Chapter 2

Captain Xiao Bailang's cabin was hosting a crucial meeting.

Xiao Bailang repeatedly explained through a megaphone, and with the targeted explanations provided by numerous waiters and security personnel to various cabins, all the passengers on the ship quickly elected seven representatives to form a temporary self-rescue committee. The committee members were: Captain Xiao Bailang; a black-faced man, Peng Zhicheng, a former military officer; Ma Qianzu, the director of a municipal office; Wang Qianian, a serving naval officer; Shao Shude, a construction contractor; Ma Jia, the workshop director of a private steel mill; and Liu Weimin, a middle school teacher. The committee adopted the principle of democratic centralism, with no chairman set for the time being. Every resolution would be discussed and voted on collectively by the committee, and a simple majority would suffice for passage.

The committee members munched on cookies and drank mineral water while discussing various matters.

"Let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point. Currently, the ship's navigation equipment has no signal, and communication devices such as maritime satellite phones and mobile phones also have no signal," Xiao Bailang looked around at everyone, frowned, and slowly said, "All the ship's equipment is in good condition, and the grounding has not caused significant damage to the hull. However, there is a shortage of diesel fuel, which is insufficient to support another long voyage."

"The current situation is unclear, and this diesel fuel is our strategic reserve. We must not use it unless it's absolutely necessary," Liu Weimin, the middle school teacher, flipped through his notebook, "As the committee member in charge of material reserves, I have conducted a preliminary inventory of the cargo on the Yunsheng No. 1. After a count, we have: 300 sets of high-precision hunting crossbows and accessories; 500 mountain bikes; 2,500 pieces of various clothing and over 10,000 pairs of shoes; 2,000 bags of flour, 2,500 bags of rice, 200 bags of soybeans, 500 boxes of cooking oil, over 700 boxes of monosodium glutamate and iodized salt, over 600 boxes of various jams, salted fish, and meat cans, over 100 boxes of alcohol; 500 sets of stainless steel kitchenware, cookware, and tableware, 1,000 sets of ceramic tableware, 3,000 old-style aluminum military water bottles; 500 shovels and picks, 1,200 stainless steel pipes, and some hardware tools, cement, building materials, and rebar, which are temporarily uncounted."

"The supplies are relatively abundant for now," Wang Qianian, the naval officer, looked relieved. Indeed, if everyone were stranded in a desolate place with nothing, how would they solve the food problem for hundreds of people? They might have already set sail again to find a place with people. "Currently, we must determine our next course of action, which is how to carry out self-rescue. I believe, regardless of our current situation, we should quickly establish a temporary settlement on shore. The cabins are not suitable for long-term living, and the fresh water on the ship is almost depleted. With so many people crowded together, something will eventually go wrong."

"Cough..." Peng Zhicheng, who had performed well during the previous Indian attack, cleared his throat and scribbled on a piece of paper, "The Yunsheng No. 1 has a total of 568 passengers and crew, including 399 men, 169 women, 42 people over 60 years old, and 29 under 16. There are 15 former military personnel and militiamen with military experience, plus some security personnel. Once everyone disembarks, security will be a significant concern."

"Yes, I agree with that," Shao Shude, the former construction contractor, nodded. These modern people, who are not used to physical labor and are rather lax, are indeed much weaker in the wild compared to those savage Indians. "Given the current situation, I suggest selecting capable personnel to go ashore for reconnaissance and mapping, but they must return before nightfall. We will make decisions based on the information they bring back. It would be disastrous if everyone disembarked rashly and was attacked, resulting in casualties."

"Yes, the situation is still unclear, and we must be cautious. Why did those Indians come here today? Why did they attack us? Will they come back? Where is their tribe? These are all questions we need to answer," Ma Qianzu flicked the ash from his cigarette and spoke confidently, "Comrades, I've heard that Indians are very warlike and hold grudges. This concerns our safety, so I suggest equipping the reconnaissance team with high-precision hunting crossbows and mountain bikes to conduct a thorough investigation of the area."

