New Shun 1730

In Zhang Pizhu's opinion, it was the steward-like figure in the gentry's family who told them these rules, and then he met his foreman.

He is said to be a foreman, but he is not very old, probably in his early seventeen or eighteen years old.

He also spoke with a northern accent. Although the accent was a bit strange, Zhang Pizhu could still understand him.

I learned how to put up a mosquito net at night and always had a good sleep. At dawn the next day, I was called up to eat.

At the eating place, Zhang Pili saw his wife and felt relieved.

His wife was wearing a new cotton dress and was cooking there with a few other women.

Zhang Pili went to ask a few questions and found out that his wife was now a kitchen worker, mainly responsible for boiling water and cooking big pots of rice.

"It's a good job, she won't be hungry."

After giving this an evaluation, Zhang Pizhu had a full breakfast and was organized by the foreman to start the first day of plantation life.

Burning wasteland.

felling.

After burning out the ashes and burning away the vegetation, we can then plant things, build canals, dig field ridges, and plant seedlings.

The foreman didn't do any work either. He just told Zhang Pizhu and others how to work, supervised them, and counted heads at night.

The first month was spent setting fires on a large scale, burning the woods everywhere. Before burning, you must first build a fire break. It is said that this large area is the property contracted by the owner. In the future, if the fertility of the land here is gone, new land will be burned in the unburned area.

It's been like this for more than a month, and Zhang Pizhu still doesn't know what to plant here.

The land after burning was very fertile. A fire also burned most of the grass to death, leaving a thick layer of ash on the ground.

It doesn't look like planting crops, because they have to use hoes to repair the field ridges, and the width doesn't look like planting crops.

It wasn't until one day when Zhang Pizhu was working there that a group of strange people came to the plantation and had a conversation in the plantation. Zhang Pizhu didn't know what was being grown here. I just know the name, but I don’t know what it is.

That day he was digging a field bank there, working slowly. With his daily ration, Zhang Pizhu felt that if he had to work for himself, he would be able to do more than three times the ration.

But if you work for others, it will take three years if you work so fast, and three years if you work slow, as long as you just stick to the quota.

When I was working for my employer, I was praised as "really capable" because I finished pounding rice.

Zhang Pili, like most of the people who work together, has not seen much of the world, but he is shrewd at heart. Do you think that if you do too much, the quota will increase tomorrow?

While he was dawdling, a few strangely dressed people were next to him, pointing at the land. On the first day, a butler-like figure followed these strangely dressed people.

The leader of the group also wore a helmet with a wooden core screwed out from it, and also wore an anti-mosquito neck curtain behind his neck that Zhang Pixuan and others nicknamed the "fart curtain".

He was carrying a canvas bag and wearing a pair of weird shoes. Zhang Pixuan has learned over the years that these weird shoes are called rubber boots, which are said to be leech-proof and waterproof.

There were several entourage-like figures beside them, holding in their hands what looked like tools for catching birds and insects. Some of them had guns slung on their backs.

There were people leading a few horses beside them, and there was a roll made of felt blanket rolled on the horse's back, and there were some weird rain-proof drapes on it.

The man who looked like a butler handed over the cigarette in a flattering manner, and the man in weird clothes took it and said: "Since your boss trusts the Duke of Guo, and wants to do this business, I will naturally give the Guo Guo a guarantee. Oil palm is something , it does take three to five years to bear fruit, but once it does, it can be harvested almost every year.”

The man who looked like a butler said: "Actually, I don't know for sure. You are a master of the Academy of Sciences, so we believe whatever you say. But if you support more than two thousand people, after three to five years, you will eat, drink, eat and drink for a year plus wages. It costs four to fifty thousand taels of silver. No one has ever grown this thing here before, and the Dutch have never heard of anyone growing it..."

The man in strange clothes said: "The Dutch have a lot of things. Have they ever grown tallow trees? As a member of the expedition team of the Academy of Sciences, I have traveled to many places in the past few years, specifically looking for this kind of thing that can be grown and made money. something.”

"Forty to fifty thousand taels a year, are you afraid you won't be able to make it back? It's impossible that you won't be able to make it back. I've done research in Africa and found that this thing produces more oil per acre than beans, peanuts, flax, and rapeseed. And it bears a lot of fruits. Years of profit without loss.”

"Not only can it be eaten, but more importantly, it can be used in some factories. Did you know that with the development of the Whale Sea, whalers, sealers and walrus hunters boiled a lot of oil, which led to the production of soaps and candles? Such industrial development.”

"But after all, the hunting thing can't keep up with the use. Soybean oil is too expensive, and rapeseed oil is not very good. This thing has a large yield, is edible, and can be used as raw material. No one loses money."

"If you want to grow coffee or something, you have to look at the attitude of Westerners. You don't know whether it will sell or not. You also have to compete with those who are setting up plantations in the Caribbean; or if you grow sugar cane, you not only have to face competition from Westerners. , and they are also planted in Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan and other places.”

"But no one is cultivating this thing now. And it can be sold domestically, so this thing must be profitable."

"You guys should work on it, my doctor from the Academy of Appraisal Science is pointing to this thing. How about I didn't travel to Africa for so long in vain? If there are any planting problems, I will solve them. I come to check every year."

The man in strange clothes squatted down and grabbed a handful of soil, kneading it in his hand and said: "Java's land is fertile. You just need to grow it, and you won't need to use stupid methods to extract oil when the time comes. I'll take half a boat of oil fruits, and when I go back, my brothers will help me make a coal-fired oil extraction machine, which is not difficult."

