The next morning, the Cape Town arrived at the port of Panama.
This is a busy port with a constant flow of merchant ships.
The Gran Colombia that Bolivar built with great effort lasted only thirteen years before it fell apart.
At that time, Panama belonged to the Republic of New Granada, which later became Colombia. Panama did not become independent from Colombia until 1903 under the interference of the United States.
After completing the weighing work, Liang Yao felt relieved and hurried to go ashore to purchase supplies.
Captain Frank was dissatisfied because too much material was purchased. Finally, after the third mate's gentle persuasion, Frank reluctantly agreed to load Liang Yao's materials on board. However, he had to pay a transportation fee of five shillings.
In Panama, Frank accepted a new group of gold diggers, which made the already overcrowded Cape Town even more crowded.
There are three routes from the United States to California for gold mining. One is to go all the way west to Independence, Missouri to complete the final supplies and then complete the last 1,900 kilometers to California.
This route spans the entire North American continent, and if all goes well, it will only take half a year to reach California.
If you have some money and can afford a boat ticket that is equivalent to 60,000 to 80,000 US dollars in later generations, you can also choose to take a boat in the eastern United States, sailing 13,000 kilometers from South America to California, which takes about two months. This is the second route, and it is also a relatively safe and fast route.
As for the third route, it is more of a compromise. First, take a boat from the eastern United States to the eastern Panama, then cross the plague-ridden Isthmus of Central America, and take a ride on a downwind boat to the west coast of Panama to California.
All three routes are extremely dangerous, but for the sake of gold, humans are willing to take greater risks.
In the small port of San Francisco, Sam Brannan, a man just over thirty years old, is standing on the lighthouse overlooking the emerging city below.
It was he who single-handedly ignited the gold rush across the United States.
In 1848, before the gold rush, the non-Indian population in California, with an area of 410,000 square kilometers, was only 14,000 people, and the population of San Francisco, which later became San Francisco, was only 500 to 600 people.
Of California's 14,000 non-Indians, 7,000 were Mexicans before 1848.
In just two years, California's population exploded fourteen times, and San Francisco quickly grew into a city with a population of nearly 20,000.
And he, Sam Brannan, went from being a poor grocery store owner to becoming the true king of California and the first millionaire west of the Mississippi River.
Brannan's purpose in climbing the harbor lighthouse was not to enjoy the view, but to make sure he knew what cargo was on every merchant ship entering San Francisco in order to secure his monopoly in California.
The mast of the Cape Town soon appeared on the skyline not far away. Brannan walked down from the lighthouse, boarded the small boat that had been prepared long ago, and ordered his men to sail towards the Cape Town.
"Is this your first time in California, Captain?"
Brannan boarded the Cape Town carrying a heavy box and asked Frank with a smile on his face.
"If you have anything to say, wait until the ship enters the port and drops anchor."
Frank seemed very unhappy that his voyage was interrupted. He did not welcome this strange uninvited guest.
"This is a specialty of California. My name is Sam Brannan. I'm glad to meet you. What kind of cargo is on your ship? If your merchant ship comes to California in the future, please contact me as soon as possible."
Brannan spoke with such confidence that he seemed able to swallow the entire cargo of the Cape Town.
Of course, as long as the merchant ship had the goods he wanted, he could afford to buy both the goods and the ship. There was no one richer than him west of the Mississippi River.
Frank felt somewhat disgusted with this nouveau riche western barbarian, but after opening the box of specialties given by Brannan, even Frank, who had seen the world, couldn't help losing his composure.
"Oh my God! It's gold?!"
Frank couldn't believe his eyes.
"100 ounces of gold is a bit heavy, Captain. If your hands are tired, you can put it down and talk later."
Brannan was no stranger to such situations. Frank was not the first captain to lose his composure in front of gold, nor would he be the last.
Liang Yao was also stunned watching from the side. It was really not Frank's fault that he lost his composure. What did 100 ounces of gold mean?
One ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. After the United Kingdom officially adopted the gold standard in 1821, it stipulated that each pound contained 7.32238 grams of pure gold.
This means Frank has £425 in his hands.
What does 425 pounds mean in the 19th century?
The annual salary of sailors on the Cape Town ranged from 8 to 13 pounds.
The annual salary of a high-end male butler for British aristocrats is approximately 20 to 35 pounds. The annual salary of a chef is generally slightly lower than that of a high-end male butler. As for the highest-paid supervisor, the annual salary is only around 50 pounds.
These people are already high-income earners who live a very decent life in this era.
What's even more frightening is that Brannan's skillful bribery is not the first time. Seeing how he can spend 100 ounces of gold as if it were 100 cents, it seems that this huge sum of 100 ounces of gold is nothing to him, not even the tip of the iceberg of his wealth.
"Not sinking, not at all." Frank's voice was trembling just like his hands holding the gold. "California's specialties are really great. Dear Mr. Brannan, there are also cocoa, tobacco, sugar and some cloth on the Cape Town. What do you need?"
Brannan shook his head in disappointment. These were not what he needed most. "I want all the cloth. Are there any pans, shovels, pickaxes, boots, oil lamps, wine, whale oil, etc. on the ship? Of course, it would be even better if there were sexy women." Brannan directly stated what he wanted most.
Liang Yao had a bad feeling. Of course these things were on the ship. Frank had also seen with his own eyes the supplies he purchased in Panama.
"Yes, of course."
Frank looked at Liang Yao and the third mate Sven on the ship.
Liang Yao and Sven both knew that the price Brannan offered would definitely be much lower than what they could get when they went ashore.
