The moist evening wind blew from the seaside, blowing away the hot air above Jingbian Village.
Jingbian Village is a small coastal mountain village under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou Prefecture. Like ordinary coastal villages and towns in southern Fujian, Jingbian Village has many mountains and little land, and is overpopulated. It also has the custom of going to the sea and exploring Southeast Asia.
Under the bright moonlight, seven or eight cautious figures appeared on the path at the entrance of the mountainside village. They carried heavy burdens on their backs, wore worn-out coarse cloth straw sandals on their faces, and watched the surrounding environment cautiously.
"Brother Ying Ji, we are at a fork ahead, and Shangcuo Village is at the west intersection. Tonight you and your sister-in-law, nephews and nieces will reunite for a night. At noon tomorrow night, after all brothers and their families are ready, we will go to the lake as agreed.
Meet at the entrance of Toucun."
"We will meet at noon tomorrow night, I remember."
Sun Yingji replied in a low voice.
"Okay, then we three brothers will go first. Brother Sun, please pay attention to safety on the road."
The three young men said goodbye to Sun Yingji, and then quickly disappeared into the night.
The companions who came back together left one after another, and after walking on the mountain road for about half an hour, Sun Yingji returned to his hometown, Yangshu Village, not far from the well.
Low, dilapidated thatched houses, narrow village roads, and large stones covered with moss under the eaves. With the help of the faint moonlight, Sun Yingji saw the familiar scenes in the village again.
Yangshu Village is still as remote, quiet and poor as when I left it two or three years ago.
Looking at the village where he grew up, when Sun Yingji found a familiar taste of his hometown, he felt an unexplainable feeling in his heart.
"Depressed"
Recalling a phrase that cultural instructors often used to evaluate the Manchu and Qing government when he was serving in the Nanyang Legion Guards, Sun Yingji suddenly felt that this phrase was also very vivid when used in Yangshu Village.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Although he had never lived in the local area, his short service experience in the Nanyang Army made Sun Yingji feel an atmosphere that was different from his hometown.
High-spirited, hard-working, and full of vitality, every regular army, garrison, and militia of the Nanyang Army are training hard. In order to get the land promised by the officers and officials, they are even fighting against the French foreigners, those who look like orangutans.
When the African savages fought, they were not timid. Instead, they worked in groups of several soldiers, cooperating with each other, using their muskets and bayonets to repel the attacking enemies again and again, and won the war with fewer casualties than the enemies.
As a member who personally participated in the Han-France War, after the war, Sun Yingji, like most of the temporarily recruited garrison and militiamen, obtained formal national status. At the same time, he obtained a 260-acre pasture in the central plain of the mainland.
, as a reward for his combat achievements.
The two hundred and sixty acres of pasture include the one hundred acres that ordinary citizens have and the one hundred and sixty acres of military merit rewards, but it does not include the land for his wife and children. Only his wife and children arrived in South America and registered with the local government.
, in order to obtain another piece of land, so after learning that the French had lifted the blockade on the Annan and mainland routes, Sun Yingji followed seven or eight military acquaintances from the same county and rushed home to take his wife and four children.
Take them all with you and take them back to life in South America.
"Woof woof woof", walking into the mountain village, dogs barked one after another.
"Heizi, stop barking."
Sun Yingji quickened his pace, walked to the door of his house, and shouted in a low voice to the black dog barking at the kitchen door.
"Woo, woo"
After recognizing its owner, the black dog immediately stopped barking, wagging its tail and ran to the owner, pulling at Sun Yingji's clothes with its upper limbs.
"Who is it?"
A flash of light appeared in the room, and a woman's voice came out.
"It's me, Aji. I just came back from Nanyang. Please open the door quickly."
"I'm coming."
The woman responded and walked towards the door.
"Click", opened the door latch, and welcomed Sun Yingji into the room. The woman was happy but complained at the same time: "I went to sea and went to Nanyang. I haven't heard from you for two or three years. I thought you had an accident outside. It makes me worried every day."
, after you come back this time, no matter how hard and tired you are, I won't let you go to Nanyang to take risks."
The young Chinese went to Nanyang, and the children at home, rented fields, government taxes and other matters all fell on women. Sun Yingji understood his wife's difficulties and said with a smile, "I left home by boat at the beginning of the year before last, and first stayed in Borneo for half a year.
, then I heard that a large coal mine had been discovered in the north of Annan, and took a boat to Quang Ninh Province in Annan. I have been tossing around in various places in Nanyang for more than two years. The few villagers who followed me at the beginning separated one after another, so I couldn't find anyone to send a message.
go home."
"Then after you arrive in Annan, don't bully me. I haven't traveled far. Mr. Li from the neighboring village, his son who studied abroad came back and said that a group of overseas rebels and foreigners were fighting in Annan. Annan is next to the Qing Dynasty, but there is no Borneo
The continent is so far away.”
