From Robinson Crusoe

Training a group of qualified workers is not something that can be done overnight.

If Chen Zhou himself had worked on construction sites for several years, read design drawings, tied steel bars, and laid cement walls, he might have been confident in training the locals to become "laborers" and help him with his work.

Unfortunately, he himself didn't know much about reinforced concrete buildings.

Building a house based solely on assumptions or guesswork not only wastes materials but may also harm yourself and others in the future.

……

Considering the timing isn't right yet, and the current demand for explosives and improved firearms is not high—

The natives have not yet proven themselves to be trustworthy enough. For now, Chen Zhou can only entrust such a dangerous thing as a gun to Saturday and Sunday. If the natives get their hands on it, no one can guarantee that they won't have ulterior motives.

Holding a sharp weapon, the desire to kill arises naturally.

Chen Zhou dared not test human nature. Even though these natives seemed more docile than sheep now, he didn't want to gamble on whether sheep would continue to eat grass after they developed sharp teeth.

Unless the Spanish launch a full-scale attack and he is forced to increase his firepower to deal with the enemy, he would rather continue to wait.

……

By November, he had a general understanding of the reinforced concrete construction process and had also conducted several experiments using some cement.

The experiment was conducted not far from the factory site.

When Chen Zhou was still in the modern era, he had seen videos of small, handcrafted dams being built, with motors installed inside to generate electricity using water power.

Although the construction process of those small dikes did not meet standards in many ways, the specific procedures were similar to those of large concrete buildings.

This includes the most basic design, foundation laying, rebar tying, formwork erection, pouring and curing, and formwork dismantling.

Chen Zhou's experiments initially began with building simple concrete structures.

……

Every bag of cement was precious, and Chen Zhou dared not waste it, even for experiments.

Although the buildings he constructed were not large, they were all functional.

For example, there is a reservoir located by the river, a small harbor for docking canoes, and a small toilet built with bricks and concrete.

When these buildings were being constructed, the indigenous people stayed by Chen Zhou's side, either helping or learning from him.

After learning, they would practice using mud and bricks made from white clay. Each person had to submit a satisfactory answer to Chen Zhou before they could move on to the next stage.

In addition to their work as bricklayers, the indigenous people also learn carpentry.

Chen Zhou made two complete sets of carpentry tools for them.

The indigenous people had to start from the most basic steps of drawing lines, planing, chiseling holes, and sawing, gradually "taming" the wood in their hands.

……

Chen Zhou was initially completely ignorant about carpentry skills.

But after three years on the island, there were just too many wooden products that he needed to make himself in his daily life. Even if he didn't want to learn, he still had to master this craft.

Moreover, Chen Zhou has always been a perfectionist, and he always holds himself to high standards in the work he is dedicated to.

Influenced by this "craftsman spirit," he has actually summarized a lot of scientific and practical skills through countless practices since arriving on the island.

For example, when planing wood, how do you apply force and how do you use your eyes to ensure that the wood is straight, square, and flat?

How can I draw lines accurately and reduce errors?

When designing mortise and tenon structures, the characteristics of wood expansion and contraction due to moisture should be considered, and allowance should be left.

When chiseling mortises, how can you ensure that the depth is uniform, the hole walls are vertical, and the wood is not easily torn?
As for the common saying "long carpenter, short blacksmith," it means that when sawing wood, you should leave a section so that it's not long enough later; when cutting down a tree, you should know how to straighten a crooked tree; and you should know how to use a small saw to cut curves...

Chen Zhou gradually figured out his own set of methods through practice.

His skills and knowledge, though not as simple and easy to use as those of a seasoned carpenter, sometimes even seemed a bit clumsy or superfluous.

However, in practice, these methods simply require more time and effort.

As long as the desired result can be achieved, Chen Zhou feels that no matter how troublesome it is, it is worth it.

……

Of course, the indigenous people didn't need to be as skilled in carpentry as Chen Zhou.

All they need to do is figure out how to draw straight lines, how to level the surface, how to make the walls perpendicular to the ground, and how to plan out suitable wooden boards.

The factory site is right next to a forest; there's nothing else, but plenty of timber.

The tools Chen Zhou prepared for them weren't enough for everyone to have their own; the natives had to take turns using them, like they were practicing driving at a driving school.

……

Sometimes, it's midday and the weather is hot, so the indigenous people who have finished practicing go back to their shelters to rest early.

But there are always a few unlucky ones who, wearing shirts and with their chests exposed, dig wood in the open ground under the scorching sun, getting sweaty from the heat.

