Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 106: Sorrow
On January 1629, 1, many residents gathered at the Shixing Port Pier to see him off. It was time to set off on the annual Pacific journey.

Harvey kissed his daughter's face for the last time, then reluctantly handed her over to his Indian wife.

After his wife Mena took it, she hugged her tightly in her arms, covered her head with a sea otter fur cloak to shield her from the biting cold wind, and then looked at her husband with concern.

She knew that her husband would be gone for seven or eight months, and when he returned it would be late autumn.

"In addition to taking good care of the children at home, you must also take care of your body and don't overwork yourself." Harvey glanced at his wife's belly, with a hint of tenderness in his eyes.

A few days ago, my wife vomited frequently. After the diagnosis by Doctor Dong, it was confirmed that she was pregnant with his child again and was almost three months pregnant.

Harvey was very excited after hearing the news.

I never thought that after wandering for so many years, with no place to live and no one to rely on, I was captured by the Chinese and forced to surrender to them. I then settled down on Qiming Island, got married, and had two children.

He cherished all of this and vowed to do his best to protect them.

"I'll be fine..." Mena smiled at her man, reached out a hand, stroked his face, and stammered in Chinese, "The child will be fine too. ... Well, they're very good to me. ... They have food, clothes, and a fire to warm themselves. It's very warm."

Due to her long-term contact with the Chinese, she, as a Spanish wife, can speak good Chinese.

Harvey nodded, reached out to smooth his wife's hair, and then subconsciously glanced at the crowd of people seeing her off.

Over there, several Chinese wives stood at the dock very gently, with their heads lowered. They did not exchange words of comfort with their departing husbands, nor did they have too many intimate actions. They seemed shy and timid.

Their husbands also did not say anything, but just looked at their wives silently, seeming a little reluctant to let them go.

Oh, the reserved Chinese people.

It was originally thought that the Chinese had brought back nearly sixty young women in two years, and they would be eager to marry and have children with them.

However, they seemed to think that these women were too young and not ready for marriage, so they planned to keep them for a few more years.

That's a really strange reason!

You know, not only in the Eastern world, but even in their European regions, there are many girls who get married and have children at the age of fourteen or fifteen. There are even girls as young as twelve or thirteen who entrust themselves to a man early.

His Indian wife seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen years old when she married him.

Now, she is about to give birth to his second child.

Do Chinese people like mature and steady women?

When it comes to Chinese people, Harvey couldn't help but feel some complaints in his heart.

During their two consecutive years of Pacific voyages, except for some personnel who participated in the whole process, many other crew members were rotated, but these former Spanish sailors "played the whole game".

This time, they are setting sail for the third year and will go on a long journey lasting more than eight months, which means they will be separated from their families for a short time again.

Judging from the situation, I am afraid that these two ships will be utilized to the fullest extent in the next few years so that they can bring back more immigrants from the Ming Dynasty.

Naturally, these veteran ship operators will cross the vast Pacific Ocean year after year, fighting against endless winds and waves, resisting violent weather, and combating various inexplicable diseases.

Until the ship they were sailing encountered a fatal shipwreck and eventually sank into the depths of the ocean.

This may be their fate as a sailor.

Although the Chinese leader, or rather, Director Luo of the decision-making committee, had promised them that in three to five years, once the sailors brought back from the Ming Dynasty had fully adapted to ocean voyages, they would be rotated out, allowing them to relax and spend more quality time with their families, Harvey didn't hold much hope for this promise.

Because, as a member attending the expanded decision-making meeting, he was well aware that the Chinese people had an extremely urgent need for rapid immigration.

They were eager to expand the population to thousands or even tens of thousands in the shortest possible time, so as to accumulate a strong foundation of strength so that they could gain a firm foothold on the island before foreign forces (the Spaniards) discovered them.

They often say that time waits for no one.

It is also always emphasized that all development and construction projects must be carried out in a hurry.

However, under the urgent psychological influence of these Chinese people, they really launched a large-scale development with all their efforts, which made the development speed of Qiming Island shocked him.

In three years, from the previous only wooden village, there are now two permanent strongholds, six settlements, a population of over one thousand, and more than fourteen thousand acres of cultivated land.

The establishment of many small workshops, such as salt fields, blacksmith shops, wood processing workshops, paper mills, grain mills, charcoal kilns, brick and tile kilns, pottery workshops, fish processing workshops, fur processing workshops, iron smelting workshops, food processing workshops, etc., not only provides residents with necessary production and living materials, but also processes some tradable goods, greatly improving and enhancing the self-sufficiency of Qiming Island.

Several shipbuilders brought back from the Ming Dynasty will also build a ship repair shop near the dock when the weather warms up in the spring. In addition to maintaining the only two large ships on Qiming Island, they will also build some small-tonnage fishing boats and offshore flat-bottomed transport ships.

After two or three years, when we have a certain amount of technical reserves, we may try to build a three-masted sailing ship with a slightly larger tonnage to increase Qiming Island's ocean-going shipping capacity.

All in all, everything here is changing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and this change is gradually moving in a better direction, enabling everyone to have a more prosperous and happier life.

"Oh, may God bless us!" Fleet commander Wei Yingbin has already given the order for all crew members to board the ship. The crew members once again said solemnly to their families or companions, and then turned and walked towards the gangway.

Harvey hugged his wife and children tightly, and followed the crew towards the ship.

"Bon Voyage!"

"Return safely!"

"We'll wait for you to come back!"

The crowd on the dock kept waving their arms towards the two large ships and shouting blessings loudly.

It was not until this moment that the wives of the Chinese men revealed their reluctance to leave. Looking at the large ships that were hoisting their sails and about to set sail, they all shed tears and sobbed softly.

"I think it's good to have a wife." Wei Zhonglong lay on the side of the boat, looking at the group of women who were seeing him off at the dock, feeling envious. "At least, there is someone in the house who cares about me and thinks about me."

"That's right," Li Liang said with a smile. "After you return, you can immediately apply to marry a wife. Well, there are about a dozen or twenty women over the age of eighteen, and you can choose from them!"

"Pick? ... Isn't it just drawing lots to get a number?"

"It's a lottery. But next time there will definitely be more people, and a wider range of choices. Maybe we can choose a wife you like." Li Liang tightened his fur coat and sniffed hard. A burst of cold air instantly entered his nose, making him shudder. "Also, these women have been raised for over a year. Their complexion and demeanor are obviously much better than when they first came. They are more in line with your aesthetic standards."

"Why don't you think about marrying one?" Wei Zhonglong asked curiously.

"How can I start a family if the Huns are not destroyed?" Li Liang turned and walked towards the cabin, ready to hide from the cold wind.

"Hey, you've already picked out your target, but she's still young, right?" Wei Zhonglong followed behind and continued to ask, "Oh, I see. You teach them from time to time. You must have carefully observed their appearance and habits up close, then picked out your target. You plan to take action against her as soon as she's old enough! ...Isn't that right?"

"That's not the case!" Li Liang said without turning his head, "I plan to wait until you have a daughter and she grows up, then I'll take action against her!"

"Oh my god! ... Beast!"

(End of this chapter)