Chapter 13

### May 12, Monday. Overcast.

Reverend Francis walked briskly along the road paved with broken bricks and cinders, accompanied by several immigrants. In front of him were a few young girls from the Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau. These girls were originally from the medical industry, either nurses or medical students. The Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau was a secondary unit directly under the Civil Affairs Committee, with a formal staff of 10 people. Their main tasks included public health disinfection, infectious disease prevention, and health examinations for immigrants.

In addition to the Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau, the穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time) also established a central hospital. This hospital was also a secondary unit under the Civil Affairs Committee and had several formal internal and external doctors, including ship doctor Wang Liao. Due to the lack of medical equipment and the depletion of the modern medicines they brought with them, these doctors could only perform basic diagnoses and had limited effectiveness.

Mo Xiaoxi, before the穿越 (穿越 refers to the time travel event), was a graduate student in public health at XX Medical University. She naturally took on the heavy responsibility of the Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau.

"Latrines need to be disinfected regularly with lime," Mo Xiaoxi said as they entered the wooden houses where the immigrants lived. "Windows should be opened before and after the day to maintain ventilation."

Reverend Francis, understanding Mo Xiaoxi's instructions, quickly directed the immigrants to start working.

After inspecting the living area and leaving a group of immigrants to work, Mo Xiaoxi and the other girls chattered as they went to the engineering team that was digging the sewer system. Most of the engineering team was currently building a kiln, and only about ten people were assigned to dig the sewers, so the progress was slow.

Liu Dafa, leading a group of construction workers, was digging lazily. Seeing a group of young girls, they immediately perked up.

"Why are there only a few of you?" Mo Xiaoxi frowned. "Didn't we assign you a batch of immigrants? Where are they?"

"Hey!" Liu Dafa was also frustrated. "When has the Executive Committee ever paid attention to our construction team? The people hadn't even arrived when they were intercepted by the Agriculture Bureau!"

"What?! How can they do this!" Mo Xiaoxi was furious. "They can't even keep their word! I'll go back and ask Xiao Mingli for an explanation!" She then turned and left with a group of indignant girls.

"Hey! Girls, don't go! Let's chat!" Liu Dafa stomped his feet in frustration, cursing the Agriculture Bureau and their ancestors.

### Jin Kela shook a soybean plant in his hand, making a rustling sound. Most of the leaves had fallen off, and the stalks had turned yellow. When he opened the pods, the thin membrane that provided nutrients between the pods and the beans had disappeared, indicating that the pods were mature.

"Quickly distribute the sickles," Jin Kela said, looking at the sky and worried about the possibility of rain. This was why he had gone to the Executive Committee early in the morning to request that they pause other work and focus on harvesting the soybeans.

These sickles were made by hydraulic forging and then hand-sharpened and fitted with handles. The craftsmanship was a bit rough, but the quality was good. To ensure the successful harvest of the soybeans, the Executive Committee temporarily mobilized nearly 400 people, both young and old, to harvest 1,000 acres of soybeans.

Ma Qianzu swung his sickle and joined the harvesting effort. Due to the shortage of manpower and to avoid unnecessary controversy, Executive Committee members and department heads who were not otherwise occupied also participated in the labor.

The growth of the soybeans was only average. Without chemical fertilizers and with limited organic fertilizers, the yield per acre was only about 50 to 60 pounds. The穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time) harvested the parts of the soybeans above the roots, which were then threshed on the drying ground. The root system, due to the action of rhizobia, could fix atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which was beneficial for soil fertility, so the harvest was limited to the parts above the roots.

The harvesting continued until sunset. Jin Kela walked around and found that about a third of the area had been harvested. Seeing the Executive Committee members, including Ma Qianzu, sitting on the field ridge to rest and drink water, Jin Kela approached them.

"The food problem is becoming urgent," Shao Shudao said. "The flour and rice we brought initially have been consumed by nearly half. If we continue to bring in immigrants, the rate of food consumption will increase significantly. In the next year, the amount of food we can harvest will be limited due to the scale. Therefore, we must find a way to obtain more food, as much as possible."

"What are the possible sources of food?" Ma Qianzu asked, recognizing the importance of the issue.

