From Robinson Crusoe

With his extraordinary courage and adventurous spirit, Killian pioneered the world's first sea route to "Paradise Island".

Ship after ship of coal and various ores were sent to remote overseas islands, and Kylian's reputation grew with the transport of these raw materials.

An improved matchlock gun, improved farm implements, and a special tool called a machine tool that can help people quickly produce high-quality parts...

Everyone regards Killian as a late-blooming inventor, but only Killian knows where his "intelligence" really comes from.

This remote and secluded island is like an endless treasure trove; the treasures within only need to reveal a fraction of their light to elevate those bathed in their radiance to the pinnacle of power.

……

With the influx of large amounts of supplies, construction on the island gradually took off.

In less than a year, all the natives around the island were wiped out and, after three months of training, joined this new family.

Meanwhile, the first batch of newborns on the island were born.

They are much happier than their parents' generation, as they do not have to endure hunger or participate in bloody conflicts to obtain food through physically demanding labor.

They were born into a world where they could enjoy a wealth of resources that were ahead of their time, including all kinds of precious food, shelter from the wind and rain, a harmonious atmosphere, and even knowledge.

Of course, due to the underdeveloped medical conditions on the island, there are always cases of women experiencing difficult childbirth, but most of them survived successfully with the help of the medicines provided by Chen Zhou.

As for birth accidents caused by severe dystocia and hemorrhage or malposition of the fetus, Chen Zhou was also powerless to help.

Watching an infant or a mother and child die is agonizing for him. As the leader of the island and a "god" in the hearts of all the islanders, he has the responsibility to take care of his people while being respected.

Although the deaths and injuries caused by the difficult childbirth were not his fault, Chen Zhou still felt guilty after witnessing all of this.

Sometimes he wished he were a doctor who could establish a comprehensive medical system on the island.

But a person's energy is limited. Medical skills are closely linked to human life. Even if he doesn't understand them, or even if he has some knowledge of them, he cannot perform a cesarean section on a living person.

Fortunately, the indigenous people who survived the natural selection process were all of excellent physical condition. Only a very small percentage died in childbirth, and most newborns were born successfully.

……

The innocent babbling of children adds a unique vitality to the island.

The sheep's milk and the cow's milk have found new uses, as dairy products were not usually favored by the islanders.

After all, they have enough food to eat, and if they want to change their tastes, fish from the sea are more appealing than dairy products.

Only a group of middle-class people, represented by Zebra, like to brew a pot of hot cocoa or salty milk tea when entertaining guests, to show their respect for the guests.

Now that he's a father, his wife doesn't produce enough breast milk, so the islanders have to buy large quantities of fresh goat milk and cow milk.

The island's livestock industry is managed by Niu Yang.

From a local shepherd who fainted from hypothermia in the rain after losing a sheep, to a "livestock supervisor" driving an oxcart to transport dairy products to the factory, and now a seasoned shepherd who manages more than a dozen shepherds and specializes in treating and delivering cattle and sheep, Niu Yang's journey has been arduous.

He walked slowly but steadily, and every footprint he left in the mountains was dripped with his sweat.

Before the baby boom, Chen Zhou had sent someone to give Niu Yang some instructions—

"We cannot take advantage of the birth of a child to inflate the price of cow's milk and goat's milk. The fresh milk produced each day should be sold to those who really need it, not to those who offer higher prices, especially those like Zebra who like to create a facade."

At the same time, the supply of cow's milk and goat's milk to the factories could be reduced or even cut off altogether. The management wouldn't die from drinking less milk, but the children desperately needed it.

……

Human reproduction is a long process; it takes at least fifteen or sixteen years for a child to grow from birth into a working adult.

In comparison, animals grow much faster.

After the scale of the artificially raised sheep on the island expanded, Chen Zhou wiped out all the wild goats on the island, leaving only a dozen or so relatively strong breeding rams. The rest of the goats were killed by traps or arrows.

To handle this large quantity of mutton, a special "barbecue festival" was held on the island.

The wines sent by Kylian, along with various spices and the aroma of charcoal, made the lamb skewers glisten with oil and were savory and delicious.

From islanders nearing fifty to toddlers as young as three or four, everyone reveled in the joy that food brought them during this feast.

