Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 354 Immigrants
The ship, with discarded tires hanging from both sides of its hull, slowly approached the pier.

The tires squeezed against the trestle, making a grimacing sound.

The wooden walkway was a bit shaky, but thankfully it held up and did not collapse.

A row of ladders with hooks were lowered from the ship.

At the sailors' call, the immigrants, who had been seasick all the way, wearing life jackets and carrying woven bags full of luggage, came down the ladder.

"Let's go, let's get ashore quickly!"

The immigrants hurriedly walked along the pier and eventually arrived at the bustling port.

This place was originally just an ordinary port, but recently its throughput has skyrocketed.

The result was that the port was unusually busy, with people everywhere.

People on the shore were there to meet them and directed the immigrants through a special passage to a temporary camp.

"You have all been cleaned and given preventative medication before you set off."

The camp leader shouted to the group of immigrants with slicked-back hair, wearing work shoes and training uniforms, "With just a simple quarantine, you can be divided into teams and sent to various new villages."

"Now, everyone go take a shower!"

This temporary camp didn't even have barracks; the largest buildings were two large bathhouses.

The immigrants lined up, hanging the wooden identification tags they received before boarding the ship onto their woven bags.

They were handed over to those short Japanese women to be transported to the camp exit.

Afterwards, they went into the bathhouse, took off their clothes, and washed their bodies.

“This smell~”

One immigrant sniffed the water in the bathhouse, saying, "It smells just like the water we used to shower before we boarded the ship."

Someone nearby boasted, "I know what this is, it's called disinfectant."

There were two bathhouses, one of which was originally for women.

Among immigrants, there are almost no women.

So both seats were given to men.

As for why there were no women, it's because the immigrants recruited in the first round were usually surplus labor from various families.

Like a family with five or six sons.

Although each family was allocated a hundred acres of land, the use of iron farm tools, water conservancy projects, oxen and horses for plowing, and the large-scale use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides greatly improved labor efficiency.

Normally, only two or three laborers are needed to tend to a hundred acres of land.

In particular, not all of these hundred acres of land are used to grow grain.

In some places, it is used for planting trees, vegetables, raising fish, and raising poultry.

Many jobs can be done by women, which creates a surplus of labor in families with many sons.

Lin Dao ordered a large-scale migration, and these young people were the first to be selected.

Most of them were only in their early teens or early twenties.

The family had just been allocated land and was not yet wealthy.

Moreover, even when it came to getting married, the eldest and second eldest brothers would get married first, so naturally, everyone would be a bachelor when they immigrated.

After showering and disinfecting, the young immigrants retrieved their luggage and headed to the camp exit.

While waiting, everyone chatted idly.

“When the government issued the notice, my father wouldn’t let me leave.”

Zhang Wucai, a young immigrant from Xuzhou, sighed repeatedly, "Later, people from the government came and arrested both my father and me."

"I was put on a ship, and I don't know how my father is doing."

"Don't worry," someone comforted him. "At most, they'll be locked up for a few days and then released. They might just fine you a little money."

"There's a family in our village that's just plain stupid and unlucky."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to look at them.

Everyone loves to hear stories of people having bad luck.

"Their sixth son was also selected to immigrate to the Goryeo Province."

"But his old man refused, saying that they couldn't do without someone to do the work."

"Later, they simply hid his son, saying he was dead and buried him."

"I thought the matter was over, but I never expected the authorities to find out."

"That's it, they've directly convicted them of disrespecting the imperial edict."

A collective gasp of surprise suddenly filled the air.

That's a serious crime, absolutely unforgivable!
"Your Majesty is merciful!"

The man continued, "These heinous crimes are no longer punishable by beheading, but all the land, farm tools, seeds, livestock, and poultry that their families were allocated have been taken away."

"Before I left home, his whole family was begging for food."

Everyone sighed in dismay.

This family is incredibly stupid.

"The whole world is living a good life now."

"But such a fool is pushing his own family's wealth out the door!"

"You deserve it!"

Several clerks came over and said, "Take your identification tags and leave."

Having learned to queue, the immigrants walked out of the camp carrying woven bags and holding their identity tags.

A dozen or so Ming soldiers were waiting there.

"Luo Silang, go to Xianfeng Sancun."

"Zhang Wucai, go to Zuotun No. 7 Village."

"Chen Fugui, go!"

"."

The clerks carried the rosters and arranged for the immigrants to go to different villages.

Zhang Wucai and more than twenty young men set off on foot, following a group of Ming soldiers.

They were lucky; the village they were assigned to wasn't too far from the port.

After walking along a small river for an entire afternoon, we finally arrived at our destination before dark.

This is a small village with a few dozen dilapidated houses scattered around.

There are quite a few fields along both banks of the river outside the village, and there is also a series of small hills nearby.

The village chief, who has a slight disability in one leg, greets the crowd at the village entrance with the help of a Japanese woman.

"I was discharged from the military due to injury."

The village chief greeted the soldiers familiarly, and then introduced himself to Zhang Wucai and the others.

