Chapter 214: Still Understanding Chinese
“It hurts!” Evelin covered her buttocks and looked at Sheffield pitifully. The latter withdrew his hand and pretended to be angry, “How can you talk to the boss? I’m the one who pays you, and we should make this relationship clear.”
“I’m the one who sleeps with you!” Evelin muttered softly, feeling that she was at a disadvantage.
"Aunt Dais has resigned as the warden. Although she was in charge of the women's prison, she was the most powerful among the three wardens. Guantanamo Bay is now under construction, but Manila is more important." Sheffield put away his frivolous look. "I heard that the prison in Manila can accommodate 10,000 people. That's good. There is no need to expand it. I estimate that the maximum capacity can hold 40,000 prisoners. But considering the upcoming military operations, one prison is not enough. To suppress the Philippine rebels, countless people will definitely be imprisoned, so the current idea is to build another one."
In terms of operating prisons, Sheffield can be said to have achieved extreme cost-saving. He would deal with the situation as much as he could. If he couldn't deal with the situation, he would think of building a new one. If possible, he wanted to try the prison built by the Spanish to see if he could use it to its full potential.
Walking in the Manila prison, Sheffield seemed to be in his own backyard. He entered the cell with a handkerchief covering his nose and put forward a series of suggestions for improvement. "We need to consider saving space, so the floor beds should be eliminated. Giving prisoners a bed must not be omitted. Lying on the floor takes up too much space, which is not conducive to the use of space. This height can be used effectively!"
Sheffield stretched out his hand to measure and then gestured, "Filipinos are shorter, so with a distance of 18 inches, I think this cell block can be changed to four floors. The prisoners on the top floor may suffer a little, but this can be overcome. Who is a good person in here? They are here because they deserve it."
"Prison management order is the most important. If the prisoners don't obey, everything you say is false. So take this set of regulations!" Sheffield took out the regulations copied from a private prison in Texas from his arms, pinched his waist and said righteously, "No one in this world is fearless. Most people are afraid of death, so we must treat prisoners harshly and not have the slightest sympathy, especially these Filipino natives. Opposing the US military occupation is opposing civilization. You should all be polite."
"At present, all prison management in Spain will be retained. Notify the Chinese workers who have signed contracts with us to come and renovate the prison!" Sheffield gave the order and took out his pocket watch to check the time. "That's all for today. I have other plans in the afternoon. It just so happens that there are fewer prisoners in the prison during this period, so let's start immediately."
Perhaps inspired by the urgency of Manifest Destiny, Sheffield did not let his relaxed attitude in Hawaii drag on, because he understood that the federal government could make a very difficult decision at any time, similar to the one in Hawaii.
After meeting with the military and the former Spanish colonists, Sheffield took stock of Manila's basic conditions as if they were his own assets, and a rough idea had already appeared in his mind. Once you have an idea, you need manpower to realize it. Half a month after arriving in Manila, he felt it was time to meet with the Chinese leaders.
The Chinese workers employed by the United Company are currently gathered in the northern suburbs. These Chinese workers were lured here by high salaries. Sheffield was not very honest in this regard, and used a yin-yang contract to fool them. But he did not think he did anything wrong. Saving costs is a must. Although the salary has been reduced to eight dollars a month, it is still a huge expense.
This is Sheffield. If it were someone else, the Chinese workers wouldn't even get this salary. You know, the Irish newspapers were keeping an eye on the United Company, and this was almost a major crime of the United Company.
Speaking of the Irish, it was only when Sheffield arrived in the Philippines that he learned that Jose Rizal, the founding father of the Philippines who was shot by the Spaniards two years ago, married an Irish girl on the execution ground, which moved many Filipinos who were inspired to resist.
How can I put it? The Irish were also rejected by the citizens of the United States because the ratio of male to female Chinese workers was so unbalanced that many years ago when the Chinese wanted to find a partner, only Irish women would agree. This may be the reason why the Irish in the United States are most hostile to the Chinese.
Among the Filipino Chinese, 80% to 90% of their ancestors came from Fujian and southern Fujian, with Quanzhou being the most common. Among all the Filipino Chinese, whether they have been Filipinoized or not, more than 80% to 90% are of southern Fujian descent; the remaining 10% are mostly from Guangdong, with very few from other provinces. Minnan dialect is the common language of the Filipino Chinese community.
The Chinese community is mainly near Manila, which saves Sheffield from having to go out and look for it. The only obstacle is that Sheffield does not understand Hokkien, although he can sing the song "Gong Xiami" if he can understand it.
