In November 1645, it was the annual spring sowing season. Outside of Qishan Fort, the town, which was newly established last year, has begun to regain its vitality, with endless stretches of flat land lined up regularly along the banks of the Yi River. And on the edge of these lands, there are already some desperate farmers who are planting soybeans, a cash crop that is in high demand and has a high purchase price.

If you walk along the ridges of the fields and look closely, you will find that among the peasants working in the fields are a large number of men in shabby linen clothes and beards, who are toiling in the fields together with Shandong peasants in neat and clean cotton clothes.

"These are seasonal agricultural workers from Italy who cross the Río de la Plata in coastal boats into the eastern part of the savannah, and then trek for days through the wilderness with little food, and finally enter the southernmost port of the Republic." Xu Wenxuan, who has officially resigned from public office and came to Qishanbao to work as a white glove for some people to set up an oil mill, told reporters who interviewed him.

The journalist came from the capital, named Li Dayan, a graduate of the first class of Bingtuanbao, and an intern reporter affiliated with Kommersant (formerly a supplement to Pravda), the second newspaper run by the Ministry of Education. A few days ago, he inexplicably accepted a mission, saying that he would go to Qishanbao, Chuyi Township, and Meilin Port in the Yihe area to conduct an economic and social survey, and focus on the local industry. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper hinted to him that in addition to the Southern Vehicle Factory in Meilin Harbor, the Industrial Report especially needed to focus on the Xu's Oil Mill in Qishanbao. Because this is the first enterprise in China to use a steam engine to extract oil on a large scale, it is worth a special mention. Although Li Dayan felt that there must be something wrong with this, it should be based on the nature of obeying orders. He still followed the orders of the editor-in-chief and came to Qishan Fort.

Xu Wenxuan, the proprietor of Xu's oil mill, took time out to accompany Li Dayan to the fields. He was shown the farmland of many farmers on both sides of the Yi River who had signed purchase and sale agreements with Xu's Oil Mill.

"In fact, these Italians are everywhere these days." Xu Wenxuan continued to introduce to the young reporter. "To tell you the truth, I employ a number of Central and Southern Europeans – mainly Hungarians – who have all the formalities and have temporary identity documents. They are notoriously hardworking, honest and competent, and they are paid very little – because they do not enjoy the protections and subsidies of the Labour Code and the Social Security Relief Act. Nowadays, it has become a trend not only for me, but also for many private enterprises and even state farms and construction teams in China to hire them on a large scale. ”

"If you are willing to go to other places, especially the big cities, you will find that the so-called 'low' industries such as dung pickers, cleaners, dock porters, laborers, porters, etc., which have no technical requirements, have been massively occupied by them. The Charua, who had a deep influence in these industries and even formed a guild, were expelled by them step by step. Now they have turned to South Africa and even New China to seek a living. ”

"Wait, Director Xu, didn't you just say they were seasonal workers? My understanding is that they float to the east coast during the busy farming season to earn some wages. So shouldn't they return to La Plata when the farm is over? ”

"Then they won't even be able to pay for the boat round-trip." Xu Wenxuan said with a smile, "Reporter Li, did they take out all their net worth to pay the boat fare just to come to the East Coast to do odd jobs?" It is important to know that the authorities of La Plata forbade their people to work outside the country, and that they would not even be able to trade with merchants other than Lima had it not been for the results of the war fought many years ago. The ships that carried them to the east coast were smuggling boats, and the cost was not low. When these people came to the East Coast, they never thought of going back. Most of the land that has been developed in La Plata is owned, and officials there have been less enthusiastic about developing new land. Although it has expanded to the south and west over the years, it has been limited. But their stupid king, through his Austrian relatives, was constantly bringing to La Plata the despised inhabitants of Bohemia, Hungary, Silesia and even Italy, which was the reason why the number of migrant laborers on the East Coast continued to increase. ”

"It seems that this has become an industry." In a slightly proud tone, Li said, "These residents who still live in the sloppy and poor Middle Ages yearn for a better life in our country. Just look at the city of Qishan Fort, where we have completely transformed the environment through hard work but great work, and built a beautiful and sturdy castle on the banks of a beautiful river. The castle has a complete sewer, a sufficient number of public toilets and baths, and a doctor stationed at the medical college, all of which is many times better than the road in La Plata, and we really can call it the realm of civilization. Ha Luha, thank you for inspiring me, it seems that I can write another manuscript. ”

