1850 American Gold Tycoon

"This steamship looks familiar."

Liang Yao took Vanderbilt's inspection team aboard the steamship Sacramento and went to the Sacramento gold mining area for inspection.

The steamship seemed familiar to Vanderbilt.

Coney was silent on the side, yes, this is the Sacramento he sold in San Francisco.

"Of course it looks familiar. This ship was produced in your shipyard, and the steam engine on the ship was produced in my factory."

Steam engine builder Theodore Secor recognized the Sacramento immediately as a small steamship built using state-of-the-art technology.

Immediately, Secor turned to look at Liang Yao and asked Liang Yao: "Mr. Liang, what is the name of this steamship now?"

"Still called the Sacramento."

Liang Yao answered Secor's question.

Vanderbilt glared at Coney, who was bruised and swollen: "Look, Coney, it's you who did it again!"

Although the steamboat can travel upstream relatively easily, it is not very fast. It departs in the morning and is expected to arrive in Sacramento in the evening.

Chinese immigrants who had just immigrated to California were enthusiastically reclaiming wasteland on both sides of the river.

In addition to wasteland, there are also some scattered rice fields that have been reclaimed and planted with rice.

Thanks to the emergence of Liang Yao, Chinese immigrants no longer have to work as coolies for white gold mining companies for a meager income.

In view of this, the growth rate of Chinese immigrants in California is also faster than in history.

There were even desperate people who set out from the coasts of Guangdong and Fujian to cross the Pacific Ocean on crude clipper boats in search of gold in California.

Because if you are lucky, it only takes two or three months to cross the Pacific from the eastern coast of China to California.

Of course, only a lucky few of these Chinese immigrants on clipper boats made it safely to California.

The unlucky ones among them either deviated from the course and their life or death was uncertain, or they encountered a shipwreck and were buried in the belly of the fish.

After all, the small clipper boat cannot withstand the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean.

Along the way, what caught our eyes were Chinese immigrants sweating profusely under the sun and enthusiastically reclaiming wasteland.

"This is the first time I have seen so many Chinese people. Before that, I only saw one piece of news about Chinese people in the newspaper, saying that a young Chinese man was admitted to Yale University with excellent results. , this is the first Chinese student to step onto an American university campus."

Vanderbilt's fellow countryman Van Daze was surprised by the large number of Chinese immigrants in California. He couldn't restrain his curiosity and couldn't help but ask Liang Yaodao.

“How many Chinese immigrants are there in California now?”

"Sorry, I don't know either, sir, there is no Bureau of Statistics in California."

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Liang Yao put Fan Daze's question aside.

Liang Yao really doesn’t know how many Chinese immigrants there are in California. After all, Chinese immigrants arrive in San Francisco every day.

But Liang Yao still had some idea of ​​the approximate number of Chinese immigrants. After all, his guest house was responsible for receiving and registering these immigrants who arrived in California, and helping them handle naturalization procedures and arrange work.

The last time Liang Yao looked through the statistical manual of the guest house was five days ago. At that time, there were 4,896 registered Chinese immigrants, many of whom came here with their families, so there were 497 women, 514 There are children, but most of them are young and strong laborers who are out to make a living.

"Don't they all take a break? I haven't seen any Chinese taking a break until now? They are just like machines in a factory running tirelessly."

Vanderbilt's assistant John Nigel also expressed his doubts.

This question made Liang Yao feel very bitter, and he couldn't help but feel sour: "Mr. Nigel, you don't understand my mother country. My mother country has many people and little land, especially in the south. A large family with a population of more than ten people only has one person." Two acres or less, they make a living by cultivating what little land they have.”

“Gee, how are you going to feed a dozen people on one or two acres?”

Elizabeth was shocked. He really couldn't imagine how a dozen people could live on one or two acres of land.

"It's difficult to feed oneself on these lands. Do they need to pay taxes to the government? What should they do if there is a natural disaster?"

"Of course you need to pay taxes. Taxation is a very complicated issue in China. The emperor will also be kind and order tax reductions and exemptions in disaster areas. No, it should be called grace and exemption. Thunder, rain and dew are all for the emperor's favor."

Elizabeth's problem is too complicated, and it may not be possible to explain it clearly even after spending three days and three nights.

"Fortunately you have a good emperor."

Elizabeth said somewhat happily.

"It's just that only officials and landowners can enjoy the emperor's favors. Ordinary people are not qualified to enjoy the emperor's favors. If they encounter natural disasters or man-made disasters, they can only sell their property, even their wives and daughters."

At this point, Liang Yao didn't want to talk any more.

Compared with the people under the Qing Dynasty, the American people in this era are undoubtedly very happy. Their per capita income is only slightly lower than that of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, slightly higher than that of France, roughly the same as Belgium, and five times the per capita income of the Qing Dynasty. , four times that of Japan, and twice that of Tsarist Russia.

Yes, you heard it right. At the same time, Japan's per capita income was higher than that of the Qing Dynasty. This shows how difficult the lives of the people of the Qing Dynasty were, and this gap is still widening.

As for land, America has never been short of land. According to the U.S. Land Order in 1785, the minimum land area for sale was 640 acres.

In 1854, when the land was reduced sharply, there were still 40 acres, and the price per acre was only one shilling (not a British shilling, American slang used to call the Spanish eighth silver coin a shilling), which was 5 cents.

Although the "Land Order" came with additional regulations, it actually cost more US dollars to obtain these lands, but this was enough to make the people of the Qing Dynasty cry.

"They have no sense of security. Only by having more land through continuous labor can they feel enough security."

Vanderbilt said to the point.

"As you said."

Liang Yao also agrees with Vanderbilt’s point of view. Vanderbilt is still Vanderbilt after all.

"Speaking of land, I heard you have a lot of land in the Sacramento mining district."

Vanderbilt looked away from the banks of the American River.

"indeed so."

"how many?"

Vanderbilt asked curiously.

It is indeed a wise move to hoard land before the Eastern Consortium arrives. If it were him, he would do the same.

Liang Yao is the most capable young man he has come into contact with so far, and he is also the one he admires the most.

It's a pity that people like Liang Yao don't work for others easily. Just like him before, he has only signed an employment contract with one person in his life.

If he had someone like Liang Yao by his side, it would undoubtedly be even more powerful for him. That's what Vanderbilt is thinking now.

"all!"

Liang Yao's domineering answer made everyone on the boat take a breath.

Vanderbilt shook his head frequently and felt sorry for Liang Yao. Young people are still young people after all, they are still a little too young.