Deng Yan severely reprimanded Deng Wenshun, asked him to kneel in front of the statue of Guan Yu and reflect on his mistakes, and then interceded for Deng Wenshun.
If Liang Yao hadn't returned in time and had many ideas, Deng Wenyao would have lost his life in the mining area. The mining area here was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Although Deng Wenyao and Deng Wenshun broke the rules, they were his nephews after all, so Deng Yan still felt a little bit reluctant.
"Second uncle, you have led troops before. I think you know the importance of rules better than I do."
Liang Yao's attitude is very clear. Rules are rules and there is no room for negotiation. How can he do anything after breaking the rules?
"I see."
Deng Yan sighed with regret. Although he took family affection into consideration, he could still distinguish right from wrong. At the same time, he couldn't help but think more highly of his nephew.
This nephew has been working so efficiently that he doesn't look like someone who has stayed in a study for more than ten years.
"We swore an oath in front of Guan Gong, and Master Guang is watching us. If you break the rules, I will have to expel you from the Loyalty Society."
Liang Yao lit a stick of incense for Guan Gong by candlelight.
"But considering our brotherhood, I will not let you starve to death. Uncle Cai's former employer hires workers, and as long as you are diligent with your hands, you will not starve to death."
"No! Third brother, I know I was wrong, please forgive me this time! It was Brother Wen Yao who instigated me. Besides, I dig gold for all of us! I don't want to be a hired worker! I want to dig gold! I want to dig gold!"
Deng Wenshun was very excited, and the other Deng brothers in the hall were also moved. It seemed that this rule could not be broken.
Except for Dr. Robinson, the rest of the Boston company's people were not friendly to them.
This team of more than 40 people, equipped with high-tech professional equipment, obviously looked down on the amateur team of only a few people and their wives who only had shovels, pickaxes and a bunch of carpentry tools.
Of course, as colonizers, they have been influenced by their surroundings since childhood, and have arrogance and prejudice towards other races ingrained in their bones.
These Orientals, who have the same skin color as the Indians, may not be as barbaric as the Indians, but they are not much better than the Indians. They are just slightly more civilized barbarians.
"These farmers from the East are more suited to farming than digging for gold."
"Why do they keep such ugly braids? Is it so that they can be used as a rope to hang the opponent during a fight?"
"I heard that the British only need to send a few dozen soldiers to slaughter everyone in their territory and capture the next city with a larger population than Boston!"
"Oh my God, is it true? Give me a few dozen soldiers and I'll just scalp some Indians for some dollars."
"If that's the case, the next time the British recruit mercenaries to attack the Qing Dynasty, I will definitely join. Maybe I can make a small fortune there."
Members of the Boston Company mocked this gold-mining team from the East.
In Liang Yao's team, only Liang Yao and Cai Mingsheng could understand English. The rest had no idea what these foreigners were saying. Although Cai Mingsheng could understand, he was a very honest person and had long been accustomed to keeping a low profile in a foreign country, so he just pretended not to hear anything.
Seeing their silence, the members of the Boston Company mocked even more happily.
"I wonder if you have heard of this saying." Liang Yao said as he brushed the snow off his shoulders.
"What?"
"The strong like to draw their swords and strike at the stronger ones, and only the weak like to swing their swords and strike at the weaker ones."
The Boston Company is not a successful gold mining team. At least judging from their difficult living conditions, their gold mining journey is not successful at present.
"Who are you calling a weakling?! A skinny guy!"
Several hot-tempered Boston company members flew into a rage and waved their fists at Liang Yao angrily.
"Who is the strong and who is the weak? We will see who is the strong and who is the weak in the gold panning field!" Liang Yao made a bold statement. The gold diggers of Boston Company laughed so hard that they bent over. They did not believe that these farmers' gold panning ability would be better than theirs. Whether in terms of numbers or technology, their Boston Company was far superior to the gold panning team composed of these farmers.
Arriving in Sacramento, Deng Yan couldn't help but dig out a handful of soil from the weeds. He couldn't help but sigh as he held the soil in his palm: "The land in the United States is really fertile."
"Not only is the land fertile, it is also flat and large."
