Chapter 522 - 45: A Day in 1665_2
The weight of the cleaned cashmere decreased significantly and was then sent to the combing and spinning workshop.
In this workshop, the cashmere underwent processes using mechanical combing and spinning machines, moving through carding, combing, and needle combing stages, eventually being spun into fine and coarse yarn.
The woven cashmere products, once set with steam, were transformed into various cashmere fabrics.
The scale of the sheep herds on the island grew larger and divided into three groups, grazing respectively on the hillside, coastal woodlands, and the River Valley Plain, now totaling nearly 500 head.
But the cashmere yield was not high.
Moreover, there was some loss in the manufacturing process of cashmere fabric; after several procedures, the area of fabric produced each year was very limited. After providing for the Leader and the island’s top officials, there was hardly any left for others.
That’s why the price of fabric soared to a level that ordinary islanders dared not even dream of.
In fact, of the more than 60 villagers who joined the island last, very few yet owned decent clothes.
Most of them wore clothes sewn from sheepskin, looking quite out of place alongside those dressed in sailor uniforms or work clothes.
Every time Chen Zhou went out, seeing the three types of people working at the port dock, he would shake his head in wonder—
What fortuitous coincidences could create the spectacle of "Primitive People," "Medieval," and "Modern" attire appearing in the same place.
...
To allow workers more ample rest time and for his convenience, Chen Zhou built a single-story reinforced concrete canteen next to the factory.
Every day, morning, noon, and night, during breaks after work, workers didn’t have to go home; they could go directly to the canteen to enjoy free meals.
Nowadays, Chen Zhou was unwilling to cook, as Saturday, who originally prepared meals for him, was busy with work.
Chen Zhou couldn’t ask the principal and outstanding teacher, who bore the main responsibility for the island’s education, to spare time to be his housekeeper, so he had a "Leader-Only Dining Room" set up for him in the canteen.
Two of the most skilled island cooks were dedicated to cooking for him at any time, even if it was deep into the night. As soon as Chen Zhou came to the canteen, they had to get up and cook a few hot dishes for him.
"Damned power!"
Chen Zhou often lamented this way.
In modern times, he was a victim of power abuse by leaders, frequently cursing those who used their positions of power for personal gain behind their backs.
Now he had become a beneficiary and couldn’t help but sigh, it’s nice to be served by others!
However, unlike modern leaders, some of whom enjoy the benefits of power but don’t do their job, relying instead on the system to fill their own pockets.
Although Chen Zhou was a beneficiary, he never slacked off.
As the Leader, he indeed felt no guilt.
He applied the knowledge he learned in modern times to the fullest extent in the construction of the island.
More extensive saline fields, waterwheel mills, plows for tilling, more convenient and useful farming tools, irrigation channels, residential houses, even road planning, factory machinery...
All of this came from Chen Zhou’s tireless thinking, design, and experimentation.
It could be said that Chen Zhou did his utmost to use his knowledge to change this island.
Looking at the entire 17th century, it would be hard to find people happier than these recently civilized natives.
Even in colonial areas mired in hardships, or in the robust Great Qing, whose citizens didn’t experience such egalitarian and minimally oppressive living conditions.
...
After washing up, Chen Zhou called to Lai Fu, who was sleeping soundly by the stairs, and slowly walked down the stairs.
The closer he got to the second floor, the clearer the sound of machines in operation became. If Chen Zhou’s bedroom wasn’t located away from the workshops, he would have been awakened long ago, never able to sleep so comfortably.
As he aged, the downside of Lai Fu being less active gradually emerged—
It became increasingly fat.
To let it live longer, Chen Zhou would always wake Lai Fu after sleep and take it outside for activity.
Lai Fu was gentle and obedient; once awakened by Chen Zhou, it would follow its owner dutifully.
Of course, accompanying its owner was what it loved to do.
It just didn’t have the energy like its younger years to romp around Chen Zhou, using exaggerated actions to please its owner.
...
Before finishing work, most workshops had their doors closed, only a few open ones had women workers pushing processed cashmere hurriedly down the path.
Seeing their Leader, they dared not look up directly, only lowered their heads to softly greet him before hastily pushing the carts into another workshop.
Since leaving the training classes, these female workers had slowly found their places.
Many of the single men living in standalone houses were their first choice.
As for those islanders living in shared rooms, things were not as smooth, as their rooms had roommates besides themselves; they couldn’t procreate while the roommate was watching.
Having learned about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and shame, those unbothered natives developed their moral perspectives.
To align with their Leader, many islanders who wanted to form families didn’t dare to show interest, even if they liked someone, before they had their own standalone house.
This phenomenon naturally caught Chen Zhou’s eye.
He could vaguely see the shadows and pain of many young people in the 21st century in it.
Recently, he planned new residential houses, trying to allocate more private housing to most islanders, enabling them to successfully form families.
A power thrives only temporarily relying on just middle-aged and young people but cannot sustain without infants and teenagers, these newcomers must absorb his knowledge and propel the island forward.
...
Aside from the married and unmarried female workers, there was another group of female workers on the island, harboring fantasies.
They sought not ordinary islanders or veterans but the likes of Saturday, Sunday, Fu Lu Shou, and even Chen Zhou himself.
In terms of "sex," these native women, who spent their teens and twenties naked, were extremely open.
Publicly and secretly, Chen Zhou faced many temptations.
However, firstly, these native women’s looks were very different from his aesthetic preference, and secondly, knowing his limited time in this world, he lost interest in dalliance.
Chen Zhou considered himself to be responsible and couldn’t imagine how he could be heartless enough to leave a wife and children twenty years later if he developed a romantic connection and had children on the island.
He could be ruthless when killing, treating them as enemies.
But facing those around him day and night, he knew he couldn’t choose.
Though the island’s environment improved daily and approached modernity, it was still not the 21st century.
Chen Zhou worried that if he had children, without better education, he would feel guilty.
Ultimately, for this world, Chen Zhou saw himself merely as a passerby.
Like a stone skimming across the water, perhaps he could stir waves but never truly sink to the bottom.
...
Passing the first-floor hallway, exiting the main door with Lai Fu wagging its tail, Chen Zhou soon entered the canteen.
During the canteen’s design and construction, Chen Zhou no longer harbored anxiety—
The island’s population steadily grew, technological weapons rapidly advanced, and the port gradually erected defenses.
Not to mention the future, even if Spain attacked immediately, he wouldn’t be afraid.
Moreover, years had passed, and the Spaniards had yet to act, showing they wouldn’t mobilize over a sailor’s death for an unknown island.
Thus, the canteen’s design concept was completely different from the factory, utilizing large floor-to-ceiling windows for lighting.
Islanders once thought the factory was as indomitable as a temple.
Since the canteen’s completion, stepping into the dining area lit from both sides, spacious and bright, they genuinely felt what "Heaven" meant.