Chapter 564 - 65: Sunday’s Proposal
The distance between the Big Island and the Archipelago is not far. The Steel Bone, which set out early in the morning, finally returned in the afternoon, loaded with goods and treasures.
Armed with guns and well-equipped personnel, Sunday successfully subdued the other tribes on the island, allowing the severely damaged Great Tribe to continue.
The piled-up corpses were set ablaze, and Sunday promised that the next time he came to the island, he would bring some food for the natives.
When leaving the small island, he took the children and teenagers aged 5 to 15 with him.
Seeing that skinny teenager, he vaguely recalled himself: if his tribe had not been destroyed by the Great Tribe, if he had not been chosen as a sacrifice, if he had continued to grow up on this island, he might not have been any different from this boy.
Sunday often heard a few words from Chen Zhou.
Civilization, culture, heritage, morality...
These concepts were too advanced for the natives, so advanced that they seemed somewhat illusory, like castles in the air, unable to form a clear concept in Sunday’s mind.
Until that day, seeing that teenager three or four years younger than himself, holding a human bone and looking at him with ignorant eyes, Sunday finally grasped a simple truth—
The significance of the heritage of civilization is perhaps to let the next generation live a little better than oneself.
So he took it upon himself to stuff all the children and teenagers from the island onto the ship and bring them back to the Big Island.
He hoped that these children, like himself and like the babies born on the Big Island, would start their memories basking in the sunshine of Heaven, no longer shrouded by the gloom of Hell.
...
A few months ago, when making the plan to attack the small island, anticipating the sudden increase in the island’s population, Chen Zhou specifically issued instructions to encourage the opening of farmland and the planting of more crops.
Of course, it was not necessary for him to personally supervise how this order was implemented and whether it was executed correctly. Saturday was fully responsible for this, and Fulushou would actively assist him.
Overall, this task was completed satisfactorily. Relying on the unique advantages of the tropical region, although the newly cultivated land was not fertile, its area made up for this shortcoming. The food produced was still sufficient to feed the new population.
With the seafood produced by the newly built small fishing boats at the shipyard, the food reserves could fully sustain them until the next harvest season.
However, that was based on the assumption that the increase in islanders met the target. Since Sunday brought back dozens of children and teenagers, there were even more mouths to feed.
This was originally an act of disobedience, but after listening to Sunday explain the cause and effect, Chen Zhou did not blame him.
"In a land of mourning and rivers of blood, it’s nothing more than a thought of saving all living beings."
Chen Zhou, an ordinary rural child, naturally harbored a sense of empathy for all the underprivileged people in the world. If he had the ability, he would also save these tender hearts.
Thinking from a different perspective, he felt he would make the same decision as Sunday.
So upon witnessing this kindness in Sunday, Chen Zhou not only did not punish him but also allocated the food and resources stored by the Spaniards on the island to Sunday, so he could use this wealth wisely to settle those children.
Among the Spaniards’ supplies was a large quantity of condiments and alcohol, which could fetch a high price on the island.
The elders’ families had enough food reserves to last one or even two years, and they would happily trade their excess food for some alcohol and condiments to satisfy their cravings.
As long as Sunday understood business and traded at a relatively fair price with the elders, feeding these children would not be a problem.
Of course, besides food, finding a place for the children and teenagers to stay was also an issue—
The temporary accommodations established on the island were only enough for the previous group of natives brought to the island, and it would be too crowded to include the children and teenagers.
Moreover, children and teenagers have different temperaments from adult natives. After arriving on the island, they could not receive the same education as the adults. Chen Zhou believed it necessary to separate them.
...
At the harbor, the islanders were pushing carts and driving ox carts, unloading boxes of supplies from the ship.
The cantilever crane built by Chen Zhou and the portable assembly mini-crane were separately installed on the dock and the deck of the Steel Bone. These two machines greatly improved the islanders’ work efficiency and saved them a lot of effort.
Having long ingrained this way of life, islanders worked cheerfully.
Now, they not only ate their fill at every meal but also didn’t have to work as hard as before. When tired from work, they could stand and rest for a while.
Watching the youths being escorted off the ship by the security team, the islanders couldn’t help but reminisce about their arrival on the island, with conversations naturally steering toward the "past."
Some envied these youths for coming to "Heaven" so early, meaning they suffered much less.
Others envied the youths for their youth, as it meant more flexible minds, greater capacity for learning, and perhaps higher achievements in the future.
However, though envious, there was no jealousy, let alone hatred—
The current life satisfied them greatly, and they didn’t have strong desires for unattainable things.
After a few idle chats, they continued diligently unloading cargo or loading carts as needed.
Boxes of treasures, clothing, food, and condiments were either loaded onto carts pulled by manpower or ox carts, all heading in the same direction—the factory.