"Yes, our country has now partially overcome smallpox through cowpox, there are specialized medical schools, and there is at least one doctor and one pharmacy in each settlement, all of which are respectful of life and have helped our population growth rate to increase steadily." Xu Wenxuan echoed, "By the way, you just said that this has become an industry, and I agree with you. In fact, they already have roles like brokers or brokers, and you'll see it right away. Valentino, come over for a moment. ”

As Xu Wenxuan's voice fell, a Mediterranean-faced man wearing a round-necked shirt, a felt hat, and cowhide boots walked over, he first took off his hat and bowed to Xu Wenxuan, then turned to look at the young Li Dayan, and asked in an uncertain tone: "French?" ”

"No, I'm from the East Coast!" Li Dayan felt that he was somewhat offended, which caused his favorability of the Italian man in front of him to drop sharply.

Valentino was stunned, he felt as if he had said something wrong, so he stood aside in a daze.

Xu Wenxuan saw that Valentino was a little embarrassed, and immediately came out to play a round to change the topic and said: "Valentino is a well-known labor broker in La Plata, he has a lot of connections, and the labor resources at hand are unimaginable, and the quality is very high. You can go to the big cities of Ping'an, Dongfang and Zhenhai to inquire about the number of at least hundreds of shoemakers, tinkerers, plasterers, carpenters, blacksmiths, locksmiths, coopers, winemakers, and mill workers. Countless people have lived a high quality of life since then, and we have solved the big problem of lack of talent, which is the best of both worlds. ”

Labor brokering is a profession that has emerged in recent years on the East Coast and in La Plata. The majority of these brokers are La Platans, and only a very small number are East Coasters – they are often agents of East Coast commodities, and they introduce Central and Southern European immigrants from La Plata to the East Coast for a fee. If the introduced worker is not ready to return to La Plata, they will pay a lump sum sufficient fee to the broker; If, on the other hand, the person has already made a home in La Plata, and he simply wants to take advantage of the off-season months to take advantage of the short term odd jobs on the East Coast, the agent will take a percentage of his salary.

There is no small demand for these temporary migrant workers in the East Coast countryside. Especially in some small towns, the prevalence of village oil mills, water-powered mills (flour milling, etc.), wineries, and orchards are very welcoming to these outsiders, because they (employers) often employ them at a "wage".

After working in these workshops for a while, these Central and Southern Europeans are hired permanently until they are officially identified, if they are approved by their employers. If he is not recognized by his employer or if the employer thinks that he no longer needs to hire workers, then he must look for a new job, either by introducing him to a broker, or by looking for opportunities in the construction corps or state farms (mainly cotton growing) that are dotted around the East Coast.

If that doesn't work, he'll have to be prepared to go hungry, and some will build their own boats and go offshore to fish or harvest seaweed. Of course, they actually have the last way, the overseas colony on the east coast, New Huaxia Island, recruits pioneers all year round, and the treatment is favorable, and they will give an official identity certificate when they go. Although legend has it that the mortality rate there is quite high, it still attracts many poor people who have nothing to try their luck there. Anyway, there is no hope for life in La Plata, and if you go to New Huaxia Island, you may be developed, right?

"After seeing the agents of La Plata make a fortune, the Portuguese in the north also had some thoughts. These Brazilians had made a fortune in previous years by helping us emigrate from the East, which gave them ample funds to wage war against the Dutch and to develop new plantations and pastures. They spent money to migrate large numbers of immigrants from war-torn North Germany, fast-growing but famine-ridden Ireland, and England, which was in the midst of a terrible civil war, to São Vicente, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. "But they have gone too far with these new white immigrants, and many people have fled to us through various means." And there are some Portuguese smugglers who are helping them to sneak across the border, and our border guards won't stop them too much as long as they make sure they don't have weapons. As you know, the Immigration Law that was introduced in the first half of this year provides some protection for these people, and our government refuses to deport these fugitives to Brazilians, and eventually gives them official identification – which is not easy, of course, and it is also causing a rapid increase in the flow of workers from Brazil to the north. ”

Li Dayan listened to Xu Wenxuan's chat while recording from time to time. He felt the need to put aside his personal loathing for a moment and go to the annoying Valentino to learn some details about the broker's business, so that he could better count the number of foreign workers coming in over the years and the impact on the East Coast's economy and society. With the promulgation and implementation of the Immigration Act, there may be a lot of interest in this investigation. If he completes this investigation, it will surely earn him a certain reputation in the newspaper and even in the Ministry of Education. (To be continued......)