Chapter 421 - 182: Work Uniforms
The unique ritual caused more psychological pressure and confusion than excitement for the indigenous people.
With little education, they didn’t even know what month or day it was today, let alone realizing that beneath the solemnity of the ritual in this "New Tribe," there was also a component of celebration.
...
By the time Chen Zhou returned to the cave, it was already noon.
The Iron Massacre was, of course, once again soaked with foul sweat.
When he took off the armor, Chen Zhou felt as if he had just come out of a steamer, his whole body hot and sweaty.
If not for often being in the Forging Room with the furnace recently, coupled with years of physical labor making him strong and robust, anyone else wearing armor and walking back and forth on the mountain like this would have been utterly exhausted.
...
The chief Priest, burdened with the heavy "ritual clothing," returned to the cave, gulped down a large glass of water, sat at the table to rest, and began gathering strength to host the evening banquet.
The indigenous people were not as comfortable.
After completing the ritual, under Sunday’s orders, they immediately took off shoes that didn’t belong to them and queued up to head to the beach.
After dismantling the timber-stone wall, it needed to be transported and reorganized before being conveyed directly to the "construction site" at the northeastern corner of the peak.
Simultaneously, someone had to fell trees, transport the stone, and build new timber-stone walls.
Of course, before all this, figuring out how to get the cattle out of the cage and drive them up the hill was a significant concern.
...
Standing in front of the iron cage, Sunday examined the two enormous beasts.
As the person responsible for these two cows, he was like a mother-in-law inspecting her son-in-law, growing fonder by the look.
However, cattle were still too unfamiliar to him. Sunday knew only the "Celestial God" could answer his questions, teach him how to coexist with the cattle, how to make them obedient.
But as Chen Zhou was resting in the cave, Sunday dared not disturb him before completing today’s work.
So, despite having many questions in his heart, he could only stay on the beach, supervising the indigenous people’s work.
During their breaks, whenever time allowed, he would cut some fresh grass and pass it through the cage to feed the cattle, building goodwill with them.
Cattle are quite intelligent animals. Although it was their first day encountering these strangers and in a stifling hot, cramped environment, though their temper was a bit restless, they knew who was friend or foe.
Thanks to Sunday’s provisions of water and grass, he soon gained acknowledgment from the two cattle.
At least they no longer showed particular resistance to his touch.
...
Replenishing his water and eating a large piece of chocolate for energy, Chen Zhou finally recovered his strength after resting for nearly an hour.
He took a simple shower and changed into clean clothes before heading straight for the beach.
Besides driving the cattle to the mountain, he hadn’t forgotten there was still a green package waiting to be opened.
...
Upon arriving at the beach, Chen Zhou was quite pleased with the indigenous people’s work efficiency.
A large batch of semi-finished wooden boards, under Sunday’s command, was neatly layered together with stones to form new timber-stone walls.
The "guidelines" reserved for the indigenous people on the sandy ground made wall-building simpler. Even without a clear concept of the range of trans-temporal cutting in their minds, they could still complete the task, though not as precisely as Chen Zhou.
However, during times of preparation, quantity of materials was more crucial than quality.
Moreover, wall-building skills would improve over time; Chen Zhou couldn’t oversee everything personally. Sometimes letting go was the only way to allow the indigenous people to gain experience.
Under Sunday’s orders, only two sides of the timber-stone wall were built, leaving two sides open for releasing the cattle from the cage.
On the other side, pre-cut timber and stone bricks were either loaded onto carts or carried on the indigenous people’s shoulders, slowly transported to the mountainside.
There, a temporary rest spot awaited, where Saturday had already lit a bonfire, cooking two pots of barley porridge with shredded meat on the mountain.
The indigenous people could replenish their strength midway and then, with a burst of effort, bypass the mountainside to transport construction materials to the northeastern beach.
...
Watching the indigenous people, like diligent little ants, Chen Zhou couldn’t help but lament about the insufficient manpower while feeling the transportation efficiency was too low.
The most efficient transport tool on the island was undoubtedly the cart, but there were only two, and they were both small-wheeled carts.
While the pace was fair on the well-maintained road at the southwestern mountain corner, it became a struggle at the rugged northeastern mountainside.
To improve transportation efficiency, he needed to build a flat mountain road, make more carts, or find another path, like using sea routes.
But whether it was road-building, cart-making, or taking sea routes, it all boiled down to a core issue—too few people.
Including Chen Zhou, there were only ten people on the island, fully counted. No matter how rationally they were allocated, it was impossible to complete many large-scale projects in a short time.
It should be known that in ancient times, building fortifications involved using thousands or even tens of thousands of serfs; a mere ten people were insignificant.
...
"Wait until we develop to a point where we can sustain ourselves, then fully domesticate these newly joined island indigenous people.
Maybe we could be more proactive, sending them to the Archipelago to gather information, or perhaps bring in some newcomers..."
A firm grip on the rifle strengthens one’s resolve, providing confidence in both words and actions.
The performance of the Chen Family 1662 rifle had already been proven in combat. Chen Zhou was confident that, under the same physical and mental parameters, warriors holding such firearms could dominate contemporaneous adversaries.
Thus, his courage increased, and his vision extended further than before.
However, there was still a long way to go before fully domesticating these indigenous people and teaching them the mysteries of firearms.