From Robinson Crusoe

From the moment he received the anniversary gift pack on September 30th until the end of 1662, Chen Zhou did his utmost to utilize these resources and apply them effectively to the island's development.

……

The storage of both machine tools is of utmost importance.

Chen Zhou did not plan to further improve his Chen-style rifle for the time being, so he found a relatively flat piece of land near the foot of the mountain, built a spacious and sturdy factory building, and moved the machine tools there.

To better manage the indigenous work, he even moved out of the cave dwellings and into the factory.

The indigenous people were the same. Except for the recovered herders, the rest of them, including those on Saturday and Sunday, left the hillside and moved to the factory to live and eat with Chen Zhou.

The indigenous people who were responsible for taking care of the farmland would go up the mountain every few days to weed and water, while the indigenous people who were not on duty would spend their days busy with Chen Zhou.

……

Having decided to use these building materials to build the factory, Chen Zhou's first task was to solve the problem of site selection.

Although reinforced concrete buildings are sturdy, they cannot be used directly as fortresses. Building them on the coast would not only make them vulnerable to storms, but would also give landing enemies an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

A fortress that can't be breached by cannons may not be able to stop a swarm of infantry, which is especially important on an island with a severe shortage of manpower.

Of course, building on the coastline is not without its advantages. If the island can develop into a prosperous maritime supply station that can absorb and process various resources, factories that are close to the port will have great convenience in terms of transportation.

However, it is clearly too early to consider such issues now.

……

In order to find a suitable location to build a factory, Chen Zhou spent three whole days searching around the foot of the mountain.

Forests I'd never been to before, the ends of rivers I'd never explored, even steep cliffs and lush green meadows...

With his backpack, sleeping bag, food, and Laifu, who was bored out of his mind at home, he continued forward while drawing maps and choosing locations.

Believe it or not, Chen Zhou has made quite a few new discoveries during these three days of wandering around.

New fruits, new stones, new tree species, new flowers, and even new animals—all of which had never been seen before.

In addition, he found a new cave at the foot of the mountain.

Unlike Pigeon Cave, this cave is not hidden. Its entrance is wide and tall, and the interior space is as big as half a football field. Moreover, the terrain is relatively flat, so with a little treatment, it can be used as a shelter.

Inside the cave, Chen Zhou also found many quartzites and crystal-like minerals.

Unfortunately, because these minerals did not take long to form, their purity was far from reaching jewelry level, and they contained many impurities, shattering his dream of getting rich.

Deep inside the cave, the terrain gradually descends, and traces of water erosion can be seen on the rock surface, but Chen Zhou circled the cave several times without finding any groundwater.

He estimated that there might have been groundwater here many years ago, but it slowly dried up because it was not replenished.

He was alone when exploring the cave, and only brought Laifu with him.

Furthermore, the cave was too dark inside, and there were no signs of any other creatures besides insects, so Chen Zhou did not venture deeper and simply marked the cave on his hand-drawn map.

……

After careful consideration, Chen Zhou finally decided to build the factory on a slope adjacent to a river.

The reason for choosing this location is primarily because the terrain is open enough, which will facilitate further expansion after the factory is built.

Moreover, the terrain here is quite high, allowing you to overlook the entire forest from above. If you want to observe further, you can climb up the mountain path and reach the top of the mountain in no time.

Secondly, the geological conditions here are good, and the soil is firm. When digging down, no effort is needed to reinforce the foundation, which can save a lot of work.

Furthermore, the location is not far from the river. Although the river is not very wide, it is still wide enough to transport various building materials here more quickly via a dugout canoe.

If a port can be built on the island in the future, the waterway can be further widened to transport industrial raw materials by water.

In addition, the area is adjacent to a forest, and there are plenty of quarryable stones nearby, making it relatively easy to obtain basic fuel and building materials.

After the trees in the nearest woodland are cleared, an unobstructed isolation zone can be created, making it difficult for those with ill intentions to approach.

Furthermore, this area is far enough from the coastline that even artillery from World War I, let alone 17th-century artillery, could not have directly hit this area from the sea.

