In the evening, opening their hearts to talk about life, the three of them were drunk at this meal, and the orderly drove Major Wu Baoli home, and was complained by the master of Wu's mansion.

Knowing that the old man was heartbroken about the young master's body, the orderly Wu Sanzhu didn't dare to fight back, he drooped his head and was reprimanded for a few words, watching the subordinates in the house take the young master in, and secretly said "bad luck" in his heart.

So he went to park the Xinghui brand car, pushed out a "labor" brand bicycle from the garage, put the unfinished packaged dishes at the evening banquet in the steel wire basket in front of the bicycle faucet, and pushed the car out of the side yard.

At this time, the night is hazy, and the grass and trees are sparse under the shadow of the lamp.

All the people in the house went to the inner courtyard, needless to say, they were naturally busy around the young master Wu Baoli, poking the stove in the kitchen to make a bowl of sobering soup to warm the stomach, the maid helped clean the face and wash the feet, and changed into pajamas for sleeping, the young lady and the aunt, cough cough......

Wu Sanzhu shook his head and drove the idea of non-part out of his head, he is a Hakka family from Qingyuan, Guangdong, a distant family member of the Lord Wu Mansion, who immigrated to Australia with his relatives, because he was strong and smart enough, so he was selected to join the army and stay with the young master.

The army is a place to dance knives and guns, and only one or two clansmen who know the cold and the hot can be taken care of by their side, so that Master Wu can rest assured.

Wu Sanzhu came to the gatehouse in the front yard on his bicycle, and Uncle Bing, who was guarding the door, saw him coming, and said with a smile while pushing the door open; "Hehehe...... Sanzhu, I ate a meal today, but it's still strong enough? ”

"Uncle Bing, don't make fun of me, the young master and the chiefs eat wine, how can I mix? What a grievance to eat at the head of today's meal! ”

"Master, I'm angry in a hurry, Ming'er will be able to see the reward, you kid will steal the fun."

"Yes, I can't talk to you." Wu Sanzhu shook his head with a wry smile, took out an oil-stained paper bag tied with hemp rope from the basket in front of him, handed it to Uncle Bing and said; "The tiger skin button meat of the two large restaurants, the young master, they patronized and drank, and the whole plate did not move at all, I packed it back, this filial piety is given to you, with some salt and pepper cashew nuts at night, a bottle of old wine will be dry."

"Hey, Cheng, Uncle didn't hurt you in vain."

"Don't be sarcastic, I'll go!"

Wu Sanzhu stepped on the bicycle twice, and as soon as he stepped on his legs, he skillfully rode on the bike, pressed the crisp bell to say hello, and rode lightly along the road.

Wu Mansion is located in the Christian district of the Red River Valley, where there are many kinds of western-style buildings and Chinese-style mansions with deep courtyards, and it is a wealthy area where the middle class and above live.

Land prices are scarce, starting from a thousand-pound for a two-storey villa or two or three thousand pounds for a larger luxury villa, with beautiful marble porches, precious wooden floors and white curtains bordering lace.

It is said that earlier, a villa here was only seventy or eighty pounds, and if that were the case, Wu Sanzhu could easily buy two or three here, and live in one villa for his own family, leaving the rest empty.

I don't rent or sell, why...... It's hard to buy money if you have it, I'm willing, and we're not short of money.

Well, it's time to wake up from the dream.

Mr. Wu Zhengguang was the earliest gold prospector in Queensland, and one of the earliest residents of Hongshan Town.

Mr. Wu started as a building materials business, is one of the earliest businessmen in Queensland to open a cement factory, so many years, with the rapid expansion of social development and the scale of the city, has developed into a cement company with thirteen cement factories "Fu Guang Ji" cement, "Fu Guang Ji" cement is the guarantee of reputation and quality.

The "Fu Guang Ji" cement company has landed on the Red River Valley Stock Exchange last year and become a listed company, so Wu Zhengguang has become the chairman of the board of directors of the listed company, the vice chairman of the cement industry association directly under the royal territory, and also has great influence in the business community.

"Royal Territories" refers to the Earl of Queensland's territories before His Majesty the Emperor's accession to the throne, and now all of them are Crown Territories, including the Red River Valley and the surrounding four divine beast cities, dozens of industrial cities including Songjiang City and Beilun City to the south, all the way to the Kongsby Plateau in Sydney Bay.

Crossing the Sydney Bay Bridge is not part of the Crown Domain.

Therefore, the most elite areas of the entire Australian mainland are in the direct territories of the Crown, with more than 7.9 million people and dozens of industrial cities in more than 200,000 square kilometers of land, accounting for more than 7% of the output value of the entire empire.