Although the "Barbecue Festival" was just a temporary event planned by Chen Zhou to deal with the mutton, the islanders kept this memorable festival in their hearts. For many years afterward, they would organize the festival themselves, forming a custom unique to the island.

……

When the goat population grew too large, it caused severe damage to the vegetation. In order to protect the grasslands, Chen Zhou limited the number of goats and began to transfer livestock farming to the islands.

Some experienced shepherds who had started families left their homes and returned to the now deserted archipelago, where they stayed with their wives and children to tend their flocks.

Every one or two months, they have a ten-day vacation to take their families back to the Big Island to avoid psychological problems caused by prolonged isolation.

When they return to the island, other shepherds will take over the care of the sheep.

Leaving familiar friends to herd livestock on the archipelago, unable to buy supplies on the main island, and experiencing all sorts of new things is certainly painful, but it's all worth it compared to the doubled income.

The introduction of currency gave the islanders a clear standard to measure how much wealth they possessed. Watching the glittering coins gradually increase brought a unique sense of happiness and security to anyone.

To build bigger and more luxurious houses; to eat more delicious food;
For the sake of their wives' clothes and their children's education, the islanders are willing to put in more effort in exchange for generous rewards.

……

After establishing bridges to communicate with the outside world, the island's crops and livestock have also seen a leap in development.

The pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese that Chen Zhou had been longing for, as well as some common crop seeds, were all delivered to the island by Kilian. These items greatly improved the quality of life for all the islanders.

Some female islanders who stayed home to care for their children also found a new source of income as a result.

By raising pigs and poultry and selling pork, eggs, and other meats, they are able to earn some money to supplement their household income without neglecting to take care of their children.

Because these livestock were newly introduced to the island, the island's "wealthy people" had never seen them before, leading to a frenzy of buying chicken and duck eggs in the market. At the height of the frenzy, a single egg could even sell for 50 silver coins.

Those who joined the island earliest and have been veterans have long since accumulated considerable wealth by taking advantage of the island's development. Some have even opened their own workshops or shops, making money from money.

Even if eggs were more expensive, they could afford them. To satisfy their vanity and make themselves appear like true "upper-class" people, they could spend lavishly without batting an eye.

Chen Zhou had naturally noticed the surge in prices caused by livestock and poultry, but this time he did not deliberately interfere with the market.

When distributing the poultry, he specifically instructed that on Saturday, the poultry must be distributed to poor families, as he had anticipated that this would happen.

The phenomenon of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is common in any era and is difficult to solve.

Once capital has completed its initial accumulation, the snowball effect accelerates rapidly.

Although banks, which assist capitalists in playing the money game, have not yet appeared on the island, some veterans can still amass considerable wealth simply by engaging in commerce, hiring workers to manufacture goods, and then profiting from them.

They all make money legally and legitimately through their intelligence, and Chen Zhou cannot interfere with that. He can only transfer the money of the rich to the poor by distributing this unique "welfare".

Once the exorbitant egg prices caused by scarcity have subsided, and those merchants looking to exploit loopholes start buying hens in preparation for profiting from eggs, Chen Zhou will use his "visible hand" to regulate the market, setting a reasonable price for eggs and preventing those cunning veterans from exploiting the lower-class islanders.

……

While using his power to control prices, he also ensured that infrastructure development on the island was not neglected.

To handle more cargo and to build larger steamships, the port became a key construction project on the island.

The sturdy port built of brick and stone, the new shipyard, the planning and renovation of residential areas near the port, and the different construction styles adopted by the fishing and transportation industries according to different regions...

The roads leading from the port to the mountains, to the factories, and to the interior of the island have all gradually taken shape thanks to the hard work of the islanders.

Every time Killian arrived on the island with goods, he was amazed by how much it had changed.

He marveled at the islanders' diligence and unity as they transformed from a backward land into a city comparable to a Spanish port, and was also awestruck by the wisdom of the island's rulers.

Throughout history, rulers have mostly focused on their own enjoyment, and very few have paid attention to the lives of the people.

Chen Zhou was the first person Killian had ever met who was willing to spend his energy on ordinary people, which made Killian, a "cunning businessman" who had spent his whole life scheming against others, sincerely admire him.

