Chapter 31: The Chinese in Buenos Aires
Chinese!
A group of Chinese!
Is there anything more surprising than this?
There are other Chinese people in Buenos Aires!
This is definitely the most unexpected thing.
After quite a bit of trouble near the dock, with the help of money, we finally found the place where the Chinese people Elizabeth mentioned lived.
That is the slum near the dock. Walking up the creaking wooden stairs to the top floor, the air finally smelled much better. There were several tents made of rags on the roof. A man with a cane was busy watering the vegetable field between the tents. Looking at the vegetables planted in wooden boxes, Zhu Xianhai smiled.
That’s right!
This person must be Chinese!
You can tell from his appearance that he is definitely not an Indian.
"Hey, Cripple, there's a distinguished gentleman looking for you!"
Li Fugui, holding a wooden ladle, looked at the gentleman in front of him in surprise.
The man was dressed very respectably, and at first glance he looked like the kind of gentleman who would never appear here.
But why is he here?
He paused and spoke in not-so-fluent Spanish.
"Good morning sir……"
After taking a look at him, Zhu Xianhai clasped his fist towards him and said with a smile:
"My name is Zhu Xianhai, I don't know if you are ......"
"Oh, sir, the young master can speak our language. Did the young master also come from China?"
Hearing the familiar Mandarin, Li Fugui's face was full of surprise.
"Where are you from, young master? I'm from Hubei. Have ? It's just opposite Wuchang..."
"I've heard of it. It's on the west bank of the Han River. Qingchuan Pavilion in Yuwang Temple is in Hanyang."
"Oh, you all know about Yuwang Temple and Qingchuan Pavilion. Have you ever been to Hanyang?"
"I've heard of it. I've heard people say..."
"I've heard of it, so it must not be far away."
Is there anything more joyful than meeting an old friend in a foreign country?
Not to mention him, even Zhu Xianhai was equally happy, so he took the initiative to invite him to have dinner at the nearby restaurant.
"This, this is not appropriate. Sir, you are here, so it should be us who invite you..."
If you want to treat someone, you need money. Given Li Fugui's current situation, let alone treating someone, you should just be thankful that you don't have to suffer.
"Brother Li, you're too polite. My situation is better than yours. By the way, are you the only one living here, or is it?"
"Eighteen. When we first arrived, there were twenty-one. Three died. The others were all working as laborers at the docks. There was nothing we could do. We were unfamiliar with the place and couldn't speak the language. It was God's blessing that we could work as laborers."
That's God's blessing. They are more diligent and work harder than others, so they ask for lower wages. Otherwise, even if they work hard, no one might hire them.
Eighteen people!
That’s quite a lot!
After thinking about it, Zhu Xianhai said.
"When they get off work, call them. I have a yard nearby. When they get off work, you can take them over and we can have a couple of drinks. It's fate to meet in a foreign country. We can take care of each other in the future."
"Sir, that's fine. I'll do as you say. It won't be a problem what we eat. We don't have so many fuss. We are all rough people. We can just cook a pot of meat. We are really not used to the food of foreigners."
The location was in Zhu Xianhai's factory, not far from the dock, and it had not yet been put into use. When he arrived, Zhu Xianhai asked someone to buy a big pot and several dozen kilograms of beef, and stewed them directly in the pot. Of course, he did not forget the most important thing - wine.
In Buenos Aires, you definitely can't buy rice wine or shochu. As for vodka, it is only limited to Northern Europe and Eastern Europe. However, Brazilian rum is very common.
After working at the dock for a day, Wang Dewen and his colleagues saw Li Fugui as soon as they came out of the dock. He was standing on the roadside waiting with a cane.
"Fugui, why are you here?"
"I came to pick you up and tell you something. I met someone here today who is from China just like me."
"What?"
Sun Hu said with his eyes wide open.
"Did he also sell it here like us?"
"Look at what you said, what is for sale? He is a noble man."
"A noble person? Where are the foreigners, are there any noble people from China?"
Wang Er's face was full of disbelief. When they arrived at the yard rented by Zhu Xianhai, many people seemed a little embarrassed when they saw his decent attire. Not to mention, this man looked like a young master from a wealthy family . Not only was he rich, but his background must also be extraordinary.
"What are you still standing there for? Why don't you go meet Master Zhu?"
After Li Fugui said this, everyone reacted and saluted.
"My humble servant Wang Dewen has met Master Zhu."
"Little Sun Hu..."
"My little Wang Er..."
"Xiao De Liangshan..."
"My humble servant, Li Erqiang..."
…
"Look at how polite you are. What do you mean by young master or not? There is no need to be so particular when you are in a foreign country. From now on, just call me Brother Zhu. Come on, come and sit down. I haven't cleaned up the place yet. Don't mind me for being slow. The food will get cold soon..."
Zhu Xianhai was of course happy to meet his compatriots in this place.
"Brother Zhu, you're welcome."
After several pots of meat were brought to the table, everyone drooled at the smell of the meat. Zhu Xianhai picked up the cup and said.
"It's fate that I can meet you brothers here. We can all know each other and take care of each other. I'll drink this glass of wine first, brother!"
Seeing Young Master Zhu drink up the entire glass of wine, Li Fugui and the others all stood up and spoke.
"Brother Zhu, you are so straightforward. Let's drink this wine. We will definitely trouble you in the future."
For Li Fugui and his friends, it is hard to find such a good thing as making a rich friend in a foreign country, especially when looking for a lantern. Moreover, the rich friend is so honest.
After three rounds of drinks, when he was slightly drunk, Zhu Xianhai asked.
"Then how did you get here?"
"How did it come from? How else could it come from? It was sold by his mother's white pig!"
Wang Dewen took a sip of wine dejectedly.
Sold here?
Zhu Xianhai put down the cup and said in surprise.
"How can this be?"
Looking at the dozen or so of them, he actually had some doubts in his mind. According to his understanding, most of the Chinese who went abroad to make a living in the late Qing Dynasty were from Guangdong or Fujian, but these dozen or so people were either from Hunan, Hubei, Anhui or Jiangsu.
"Why……"
After looking at each other, Li Fugui sighed.
"To be honest, Brother Zhu, our backgrounds are not very clean."
Unclean background?
What's so unclean about being born?
Zhu Xianhai asked in surprise.
"Where did this come from?"
"Okay, Fugui, just stop hiding it. Brother Zhu, when we were in China, we were all long-haired. Do you know that we are long-haired?"
