From Robinson Crusoe

Mid-January 1665.

The island remains hot and dry even during the dry season.

Near the factory, all the original trees had been cut down, leaving only a few slender saplings, wilted by the sun, their leaves drooping listlessly as they stood guard over the gray-white cement buildings.

Most of the windows on the second floor reflected light, but Chen Zhou's bedroom still had its thick curtains drawn.

As the sun rose high in the sky, light streamed through the gaps in the curtains into the room, like a sharp sword cleaving through the darkness.

Little Grey lay at the foot of the bed, surrounded by the clean bedding washed with laundry detergent, which exuded a faint lavender scent and embraced it with a refreshing warmth.

On the bedside table, the little Totoro lazily got up and walked towards the newly added exercise equipment in its "villa"—

It was a wooden running wheel.

Its two bright black eyes were covered by fur. In the dimly lit room, at first glance, the little Totoro's edges were blurred, and it looked like an oval ball of fur.

It slowly moved onto the running wheel, moved its calves, and drove the running belt and gears, making a clattering sound.

A sudden sound broke the silence of the room, waking the resident from the birdcage hanging under the wooden frame by the window.

The parrot, which had been resting with its eyes closed on the wooden stick inside the cage, heard the noise, widened its eyes, flapped its wings, turned its head, and quickly found the culprit that had disturbed its sleep.

It stretched its neck and let out a short chirp, as if warning the little chinchilla to stop running.

However, the little Totoro completely ignored it, continuing to move its round body and make noise by pedaling on its running wheel.

Seeing that its warnings had no effect, the parrot climbed the cage bars and headed towards the cage door. It opened its beak and grabbed the latch, preparing to pull it open, when it tilted its head and saw an annoying fellow—

Grapes.

Tizi was also awakened by the sound of Totoro running. She was sitting upright on the carpet by the bed, looking up at the source of the noise.

Sunlight streamed down from above, illuminating its mottled fur, its vibrant green eyes, and its pupils, which had shrunk to pinpoints.

Even when kept indoors, this "heroine" who once roamed the forest has not lost her wild and heroic spirit.

Upon seeing the grapes, the parrot's arrogant demeanor vanished instantly, and it wisely withdrew its head and stopped fiddling with the latch.

The owner is still asleep. If this cat sets its sights on it, it might not be able to save its life.

But that fluffy fat guy wasn't going to calm down yet. If he didn't do something, he wouldn't be able to vent his anger!

Glancing at the grapes, then at the cage door, and making sure that damned cat couldn't get into its safe haven, the parrot, not to be outdone, began its "singing"—

These birds are masters of mimicry in nature; they can learn pleasant music as well as "special tunes" that make people feel irritable.

Coincidentally, parrots can make a special sound—the sound of an angle grinder.

When it vibrates its bellows, producing the sound of an angle grinder motor spinning rapidly, every living thing in the entire bedroom is "moved".

Little Grey woke up groggily from his sleep, looking up at the birdcage with a bewildered expression.

The dog, who had been sleeping peacefully under the bed, rushed out in two quick steps. Seeing that the room had not collapsed, it was relieved, stretched, and let out a soft meow.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Zhou, who was only covered with a thin blanket, also opened his eyes with a frown.

The dim lighting inside made it impossible for him to tell the time.

Reaching out to touch the pillow, Chen Zhou found the watch he had taken off before going to sleep and saw that it was already 10 a.m. He then got out of bed, put on his clothes, and began to wash up.

……

More than half a year has passed since the fight between Zebra and Wang Lin, which was caused by their conflict.

Those who participated in the conflict were all punished.

However, time heals all wounds. Now, not only have the islanders who fought gone wrong, but Zebra and Wang Lin have also redeemed themselves and moved back into their detached houses.

The conflict will not be eliminated by being punished together, but the hatred in one's heart will be controlled by reason.

The island's legal code is being updated daily, and with the arrival of a new batch of islanders, a police force has been added to handle public security issues.

Faced with increasingly severe punishments and more comprehensive oversight, no matter how much hatred there was between the veterans and the new members, they dared not start the kind of struggle that existed before.

……

On the first floor of the factory, many idle workshops have been filled with various small machines.

Among them is a textile workshop that Chen Zhou built from scratch.

