Chapter 22: The Usefulness of the English

At this point, the members of the Executive Committee began to understand.

“What dirty work?” Zhan Wuya asked.

“The English’s old trade, I suppose,” Ma Jia said. “I don’t approve of it. The cost-benefit ratio is not high.”

“Drug trafficking? Do we want them to sell opium? There’s plenty of that in India. For medicinal use, the amount Li Huamei brings in is enough!” Ma Qianzhu objected. “Ah De, you want to get into the drug trafficking business too? It’s a double-edged sword that cuts both ways.”

“Not drug trafficking, but slave trading. It’s what the English are enthusiastically engaged in at this time,” Wu De said.

“Are we going to import ‘black uncles’?” Zhan Wuya shook his head vigorously. “I don’t want an African ethnic group to emerge on Chinese soil in the future. The racial characteristics of black uncles are too obvious! It will be difficult to assimilate them even after several generations. If we must use slaves, I would rather have Japanese and Koreans. At least they will be easily assimilated in the future.”

“Who said anything about black uncles?” Wu De said. “I mean the natives of Southeast Asia.”

“No, no,” Ma Jia objected. “The natives of Southeast Asia are not good at enduring hardship and their physical strength is poor. Besides, there are plenty of refugees on the mainland. Why not spend more effort recruiting them instead of going all the way to Southeast Asia to use some natives?”

“We can use them in Tiandu and Shilu, and later in Taiwan,” Wu De said cryptically. “Besides, endurance for hardship is not an innate gene; it’s entirely a postnatal factor. After they are sent to the mines, I’d like to see who can still not endure hardship.”

“The cost of capturing and transporting slaves is very high! The price won’t be low. Can we afford it?”

Wu De said, “The capturing and transporting is the English’s business; we don’t care. As for payment, we can use sugar and tea. We could also use silver, but our reserves are not large.”

“What do we need slaves for?” Ma Jia was doubtful. “In terms of labor efficiency, slaves are far less effective than free workers. And after a high mortality rate, we’ll have to keep buying more. The continuous cost is not necessarily less than that of laborers.”

“When used as consumables, slaves are obviously better than laborers,” Wu De said. “Have you all seen the report from Sanya?”

Ma Jia said, “The incident has been resolved. The carrot and the stick, all taken care of. By the way, I don’t approve of the decimation order. In the long run, it’s not appropriate. After the civil engineering development is completed, I propose setting up a formal court in Sanya, instead of having Wang Luobin act as if his words are the law, killing whomever he pleases. The basic rights of the natives must be guaranteed. Also, the report from the General Political Security Bureau says that the current emotional state of the laborers is ‘blue.’ There is no need to introduce slaves.”

“This riot is just the beginning,” Wu De said. “The development of Tiandu has not yet entered the mining stage. The mortality rate will rise again then. Heavy physical labor, subtropical climate, and mountain forests—these three things combined, the number of people who die will only be greater than during the malaria outbreak. Mining development in this environment is just filling it with human lives.”

“As long as the manpower loss is controlled within a certain range, it is still acceptable,” Ma Qianzhu said, flipping through his notebook. “I remember you submitted a personnel loss and replenishment plan.”

“Yes, but people have tempers. They are not just a number in a computer game,” Wu De said. “Suppression is possible, but have you thought about this? How much time and resources do we spend to recruit a laborer and make him ready for use? These people can be trained as industrial workers or serve as soldiers—it’s not worth it to consume them in low-tech physical labor like mining! It’s better to use slaves.”

Wu De explained his line of thought. The laborers already in Sanya would be gradually trained. Some would become technical workers and managers at the mines, while others would gradually fill the industrial and agricultural enterprises in Sanya. The most arduous and dangerous mining work would be left to the Nanyang slaves.

“This has two advantages. First, we can firmly control the laborers. The labor teams will become our ruling foundation in Sanya, not a potential stability-maintenance group. Gentlemen, when the Sanya development plan was being formulated, we were prepared to organize the laborers into a militia as a military supplementary force for the Sanya base. If the laborers riot a few more times, I’m afraid Wang Luobin won’t have the guts to make them militiamen. Instead, he’ll have to send more troops from Lin’gao to maintain control. Second, it avoids the energy consumed by continuously transporting people to Sanya. Let the English directly transport the slaves to Sanya, and we only need to transport enough sugar and other trade goods to Sanya. Starting with the slave trade, we can gradually extend to other trades, which will serve the purpose of attracting foreigners to trade with us.”

