"The latest issue of "East Coast Review", "New World" and "People's Livelihood", Township Mayor He, the impurities you ordered are here." Meng Hu took out a few magazines from his bag and stuffed them into the hands of a young Corps Fort graduate whose beard was not yet fully grown, and said, "Young people love to think, do it well. Oh, by the way, there is still the "Nantied Weekly" that has been saved in the suitcase for several months, and I will give it to you later."

"Thank you, Commissioner Monte." The head of Xuebing put away the magazine happily. In a place like Shanhou Fort, where birds do not shit, the protection of daily necessities is not enough, let alone spiritual pursuits. If it weren't for the convoy transporting supplies coming this time, these magazines would have to be postponed for several months before they could be delivered to him.

"Haha." Meng Hu patted the young man on the shoulder and encouraged: "The more difficult the place is, the more we need to play a pioneering and exemplary role in the learning corps. The great cause of the East Coast depends mainly on you young men!"

It was already noon, and the followers who had eaten their meals were sitting in groups of three or three on the bench by the dock and chatting nonsense. In the smooth and mirror-like Bay of Ushuaia, the blue water looked so beautiful under the sun. Behind the sparkling bay were large mountains, with lush cold-resistant forests, beech, forest fairy trees, wild cherries, and birch trees everywhere; the green grass at the foot of the mountain was dotted with red, purple and yellow flowers, making people feel like they were in a fairyland; and the back of the mountain was built on the coastal plain with green grass at the foot of the mountain.

"The sky is high and the clouds are light, the sea breeze suddenly rises, and the summer scenery of Tierra del Fuego is charming." Menghu squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. The hiker's attributes began to explode, and he muttered something in his mouth: "The towering snow-capped mountains are reflected on the calm water. The entire bay is like a lake surrounded by mountains. No, I have to paint this beautiful scenery..."

The township head of Xuebing looked at the Montes who were in deep thought helplessly. After hesitating for a while, he quietly left the place. He still had a lot of work to deal with. This time the convoy transported a lot of things, including vegetable seeds, corn, rye, barley seeds, newly cultivated beet seeds, etc., Shanhoubao is vast and sparsely populated, so it's just so hard to plant. Although the plain area is not very large, growing vegetables on the hillside is not a big problem. At least it can provide convenience for fishing boats or foreign whaling ships that occasionally come to replenish supplies.

It is worth mentioning that in Shanhoubao, the crop of wheat is destined to be unharvestable, just like in Northeast China at this time. Therefore, rye and barley have become the main crops for planting. After all, they are more tolerant of low temperatures and have a shorter growth cycle. Corn and potatoes are similar to them. The growth period is short, the yield is not low, and they are also resistant to barrenness. They can almost be planted as staple food for the entire region. This time, Nantie Company ordered a lot of the latest cold-resistant corn seeds from the Northern Seed Company, based on this idea. After all, Shanhoubao’s grain should be self-sufficient. Nantie Company is a company and cannot make a profitable business, which will damage the company’s finances in the long run.

Of course, saying that Shanhoubao has dragged down the financial affairs of Nantie Company. This is just a joke and cannot be said to be true. Not to mention, the huge number of seals and penguins near the settlements is a huge fortune. According to statistics from Nantie Company and Shanhoubao Township Government, people from the East Coast have opened up Shanhoubao for a year, and hunters who received licenses to hunt sea beasts handed over 2019 high-end furs, most of which were seal skins; in addition, Shandan people scattered in nearby mountains also helped the township government collect 452 furs of various types, 84 furs of yellow-legged foxes, and 620 llama skins from natives.

Together with the above two statistics, the total number of various types of leather goods has exceeded 3,100, with a total value of more than 30,000 yuan. It is enough to make up for a considerable part of the financial investment of the Nantie Railway Company. Moreover, this is just the first year when everyone has not had time to settle down. I believe that by 1653, the annual production of furs in Shanhoubao may reach more than 6,000, and the number of high-value sea otter skins and sea dog skins will increase to a large extent.

It is estimated that after Shanhoubao develops normally, the most imported materials from the outside may be cloth, spirits, flour, salt and other daily necessities, soda ash, machine parts, fishing nets, metal utensils and other means of production; exports are mainly barley, leather, high-quality oil, fish oil, wood, and seafood, and the economic system is barely able to support itself.

After resting in Shanhoubao for one night, early the next morning (December 11), Meng Hu brought a few young students as followers and two guides, with some packages and pack horses. He followed the mountain path north of Shanhoubao to inspect the vast jungle. There were originally some trees growing on the hillside here, but it seemed that they had been cut down by the pioneers on the east coast of the mountain, leaving only bare stumps and large patches of dense grass on the ground.

