People from Shandong "traveled to Guandong", Shanxi and Hebei "went to the west entrance", and Guangdong and Fujian "went to Nanyang". Although the regions were different, these were the three large-scale population migrations in modern Chinese history. Net... went to Nanyang", especially

The large number of immigrants, the wide geographical area involved, and the long time span can be regarded as a feat of Chinese overseas immigration.

In the 1740s, China was undergoing the earth-shattering changes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Faced with the occupation of the country, countless innocent Chinese sons "had no moral integrity" and crossed the sea to seek a place to settle down. Later, they might be banned by the early Qing Dynasty.

Due to persecution such as sea ban and relocation, and exile to other countries, there are Chinese exiles everywhere throughout Southeast Asia.

These Chinese people who were "ashamed to be courtiers in the North" were in a foreign land and loved their homeland. They had the responsibility of "maintaining and inheriting the incense of the Ming Dynasty" and maintained the characteristics of "Ming Dynasty people". They maintained the clothes of the Ming Dynasty and used the Ming Dynasty.

In the era of the Ming Dynasty, even if they died in a foreign country, they would not forget that they were subjects of the Ming Dynasty. These Mingxiang people who "would rather be guests from the south" were the first batch of Chinese to immigrate to Southeast Asia on a large scale.

Two hundred years later, as the British army opened the door to the Qing Dynasty, in the following sixty years, there were turbulent times, wars and wars, and people were in dire straits. A large number of Chinese left their homes and went to Southeast Asia to seek life. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were as many as 500 Chinese in Nanyang.

There are more than 10,000 people, more than 90% of whom are from Fujian and Guangdong. The hard work of Nanyang Chinese merchants has changed the history of Southeast Asia to a certain extent and has a profound impact on the entire overseas Chinese territory. These people are called "Qing Dynasty"

Country guest".

During those decades, on the riverside and the seaside, men carried their bags and said goodbye with tears, and left alone. The young wives were reluctant to leave, crying on the ground, and the weeping folk songs resounded throughout the countryside. "Send off the man."

"Going to Nanyang" was a true portrayal of the people from Fujian and Guangdong who "went to Nanyang". "Going to Nanyang" was called "Going to Nanyang" in the Fujian and Guangdong areas, and those who "went to Nanyang" were called "Fanke". A large number of Fujian and Cantonese people

Unable to bear the frequent wars and poverty and hunger at home, he traveled across the ocean to Southeast Asia to make a living, leaving his wife to take care of the family alone.

At this time, industrial and commercial capital from the colonial masters in Southeast Asia poured in, investing in railways, ports, electricity, shipping, manufacturing, etc., which triggered a large demand for indentured labor. Many "foreigners" never came back. Since then, we have been with

Relatives are separated by life and death.

Regardless of whether they are "Mingxiang people" or "Qingxiang guests", there are two jobs that they will never do no matter how hard they are, one is a horseman and the other is an elephant slave, because that is the work of the lower class. The Chinese want

A decent person who is not willing to lead the way and sell his pulp. As long as there is an opportunity, he will not continue to hang out at the bottom. This shows the courage and determination of the Chinese people to forge ahead.

For the Chinese, when they first arrived in Nanyang, they were either indentured laborers or shop assistants, but in the end, they would try their best to find various opportunities to escape poverty. Doing business was the choice of almost all "foreigners".

These "customers" fully demonstrate the hard-working spirit of the Chinese. Carrying boxes on their backs and going barefoot deep into the rainforest, they sell various commodities to the villages in the rainforest in exchange for local specialties, which are then sold in the city.

They may not even make much profit, and may even pay the price of their lives, but after hundreds of years of hard work, these Chinese businessmen have slowly monopolized almost the entire retail industry in Nanyang.

Although these Chinese businessmen sell foreign goods from various countries throughout Southeast Asia, as long as they have choices, they will buy similar domestic and foreign goods. For these overseas Chinese who care about their homeland, it is just a last resort choice. It was like this in the past. Now it is

This is also true, especially after the Republic of China, with the prosperity of domestic industry and commerce, Nanyang Chinese businessmen have refused to sell foreign goods and switched to selling domestic products long before Europe. It can be said that it is the patriotism of these Chinese businessmen that makes domestic products sell well in Nanyang.

Compared with the difficult development of overseas markets, the best-selling of domestic products in Nanyang seems to be a matter of course. Almost immediately after the first batch of domestic products poured into Nanyang, the Chinese businessmen who dominated the Nanyang market took the initiative to "ban foreign goods".

, underwriting domestic products, for a time, Chinese products not only became the only choice for the Nanyang Chinese, but also the only choice for the indigenous people and even Westerners. This is true in the city, and it is also true in the countryside...

