Chapter 2163
"Look, monk, this official road outside the village leads from Dinghai Port to Baiquan Town. With this road, we can easily transport our output to the port, and then ship it from there. Going thousands of miles away and selling it at a good price is of practical benefit to us, right? What’s more, besides the government, who else can organize so many people to work on such a big project?”
Whether it is large-scale projects such as Dinghai Port or the most basic infrastructure such as farmland irrigation and road transportation in villages across the island, the Zhoushan authorities have always organized people to build them, and they are not much different from corvee work in the traditional sense. .
However, the benefits brought by these projects to Zhoushan are immediate, and even ordinary people can directly benefit. Therefore, the people are not disgusted with the corvee assigned by the government, but they will firmly believe that the purpose of implementing these projects is due to the government's continuous publicity. All for the benefit of the people themselves. Since you are doing things for yourself, there will naturally be no resistance.
Although Xiunian still doesn't quite understand the Zhoushan authorities' operation mode for infrastructure projects, she can feel the support of these people for the government from Wang Dagui's description. Before he came to Gaoxie Village, he thought that he might be ostracized by the local government because of his status as an official. But after he came, he found that he was overly worried. Wang Dagui obviously had no barriers or wariness towards him, and he answered all questions frankly. , and even stayed with him for a meal in Gaoxie Village. It seems that this attitude is actually out of trust in the government, so he fully cooperates with himself as an official.
Recalling that when he arrived in Baiquan Town yesterday, Jiang Zian arranged for him to visit ten villages in the area alone. Xiunian thought at the time that this was Jiang Zian's intention to test his ability, but now it seems that it may be Jiang Zian's public sentiment towards Baiquan Town. However, he thought that Xiunian would not encounter much resistance when he went to various villages to run errands, and there was no need to send someone else to assist him in completing this task.
After a brief lunch, Wang Dagui took Xiunian to the ancestral hall at the entrance of the village to check out the living environment of Japanese immigrants.
Baiquan Town received the resettlement allocation order from the Zhoushan authorities only two or three days earlier than Gaoxie Village, so it did not have time to formulate a more detailed resettlement plan. It only roughly decided to allocate 20 people to each village. . Gaoxie Village has been in the busiest bayberry picking and processing period of the year in recent days, and it is also unable to spare manpower to prepare accommodation for these new immigrants, so the village's ancestral hall comes in handy.
The ancestral hall in Gaoxie Village was built during the Jiajing period and has a history of almost a hundred years. However, in recent years, Gaoxie Village has made a lot of money by operating bayberry, so last year the village raised funds to renovate and expand the ancestral hall, using the original ancestral hall as the main hall. All the roof tiles were replaced, a courtyard was expanded outside, two rows of wing rooms were added on the left and right, a grand archway gate was built on the front, and even the ground was re-paved with stone slabs.
The reason for renovating the ancestral hall is that, on the one hand, after the economic situation improves, the facade of the ancestral hall must be made more beautiful, so that the villagers will feel bright in their faces when sacrificial activities are held every year; on the other hand, Gaoxie Village The population of the village is increasing year by year, and the original ancestral hall space is too small, and when the village is about to hold a meeting, it can no longer accommodate the participating villagers.
The newly built two-row wing room was originally intended to be used to store various public farm tools and agricultural supplies in his free time. Twenty new immigrants happened to be assigned to the town. Wang Dagui moved these people to the ancestral hall without even thinking about it. In the wing room.
At this time, almost all the young and old in the village were busy picking bayberries, and there was only one lame old man left in the ancestral hall. Wang Dagui asked him to open the wing where the new immigrants lived, and let Xiunian go in and check.
There were only three beds in the wing room, and the rest were made of straw mats and quilts on the ground. The immigrants' personal belongings were placed on their respective bunks, and they didn't look messy.
"There are only a few extra beds in the village, so most of the people have to sleep on the floor for a few days. After this period of work, we will provide them with accommodation." Wang Dagui introduced from the side: "The village will provide food, and we guarantee that there will be no room for them." Just let them starve!”
In Xiunian's opinion, although the conditions of this temporary residence are still relatively simple, they are far better than the days when they were waiting for transfer in Seogwipo. Presumably these immigrants, who have already suffered a lot, probably won’t complain too much about the current environment. At least they don't have to worry about food and accommodation here, and the village chief has already made plans for their arrangements, so their future lives should be guaranteed.