This theory moved the members of the Executive Committee. However, Ma Jia was still not convinced. Deep down, he was opposed to any form of slavery—he felt it was a step backward.

“I don’t think it’s very meaningful. With more slaves, the pressure of maintaining stability won’t be small either…”

“The effort required to maintain stability among the laborers is much greater. I’ve said it before: the cost of training a laborer is far higher than buying a slave. It’s a pity to use them as consumables. Secondly, the laborers have received military training, and their organization and discipline are much stronger than that of slaves. To suppress them, we would have to use the army. Finally, the laborers and the soldiers are compatriots. They speak the same language and may even be from the same hometown—the psychological factors must be considered. The slaves are natives of Nanyang. Once the army is deployed, they will not hesitate to act.”

Wen Desi coughed. “I hope comrades can look at the problem from a global perspective. Ah De has said a lot, but I think there is one point he has not realized. Are we really short of these few slaves to open the mines? NO! Another advantage of using slaves in the harsh mines is ‘population reduction.’ To create living space for future immigrants!”

Ma Jia conceded. He could see that the members of the Executive Committee were very interested in Wu De’s proposal. He could only take a step back. “I abstain on this issue, but I oppose the full restoration of slavery.”

“This issue will be decided by the Senate,” Wen Desi said. “Shall we vote?”

Regarding Yang Shixiang’s suggestion of seeking amnesty, Liu San gave a perfunctory reply. Not only was he not interested, but even if he were, it was not his decision to make. This matter should be left to the Senate to consider.

He found another topic and discussed with Yang Shixiang the “Great Ming Watsons chain pharmacy” they had talked about last time. Yang Shixiang was very interested in this matter, but the idea of setting up branches widely on the mainland made him a little worried.

Firstly, he was afraid of the unstable times. The situation in the Great Ming did not look like a peaceful and prosperous era—if chaos broke out, not only would he not make money, but he would also lose his capital. Secondly, branch pharmacies were not easy to manage, especially since the sale of Chinese patent medicines was different from that of decoction pieces. Once made into pills, the quality could not be seen. He was most afraid that the manager of a branch would substitute inferior goods for good ones.

“Don’t worry about that. The chaos is in the north and the west now,” Liu San said. He had already discussed it with Li Mei in the Ministry of Commerce office. The focus would be on developing the Jiangnan market. The Jiangnan region was relatively stable and prosperous during the entire Chongzhen reign and the early Shunzhi reign, before the idiotic hair-shaving order was issued. Of course, he couldn’t say this to Yang Shixiang. He could only say that Jiangnan was a land of fish and rice, and had always been a place of peace and happiness. There would be no large-scale wars.

In fact, he was not very confident when he said this, but it was also a fact that Jiangnan had always been a place of partial peace in history, and was rarely affected by major turmoil.

“As for things like substituting inferior goods, we can find ways to solve it. We can’t give up eating for fear of choking,” Liu San continued, pointing out that Li Luoyou’s visit was a great opportunity. This person had branches and agents in various places. If they could get his help, this matter would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Yang Shixiang nodded. After partnering with Liu San, he had gradually been influenced by the transmigrators’ way of thinking and had become more willing to take risks.

“Good, with your words, worthy brother, I am relieved. As soon as the pharmaceutical factory is built, I will go to Jiangnan for a field survey. Then I will go to the Qizhou medicine market to replenish some goods!”

“Good, I will go with you, big brother,” Liu San said. He had long wanted to see the Qizhou medicine market.

“It would be great if you are willing to go, brother, but your hair,” Yang Shixiang said. “It would be best if you could grow it out. It’s very inconvenient for long journeys, and wearing a fake topknot might be exposed halfway.”

“No problem, I’ll pretend to be a wandering monk. I’ll just buy a certificate of ordination,” Liu San said. He didn’t want to have long hair that was both hot and difficult to manage. This was not the old world, where there were hotels and hot water everywhere, and you could wash your hair at any time. After his trip to Foshan, he knew the hardships and inconveniences of travel.