Xichangpu is a small town located in a rain forest more than 40 miles away from Kuala Lumpur. It was named after an overseas Chinese named Liu who opened a tin factory to smelt tin here more than 30 years ago. Although more than 20 years ago,

The tin here has been smelted out, but some overseas Chinese miners did not leave here. Instead, they lived here. They used the clearings in the rainforest that were cut down when smelting tin in the past to reclaim land, plant rice, and live here.

Life in Tianyuan, perhaps, few overseas Chinese in Nanyang are engaged in agricultural production, but it does not mean that there are none. Just like the hundreds of overseas Chinese living in this tin factory, they neither make a living as workers nor on plantations.

For a living, just like the farmers in the countryside of Guangdong, they make a living by farming here.

This has been the case for more than ten years. Although they are farmers, they have benefited from the special policies implemented by the British, or Europeans, in order to facilitate the rule of the colonies, that is, by supporting and favoring "minorities" and thus ruling the "majority" through a balanced policy.

Although they are farmers here, they are independent from the rule of the local Sudan. Although they are farmers, their lives are much better than those of rural farmers in China. The only drawback is that their farming life is often affected by various external factors. After all, according to the British

The "professional division of labor" in human design should be "urban residents", and the local indigenous people should be "farmers". However, this deliberate "professional division of labor" is here, and confusion has occurred. However, the outside world has little understanding of this small rainforest.

The town didn't care much.

What's more, in the past year, the Consul General of the Chinese Consulate in the Straits Settlements has repeatedly emphasized the "legitimate rights of overseas Chinese". It is even less likely that British colonial officials will force them to "change their status" because they violated the "professional division of labor".

What's more, the British also know clearly that after a hundred years of development, the overseas Chinese in the Straits Settlements are no longer the "immigrant minority" they once were, but have developed into a population of nearly 2 million, accounting for the entire Straits Settlements.

With a population of more than 45%, both the population and the proportion of the population exceed the "main ethnic group" of the local indigenous Malays. For this "main ethnic group with dual nationality", behind them is a huge country. Perhaps

This country has just emerged, but the awareness of protecting overseas Chinese shown by the newly born Republic of China in Dutch East Indies five years ago was enough to make it think twice.

Moreover, at this special period when London is discussing whether to follow France's example and introduce the Chinese Expeditionary Force, any move that "may intensify Sino-British relations" is strictly prohibited. As for some "ambiguous" issues, they are naturally ignored.

For example, the Chinese purchased "non-plantation land". Because of this, in just a few months, the population of the tin factory increased from a few hundred people in the past to a thousand people now. The growth of the population

It only makes this rainforest town become more prosperous.

As for the "prosperity" of the town, Sun Kaiwu, the owner of the only grocery store in the small shop. This Fujian overseas Chinese who was born as an old contracted miner naturally has a deep understanding. In the past, his grocery store was just barely making a living, but now, every month

More or less, there will be dozens of dollars left.

"Hey, these profiteers..."

With a sigh, Sun Kaiwu looked at the goods in front of him. When he sighed, his face was full of helplessness. The reason why he was helpless was very simple. The quality of the goods he bought from the wholesaler was very poor, so that there were many

If the customer returns the product, he will suffer a huge loss, because the supplier made it clear at the time that there will be no returns.

"Really, in order to make money, I don't care about anything!"

When I open a box of cooling oil, there is almost no smell of cooling oil. Even items as trivial as matches, the quality is no better than before. If this continues, even if he "specializes in selling domestic products" I'm afraid...

“Boss Sun, look at these shoes…”….

Listening to the voice, Sun Kaiwu knew that it was Liang Ercheng who worked as a rubber worker in the rubber garden. He saw a pair of cloth and rubber shoes in his hand, but the soles of the cloth and rubber shoes had been broken, which was obviously another pair of inferior rubber shoes.

"this……"

Although he was a little unsure, Sun Kaiwu still recognized that these were Liang Ercheng's cloth and rubber shoes that he sold to Liang Ercheng a month ago. Originally, a pair of these cloth and rubber shoes could be worn for a year. Now that they are good, they have only been worn for a month.

.

"Boss Sun, you must have bought Japanese goods!"

Liang Ercheng's face was full of ridicule as his hands shook the pair of shoes. It is well known that Japanese products are not durable. Compared with those low-quality Japanese products, domestic products are not only cheap, but also durable. But...

Recently, Sun Kaiwu, who was thinking about his son being admitted to Dehua University, wanted to earn two more dollars, so he thought about buying some cheap goods, so he took some "cheaper" goods from other people, but he never thought

, the quality was worse than he imagined, even worse than the "extremely troublesome Japanese goods".

