Chapter 8: Farming Nature

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Many 1949 miners, like them, chose to come to Sacramento to try their luck after the Christmas carnival in San Francisco.

There were more and more gold prospector camps in Sacramento, and Liang Yao had to drive wooden stakes to enclose his own territory and nail up signs.

Before the ore washing tank was completed, they, like ordinary gold prospectors, used pans as gold pans in the cold and biting river water, and slowly sifted out fine sand gold from the sand in the river.

It's just that their luck is not good. On average, they can only screen out a dozen or twenty ounces of gold from the American River every day. Moreover, as time went by, almost all the nearby rich mines were mined, and the gold they could obtain became less and less day by day.

Ten or twenty ounces of gold seemed like a lot, but considering the ridiculous prices in California, after deducting the daily expenses of their group, there was very little gold left.

You know, in the early days of the gold rush, it was not uncommon for an ordinary gold prospector to use the most primitive gold mining methods to find twenty or thirty ounces of gold from the American River every day.

From time to time, news of someone discovering nugget gold reached their ears, which undoubtedly greatly stimulated their nerves and made them even more discouraged.

The Boston Company's camp was eight hundred yards away from them. At first they laughed at the inefficiency of Liang Yao's team in mining because they had a gold laundering machine purchased from Boston at a high price, which was their company's secret weapon.

I heard that in order to get this machine to California, they even paid the price with their lives on the western trails.

Now it seems that these high costs are not worth it. This machine has frequent malfunctions during operation, and it has not washed out a grain of gold for them for several days.

Even so, their engineers stubbornly continued to repair this "high-tech" machine repeatedly. They firmly believed that as long as they had this machine, they would have an incomparable advantage over other gold diggers.

In Liang Yao's view, this is no longer stubborn, but stupid.

Liang Yao did not abandon the traditional farming skills of the Chinese nation. While searching for gold, he organized people to cultivate a vegetable field near the camp. When he was in Panama, he purchased some farm tools and vegetable and fruit seeds.

Bulk commodities such as rice and wheat can be imported, but if they want to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, they have to grow their own.

It's just that he had no experience in agricultural planting. In later generations, he only spent his childhood in the countryside, watching his grandparents plant some crops. Although he also planted some fruits out of curiosity as a child, but that was not the case. They are all recreational in nature and do not contribute much to planting experience.

After going to the city to study, these few planting knowledge and experiences were completely forgotten by Liang Yao.

Professionals also need professionals to do it. After cultivating the vegetable field, Liang Yao handed over the planting to the Deng brothers.

However, the climate in California is different from that in Guangdong, and the Deng brothers had to consult Cai Mingsheng, who had settled in California for several years, on these issues.

Deng Wenshun drove a carriage to their camp and took out eight old flintlock guns and ammunition from the carriage. Their age made Liang Yao wonder whether these antiques were cultural relics from those who participated in the American Revolutionary War.

But it was better than nothing. After all, except for Liang Yao who had a flash cap gun, the rest of the people could only defend themselves with shovels.

As more and more gold prospectors enter Sacramento, there will be more and more threats around them. It is still necessary to store some guns and ammunition in case of emergency.

Of course, these things were not given to them by Sartre out of kindness, but they bought them from Sartre with real money.

"These foreign guns and chickens and ducks are sent to you by my boss. Third brother, this is a letter that my boss asked me to bring to you."

Deng Wenshun moved the wooden cage containing the chickens and ducks from the carriage, then wiped his hands on his clothes and handed Sartre's letter to Liang Yao.

The content of the letter is nothing more than a reminder to Liang Yao that February will be in one week and he must not forget to pay this month's land rent, otherwise he will lead people to expel Liang Yao and others from his territory.

Sartre did not accept Liang Yao's opaque plan to pay one-tenth of the gold mining proceeds every month. In his opinion, this income was very unstable. He still preferred to receive 300 ounces of gold from Liang Yao every month as a reward. land rent.

This decision made Liang Yao feel that Sartre was stupid even more. He didn't know whether the farmer had no confidence in the gold reserves of his land or in Liang Yao's gold mining ability.

With such short-sightedness, it is no wonder that Sartre had the opportunity to make a fortune first but was given the opportunity to come from behind by Brannan.

The Deng brothers happily packed up the supplies they bought from Sartre with gold, especially the five hens.

This is a good thing. The price of eggs in California is now two dollars each. It is not an exaggeration to say that these hens can lay golden eggs.

"When you finally come back, I'll cook you something to eat."

Liang Yao picked up a clean pan, went to the water tank to wash it, and asked Deng Ying to help start the fire.

Since there are not many gold prospectors coming to Sacramento to prospect for gold, the water of the American River is quite clean, at least it looks clear.

But at this time, cholera was very serious in both the Asian continent and the American continent, and countless people died of cholera every year. Even the President of the United States is not immune.

Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, died on the unlucky day of April 4, 1841. From the time he took office to his death, he only served the American people for one month.

After that, the 11th President of the United States, the young and powerful James Knox Ball, persisted in serving the American people for one term. However, after leaving office last year (1849), he passed away in only 103 days. His predecessors also died of cholera.

This is not over yet. If nothing else, the current president is already on his way to report to God. He will die suddenly of cholera in the White House on July 9, 1850, this year, to be with his predecessor and his predecessors. Former colleagues meet.

The main culprit that caused the violent deaths of three consecutive US presidents was the water source. Liang Yao did not dare to neglect the convenience of water source.

