Chapter 791 – A Guest at Huang Shunlong's House
Water sources in Hong Kong were concentrated primarily in the mountainous areas, while surface water collected around Wong Nai Chung Gap. Several mountain basins proved suitable for constructing earth dams and so-called "reservoirs." In the old timeline's Hong Kong, beyond building reservoirs in the mountains, the water supply had also depended on establishing protected parks and planting trees in mountainous areas to increase water retention.
"We'll adopt similar measures: consolidate small settlements, reduce human impact on the mountains, and afforest where necessary. A base population of thirty thousand is actually conservative," Mei Lin said with evident confidence.
"Is a guaranteed volume for only thirty thousand people sufficient for industry?"
"Of course industrial demand is factored in," Mei Lin replied. "In 1634, we'll begin another large reservoir on Lantau Island."
Lantau Island possessed a Shek Pik Reservoir with a capacity of 24.55 million cubic meters—the largest among Hong Kong's mountain reservoirs. The main dam measured 718 meters long, 354 meters wide, and 54 meters high. The earthwork totaled 4,764 cubic meters—even by Lingao engineering standards, the workload wasn't overwhelming.
"With this reservoir, large-scale purification camps and agriculture on Lantau will pose no problem. Farming might be impractical, but vegetables and animal husbandry are certainly feasible."
"The figure of thirty thousand is actually conservative," Hong Shuiyin added. "The Planning Academy based calculations on modern per capita water usage of eighty liters. People in this time-space don't consume that much. Particularly since most of our residents here live intensively with centralized cooking. Toilets are flushed with seawater or use septic tanks for fertilizer. Water consumption won't approach old time-space levels."
Hong Shuiyin's name contained the character for "water," but he knew nothing about water affairs—this data had been memorized hastily before departure. He harbored great enthusiasm for Hong Kong's commercial development and felt significant dissatisfaction with the Executive Committee's preference for Guangzhou over Hong Kong. As Hong Kong Commercial Representative, the importance of Hong Kong was intimately tied to his own.
"You want to protect water and soil, but what about my building materials?" Shi Dafu voiced concern. His biggest difficulty in Hong Kong infrastructure construction was the shortage of building materials. Hong Kong produced no limestone, preventing local cement production; lacking coal, he couldn't fire kilns for bricks and tiles. Currently, he relied primarily on quarrying granite from the mountains with explosives. Now, hearing about soil conservation, quarrying—an environmentally destructive activity—would inevitably face restrictions.
"Granite quarrying can continue. The survey team will designate specific mountain sections to minimize overall destruction. As for timber and bricks, that's Guo Yi's domain—what can't he procure once he's back in Guangzhou?"
"Cement, and coal for boilers."
"Cement will continue shipping from Lingao. As for coal, Guangdong can supply it. Chaozhou has a major coal mine—I hear the Guangzhou Station plans to extend tentacles everywhere this time, extracting resources from across Guangdong Province..." Shi Jiantao said. "Our shipyard needs to ramp up quickly."
Shi Jiantao held ambitious plans for the shipyard, intending to mass-produce Lingao versions of "Liberty ships" to completely replace all large Ming coastal and ocean-going vessels. The ultimate destiny of these ships was to serve the House of Elders' conquest of Greater East Asia.
"Lingao's Liberty ships will launch from Hong Kong like dumplings dropping into a pot!" This was the bold declaration he had made while hosting a banquet for shipyard elders before departure—naturally earning cold looks from Zhou Ke and others.
Shi Dafu's enthusiasm rose: "Our people can finally return to Guangzhou? We must go back majestically under naval escort, with the fleet firing a hundred-gun salute at White Goose Pool..."
Mei Lin laughed: "Proprietor Guo is so impressive—I'm jealous, envious, and resentful."
"The shipyard is building him a paddle-wheel yacht," Shi Jiantao said, sipping kvass. "Preparing to thoroughly embrace the decadent capitalist lifestyle. Whether it'll be finished in time for this return, who knows."
The Guangzhou Trading Post would reopen soon. According to the plan, once the Guangzhou Station was restored, most construction materials and living supplies needed for the Hong Kong base could be procured nearby in Guangzhou and shipped over. This would not only save time but also spare the Transmigrator Group's own transport capacity.
In the near future, supplies needed not only by Hong Kong but also by Lingao and other future coastal island bases would be procured by various trading posts, shipped to Hong Kong, and then transshipped centrally. Hong Kong would become the Transmigrator Group's largest logistics center on the South China coast. In the series of operations to be launched by the Australian Song regime—military actions against the Zheng and Liu families, the Taiwan strategy, the mainland coastal strategy, and more—Hong Kong would also serve as a major military logistics depot.
