Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 15 Hard Days
November 11th, early morning, 5:.

As a sharp metallic knocking sound emanated from outside the cabin, some of the Spaniards, who had been light sleepers, slowly opened their eyes. However, their bodies were still somewhat exhausted, making them too lazy to crawl out of the haystack. Instead, they wrapped their worn blankets a little tighter around themselves, trying their best to conserve some of their body heat.

We have been held captive by this group of colonists from the East for more than half a month, and all of us have been forced to work like animals day and night.

Logging, brick making, house building, digging ditches, leveling the land, processing game, fishing...

If they slacked off even a little, they would be scolded at the very least and whipped at the worst. They would even be deprived of food after being punished.

Of course, these Orientals do not just use corporal punishment and exploitation, sometimes they will also be gentle and give some rewards.

For those who perform well in their work, they will also give verbal praise and food rewards, such as a large piece of venison or a fat sea fish.

In order to better manage them, these Orientals adopted a strategy of divide and conquer among their Spaniards.

Some Spanish sailors with good performance and relatively obedience were appointed as team leaders, responsible for managing five to eight people, accepting daily work tasks, supervising the team's production progress, arranging food distribution, "assessing" the daily performance of team members, and restraining the behavioral norms of subordinates.

For example, according to a normal schedule, you must get up immediately and do some simple washing up after hearing the bell.

"Get up, get up!" Several team leaders yawned, stood up and walked to the floor where the team members were sleeping, kicking them hard with their feet, constantly urging them not to stay in bed and be lazy.

"Ido seems to be sick..." Adro Papu Gomez hurriedly put on his clothes, glanced at the bed next to him, and said softly.

"Are you really sick, or do you want to be lazy?" A team leader froze when he heard this. He walked to the sailor who was still curled up in the torn blanket, squatted down, and reached out to touch his forehead.

"He must be really sick." Gomez looked at his companion with sympathy. "Last night, he kept tossing and turning in his sleep, kept complaining about the cold, and was talking nonsense. I guess he caught a cold. ... Oh, how unfortunate, he might die."

Here, if you catch a cold or get sick, it is very difficult to survive.

Although the Orientals had a highly skilled doctor, he could only provide simple "physical" treatment. As for whether he could fully recover, he could only pray for God's blessing.

"Shut up!" The team leader glared at him fiercely, then stood up and said loudly, "Alright, alright, get dressed, make your beds, then go out and wash your face, rinse your mouth, and get ready for breakfast. If you're late, be careful not to have anything to eat."

Having said that, he left the sick sailor behind and walked straight out of the cabin.

"Damn it, one less person to work!" Walking out of the house, he exhaled fiercely. The cold air instantly made him more sober.

More than 20 people were crammed into this wooden house of less than 30 square meters. The mixture of various body odors, sweat odor, foot odor, and fart odor made people feel extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, as the temperature gradually dropped, the two small ventilation windows were covered with canvas, making the entire cabin more stuffy and the smell even more pungent.

There was no other way. There were no extra houses in the entire camp for the prisoners to live in. They could only squeeze together and endure a life like that on a ship.

Those Chinese - yes, this group of colonists from the East called themselves Chinese, saying that they came to this Qiming Island by ship from afar to escape the cruel war and ruthless political oppression, and started their colonial career - also said that if they wanted to get better living conditions, they should cut down trees, burn bricks, and then build more houses, so that they could enjoy five-person rooms, eight-person rooms, or even better-equipped single-room houses.

"What are you doing!" Suddenly, a loud shout came from the front. A Chinese manager picked up a thin stick and beat the Spanish sailor who was urinating in the corner of the house. "I've told you so many times, no urinating or defecating anywhere, no urinating or defecating anywhere. You can't hold it in, so you have to pee here?... I'll beat you to death!"

The Spanish sailor jumped around as he was hit by the stick, but he didn't dare to dodge or argue. He just held his head and took the beating silently, waiting for the anger of the Chinese manager to slowly dissipate.

In fact, these Chinese managers are very measured when they physically punish the Spaniards who violate the rules and make mistakes, and they will not kill them.

The thin stick would be used to whip the Spaniards who urinated in public, usually on their fleshy buttocks or backs. It would cause pain, but would not cause injury, nor would it affect their daily work.

By the way, these Chinese people have a lot of rules. For example, you can't urinate or spit at will. They also require every Spaniard to maintain daily hygiene, tidy up their room after getting up, and all personal belongings must be placed neatly.

