1850 American Gold Baron

At the end of 1849, a merchant ship, the Cape Town, sailed from Hong Kong to California, drifting on the vast ocean.

The salty smell of seawater seeped into the narrow and dark cabin through the gaps in the deck.

What followed was continuous ups and downs. Liang Yao covered his mouth and almost turned out the bread and boiled vegetables he had just swallowed.

Liang Yao looked around. Under the dim light, there were sallow, weak, and bony faces.

"Third brother, you don't look good..."

A middle-aged man with his hair braided on his head walked up to Liang Yao and asked with concern.

"Second uncle, I'm fine."

Liang Yao waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. This middle-aged man's surname was Deng Mingyan, who was once a petty commander of the Guangdong Navy.

Liang Yao's family background is much more prominent than that of Deng Yan. Liang Yao's grandfather was a military officer of the fifth rank, and the Liang family was considered a prominent family in Xiangshan. Deng Yan was just a fisherman.

Even for Deng Yan, the general manager, it was the Liang family who helped smoothen the relationship and help the general manager to become the general manager from the outside.

Only this time, because Deng Yan was dissatisfied that Shangguan wanted to take his daughter as a concubine, he killed Shangguan and fled overseas with his family.

The Liang family suffered fraud in the Guangdong rural examination, and their grandfather lost his official position. Even the family's life was saved by selling off the family property. The Liang family fell into ruin and inevitably headed for bankruptcy.

Although fraud in scientific examinations was common in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, once it happened, everyone would be considered lucky to be able to save the lives of the entire family.

"The same goes for your Liang family. A son born to your first wife is a son, but a son born to a concubine is not a son?"

I heard that Citigroup has discovered a gold mountain and is forcing you, an 18-year-old boy, to go dig for gold in San Francisco. Why don't you let the boss and the second child go?

You have also been selected as a scholar, and your ability to read is no worse than that of the eldest and second eldest brother..."

Looking at his young nephew, Deng Yan's eyes were full of pity, and he complained for his nephew, and of course for his sister who was a concubine in the Liang family.

When talking about the scientific examination, Deng Yan's wife Zhou quickly winked at Deng Yan and signaled Deng Yan not to continue talking. After all, this was a sore spot for the Liang family.

This is the pain point of the Liang family, but it is not the pain point of Liang Yao. In this desperate and suffocating era, it is not a bad thing for him to leave his hometown and go to California to start a career.

In his last life, in order to escape from the misery of involution, he also went from a first-tier city in China to work on Wall Street in the United States and became a stock trader at the lowest level.

He never thought that there would be no more papers, only more papers, and the intensity of work continued to increase. After arriving on Wall Street, his working hours changed from 996 to 007, until finally he died suddenly on the ferry to work in Manhattan...

Perhaps in this life, in this virgin capital land full of golden opportunities, he can show off his talents, make a difference, become a legendary tycoon, and live a life that he could not even imagine in his previous life.

Suddenly, a woman's shrill scream in the cabin brought Liang Yao's thoughts back to reality from his ethereal fantasy.

Liang Yao looked around and saw his cousin Deng Ying in shock, curled up next to Zhou and wiping her tears. Behind Deng Ying were several ugly smiling faces.

"The little girl has such a lively body, and her butt and balls are more comfortable to touch than Sister Yao. It's no wonder that Mr. Zhang Qian fell in love with your Deng family. Why don't I marry you as my mother-in-law when I get to San Francisco and live together, I don't mind you."

The Deng family are fugitives."

The speaker was Wu Daqi, a wretched young man who was a local gangster in Xiangshan. Because of his bad reputation and the difficult world, he could not survive in the local area. He heard that Citigroup had discovered a golden mountain, so he and a dozen of his friends pooled some money and bought a boat.

Give it a try at Citi National.

"Bah! You mangy dog!"

Deng Yan was furious, and he raised his fists and was about to rush forward. Except for the five Deng family members who were on the run together, they stepped forward to help. The rest of the neighbors and fellow villagers in the cabin looked as if the matter had nothing to do with them.

, turning his head to one side as if he didn't see anything.

Seeing that there were only a few people on Deng Yan's side, but there were a large number of people on his side, Wu Daqi became more confident, put his hands on his hips and laughed wildly.

Liang Yao was not used to traveling on sea ships, so he had to be taken care of by Deng Yan along the way. Of course, he couldn't just stand by and watch his cousin being bullied.

Although he has the brains of a later generation who is in his thirties, his body is that of an eighteen-year-old scholar who has no strength to tie a chicken. Wu Daqi and the others are outnumbered, so they will definitely suffer in a fight.

"You, a helpless scholar, come to join in the fun and ask for a beating?"

Seeing Liang Yao standing up and approaching unsteadily, Wu Daqi said disdainfully.

In the past, he would never have dared to speak in this tone to the son of an official and gentry in front of him.

Thinking of this, Wu Daqi couldn't help but straighten his waist by three points, and he became very proud.

"Third brother, it's better to leave this kind of matter to us roughnecks. You should go back." Deng Yan advised in a low voice. He was satisfied that Liang Yao had such a heart.

"After all, I am also half a Deng family member. How can I not care if my own family members are bullied?" Liang Yao said loudly.

Liang Yao's words won the favor of several Deng family disciples. Wu Daqi still looked disdainful: "No matter what, what do you care about?"

The green-skinned gangsters started laughing and didn't take Liang Yao seriously at all.

"Apologise to my second uncle and cousin, otherwise..."

"What else?"

"Throw you into the sea and feed the fish!"

Liang Yao said very seriously, and then there was a roar of laughter. It was obvious that Wu Daqi and the others did not take Liang Yao's words seriously.

