From Robinson Crusoe

The learning process is both novel and painful.

Not everyone is as smart as Saturday and Sunday.

For some indigenous people who are already adults, understanding what is taught on Saturdays already requires their best efforts, and completing the assigned homework after returning to their cabins after class is an even greater ordeal.

If it weren't for Zebra, who was passionate about the new language, leading the way, helping everyone learn, and answering their questions, many natives might have given up long ago and prepared to spend their lives as illiterate laborers.

……

While the natives were busy enriching their souls, Chen Zhou didn't neglect his work.

Windmills, waterwheels, hydraulic forges, and sugarcane presses—items that were originally on the agenda but had been delayed by the Spanish—were picked up again.

Similar to manufacturing earthen hullers, Chen Zhou first assembled a model to verify its usability, and then expanded the parts to manufacture components for the complete machine.

The island's population has now increased to 10 people, and with the expansion of farmland, grain production will increase several times over.

The earthen huller and foot-operated mortar that had been prepared for Chen Zhou's life were barely enough to produce enough grain for three people, but they were insufficient to process enough crops for ten people.

Even if it takes more time to complete the processing, machine wear and tear is still a problem that cannot be ignored.

Placing the entire burden of food production on wooden machines is simply not feasible for them.

Therefore, more efficient grain processing equipment is no longer a soft demand for liberating labor, but a rigid demand.

……

Since the forging furnace was built some time ago, Chen Zhou considers himself to have made some progress in forging. At least forging a usable shovel and pickaxe is no longer a difficult task for him.

But he was still stumped by the huge and complex windmills and waterwheels.

Waterwheels are relatively easy to handle; they only require some metal parts and can be made in various sizes, as long as they can be powered by water.

As a large machine that relies on wind power, a windmill must not only be built on a mountainside where the wind is strong, but also have its blades as large as possible.

The larger the fan blade, the heavier it is. When the combined weight of the four fan blades reaches a certain level, the wooden parts can no longer withstand the wear and tear.

As far as Chen Zhou knows, modern Dutch windmills have blades that can reach up to 20 meters in length. Their internal structures are mainly made of welded galvanized steel and use a large number of bolts and metal fasteners.

His envisioned windmill could not compare to modern windmills, but for practicality, it should have blades at least 4 meters long.

The length of the blades puts less pressure on the internal transmission mechanism of the wind turbine, allowing the metal frame to be replaced with a wooden frame during wind turbine construction.

As for the bolts and fasteners used for assembly and fixing, they cannot be treated carelessly and must be made of metal.

……

Before designing the waterwheel and windmill, Chen Zhou was full of confidence and felt that he had everything under control.

After he finished drawing the design of the windmill and tallied up all the parts needed, he suddenly lost his energy.

It's not that this task is impossible to complete.

With enough time, not only can a windmill have 4-meter blades, but even a windmill with 14-meter blades can be built.

However, building a windmill requires far too much time and effort, and in terms of cost-effectiveness, a windmill is actually inferior to a watermill, which is the fundamental reason why Chen Zhou's interest waned.

In addition, the lack of professional blacksmith tools to melt large pieces of metal and cast metal parts is another problem that Chen Zhou has yet to solve.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. Let alone a novice blacksmith, even a master craftsman with decades of forging experience would find it difficult to produce qualified parts without the right tools.

……

While spending his days in the forge pondering how to forge iron, Chen Zhou was at his wit's end when he received help from a place he had never expected—

A mystery reward.

The two cows and a huge pile of clothes that arrived on August 1st were already a pleasant surprise.

By August 16th, the reward delivered to the island was a large bundle of steel wire rope, which, when fully stretched, would be at least 1000 meters long, making it an extremely useful reward.

On the last day of August, Chen Zhou, his mind preoccupied with how to complete the construction of the windmill and waterwheel, braved the rain to reach the beach. Together with the locals, he loaded the enormous reward onto a cart and pulled it back to the cave. He never dreamed that this metal box, a full 1.8 meters high and over 2 meters wide, contained such a precious reward—

……

After finally getting the metal box to the mountain, worried that it might contain precision instruments, Chen Zhou spent several hours building a rain shelter with the help of the locals.

He was wearing a leather raincoat, but the natives had no raincoats and were all soaked to the bone.

Fortunately, Chen Zhou had made preparations in advance, having the two of them light a campfire in the natives' small kitchen on Sunday and Saturday. After finishing their work, the natives were able to dry their clothes and bodies immediately.

However, this seems unnecessary for the indigenous people.

When living in the tribe, it was common to be naked and exposed to the wind and rain during the rainy season. People who couldn't adapt wouldn't have lived that long.

If someone falls ill from the rain, aside from the old priest pretending to give the stronger warriors some herbs and perform some blessings, very few people care whether they live or die.

When food is most scarce, whoever falls first becomes someone else's food—this has been a cruel rule in the tribe for a long time.

After arriving on the island, the natives were already very satisfied with having a house to shelter them from the wind and rain before the rainy season and being able to eat their fill every day.

