Volume of Changning Kingdom: Section 6 Encounter in Labuan Island (2)
"Yes." Cui Yunhong replied.
"Then why do you call yourself Australians?"
"This..." Cui Yunhong thought that she would have to recite the "History of the Senate" template. She thought for a while and said, "We are indeed Chinese, but we have been living in Australia for many years. Just like your father is from the Netherlands.
people, but the Dutch are actually Germans.”
"Oh, yes, yes. Father said so too. It's just that they don't recognize the emperor. I don't know the details."
"We don't recognize the current Emperor of Ming Dynasty either." Cui Yunhong smiled.
"Just like the prince?"
"Yes, just like the prince." Cui Yunhong said, "But the prince only wants to be the prince of the Netherlands, and does not want to be the emperor of the empire. We plan to fight back one day and build a new China..."
"Become an emperor too?" the girl asked happily.
"We are a republic and we have no emperor." Cui Yunhong said seriously.
"Just like Netherlands..."
Cui Yunhong laughed loudly. Indeed, the Senate and this "republic of small shopkeepers" are quite similar.
Anna obviously lost further interest in this international issue and turned her attention to Cui Yongfang.
"What about you? Why are you with this group of Chinese people again? Are you a German?"
"Well... my original home was in Bremen. Now I am the master's attendant. As for how I got here... it's a long story..." Cui Yongfang said, somewhat at a loss.
"So you are a slave?"
"Well... it was true in the past, and now..." Cui Yongfang remembered that he had not received a document such as a "slave release certificate", but he also remembered that the general office told them that they no longer belong to slaves, but to slaves.
"Special employment" of naturalized citizens.
"Now I am a naturalized citizen of the Senate. In addition to Chinese people, there are many foreigners under the Senate..."
"Oh, I'm already a little dizzy, so I won't talk about this anymore. Dear senator, where are you going now?"
Cui Yunhong stretched out her finger and pointed to Labuan Island in the northeast: "There."
"Blackstone Island... I heard from my father that there are terrible devils there..." Anna showed a worried look, "I heard that you can smell the smell of hell emanating from the earth just by approaching that island. What are you doing there?
"
The smell of hell is obviously the smell of various flammable gases emitted from the open-pit coal mines on the island. It is almost like the smell of sulfur. In this way, the open-pit coal seams on the island are very shallowly buried.
"There's something we need up there."
"But there is no gold, silver, or spices on it." Anna was quite afraid of this island full of legends. "Can we just walk around the beach? I heard that as long as we stay on the beach and don't go deep into the interior, the island will be beautiful."
The devil will not harm you."
Although she showed a scared expression, her words were still full of expectations for this exciting trip.
"We are neither here for gold, silver, nor spices." Cui Yunhong said with a smile, thinking that this girl was quite adventurous, and unconsciously liked her a little more. As she said that, she took out a bottle from her backpack.
A dark bottle, unscrew the cork, and a smell of alcohol comes out of the bottle.
"Here, you won't be afraid if you apply this thing on your skin." Cui Yunhong handed Anna an ethanol solution containing pyrethrin. The elders brought 21st century pyrethrum seeds. This improved and selected pyrethrum flower contains more
High-quality pyrethrins have better killing and repelling effects on mosquitoes in the 17th century. After being planted in Hainan for a few years, they are now being promoted, enough to support a small-scale pyrethroid product industry chain.
Anna's body was tightly wrapped in her dress, so Cui Yunhong only asked her to apply it to her exposed face and hands.
She sniffed: "Is this perfume? It smells very good."
"That's right. It has the effect of repelling insects and warding off evil spirits." Cui Yunhong said seriously.
"Then why don't you sell it here? It will definitely sell well. Dad said that many Australian things are very useful and easy to sell!"
"Because our own production is too low and not enough," Cui Yunhong said.
The ship sails all the way east along the coast of Brunei Bay. Labuan Island is called "Labuan Island". Although it is located on the east side of the entrance of Brunei Bay and is close to the capital of Brunei, in the old time and space, it was a Malaysian territory and belonged to the state of Sabah.
It is not a small tropical island, but a large island covering 98 square kilometers.
This place had Chinese merchant ships coming to trade around the seventh century. However, because it did not produce the spices that Europeans were most interested in, it did not attract much attention from Europeans. In the old days, until Brunei’s oil development, this place relied on its
The good hydrological and geographical environment has made it the transshipment center and ship fuel oil supply station of the ports on the north coast of Borneo.
As for this time and space, Labuan Island is a lonely existence. The coal mine they are looking for is located in the north of the island. Historically, the British built a strange red brick chimney here - however, this chimney has never been put into use.