However, the two have different mindsets. As long as they can make some money, no matter how much, he can accept it.
Liang Yao is different. He wants to stay in California to pan for gold. How much profit he can make will directly affect his initial development in California.
"How many of these do you have, sir?"
Brannan first asked Sven, who only cared about the quantity and kept silent about the price. It seemed that he was very confident that he could offer a price that would satisfy Sven.
"Five hundred frying pans, two hundred pickaxes, and two hundred shovels." Sven answered Brannan's question with great clarity.
In order to bring these things on board, he had a private quarrel with Frank, and now it seemed worth it.
"A frying pan is fifty cents, a pickaxe is a dollar, and a shovel is a dollar. I want them all. Is this price satisfactory to you, sir? If you don't like dollars, I can pay with gold." Brannan smiled with ease.
"Of course, I also love California specialties."
Sven was very satisfied with Brannan's offer. Excluding the purchase cost, he could earn at least $500, equivalent to 102 pounds, which was a considerable sum of money for him.
"How much of the goods do you have that I need, ma'am?"
Brannan had never seen a Qing person and knew very little about the Qing Dynasty. Liang Yaosheng had delicate features and a thin body. He wore a long robe and had a long braid behind his head.
Liang Yao's dress, which seemed very strange to Americans, made Brannan mistakenly believe that Liang Yao was a woman.
"He is a gentleman, a down-and-out noble from the East." Sven stepped forward to help Liang Yao out of the predicament.
"So you are a gentleman from the East. I apologize for my impertinence."
Brannan took off his hat and bowed slightly to Liang Yao to apologize. Seeing that Liang Yao's attitude was not as straightforward as Sven's, he saw through Liang Yao's thoughts at a glance and warned Liang Yao in a tone that could not be refused: "Sir, I know what you are thinking, but I have to tell you that in California, especially in San Francisco, you can't sell these things without my permission."
When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Although Liang Yao was unwilling, he had to accept this reality. He could not afford to offend this smiling local boss in front of him, at least he could not afford to offend him now.
"Two hundred and thirty frying pans, ninety-five pickaxes, and one hundred and twenty-three shovels." Liang Yao had no choice but to agree to sell these things to Brannan, but he also put forward a condition, "We want to keep some tools for our own use, and sell the rest to you."
Brannan frowned slightly, glanced at the group of Qing people with braids and clothes that looked very different from those of the white people behind Liang Yao, and asked, "How many of you are there?"
"Nine."
Hearing that Liang Yao only had nine people, Brannan's slightly frowned brows immediately relaxed: "No problem, it's still the same price. I've always been generous, so I'll take a loss. I'll buy your goods in the amount of 230 frying pans, 95 pickaxes, and 123 shovels. The total is 333 US dollars, which is 13 ounces of gold. Congratulations, sir, you've made a fortune."
"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Brannan. Like Second Mate Sven, I also prefer California specialties." Liang Yao clenched his fists hidden in his sleeves and forced a smile on his face.
The US dollar during this period was not as good as the US dollar in later generations. At that time, the domestic currency system in the United States was relatively chaotic, and there was no paper money in the legal sense. The so-called paper dollars circulating in the market should strictly be called banknotes or US dollar bills. They were issued by the central First Bank of the United States and commercial banks authorized by the legislatures of each state. The value was extremely unstable. Whether it could be exchanged for coins depended entirely on the reputation and gold reserves of these private banks.
Liang Yao naturally would not accept such things. Gold is the best currency, so it would be more reliable to accept gold directly.
The Chinese workers on the ship looked at Sven who received 20 ounces of gold from Brannan without any emotion, but were jealous of Liang Yao who only received 13 ounces of gold. They pointed at Liang Yao jealously and talked about him.
"It's a pleasure to work with you. You and your compatriots are welcome to patronize Brannan's grocery store in the future."
After the transaction was completed, Liang Yao took the 13 ounces of gold he gained from the transaction and his carry-on luggage and stepped off the Cape Town and into the simple port.
After traveling around half the world for three months and eighteen days, Liang Yao finally arrived in California in 1850.
He began his gold rush in California, the state that countless gold prospectors dreamed of and where gold was everywhere.
Unlike the Chinese workers who later signed indentures and were tricked into coming to the western United States to build railroads, most of the early Chinese who came to California were free laborers and businessmen.
Moreover, the United States has no control over this piece of land that it just snatched from the Mexican government two years ago. Without excessive taxes, it is still a paradise for individual gold diggers and small gold mining organizations.
At the port, Liang Yao saw the outrageous prices in California. An egg cost two dollars, a pound of rice cost nine dollars, a pound of butter cost fourteen dollars, a pound of beer cost ten dollars, a blanket cost one hundred and fifty dollars, a pair of boots cost eleven dollars, and a shirt cost sixty dollars.
Damn, nine pounds and fifteen pence couldn't buy a shirt here?
These prices were sky-high, not to mention the dollars of the mid-19th century, even in the dollars of the 21st century. His lunch in the 21st century, a cheap Subway sandwich and a bottle of Happy Water, cost only seven or eight dollars.
Liang Yao made a rough estimate that if he and his compatriots wanted to survive in this place, they would have to dig out at least one ounce of gold from the ground every day. Of course, considering that Chinese people could endure more hardships, perhaps they could survive with only half an ounce of gold a day, but that would still require digging out half an ounce of gold from the ground every day.
In addition to this, there is something even more terrifying. Almost the entire San Francisco is Sam Brannan's property, which means that he alone monopolizes everything here. He can set the prices of these necessities of life at will. This is the most terrifying thing.