"Zabei!"

Hearing the shouting, several people on the road stopped to watch. After all, "emon", "zaemon", "bei" or "someone bei" are very common names. It is said that less than half of the people in Fuso are called

this.

Tomijiro paused for a moment and then continued moving forward.

Although he is now used to his new name, only his companions on the whaling ship are willing to call him that. Today, his companions are anxious to go home, so they should not be calling him that.

Seeing that Tomijiro ignored him, several young people from the Shouchi domain of Dewa Province became anxious and rushed forward to stop him, saying hello in a flurry of words:

"Brother Zuobei, you are back from sea. You have worked hard."

Saabei was very happy to see that no one called him "Tomijiro". In order not to disturb others, he waved his hand and led these people into the roadside tea house.

Several young people were very cautious. Although they were wearing new clothes, they still had no confidence.

"Hakodate is a place of truth. As long as you act honestly, there is no need to be afraid."

Speaking such bold words and wearing leather shoes, no one could tell that this young man had only just come out to work for a few years.

Zuobei, whose original name was Tomijiro, was a child of a "communist" family in Qingchuan Village. His ancestors had been farming for a living.

As the second son, he had no family business to inherit, and because he usually ate too much, he was disliked by his eldest brother and his wife.

Because he had no connections, Tomijiro was unable to become a craftsman or merchant apprentice before he was twelve years old.

Originally, the best way out for him in the future was to be someone else's son-in-law and adoptive son, so that he could have his own share of the family business; but if he was unlucky, he would have to help his brother all the time, doing farm work until he died, and he would not even be able to marry a wife.

.

But in the third year of Ansei (1856), he heard from businessmen in the castle town that "the port of Hakodate in the Northland has opened, and a lot of manpower is needed for local implementation. If they do well, they can be naturalized according to the land allocation."

With the dream of marrying a wife, the seventeen-year-old Tomijiro boarded the boat in a daze with two pieces of money secretly given to him by his mother.

But when we got to the end of the field, we realized that everything was a lie - Hakodome needed a large number of manpower, but it was just to build roads and build houses. As for allocating land, it was just an unattainable dream.

Tomijiro was even more unlucky. The shipowner did not send him to the prison to register, but transferred him to someone else.

In this way, Tomitaro became an illegal worker and signed a ten-year contract with a local tooth shop.

His life in the first year was very miserable. He worked a lot, had poor food and clothing, and almost froze to death in the winter. The wages he received were exploited by the gang in every possible way, and in the end there was nothing left at all.

Because of the strict supervision at Yahang, Tomijiro cut off contact with the outside world. While crying silently, he thought about seeking death many times.

Fortunately, the Hakodate Office is still good.

Due to the serious damage to the reputation of the immigrants attracted by the practice, in the spring of the next year, the evil business was closed down, the contract of sale was annulled, and Tomitaro became an official Hakodate citizen.

Under the organization of the administrative office, the 18-year-old Tomijiro joined the construction of the Kameda Imperial Palace earth fortress - Kameda Imperial Palace earth fortress is the folk name for Goryokaku.

After the Hakodate Office was established, the former tax office of the Matsumae family was used as the official office. However, this place was too close to Hakodate Bay. Toshihi and others felt that it was very unfavorable for defense, so they applied to the shogunate to choose another site to build Goryokaku.

In the third year of Ansei (1856), the shōshō began to build various platforms and shōshō's palaces. The following year, the construction of Goryokaku was officially launched.

Of course, the young Tomijiro did not know this. He only knew that there were thousands of people working with him, and that the main work at that time was to build ditches. There were many swamps in Kameda, and the construction of the city could only begin after they were drained.

After becoming a citizen, Tomijiro worked as hard as before, but without the ruthless teeth, he was able to save some money.

Refusing to drink, never play games, and never visit Yume Street, Tomijiro lived frugally, hoping that after the Kameda Imperial Palace earthen fortress was built and the land was allocated as promised, he would be able to manage his own land well.

.

However, life is full of variables.

In September of the fifth year of Ansei (1858), the construction of the Kameda Imperial Palace earthen fortress was suspended - it is said that this was the order of the new Lord.

