The blue sea is surging, white seabirds are dancing and circling low over the sea, chirping from time to time, and occasionally you can see whales spewing water.
A fleet was sailing on the sea. In the past 74 days, this fleet led by the "Anlis" has sailed across half the globe against the wind and waves, passed the South China Sea, passed the Indian Ocean, crossed the Cape of Good Hope, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and headed towards Nanhua.
Like other ships, the deck of the Marianne, a 2,000-ton American clipper from New York , was packed with people. According to the ship's rules, each cabin had one hour of fresh air on the deck every day, and the rest of the time they could only stay in the cabin filled with various odors.
Once again, squeezing through the narrow passage, Li Lin and hundreds of people in the same cabin came to the deck. The braids that had been cut off and the hair that had been shaved off had grown long again. They scrambled to the sides of the ship, looking up at the sea and sky. The more than two-month voyage had filled each of their eyes with anticipation.
They were looking forward to stepping on the land again, but where was the land?
Nanhua?
Where is Nanhua?
For those who left Tanhu Mountain seventy-four days ago, Nanhua, although unfamiliar, became their only hope.
But they knew nothing about Nanhua.
What does Nanhua look like?
During the long voyage, everyone was full of expectations and imaginations, especially when someone died and the body was thrown into the sea. Looking at the body floating on the sea, they would secretly imagine in their hearts.
Hold on, hold on, until you get to Nanhua... At least die on the ground!
At least... I can rest in peace there!
Suddenly, at this moment, the sailor on the mast shouted loudly.
"land!"
land!
On the blue sea, the "Anlis" began to lower the canvas, slowed down and slowly sailed into the Nanhua Bay. More people with messy hair poured out of the cabin, almost all of them were young and middle-aged men.
Although there were still many women on the ship, the men who crowded onto the deck were all men. They were of different ages, some were only twelve or thirteen years old, and the oldest was no more than 40 years old. They stood on the side of the ship, looking at the cliff at the entrance of the bay. The gray stone cliff was dozens of feet high. Until they entered the bay, they looked at the green in the bay and this strange land.
"This is Nanhua!"
It was not until this voice came that people could not help but cheer in unison.
"We're here, we're here, we're at Nanhua..."
After 74 days of drifting on the sea, they finally arrived at this strange land, and everyone's eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement.
Although they now know that Nanhua is so far away, these people who have experienced such a disaster do not have many demands. All they want is to survive.
Perhaps Nanhua is strange and far away, but at least here they can survive without having to worry about the butcher knives of the Taiping rebels or the government troops.
"This is Nanhua..."
Among the crowd standing by the side of the ship, the tall Li Lin stared at Nanhua, which was looming on the shore, with emotions that were inconsistent with his age emerging in his eyes.
"Third brother, third brother, from now on, you will be the one to carry on the Li family's legacy. The Li family... only has you left!"
As the sea breeze blew his black hair, like everyone else on the deck, his eyes showed hope, but of course there was also some nervousness and uneasiness.
As a group of people who luckily survived the knife's edge, they came to this strange land, having no idea what fate awaits them.
Finally, the ship docked.
When the ship docked, the people on the deck looked at the city before them with some disappointment. It didn't seem to be a big place.
"Nanhua... doesn't seem to be that good either!"
Li Lin's eyes were somewhat confused, and his face was full of worry about the future.
The same was true for most other people, with a mixture of complex emotions and a long sigh.
With a sigh, the Anlis approached the pier. Captain Luke, holding a pipe in his hand, looked at Nanhua and couldn't help but sigh.
“Nanhua has changed so much!”
Only those who have experienced it can feel the changes in Nanhua. Of course, for new immigrants who are accustomed to the prosperity of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, this place is really inconspicuous and even looks worse than the small towns in their hometowns.
However, despite this, they still went ashore with great anticipation. Once ashore, waiting for them were guards armed with live ammunition, where they shouted loudly.
"Men on the left, women on the right. Men on the left, women on the right. Men should keep to the left, women should keep to the right. Children without parents should walk along the middle road..."
Facing these compatriots coming from China, Sun Hu and others all looked at them with expectant eyes. They were the future of Nanhua. Of course, they were more concerned about - they, perhaps, their wives were among them.
But Zhu Xianhai was more concerned about the orphans. Their experiences were similar - their parents died in the war , and their ages varied. The youngest was only five or six years old, and the oldest was only fourteen or fifteen. Compared with adults, children were more malleable and, of course, better at learning. Zhu Xianhai even put them in a separate camp and found several teachers for them, who actually just taught them simple English.
According to Zhu Xianhai's plan, these orphans will be sent to study abroad in the future. This is the most important part of his talent plan. Of course, some of them will become officers or technical workers in the future.
One thing that is certain is that these children will definitely have a good future. Whether they go to study abroad in Europe and the United States, learn technology in Nanhua or go to military school, Zhu Xianhai will definitely take care of them to the best of his ability. He is even the principal of the "Military School".
The orphans will enter a military school. Of course, the military school does not necessarily teach military affairs. It is a Spartan-style military-managed school where they study and then learn science, military affairs, navigation, engineering, etc.
These children are the real future of Nanhua!
However, the process of waiting for these children to grow up and become successful is a long one, at least ten years!
ten years……
Time is running out! We can’t just wait for them!
While sighing in his heart, Zhu Xianhai cast his eyes on his compatriots who came from afar. Among them, there are many literate and educated people, such as scholars and juren. Perhaps a group of people can be selected from them to send to study in the United States, Britain, France, Prussia and other countries.
However, it didn't matter that he just looked over, his brows furrowed into a knot as soon as he looked over.