people, he even helped the Haihan people reach a similar deal with the county magistrate who rarely showed up in the county government. So soon the Haihan people sent people to Changhua County and began selling private salt, rice, coal, and various daily necessities and agricultural tools produced by Haihan at low prices. The Changhua Fishing Port on the seaside has quickly transformed from a small, rundown fishing village into a commercial port. Several cargo ships belonging to Haihan dock here every month.
A month ago, the Haihan people brought in a large number of laborers and began to build what they had previously called the official road to the inland mountains in sections. Xiao Laosan didn't understand why the Haihan people spent so much manpower, material and financial resources to build this seemingly useless official road, because the area that this road leads to is only the cottage where the people of the Limiao Mountains live. Even if roads are built, these barbarians will probably not leave the mountainous areas where they have lived for generations.
(End of chapter)