Chapter 3438
What you get on paper is shallow, but you know that you have to do it in detail.
After Qian Shaobao saw the prosperity of Xingdao Port with his own eyes, he realized that the Xingdao he had learned from documents and rumors was not the real picture. This was not a wild place, but a trading port with extremely high construction standards.
Of course, the information he learned was not fabricated out of thin air. The people who recorded and disseminated the information probably never imagined that a remote overseas colony like Star Island would continue to evolve at an ever-changing speed, transforming from a "place of exile" into a It became a major sea trade center.
On the berths of the port, in addition to the traditional Fuzhou ships, Guangzhou ships, and Haihan-style sailing ships built by the official shipyard that can be seen in domestic ports, there are also many Clark sailing ships and Galen ships from the West, as well as ships with girder beams. An Arabian sailing ship with a huge triangular sail.
Just judging from the number of ships seen in the field of vision, Qian Shaobao can judge that the cargo throughput of the port here is probably not much inferior to that of several large ports on Hainan Island.
The financial revenue this brings to the Xingdao Region must also be considerable. No wonder the Xingdao Region now has the confidence to recruit talents domestically with preferential treatment, and has also begun to build a large number of warships to expand its naval establishment.
The official ship that Qian and Li were riding was obviously not the first time they came to Star Island. The boss of the ship parked the ship in a relatively empty pier in a familiar manner. Li Dechang introduced to Qian Shaobao that this pier with more than a dozen berths is exclusive to the government. Only official ships traveling to and from Xingdao are usually allowed to berth, so there is generally no need to queue up to wait for a berth.
At this time, there was a team of people waiting on the pier, apparently specially to welcome their arrival.
When they set off from Cam Ranh Port, they had already notified Xingdao by telegram. Presumably the local government had made arrangements in advance.
Li Dechang took the lead and walked in front. Halfway down the gangway, he suddenly quickened his pace and jogged all the way to the pier, then knelt on his knees before welcoming the team.
Qian Shaobao noticed at this time that the person Li Dechang was kneeling on was an old man with gray hair, and his face was vaguely similar to him. He must have been his father Li Dagui.
Although Haihan does not advocate kneeling in worship, it refers to superiors and subordinates as well as officials and citizens. As for the descendants of the family kneeling down and kowtow to their ancestors, that is a folk custom and there is nothing taboo about it.
Of course, Li Dagui did not come as an intelligence officer today. The only reason why he appeared here was to welcome the return of Li Dechang, who had been away from Star Island for a long time.
Seeing this situation, Qian Shaobao deliberately slowed down his pace so that the Li family and his son could have some time to calm down.
By the time he reached the pier, the father and son had finished their brief conversation. Li Dagui took the initiative to step forward, stretched out his hand to shake Qian Shaobao's hand, and welcomed his arrival.
Qian Shaobao noticed that there were still tears in Li Dagui's eyes. No matter what mood he had before sending Li Dechang to Sanya, he was obviously very happy that his son could finally come back to him.
"Lord Roger has already set up a banquet to welcome you. Major Qian, hurry up and get in the car!"
Li Dagui's urging surprised Qian Shaobao. Although Roger was a partner with his father, was it too grand to hold a special banquet to welcome his junior to Star Island?
He immediately comforted himself that maybe it was just a family dinner, not the big event he thought.
However, after arriving at Luo Jie's residence, Qian Shaobao discovered that the specifications of this reception banquet were higher than he had imagined. Two high-ranking officials, Luo Jie and Tan Ju, Ren Wu and Wen, were present. In addition, Sheriff Han Zhengshan, Commander of the Lujiu Division Ruan Fu, Commander of the Star Island Mercenary Regiment Du Lu and more than ten other local high-ranking officials were also present to accompany them.
It is no exaggeration to say that even if senior officials from the executive committee come to Star Island, the reception lineup will probably be at this level.
Li Dechang's status was obviously not high enough for a reception of this magnitude. The central figure in this reception banquet was undoubtedly Qian Shaobao.
Of course Qian Shaobao has met many high-ranking officials from Haihan in the past, but he usually followed his father Qian Tiandun in a supporting role. But in an occasion like today, he actually became the protagonist, which made him feel a little cautious.
Roger and Tan Juren did not show any particular enthusiasm. They just briefly inquired about their encounters with rough sea conditions on the way.
Qian Shaobao did not dare to hide anything, so he recounted in detail how he encountered a storm at sea and had to go to Cam Ranh Port for a few days.
After hearing this, Roger said: "Fortunately, you escaped in time. Yesterday, we received a notification from Cam Ranh Port that two merchant ships were missing in the storm you encountered. The ships were only found on the nearby coast a few days ago." Wreckage, it is estimated that 70 or 80 people were buried in the sea.”
Qian Shaobao was a little stunned when he heard this, but he also knew that shipwrecks were inevitable, and it was difficult to search and rescue them in time afterwards. It was often only after a period of time that the ship was discovered missing during the voyage.
It is relatively rare for wreckage to be found in nearby waters a few days later. More ships lost at sea have no whereabouts at all, and it is impossible to even verify whether they encountered shipwrecks.
Roger continued: "You guys need to rest at Star Island for a few days and take good care of your health. Then I will arrange another big ship to take you to Phuket Island."
Qian Shaobao thanked him quickly and asked about the current situation in Phuket.
Roger raised his hand and summoned the adjutant Tan Tianlei who was sitting at the other table: "He escorted a batch of supplies to Phuket this month. He just came back a few days ago. You can ask him anything you want to know."< br>
Roger had just introduced the identities of everyone present when he took the table. Qian Shaobao knew that his young adjutant was Tan Juren's son, so he did not dare to neglect at that moment. He quickly thanked everyone for their hard work and repeated his question.
Tan Tianlei got straight to the point: "To talk about the current situation in Phuket, I think it can be summed up in one word, that is 'shortage', lack of labor, lack of materials, lack of funds, lack of everything!"
"There is almost no industry in the local area. Before we went there, there was no decent agricultural development. This spring, General Qian led his troops to reclaim some farmland and plant a season of rice, but the harvested food was far from enough to achieve self-sufficiency. ”
"Most of the daily necessities can only be transported from Sing Tao for the time being. A small amount can be purchased from neighboring Siam, Aceh, Kedah and other countries."
"The total number of immigrants sent to Phuket, Langkawi and Penang this year is about 5,000, and more than half of them are sent to Phuket. But the current population size is far from enough. Implement large-scale infrastructure projects and agricultural development locally.”
"According to our estimates, the situation will not improve until at least one or two years later, when local agriculture gradually develops and wean ourselves away from external dependence on agricultural products."