"Do you know how much they sell a boat of oil for hunting whales and seals in the Whale Sea? It's only an investment of three to five years. I just don't have money. If I had money, I would do it myself."

"I tell you, you have to see the future situation. Just look at the situation in the world, steam The machine will surely flourish. Once it flourishes, candles, lamp oil, lubricants and other things will also flourish. Once these things flourish, more people will work on them, and more soap and other things will be sold. "

"If you can't see the situation clearly, only look at the present, and wait for the flourishing time to do it, then the cucumbers will be cold. Those who work first will eat the meat, and those who work later will just drink the soup. "

"I have written a booklet on how to grow this thing. The foremen are all from practical science and agricultural science, so they can always read and learn quickly. Just plant it according to the method. "

"This For several years, until the fruit is ripe, I will be in Coconut City. If you have any questions, just come to me. This is making money for you, and the same is true for me. It is related to my future and bonus. "

"I tell you, when the oil palms are planted in Nanyang, those gentry and local merchants who deal in rapeseed oil will hate me to death. I have been there for so long, I am absolutely sure of this. Whether it is production, pressing, or transportation, I can beat the rapeseed oil in coastal areas. "

After hearing this certainty, the man who looked like a butler also breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I am not I don't believe you. People from the Academy of Sciences are all really capable. I've also studied real science and know the ins and outs of it. I didn't ask this, but the master asked me to ask. I guess he's not confident. But it's not easy to ask the Duke, because it would seem like he doesn't believe in him. "

"It's easy to say that the cost of 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver a year is really a lot of money. I guess he's also feeling uneasy. It's better to grow cotton, indigo or something like that, so he'll feel more secure."

Zhang Piliang, who was grinding on the side, only then realized that what he was going to grow was called oil palm. He didn't know what it looked like, but it was used to extract oil.

He didn't quite understand what he heard, but he was secretly amazed at what he understood, thinking, wow, the cost of 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver a year. When he was at home, he didn't know if the combined assets of those wealthy masters were 40,000 to 50,000 taels?

That's not 40,000 or 50,000 yuan, but 40,000 or 50,000 taels... Thinking of this huge number that he had never heard of before, Zhang Piliang was shocked and thought that this place was indeed different from home.

But I don't know what this oil-pressing thing looks like? Zhang Piliang thought to himself that I have seen rapeseed, sesame, and peanuts in recent years, but this is the first time I have heard of this thing. It sounds like it was transported from a faraway place?

He didn't know where the so-called Africa was. He was a little curious at first, but as his days became busier, his curiosity gradually faded.

Planting here is different from at home. I thought planting was a hassle, but I didn't expect that I had been working for six or seven months and it was not my turn to plant.

Either making holes, digging canals, or diverting ditches, which is completely different from the way of farming at home. Thousands of people were hired by the owner, and in a few months, they turned a burned forest into a good place with roads and canals.

Whenever he saw this, Zhang Pilang thought to himself, if he could have 40 to 50 mu of such land, with complete water conservancy, fertile soil, and crops, he would not have to worry about it in this life?

Unfortunately, this land is not his. If he works by himself, he may never be able to dig such large and small canals, ditches, and ridges in his lifetime.

I wonder if the land he gets in the future can use the current canals of the owner to divert water?

Zhang Pilang felt that it was a waste to irrigate the land with good water but not grow crops.

After the canals were basically repaired and the ridges were basically finished, Zhang Pilang felt that he could finally take a break. Seedlings have been cultivated over there, and it looks like a real tree.

As for planting trees, you probably don’t need to worry about them after planting them. Now the canals have been repaired and the land has been almost prepared. I heard that it would take three to five years before the fruits can be harvested.

So he thought, in the three-year repayment period, he actually only had to plant seedlings? As long as this is done, can’t he take a break for a while?

However, it soon became clear that the master would never let them rest after paying them.

Braving the rain, they dug holes and planted the seedlings while the water was still wet.

They thought they could rest, but after planting the seedlings, they had to plant some alfalfa in the open space between the seedlings.

After the alfalfa was planted, they had to build sheepfolds, horse sheds, and warehouses for the master.

After these things were built, the alfalfa would be harvested.

After the alfalfa was harvested, it had to be dried.

After drying, it had to be bundled.

After being bundled, it had to be transported away.

After the alfalfa was done, the land had to be hoeed again. Then new plants were planted.

Day after day, month after month, it seemed that there was always something to do.

The amount of work to be done every day was also gradually increasing.

Every month, there were deaths, either from this disease or that disease, or from mosquito bites, or from snakes and rats.

Every year from October to the Chinese New Year, a group of new people come, and then the process of coming and dying and then coming again repeats.

Day after day, month after month.

New things keep appearing in the plantation,

For example.

Their work now included transporting coal to the steam engine room that pumped water to the canal.

Or gradually, vendors appeared around the plantation. Food, drinks, taverns, tobacco, women.

I couldn't help wanting to eat something good, so I went to the foreman to get some money. It wasn't silver or copper coins, but a few banknotes, but they were really useful.

But in Zhang Piliang's eyes, these new things didn't make them excited, and they didn't even have anything to do with them, nor did they make them do less.

I just gradually got used to the existence of those new things.

Just like getting used to the sun always being high above my head here.

It seemed that no matter the planting method, the working method, the new machines, etc., they were all different from everything he was familiar with in the past.

But when I think about it carefully, I feel that for me, it seems to be the same as in the past, and there is not much difference.