Bab 148: Chapter 149: [Blessings]
In the Indian world of the Midwest, the reputation of the horse whistle has spread quite far, and even most of the Indian tribes in California have heard of him.
Ma Shao's image is not difficult to recognize. He is a tall man of nearly 1.9 meters, with 200 kilograms of strong muscles, which is rare everywhere.
So after just a brief contact, Big Ear guessed his identity.
Ma Shao smiled slightly: "Have you heard my story?"
"Of course I've heard of it!" The Maidu people were somewhat excited. "Son of the Apache Sky, who hasn't heard of your story? Even our enemies are willing to pay tribute to you!"
After calming down, Chief Big Ear asked carefully, "Dear Son of the Sky, as far as I know, you live in the far east. Why do we see you here? Of course, we have no intention of not welcoming you."
Ma Shao said casually: "We are here to explore the ocean."
"Explore the ocean?" Big Ear was a little confused.
Ma Shao said slowly: "Apaches have lived inland for a long time, but now we want to get in touch with the ocean, so I brought people here and planned to build some settlements."
He pointed behind him and said, "This is the first settlement we built in California, East Valley City."
"I see." Big Ear nodded, not quite understanding.
Ma Shao continued, "We are facing a shortage of manpower in building this new city. I wonder if you are willing to come and help. Of course, we will definitely pay you for your work."
Da Er thought for a moment and asked, "How much do you plan to pay?"
"We will pay you one Spanish silver dollar for every two days you work here." Ma Shao took out a silver coin. "If you are willing to accept copper coins, daily payment is also fine."
California has long been a territory of Mexico, and nominally still is. It will not be until the Mexican-American War is completely over that this rich land will be officially ceded to the United States.
The Spanish silver dollar is one of the most popular currencies in North America, especially in Mexico, where Indians generally recognize its value.
"A silver dollar in just two days!" The Maidu people were a little bit unbelievable when they heard it, and they talked about it a lot.
"real or fake?"
"That's several times more than what you'd make working at Sutter's Fort!"
"You're not lying to us, this is too much..."
Ma Shao listened to the Maidu people's discussion and leaned over to whisper: "Translate for me, what are they talking about?"
Nonsense: "They felt the salary was too much, several times more than what they were getting at Sutter's Fort."
Ma Shao was a little surprised: "How many times?"
Half a silver coin a day is equivalent to a monthly salary of fifteen dollars. This income is indeed relatively high in California, but it is basically at a normal level.
Most white farmers earn about this amount, a dozen dollars a month.
The income of the Maidu people in Sutter's Fort is only a fraction of this level. How low is that?
Nonsense explained: "This is what Sutter's Fort is like. John Sutter was keen on deceiving and even enslaving and plundering the natives here. His notoriety is known to everyone from Maidu to Chumash!"
"It's already a pretty good situation for the Wild Duck Clan to be able to get some wages."
At this time, Da Er also expressed his disbelief at this high income: "We are not doubting you, Son of the Sky... but one silver dollar every two days, is this true?"
"Of course it's true. I can guarantee it with my reputation." Ma Shao smiled.
Fifteen dollars a month was really nothing to the Apache tribe, especially after they had control of the gold mines.
The reputation guarantee of the Son of Sky was obviously enough for the Maidu people to believe. Big Ear immediately asked, "What work do you need us to do?"
"Do you have any experience in building construction?" Ma Shao asked.
Big Ear said, "Of course, we built Sutter's Castle!"
Ma Shao nodded, pointed at the tribesmen who were working on the project and said, "Well, you can follow my tribesmen to build houses together. If there are any communication difficulties, just find this translator."
Twenty Maidu people immediately joined the construction team and built Donggu City together with the Apaches.
Ma Shao soon discovered that what they said was true. They indeed had rich construction experience and were more skilled than most Apaches.
Moreover, the extremely high income of fifteen dollars boosted their enthusiasm, and the overall construction speed increased a lot.
In accordance with the principle of comparative advantage, Ma Shao directly arranged the twenty least experienced people in the original construction team to be hunters, in order to make room for the Maidu people who were more suitable for building houses.
These people are happy to do so. Most of them are experienced Apache warriors who are better at fighting and hunting and can create more value in their positions as hunters.
After the hunters returned with their hunting results, Ma Shao also provided meals for the Maidu people.
"Are these barbecues… included in the salary?" a Maidu man asked hesitantly.
"Not really." Ma Shao said.
The Maidu people felt flattered when they heard this.
During the meal break, Ma Shao asked them: "I'm new here and not very familiar with the place. Can you tell me about Sutter's Fort? I heard you said you worked there."
Big Ear nodded: "Yes. Not only us, many nearby clans have worked for John Sutter."
"Sart was a vicious guy. People were afraid of him, and he even captured many people and made them slaves. But we had a good relationship with him, so we went there to work and got paid... but after deducting the food, there was basically nothing left."
"Compared to Sutterburg, the salary and treatment you give is simply a blessing." Big Ear couldn't help but sigh, "Son of the Sky, you are exactly the same as described in the legend!"
Listening to his narration, Ma Shao thought for a while: "Is Sartre American or Mexican?"
Big Ear: "Both, or neither. Could be Swiss, could be French."
Ma Shao frowned and looked at the nonsense, thinking that it was his free play.
Feihua quickly explained: "These are the original words of Big Ear."
"What's the meaning?"
Big Ear seemed to have sorted out his thoughts. "He seems to be from Switzerland. Not long after arriving here, he obtained Mexican citizenship. However, the country he loves is France. He even threatened to turn California into French territory. Unfortunately, he was no match for the Americans, and they never really fought. He may already have American citizenship."
Ma Shao: "So... John Sartre is now a spiritual Frenchman from Switzerland with dual citizenship of the United States and Mexico?"
"That's right." Big Ear nodded, "It took me a long time to figure this out."
Status Power Mingguan
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Power 
-- Power
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