If the enemy wants to attack the factory, they must first land, bring the artillery ashore, and then slowly advance, overcoming the complex terrain they have created and resisting repeated attacks before they can bring the factory into their attack range.

Chen Zhou felt that he possessed weaponry and resources far beyond the reach of this era. If, despite having the advantage of home ground, the enemy were to attack his doorstep, he might as well give up and hang himself.

After figuring out the pattern of the mysterious reward, the reason he chose to continue down the path of blood and fire without hesitation was because he was confident—

With a technological level more than 400 years ahead of its time, coupled with a continuous stream of supplies being delivered to the island.

As long as he doesn't directly break ties with the major powers of the Age of Exploration during this stage, and instead focuses on developing his strength for over a decade, he has no chance of losing.

……

After selecting the factory site, Chen Zhou devoted himself to studying for more than half a month, designing the factory structure, dividing the area into different functions, reviewing the simplified production method of explosives, and selecting the most important production equipment with the highest material requirements to prioritize its construction.

At the same time, the indigenous people moved to the selected site and began clearing the rocks and cutting down vegetation on the slope in preparation for subsequent construction.

……

After the dry season returned, the island was once again bathed in sunshine.

The coastal waters have become calm, and even if there is precipitation, it is only a light drizzle that comes and goes quickly.

This instilled a sense of urgency in Chen Zhou as he intensified his studies and researched how to build the factory.

He was really afraid of the Spanish coming before he received any definite news.

At this time, the island was in a state of extreme shortage of weapons, equipment, defense facilities, and manpower. If it were attacked at this time, even if it could barely hold off the attack, it would cause casualties and delay the construction period, which would be the most fatal blow.

The brown-haired man's body hung on the gallows for so long that it had decomposed into a skeleton with a few strands of hair hanging from it.

Whenever Chen Zhou returned to the cave to look up information and passed by there, he always felt that the skeleton hanging there was silently watching him, as if saying, "My comrades will soon avenge me."

A slight anxiety crept into my heart.

……

During this intense preparation period, Chen Zhou's greatest comfort came from the mysterious rewards that were delivered to the island time and time again.

The large shipment of brass on October 15th completely solved the problem of raw materials for cartridge cases and gave Chen Zhou hope for the development of a hand-made steam engine.

The large batch of red bricks delivered on October 30th solved the problems of the difficulty and irregularity of stone brick wall construction. These rewards acted like a shot in the arm, sketching a bright future for Chen Zhou, enabling him to overcome anxiety and move forward steadily step by step.

……

It can be said that from the end of September to November, the lives of the indigenous people basically revolve around work and study.

Through his own research, combined with his observations at modern construction sites and other sources, Chen Zhou summarized some basic guidelines and precautions for the construction of reinforced concrete buildings.

Over the course of more than a month, he gradually taught the indigenous people.

In addition, cultural and language classes are also essential.

Not to mention the natives, even Saturday, the "teacher," often had to study late into the night to receive further education from Chen Zhou.

The seven natives captured this time were all adults, and their ability to learn and accept new knowledge was far less than that of those captured on Saturdays and Sundays.

Nearly four months have passed since they were arrested, and their Chinese is still not very good; it's barely enough for daily communication.

If you ask them to describe things in more detail, or if you speak to them faster, sometimes their brains just freeze up. They either speak vaguely or don't understand at all, which often makes Chen Zhou very angry.

Fortunately, while these natives may not be very bright, they are highly coordinated and have amazing stamina.

They could master tasks like moving bricks, digging holes, mixing cement, or tying steel bars in no time, sometimes even surpassing their teachers, which always left Chen Zhou silently impressed.

You're so good at working, if you don't do the hard labor, who will?
……

Of course, even in a mundane life, there are still a few interesting things worth telling.

For example, Chen Zhou's long-awaited salvage operation was officially launched shortly after the start of the dry season.

On his first time going into the sea, Chen Zhou didn't dare to go in himself; he just stood on the beach and observed with binoculars.

The team was led by a diving expert on Saturday. In addition to him, there were two people who specialized in rowing on the canoe, as well as two other experienced fishermen.

