Chapter 294: Taking the Lead

"Grandpa is old, my father and second uncle are already half useless, and the backbone of our Liang family will be carried by Uncle Wu in the future."

In the wing room, Liang Yao poured a glass of sake for Liang Shaoqiong.

"This sake was a gift from the Japanese general when I conquered Japan. I don't know if it suits Uncle Wu's taste."

Liang Shaocong is not tall, but he is fat and strong, with a pair of thick mustaches. Although he is a scholar, his face is not full of bookish air.

"Ashamed, ashamed, it is not me who carries the backbone of the Liang family, but you, my nephew."

Liang Shaocong, with a guilty look on his face, picked up the wine cup and said solemnly to Liang Yao.

"Uncle Wu has done many things in the past. This glass of wine is Uncle Wu's apology to you!"

In the past, the relationship between the brothers and uncles and nephews in the Liang family was not harmonious. When Liang Yao was young, Liang Shaoqiong did not look at Liang Yao well.

After all, the Liang family is prosperous, and everyone hopes to get more attention from Mr. Liang. The so-called brotherly friendship is just a false appearance.

If possible, Liang Yao naturally hopes that his father Liang Shaochen can assist Pan Shicheng in organizing militia training on behalf of the Liang family. But his father does not have this ability now, and he can't count on him at all.

Among the Shao generation of the Liang family, only Liang Shaoqiong can count on one or two.

"Hahaha, Uncle Wu is straightforward. Let the past unhappiness go with this glass of wine."

Out of courtesy, Liang Yao returned a glass of wine to Liang Shaoqiong.

"This time you can recommend me in front of Governor Pan. This favor, Uncle Wu really doesn't know how to repay you."

Liang Shaoqiong put down the wine cup and looked at Liang Yao, who was impeccable in his speech and behavior and calm in his expression, with his eyes full of disbelief.

Is this still the little boy who cried and was put on the foreign ship?

The Liang Yao in front of him is completely different from the Liang Yao in Liang Shaocong's impression.

In just over three years, Liang Yao has changed a lot.

"We are all family, so what is there to repay?" Liang Yao said with a smile, "Good things should be kept within the family. How could I forget my family for such a good job?"

"Your fifth uncle is already old, 34 years old and still has nothing to show for it. If it weren't for your recommendation, if he didn't pass the next imperial examination, I would have spent the rest of my life as a legal advisor." Liang Shaoqiong said self-deprecatingly.

Liang Shaocong was being modest. Having the title of Juren was like getting a stepping stone to becoming an official. However, the starting point of a Juren's career was much lower than that of a Jinshi, and the upward space was not as large as that of a Jinshi. In addition, it was easy for a Juren to be discriminated against by his colleagues.

This was similar to the discrimination against academic qualifications in later generations, except that there was an insurmountable gap between Juren and Jinshi, which was much greater than the discrimination against academic qualifications in later generations.

Of course, there are also some great people who were born as Juren. Zuo Zongtang was born as a Juren, but this is only a minority of cases. After all, in addition to his outstanding personal abilities, Zuo Zongtang also had ridiculous luck and connections.

Under normal circumstances, if a Juren can become a county magistrate, it is equivalent to smoke coming out of the ancestral grave.

"It is always good for the fifth uncle to have his own opinions, but don't blame the nephew for saying something unpleasant. Being a legal advisor is ultimately dependent on others. Although you can expand your network, you do dirty and tiring work and it is difficult to achieve great things." Liang Yao stretched out his hand to the bamboo basket-shaped fire basket to warm it, and then changed the subject.

"I asked Jinchen to look for coal veins in Guangzhou. This morning he told me that a coal vein was found in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou. I want to buy these lands to open a mine, but these lands are owned by someone else. Grandpa is old and it is inconvenient for him to walk in the cold weather.

I will leave Xiangshan soon, so I will trouble Uncle Wu to buy land and open a mine."

The coal Liang Yao stored in the Xiangshan warehouse was basically bought from Hong Kong.

Of course, the coal used by steamships in the Far East was also mostly bought from the British.

It has to be said that the quality of British coal is indeed good. Liang Yao has personally experienced this.

This expedition to Japan, when departing from California, the coal used on the ship was California coal produced in California. When departing from Xiangshan, the ship used British coal purchased from Hong Kong.

Liang Yao clearly felt that when using British coal, the ship traveled faster and the steam turbine encountered fewer mechanical failures.

Whether it is coal produced in California or in the northeastern United States, the quality is not as good as British coal. This is a reality that Liang Yao has to admit. After all, the quality of fuel is also a direct reflection of the strength of industrial strength.

What is even more tempting is that the British coal is not only of good quality, but also damn cheaper.

The strength of Britain in the Victorian era is beyond doubt. It is the only one in the world. In terms of coal production, it accounts for two-thirds of the world, which is seven times that of America. This is why British coal is of good quality and cheap.

British coal is good, but Liang Yao cannot rely on the British to sell him all the coal. His current relationship with the British is okay, but it does not mean that the relationship will be okay in the future.

In Guangzhou, it is better to have a coal-producing area of ​​his own to provide protection for the Xiangshan supply station in case of an accident.

Fortunately, the reserves of Guangzhou coal mines are also considerable.

The coal-producing area in Guangzhou that Liang Yao asked Hu Jinchen to find is actually the coal mining area in Baiyun District, Guangzhou in later generations.

It's just that the current Guangzhou city is much smaller than in later times, and this mining area is located in the suburbs of the northern part of Guangzhou city.

According to Hu Jinchen's investigation, this area is mostly farmland, and the owners behind it are also quite complex, including big bureaucrats, big landlords, small gentry and self-cultivating farmers.

The process of buying these lands is rather complicated and takes some time.

Liang Yao obviously does not have so much time, and the Guangdong authorities also know that Liang Yao is now an American, so it is more troublesome for him to buy land himself.

It is more appropriate to let the Liang family take charge of the land purchase.

"As long as there is enough money, with your current connections in Guangdong, it is not too difficult to buy some real estate." Liang Shaoqiong took over the job, but he was still a little worried, "But no one in our Liang family has ever opened a mine."

"It doesn't matter, I will transfer some people from California to be responsible for the mine, and Uncle Wu just needs to buy the land." Liang Yao said.

"That's great." Liang Shaoqiong nodded.

When the uncle and nephew were talking happily, they heard the servant report. Pan Shicheng asked Liang Yao to help him select a group of militiamen.

Xiangshan has a ready-made place to select militiamen.

This is not because the people of Xiangshan County are fierce and there are many people willing to serve as militiamen, nor because there are many refugees in Xiangshan County, but because Liang Yao's temporary resettlement site for immigrants is in Xiangshan.

Two years ago, Xiangshan became the starting point for Chinese immigrants in California. Tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants were waiting for ships to California, ready to embark on their journey to pursue their gold rush dreams.

The temporary resettlement site for immigrants in Xiangshan was specifically managed by the immigrant guesthouse sent by Liang Yao and the local Guangzhou merchants who had a good relationship with Liang Yao.

The main work of the staff of the temporary resettlement site for immigrants was to register the immigrants (most of whom were refugees from war-torn areas who fled to Guangdong), provide basic food and accommodation to ensure that not so many people died every day, and appease the emotions of the refugees.

These tasks seem simple, but in fact the workload is very large, because since last year, the resettlement site for immigrants in Xiangshan has been overloaded, and the number of immigrants in the resettlement site has not been less than 20,000, and this number is still increasing. Now this data has approached 40,000.