The woman babbled, "You don't know how I came here all these years. People in the village often send messages back, saying that the husband of a certain family met a shipwreck and was killed by foreigners and natives. Every time I hear such news, I
I am worried all the time. If I knew you had arrived in Annan, where the war is going on, I would be worried to death every day before I could wait for you to come back."
"The French foreigners are not as scary as people in the village say. This summer, I followed the army and fought with the French. I personally killed a black French soldier and captured two Annan colonial soldiers. They also looked taller.
, in fact, he was very timid. When hundreds or even thousands of troops were charging, some French soldiers dropped their muskets and ran away before engaging us."
"What, have you ever fought with foreigners?"
The woman asked in surprise, "Did you join that little long-haired remnant's army?"
Li Mingyuan was slandered by the Manchu and Qing government as a murderous devil, and Little Longhair Yiyi was his official name on the Manchu and Qing government's wanted order.
"Shhh, keep your voice down, that is His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Kingdom, not a hairy remnant!"
Sun Yingji realized that he had spilled the beans and hurriedly covered his wife's mouth and explained, "Listen to me and tell me slowly, His Majesty the Emperor is a good man, and he is not as slandered by the court."......
Sun Yingji briefly introduced to his wife what the cultural instructor had preached when he was serving in the army, and said seriously, "Because I was in Annan, joined the Nanyang Army, and followed Master Mei and fought a great victory against the foreigners. The big man
The imperial court awarded us more than two hundred acres of land. The reason I came back this time is to bring you mothers to South America to live in peace and happiness. If you go to South America, you can't be like now, confused about everything, just talking nonsense about Your Majesty.
If these bad words are heard and spread to the Emperor of Han, all the land I have earned with great difficulty will be lost."
"What you said is true, didn't you lie to me?"
"Of course it's true. Apart from small, remote and closed villages like Yangshu Village, and big cities like Quanzhou Prefecture and Xiamen, many people know that the Han Kingdom in South America defeated the French foreigners."
"The Han Kingdom in South America really had a good emperor."
After hearing her husband's explanation, the wife sighed.
"The Emperor of Han is naturally a good emperor. If the Emperor of Han was not a good emperor, how could he give our family more than 200 acres of land? Our family would have no chance to live a good life, right?"
As he spoke, Sun Yingji opened his bag and took out a tightly wrapped money bag.
"In addition to the land awarded by the imperial court, all the money accumulated in Nanyang for more than two years is in it, a total of 103 taels of silver."
"Master, how did you save so much money?"
The wife carefully spread out the pieces of silver and said with surprise and joy.
"Hey, didn't I fight a war with foreigners? That time I killed a black soldier and found more than forty taels of silver from his body, as well as a silver hairpin. No, this is the one, I will give it to you specially.
Keep it.”
Sun Yingji took out a hairpin wrapped in a strip of cloth from the package as if offering a treasure, and continued, "Those black savages are really nothing. There are six to seven hundred Annan girls from good families in Beiban area who were raped by black people. I beat them to death."
When he was a black soldier, the company commander even praised him in the company and returned the confiscated silver and hairpins as rewards."
The people at the bottom were not so particular. Sun Yingji helped his wife put the hairpin on her head. The wife looked at the bronze mirror, carefully put the hairpin away again, and said, "It's a very beautiful hairpin. I guess its owner is also a wealthy family."
A girl who was raped by black men at such a young age is so pitiful."
"There are countless people in Annan who are suffering. Although the owner of the hairpin suffered misfortune, I killed the black soldier, which can be regarded as avenging her. If she knew about it underground, she should rest in peace."
The couple had been apart for more than two years, and when they got together again, they seemed to have endless things to talk about.
"Auntie, I'm hungry."
A thin little girl just woke up and rubbed her eyes, but she didn't realize there was another person in the room.
"It's the fourth girl."
Sun Yingtai looked at the little girl on the bed and said lovingly, "Xiao Qing'er, look what good things daddy has brought back. Roast chicken, chicken drumsticks,...and candy figures, they are all delicious."
"Ah, Daddy, Daddy is back!"
When Sun Yingtai left home, the little girl was about six years old and already had some memories. Therefore, she recognized that the person in front of her was her father, and the little girl happily ran into Sun Yingtai's arms.
"It smells so good. Si Ya likes meat the most. Si Ya wants to eat meat."
Children from poor families may act sensible and reserved outside, but sitting in her father's arms and seeing a row of delicious food on the table, the little girl regains her childlike nature.
"Si Ya can eat whatever she wants. Daddy bought a lot of delicious food and will make sure Si Ya is full."
Sun Yingtai put his daughter on the ground and said dotingly, "Go and wake up my brother and sister. After you finish eating the meat, daddy will have some good things for you."