“If you become a monk, what about my sister-in-law?” Yang Shixiang joked. “Since you are going to stay here for a long time, I will have Xuan Chun come and serve you.”

Liu San wanted to say “no need,” but in the end, he didn’t. In fact, he still missed Xuan Chun very much. Since that one night of pleasure, Xuan Chun’s shadow had been lingering in his mind. Xuan Chun was not a beauty, and he was not a thirsty man who had relied on “Miss Five-Fingers” since D-Day.

What moved him was just one night of tenderness and consideration.

“The matters of the heart are really hard to understand,” Liu San muttered, realizing that he had developed a bit of a liking for Xuan Chun. He couldn’t help but sigh with a headache.

Yang Shixiang then said, “It seems we have to properly entertain this great Shopkeeper Li tonight.”

Liu San was thinking about Xuan Chun and was stunned for a moment before he reacted. “I will host a banquet for them at the trading post tonight.”

“No,” Yang Shixiang shook his head. “Since you are representing the Australians, you can’t be in a hurry to invite them.”

A formal banquet was a major event in ancient times. Generally, the invitation had to be sent at least three days in advance. Three days was an “invitation,” two days was a “call,” and one day was a “summons.” For an outside guest like Li Luoyou, it was not very polite to hold a formal banquet on the day of his arrival. It should be at least the next day.

“Shouldn’t we hold a welcome feast?”

“I will host that. Brother, you can arrange for tomorrow night.”

Yang Shixiang then discussed with him that a person like Li Luoyou was probably tired of delicacies. The Yang family had their own kitchen maids, and their skills were not bad, but he was afraid it might not suit the great shopkeeper’s taste. He wondered if there was any way to make him eat with satisfaction.

Eating was originally not something Liu San was interested in, but since he was the leader of the working group, he was also responsible for Li Luoyou’s daily life. He thought for a moment and said, “How about some home-style dishes? After being tired of dragon liver and phoenix marrow, a little congee and simple dishes would be more appetizing.”

“Good, that’s settled,” Yang Shixiang said, deeply agreeing. He added, “The new Australian gadgets in the guest courtyard, I’m afraid my family members don’t know how to use them. I would like to ask my brother for help and find a dedicated person to take care of them. The wages and food will all be covered by my family.”

The east guest courtyard of Runshitang, where Li Luoyou was staying, had been recently renovated by the Lin’gao Construction Company, with the addition of bathing and sanitary facilities. There were no sewers in Lin’gao county town yet, so even if a septic tank was built, it couldn’t be used. Fortunately, when the main street of the county town was renovated, drainage ditches were built on both sides, which could barely be used to discharge sewage.

The installation of a high-level water tank, water pipes, and a heating furnace cost Runshitang a large sum of money—the General Office subsidized half of it, on the condition that it would also have to receive guests of the transmigrators when the General Office needed it. Some people with special status might feel more relaxed staying in such a place.

Lin’gao had no sewers, and similarly, no running water. The water in the high-level water tank was pumped up from the well by manpower. Yang Shixiang had been skeptical about this system at first, but when the renovation was completed and he turned on the tap, hot and cold water came rushing out, and he was completely convinced.

In his joy, he requested that his own residence be renovated in the same way. Mo Xiao’an had originally intended to promote sanitary equipment. When Yang Shixiang came to him, he immediately added several more orders, which were installed one by one. In addition to the east guest courtyard for receiving distinguished guests, a set was also installed in the Suochun Pavilion in the newly built garden of the Yang family. Liu San had been puzzled why it wasn’t installed in the main courtyard where he lived or in the inner study, but in the garden. He later understood when he saw a double massage bathtub in his order.

This Shopkeeper Yang wants to take a mandarin duck bath.

And thinking about how Shopkeeper Yang’s wife often looked unhappy recently and rarely smiled at meals, Liu San probably understood. This sworn brother was just committing the common male sin of “extravagance and debauchery.”

Recently, the Yang family had built a garden, added more rooms, and hired many more servants. He probably wouldn’t fall behind in the matter of women either. He had probably gotten his hands on one of the maids at home.