Xiunian said: "Then there is Village Chief Lao Wang! If there are people who are disobedient to discipline, please ask Village Chief Wang to take more trouble!"
Wang Dagui chuckled and said: "If anyone disobeys discipline and does not obey orders, then his food will be stopped. No matter how bad-tempered he is, how can he withstand hunger for a few days? After a few days, he will naturally become obedient. But starting today Judging from the condition of the work, everything should be fine, and no thorns have been found yet.”
After leaving the village from the ancestral hall, Wang Dagui took Xiunian to a nearby orchard, where the Japanese immigrants in the village were working, and asked him to talk to the immigrants on his own.
With the previous knowledge, Xiunian didn't need to spend too much time on these immigrants. He randomly found two or three people to briefly verify their situation after coming to Gaoxie Village. It basically matched what Wang Dagui said. , then there is no need to waste time asking one by one.
Xiunian remembered that she had to visit another village today, so she said goodbye to Wang Dagui. Wang Dagui did not forget what he had promised him before. He called a helper from Fuqiang Village to guide Xiunian. Before leaving, he stuffed a small can of dried bayberry for him and asked him to take it back and eat it slowly: "Put fresh fruits in In less than two days, this will take a little longer. You can come to our place for a walk when you are free. It just so happens that the village plans to raise money to build an earth temple this year. Monk, please come and help us check Feng Shui. If you don’t know, I treat you badly!”
Xiunian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and thought to herself that she was not a Feng Shui master, so how could she know these messy skills? Besides, she didn't know which gods the earth temple offered, so how could she point fingers at will. However, Wang Dagui's hospitality still moved him quite a bit, and he immediately said that he would find time to visit Gaoxie Village again.
After leaving Gaoxie Village, Xiunian asked the young man who led the way: "If you come to Gaoxie Village to help, Village Chief Wang should calculate your wages, right?"
The young man nodded and said: "Of course wages have to be calculated and paid every day. Moreover, Gaoxie Village only requires young and strong workers to work as helpers, not just anyone can come and mix wages... Wang Dagui is very good at calculating!"< br>
Xiunian felt a little funny when he called Wang Dagui by his first name, so he continued: "But I heard from Village Chief Wang that your Fuqiang Village is richer than Gaoxie Village. Why don't you do your own work and come here to earn money from them?" Money?”
The young man said: "Our village will start harvesting rice in a while, and we will have to find people from Gaoxie Village to come and help." Xiunian suddenly realized that the two villages were actually cooperating for a long time, and the labor force was concentrated in one place at different times to complete the work. However, the helpers hired from the other village settled their own expenses, which was in line with the business atmosphere of Haihan Country.
Fuqiang Village is only two or three miles away from Gaoxie Village, and the cultivated land between the two villages is even connected. If the young man Xiang Xiunian hadn't pointed out that a one-and-a-half-foot-wide irrigation canal on the ground is the junction line of the two villages, he would probably have It's hard to realize when you entered Fuqiang Village.
Outside Fuqiang Village, Xiunian saw a row of pottery kilns on the slope from a distance. There were hundreds of pots and jars of various styles outside, as well as stacks of tiles and large piles of green bricks. There are at least hundreds of topless young men busy in front of these pottery kilns. It seems that the scale of production is not small.
Xiunian didn't even enter the village, so she met the village chief Ren Song here. Unlike Wang Dagui, who was in his prime in Gaoxie Village, Ren Song was already in his sixties. When Xiunian saw him, he was teaching the Japanese immigrants who had just been assigned here to make bricks step by step.
After listening to the young man leading the way, he said that the man dressed as a monk in front of him was an official sent by the town government. Ren Song washed his hands in the basin next to him, then stood up slowly with his knees on his knees, cupped his hands towards Xiu Nian and said, "See you. I’m sorry!”
Xiunian didn't dare to trust him, so he quickly introduced himself, his identity and purpose of coming, and showed a letter of introduction from the town office. Ren Song nodded and said: "The people we brought back yesterday are all here. I can ask them by myself."
Ren Song's attitude was not as enthusiastic as Wang Dagui's, but Xiu Nian felt that he was neither humble nor arrogant, more calm, and obviously someone who had seen the world. Wang Dagui said before that the head of Fuqiang Village was an immigrant from the north, and it seemed that he had some special experiences.
