Everything seems to be slowly getting back on track.
Like them, many miners in 1949 chose to come to Sacramento to try their luck after the Christmas carnival in San Francisco.
As more and more gold diggers' camps were set up in Sacramento, Liang Yao had no choice but to drive wooden stakes to enclose his own territory and nail signs on it.
Before the ore washing trough was completed, they, like ordinary gold diggers, used a frying pan as a gold pan in the freezing cold river water, slowly sifting out tiny gold sands from the sand in the river.
But their luck was not good. On average, they could only sift out a dozen or twenty ounces of gold from the American River every day. Moreover, as time went by, the nearby rich mines were soon almost mined, and the gold they could obtain became less and less.
A dozen or twenty ounces of gold may seem like a lot, but considering the outrageous prices in California, after deducting their daily expenses, there would be very little gold left.
You know, in the early days of the gold rush, it was not uncommon for an ordinary gold digger to use the most primitive gold panning methods to pan out 20 to 30 ounces of gold from the American River every day.
From time to time, they heard news that someone had discovered gold nuggets, which undoubtedly greatly irritated their nerves and made them even more discouraged.
The Boston Company's camp was just eight hundred yards away from them. At first, they laughed at the low efficiency of Liang Yao's team in gold panning because they had a gold washing machine purchased from Boston at a high price, which was their company's secret weapon.
I heard that in order to transport this machine to California, some people even paid the price of their lives on the Western Trail.
Now it seems that these high costs are not worth it. Not only does the machine malfunction frequently during operation, but it has not washed out a single grain of gold sand for them for several days in a row.
Even so, their engineers stubbornly repaired this "high-tech" machine repeatedly. They firmly believed that as long as they had this machine, they would have an incomparable advantage over other gold diggers.
In Liang Yao's opinion, this is no longer stubbornness, but stupidity.
Liang Yao did not abandon the traditional farming skills of the Chinese nation. In addition to gold panning, he organized people to open up a vegetable field near the camp. He purchased some farm tools and seeds of vegetables, fruits and melons when he was in Panama.
They can import bulk commodities such as rice and wheat, but if they want to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, they can only grow them themselves.
However, he had no experience in agricultural planting. He only spent his childhood in the countryside, watching his grandparents plant some crops. Although he also planted some fruits and vegetables out of curiosity as a child to satisfy his cravings, those were all for entertainment purposes and did not help much in his planting experience.
After going to the city to study, Liang Yao completely forgot the little planting knowledge and experience he had.
Professionals need professionals to do the job. After clearing the vegetable field, Liang Yao handed over the planting tasks to the Deng brothers.
However, the climate and seasons in California are different from those in Guangdong, so the Deng brothers had to consult Cai Mingsheng, who had settled in California for several years, on these issues.
Deng Wenshun drove a horse-drawn carriage to their camp and took down eight old flintlock rifles and ammunition from the carriage. Their age made Liang Yao wonder if these antiques were relics from the American War of Independence.
But it's better than nothing. After all, except Liang Yao who has a percussion rifle, the rest of the people can only use shovels to protect themselves.
As more and more gold diggers enter Sacramento, the threats around them will also increase. It is very necessary to stockpile some guns and ammunition in case of emergency.
Of course, these things were not given to them for free by Sartre out of kindness, but they bought them from Sartre with real money.
"These foreign guns and chicks and ducklings are sent to you by my boss. Third brother, this is a letter that my boss sent to you."
Deng Wenshun took the wooden cage containing chickens and ducklings down from the carriage, then wiped his hands on his lapel and handed Sartre's letter to Liang Yao.
The content of the letter was simply to remind Liang Yao that it would be February in another week and he should not forget to pay the land rent for this month, otherwise he would bring people to expel Liang Yao and others from his territory.
Sartre did not accept Liang Yao's opaque plan to pay him one-tenth of his gold mining income every month. In his opinion, this income was very unstable. He preferred to collect 300 ounces of gold from Liang Yao every month as land rent.
This decision made Liang Yao feel that Sartre was even more stupid. He didn't know whether the farmer had no confidence in the gold reserves on his land or in Liang Yao's gold-mining ability.
With such short-sightedness, it is no wonder that Sartre had the opportunity to make a fortune first but was overtaken by Brannan.
The Deng brothers happily packed up the supplies they bought from Sartre with gold, especially the five hens.
This is good stuff. With eggs in California now costing two dollars a piece, it's no exaggeration to say these hens are golden eggs.
"You finally came back, I'll cook something for you."
Liang Yao picked up a clean frying pan, washed it at the water tank, and asked Deng Ying to help light the fire.
Since there are not many gold diggers coming to Sacramento to pan for gold, the water of the American River is relatively clean, at least it looks clear.
But at this time, cholera was very serious in both Asia and America, and countless people died from it every year. Even the president of the United States was not immune.
The ninth president of the United States, 68-year-old William Henry Harrison, died on the unlucky day of April 4, 1841. From the time he took office to his death, he served the American people for only one month.
After that, the 11th President of the United States, the young and energetic James Knox Bore, insisted on serving the American people for one term, but after leaving office last year (1849), he passed away after only 103 days, dying of cholera like his predecessors.
This is not the end. If nothing unexpected happens, the current president is on his way to report to God. He will die of cholera in the White House on July 9, 1850, and meet his predecessor and predecessor. The culprit for the sudden death of three consecutive US presidents is the water source. Liang Yao dare not neglect the water source.