"I agree with everyone's suggestions. We should send a reconnaissance team to gather information before taking further action. Time is of the essence, and it's still early. The reconnaissance team can start preparing now. We've wasted enough time discussing this," Ma Jia said bluntly, ignoring the looks from the others.

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The reconnaissance team consisted of 10 former military personnel and 9 young volunteers, led by Peng Zhicheng. Before departure, Peng Zhicheng gave a brief training session on the use of the hunting crossbows, which required no special skills, just strength. Liu Weimin provided 20 sets of blue Qing Dynasty new army uniforms from a film crew's cargo, citing that a uniform would boost morale and provide a sense of security and honor.

After the reconnaissance team left, the others could not just sit around idly.

Wang Qianian led several security personnel to the stranded barges and tugboats in a lifeboat. The tugboat, registered as "X Tug 1537," was owned by Mr. Zhang, who, along with his relatives, was transporting nearly 5,000 tons of coal and over 1,000 tons of scrap steel to a power plant downstream on the Yangtze River.

Wang Qianian solemnly announced the temporary self-rescue committee's requisition order. The shipowner, who was not foolish, agreed to Wang Qianian's request after witnessing the events of the past day, officially joining the group. To everyone's delight, the tugboat's hold contained some vegetable seeds, fishing nets, fishing gear, and two barking wolf dogs chained up.

Wang Qianian understood the significance of the vegetable seeds. Although food was not a concern for now, as Chinese people, not having green vegetables would be unbearable. If they decided to settle on shore (which Wang Qianian believed was inevitable), these seeds would greatly enrich their diet.

"Dismiss!" Wang Qianian waved his hand, carefully holding the plastic bag of vegetable seeds, and returned to the cargo ship.

"The dock should be built here. There's a small hill on the right, perfect for a lighthouse or a watchtower," Shao Shude stood on the deck, writing in his notebook. "As for the living area, the first priority is to build simple wooden huts, a canteen, public toilets, and a bathhouse. We also need to build large warehouses to store all the supplies. Oh, and we should dig some wells or build a water reservoir. Here, here, and here, we need watchtowers, and the entire area should be surrounded by a fence, at least a wooden fence. Hey, Xiao Qian, are you listening? What are you doing with that ruler and pen?"

Shao Shude grabbed Qian Hao, who was writing and calculating with a wooden ruler and pen. Qian Hao looked up and smiled, "Brother Shao, I'm calculating our latitude and longitude. Um, I've calculated that we are roughly at 33 degrees south latitude and 57 degrees west longitude. This area should be in South America..."

"Uruguay," a middle-aged man leaning against the railing and smoking a cigarette interjected, "To be precise, it's on the eastern Atlantic coast of Uruguay. Today is October 7th, spring in Uruguay, with a suitable climate. Even during a mini ice age, the nighttime temperature is at least a few degrees. I don't know what era this is, but let me introduce myself. I'm Gao Mo, known as the 'Heart-to-Heart Uncle,' a librarian who enjoys studying history and geography."

Gao Mo was tall, about 1.78 meters, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, a pale complexion, and messy hair, looking somewhat unkempt.

"Shao Shude, a small contractor. This is Qian Hao, my fellow townsman and a college student," Shao Shude extended his hand and shook Gao Mo's.

"Modern Uruguay has a population of over three million, with very few Indians who have long been integrated into mainstream society and live modern lives. The kind of Indians we encountered would only appear before the large influx of European colonizers," Gao Mo smiled, blew out a smoke ring, and analyzed, "Look at the other side of the river, it's a vast expanse of primeval pine forest. As far as I know, modern Uruguay has introduced many exotic tree species like eucalyptus for artificial reforestation and profit, and such primeval forests are almost non-existent. Look at this side, the land is so fertile, the climate so suitable, and the sunlight so abundant, yet it's still a vast wilderness with no signs of human activity. Isn't that strange?"

"Have we traveled back two thousand years?" Qian Hao asked naively.