In this era, people were still helpless against cholera. Once infected with cholera, whether they could survive or not depended on God's will.

Liang Yao attached great importance to personal hygiene and refused to drink water. He did not use water from the American River. He only used mountain spring water that was diverted from the river. If he wanted to use it, he had to boil it. Anyway, there was no shortage of firewood here.

Just because there is no cholera outbreak in Sacramento now does not mean that it will not happen in the future. In Liang Yao's memory, during the vigorous westward expansion of the United States, including the California gold rush, the number of people who died from cholera was much higher than other natural and man-made disasters.

"It's better to leave the cooking to your aunt and cousin. How can you, a scholar, do this?" Deng Yan carefully used his thumb and forefinger to take out a grain of sand gold from the pan and put it into a glass bottle. Then he put down his work and said to Liang Yao.

Zhou, who was washing clothes beside her, also hurriedly cleaned her hands and wanted to snatch the pan from Liang Yao's hand.

"Auntie, you are busy with your work. Cousin Shun comes back rarely. It just so happens that Cousin Shun can have a taste of my craftsmanship."

Liang Yao let Mr. Zhou continue to work on the matter at hand. He fried an egg and a piece of beef, then sprinkled some sauce on it, pinched two slices of toasted bread, and handed it to Deng Wenshun, who was watching the people panning for gold in a daze.

Deng Wenshun came to his senses, took the hot food and started chewing it.

"There is some gin here to keep the cold away. I'll pour you some to warm yourself up." Liang Yao turned around to get Deng Wenshun a drink.

Deng Wenshun shook his head and said, "I might miss my boss's business by drinking. Let's keep this wine for everyone to keep away the cold."

"Then it's up to you." Liang Yao found a clean stone and sat down on the spot, chatting with Deng Wenshun, "How does my boss treat you? If there is anything you don't like, just say it, we are family members and brothers, and my boss has If it’s too harsh, I’ll talk to my boss someday.”

"Although my boss has a bad temper, he still treats his employees very well. He eats and drinks well and treats me to drinks when he sees that I work hard. But I can't understand what the ghost guy says. I can only pretend to listen when my boss drinks too much." I understand, just follow my boss’ wishes.”

After not seeing each other for more than ten days, Deng Wenshun has matured a lot and changed a lot.

Liang Yao was not worried that Sartre would abuse Deng Wenshun.

Liang Yao, a member of the Deng family, knew their roots well. They were a good farming and fishing family for generations, and the Deng family brothers were not bad in nature. Liang Yao also believed that Deng Wenyao and Deng Wenshun were just temporarily blinded by gold.

But everything comes down to one code, and since you break the rules, you should be punished.

"We will have to deal with ghost guys here in the future. We still have to learn from ghost guys. You are still young. It's not difficult to learn from ghost guys. You can learn it quickly." Liang Yao nodded and said.

"Third brother, I know I was wrong, just let me stay, and we can dig gold together! I must abide by the rules!"

Deng Wenshun's eyes were moist and he said to Liang Yao in a pleading tone.

"I understand how you feel." Looking at Deng Wenshun, who was crying and dressed in ragged clothes, Liang Yao entered the tent and dug out a brand-new cotton robe densely stitched from his luggage, "We are brothers and a family. If something happened The family cannot live without your share. This is the robe your third aunt made for me before she left. You have to take care of yourself while working alone at your employer’s house. It’s cold, so don’t freeze your body.”

Deng Wenshun understood what Liang Yao meant, but the fault was his own, and he couldn't blame Liang Yao.

"My third aunt made these clothes for my third brother," Deng Wenshun refused.

"If I don't accept you, you won't recognize me as my brother." Liang Yao thrust the cotton robe into Deng Wenshun's hands and did not allow Deng Wenshun to refuse.

Deng Wenshun visited Deng Wenyao. Deng Wenyao's injury was relatively serious. Although he had saved his life, it would take at least ten days and a half before he could go to work in the fields.

When Deng Wenyao took action, Liang Yao sent Deng Wenyao to Sartre.

After sending Deng Wenshun away, Liang Yao issued a gun to Deng Yan and the Deng brothers.

"Second uncle, you have been a general and you know how to use muskets. You will teach your brothers how to use muskets in a while. Although these guns are old, they can still be used in critical moments."

Deng Yan carefully fumbled for the old flintlock gun in his hand and sighed: "If your second uncle followed Admiral Guan to guard the Humen Fort, if you had this thing, why worry about the Humen Fort not being able to defend it."

Admiral Guan, what a good officer, finally died for his country on the Humen Fort together with more than 400 brothers.

Your second uncle's life should not have been cut off either. Admiral Guan ordered me to send an order for reinforcements, so I came back with a life. "

"These foreign guns are old items used by the foreigners decades ago. The foreigners now have faster ships, more powerful guns, and can shoot farther and more accurately."

This humiliating history made Liang Yao feel angry. The First Opium War was just the beginning, and the things that followed were more humiliating than the others.

China did not have these things, but they were thrown into the dark corner of the Old Summer Palace by the Qing Dynasty ruling class in the Forbidden City as tribute toys presented by vassal states.

Liang Yao was powerless now. How to gain a foothold in California was the most important thing at the moment, and he could not worry about those military and national affairs.

"Although this gun is old, it is well made and there is no risk of exploding. Let me learn how to use this foreign gun and teach you." Deng Yan said.

When he was in the army, he used a matchlock gun, which was quite different from the operation of a flintlock gun. He had to get familiar with how to use a flintlock gun and learn how to use it.