Chapter 37: A Temporary Farewell to the Great Ming
“Amsterdam… no, Guangzhou, I shall return.” Xiao Zishan stood in the courtyard, gazing at the Zhenhai Tower, the number one tower of Lingnan, on a distant hill under the blue sky. The ancient building with its red sandstone walls and double-eaved hip-and-gable roof—oh, not an ancient building. He smiled unconsciously. “It’s a modern building.”
This residence, with its blue brick floors, white walls, and dark tiles, was full of Lingnan flavor. Xiao Zishan remembered that in the 21st century, this area should be Huifu Road, a street of cheap and delicious eateries, many of which were famous establishments that had been in business for decades. He had eaten at “Yin Ji” for their rice noodle rolls and “Cheng Ji” for their congee and noodles… In this time, however, the place was quite desolate. Although there were houses, they were interspersed with abandoned gardens, farmland, vegetable plots, groves of trees, and small ponds.
Xiao Zishan was very familiar with such scenes from his childhood. The southern city where he grew up was very similar. Traditional Chinese cities had farmland and wasteland within their walls. In some places, even in the 1960s and 70s, there were still “urban villages”—large tracts of farmland and cottages, even with production team structures, right in the middle of the city.
This place had been chosen as the future stronghold of the transmigrator regime in Guangzhou. The one on Haopan Street would now only be used as a trading post and a backup location.
The new residence was paid for by Gao Ju, but the location was found by Sun Chang. Xiao Zishan was growing increasingly fond of this young man; he was efficient and good at understanding the transmigrators’ way of thinking.
The residence he found was on slightly higher ground than its surroundings. The plot was irregular in shape and bordered by water on two sides. The original owner had built a small house and used the remaining land to create a garden. Now, after changing hands several times, both the house and the garden had fallen into ruin, a wasteland of rubble and thorns. Only a pond of green water, half a rockery, a few large trees, and a pavilion that had not yet completely collapsed hinted at its former glory.
Of the several properties Sun Chang had found, this one was the most dilapidated and also the cheapest—the house and courtyard needed almost complete rebuilding. But it was secluded and quiet, with a large area that offered great potential for expansion. They decided to buy it on the spot.
The entire renovation plan was drawn up by the architects among the transmigrators. The design philosophy was to carry out modern renovations on the interior to meet the future needs of the transmigrators using it as a base, without destroying the overall Ming Dynasty appearance of the residence.
In the Executive Committee’s plans for the Guangzhou outpost, this place would serve as the transmigrators’ center for trade, intelligence, and communications on the Guangdong coast.
The architects preserved the structural appearance of the original residence, only carrying out comprehensive repairs and reinforcements. This part would serve as the area for interacting with the locals.
A portion of the ruined garden near the house was marked for restoration. The rest of the area was planned for various modern facilities, including offices, dormitories, a surveillance room, a telegraph room, a warehouse, and a vault. Of course, all these buildings would have the exterior of traditional courtyard architecture. The internal facilities and structure would be designed entirely according to modern architectural principles to maximize the use of space.
Arranging various technical security and communication equipment in the stronghold involved the problem of electricity. Wind power was clearly not feasible in the city; not only was the wind power limited, but the tall and large structure would be too conspicuous. Solar power was also too inefficient. Although the Executive Committee couldn’t find a safe and reliable way to get a generator into the Guangzhou outpost for the time being, they still prepared to build an underground, soundproofed generator room—just in case.
There were wells in both the garden and the residence. After testing, the water quality was generally acceptable. They would hire local well-diggers to dredge them thoroughly for daily use. Drinking water would have to be purified from the well water.
Although the Guangzhou outpost would have neither electricity nor running water for a considerable time, during construction, they would pre-install hidden conduits for future equipment and wiring.
For defense, they would dredge the small river and pond on the northwest sides and repair the banks. The crumbling courtyard walls would be uniformly raised to a height of six meters. The backyard walls of large households here could be as high as eight or nine meters. They would also plant climbing roses on the walls—the dense thorns would provide some anti-theft effect.
However, all of this currently existed only on the designers’ computers. Funds were tight at the moment, and it was not advisable to invest too much in a project that was not urgently needed. The wormhole’s energy was about to fade. To conserve the last of its energy, the trans-temporal trade would cease after this trip. The transmigrators who had been active in the Ming Dynasty for several months would all be withdrawn to their own time until the final transmigration.
Therefore, only a small part of this grand construction plan was being implemented at the moment. Sun Chang had hired masons who were currently repairing the residence and the surrounding walls. Watching the workers busily carrying bricks and mixing mortar, Xiao Zishan felt a little reluctant to leave. He didn’t know how long it would be before he could return.
After the official transmigration, they would no longer be harmless Australian merchants coming here to make money with novel goods, but a unique political force with rebellious intentions. As a member of the Executive Committee, it was unlikely he would be sent back to Guangzhou, which would be under enemy control. He wondered how long it would be before the transmigrators’ flag could fly over the Zhenhai Tower.
As he was lost in thought, he saw Wen Desi walk in from outside, his face beaming. For the past week, Xiao Zishan had been supervising the work at the new residence, while Director Wen and Engineer Wang were in charge of the trade.
“Zishan, still supervising the work?”
“Director Wen, what are you doing here? You should be keeping a low profile these days.”