The tax revenue of the crown realms is divided into two parts;

Part of it is given to the royal lord, including land transfer fees, various housing development and construction fees, real estate tax, transaction deed tax, dock tax, toll tax, etc., all of which belong to the royal lord's income.

The other part is attributed to the imperial treasury, including poll tax, naturalization tax, various administrative approval taxes, and municipal taxes (including municipal cleaning, management, security, construction and maintenance costs).

It can be seen from this

The royal lords accounted for the majority of the total tax revenue, about 23 strong, and the imperial treasury accounted for a small part, about 13 weaker.

This is not to say that the Empire's finances are less, because outside the Imperial Domain, 100% of all taxes are under the purview of the Imperial Treasury.

New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia in the south did not have royal territories, as well as the cities of northern Queensland, as well as the overseas regions of Borneo, Somalia and Mozambique, all of which were taxed by the Empire.

Of course

Shangri-La and Luzon are direct territories of the royal family, and most of the tax revenue generated in these two places is collected by the royal lords.

Therefore, the royal family of the Ocean Empire is one of the richest in the world, and with its own financial resources, it can start a Western war to seize the Luzon Islands, and maintain a large-scale and continuous military operation on the island, which seems effortless.

Master Wu Zhengguang came to Australia very early, and after he was developed, he drove thousands of Hakka people from Qingyuan, Guangdong Province to immigrate to Australia, so he is not only famous in the business world, but also a clan leader, and his prestige is quite high.

Wu Mansion is a three-acre Chinese-style mansion that occupies half of the side streets, the size of which is the largest in the entire Christian Quarter, and the land alone is worth tens of thousands of pounds, and it is impossible to buy it.

Wu Sanzhu remembers that when he first arrived, the North Shore District had just begun to be developed, and the North Shore was still an empty vegetable field, the most famous being the North Shore Cattle, Sheep and Livestock Market.

Let's take a look now

The wide riverside boulevard on the north bank winds into the distance, with high-rise buildings lined up one after another, spectacular under the brilliant lights, and various buildings stretching far into the distant sky, like a galaxy at night.

According to the newspapers, by the end of 1898, the population of Red River Valley had exceeded 1.5 million, making it one of the seventh largest cities in the world, and still ahead of Citi Philadelphia, which had a population of 1.44 million.

Compared to previous years

Red River Valley has dropped one place in the ranking of the world's largest cities, largely because Citigroup's big cities are also growing rapidly, with Chicago jumping to sixth place with a population of 1.72 million, and major cities such as Houston and San Francisco, both with populations of more than one million, probably between 1.2 million and 1.3 million, leaving Brisbane behind.

Along the wide and flat roads in the city, Wu Sanzhu pedaled fast on both legs, the bicycle sped forward lightly, and the cool breeze at night blew his hair, feeling comfortable and happy.

Nowadays, all the kerosene street lamps in the city have been replaced with new electric lights, which are much brighter than the previous dim lights, and the city has become more prosperous and charming at night.

The Labor bike underneath his ass was shiny and new, with shiny chrome wheel spokes and a nice turning sound when ridden, and a red and yellow ribbon wrapped around the handlebars, which hung down half a foot long.

When you ride a ribbon fluttering in the wind, it's a feeling that doesn't make you feel so exciting.

This ribbon is hand-woven by the daughter-in-law of the family,

A fist-sized light is installed in the middle of the front of the car, and when you close the small pole on the side of the pedal at night, the rotating wheels generate electricity and illuminate the front through tungsten wire capacitors.

With such a small design, the bicycle will sell for nearly 30 yuan more, which is said to be a new technology developed by Professor Tesla of Imperial University, and it is especially easy to ride at night in the countryside without street lights.

The downside is that it's a bit more strenuous to ride.

Wu Sanzhu's home is on the west side of the Second Baixi Bridge, in a four-story apartment building, a four-bedroom suite with 1,600 square feet of space, spacious and welcoming.

A few years ago, when I bought it, I spent 4,200 Yinyang, and the ten-year loan I made in Huiyuan Bank had an annual interest rate of only 6.7%, which was the most favorable among the major banks.

His home was on the 2nd floor, and he rode all the way to the door of the house, Wu Sanzhu's body was already sweating slightly, but when he looked up at this English-style apartment building, his heart was full of warmth, and he didn't feel tired at all.

The apartment buildings are all connected to electricity, and the windows of every house are shining brightly, and they are no longer the dark and dreary appearance they used to be.

Wu Sanzhu did not know that this was the beginning of the wave of electrification industry into thousands of households, thanks to the comprehensive promotion of alternating current technology taught by Tesla, the electrification process of the Ocean Empire accelerated sharply.