To Tomijiro's great joy, the new Lord Advocate announced at the same time that the Hakodate immigrants would begin to divide their land!

Although the administrative office declared that "I am willing to stay in the sub-house in Hakodate and be a town dweller, and I am willing to cultivate the sub-district," Tomijiro settled on the sub-lot and did not consider what it would be like to be a town citizen.

However, there are too many people who are willing to divide the land. Even though the enforcement office has repeatedly clarified that "the land can be autonomous after three years of reclamation," there is no way to stop the people who are enthusiastic about registering.

In desperation, Zheng Xing had to use the seniority sequence to allocate shares.

The qualifications were calculated from the second year of Ansei (1855), and Tomijiro became a territorial citizen only in the fourth year of Ansei. There were many people registered, so his qualifications were naturally not enough.

Tomijiro's dream died again, and he could only stay in Hakodate and wait for the next opportunity to colonize.

Although the Kameda Imperial Palace earthen fort was no longer built, most of the people who originally participated in the general petition were retained. Not only did the Kameda Imperial Palace launch other general petitions, it also expanded the scale of its original collection of coal ore and iron sand.

However, Tomijiro was unwilling to leave Hakodate - although he was a simple countryman, Tomijiro had his own cunning. He felt that "only by staying in Hakodate for a long time can we learn the news of the land division as early as possible."

Therefore, he has been looking for work opportunities in Hakodate.

But he had a native accent and was illiterate, and because of the shadow of his past, he was unwilling to continue working as a fujo. Therefore, until he met Horii Hanbei, he had never stabilized and basically relied on part-time jobs to survive.

In October of the fifth year of Ansei (1858), Horii was recruiting people for his new fishing boat, and Tomijiro also went to join in the fun.

In fact, Tomijiro Shige had never been a fisherman before, but since the Shouchi Domain was close to the sea, he liked swimming since he was the youngest, so he had a small advantage.

Fortunately, Tomijiro was eventually recruited onto the ship by the short-manned shipowner Horii.

But no one expected that Tomijiro was actually a born waterman!

Not only was he very quick to handle matters on the ship, but more importantly, he was very sensitive to the weather and fish floods. The captain called him "a person who was born to eat this bowl of rice."

This year, on June 2, the sixth year of Ansei (July 1, 1859), Hakodate, Nagasaki, and Yokohama opened ports for foreign trade on time as agreed. They changed from simply opening ports for supply to opening ports for trade. This also affected many people.

human life.

For Tomijiro, change means changing the ship.

Because the ship owner Horii Hanbei newly rented a Western steam whaling ship, Tomijiro, who was a newcomer but was valued, also changed the ship - anyway, the original watermen didn't know how to operate the steam ship, so it didn't matter that he was a novice.

A veteran now.

Since the second year of Ansei (1855), the number of foreign whaling ships in Ezo and Northern Ezo has increased year by year.

With more ships, the harvest of whaling will naturally decrease, but it is still a popular business, but it is no longer hugely profitable.

In particular, Fuso whalers have an advantage over Western ships. Not only can they obtain supplies at any Northland port, but the prices for fuel and supplies are relatively cheaper.

After boarding the whaling ship, Tomijiro's life changed drastically.

Although it is hard work, the salary is paid monthly.

In the seventh month of the Kowa calendar, Tomijiro, as the navigator's assistant, was assigned more than ten hakodates to his name!

You must know that although the Hakodate Card is a local card issued by the government, it has a good reputation and can be exchanged for gold and silver at a Ryoda merchant. Ten Hakodate Cards can be exchanged for ten small Tianbao gold deposits. You must know that Tomijiro and his family worked hard in the past.

Only in a year can you have a balance of 27 copper coins, which is equivalent to five to six gold! Moreover, it has to be a rare good year!

As soon as he got the money, Tomijiro did two major things:

First of all, he changed his name to "Zabei", indicating that he was also from a famous family, and his ancestors had also produced samurai. When he told his companions on the boat, the expression on the captain Horii Hanbei's face looked...