The Planning Academy would establish a South China Materials Procurement Center in Hong Kong, relying on the Delong Hong Kong Branch for clearing and payment. Supporting customs, commodity inspection, classification societies, and shipping insurance companies would also be gradually established.
The sun hung dazzlingly in the sky—yet its light brought little warmth. In Little Ice Age Macau, wealthy people on the streets even wore fur robes. The poor donned bulky, patch-covered cotton jackets.
Sunlight fell upon clusters of pointed roofs and fish-scale tiles within Macau. Some tiles were pink, but most had turned reddish-brown or grey-white after years of wind, rain, and sun, glimmering faintly in the light.
Windows were inlaid with dense wooden lattices, some bearing intricate patterns. Even without curtains, one couldn't see inside even up close. Walls whitewashed with lime had yellowed from rain, reflecting a grey-white sheen; wooden windowsills had cracked in the sun, paint peeling. Deep in these cobblestone alleys, one occasionally caught the mixed stench of urine, feces, and garbage.
Through this alley steeped in exotic flavor, Lin Ming walked with helpless eyes fixed on the spirited Li Yongxun ahead, who surveyed her surroundings with boundless interest.
This "expedition" had consumed most of the day, and Lin Ming felt thoroughly bored. Macau City itself wasn't large, with few sightseeing spots. The Folangji forts and barracks appeared orderly and unique but forbade Chinese entry. As for those Folangji residences—petite and chic though they were, with lazy zither music and women's soft singing occasionally drifting from closed windows to spark the imagination—they were private homes nonetheless.
Were this Foshan or even Guangzhou, he could go wherever he pleased by flashing his Embroidered Uniform Guard badge, provided it wasn't the home of powerful gentry with official connections. If someone possessed a fine garden, he need only send word, and which host would dare claim he wasn't welcome?
Here, however, the Folangji controlled everything. Though many Ming people walked the streets, they clearly adhered to exotic social norms. Lin Ming found this deeply discomfiting—not merely because he disliked the Folangji, but because he realized he couldn't tyrannize people here as he did elsewhere. "Embroidered Uniform Guard" was not a terrifying term in this place. Though the Xiangshan Assistant Magistrate treated him respectfully and had specially assigned an interpreter as his guide, the man clearly didn't want him causing trouble.
"What is this place?" an impatient Lin Ming asked the interpreter beside him.
"This is the Folangji residential area, Fifth Lane," the interpreter replied. He was a mustachioed Ming merchant who specialized in selling fruits and vegetables to the Portuguese in Macau. Frequent travel between Xiangshan and Macau had made him familiar to both public and private parties. He also spoke passable Portuguese. The Xiangshan Assistant Magistrate took him along for every negotiation.
"What a boring place—doors and windows closed everywhere!"
"These are mostly the back entrances of Folangji merchant residences," the interpreter explained.
Lin Ming was about to scold the interpreter for bringing them here, but remembering that his precious sister-in-law had requested entry, he swallowed the words.
"Master, don't be impatient," the interpreter said carefully, sensing his thoughts. "At the end of this lane lies the pier, where you can see the Folangji great clip-board ships—the galleons. Plenty of barbarian sailors too—occasionally you can even spot barbarian women!"
"Really? I've long wanted to see the great clip-board ships. They say the hulls rise several stories high, and the masts tower frighteningly tall." The fleet-footed youth ahead turned back. "How much farther?"
"Not far at all. Just out of this lane," the interpreter said. He knew the youth ahead was actually a young woman: the overly delicate features, high-pitched voice, slender frame, and swaying hips when walking made her true gender obvious. However, he had no desire to know what Embroidered Uniform Guard personnel were doing in Macau.
Just then, she stumbled and fell, twisting her ankle on the cobblestones. She cried out and sat down on the stone pavement. Lin Ming immediately rushed to her.
"How is it? Did the fall hurt?" He bent over her, his brow furrowed with concern. Li Yongxun gripped one ankle and gave a pained cry.
"Seems like a sprain." She couldn't help groaning.
Lin Ming looked around; every wooden door in the alley was locked, with protective iron bars outside. Not a pedestrian in sight.
"This lowly one will go call a sedan chair," the interpreter said sensibly, adding, "I suggest Master take your sister to the Huang house first. Once settled, we'll summon a doctor immediately."
The residence arranged for him in Macau by the Xiangshan Assistant Magistrate was in the home of a major merchant named Huang Shunlong. This Proprietor Huang was a remarkably amiable and exceedingly wealthy man with a luxuriously built mansion. Lin Ming knew from colleagues that Huang Shunlong was a "fence" who colluded with various heroes of the sea, not only buying stolen goods but also selling contraband to pirate chiefs. A man with connections reaching to the heavens.
(End of Chapter)