Chapter 28

March 1, 1632. Monday, light rain.

Fabian Klinger from Saxony leaned against a small wooden boat, with his wife Hanna sitting beside him. Their entire possessions were a chest between Fabian's legs and a little pig in Hanna's arms. Years of war and natural disasters had left this young German farmer almost destitute, barely able to put food on the table. What was even more disheartening was that there seemed to be no end in sight to such hard times.

Thus, with no other options, Fabian took his wife Hanna and boarded an immigrant ship sailing from Rostock to Tatan Port. The Swedish ship, named "Swift Deer," was captained by Jacob, who, upon hearing that everyone who traded with the Tatan people had made a fortune, was eager to get involved.

Although he couldn't partake in the lucrative porcelain trade, the profit from transporting this entire ship of goods and immigrants to Tatan Port would still be at least double. The Tatan people were known for their generosity with money and had a good reputation in the Baltic region. On the return trip, he might be able to purchase some Tatan specialties. Their plate armor was particularly famous. A lucky man from Gothenburg recently sold a set of plate armor to a nobleman in his country, which received high praise. The dozens of sets of armor he had in stock were sold out in a short time, earning him a substantial profit.

Thinking of this, Captain Jacob's heart burned with excitement. He sold all his possessions and borrowed 1,500 ducats from a Dutch merchant, starting to purchase goods in Sweden, Poland, and Russia. He also began to gather refugees and skilled workers from various countries who were willing to try their luck in the New World.

At this time, the war in northern Germany was raging, with the Swedes and the Catholic League fighting fiercely. Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Saxony had been ravaged by war, causing significant damage to production. Many artisans and farmers had gone bankrupt and were struggling to survive. Captain Jacob easily gathered a large number of refugees and some skilled craftsmen. If it weren't for the limited space on the ship, he might have taken all the refugees he saw to America. Finally, after stuffing over 200 immigrants onto the ship, Captain Jacob set sail.

After a three-month voyage, the "Swift Deer" finally docked at Tatan Port. The 211 German immigrants and a large amount of copper, lead, flax, cloth, gunpowder, furs, and livestock sold for a good price. The captain used the proceeds to buy 100 sets of full-body armor from 1631 and 250 sharp command knives from 1632, then returned to Europe.

Fabian and his wife came to Uruguay under these circumstances. They were assigned to the planned Dinyuan Fort settlement area by the executive committee. The newly established construction company's first team had already built two settlements on the east side of Dinyuan Fort, each capable of accommodating 100 people. The housing was ready, and now they were waiting for the settlers to arrive.

"Here we are!" The boatman, who had been rowing, smiled at Fabian and handed him a few boiled potatoes. Fabian was grateful. This German from Pomerania had come here last year and participated in the war against the French last month. After being discharged, he was assigned to the transport fleet, responsible for rowing boats on the Big Fish River. As a free man, he reportedly earned one yuan per month and could eat free boiled potatoes and salted fish at the transport fleet's canteen, which made Fabian quite envious.

The Big Fish River was becoming increasingly busy, with wooden boats loaded with various goods constantly traveling back and forth, forming a "golden waterway." The transport fleet under the East Shore Company had over 40 medium-sized river boats and nearly 100 boatmen, handling all transportation tasks on the Big Fish River, the main artery of the region.

Waving goodbye to the boatman, Fabian and Hanna, along with a dozen other immigrants, were led away by a receptionist who had been waiting on the shore. The receptionist was a "Tatan person." After a few words, he gave up, realizing that no one understood him, which made Fabian laugh a little.

After walking down a path overgrown with weeds, the group stopped in front of a row of neatly built red brick houses. The receptionist began to confer with a few people who had been waiting there, speaking in a language they couldn't understand.

Fabian felt hungry; the food he had eaten in Tatan Port that morning had been completely digested. He took out the boiled potatoes from his pocket and started eating while looking around. He didn't forget to share the food with Hanna.

"Fabian, are these the houses prepared for us?" Hanna, who didn't feel hungry at all, excitedly shook Fabian's arm and asked, "Can we really live here? Oh, I want to build a pigpen and raise some chickens. Darling, are you listening to me?"