On this day, the natives were flattered by the new leader's concern and felt a different quality from Chen Zhou besides his authority and power—warmth.

This unique feeling is something they rarely experience since birth.

Even the parents of the indigenous people rarely give them this kind of care and attention.

As they grow up and become capable of contributing to the tribe, this "warmth" and care become even rarer.

The inspiring speeches and tempting promises could only excite them temporarily.

Chen Zhou understood this deeply, which is why he built houses for the indigenous people before the rainy season.

But what he failed to realize was that what truly won over the indigenous people, including on Saturdays and Sundays, was not these superficial efforts, but a concept rooted in modernity—

Everyone is equal.

……

Even though Chen Zhou tried his best to disguise himself as an iron-fisted ruler, taking lives without hesitation, he could not change his nature as someone who had received a modern education and was shaped by the long history of China.

This essence may be a view of nature and all things that pursue harmony between humanity and nature;
Or it may be an ethical and moral concept that emphasizes benevolence and love.
Or it may be an endorsement of a social view of co-governance;

From the ancient philosophies of the Hundred Schools of Thought—the people are more important than the ruler, universal love and non-aggression, the ideal of universal harmony, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and even the natural way—to Wang Yangming's unity of knowledge and action.

These things, which have unknowingly seeped into Chen Zhou's bones, always unconsciously distinguish him from the sailors at sea through his behavior.

The indigenous people saw and remembered this difference.

Thus, they gradually understood why Saturday and Sunday, who also came from the same tribe, were so loyal to their leader, and how they themselves sincerely revered the new leader and became devoted to him.

……

Foresight, strength, knowledge, and even martial prowess are all excellent qualities.

If, in addition to these qualities, one adds consideration and care for subordinates, then that becomes a formidable personal charisma.

……

Of course, Chen Zhou didn't have mind-reading abilities and didn't know that the natives warming themselves by the fire in the wooden house were moved by such a trivial matter.

At this moment, he was gripping a dagger, slowly cutting through the black waterproof tarpaulin covering the giant metal box, preparing to unveil its mystery and find out what was inside.

……

Once the tarpaulin is completely removed, open the fully enclosed thin metal case door.

Upon seeing the reward inside the box, Chen Zhou finally lost his almost perfect composure and let out a standard "Holy crap!" in astonishment.

The interior of the metal box, which is comparable to a small house, is welded with shelves and hooks of various shapes from beginning to end.

Looking inward from the end Chen Zhou pulled open, there was a cold-looking alloy forging anvil, with different replaceable modular anvil heads placed next to it to adapt to different forging needs.

There are hammers of various models, alloy pliers of different sizes, and multi-functional pliers with multiple jaws.

There are anvil mats, files, chisels, and saws.

There is also a small electric furnace, an infrared thermometer, a small hydraulic press and welding machine, an electric blower, and an angle grinder.

The small hydraulic presses, welding machines, and angle grinders are all equipped with replaceable wear parts, as well as consumables such as welding rods and grinding discs, and the quantity is quite considerable.

In addition, there are five sets of protective equipment needed for forging, including clothing and gloves made of high-temperature resistant materials, and masks to protect the eyes during welding, all hanging on the walls of the metal box.

The box contains tungsten steel blade iron shears and iron planes for cutting metal, and the shelves inside also hold more than a dozen models.

Chen Zhou even found a whole row of graphite crucibles of different sizes on the innermost side of the metal box, the largest of which was large enough for him to directly cast a huge metal gear.

……

The further Chen Zhou went, the more he wondered if he was still dreaming or not.

It is no exaggeration to say that this whole box of equipment, if taken out and placed in a place with electricity, is enough to meet 90% of a blacksmith's needs.

Even if those modern tools that require electricity are temporarily unavailable, these exquisite modern blacksmith tools alone can greatly enhance his work efficiency and the upper limit of his forging skills.

"Heavens above, earth below!"

Who exactly distributed these rewards?
I love you to death!

Happiness came so suddenly that it stunned Chen Zhou.

From the moment he opened the trunk, his smile never stopped. By the time he reached the back of the trunk, his facial muscles were stiff from smiling so much.

……

Stroking the cold, hard metal tool, Chen Zhou, amidst his excitement, also had a guess forming in his mind—

"Could it be that they sent my anniversary gift package ahead of time?"
Two cows, a pile of clothes, steel wire, plus this blacksmith's tool kit—it all just doesn't make sense..."

The more Chen Zhou thought about it, the more reasonable his guess seemed, but he did not feel discouraged.

The early distribution of the anniversary gift pack is obviously a good thing, allowing him to finish his work earlier and more easily.

If he had a choice, he would love to receive all the anniversary gift packages for the next twenty-five years at once and start enjoying life immediately.

As for what needs to be done now, besides being silly and happy, the more important thing is obviously to move all the tools in the metal box to the forging room as soon as possible.

Chen Zhou even found this metal box to be very useful.

For this reason, he was even willing to tear down the outer wall of his cave dwelling courtyard to make way for the metal box. (End of Chapter)