On Saturday, they carried a cannon design drawn by Chen Zhou, a bundle of steel cables, and an inflatable buoy made of sheepskin on the canoe.

A rope was attached to the bottom of the float, with a stone attached to it. Whenever a shipwreck or cannon was found in the sea, the float was thrown into the water to mark the location.

If the metal parts are lightweight and small in size, they can be retrieved directly.

If the object is too large to be retrieved directly, it will be marked first, and a larger salvage vessel or more manpower will be built in the future to attempt to retrieve it again.

Of course, going out to sea shouldn't be solely for salvaging shipwrecks or artillery.

The island now has plenty of raw materials, but lacks scrap iron that can be used without feeling guilty. Anyway, there are still some forging stock in the storage room, so Chen Zhou is not in a hurry.

He hoped that after the indigenous people dived into the sea, in addition to looking for metal parts, they would also look for oddly shaped seafood.

For example, with lobsters, the bigger the better;
For example, with crabs, the bigger the better;
For example, the fatter the sea cucumber, the better;
As for other fish and shellfish, they don't mind picking a few weighing ten or eight pounds and bringing them ashore for the poison-testing rats to try. They haven't had a job in a long time.

……

The indigenous people's diving and fishing skills were honed through life experiences. Facing the risk of going hungry if they couldn't catch anything, they all honed this skill to perfection.

On this voyage, Chen Zhou did not find the shipwreck and cannons he was looking for, but they did catch a lot of seafood.

Lobsters nearly 50cm long, crabs as big as a face, plump sea fish, tightly closed scallops, and octopuses weighing eight or nine pounds...

After just two laps on the sea, the canoe was filled with all sorts of seafood.

When the natives returned to shore and saw the harvest in the canoe, Chen Zhoumei's eyes narrowed into slits.

……

The fishing began at dusk. Chen Zhou originally planned to let the natives wander around for a bit and then come back to rest. Everyone was quite tired after a day's work, and there was no need to make them stay too long.

Upon seeing the large lobsters thriving in the barrel, he immediately changed his plans and started a picnic on the beach that very night.

Among the seafood caught on this trip, some were fish that Chen Zhou did not recognize, but the locals did.

The fish were gutted and cleaned on the spot before being placed on the grill.

There were also some creatures that Chen Zhou had tested but the natives had never tried, such as lobsters and crabs.

These hideous creatures were placed inside the "steamer" by Chen Zhou—

This straw-woven steamer is a product of the indigenous people's labor. Although it is not particularly exquisite, it is very practical.

As for fish that neither party knows and that are unsure if they are poisonous, they are handed over to poison-testing rats that "rushed over overnight" to taste, and are only eaten after being confirmed to be non-toxic.

Scallions, garlic, and chili peppers, along with just the right amount of heat and a suitable amount of oil and salt.

The picnic on the beach was a treat for everyone.

Especially the indigenous people.

After all, they had never eaten anything good before. Before coming to the island, they never dreamed that food could bring happiness and a different kind of pleasure in addition to filling their stomachs.

Although Chen Zhou's palate had already tasted many modern delicacies, this was the first time he had ever eaten fresh lobster, crab and fish.

Seafood is all about freshness.

Even frozen seafood that you eat inland, even if it's air-freighted, is still quite different from freshly caught seafood.

……

This unique picnic on the beach adds a special touch to life.

But for Chen Zhou, enjoying life is not something he should be thinking about right now. The threat from the Spanish and many other problems that urgently need to be solved await him.

Therefore, after confirming that there were no shipwrecks in the near sea, he suspended the salvage operation and focused all his energy on the construction of the factory.

The canoe was also moved into the river to help the natives move supplies.

Of course, occasionally when he was in a good mood, Chen Zhou would still find a sunny evening with a gentle breeze and treat the locals to a good meal.

People can't always be tense.

Even if the threat hasn't arrived yet, and war has already broken out, the soldiers still need a chance to catch their breath, have a smoke and a drink.

Otherwise, before the fight even starts, people will have already destroyed themselves. (End of Chapter)