"Not that far," Gao Mo smiled, "According to Wang Tiechui, the Indians showed signs of aggression as soon as they saw them. From what I understand, Indians are generally friendly as long as you don't provoke them. Based on Wang Tiechui's experience, this group of Indians might have been mistreated by someone and mistakenly assumed Wang Tiechui's group was the same. Of course, this is just a guess. Maybe this group of Indians is particularly warlike, but that's uncertain."

"Who do the Indians in Uruguay have a grudge against?" Shao Shude asked. He already had a vague idea. Who else could it be? The European colonizers.

"The Portuguese slave traders," Gao Mo said confidently, "Historically, in the 17th century, the Portuguese established many small trading posts along the eastern coast of the Uruguay River, engaging in smuggling with Buenos Aires in the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Besides smuggling, they also conducted another business activity: capturing Indians in the interior of Uruguay. Yes, it was a business activity. They sold the captured Indians to slave plantation owners in São Paulo, who were eager to buy slaves from all over the world."

"So..." Shao Shude was uncertain.

"So, we are probably in the late 16th or early 17th century. By the mid-17th century, the competition between Spain and Portugal in Uruguay would intensify. You would see countless Portuguese people flooding in from São Paulo, and the Spanish advancing from the Río de la Plata region to the eastern coast of the Uruguay River. The Indians would be either killed or forced to hide. Of course, these are just my speculations."

"Very cruel," Shao Shude shook his head and sighed, "We need to be prepared. Those Portuguese slave traders won't spare us either. In their eyes, we are not much different from the Indians."

Qian Hao's mouth was wide open, still processing the information.

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In the evening, the reconnaissance team returned.

Old Zhang, the tugboat owner, brought his son and nephew in a small boat to transport Peng Zhicheng and his team back to the cargo ship.

Peng Zhicheng rushed to the captain's cabin as soon as he boarded, and soon all the committee members gathered.

"Old Peng, tell us the situation," Xiao Bailang, without any formalities, asked first.

Peng Zhicheng walked to the table, drank a large glass of water, and then nodded lightly, unfolding his notebook. "We roughly followed this river upstream for about ten kilometers, reaching a lake. Along the way, we encountered only some forests and endless grasslands. The river is estimated to be over twenty kilometers long, with a narrower and slower upstream section leading directly to the lake. By the way, the lake is a saltwater lake, and the river water is also salty, unsuitable for drinking or daily use. The south bank of the river is a vast primeval forest, with several freshwater streams visible. The north bank has some small rivers with moderate water flow, sufficient for our several hundred people. There are no large predators or signs of human activity nearby."

"What about the lake's size and fish resources?" Liu Weimin was very concerned about this.

"Due to time constraints, we didn't have time to survey the lake, and we don't even know its full extent. However, I am certain it's an inland lake, not a bay. It's a brackish water lake, with a taste different from seawater. The fish resources are abundant, and you can see many fish schools with the naked eye. I believe it's a natural treasure, a gift from heaven," Peng Zhicheng emphasized, his black face turning slightly red with excitement.

"Did you encounter any Indians?" Ma Qianzu, with a slicked-back hairstyle, looked shiny. He was thorough in his thinking and had been preoccupied with the Indians who attacked them, believing they should address this issue first.

"No," Peng Zhicheng shook his head, "The Indians we encountered in the morning fled into the forest on the other side of the river. They might have a base there or their tribal stronghold."

"If we disembark and start construction, we will need to cross the river to cut wood. How do we ensure safety?" Shao Shude had already planned extensive construction, which would require wood from the other side of the river.

"If necessary, we can start from the periphery. We can send more people and pay more attention to safety. It's not a dense forest, so it's not hard to detect any movement in advance," Wang Qianian thought.

"Let's do it that way," Ma Jia said loudly, already impatient, "Staying in the cabin is suffocating. Time is of the essence. Let's use the megaphone to inform everyone and gather more opinions. We'll start work tomorrow morning."

"Agreed! Let's do it!" Everyone quickly reached a consensus.