The trams that dot the streets and alleys, the subway that has just opened, the lighting and the electricity used in thousands of factories all use the alternating current system, and most of the original DC transmission equipment is discarded or dismantled and exported to Citigroup.

That's right, Citigroup General Electric produces all direct current facilities, which are the mainstream products in the market.

These second-hand power equipment entered the Citigroup market and were wholesaled at low prices, recovering a large amount of money for the government, and then investing it in Tesla Electric Company's production orders.

Wu Sanzhu didn't care about these things, he only knew that the metropolis of the Red River Valley was developing too fast, with more population, denser and taller buildings, brighter halls at night, and larger territory.

Just a short distance from their street opened a zoo, which has a lot of animals from Africa, gorillas, giraffes and elephants, and even terrifying, African hyenas, male lions and African vultures, which attracts a lot of fresh citizens, and there is a daily crowd of people.

A new big circus garden was opened across the street, and there were circus troupes from the United States and France, performing novel Western circuses, and the children were always clamoring to play, so I will definitely take my family and children to have a good time when I come back this time.

Made up my mind

Wu Sanzhu lifted the bicycle and carried it on his shoulder, climbed up along the staircase, climbed to the third floor in one breath, and then strode to the door of the house through the public bathroom next to the stairs.

He put down the bicycle on his shoulder, felt the chain lock and put the bicycle on the iron railing, and the sound of gold and iron clashing outside attracted the attention of his family.

The door opened, and a young woman's head poked out, and when she saw that it was Wu Sanzhu who had returned, a smile of joy bloomed on her face, and she said in stiff Chinese; "yes, right?"

"Oh, is the master back?"

A crisp woman's voice came from the room, accompanied by the noisy sound of footsteps, and then the door opened, and two little beans, one big and one small, rushed out happily shouting "Daddy", and hung on Wu Sanzhu's body like a koala.

Under bright lights

Wu Zheng, who was a little blessed, stood at the door with a happy face, his eyes flashed with light, and he watched Wu Sanzhu holding the child so happily, pricking the child with rough stubble, and then "giggling" and laughing.

This lively sound made the neighbors He Mosheng and his wife on the side come out, and said jokingly when they saw this; "Brother Sanzhu, Mrs. is so happy when she comes back this time, yesterday she was still talking about why she didn't come back, and she made a big table of dishes at home and was blind."

"Hehehe...... In the past few days, I have followed the commander to the barracks, where there are many things, and I have not come back at night, these days when I am not there, there is a brother Lao Mosheng at home to take care of me, and I will not say anything if I am grateful, and come over for a drink immediately. ”

"It's so late that I won't bother, or I'll ...... tomorrow"

"Brother Mo Sheng, I really sincerely invite, not polite, you see the dishes I brought back, and it will be served when it is hot, this expedition to Luzon Island is more than half a year, let's talk about it when we come back."

"This ...... It's too late, it's inconvenient. ”

"There's nothing inconvenient, I'll tell you about the scenery of the Luzon Islands, the majesty of the conquest of our imperial army, and talk while drinking for a while, so that you can listen to it."

"It's better to be respectful, I still have a jar of old wine here, I'll destroy it tonight."

"Okay, that's a deal."

The 4-bedroom house had 4 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a utility room and a water room.

Spacious living room

The upper part of the middle is enshrined with the statue of His Majesty the Emperor, and on the lower part of a Chinese-style case, incense burners, photographs and other things are placed, a wooden chair is placed on the left and a right, and two pairs of wooden chairs are symmetrically displayed below, which is the visiting reception area, which is the regular furnishings of the common people's homes.

On the other side of the living room, there is a table of eight immortals, stools, Chinese cabinets, five buckets of kitchens and other things, and there are colorful wooden toys of Xiaodouding on the table, nothing more than horses, cows, sheep, giraffes, etc., and a small wooden pistol.

Wu Sanzhu washed his face, took off the gun on his body and came out, the tea had been brewed, he and He Mosheng sat as guests and hosts, chatting while drinking tea, and the two young sons were playing on their legs, which was really a happy and warm family atmosphere.

His family of 5 people, except for Wu Sanzhu, the male owner and his wife Wu Zheng, are two young sons, one is 5 years old and the other is 3 years old, plus Wu Sanzhu brought back the indigenous woman Ah Xiang when he returned from the Luzon Islands, and the whole family is alive.

This Ah Xiang is very beautiful, fair-skinned and beautiful, with a strong and well-proportioned figure, and is only 15 years old, still a chick.