The process of turning wool into fabric is very complex. Before starting to study this project, Chen Zhou did not expect things to be so difficult.

However, the mysterious reward always managed to solve his problems in time.

With the help of textile technology materials and a few simple drawings, his work progressed at breakneck speed, like a rocket taking off.

During the first dry season of each year, the workers in charge of livestock would use special steel combs to comb the necks and bellies of the goats to obtain their wool.

After the collection is completed, the cashmere will be roughly divided into three grades according to its fineness and color. The finest and whitest cashmere will be supplied to Chen Zhou and the island's senior officials, while the rest of the cashmere will be made into fabric and distributed to others.

Both the female textile workers and the livestock workers received a substantial share of the wages based on their workload.

On the islands today, fabric is a rare and expensive resource, far more valuable than food.

After the cashmere is sorted, it will be taken to the cashmere washing workshop.

There are several different washing tanks there, filled with various chemical solutions to remove grease, dust, and dirt from the cashmere and reduce static electricity.

The washed cashmere is significantly lighter and is then sent to the combing and spinning workshops.

In this workshop, cashmere is processed by mechanical combing machines and spinning machines, going through the processes of blending, combing, and needle combing, and finally being spun into fine yarn and roving.

After being spun, cashmere products are steam-set to become different cashmere fabrics.

The sheep herds on the island are growing larger and larger, and are now divided into three groups, grazing on the hillsides, in the coastal woodlands and in the river valley plains, with a total of nearly 500 sheep.

However, cashmere production is not high.

Furthermore, there is a certain degree of loss during the manufacturing process of cashmere fabric. After several processes, the area of ​​fabric that can be produced each year is very small. After deducting the portion supplied to the leader and the island's high-ranking officials, there are very few pieces of fabric that can actually be distributed to the lower levels.

This is why the price of fabric has skyrocketed to a level that ordinary islanders simply cannot afford.

In fact, of the more than 60 islanders who were the last to join the island, very few still own decent clothes.

They mostly wore clothes sewn from sheepskin, making them look out of place among the others who wore sailor suits or work clothes.

Every time Chen Zhou went out, he would shake his head and sigh when he saw three types of people working at the port and docks—

What kind of coincidence could create the strange sight of "primitive", "medieval" and "modern" attire appearing in the same area?

……

To allow workers more rest time, and also for his own convenience, Chen Zhou built a single-story reinforced concrete canteen next to the factory. Every morning, noon, and evening, as well as during breaks after get off work, workers don't need to go home after leaving the workshop; they can go directly to the canteen to enjoy free meals.

Chen Zhou is too lazy to cook these days, as he used to be busy with work on Saturdays when he was supposed to prepare meals for him.

Chen Zhou couldn't possibly let the principal and top teacher, who was shouldering the heavy responsibility of the island's education, take time out to be his babysitter, so he set up a special "leader's dining room" for him in the cafeteria.

Two of the island's most skilled chefs were dedicated to cooking for him. No matter when, even in the dead of night, as long as Chen Zhou came to the canteen, these two would get up and cook him several hot dishes.

"Damn power!"

Chen Zhou often sighed like this.

In modern times, he was a victim of the abuse of power by his superiors, and often cursed those who used their positions to seek personal gain.

Now he has transformed into a beneficiary, but he can't help but sigh, "It's so good to have someone to serve me!"

However, unlike the former, some modern leaders are in positions of power but do not perform their duties, occupying positions without doing anything, enjoying power but not doing anything, but they are good at making money for themselves.

Although Chen Zhou was a beneficiary of the system, he never slacked off.

He is a worthy leader and can be said to have a clear conscience.

He applied all the knowledge he had acquired in modern times to the construction of the island to the greatest extent possible.

Wider salt fields, watermills, plows for tilling the land, lighter and easier farm implements, irrigation canals, residential housing, and even road planning, as well as machinery in factories…

All of this stemmed from Chen Zhou's tireless thinking, design, and experimentation throughout the night.

It can be said that Chen Zhou has done his best to use his knowledge to change this island.

Throughout the 17th century, it would be difficult to find people who were happier than these newly civilized indigenous people.

Not to mention the colonies in dire straits, even in the Qing Dynasty, which was not yet weakened and had not been humiliated by foreign enemies, the people there had never lived such a more equal and less oppressed life.