With her father's promise, the little girl ran barefoot to the bed and woke up all three other children who were sleeping.
A family of six, under the dim candlelight, ate delicacies rarely seen in ordinary families. When all four children had full stomachs, Sun Yingtai took out the gadgets specially bought for the children and distributed them to each child.
"Siya, look at this green little bottle, it's magical."
Sun Yingtai shook a small bottle filled with green clear liquid in his hand and teased, "The content in the small bottle is very comfortable to apply on your body. Which of you wants to try it?"
"Daddy, I want it,"
"Dad, I come first!"
Several children rushed to speak.
"Si Ya is the youngest, Si Ya comes first."
Sun Yingtai chose his youngest daughter. He carefully poured out some of the liquid in the small bottle, applied it on his daughter's arm, and asked with concern, "How does Siya feel?"
"It's so cool and comfortable! Daddy, I want some more!"
The little girl said happily.
"No, this thing is very precious. Leave it to your mother for safekeeping from now on. If you feel uncomfortable or sick, apply some more on your body."
"Master, what is this, can it also cure diseases?"
The wife asked doubtfully.
"I heard it's called tiger balm. It's a secret recipe concocted by many doctors at the local medical school. It can repel insects and prevent heatstroke. If you have a fever and cold, drinking it can also cure the disease. This stuff is very effective. When I was in Annan, there were many
People are rushing to buy it.”
"That bottle costs a lot of money. It's such a good thing. Use it sparingly and don't let the children waste it."
The wife complained that her husband did not know how to cherish Tao.
"The price is neither expensive nor cheap. It costs one tael of silver for ten bottles outside, and there is no market for it. But in the army, every soldier is given ten bottles for free, so it doesn't matter if you give it to the children to try. There is nothing."
Spend money.”
"If you don't have money, you should use it sparingly. If you run out, it won't cost you money to buy again."......
Within a few months after the Annan War ended, some retired soldiers like Sun Yingtai secretly returned to their hometowns in the mainland, intending to bring their families and children back to the mainland for resettlement.
The cultivated land and pastures distributed by the local government as rewards to the soldiers who participated in the war were the most attractive things to them, while the new and unheard-of items like tiger balm were the main factors that aroused their fantasies about local life in South America.
Tiger balm has a common name in later generations, cooling oil, tiger balm, or cooling oil. It is a low-priced mosquito repellent and summer cooling product prepared with pure Chinese medicine formula.
It was originally invented in 1910 by Hu Wenhai, a Chinese medicine doctor from Mainland China. After the launch of the local large-scale chemical industry strategy, the medical and biological fields were one of the links. In 1880, the local government poached Cai Xiaoxiang and Ding Fubao from the mainland.
, He Lianchen, Wang Wenqiao and other famous Chinese medicine experts established the national Han Medical Association.
And began to implement Li Mingyuan's proposal through practice: improve traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese culture, learn from Eastern and Western medical theories, brainstorm and develop
Four guiding principles for progress.
In July 1880, through the efforts of local medical doctors and invited experts in Western medicine, the Han Chinese Medical College completed the compilation and translation of the "Outline of Western History" and then used it as a guiding book for local medical academies. 1880
In December 2019, Cai Xiaoxiang, Wang Wenqiao and others based on the secret recipe of traditional Chinese medicine "Yushu Shen San", and also referred to ancient prescriptions from China, India and Myanmar, supplemented with litsea cubeba, mint, camphor and other medicinal materials, and then used the scientific method of Western medicine
After more than three months of hard research and development, in March 1881, a new drug was created that could be applied externally or taken internally, and could also treat colds, headaches, nasal congestion, motion sickness, and seasickness. It became famous at home and abroad.
Tiger Balm.
In May 1881, the first batch of snake balm, which was low-cost and simple to produce, was delivered to the armies in the hot northern regions of the country, Southeast Asia, and the Congo colonies for use as mosquito repellent, summer heat, and backup medicine.
In July 1881, more than 30,000 bottles of tiger balm appeared in private markets in Southeast Asia and Africa. In just one month, because of its excellent insect repellent and heat-repelling properties, it was favored by many white people in Southeast Asia, wealthy Chinese business families, and indigenous African chiefs.
Welcome,
As the shipment volume increased, the price became higher and higher. By the end of July, the last batch of 3,500 bottles of tiger balm was even sold at a high price of one tael of silver per bottle.
The production cost of Tiger Balm is low. Due to its monopoly and small number of products, the price has been rising. However, with the expansion of production scale and the gradual saturation of the market, in the next two years, the unit price of Tiger Balm will gradually drop to normal levels. And here.
In the past, ordinary Nanyang Chinese families, indigenous people, and African indigenous people still could not afford the consumption of tiger balm.