There's nothing we can do; it just so happens that it's their turn to work during this time slot, one after another.

……

After nearly a month of such training, along with the natives' carpentry skills, their skin color also improved.

Originally, due to the influence of diet and lifestyle, the skin of the indigenous people had gradually changed from dark brown to yellow.

Unexpectedly, after learning carpentry skills, they were forced to be exposed to the sun all day long, and their skin color changed back to normal, and even became darker than before.

……

Work, study, and occasional relaxation.

The natives gradually returned to how they used to be on Saturdays and Sundays.

They began to get used to communicating in Chinese and to the taste of barley, rice, and flour.

Some people love chili peppers, some people have to chew several cloves of raw garlic when eating noodles, some people love the unique aroma of fennel, and some people like mint...

They learned the techniques of wood and stone construction from Chen Zhou and applied them to their own dwellings.

……

What was once a barren hillside has now been cleared and leveled.

On the pale yellow ground, only a few tender grasses that have just sprouted can be found. Looking from east to west, all you can see is a flat expanse of land.

Inside the tall rain shelter, the mountain of building materials remained largely untouched, quietly waiting for the day when they would be needed.

Not far from the rain shelter, there were several less fortunate groups of building materials piled up directly in the open air.

Logs, planks, stone bricks, and white clay.

……

Chen Zhou and the natives went to great lengths to transport these things, especially the white clay, here.

The natives were responsible for repairing the roads, widening and leveling the path from the pile of rocks to the camp at the foot of the mountain, and filling in the gullies.

Chen Zhou was in charge of manufacturing more carts.

The wood-bending technique came in handy at this time. Combined with his decent carpentry and forging skills, he created a handcart with round wheels and sturdy axles, making it easy to push and very useful.

With insufficient manpower, Chen Zhou even considered using animal power for transportation.

For this purpose, he manufactured several different models of animal-drawn carts.

This includes oxcarts and sheepcarts.

However, Simmental cattle are not sterilized and have never done farm work since they were young. They are also stubborn and very difficult to control.

Hitch it to the oxcart, and if it's in a good mood, it'll walk a few steps; if it's in a bad mood, it'll stand still and won't budge no matter how much you scold or beat it. If you really anger it, although it won't attack you, it will turn around and leave, taking the oxcart with it, and who knows where it might go.

In comparison, cows are much better temperamental, like good livestock suitable for pulling carts.

However, the ox was already pregnant with a calf, and Chen Zhou was worried that this "seed of animal husbandry" would die in the womb, or even worse, "two lives lost." So he had no choice but to give up using the ox to pull the cart.

……

As for the sheep-drawn cart, the initial attempt was successful.

The three castrated rams, all with their horns sawed off, lived alongside the herding natives day and night. They were all quite well-behaved and, when pulling the cart, were obedient and wouldn't run away.

However, how can a sheep compare to an ox? Three rams could only manage to pull two people of Chen Zhou's size.

Even with a small, slender indigenous person, it can only carry a maximum of four people; its carrying capacity is limited.

Moreover, these sheep have a fatal flaw—they only recognize native herders.

If someone else were to drive the cart, the three sheep would easily start fighting amongst themselves, some going left and some right, some going forward and some going backward, and sometimes even running to the side of the road to graze.

……

The herding natives manage the sheep flocks. Since Chen Zhou and the other natives moved to the hillside where the factory was built, he has been taking care of almost all the cattle and sheep by himself.

In addition, the herding natives also need to take care of things such as whether there are pests and diseases in the farmland, sugarcane fields, and grapes in the sunrooms on the mountain, and whether there are any abnormalities on the beach in the northeast corner of the mountain.

Asking him to put down his load and drive the sheep cart just to transport two or three hundred catties of white clay seemed like putting the cart before the horse to Chen Zhou.

After careful consideration, he finally abandoned the idea of ​​using animal power for transportation and parked the oxcart next to the gallows.

If we need to use this vehicle again, it might have to wait until the calf is born.

If it's a bull, with proper training from a young age, it might become a good draft animal.

However, it takes a full 280 days for a cow to give birth, almost a year, and another year for the calf to grow up.

Chen Zhou felt that instead of pinning his hopes on cattle, it would be more reliable to urge the locals to work overtime and push more cartloads of white clay.

……

Beneath the wooden planks, white clay, and other building materials lies the living area of ​​Chen Zhou and the indigenous people.

There used to be several large trees here, but now they have all been cut down, and even the roots have been dug up and left aside.

The largest house in the residential area belongs to Chen Zhou.

The house occupies an area of ​​over 120 square meters and is designed in a typical European style.