Washing hands before eating was mandatory, using utensils quickly rinsed with hot water, and drinking water had to be boiled. Cold water and raw food were forbidden. Within a few days of their capture, the Chinese brutally shaved their heads, stripped them of their rags, burned them, and buried them. Then, they bathed and cleansed themselves thoroughly, leaving everyone feeling a bit nervous.

Fortunately, the Chinese did not do anything to them. They took the cotton cloth on the ship and gave each person a few feet of it. They cut a few holes in it, tied a few ropes, and used it as a set of clothes for them.

The Chinese also have requirements for beards on their faces, which must be shaved off every five to seven days. This is said to prevent bacteria from getting on the beard and then into the mouth, causing health diseases.

Oh, speaking of shaving, I have to admire the shaving tools provided by the Chinese.

Unlike in Europe or Mexico, where you have to use a sharp razor, it is very easy to injure your face during the careful trimming or shaving process. Every time you shave, you will inevitably get a few eye-catching cuts on your face.

The Chinese people's shaving tools are surprisingly small and practical, consisting of sharp and extremely thin blades and exquisite blade holders.

It is unknown what material the blade is made of, but it is very light and thin. The edge has been treated with some kind of metal, making it very tough, sharp and durable.

When in use, install the blade on the blade holder and hold the handle of the blade holder to shave. It is very easy to operate and portable, and can be carried in your pocket.

Just based on this razor, if it were taken to Europe, it would most likely be sold at a sky-high price and would definitely be sought after by countless nobles and wealthy businessmen.

Of course, in addition to such sophisticated gadgets as razors, the Chinese also have many rare things that they have never seen before.

Their ships, their muskets, their daggers, the tools they used, and even their cooking utensils and tableware were probably the most advanced things in the world.

You see, the cups they use to brush their teeth are not made of gold, wood, pottery or porcelain. They must be made of a material that has never been seen before.

Look at the toothbrushes they use. Even among European royal families, there is no such sophisticated thing. They still use pig bristles or cloth from hundreds of years ago to clean their teeth.

And the cups they use to drink water are simply high-end works of art, with smooth lines and beautiful and exquisite carvings on the outer walls. They are very textured and look very noble.

It is said that their cups can keep heat and hot water will not get cold all day long.

"Why do these Spaniards look at us so strangely?" Wei Zhonglong spat out the last mouthful of water in his mouth, rinsed the toothbrush in his hand in the cup, and then poured it into the sewage pool.

"Most likely he is dissatisfied with our labor exploitation." Li Liang glanced at the Spaniards who were queuing for food opposite him and said indifferently.

"Don't even mention them. We're all exhausted from working every day. As soon as we get back to the dormitory, we lie down and don't want to move anymore." Wei Zhonglong sighed and complained, "I originally thought that after capturing these Spanish sailors, we could relax a bit. But who would have thought that the daily work would never end? You see, we in the navy have become just coolies now!"

"Why are you complaining about being here?" Li Liang said with a smile, "Don't you see that the captain and the political commissar have to work just as hard as we do?"

"That's right! Everyone's working so hard. So, we're all here to work hard on this project. I think we should subdue the two neighboring indigenous tribes and get them to work. That would give us at least thirty or forty more free laborers, saving us a lot of effort."

"Forget it." Li Liang packed up his face towel, toothbrush, and cup, then turned and walked towards the dormitory. "Since there are more than fifty Spaniards, we may not even be able to guarantee three meals a day. How can we support dozens more natives?"

"No way." Wei Zhonglong turned his head in surprise and glanced at the storehouse on the south side of the camp. He said in disbelief, "Haven't the hunting brothers brought back a lot of red deer these days? And the fishing team has a lot of harvest every day. How can they not guarantee three meals a day?"

"In a few days, it might snow, officially marking the start of winter." Li Liang looked up at the gloomy sky and said, "By then, in the cold winter, neither the hunting team nor the fishing team will be out working every day. If there are a few blizzards, won't everyone be hiding in the camp, eating up all the food they have? ... All that food is for the winter!"

"What are we going to do?" Wei Zhonglong said with a gloomy face. "Every day it's either venison or fish, mixed with some wild vegetables and fruits. I'm already tired of it. Oh, so we might go hungry in the future?"

"There's always a way." Li Liang said with a smile, "We are, after all, the most advanced civilization of this era. How could we possibly starve? ... There's definitely a solution!"

"Alas, these miserable days!"

(End of this chapter)