"Oriental goods, what Japanese goods..."

When others said that he was selling Japanese goods, Sun Kaiwu's old face suddenly turned red. The reason was very simple. Ever since the "Jiao'ao Incident" two years ago, he had taken the oath sworn by his ancestors and would never sell Japanese goods.

goods.

"Look, these shoes are stamped with our Chinese characters, they are genuine Guangzhou products!"

As if he was afraid that he wouldn't believe it, Sun Kaiwu pointed to the seal inside the shoe and took out some more goods as if to prove something.

"Look, there are no Japanese products here, just domestic products, not even Western products!"

"Then...Old Suntou..."

Liang Ercheng chuckled, shook his shoes and said.

"What kind of rich brand? If this is a country and there is a rich family, buying these shoes is obviously a waste..."

In one sentence, Sun Kaiwu was left speechless, but Liang Ercheng continued speaking reluctantly.

"They are not from Japan. How can I not wear these shoes for even a month? Look at the pair of triangles on my feet, but they have been worn for half a year!"

"I...I, didn't I get tricked by those profiteers?"

Squeaking, perhaps, this is the only answer Sun Kaiwu can think of,

"That's not because you are greedy..."

"I, I... I will keep these shoes for you. When the triangle brand I entered comes, I will give you a pair at half price. Do you think it will work?"

Although it was not his fault, the shoes were sold here after all. For the sake of his own reputation, Sun Kaiwu had no choice but to admit this to himself.

Profiteer, now, if the profiteer who made these shoes appeared in front of him, I'm afraid he would even want to eat him, but if the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, who can he eat?

After the outbreak of the European War, the supply of Western goods was cut off. At the same time, the rapid development of domestic industry, especially the wide variety of domestic products at the annual production and marketing fairs, especially those targeted at Nanyang, fully satisfied the needs of the Nanyang market.

The annual export volume of hundreds of millions has directly contributed to the industrial prosperity of the Pearl River Delta area in Guangdong, which is close to the water.

Fuchun Garment Factory is an inconspicuous factory in Guangzhou. There are only more than a hundred female workers here. In the simple factory shed, the roar of electric sewing machines echoes day and night.

Although Singer, the world's largest sewing machine manufacturer, produced the first electric sewing machine more than 20 years ago and thus created the modern garment industry, now, Singer's glory has been completely overshadowed by Lianyungang.

Covered up by the "Flying" sewing machine company. After the outbreak of this war, tens of millions of troops were mobilized around the world, and thus entered an era of large-scale military uniform production. Although garment manufacturers in various countries generally use electric

Sewing machine, but that kind of electric sewing machine is far from meeting the needs of military uniform production. The "Flying" Sewing Machine Company timely launched a continuously variable speed electric sewing machine. The new electric sewing machine speeds up the production speed and reduces thread breakage and other problems.

With the help of new electric sewing machines, modern garment factories have sprung up all over China. They accept orders from trading companies to produce cheap military uniforms for various parties. At the same time, in the process, garments also

It began to be accepted by the market. While large and medium-sized factories were producing various types of military uniforms and Western-style garments, many smaller factories were producing various types of clothing. Among them, the best-selling ones were the short-sleeved ones imitated from the Jiangsu Army.

shirts and “dollar shirts”….

The former is popular because its style is simple and cheap, and it is loved by Chinese people all over Southeast Asia. As for the "one dollar shirt", it is different from the former's "simple". At this time, shirts are a necessity for Western men, and in the United States, the average

There are at least ten shirts in a man's wardrobe, but among those shirts, even the cheapest ones cost more than 3 US dollars, and this "one-dollar shirt" is currently the best-selling one, and it is also the "most profitable one"

"product, at least for Tian Fuchun of Fuchun Garment Factory, this is the case.

"Boss Tian, ​​look, this fabric..."

Komori Keiichi, who was wearing glasses, pointed at two sample cloths and showed them to Tian Fuchun. As the president of the Guangzhou branch of Keimoto Co., Ltd., he has been promoting the Japanese "Texji cloth" in the past month.

". This kind of special grade cloth is a special product of "Chinese factories". It is made of the worst cotton yarn and the worst rayon. The cost is much lower than the Chinese blended cloth using high-woven cotton. In fact, this kind of cloth

, which he specially requested to be developed in China.

Three years ago, the first batch of "one-dollar shirts" made in China were launched in the United States and opened up the U.S. market. Faced with the huge market, Japan has also tried to compete with China. However, it is difficult for Japanese products to compete with China.
To be continued...