Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 301 Heading East
On April 23, 1635, a biting wind, carrying the damp chill of the North Sea (now the Sea of ​​Okhotsk), swept across the rugged volcanic rock coast of Chiyan Island (now Kunashir Island).

The summit of Shinhwa Peak (now Mount Kunashiri) in the distance is still covered with snow, but wisps of sulfurous steam are already seeping from its foot—this active volcano is awakening from hibernation.

As dawn broke, a dozen or so men wrapped themselves tightly in deerskin coats, pulled several sleds, and trudged across the frozen tundra toward the indigenous tribe several miles away.

The leader, Ding Lao Er, had an iron axe and several sharp short knives tucked into his waistband; these were their most valuable assets.

The Ainu people on the island would rather forgo food than give up a sharp iron weapon capable of splitting animal bones.

“@◇@……#￥！…”

Upon arriving at the tribal camp, an Ainu chief with a face full of tattoos came out to greet him, warmly grabbed Ding Lao Er's hand, and pulled him deeper into the camp.

Arriving at a large, semi-hidden thatched hut, he pointed to the furs piled under the nearby shed: sea otter fur was glossy and smooth, sable fur was as soft as clouds, and there were also several rare polar bear pelts.

The chief then presented him with a package wrapped in animal hide, smiling and gesturing for him to open it and take a look.

When Ding Lao Er unwrapped the animal skin package, his eyes lit up immediately.

Gold!

He picked up a pinch of gold dust and weighed it in his palm. He spread it out, and under the sunlight, each grain of gold dust emitted an alluring golden hue.

This must be gold they panned from the riverbed on the west side of the island!

"Two axes, for these!" he gestured, unconsciously licking his lips.

If you keep a few of these on you, you can definitely exchange them for a lot of useful items when you return to Beiying Island!

The chief pondered for a moment, then immediately shook his head.

He could tell from the greedy eyes of these outsiders that the gold dust in his hands seemed to be quite "valuable" and could probably be exchanged for more things.

He pointed to the several short knives at his waist, then glanced at the salt bag carried by another immigrant, gesturing with his hands.

"Damn it, these natives aren't stupid at all!" Ding Lao Er was somewhat annoyed that he hadn't restrained his expression when he saw the gold dust, which made the clever native chieftain realize that its value was far greater than that of fur.

"Add a short knife and a can of salt." Ding Lao Er drew the short knife from his waist and handed it to him, then gestured to his companion to bring the salt can. "That's all we have. ...If you don't want to exchange, then forget it!"

Then, feigning composure, he squatted down and began rummaging through the pile of furs.

Hey, just for those fifty-odd pelts, this transaction is a huge profit!
I've heard that a top-quality sea otter pelt is worth 10 taels of silver in Nagasaki, and the price would be even higher if it were transported to the Ming Dynasty.

Tsk tsk, our Beiying Island colonization team probably earns tens of thousands of taels of silver every year just from the fur trade.

I glanced at the tribal chief and saw that he looked conflicted. He was probably weighing the pros and cons, wondering if he would be tricked by the Chinese after agreeing to the exchange.

Getting scammed is a given!

so what?

On this deserted island, besides us new Chinese, where else can we trade?
Before they landed on this island, the natives mostly lived a primitive life, eating raw meat and drinking blood. They did have some iron tools, but in very small quantities.

Apart from the "wealthy" chiefs and tribal elders who possessed only a few iron tools, most ordinary natives still relied mainly on stone tools (obsidian knives) and bone tools (sea monster bone harpoons).

These natives have lived and thrived on the island for thousands of years, yet they have still not developed iron smelting technology. The small amount of ironware they currently possess are all from sporadic imports by merchants from the Matsumae Domain.

And once these iron tools were worn out and discarded, they were unable to repair them.

In the past, Matsumae Domain merchants used ironware as a bargaining chip to control the Ainu tribes on the island, exchanging it for large quantities of furs.

Lacking iron tools, these Ainu people could only make cutting tools from volcanic glass (i.e., obsidian) and carve awls and bone needles from walrus ivory, leading a very miserable life.

Last year, the Beiying Island Colonization Team sent more than 20 immigrants to settle on the island, buried boundary markers, built trading posts, named Dong'anbao (now South Kurilsk town), and openly declared the island to be the territory of the New Continent China Republic, thus excluding any colonial forces that attempted to seize the place.

However, the Ainu people on the island are not completely closed-minded and ignorant. They do know the general exchange "prices," which unexpectedly dashed the hopes of the new Chinese who first arrived on the island last year who wanted to make a fortune.

According to the "quotes" of the Matsumae Domain merchants who first came to the island, an iron axe could be exchanged for two or three sea otter pelts, a sharp knife and two cans of coarse salt could be exchanged for a smooth seal pelt, and a small bag of grain could be exchanged for several barrels of cod.

In order to gain a foothold on the island and to establish the necessary trading order, the new Chinese did not break the previous trading standards and happily engaged in trade with these Ainu people.

Several months ago, when Ding Lao Er and his group were trading with this tribe, they unexpectedly discovered several grains of gold dust in the chief's house. The larger ones were the size of broad beans, while the smaller ones were the size of rice grains. They immediately used a short knife to exchange them all and instructed him to continue searching for these beautiful "stones" so that they could be used for trading next time.