My sworn brother does this openly, while I do it secretly. Comparing people is infuriating. Liu San sighed again.

“…There’s always something wrong with the things. It’s not a solution to always ask you for help,” Yang Shixiang was still chattering in his ear.

The effort the transmigrator group put into Runshitang was, of course, to awe Li Luoyou. “The toilet determines the modernization level of a country,” was a famous saying the transmigrators firmly believed in. The transmigrators were prepared to use a 21st-century bathroom to win over the 17th-century tycoon.

The new things were good, but they were quite troublesome to use and maintain. Firstly, there was the problem of usage habits. Secondly, the quality of the various equipment manufactured by the transmigrators was quite prominent due to material limitations, especially in plumbing hardware. The use of substitute materials was still in the exploratory stage. After only a few days of use, Liu San had to find people to unclog their sewers, repair faucets, and fix joints.

“Why don’t you just send someone over, and I’ll arrange for him to learn,” Liu San said, getting tired of it, and came up with this once-and-for-all solution.

“Good, worthy brother is too kind,” Yang Shixiang said, thanking him repeatedly. In his eyes, his sworn brother was being very considerate. In the ancient consciousness, no skill could be learned without paying for it. To teach for free was simply a charitable act.

Before returning to Bairen City, Liu San first went to the farm and instructed Fu Wuben to pack up and go to Runshitang with him later. He had been too busy during the day recently, and natives were not allowed to enter and leave Bairen City at will at night, so he had not had time to properly educate this apprentice. Liu San decided to take this opportunity to check his homework and give him some guidance.

Liu San’s education for Fu Wuben was mainly focused on pharmacology, with medicine as a supplement. The method was to memorize books. He wanted him to memorize several materia medica and the Compendium of Chinese Materia Medica, remembering the therapeutic effects, interactions, preparation methods, and appearance characteristics of various Chinese herbal medicines. Only after accumulating this knowledge could they talk about other things.

Besides memorizing books, he also did gardening in the medicinal herb garden every day. Fu Wuben came from a farming family, and planting was his specialty. With a little guidance from Liu San, he did very well. With this apprentice, Liu San could basically leave the gardening work alone and focus on developing new drugs.

Fu Wuben was very happy to be able to receive personal guidance from his master this time. He packed his luggage early and waited at the gate of Bairen City. As soon as Liu San came out with his bedroll, he went up to him.

“Master.”

“Let’s go,” Liu San said, his face not looking very good. He had just had a fight with Wuyunhua while packing his luggage. The reason for the fight was just a small matter between lovers.

Wuyunhua had a big temper to begin with. Liu San had a guilty conscience recently, and his words and actions were inevitably evasive. This aroused Wuyunhua’s suspicion even more. Her words were laced with barbs, and any slight mishandling of his response would lead to a quarrel, leaving Liu San exhausted. He was already very tired after a day of running around. The woman he faced after returning to the dormitory was neither gentle nor considerate, and they would quarrel every two or three days, which made Liu San feel mentally and physically exhausted. Being the leader of Operation Liu allowed him to temporarily escape his family life, which gave him a sense of relief.

Seeing that his master’s face was not good, Fu Wuben did not dare to say much. He just tied his master’s luggage to the cart and set off.

“Master, are we really going to stay at Runshitang?”

“Of course, the house is all ready.”

“Such a big firm! You are truly amazing, Master,” Fu Wuben said, looking at him with admiration. Runshitang was originally a small, unknown firm in Guangdong, but in Lin’gao, it was a Fortune 500 company in the eyes of the local villagers.

“This is nothing,” Liu San said with a smile, seeing the look of admiration on his apprentice’s face. “Let’s go, we still have a long way to go.”

Liu San walked with him to the county town. Along the way, he would occasionally test him on his knowledge from the books, and sometimes he would stop to have him identify the plants on the roadside. This was no longer a difficult task for Fu Wuben. Besides memorizing medicine books and planting herbs, he usually went to various places in Lin’gao to collect herbs according to Liu San’s instructions. In addition to training his ability to identify medicines, Liu San also hoped to use this to gradually master the distribution of Chinese herbal medicines throughout Lin’gao.