It's very subtle. Tomijiro felt guilty at the time, but Horii encouraged him, "When you get to the north, you must have a name worthy of a man. This is right!"

Then, he ran to Four Seasons House to bring back half of his salary to his hometown.

Four Seasons House, like Caraku House and Hime House, are newly emerging wealthy businessmen in the North. They have the official endorsement of the firm. New immigrants in Hakodate like to let these two companies carry money back to their hometowns, as it is fast and safe.

Tomijiro did not bring money to his hometown for the sake of face, but because he understood that life is not easy - he knew that although his brother and sister-in-law were disgusted with his large appetite, despite scolding him, the family had never been hungry. You must know that his brother and sister-in-law

When I'm not out in the field, I always eat as little as I can.

After three years of experience outside, Tomijiro finally began to understand, "The life of the poor is difficult, and warmth is hidden in scolding. This is life!"

With this money, my brother and sister-in-law can be more comfortable, and if they are not so irritable, their elderly parents can smile for a few more days.

Unexpectedly, the news that Tomijiro made money spread like wildfire, causing waves among the fellow villagers in Hakodate. He inexplicably became the number one figure - although he was only a minor figure, someone recognized him after all.

.

However, Tomijiro did not resent this. He had never received such respect before, and was quite addicted to it - of course, an important reason was that no fellow villagers borrowed money from him.

This is because the Hakodate Office entrusts several wealthy businessmen to lend money to immigrants, and the interest rates are very low as long as the loans are serious business.

Speaking of which, I have to mention the fact that since he took charge of Hakodate, he has made a lot of achievements and shown love for the people. Although it is impossible to solve all the problems, the lives of the residents, especially the new immigrants, are indeed better than before.

Much better.

Let’s just talk about this longhouse. As a residence for ordinary people, all longhouses in Fuso are built in the same mold. They are crowded, narrow, and dark, and are only for the poor.

But now, the longhouses of Hakodate are completely different. Not only are they spacious and bright, but they also have a small yard. Some of them even use double-glazed shoji, and there are artesian wells for drinking water.

According to everyone's words, "None of the samurai masters in my hometown have ever lived in such a house!"

Moreover, as a major good governance feature of the practice, the rent of longhouses is extremely low and the number of longhouses is extremely abundant. As long as there is a regular business, anyone can occupy it. It is said that the practice subsidizes a large amount of money for this every year!

"Profiteers are hateful!"

The fellow villagers were chatting with Sahei at the water teahouse, and when they got to the longhouse, they began to curse the builder in unison, feeling aggrieved by their favorite practice.

Speaking of which, house-keeping is a pain for all new immigrants!

Although the longhouse is nice, each person can only have one room, so having his own house is the wish of all outsiders.

Longhouses are subsidized by the shrine, but housing is not enough, and the buying and selling prices are relatively high!

The land is naturally owned, and the implementation of the law is very fair. Everyone can apply for the planned community area for free, but the construction materials and labor are both high.

No one dares to expect the practice to continue to subsidize money, so they can only criticize profiteers.

Many of the Shonai Domain fellows here have just arrived in Hakodate this year and are full of fantasies about the future. They are looking for Saabei because he is doing well. Everyone hopes to obtain some scriptures, and in case of a whaling ship

When it comes to recruiting people, I might as well bother others with referrals.

After going on and on, the topic suddenly turned to another character.

"Brother Zuohei, have you heard that the son of a wealthy businessman from my hometown, Hachiro Kiyokawa, has also arrived at Hakodate. It is said that he will become a samurai soon!"

Zuobei's captain, Horii Hanbei, was a samurai, and it was said that he was born a commoner. When he went to sea, Horii often used his own examples to encourage the crew.

Therefore, when talking about "big figures" in his hometown like Qinghe Hachiro, Zuohei unknowingly adopted a somewhat equal attitude. He quoted Horii's words:

"Master Feng Zhi is a great person now. If you work hard in the north, we may all become samurai masters in the future! However, everyone must be prepared now. Choosing a good Miao character will be an important matter for generations to come!"
Chapter completed!