Unexpectedly, after just one winter, these natives actually managed to acquire a lot of placer gold again.

Although half of the stone particles were clearly not gold, the remaining gold dust still amounted to more than ten ounces.

After a thorough refining process, at least ten taels of gold can be obtained.

Wow, this deal is incredibly lucrative.

Ding Lao Er wrapped the bag of gold dust in animal hide and handed it to the accompanying merchant's accountant. Then he began to pick through the furs on the ground.

His movements were exceptionally light and quick, and he could never hide the smile on his face, his mouth always wide open.

During the transaction, he would quickly slip seven or eight grains of gold into his pocket and hide them close to his body.

Although this hoard of gold couldn't buy anything on the island, its inherent allure made it irresistible to possess it, even at the risk of severe punishment if discovered.
-
As evening fell, the pale sunset stained the watchtower of the wooden fortress blood red.

This village, named Dong'anbao, is surrounded by a ring of sharpened birch stakes. Scattered inside are seven or eight semi-subterranean huts, with walls reinforced with wooden planks or birch bark, which makes the houses both windproof and heat-insulating.

Smoke curled up from the chimneys, where a thick porridge of salted dried fish and wild garlic was simmering in an iron pot in the canteen, while large chunks of venison stewed in another pot, emitting a rich aroma.

"...gold dust, about fifty taels."

"One hundred and thirty sea otter pelts."

"Forty-two seal skins."

"Thirty-five fox pelts."

"Two hundred and thirty-six deer hides."

"Eighteen sable pelts."

"Three bear skins."

"..."

In the warehouse of Muzhai, Ni Shaoyong sat upright at a rough wooden table, writing crooked words on the account book.

"Phew..." After writing the last few words, he couldn't help but let out a long breath, then gently closed the ledger and locked it in a wooden box.

"Scholar, are you done?" Ding Lao Er greeted Ni Shaoyong warmly as he came out, "Hurry up and eat, the meat soup on the stove is still warm!"

"Brother Ding, you...you mustn't call me 'scholar' anymore." Ni Shaoyong blushed slightly and gave a wry smile. "How can someone as rudimentary as me compare to a scholar!"

"Heh, among all of us, you're the only one who can read. You're a scholar, aren't you!" Ding Lao Er was in a great mood and couldn't help but tease the young man.

“Ding Lao Er is right!” Another man squatted at the entrance of the canteen, holding a big bone and gnawing on the meat on it. His face was covered in grease. “I still remember that when we were sent to this deserted island two years ago, the commander repeatedly told us that even if everyone else died, we must ensure that you, the scholar, would be safe!”

"Tell me, out of tens of thousands of people on our Beiying Island, there are probably only a handful who can read and write. We can't afford to lose them so easily. Damn it, when I have a son in the future, I'll send him to school too. He can't be so blind, knowing nothing and understanding nothing!"

"Suntou, if you want a son, the most important thing is to find a wife first!" Ding Lao Er said with a smile.

"Pshaw! Finding a wife isn't that hard." Sun Tieshuan, the head of Dong'an Fort, said dismissively, "Believe it or not, I can get a beautiful woman from the natives with just a small jar of spices!"

"Are there beautiful women in the indigenous tribes?"

“Uh…” Sun Tieshuan paused for a moment, then pursed his lips and said, “It doesn’t matter if the local women are pretty or not, as long as they can give me a son! Anyway, it’s dark at night and you can’t see anything, so it doesn’t matter if they’re pretty or not.”

"Hahaha..." Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

"Hey, scholar, our village has accumulated about five or six hundred hides since last autumn, right?" Sun Tieshuan threw out the clean bone he had been gnawing on. The black dog that was wagging its tail immediately pounced on it, happily picked up the bone, and then lay down in the corner and began to gnaw on it.

“Yes, we have over six hundred.” Ni Shaoyong replied, “I estimate that we should be able to collect a few hundred more when the ship from Beiying Island arrives.”

"Oh, then we'll have to wait until July or August." A hint of anticipation appeared on Sun Tieshuan's face.

"Didn't the ship arrive in May last year?" Ding Lao Er asked in surprise.

“What do you know!” Sun Tieshuan rolled his eyes at him. “Last year, when Lao Zhang left, he mentioned that the voyage this year would be delayed until July or August. At that time, the sea will be much calmer and there will be fewer storms.”

"Moreover, it seems they are heading northeast to probe the situation, making preliminary preparations for occupying more islands and land in the future."

"Do we really need to occupy so much land?"

"If the higher-ups think it's necessary, then we, the people below, have to do it. What's the point of arguing?"

“These deserted islands have almost nothing but furs and… It’s freezing cold, and we can’t even harvest any food. What’s the point of taking them over?” Old Ding sighed.

“…” Sun Tieshuan ignored him and turned to enter the cafeteria.

How could we, as insignificant people, possibly fathom the plans being made by those above?

A salty sea breeze wafted by, and one of the men, having finished his meal, began to hum a little tune.

"The dates turn red in July"

"Young girl carries basket up the bushes"

"Brother, don't be lazy!"

"Harvesting dates will help us get through the winter."

"..."

The tune was "Beating the Jujube Pole," a popular northern folk song. On this foreign island where the snow had not yet melted, it brought tears to my eyes.

(End of this chapter)