This is a woman carefully selected by Wu Sanzhu by taking advantage of his position, and after bringing it back, he is going to help one or two at home, and in the future, he will be accepted as a concubine when his wife agrees, and he will spread out for the old Wu family.

When this woman brought it back, the neighbors of the apartment building were extremely envious, uh...... The man of the neighbor's house in the apartment building to be exact.

This situation like Wu Sanzhu is very common, and the officers and soldiers who return to the mainland on vacation have brought back women to some extent, and according to the above regulations, they need to pay for the ferry tickets and food and lodging expenses on the ship for the women they bring, 80 silver yang per person.

Compared with the cost of transportation, this is only the cost price, which can be regarded as a kind of welfare for the officers and soldiers of the expedition, the soldiers are limited to one ticket, and the officers have other regulations according to different ranks.

In this home

Only Wu Sanzhu has the income support of one person, and in addition to repaying the mortgage, he has to support 4 people, can he afford it?

The answer is: no problem.

Thanks to the soaring salary of employees in recent years, and the rapid rise of government staff and military salaries, Wu Sanzhu has served for 5 years and belongs to the first-class sergeant, and the military salary is half of that of platoon-level officers, 890 silver dollars per year.

This money is worth about 44 pounds 10 shillings, which translates to 222 US dollars, which is almost equivalent to the annual income of the average worker in Citigroup and 2.4 times the annual income of the average worker in the Ocean Kingdom.

Wu Sanzhu has served for 5 years, and it has been two years since he was converted to a first-class sergeant after the three-year service period, and according to the regulations, he can be promoted to a second-class sergeant after 6 years of service, so his income will be doubled, which is the same as that of a platoon-level second lieutenant officer.

After 8 years in the position of second-class sergeant, with excellent evaluation, when the unit has a quota for promotion to third-class sergeant major, he may be promoted to third-class sergeant major, and the salary he receives at that time is the same as that of a lieutenant officer at the rank of deputy company.

For the time being, Wu Sanzhu's military salary is sufficient, and in addition to repaying the loan and supporting his family, he can save a little.

After all, he is a soldier, he doesn't need money for food and clothes, and sometimes he can make some extra money, such as after the occupation of the Philippines, he can get some oil and water by clearing so many local indigenous people.

The military did not look down on this little money, and acquiesced in the soldiers' personal pockets.

But it is not permissible to harass the local white Spaniards and Chinese, after all, they have surrendered, and it is not good to go too far.

The local Chinese are all compatriots and have joined the Tang nationality, and cannibalism is never allowed, otherwise military law will be involved.

This time back

Li Sanzhu brought some gold bracelets, gold necklaces and a palm-sized jade Buddha, which should be worth four or five hundred silver oceans.

He is the guard squad leader next to the tank battalion commander and the machine gunner of the battalion command vehicle, and the officers in the battalion will give a little face, and he can always get a lot of good things after the clean-up operation, which is much better than the sergeants who lead the troops in those companies.

Australia has abundant local materials, especially the price of meat is not high, but the price of vegetables and fruits is not easy to store, the price of non-staple foods is very high, buy a pound of grapes can buy three pounds of mutton, and the same money can buy more than 10 pounds of lamb backbone, so the child's nutrition is not worried.

In the apartment building where they live, there are public rooms on each floor, where they wash vegetables and use the toilet to go to the toilet, and it is also a place for ordinary neighbors to communicate and chat, and it is quite lively every day at noon and night.

There are no water pipes or bathrooms in the apartment building, so each house has a small water room for boiling water and bathing, and a wooden toilet is placed in it, which can be used occasionally during an emergency or when you get up at night.

Nowadays, gas stoves are very common, and they are basically used to boil water for cooking in the city, which is very convenient.

Today's life is simply a paradise for mainland immigrants like Wu Sanzhu, who would have thought that when they were in their hometown, they would not have enough food, and in the spring famine, they could only use gruel and vegetable leaves to satisfy their hunger, and they would walk with hunger.

Come to Australia to eat meat tubes, those who have no money eat lamb backbones every day, or stewed mutton, those who have money eat pork and beef, you are tired of eating, and when you want to improve, you will deduct and search to buy some vegetables and fruits, which is still distressing.

To be honest, I never dreamed of it!

Wu Sanzhu and He Mosheng were drinking tea and chatting, and the three women were busy, and soon the smell of food came out, and Lin Lin always set up a table of dishes.

There were fish, shrimp, seafood, and even two plates of fresh green vegetables, which was a good thing.

