The officialdom of the capital is like a black whirlpool, constantly spinning in place, and the sky is gray, as if there is always some invisible conspiracy.

In contrast, the Macao Peninsula, which is located at the southern tip of the Ming Dynasty, has ushered in a ray of spring.

This place is no longer a barren place, nor is it a place to live under the control of foreign tribes, but a place of great prosperity that seems to be vibrant.

With the rise of the four-square-kilometer Xiangshan New Town, the population here has grown rapidly from a few hundred to several thousand to tens of thousands, and is now approaching the 100,000 mark.

In Xiangshan New Port, large sea ships come from the sea and come to the port along the Xijiang River, and there are also sea ships leaving the port and heading towards Leizhou, Hangzhou, Japan, Nanyang or Europe.

After years of rapid development, Xiangshan New Port has now connected Leizhou, Hangzhou, Japan, Nanyang and Europe, becoming one of the most prosperous ports in the world.

As Xiangshan New Port has become the most important window to the outside world of Daming, there are wealthy businessmen who come here every day with goods to conduct large transactions, often with a turnover of hundreds of thousands of taels, which also greatly promotes the accommodation, catering and entertainment industries of Xiangshan City.

At the beginning of the construction of Xiangshan City, a relatively systematic urban planning was made.

The main street here is arranged in a tic-tac-toe shape, and there are small alleys in the middle of the street, which can be connected to each other and the main street, making it like a labyrinth, but with the beauty of rules.

Due to the large number of Portuguese residents here, there are also many European-style two-storey buildings in the architectural style, and the walls are lined with marble statues, which are beautiful and lifelike.

Knock knock knock......

As twelve o'clock in the afternoon approached, a mechanical sound was heard from the north side of the city.

Xiangshan New Town did not build a drum tower, but built a Western bell tower next to the church, and at the corresponding time, there will be several crisp mechanical sounds.

The people of the Ming Dynasty have always been tolerant and willing to accept this new thing. They did not insist on the notation of the time, but chose to follow the Portuguese and the people of Xiangshan began to use the Western time.

In particular, Western clocks have become popular in Xiangshan City, so that many gentry began to use this peculiar Western clock, which also intensified the popularity of Western time.

Perhaps it is these seemingly inconsequential friendly gestures, or perhaps the common pursuit of profit between the two sides, which has led to a deeper level of cooperation in maritime trade between the two sides.

Although the merchants of the Ming Dynasty voluntarily abandoned the Japanese routes, they chose to cultivate the Nanyang deeply, exchanging more and more spices from the poor Nanyang people, and then selling these spices to the Portuguese.

The silver that Portuguese merchants obtained from the Japanese trade could not support the huge cost of purchasing spices from the South Seas, so the shipment of silver from South America became a matter of course.

It was in this way that a commercial trade around spices was quietly formed. Not only to benefit the Ming merchants, but also to the Portuguese merchants, and even the people of Nanyang and the Ming can benefit from it.

If this goes on for a long time, although it will not make this decadent dynasty rich and powerful, it will undoubtedly be conducive to the economic development of Guangdong, and it will also enable the Ming Dynasty to maintain contact with the world.

The Xiangshan County Yamen, the Guangdong City Botiju Division Yamen and the Xiangshan Wei Yamen are all located on the main street of the city, and it is these three major yamen who jointly govern and defend Xiangshan City.

Although the new city of Xiangshan has only been completed for less than two years, with the rapid growth of the floating population and the demand for commercial land, there are now plans to build an outer city.

The sun is high in the first month, and the temperature is still at a low level.

With the arrival of a huge ship, many passengers disembarked from the ship, although some people chose to go directly to Guangzhou City, but more people were still willing to choose this Xiangshan City nearby.

A group of people walked from the direction of the pier and appeared in the ever-changing streets of Xiangshan.

On both sides of the street, there are many food stalls selling a variety of local snacks. Due to the cold weather, in addition to the hot porridge, there are some barbecued foods here.

In a food stall, an old man is neatly roasting oysters freshly picked from the sea, which have been pried open, and the oyster meat is roasted in a particularly attractive way, and the aroma wafts through the street.

"Aren't oysters roasted for a penny? Why is it so expensive now? ”

A young girl dressed in thick clothes came to the stall, glanced at the wooden board with the price written on it, and asked the little old man who was busy roasting oysters.

The little old man had a kind face, a broken front tooth, and replied in a local accent: "This guest officer, you haven't been to Xiangshan for a year, right?" Earlier, no one asked for ten pennies for oysters, and two pennies were about the price of the year before, but now everything is more expensive, and this oyster is really going for this price this year! ”

The girl couldn't help but swallow and spit when she looked at the fragrant oysters, and asked with a frown, "Why is this?" ”

While taking care of the oysters with a bamboo camera, the little old man explained seriously: "In the past, no one came to this mirror, but now most of the people come and go, most of them are rich businessmen and noble sons, and the oysters are sold for three cents at all, and they must be collected by their peers for one or two cents!" ”

"Alright! At this price, give it to us...... Let's start with a basket, I haven't eaten oysters in a long time! The girl swallowed and said expectantly.

"Wow!" The little old man responded, and said with emotion: "Our Xiangshan is really thanks to Lin Leigong, who built Xiangshan City in Haojing and opened the sea here, so that we, the common people, have a meal!" ”

"Bring me ten! Isn't it? We are more business-seekers, so that we can trade with the Portuguese and earn some money to live! A merchant walked in, also with emotion.

The girl listened to the conversation between the two, her chin was slightly raised, and her face looked very happy.

This girl is naturally a tiger girl, and she finally returned to Xiangshan City from the capital. If she hadn't done a few chivalrous things on the road, they would have been able to come back earlier, and even have the opportunity to rush back to Changlin Village for the New Year.

Ali looked up at the tiger girl's proud appearance and asked, "Tiger girl, what are you happy about?" ”

"People praise my brother, of course I'll be happy, aren't you happy?" Tiger Niu said as a matter of course.

Ali watched another person participate in the ranks of praising Lin Haoran, but replied duplicitously: "He has nothing to do with me, why should I be happy?" ”