This is a bit embarrassing for someone who claims to know everything. He can only look for Chinese people who can speak Mandarin as intermediaries to communicate with these Fujianese.
If the Chinese in California had not communicated in advance, Sheffield's visit with the Alamo Company would have been enough to scare the Chinese. Contrary to their expectations, Sheffield did not have a condescending attitude. Sheffield even went to the Chinese cemetery to see the history of the Chinese in the Philippines.
"The sixth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the seventeenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty!" The words on some tombstones can still be recognized, recording the history of migration. Those who can leave tombstones are families with some assets, and more people cannot leave tombstones.
The influx of Chinese is still continuing, because Sheffield saw two people with braids, which means that some of them have not been in the Philippines long, and should have arrived in the Philippines in recent years.
"Boss!" Gu Cheng spoke softly, pointing to the local Chinese Filipinos who were waiting. He was the leader of the Chinese workers currently transported by the United Company, so he naturally knew that Sheffield could speak Mandarin.
"Then let's talk about it. The cemetery is not suitable. Let's find a place that looks decent." Sheffield nodded and completed the investigation. There are actually quite a few people in the Philippines who still maintain Chinese habits, enough for 400,000. As for the mixed-race population who have intermarried but can no longer be identified as Chinese, no one knows how many there are.
As we walked, he asked, "Are many workers dissatisfied with the reduction in pay? They probably wouldn't dare to riot, but no one wants a reduction in pay."
"Hmm? Boss, it's easy to hide it from others, but you can't. You know us!" Gu Cheng, who was following beside him, smiled bitterly and said, "How can we not be dissatisfied? Our salary has been reduced so much."
"You have to take a long-term view. Some things cannot be reflected by wages. You have to know that in the United States, the status of Chinese workers is fixed. It is impossible for them to buy any land, but it is possible in the Philippines. In addition, the United States has a strong mainstream culture. No matter what you do, you will be crushed. The Philippines is more primitive and more suitable for you to be self-reliant." Sheffield did not deny that he was the one who tricked the Chinese workers here by reducing their wages. "I am a profit-seeking person. As long as you can make the United Company grow and develop, you will never lose out."
Otherwise, why did Sheffield come all the way to the Pacific Ocean? To benefit the Filipino people? He came here specifically to grab the land. After all, this is a place with an area of more than 200,000 square kilometers and a population of nearly 10 million. If the United Company can gain a dominant position here, it will be a huge driving force for expansion.
If there was no such motivation, why would Sheffield want to follow the US military wherever they go? Do you really think he is so patriotic?
Whoever can make the United Company the controller of the Philippines will be Sheffield's friend. The faster, better and cheaper the process, the faster the Philippines will be swallowed up, and the lower the cost will be. This is the purpose of him as a pure businessman.
Gu Cheng brought Sheffield to a place that could be called a manor and introduced it, "The owner's surname is Hong, Hong Shijun, and he has been in the Philippines for 200 years."
"Oh? There are many talented people under Hongwu?" Sheffield laughed when he heard it, which made Gu Cheng swallow his saliva secretly. He had never seen it, but he had heard Zhang Deqing talk about it. When the United Company heard that there was a group in the Chinese community extorting Chinese workers' wages, it once said this.
Later, all the associations that claimed to protect the Chinese disappeared. This was done by Sheffield. Gangs are gangs, and they always use the guise of protecting the interests of the Chinese. They are a bit shameless. When they dealt with the Chinese gangs, it was a mess. This disappointed him as a boss. Until the end, he did not see how these rubbish protected the Chinese.
"I pay my employees' salaries, which is perfectly normal. But no one can snatch my salaries. An employee cannot have two bosses!" Feeling that Gu Cheng had suddenly gone silent, Sheffield knew where the problem lay. He must have been scared.
After entering the residence of the local Chinese leader, Sheffield officially started his strategy to win over the local Chinese. Before this, he had already won over the U.S. military and former Spanish colonists, and now all he needed was a construction force.
There is no shortage of minerals in the geological environment of the Philippines, but Sheffield doesn't know where they are. He plans to hire an exploration team to look for them, but the situation is unclear now, so armed forces are needed to protect the exploration team. If they are found, railways will need to be built to transport them out, and building railways also requires labor. Many industries are related, which is why many giants in a single industry begin to infiltrate related industries after gaining a dominant position.
"I am only pursuing profit. As long as you achieve my goal, you Chinese are free to do whatever you want." Sheffield put forward his own conditions and also reminded, "To the local natives, we Americans are colonizers, and you are also outsiders. If you understand this, everything can be discussed. The cooperation between the two sides can completely become a symbiotic relationship."
(End of this chapter)
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