"Only you?"

"Last month, Gui Lao suspected that Chen Awei was infected with the plague. Gui Lao threw him into the sea without saying a word. In the eyes of those Gui Lao and the water pilots, we are not human beings at all, but white silver and golden gold.

."

Having said this, the smiles of Wu Daqi and others finally froze and they began to chew on Liang Yao's words.

Although I don't know if this boy's words have enough weight to make Gui Lao throw him into the sea, but it is true that Gui Lao threw Chen Awei into the sea. Thinking of the splashing sound of falling into the water at that time, Wu Daqi still felt guilty.

And on the whole boat, apart from the pilot who worked for Gui Lao, the only one who could talk to Gui Lao was this young boy.

"Liang Yao, Captain Frank is looking for you."

Pilot Zhang Bingliang stamped his feet on the deck, stuck his head out and shouted to Liang Yao in the cabin. He immediately covered his nose in disgust and left, not wanting to stay in this damn place for a moment longer.

"Whether you want to apologize or die without leaving a whole body, it's up to you."

Liang Yao said a harsh word and left the cabin without looking back.

Liang Yao naturally knew what Captain Frank was looking for.

The weigher on the Cape Town fell ill while passing through Malacca, and Frank had to leave him nearby in Singapore. In this era of limited sanitary conditions, there were too many uncertainties in long-distance voyages, and crew attrition was common.

things.

Frank originally planned to recruit weighers in Singapore, but Liang Yao volunteered and said that he could be a qualified weigher.

After all, all he has on his body now is the eight Spanish eagles his mother gave him before leaving, and the monthly salary of the ordinary crew members on this ship is much higher than this number.

Liang Yao wanted to earn some money to buy some supplies. California is still a wild land and supplies are extremely expensive and scarce. Even if there are any, prices are extremely high due to the gold rush. It is estimated that the eight Spanish silver dollars in his hand will not be enough to get there.

I could only manage to eat a few full meals.

At first, Frank refused to hire Liang Yao, who had no experience, as a weigher. Even though Liang Yao showed him his English proficiency and accounting ability, Frank still shook his head nononoly, until Liang Yao made an offer that he could not refuse.

The condition was that he only wanted half of the weigher's salary. Frank smiled a long-lost smile, nodded and said a long-lost yes.

"If nothing else happens, the Cape Town will arrive in Panama tomorrow. Here is the list of goods to be shipped tomorrow. You can go to the cargo hold to check the goods."

The captain's cabin at the stern is spacious, bright and clean. Although it is on the same ship as the so-called "guest cabin" below, it is like two different worlds.

Frank was very assured of Liang Yao after his previous experiences, and he even proposed the idea of ​​hiring Liang Yao as a crew member. After all, he often took routes to China, and it would be of great help to him if there was someone on board who was proficient in English and local languages.

benefit.

The key is that this young man from the Qing Dynasty is so cheap, and he does things neatly and beautifully. Hiring him is definitely a good deal with a guaranteed profit and no loss.

"We will arrive in Panama tomorrow. It would be great if Panama could open a canal. In this case, we would be able to reach California long ago."

Liang Yao is no stranger to Panama, but now there is no trace of the Panama Canal. When the canal was completed and opened to navigation, the Qing Dynasty was dead, and World War I was in full swing.

During this period, the people of the Qing Dynasty were still ignorant about the outside world, and very few people could name the names and capitals of several major Western countries.

Arrogant and ignorant, this is Frank's view of the Qing people of this period. It was beyond Frank's expectation that the Qing boy in front of him knew so much about Panama.

In the early years, President Bolivar of Gran Colombia had the idea of ​​building the Panama Canal. Later, the Republic of New Granada also proposed having Britain, France, the United States, Spain and other countries work together to build the canal, but in the end due to various factors, it fell through.

.

"Yes, after tomorrow's work is done, your work will be over. This is your salary." Captain Frank took out a bag of coins and threw it on the table, squinting his eyes and showing an unconcealable smile.

"From Singapore to Panama, you served the Cape Town for a total of fifty-seven days. I have always been a generous person and paid you two months' compensation for your fifty-seven days of service. This is what you deserve13

Shilling reward."

Frank is a typical example of getting a bargain and being good. The contract they signed at the beginning was a monthly contract of 26 shillings for the entire voyage including short-term allowances, which was the total of a normal weigher. According to the contract, the money also belonged to the Cape Town.

Paid by the British Steamship Company.

Liang Yao weighed the 13 shillings in his wallet, knowing that the rest of the money would naturally go into the pocket of Frank, a kind man.

However, Liang Yao had no intention and was unable to argue with Frank, so he just took advantage of the situation and made a request to go ashore tomorrow to purchase some supplies to California. Frank, who was in a good mood, readily agreed to this reasonable request.

13 shillings and 8 Spanish silver dollars, this is all Liang Yao's property, his first pot of gold.

Liang Yao was thinking about how to spend the money, and his understanding of the history of the California Gold Rush was very rudimentary.

It’s not that people of later generations don’t know American history, but their understanding focuses on World War II and the United States that became the world’s hegemon after the war, and they know very little about the United States before its rise.

Liang Yao was no exception. He was familiar with every major military operation and economic policy that the United States participated in during World War II and after World War II, but he only had a relatively superficial understanding of the United States at this time.

After thinking for a moment, Liang Yao decided to use the money to buy pans, shovels, picks and other gold mining tools.

The first millionaire in the history of the American West, an ordinary store owner, Sam Brannan, made his fortune by relying on his monopoly on gold mining tools. Buying these items and selling them in California would definitely make a huge profit.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

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