Chapter 581 - 73: One Year
The remote island was like a fog that swallowed everything. The rumors about the Ruby had vanished ever since Monidez sent out three armed merchant ships.
For Kilian, no news was the most terrifying news.
Still pretending to be ill in the mansion, beneath his seemingly calm reaction lay a difficult struggle.
Rising from humble beginnings, climbing step by step to reach his current status, Kilian had acquired things most sailors envied greatly.
Fame, fortune, honor, disgrace, power...
Yet he was never content, not willing to be trampled underfoot after a lifetime of hard work.
Kilian was no longer young, and he originally planned to transport the last few batches of treasure back to Spain, then bid farewell to sea life, settle back on land, look after his business, and comfortably enjoy life, mingling with the upper class.
Sometimes he would comfort himself—
Monidez’s status was an unchangeable fact, just like a queen’s children, who are born into an unreachable height for ordinary people.
People don’t need to overthink it too much; his efforts have been rewarded, his abilities have been proven, and he has crossed class barriers, achieving dreams many people have.
Isn’t it enough to be content at this point?
Logically, one should feel content, and Kilian had always been instilling this idea into himself.
But that was merely a way to numb himself—
Just because he had no power to change anything didn’t mean he willingly accepted it.
Should he ever see a ladder to climb higher, he would unhesitatingly rush towards it; this was Kilian’s nature.
Even though he was wealthy enough to live a care-free life, his determination had never faded.
In the past, when there was no hope in sight, he endured, avoided, and persuaded himself not to confront Monidez.
Now, he sensed something unusual from the disappearance of the three armed merchant ships—
The island, those who made his treasure and subordinates "vanish" on it, did indeed possess a certain formidable power, at least far beyond Monidez.
When he was young, he willingly boarded a ship to distant lands for the sake of legendary wealth, just to escape being called a poor boy by others.
Although now old, facing yet another unknown, thorny road, he hesitated only briefly before making the same choice—
Set sail, head to that island!
...
Kilian’s struggles and decisions were naturally unknown to Chen Zhou, far away on the oceanic island.
From the newly captured captives, he obtained a startling piece of information.
It turned out they did not belong to Kilian but were under Kilian’s arch-nemesis, a noble named Monidez.
However, Sunday’s attack did not unjustly accuse them; even though they weren’t Kilian’s subordinates, they harbored ill intentions in coming to the island.
If left unchecked, they would certainly wreak havoc on the island and wouldn’t rest until they found a "ruby larger than a pigeon’s egg."
...
It proved that Westerners were indeed inherently bullies, fearing and showing admiration towards those stronger than themselves instead of harboring much resentment.
Swept away by Sunday in one strike, losing many companions directly or indirectly, these Spanish sailors showed no dissatisfaction while in prison. Even when they saw Sunday or the sailor in blue overalls again, they were exceedingly respectful and obsequious.
Perhaps, as the ancients said, "Foreign tribes not of our race must have a different heart; strong, they are robbers, weak, they bow humbly, disregarding grace and righteousness; it is their nature."
Beaten to fear, they would become obedient and deferential.
Show them a bit of kindness, and they would think of overturning and becoming masters.
If the island’s natives hadn’t lacked their own cultural ideology, like a blank sheet of paper, directly imprinted by Chen Zhou with Chinese culture, they might have also turned into insatiable wolves.
...
The prison was never designed to detain so many Spaniards, and since the captives from the three armed merchant ships joined in, there wasn’t enough cell space.
Chen Zhou felt it improper to keep such a large group of capable laborers, skilled and physically robust, idling in prison eating without doing anything productive.
To keep them occupied and prevent a "Shawshank Redemption" escape scenario, Chen Zhou instructed Saturday to establish a "labor camp."
The captured Spanish sailors underwent labor reform in the camp, starting from the basics, helping to cultivate and build the island.
Meanwhile, they had to learn Chinese to communicate with the guards.
Those who showed a positive attitude and a sense of attachment were prioritized and selected to become "foremen" among the prisoners.
As their Chinese proficiency improved, well-behaved foremen could earn "promotion opportunities," allowing them to move out of the cramped concrete cells and live in the labor camp.
The labor camp oversaw a large farm, offering much more space than the prison cells so that the prisoners could regain a semblance of freedom.
...
Time flew by, and suddenly it was 1667.
Both Kilian, who had his treasures snatched, and Monidez, who had sent out three armed merchant ships, remained curiously silent.
The Spanish sailors undergoing labor reform on the island initially harbored hopes of rescue or ransom, but as time went on, their hopes slowly turned into despair.
Now, every day after waking and washing up, they went to work in the fields, and only after finishing their work could they have breakfast.
Then, they attended classes to study Chinese and recite classical poetry.