Perhaps it is the remnant of an unfinished building. It has become a landscape in the old time and space.
Anna guided the sailors to maneuver the crab boat to create waves in the Brunei Bay, where the wind direction was unpredictable. The beautiful scenery of the tropical ocean made Cui Yunhong and Cui Yongfang unable to leave. No wonder everyone is interested in tropical areas such as the Maldives, Tahiti, and Hawaii.
The island is full of longing.
The crab boat soon arrived at the northern coast of Labuan Island. From the beach, it is also an island covered with tropical plants, with almost no trace of artificial development.
"We will land here." Cui Yunhong had the longitude and latitude of the coal mine in his hand. He took out the instrument and simply tested his positioning.
Although Anna was in awe of the island, the girl's adventurous spirit and curiosity easily defeated her fear of the unknown. After Anna anchored on the shore, she happily helped Cui Yunhong and Cui Yongfang lift their backpacks.
There were also four local guides and porters on the boat that Basten was looking for for Cui Yunhong. The guides knew that Cui Yunhong was talking about the "stacked black stones" and said that the veins of these stones were not far from the shore, less than two leagues, but only
Have to go through the jungle.
However, before going deep into the jungle, Cui Yunhong found raw coal blocks from the beach that were probably washed out by the flood.
"High-quality thermal coal," Cui Yunhong concluded, "no wonder the British chose Labuan Island as the coal filling station."
"Hey, master, what are you talking about? The British? There are no British here."
"Oh, hey... you take two guards and watch the boat and the boatman." Cui Yunhong ordered, "And Anna. Don't let her run around. There are a lot of venomous snakes and beasts here."
"I'll accompany you there..."
"You and I have entered, what will happen to this ship? This area is not peaceful. If we encounter any hostile situation, someone must be in charge." Cui Yunhong said, "Don't worry, I will also bring two guards."
"If an emergency occurs..."
"I will launch flares: the white ones are for you to bring people to support; the green ones are for you to wait on the spot and prepare to run away; the red ones are for running away immediately. Do you understand? Use this to tell me when you encounter a situation."
"Yes, I understand."
Cui Yongfang turned around and looked for Anna. After searching for a while, he found Anna sitting on a stone and concentrating on observing a flower. She didn't even notice that her skirt had been dragged to the white sand... Cui Yongfang saw that Anna was so involved.
He didn't disturb her, just watched quietly from the side.
"Anna!" Cui Yongfang couldn't help but speak first after looking at it for a long time.
"Ah, look at this flower, it's so beautiful. It's a pity that I didn't bring out my drawing board..."
"Can you still draw?"
"I studied with an Italian missionary..." Anna raised her head and replied. "That was a few years ago. Later, after my mother passed away, I had to go home and take care of the housework."
"Italian missionaries, but they are Catholics."
"In fact, people don't care too much about this here. Dad doesn't care too much either. After all, it's rare to see Europeans here."
"Your father is so kind to you." Cui Yongfang said with emotion. He knew that even in Europe, women rarely have the opportunity to receive education. It is probably only under the rule of the Senate that girls and boys can see girls studying together and taking exams together.
Already...
"Of course it's good, but my father's control is too strict." Anna said with a smile, "It's so nice here. There are so many beautiful flowers, plants and trees, and even the fish and birds are colorful. Dad said that the Netherlands is more beautiful than here.
, and also showed me a lot of pictures - although the tulips are also very beautiful, I don’t think they can be as beautiful as here. Have you been to the United Provinces? I will show them to you when I get back!"
"No." Cui Yunhong shook his head, "It seems you like it here very much."
"Of course, this is my home. My father said that the Netherlands is it, but he never said he would take me back one day." Anna seemed to be reminded of some bad memories and frowned, "Europe here is
Everyone thinks I look weird - except Brother Marco..."
At that time, European society had not yet formed the concept of diversity for later generations, so mixed-race people like Anna were very repulsive and were often regarded as alternative.
But Cui Yongfang, immersed in the aesthetic taste of the Senate, did not think so: "I think you are very beautiful. If I were in Lingao, mixed-race beauties like you would be the most popular."
"Really?" Anna showed a happy expression on her face.
"Really, people say that the mixed-race children born after birth are cute and beautiful..."
"Hahaha, your leader is really interesting, hahaha..." Anna felt more favorable towards the mysterious Australian in her heart.
After finishing laughing, Anna was a little confused again: "You said I like it here, but you can't actually say it. I always feel empty in my heart. Dad said this is not my hometown, but I know that the distant Netherlands is not either..." This chapter has been completed!