In this era, people were helpless against cholera. Once infected with cholera, whether they could survive depended entirely on God's will.
Liang Yao attached great importance to personal hygiene. He refused to drink or use water from American rivers. He only used mountain spring water. If he wanted to drink it, he had to boil it. There was no shortage of firewood here anyway.
The fact that there is no cholera outbreak in Sacramento now does not mean that there will not be an outbreak in the future. In Liang Yao's memory, during the United States' vigorous westward movement, including the California Gold Rush, the number of people who died from cholera was far higher than other natural and man-made disasters.
"You'd better leave the kitchen work to your aunt and cousin. It's inappropriate for a scholar like you to do these things." Deng Yan carefully used his thumb and index finger to pick up a grain of gold sand from the frying pan and put it into a glass bottle. Then he put down the work in his hands and said to Liang Yao.
Zhou, who was washing clothes nearby, also hurriedly washed her hands and tried to snatch the frying pan from Liang Yao.
"Aunt, you go about your business. It's a rare opportunity for Cousin Shun to come back, so I'll let him taste my cooking skills."
Liang Yao asked Zhou to continue with the task at hand, fried an egg and a slice of beef, then sprinkled some sauce on it, put it between two slices of hot bread, and handed it to Deng Wenshun, who was staring blankly at everyone panning for gold.
Deng Wenshun came to his senses, took the hot food and started eating it.
"Here is some gin to keep away the cold. I'll pour you some to warm you up." Liang Yao turned around to get some wine for Deng Wenshun.
Deng Wenshun shook his head and said, "Drinking might delay the boss's business, so let's keep the wine for everyone to ward off the cold."
"Then it's up to you." Liang Yao found a clean stone and sat down, and started chatting with Deng Wenshun, "How does the boss treat you? If there is anything you are not satisfied with, just tell me. We are family and brothers. If the boss is too harsh, I will talk to him another day."
"Although the boss has a bad temper, he treats his employees very well. He provides me with plenty of food and drink, and even treats me to a drink because I work hard. But I can't understand what the foreigners say, and when the boss is drunk, I can only pretend to understand and follow his instructions."
After just over ten days of not seeing each other, Deng Wenshun has matured a lot and changed a lot.
Liang Yao was not worried that Sartre would abuse Deng Wenshun.
Liang Yao knew the Deng family inside and out. They were a kind farming and fishing family for generations, and the Deng brothers were not bad people by nature. Liang Yao also believed that Deng Wenyao and Deng Wenshun were just temporarily blinded by gold.
But everything should be treated separately. If you break the rules, you should be punished.
"In the future, we will inevitably have to deal with foreigners here, so we still have to learn their language. You are still young, and it is not difficult to learn their language. " Liang Yao nodded and said.
"Third brother, I know I was wrong. Please let me stay and dig for gold together! I will definitely abide by the rules!"
Deng Wenshun's eyes were moist and he spoke to Liang Yao in a pleading tone.
"I understand your feelings." Seeing Deng Wenshun crying and wearing tattered clothes, Liang Yao entered the tent and found a new cotton gown with dense stitches from his luggage. "We are brothers and a family. If we get rich, you will definitely get your share. This is the gown your third aunt made for me before she left. You must take good care of yourself while you are working alone for your employer. It's cold, don't freeze yourself."
Deng Wenshun understood what Liang Yao meant, but it was his own fault and he could not blame Liang Yao.
"This dress was made by my third aunt for my third brother." Deng Wenshun declined.
"If I don't accept you, you won't acknowledge me as your brother." Liang Yao stuffed the cotton robe into Deng Wenshun's hands, not allowing Deng Wenshun to refuse.
Deng Wenshun visited Deng Wenyao. Deng Wenyao's injuries were quite serious. Although he survived, it would take at least ten days or half a month for him to be able to work again.
When Deng Wenyao was able to move, Liang Yao sent him to Sartre.
After sending Deng Wenshun away, Liang Yao gave Deng Yan and each of the Deng brothers a gun.
"Uncle, you have been a captain, so you can use a musket. You can teach us how to use a musket later. Although these muskets are old, they can still be useful in a critical moment."
Deng Yan carefully felt the old flintlock in his hand and sighed, "When your second uncle followed Admiral Guan to defend the Humen Fort, if he had this thing, there would be no worry about not being able to defend the Humen Fort.
Admiral Guan, what a good officer he was, but in the end he died for his country on the Humen Fort along with more than 400 of his brothers.
Your second uncle was not destined to die. Admiral Guan ordered me to send a message to request reinforcements, so he was able to survive. "
"These foreign guns are old items from decades ago. Foreigners now have faster ships, more powerful guns, and can shoot farther and more accurately."
This humiliating history made Liang Yao feel sad and angry. The First Opium War was just the beginning, and the events that followed were more humiliating than the last.
It's not that China didn't have these things, but they were treated as tribute and toys presented by the Manchu ruling class in the Forbidden City and thrown into a dark corner of the Old Summer Palace.
Liang Yao is powerless to deal with these things. The most important thing right now is how to gain a foothold in California. He cannot worry about military and national affairs.
"Although this gun is old, it is well made and there is no risk of it exploding. Let me learn how to use this foreign gun and then teach you." Deng Yan said.
When he was in the army, he used a matchlock rifle, which was quite different in operation from a flintlock rifle. He had to familiarize himself with and learn how to use a flintlock rifle first.