Chapter 1165 (First update, please subscribe)

Immigration ship!

Although with the changes in the situation in China, especially the end of the "Dingwu Great Famine" in which hundreds of millions of people were affected and tens of millions died, the scene of four or five million immigrants pouring into the Ming Dynasty and the colonies every year has long disappeared, but in the 14th year of Shengde, there are still millions of immigrants coming to the empire on immigrant ships every year. However, unlike in the past, now eight out of ten immigrants are placed in colonies or overseas provinces.

Among these immigrants, there are both Chinese and Japanese, but the Chinese are called immigrants, while the Japanese are called laborers. The difference between the two is that the former can get land, while the latter... are just workers.

The workers all took the first generation of immigrant ships - the crowded cabins were like sardines in a can. It was definitely not an easy and comfortable experience to sail on such a ship. In the memoirs of early immigrants, you can always see descriptions of them. Although they have been eliminated, they were purchased by private shipping companies to transport Japanese workers.

There were only 1,500 berths on the immigration ship, but nearly 2,000 Japanese laborers were packed in. Except for some laborers who were originally fishermen, all the others were dizzy when they arrived in Hawaii, and some died on the way and were thrown directly into the sea for burial.

After finally setting foot on Hawaiian soil, when these people were looking at this strange place with confused and expectant eyes, Wu Tengshan, who was standing on the pier crate, spoke loudly in Chinese.

"Everyone has it!"

As soon as Wu Tengshan, holding a samurai sword, spoke, the people who had just landed stood there and looked at the samurai master in awe.

It has to be said that the Japanese people's awe of samurai comes from the bottom of their hearts.

"I won't say anything else, but I need to tell you that, first, you must understand your own identities. All of you are laborers who have signed a five-year contract. During this period, you must work hard for your master and obey your master's orders! Second, we Japanese can come to this warm land and live a rich life, all thanks to the protection of the empire. We must serve the empire and be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor every day..."

What they said were all general principles, and there was no intention to intimidate them. It was just to make them understand one thing - they must recognize their own identity and work wholeheartedly for the Chinese masters. Only in this way can they settle down here in the future.

Fortunately, although they are laborers, the Chinese are kind-hearted and will never treat them like slaves like Westerners. Generally speaking, they are more caring towards these "fellow countrymen". During the quarantine period, in addition to the official unified food and accommodation, the employers' farms also sent some medicines for treating acclimatization and food such as fruits. They stay there for a few days, and when they are almost recovered, they can go to work on the farm.

However, after the quarantine was lifted, they still had one day of free time. On that day, outside the labor quarantine camp, some familiar fellow villagers and friends were waiting outside the camp early, waiting to take them around.

Goto was finally able to travel around Honolulu accompanied by his fellow countryman Heijiro.

Where would the men hang out?

It must be a brothel, but Goto, who only had a few dollars on him, didn't dare to spend any money casually and could only wander around the street.

Goto squinted his eyes and looked around, then said to Heijiro beside him:

“It feels like I’m in China.”

Heijiro's voice was a little low:

"It was not like this when I first arrived here about ten years ago. At that time, there were only about one or two thousand Chinese people in Honolulu, but now the number has probably exceeded 80,000..."

"Eighty thousand...How many people are there in Hawaii?"

"If we don't count the expatriates from various countries, there are only about 70,000 to 80,000 people! Even if we count the foreigners, there are only a little over 100,000."

"Doesn't that mean that the Chinese will soon be able to..."

"Not soon, but already. The Chinese are now the largest ethnic group in Hawaii. After all, we Japanese are also Chinese! If we are included, there are about 150,000 to 160,000 people!"

When saying that the Japanese are also Chinese, Heijiro's tone was full of pride as he walked.

"Goto, you must learn Chinese well. If you want to be a Chinese, the first thing you need to do is to learn Chinese. Only if you learn Chinese well can you have a future."

If you ask what is the most important thing to learn in Japan today, it must be Mandarin. Even for laborers like them, if they want to work in overseas colonies, they need to pass the language barrier first. In other words, even ordinary laborers will have no chance to go overseas if they cannot speak Mandarin.

For the Japanese, the language barrier is the first hurdle they have to overcome if they want to change their destiny. Only by passing this hurdle can they truly become second-class citizens of the empire.

"I understand."

Walking on the streets of Honolulu, you can see that the streets here are very prosperous. The streets are bustling with people, and horse-drawn carriages are constantly flowing, some carrying goods, and some carrying people. Whether walking on the street or sitting in the carriage, most of them are Chinese people with yellow skin and black hair.

In fact, it is impossible to tell them apart. Now, whether in Japan or in overseas colonies, the Japanese dress and speak more and more like the Empire. If it were not for the curiosity, Japanese food such as sushi, female body mori and sashimi would be highly praised by Ming men, especially the rich, in Japan and the Empire, so they were preserved. I am afraid that in a few years, even Japanese food will be assimilated, but even assimilation will eventually be integrated into the imperial food culture.

However, cultures always influence and intersect with each other, just like the new style of women's gowns are also popular in the Ming Dynasty today - they combine Western and Western tailoring methods to make the gown more body-fitting. There are gowns, well, which are almost the Shanghai-style cheongsam from another world. This improved gown is loved by many women.

However, Hawaii is relatively conservative because most of the people here are new immigrants and their thinking is relatively conservative. Unlike in the mainland of the empire, people's thinking is always more or less influenced by European residents.

But even so, when Wang Kaiyun saw the scantily clad Bohemian women on the dock, he was still dumbfounded.

"She is totally shameless. How can a decent woman wear such revealing clothes?"

How was it exposed?

Those native women were only wearing a cloth skirt and a tube top, with their lower abdomen and even their belly buttons completely exposed. What Wang Kaiyun felt was not just "insulting to society", but also shameless!

Hearing what he said, Xu Zengjie leaned over to Wang Kaiyun's ear and whispered:

"Sir, you don't know that now the locals at least wear skirts. In the past, they all wore grass skirts..."

Grass skirt!

Wang Kaiyun looked at the native woman in astonishment. While he was dumbfounded, Xu Zengjie spoke in a shocking manner.

"And in the Empire, many women wear clothes that are even more revealing than them!"

What!

Wang Kaiyun simply couldn't believe what he heard.

Wearing more revealing clothes than them?

Isn't that shameless?

Wang Kaiyun couldn't help but be a little confused, and couldn't even believe what he heard...

(End of this chapter)