……

After washing up, Chen Zhou called Lai Fu, who was fast asleep by the stairs, and slowly walked down the stairs.

The closer they got to the second floor, the clearer the sound of the machines became. If Chen Zhou's bedroom hadn't been in a different location from the workshops, he would have been woken up long ago and would never have been able to sleep so comfortably.

As Laifu gets older, the disadvantages of his lack of activity gradually become apparent.

It's getting fatter and fatter.

To help it live a few more years, Chen Zhou would wake up Fufu after waking up and take it outside for some exercise.

Laifu is gentle and obedient. Whenever Chen Zhou wakes it up, it obediently follows its master.

Of course, spending time with its owner is something it enjoys doing.

However, it is no longer as energetic as it was in its youth, and can no longer run around Chen Zhou and try to please its owner with exaggerated movements.

……

It wasn't time to leave work yet, and most of the workshops were closed. In the few workshops with their doors open, female workers were hurrying along, pushing carts full of processed cashmere.

Upon seeing the leader, they dared not look him in the eye, but bowed their heads and greeted him softly before hurriedly pushing the cart into another workshop.

These female workers gradually found a sense of belonging after leaving the training program.

Among the older generation living in detached houses, there were many bachelors, who were clearly the top choice for female workers.

As for the islanders who stayed in double rooms, things weren't so smooth. After all, they had a roommate in the room, and they couldn't very well have their roommate watching them make a baby.

Having learned about benevolence, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame, the indigenous people, who were once indifferent to these matters, have also developed their own moral concepts.

In order to follow the example of the chief, many islanders who have the idea of ​​starting a family, even if they have someone they like, never dare to speak up until they own their own detached house.

Chen Zhou naturally noticed this phenomenon.

He vaguely saw in it the epitome of the pain and suffering of many young people in the 21st century.

Recently, he has been planning new residential housing, trying to allocate more private housing to most islanders so that they can start families smoothly.

Even if a power thrives briefly by relying solely on middle-aged and young people, it cannot last.

There must be infants and teenagers, these new forces, to absorb his knowledge and propel the island toward further places.

……

In addition to married and unmarried female workers, there is another group of female workers on the island who harbor fantasies.

They had higher aspirations; they didn't set their sights on ordinary islanders or veterans, but rather on the leaders' confidants like Saturday, Sunday, Fu Lu Shou, and even Chen Zhou himself.

In terms of sex, these indigenous women, who had spent over a decade or two naked, were incredibly open.

Chen Zhou was tempted both openly and secretly quite a bit.

However, firstly, the appearance of these native women was far from his aesthetic standards, and secondly, he knew that his time in this world was limited, so he lost interest in flirting with them.

Chen Zhou considered himself a responsible person. He found it hard to imagine how he could be so heartless as to abandon his wife and children more than twenty years later, end his challenge, and leave this world if he were to develop feelings for a woman on the island, have children, and gradually grow familial affection for her.

He can be ruthless when killing, but that's how he treats his enemies.

But when faced with the person he spends every day with, he knows he can't make a decision.

Moreover, even if the environment on the island improves every day and becomes closer to modernity, this is still not the 21st century.

Chen Zhou was worried that if he had a child, the child would not receive a better education, and he would feel guilty.

Ultimately, Chen Zhou believes he is merely a passerby in this world.

Like a stone that skims across the water, it may create a series of ripples, but it cannot truly sink to the bottom.

……

After passing through the long corridor on the first floor and exiting through the main door, Chen Zhou, accompanied by Lai Fu who was wagging its tail, soon entered the cafeteria.

When designing and building the cafeteria, Chen Zhou no longer felt anxious.

As the island's population grew and its technology and weaponry developed rapidly, fortifications were gradually built around the port.

He would not be afraid even if the Spanish attacked immediately, let alone in the future.

Moreover, several years have passed and the Spanish have not made a move, which shows that they would not go to the trouble of sending a large force to an unfamiliar island because of the death of a sailor.

Therefore, the design concept of the canteen is completely different from that of the factory, and large floor-to-ceiling windows are used for lighting.

The islanders used to think that the indestructible factory was a building that resembled a temple.

Ever since the canteen was built, and they stepped into the spacious and bright dining area with light streaming through from both sides, they truly understood "what paradise is." (End of Chapter)