Chapter 593 - 3: Don’t Let Fear of Loss Stop You from Having
There are only two seasons on the island, alternating between the rainy season and the dry season.
If not for the annual festival, Chen Zhou would sometimes forget what year, month, or day it was today.
The unique calendar he made from different types of wood lasted only until the fourth year. Later, he started using paper to keep records, then there were clocks, then people, and many more advanced things, so he simply abandoned the paper.
Perhaps as people age, they become accustomed to reminiscing about the past.
Chen Zhou always held on to the idea that he would one day return to the modern age. Until it all ended, he was still that 25-year-old young man, feeling somewhat at ease, not so afraid of death, and his longing for family and hometown was not so strong.
As he grew older, as he bid farewell to the companions who had been with him for many years, he would occasionally sit on a chair in the villa’s veranda, looking at the forest shrouded in twilight, and think of the falling leaves in autumn.
The seasons in the inland town were distinct.
In spring, a drizzle like smoke often fell, bringing a touch of new green, and the air after the rain was filled with a moist, fresh, and plant bud-like scent;
In summer, the heat was blazing, the grand sun scorching, and the poplar leaves on both sides of the street glowed green in the sunlight, often making distant buildings and pedestrians seem distorted by the heatwave;
When the crops in the fields unknowingly turned from green to withered yellow, the roar of the harvester, accompanied by continuous thunderstorms and howling cool winds, signaled the arrival of autumn.
Chen Zhou still remembered the sight of corn being threshed and spread out to dry in the yard at his grandmother’s house, that delightful yellow expanse resembling a bountiful desert. Barefoot, he would step into the corn kernels, swimming among them, feeling as if he were sinking, and that feeling was both exhilarating and cool;
Of course, what he missed most was the winter of his hometown, that cold and long season, where the cold froze the land and all trees withered.
The shallow river was frozen into solid ice masses, the sky full of snow and wind dyed the land white, and the sun, though hanging in the sky, brought little warmth to the earth.
The days always brightened very late and darkened early, making it seem as though daily time itself had shortened.
Snowfall was a frequent occurrence.
The cold current from the Mongolian Plateau swept over the town carrying goose feather snow, with the sky looming low and the dome taking on a dim yellow color.
The northwest wind howled past overnight, leaving the distant mountains like mourning whites, and the leafless trees bloomed with pear-like blossoms;
When dozing on the bench with Lai Fu, Chen Zhou often thought that it had been almost ten years since he last saw snow.
The island held many things he cherished, many friends who had accompanied him for years, subordinates dear as sons, but never the distinct four seasons, never the hometown snow.
He had to admit, he indeed missed home.
...
The treasures obtained from Kilian and the subsequent gold and silver had long been recast into gold bars, gold coins, silver ingots, and silver coins of equal size.
Chen Zhou had roughly calculated that these precious metals, converted to RMB, had a total value exceeding 400 million.
It was a truly astronomical number, enough for him to live carefree for a lifetime.
There were also some uniquely styled and exquisitely crafted gold ornaments, which he hadn’t melted down but kept in their original form, awaiting a suitable price upon return to the modern era. If given the chance, he would sell or donate them; if not, keeping them as collections was also a good choice.
Of course, the wealth Chen Zhou accumulated over the years was far more than this, with more precious metals still in the hands of the islanders.
With Chen Zhou’s wisdom and the hardworking hands of the islanders, the archipelago had basically achieved self-sufficiency. Whether it was grains, fruits, vegetables, meats, or textiles, the islanders could produce them on their own, and often there was quite a surplus of many goods.
As for the high-quality steel, semi-finished bicycle parts, firearm parts, uniquely styled clothes, more advanced farming tools, and small machine tools, looms, etc., produced by the island’s factories, they generated significant profits for the island every once in a while.
The long-established islanders were gradually becoming wealthier, and the new islanders’ lives were visibly improving, with many families already having a second or even third child.
These were once indigenous people who killed each other and even resorted to cannibalism for a bite to eat. In their wildest dreams, they probably never imagined that one day they could live such a life, practically a celestial kingdom on land.
...
Nearing fifty, Kilian achieved fame and success through "Paradise Island," now even having a seat at the Spanish Royal Family’s banquets.
If Chen Zhou amassed a fortune through Kilian, then the gains Kilian himself received might have been more than a hundred times that of Chen Zhou.
As Kilian aged and accumulated wealth to a certain level, he finally decided to share the location of the island with his close friends after obtaining Chen Zhou’s consent, letting go of this rich and succulent piece of meat in his mouth.
The secrets about "Paradise Island" had long spread throughout Europe. Previously, due to Kilian’s restrictions, most sailors regarded this news as an unrealistic legend.
Even if someone believed it, they did not have their own ship, did not know the exact location of the island, and could not withstand the immense pressure from Kilian’s influence, so it was impossible for them to reach the island.
It wasn’t until Kilian himself confirmed the matter that people realized there was indeed a lost civilization similar to Atlantis in the world, naturally including Monidez.
But now is different from before. Previously, Monidez used its connections to suppress Kilian, boasting a massive fleet and endlessly gathering wealth, with power reaching its apex.