He admired the ruler's wisdom, but even more so his character and selfless spirit.

Having spent a long time in contact with the rulers, witnessed the changes on the island, and come to know the rulers' character, whenever Kylian returned to Europe and heard the nobles praising his talent and gifts, he could never accept it with a clear conscience, and even felt guilty.

Killian has always been a morally bankrupt man. He has done far more bad things than good things in his life, and the number of lives he has taken is countless.

Even someone like him would feel like a fraudulent thief when faced with Chen Zhou's actions.

Of course, feeling guilty is one thing, but taking actual action is another.

To keep the secret of "Paradise Island" a secret, Killian used money to keep the sailors quiet while also using knives to silence those who couldn't keep their mouths shut.

He would never share this endless treasure with anyone before he had amassed enough wealth to satisfy him and retired in triumph.

He will not reveal the true designers of those machines until his reputation has lost its power and can no longer bring him any profit.

Psychological condemnation is ultimately less tangible than real money. Having spent his entire life in business, Killian would never do a losing proposition—

For him, earning less is equivalent to losing money.

……

The islanders' lives are gradually improving, and the number of skilled workers is increasing.

Having successfully graduated from school and acquired more advanced technologies and knowledge, the young islanders gradually entered the middle class, injecting strong fresh blood into the advancement of the island's industrial level.

Chen Zhou's work became less busy.

He still cares deeply about the people on the island, but in addition to dealing with their livelihood, he also has to set aside more time to spend with his old companions, the cats and dogs that have been with him since he had nothing.

……

In other words, Laifu, this old virgin, remained a virgin until he was equivalent to a human in his forties.

After the female dog brought by Killian was sent to the island to go into heat, although Laifu was eager to try, it seemed extremely clumsy. If it weren't for Chen Zhou's help, it probably wouldn't have been able to escape the fate of having no offspring even with its "harem of beauties".

At first, Chen Zhou was worried that Lai Fu was getting old and his sperm motility was declining, and that he might lose his fertility.

He only felt at ease when he saw the mother dog's belly grow bigger day by day.

Laifu, being a "father" for the first time, was no longer a young dog. After each time he had his way with his three wives and four concubines, he seemed to have lost his soul, his legs were weak and he was listless.

Noticing this, Chen Zhou separated Lai Fu from the pregnant female dog to prevent Lai Fu's lifespan from being affected by frequent mating.

He built a new residence in a scenic orchard valley inside the island.

Unlike the factory, this new residence was not designed with office functions in mind; it was built entirely to the standards of a private villa.

When he has little or no official business to attend to, Chen Zhou would take his pets to the villa in the Fruit Tree Valley, pick some wild fruits, paint some landscapes, play the flute, go fishing, and relax.

Laifu has about two or three years left to live, and Chen Zhou hopes to spend those last days with it.

The other pets in the house have also entered their twilight years, with the chinchilla showing the most obvious signs of aging.

Although it was not very active when it was caught, in recent years it has become much lazier than before. Even when it is not lying in its den, it always looks listless when it stands up and doesn't even want to open its eyes.

Its thick, silvery-gray fur had become much duller than before.

Even so, Chen Zhou still calls it "Little Totoro," as if it were still that unexpected catch from "catching mice," that quiet resting by the bedside in the simple cave dwelling, and that adorable sprite happily running on its wheelchair next to the bedside table in the factory bedroom.

Of all the pets, the chinchilla is the quietest. Most of the time, it's like a plush toy, standing motionless in the "villa" that Chen Zhou customized for it.

It doesn't like to interact with people, and only looks most energetic when it rolls around in fine white ash. It also doesn't quite understand human speech and always looks bewildered.

But after all, it had been with Chen Zhou for nearly eight years. Sometimes when he saw the little chinchilla standing blankly in the luxurious new wooden villa, wandering around and unable to find its way back to its nest, Chen Zhou would always think of its slightly clever appearance when it was young.

Sometimes Chen Zhou wished time could stand still, allowing these little guys to live a little longer.

However, time is both the most ruthless and the most fair; what is gone will eventually be gone, and in this respect, no one is equal, whether they are kings and generals or beggars on the street. (End of Chapter)