"First: fishing. The fish resources in the upper reaches of the Big Fish River, particularly in the Big Fish Lake, are abundant. We can set up a base there for fishing and even process the fish on-site. This will provide us with a large amount of protein and reduce our dependence on grain," Shao Shudao said. "Second: trade. This is more difficult because we have few trading partners. Kwait is expected to return in October, but his ship can't carry much grain, and the most important point is that Europe is also short of food, very short! It will be difficult to buy large amounts of grain from Europe."

"Buying grain is not feasible, so we can only rely on ourselves," Ma Qianzu said. "This time, we can harvest about 50,000 pounds of soybeans. We can't count on the wheat, but we can harvest a few crops of potatoes, though the yield is not high. To maintain the scale of immigrants, it's not realistic in the short term. We must take control of the Big Fish Lake! Since the resources there are so abundant, we can't ignore them. We'll discuss this further and come up with a plan, and then put it to a vote. By the way, Old Jin, you're here just in time. Tomorrow, organize a group to thresh, dry, and store the soybean stalks harvested today. We need to act quickly."

"No problem," Jin Kela said, sitting down to drink some water. "The warehouses are ready, and we'll store them as soon as they are dried."

"By the way, Old Jin, how do you plan to thresh the soybeans? By hand?" Shao Shudao suddenly asked.

"What? Can you make a thresher for me?" Jin Kela's eyes lit up.

"I don't have that skill," Shao Shudao smiled. "But you can talk to Ma Jia and have him arrange for someone to make a hydraulic thresher. It's not complicated; the blacksmiths can make it themselves."

"Alright, I'll go talk to him later," Jin Kela smiled.

The soybean harvesting lasted for three days. By the evening of May 15, all 1,000 acres of soybeans had been harvested. The weather was cooperative, with only the first day being overcast, and the next two days being sunny, which relieved Jin Kela's concerns about rain.

After the soybean harvest, the Executive Committee gave everyone a few days off and then resumed various construction projects. They also began discussions and preliminary preparations for establishing a permanent base at Big Fish Lake.

On May 26, after the construction team worked overtime, the kiln was finally completed. The kiln had a theoretical annual production capacity of 15 million bricks and tiles, but due to manpower constraints, the actual annual production was around 10 million. This greatly alleviated the shortage of building materials for the穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time), and many long-delayed construction projects could now proceed.

The completion of the kiln also freed up a large number of people, allowing the development of Big Fish Lake, which had been discussed by the Executive Committee, to enter the implementation stage.

According to the resolution of the Executive Committee, a base was to be established on the southeast shore of Big Fish Lake, near the confluence with the Big Fish River. The base would be a small fortress with an outer wall and an inner dormitory capable of housing 200 people. It would also have two wells: the water was slightly salty and suitable for daily use, and in emergencies, it could be used for drinking. There would be a rainwater collection pool, a sedimentation pool, and a filtration pool. Additionally, there would be a public toilet, a canteen, a bathhouse, a warehouse (including an armory), and a watchtower. A fishing pier would be built on the lakeshore, and the road from the pier to the fortress would be improved.

Of course, the most important facility in the base would be the fish processing plant. Due to transportation and logistics issues, most of the fish and shrimp would be processed into salted fish, fish paste, fish sauce, and fish bone powder at the plant, with only a portion of the fresh fish and shrimp being transported downstream for the穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time) to consume.

This was the first true outpost of the穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time). The Executive Committee solicited names from the穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time) and officially named the base Dingyuan Fort. The Dingyuan Fort Development Team was formed to build and manage the fort and the fishing industry. The team was initially composed of: 100 construction workers (temporary, to be withdrawn after the project is completed); 20 members of the newly established Fisheries Bureau fishing team; 60 workers from the Executive Committee's direct enterprise, the fish processing plant; 25 members of the Dingyuan Fort guard team; 3 cooks, 1 doctor, 1 shipwright, 1 apprentice blacksmith, 1 fishnet repairman, and 5 laborers, totaling 217 people.

The穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the group of people who have traveled through time) showed great interest in the Dingyuan Fort Development Team. Many people came to the Executive Committee to volunteer for positions, causing Xiao Mingli, who was responsible for personnel selection, a lot of headaches.

On June 30, 1631, after a month of noisy preparations, the fleet carrying personnel and supplies finally set out.

The initial team of the Development Team included 100 construction workers and guards. After the fortress was built, the rest of the team would join them. The ships carried building materials, food, and water, as well as two 4-pound cannons, two 8-pound cannons, 50 hunting crossbows, and 30 matchlock guns.