“My family members all died long ago, so I don’t want to go back to my hometown.” “His Majesty takes care of us wounded and retired soldiers. Not only did he give us rewards, but he also arranged for us to be village chiefs here.”

He led the group back into the village, saying, "Remember, don't go into the mountains unless you have to."

"Although we have cleared it many times, there is no guarantee that there are still Japanese people hiding in the mountains."

Patting his injured leg, the village chief said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I broke my leg when I accidentally fell into a trap while clearing out the enemy in the mountains."

"The land will be officially distributed tomorrow, along with corresponding weapons and military supplies."

"His Majesty said that the entire population should be mobilized as soldiers."

"Daily training cannot be neglected, and you must know how to protect yourself."

Upon entering the village, the group of young people were immediately dumbfounded.

The village entrance was crowded with Japanese women.

The number is so large that it is estimated to be over a hundred.

"No picking." The village chief took out a roster. "Bring your ID cards over and draw lots."

Although we had been told long ago that after immigrating, we would not only be allocated land, but also women.

I imagined it countless times while on the road.

But when their dreams became reality, the young people's eyes still lit up.

Even in rare times of peace, the survival rate of female infants is not high.

Due to outdated customs in various regions, all sorts of practices involving the abduction of female infants have emerged.

Most of the babies in those orphanages were girls.

Women are especially vulnerable during times of war.

With fewer people, finding a wife naturally becomes more difficult.

Just like in the modern world, some places are complaining about the extremely high bride price.

But why is it so high?

Decades ago, aside from those who complained about high bride prices, it was these same people who were criticizing the high bride price!
In a daze, Zhang Wucai was led into a house by two Japanese women.

These are two sisters, and they speak Mandarin with a stutter.

It doesn't matter, Zhang Wucai doesn't want to listen to anything right now, he just wants to mine.

The soldiers who escorted them also had their own place to rest.

Not much is needed; a piece of military rations that one is tired of eating is enough to earn a night of devoted service.

The next morning, the village chief woke everyone up by beating gongs and drums.

When the young people came out, they were all grinning from ear to ear.

We're all men now~
The soldiers took their leave and returned to the port to escort the next group of immigrants.

The village chief, holding the fish-scale register, led the immigrants to distribute the land.

“Each household receives 300 mu of land. If anyone receives less than that, they can file a complaint with the government.”

"This is a rule set by His Majesty. To embezzle land is to disrespect His Majesty."

"Those who don't give His Majesty face, we will teach them a lesson with swords and spears."

The land is 300 mu (approximately 20 hectares), mostly farmland.

There are also mountainous areas in the nearby mountains, as well as mudflats along the riverbanks.

Farmers do not just cultivate the land.

Plant mulberry trees, plant timber trees, plant fruit trees.

There are also vegetable plots, land for soil extraction, land for raising poultry and livestock, and so on.

"The river belongs to the entire village."

The village chief shouted, "The remaining extra land is all public land."

“Each family must take turns farming.”

"His Majesty is very kind to grant us a three-year tax exemption."

"Mark your plots, everyone. Now come with me to collect your farming tools, weapons, and seeds!"

For immigrants like Zhang Wucai, life in their new homeland was busy and fulfilling.

They work during the day, repairing houses.

He spends his nights taking care of Japanese women mining, leaving him with almost no free time.

Although life was tough, we were full of energy.

On this day, the immigrants in the village were gathered together for military training.

The women, holding needles and thread, worked and watched from the sidelines.

The sound of horses' hooves rang out, and a troop of Ming cavalry arrived in the village.

After some conversation, the village chief, his face beaming with delight, dragged his legs and ran over, shouting, "Quickly, put away all your weapons! Take all the women home! No one is allowed to go out!"

Everyone was puzzled. What was going on?
"It's your Majesty!"

"His Majesty is on his way back to the country from the port, passing through our area!"

For Lin Dao, riding his horse through Zuotun Qicun Village was no different from the villages he had passed through before.

They marched along the river into the village, and then left the village to head to the port.

This was just an ordinary journey during his daily work.

But for Zhang Wucai, who was peeking through the crack in the door, it was the only time in his life that he had ever seen the emperor.

The emperor gave him a new life.

He has land, a house, a woman, and children in the future.

No need to struggle to survive in your crowded hometown.

It was the great emperor who changed his fate, and also changed the fate of countless people whose lives were originally tragic!

Lin Dao arrived at the port, boarded the ship, and stood on the deck looking back at Japan.

This land, from this day forward, belongs to the Central Plains.

What kind of bullshit is this "country that cannot be conquered"? I'm going to take down the country that can't be conquered!

The fleet sailed on and finally arrived at Tianjin Port.

After disembarking, Lin Dao instructed Lu Yuan, who was there to greet him, "Don't go out to sea during typhoon season, remember that."

At this time, the railway from Dadu to Tianjin Port had already been opened to traffic despite the disregard for cost.

The locomotive and carriages that Lin Dao ordered from the modern world have already been installed on the tracks.

Before getting on the bus, he looked at the smoking front of the car ahead and began to plan the path of technological development in his mind.

"Start by boiling water."

(End of this chapter)