It is difficult for Liang Yao to disagree with Deng Yan's point of view. When it comes to effective land that can be developed in future generations, the United States will firmly rank first. In addition, the United States has complete mineral resources and abundant reserves. This is no longer a gift from God, but rather God feeding the food into your mouth.
With abundant resources, oceans to the east and west, and no powerful neighbors to the north and south, it is hard for the United States not to rise with such favorable conditions.
"Such a good land, why did Mexico cede it to the United States after losing a war? Uncle Cai said that the land Mexico ceded to the United States is equivalent to several Guangdong provinces."
Deng Wenyu heard what Cai Mingsheng said about this piece of land and felt very surprised. Such a good land, how could it be ceded?
"What's so strange about this? Didn't the Qing Dynasty cede an island when it couldn't defeat the foreigners? And we also paid a lot of British dollars to the foreigners. It's all because of those damn foreigners. If they hadn't attacked us, our court wouldn't have paid the money. If the court hadn't paid the money, the taxes in Xiangshan wouldn't have been so heavy, and our Deng family wouldn't have gone bankrupt."
Deng Wenkang refuted with reason. Deng Yan, who was standing by, was sad and kept silent while holding a handful of fertile soil.
Liang Yao knew more about the Mexican-American War than they did. Mexico, a young country, had the potential to compete with the United States and even become a regional or even global power, but it failed to live up to expectations.
After the cession of the fertile lands of Upper California, New Mexico, and Texas, Mexico had no chance of recovery. California and Texas later became the richest states in the United States.
"Don't talk about these distant things, let's build our shack first."
Liang Yao asked the Deng brothers to unload the supplies from the carriage. Cai Mingsheng helped them a lot in this migration, and the carriages, horses and tools were basically provided by Cai Mingsheng.
To do one's work well, one must first sharpen one's tools. Liang Yao also wanted to make a set of wooden ore washing troughs to improve the efficiency of gold panning, and this matter would also trouble Cai Mingsheng. After all, none of them knew how to do carpentry.
The ore washing trough was also a simple and practical gold washing equipment in later generations, but the ore washing troughs in later generations were basically industrial products made of steel and were equipped with a water pump to supply water.
Of course, these things could be made with the industrial level in 1850, but they were not as sophisticated as they are today.
But Liang Yao does not have the conditions for that at the moment. With the existing conditions he can only consider making a wooden ore washing trough first, and as for the water pump, he can use a water wheel instead.
"Uncle Cai, can you make this?"
Liang Yao showed Cai Mingsheng the blueprint of the ore washing trough he had drawn on the road.
Cai Mingsheng took the drawing and looked at it carefully. After reading the drawing, Cai Mingsheng looked embarrassed.
"Mr. Liang, this ore washing trough can be made, but?"
"Uncle Cai, rest assured. I will not let you work in vain. I will pay you for your labor and lumber. If you are worried, I can write a written document as proof."
Cai Mingsheng shook his head and said, "You and I are from the same hometown. It is natural for us to help each other in a foreign land. The wages are secondary. As for the wood, there are hundreds and thousands of years old trees everywhere. There is no shortage of wood, but there is a shortage of manpower. It will take me some time to make this set of ore washing troughs and water wheels. I am afraid that Mr. Liang can't wait."
Cai Mingsheng knew some local colleagues, but they were also caught up in the gold rush and could not hire enough people without a high price. Cai Mingsheng knew Liang Yao's current financial situation.
"That's fine. If you're short of manpower, Uncle Cai can make a few ore washing troughs first, even smaller ones. As for the waterwheel, we can leave it alone for now. We can use people to carry water or bring water from a high place."
Liang Yao also lowered his requirements based on the actual situation. The top priority was to dig out some gold to solve their livelihood problems.
"If Uncle Cai needs help, just ask whoever you like to lend a hand. If you like a junior, I am also willing to lend a hand to Uncle Cai."
"Mr. Liang is a scholar. It doesn't make sense to let a scholar do carpentry. This is not difficult. He can make the ore washing trough." Liang Yao lowered his requirements. Cai Mingsheng thought this was feasible and agreed to it.
Cai's family had been carpenters for generations. Although he was sold to Peru to dig silver for a few years, he soon returned to his old job after arriving in California and did carpentry work for Sartre. Therefore, he quickly picked up his craft again and did not abandon it.
Except for logging, which requires help from others, he can do the rest by himself.