It wasn't that Chen Zhou disliked Chinese architecture; it was simply that the mortise and tenon joints in Chinese architecture were far too complex, unlike the simpler European-style villas.

Moreover, building replicas of ancient buildings takes too much time, and he is currently very busy and doesn't want to waste any time.

……

Chen Zhou and Saturday and Sunday lived in this big house.

In addition to the three bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom, the house also has a spacious living room, but this living room is not used to entertain guests; instead, it serves as a classroom for the indigenous people.

Every evening after finishing their work, the indigenous people would receive their Saturday education in the living room.

On Sundays, he sometimes listens in with the indigenous people, and sometimes he goes to the caves alone to bring back information he has recently observed from the herding indigenous people.

If the crops are dry, or if there are too many weeds in the fields, or if birds or animals damage the seedlings, the natives will have to get up early the next day to take care of the fields before returning to work.

……

Below the large house are the homes of the indigenous people.

Since moving here and learning construction techniques, their living space has been upgraded, changing from a four-person room to a double room.

The house is bigger than before, and it no longer leaks wind or rain. It even has some wooden furniture, making it very comfortable to live in.

……

To minimize any mishaps during the factory's construction, Chen Zhou extended the preparatory work by more than two months.

It wasn't until after New Year's Eve and the end of New Year's Day, as 1663 began, that he announced the official commencement of construction.

……

The subsequent actions may have lost their initial fervor, and the purpose was not clearly stated.

The subsequent mystery rewards were clearly not as generous as the previous ones.

However, some of the rewards were quite a pleasant surprise.

For example, a batch of fluororubber was delivered on December 29th, the day before New Year's Eve.

This type of rubber is resistant to high temperatures and chemicals, and has strong weather resistance to most oils and solvents, making it suitable for automotive engines, fuel systems, and chemical plant seals.

With this batch of rubber, Chen Zhou's dream of handcrafting a steam engine is one step closer to being realized.

Besides rubber, the prize on November 14th was also quite good: a batch of modern shovels and pickaxes.

Chen Zhou was worried that the shovels he made were wearing out too quickly and that the scrap iron in his warehouse was not enough when he received this reward.

Although his forging skills were at a basic level and the tools he made were usable, they could not compare with the products of modern factories.

After the indigenous people started using these new tools, their work efficiency improved significantly, and they always finished their tasks early and went home.

This forced Chen Zhou to reassess their work speed and increase their workload.

Of course, Chen Zhou considered himself to have a conscience; when he increased the workload for the natives, he didn't forget to improve their meals.

Goats are reproducing at an increasingly rapid rate, and their numbers are growing rapidly.

Not only domesticated goats, but also the scale of wild goats is showing a trend of multiplying.

Concerned that the large number of wild goats would damage the ecosystem, Chen Zhou specially set aside two days to take the locals on a hunting trip.

On the one hand, it was to control the population of wild goats, and on the other hand, to get some fresh meat to eat.

On the other hand, he was also deliberately intimidating the natives, reminding them that he, as their "leader," not only had an approachable demeanor but also a ruthless and decisive one.

Otherwise, if they spend too much time together, some of the natives might actually forget how they were captured, and what kind of fear and torture they experienced in the days after their capture.

……

On the day of the hunt, the recurring gunshots and the eerie force that claimed lives from a hundred meters away terrified the natives who were used to a peaceful life.

Two of the more timid natives even fainted from fright, a far cry from their behavior on the day they were captured.

While the other natives weren't quite that terrified, after the gunshots and the falling sheep, they involuntarily knelt down and begged for mercy, unsure whether they were afraid of Chen Zhou or of the power that could cause slaughter from a great distance.

Only when Chen Zhou kindly told them to get up did they stand up nervously, like startled chicks.

……

Those who are loyal may not feel anything in this hunt.

Some indigenous people, unable to recognize their own status and position, have rediscovered the feeling of being trampled underfoot, a feeling they had always had before.

Of course, Chen Zhou couldn't read minds; he didn't know who was loyal and who had ulterior motives. He only trusted the gun in his hand and the treatment he gave to the natives.

He held both the most ruthless stick and the sweetest candy in the hands of the natives.

As long as these two powerful tools are used wisely and the indigenous people are not excessively oppressed, rebellion is impossible.

Moreover, the natives were not a monolithic group. In the past five months, he had not been idle. He had already selected two close people and placed them among the natives to constantly test the thoughts of the others.

In this way, if the natives harbor ill intentions and attempt to escape or spy on his secrets, he can learn of it in advance and strike them down decisively. (End of Chapter)