"Nan Railway Company and the state-owned Oriental Hotel plan to jointly build a large hotel here as a summer resort for domestic dignitaries. Nowadays, these hillsides are very suitable, the geological structure looks very stable, and the surroundings are dense primeval forests. The resort hotel is built here, which must be very suitable for the thoughts of those big shots. Hehe, look, you can smell the fresh air when you open the window, and the crisp birds are lingering in your ears. Not far away is a calm and picturesque bay. The green and white mountains in the distance also look very holy and beautiful under the fog. Oh, by the way, the snow on the top of the mountain that never melts all year round can add a little bit to this beautiful scenery. Look, what a suitable resort." Meng Hu said jokingly in an exaggerated tone.

"When it was evening, the sunset bay (Ushuaia Bay, Ushuaia means watching the sunset bay in the local native language, hence the name) was also a beautiful scenery. The snow-capped peaks were painted with a light layer of rouge under the sunset glow. On the calm water, the fishing boats returned brought the satisfying laughter of the fishermen. Haha, is it a bit like the fishing boats singing in the evening, and the setting sun and the lone wild goose flying together?" Meng Hu asked casually. His students looked at each other, especially several students from Liwan, which seemed to be difficult to understand such profound Chinese. Meng Hu laughed at him, and did not think it was offended, so he took the lead in going into the mountains with his cane.

The paths in the mountains are rugged and difficult to walk. The students are ahead and split the extremely dense bushes with hijabs one by one. They look very tired. Although Meng Hu is already in his forties and fifties, his physical fitness is still quite good. He is very enthusiastic along the way. They choose in the countryside, recording the most suitable passages for people, animals and vehicles, and unconsciously walk along the route of the later Pan-American Highway (Road 3 in Argentina), preparing to explore a road to the outside world for Shanhoubao from the northeast.

Meng Hu had a vague location map of the Later 3 Highway, but it was not accurate enough. But that didn't matter. The two Ona guides were familiar with the local area. The believers of the two Heavenly Venerables led Meng Hu and others to the north along the flat mountain valley. After only a few days, they arrived at a small river that was east-west. The banks of the river were covered with dense forests and flat valleys. Meng Hu and others observed from a high place. The width was about a few kilometers, and the east-west stretched out far, just like a basin corridor sandwiched between the mountains.

The climate of the mountain valleys is very warm and nourished by rivers. If immigrants are widely distributed, they should have great potential for development. Meng Hu sighed and marked this passage in the blank space of the map. He also sighed while writing: The South Railway Company's greedy reckless men will probably bring three or five thousand people from the Ming Dynasty to fill this valley with satisfaction, right? The grass here is very plump, the river here is very clear, the forest here is endless, and the winter here is not too cold (usually around minus 10-20 degrees below zero), and the activity of bacteria is not as active as the north. It is really a good place to nourish people.

"The Argentines in later generations are really useless. They have such a vast territory, but their development level is pitifully low. Even the world-famous Pampas grassland, which is so fertile and has a rare wet grassland with rainfall. A group of prodigal sons only know how to grazle. They have never had the idea of ​​developing it into the Pampas Plain. The Pampas Granary is really a waste of resources!" Meng Hu looked at the long corridor with fresh air, and didn't know why this strange idea arose in his mind: "Can he have been with those militarists for a long time and have unnaturally become involved in the theory of racial superiority?"

After putting aside the strange thoughts that came to his mind, Meng Hu and others walked along the meadows on the riverside, crossed the jungle, crossed the swamp, and finally found a way to cross the stream, which they named Green River. It took five or six days before stumbled to a pass. The guide told Meng Hu and others that from this pass, walking northward, along the mountain valley for a day, and then turning northeast, two lakes, one left and one right, would appear - Meng Hu thought it was a glacial lake. Through the lowlands between these two lakes, you will soon reach the plain forest area on the banks of the Bian Lake (Lake Faniano).

The journey here is no longer necessary. Everyone just needs to walk east along the lakeside, then head north, along the eastern part of Tierra del Fuego and the northern plains, and then go straight to the beach. After learning this news, Meng Hu nodded with satisfaction, and then signaled his followers to take out the pre-promise reward and pay the two guides. He nervously recorded the route and the diary of the inspection along the way.

If a high-level highway is built between these two points, it will obviously greatly improve the development efficiency of the entire Tierra del Fuego. After all, the winds and waves outside the Sunset Strait (Biger Strait) are high and harsh, and it is dangerous and troublesome to enter and exit the ships. If an above-ground road can lead to the outside world, there will be more guarantees, right? (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!