Fabian was about to answer when he saw the group in front of them finish their conversation. One of the tall European men turned to them and spoke in German: "Hello, everyone. I am Christoph Grot, but you should call me by my Chinese name, 'Grot,' which would make me very happy. First, let me introduce you to the 1st Production Team of the Dinyuan Fort Settlement Area. You are fortunate to be the first residents here. In the future, I will be responsible for the production, life, and security of the entire team. You can consult me if you have any questions. Of course, you must also complete the tasks I assign without any discount. Well, that's all. I think you can't wait. Now, go and choose your houses. Two people per room, and married couples can share a room!"

As soon as Grot finished speaking, the dozen or so German immigrants immediately rushed to choose their houses.

"I should teach them some manners next time," Grot muttered, rubbing his sore shoulder.

Fabian sat on a chair made from a tree stump, watching his wife Hanna excitedly move around the room. The room was small, with only one room. The furnishings were simple: a crude wooden bed, a similarly crude table, and two tree stump chairs. It was almost bare, but Fabian felt a sense of peace that made him want to cry.

After struggling to survive in Germany for over twenty years, witnessing the deaths of many family and friends due to war, hunger, and disease, and almost meeting the same fate himself, he never imagined that in the New World, he would suddenly find the life he had always dreamed of.

No threat of war, no tax collectors to take his last coin, no unbearable cold climate. He could live quietly with his beloved Hanna, raise a few pigs and chickens, and have a bunch of children.

God bless! At this moment, Fabian devoutly praised the Almighty.

No one can take away my new life, not even the king! Fabian swore to God.

Smoke rose from the kitchen of the communal canteen at the village entrance; it was almost lunchtime. Grot's sister, Adele, directed a few Irish people to carry buckets of food from the kitchen into the canteen. Soon, the men, women, and children of the entire production team would come to eat on time.

Adele was a responsible person. Since being transferred from the agricultural bureau to the 1st Production Team, she had worked diligently. Although her monthly salary was only 80 cents, Adele, who was in charge of material statistics and distribution, worked late every day. Recently, many immigrants had arrived, and a large amount of supplies had been transported here, mainly seeds, farming tools, and food.

Adele knew that this was a prelude to large-scale land reclamation. She carefully registered and stored each item, ensuring no mistakes. She had a small bed in the material warehouse, where she slept when tired and continued working when awake.

In addition to managing the supplies, the canteen of the production team was also under her charge. There were four Irish people assigned to the canteen, none of whom were free men and received no pay. Adele was a kind girl. Whenever the four Irish people stole potatoes, she pretended not to see. This made the Irish people very grateful, and their work enthusiasm increased significantly.

Grot rang the bell on a wooden frame at the edge of the field, signaling that it was lunchtime. The immigrant farmers, who were burning fields, leveling land, and digging canals, stopped working. After placing their tools in the designated area, they began to form noisy lines: one line for men, one for women. After forming the lines, Grot led them to the canteen for lunch.

Today's lunch was the usual boiled potatoes, salted fish, and fish soup. Everyone ate quickly and happily, as such food was not easy to come by in Europe. Moreover, the upcoming work would be very hard, and they needed sufficient nutrition to maintain their strength.

The executive committee had planned a 1,000-acre planting area for the 1st Production Team, mainly for growing high-yield crops like potatoes, which was a breakthrough in solving the food crisis for the settlers. In addition to farming, the immigrants would also participate in various labor tasks during their free time, such as building roads to the next production team, constructing public toilets and baths, building water and drainage facilities, digging more wells, building reservoirs and water treatment facilities, and working with other teams to build schools and medical stations. Men would also regularly participate in militia training. In short, there would be no shortage of work.

To boost the immigrants' enthusiasm, the executive committee announced that once any immigrant obtained free man status, they would receive a free house and could buy the land they cultivated, with a limit of 30 acres per person.

This policy gave the immigrants hope, and their work enthusiasm increased significantly.

PS: I just got back from a business trip. Since I uploaded the first chapter the Sunday before last, I was urgently dispatched on a business trip the next day. For the past week, I've been sharing a standard room with another colleague, making it impossible to write. I could only find time to post saved drafts and manage book reviews. The saved drafts are almost depleted, so from today, I will update once a day. ^_^ I need to catch up on some saved drafts first.