Like Gaoxie Village, the new immigrants assigned to Fuqiang Village did not have any rest and adaptation period. They began to receive labor skills training on the second day after arriving here. Although it is still difficult to communicate effectively in language, the art of making bricks and tiles is not complicated. A skilled worker will teach you step by step several times. As long as you are not too stupid, you can learn it 70% to 80% of the time. It will take half a day to familiarize yourself with the skills. , we can make do and start working.
Xiunian asked a few people to confirm that their food and accommodation had been properly arranged, and then asked no more questions. He knew very well that for these Japanese immigrants who were forcibly moved to Zhoushan, survival was the top priority. As for issues such as living conditions and work benefits, they were not yet qualified to make more demands to the authorities.
Instead of wasting words on these immigrants who couldn't tell you they were ugly, he would rather chat with the old village chief and listen to his attitude towards the new immigrants and his opinions on the local development prospects.
"When bricks, tiles, and tiles are all made, then we will pick some smart and studious ones among them and teach them how to make pottery. If you can learn a craft, you will have something to eat no matter where you go in the future. Like Gaoxie Village It looks quite beautiful to live on the mountain like that, but people can only guard this three-acre land, and it is difficult to go out. ”
Xiunian silently savored Ren Song's words and felt that they made some sense. When I visited Gaoxie Village in the morning, I felt that the bayberry industry there was very prosperous. The village chief Wang Dagui was considered a capable person for being able to sell the fruits produced in this island mountain village to the Haihan capital thousands of miles away. However, Ren Song's statement made him realize that the industrial development prospects of Gaoxie Village can be viewed from another angle.
Wang Dagui said that the variety of Gaoxie bayberry requires water and soil. Only Gaoxie Village on Zhoushan Island can grow that kind of high-quality bayberry. Although this creates the condition of scarcity, it also limits Gaoxie Village. development of villagers. They can only grow and process this special fruit locally, and if they leave Gaoxie Village one day, they will no longer be able to make a living from this industry.
As long as the villagers in Fuqiang Village learn the skills of making bricks and tiles or making pottery, they don't have to worry about not having the skills to support themselves even if they leave Fuqiang Village, Baiquan Town or even Zhoushan Island in the future - as long as there are people living in a place, they will eventually be needed. Bricks, tiles, and pots and pans were used.
In comparison, it seems that the development prospects of Fuqiang Village are indeed better. Xiunian recalled that Wang Dagui had mentioned to him that the pottery industry in Fuqiang Village did not distinguish between seasons. Although it produced cheap daily necessities, the market was definitely much wider than the fruits that were produced every season. Wang Dagui said that Fuqiang Village This side of the village is richer, and that seems to be true.
But is an industry that allows villagers to go out necessarily the best direction for development? Xiunian didn't think so. His hometown, Hirado, had always relied on navigation and transnational trade as its pillar industries, but what would be the consequences of going global? After the Matsuura family took over the Hirado Domain, it only enjoyed a golden development period of more than thirty years. Then it attracted powerful enemies and led to complete destruction.
Xiunian still doesn't know the real reason why the Haihan Army attacked Hirado, but it is undoubtedly directly related to Hirado's development strategy. If Hirado Island was peacefully based on agriculture like other places in Japan, it would certainly not have attracted Haihan troops from thousands of miles away.
Xiunian’s limited knowledge and experience made it difficult for him to fully understand the differences in industrial development in the two different environments of Hirado and Zhoushan. Although he can also realize that the social system of Haihan is very different from the Hirado Domain where he lived in the past, there are still many questions that still cannot be answered.
"I heard that Village Chief Ren lived in Daming before? Do you think there is any difference between Daming and Haihan?"
Ren Song glanced at Xiunian, not sure what the official monk's purpose was for asking this question, so he only gave a smooth answer: "I am indeed from the Ming Dynasty. I went south to avoid the war a few years ago. If there is any difference after joining Haihan, my feeling is that Haihan is more peaceful than Ming Dynasty. This Zhoushan Islands was a place where pirates were rampant in history, but after I came here, I had never heard of the nearby waters. There are pirates. People can live and work in peace and contentment without worrying about being involved in war. I think this is the biggest difference.”
(End of chapter)