“It’s fine. I have escorts from the Qiwei agency with me, plus my own talismans…”
“Hehe, the same old three, right? Pepper spray, folding knife, and anti-stab vest?”
“No, I’ve learned my lesson from last time. I’ve added a simple gas mask.” Director Wen patted his bulging waist. He had just paid a visit to Gao Ju and spun Yu E’shui’s vague prophecy.
“What was Gao Ju’s expression?”
“Hard to say!” Wen Desi thought for a moment. “Like he had just eaten a dozen green olives in one go! But, when he found out we were willing to give him all the goods on credit before we left, he was so moved he almost cried…”
Both of them burst out laughing.
Considering that for a long period after the transmigration, they would not be able to easily produce large quantities of so-called Australian goods as they could now, they had decided after discussion to extend a large line of credit to Master Gao. Gao Ju was so moved he nearly shed tears. The shipment was worth two hundred thousand taels! In reality, the risk for the Executive Committee wasn’t that great; the cost was only a little over thirty thousand RMB. It wouldn’t affect the use of funds in their own time.
“He must have paid a lot of money too, right?”
“Two thousand taels of gold. And many things we didn’t dare to sell before. Anyway, this is the last time. Sell it all and leave.” Wen Desi stopped laughing. “This is our last income before the transmigration.”
“Is it enough?”
“We’ve calculated it several times. Not counting this income, our current reserves are sufficient. We even have a two-million emergency fund.”
“I’m just worried someone will propose something new at the last minute.”
“If we don’t have enough, we won’t buy it. Everything necessary has been accounted for. Anything else would just be icing on the cake, nice to have but not essential.”
“I’m just afraid there’s something crucial we’ve overlooked. We are going to rebuild a complete industrial system. We can’t afford to drop the ball at a critical moment.” Xiao Zishan remained a pessimist.
“Let’s not talk about depressing things. Let’s get things settled here,” Wen Desi said.
Back in the newly repaired house, Sun Chang was waiting with a ledger. He was now implicitly the steward. Entrusting such a large property to someone they had known for less than three months was something no one would do in the modern world, but here and now, the transmigrators had no other choice but to trust him.
“Sun Chang, we are returning to Australia this time. We should be back next year. You are to look after this residence well and not cause any trouble. If you encounter any problems, discuss them with Master Sun. If there are any difficulties, you can also seek help from Master Gao Ju. I have spoken with him, and he will definitely see you.”
“Yes. May I ask, masters, where should we welcome you next time?”
“No need. We will send someone to contact you when we arrive.” Wen Desi took out an aluminum commemorative medallion that had been sawn in half and gave one half to him. “At that time, use this as a token. You can follow the instructions of the person who comes.”
“Yes. There is one more thing I would like to ask, master.”
“What is it?”
“This residence is so large. I am afraid I cannot manage it alone. May I ask the masters to purchase one or two more household servants?”
“No need. After we leave, Gao Qing’s family will move here. Gao Di is learning from your martial uncle. You should also teach him more in your spare time, so he doesn’t grow up to be like his worthless father.”
“All the household’s finances will be managed by you, and Gao Di will be in charge of bookkeeping. Gao Qing’s family will have a fixed monthly allowance of silver and rice, which you will distribute according to the rules. Your monthly salary is two taels of silver and half a shi of rice.”
“Understood.”
“Although I told you not to cause trouble, that doesn’t mean you should just stay cooped up in the house!”
”?” Sun Chang looked confused.
Wen Desi realized he had let a modern slang slip, but he didn’t correct himself and continued with a serious expression, “Go out and walk around more, gather information. When we return, you will report it to us.”
“Yes.”
“Wait for us patiently. We will be back.”
The day after the transmigrators left, Gao Qing’s family was packing their belongings to move to the Australian masters’ new residence. Steward Yan once again called for Gao Qing at the gate.
As Gao Qing heard the voice and was about to go out, his wife exploded.
“Go, go, go ahead! Go and suck up to them again! We came here first, but the newcomer Sun Chang gets his freedom and becomes the steward, and look at you! After all this time, you’re still just a handyman!”
Gao Qing remained silent and meek, but he still wanted to go out.
Gao Xian started crying and shouting, “I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to end up with a useless man like you! Do you have any brains left? What did the Gao family ever give us? And how did Master Wen and the others treat us? And you! You sell them out and even pay for the privilege!”
“Master Wen is a foreigner, after all… in the future…”
“So what if he’s a foreigner? He treats us well! I’d follow him to the ends of the earth! You just go ahead and sell them out! Stay in the Gao family and be their good little slave!”
Their two children, watching their mother’s outburst, said nothing. They were old enough to understand that their parents had different ideas, but emotionally, they both felt that the Australian masters were good. They spoke kindly and often gave them delicious food and fun little Australian trinkets. In their hearts, they naturally sided with their mother.
Gao Qing hung his head in silence. Seizing the opportunity, Gao Xian had already gone out. With a broad smile, she said to Steward Yan, “What a coincidence, my husband went to the new residence early this morning to tidy up. I’m just packing things up with the children. As soon as we’re done, we’ll head over. If you have any business, why don’t you have him come back to you tomorrow?”
Steward Yan knew she was lying but didn’t dare to challenge her. He left resentfully, cursing under his breath: These damn foreign sea merchants really know how to cast a spell! It’s only been a few days, and every single one of them is fiercely loyal!