"Come on, Brother Mosheng, let's talk while drinking, to say that the Luzon Islands is really a good place, although it is located in the subtropics, but the indigenous women have fair skin and good nutrition, I heard that there are some Arab and white blood." Wu Sanzhu was not a Sven person, he stood up with a smile and gave in, but his words were quite vulgar, which made the hostesses of the two families roll their eyes in unison.

"Sure enough, it's a Nanyang style, it has a unique exotic style, and it's fascinating!" He Mosheng stood up and admired in his mouth; "I think I was a little greedy at the beginning, but I didn't be able to enlist in the army, and I regret it so far!"

"Come and sit down, Brother Mo Sheng can apply for an external transfer! Now that construction is going on all over the Luzon Islands, immigration is in full swing, and you experienced administrators are needed to deal with it, and I heard that those who are willing to go will be promoted, is there such a statement? As Wu Sanzhu spoke, he led He Mosheng to the table, and filled the wine bowls of both sides with his own hands, and smelled the fragrance.

He Mosheng sat down, looked at his wife casually, and saw that her face was unhappy, so he replied with a smile; "It's true, our municipal department also mobilizes volunteers to sign up, it's okay to take root in the local area, and it's okay to rotate posts, but the environment of the new colony is poor after all, and I am afraid that there is a risk of adapting to the water and soil, in case of some tropical disease, I am afraid that I will not be able to survive the time to come back, alas...... Now that I have a wife and children, I don't want to toss back and forth. ”

"Oh, it's better to be more stable like this, let me tell you, many officers of our Imperial Expeditionary Force have found a white Spanish mistress there......" Wu Sangui's eyes lit up as soon as he talked about the woman, and he chatted endlessly.

He Mosheng was also very funny, so this meal was quite lively.

He was a low-level bureaucrat from the Eagle School, he was not admitted to the university, and he participated in the recruitment examination of the administrative department without being admitted to the military academy, and now he is a small official in the municipal department, and he has just mixed into the position of deputy head after graduating for more than ten years, and he is a layman with little ambition.

After this year's salary increase, the annual salary can get 820 Yinyang, which belongs to a middle-class family with no worries about food and clothing and small savings.

He Mosheng's position is Qingshui Yamen, which is less than the top and more than the bottom.

But if you want to marry a concubine, even if you marry a woman from the Luzon Islands who is now flooding in large numbers, it will cost you three years without eating or drinking.

This is because in order to adjust the ratio of male to female population, the government charges a registration fee of 1,000 silver for the rich family who marries a concubine for the first time, doubles the registration fee for the rich family who marries a concubine for the second time, doubles it for the third concubine, and so on.

Moreover, the annual poll tax will be doubled, and marrying a few concubines will be superimposed several times, which is not a small number.

Therefore, when some wealthy families marry concubines in the fifth and sixth rooms, this huge cost will be so high that people can't afford it.

Some people say that it is impossible not to register, which is absolutely impossible, once it is reported, a fine of more than 10 times will be imposed, that is, the fine amount starts at 10 times, and there is no cap depending on the circumstances.

For example, if you conceal a two-room concubine, once it is verified, you may be fined 20 times or even 30 times depending on whether the circumstances are bad or not, then 20 times of 2000 silver is 40,000 silver oceans, and 30 times is 60,000 silver oceans.

The punishment standard is high or low, and all of them are calculated cumulatively based on the registration fee of the concubine in the second room.

If you conceal more than three concubines, then basically how much family property is not enough to confiscate, because this is an extremely bad circumstance, and the court will also serve hard labor, and this life is basically over.

But even with such restrictions, it still can't stop the idea of the wealthy Chinese immigrants from branching out, and with the garden house and the car without worrying about food and clothing, it is natural to make some other things happen.

in the room

The two men were happy to push their glasses and drink on the wine table, and the conversation was even more lively, He Mosheng took out a cigarette and lit it, so the two swallowed the clouds and spit out the fog.

Wu Zheng and He Mosheng's wife hid in the bedroom and whispered, glancing out from the open door from time to time, their eyes were quite complicated.

Of course, Wu Zheng's family didn't want her man to take another concubine, not to mention spending a lot of money in vain, and adding a lot of financial burden, but she knew that she couldn't stop her husband, and sooner or later there would be a day, so she could only delay as much as possible.

She was originally a maid of the Wu Mansion, and the master was the master and promised to Wu Sanzhu, the purpose was to let him do his best beside the young master, and read the kindness of the Wu Mansion, after all, the soldiers were fierce and dangerous, and if one was not careful, it would kill someone.

Over the years, the husband and wife have been harmonious, the children have grown up strongly, most of the house loan has been repaid, and Wu Sanzhu's salary has increased again.

Man, there's no such thing as a good thing.