Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 191 The Development of Linhai Fort
In the early morning of August 1631, 8, warm air from the south and cold air from the north met at Linhai Fort, causing a sudden thick fog to rise in the entire area, making it almost impossible to see within a radius of more than ten meters.

In order to avoid being attacked by wild beasts, several settlements under the jurisdiction of Linhai Fort all stopped going out to hunt, and then, under the guidance of many settlement managers, all engaged in logging, house building and land reclamation.

"Hey!"

"Crack!"

Li Erhu swung the hoe in his hand vigorously, digging up the soil and trunk near the roots of the tree so that his companions could use a crowbar to dig out the roots buried deep in the ground.

Although this logged forest had been burned by a fire a few days ago, it only removed the weeds and branches on the surface. The thick tree roots were still buried in the soil, leaving behind a series of black stumps.

Land full of tree stumps cannot be cultivated, so it needs to be dug out one by one by hand, and then the holes need to be filled before crops can be planted.

Of course, this kind of raw land will not produce much in the first few years and needs to be constantly transformed and cultivated to slowly turn it into mature land.

If we continue to apply compost and wood ash, maybe we can turn them into fertile land in five or six years.

"Erhu, take a break and drink some water."

Zhang Yongshun, who was standing next to him, spat into his palm, then grabbed a crowbar and plunged it hard into the bottom of the hollowed-out tree roots. He kicked with his right foot, placed a piece of wood under the crowbar, and then pressed his whole body hard onto the crowbar, trying to pry out the loosened tree stump.

"Hey, your bone is too light. I guess it can't be pried out." Sun Huaian, who was standing aside, said with a smile.

"Why don't you hurry over and give us a hand!... If our team doesn't finish clearing this area before dark, not only will we be scolded by the manager, we might even have nothing to eat!"

Zhang Yongshun held his strength and pried a few more times, but the tree stump only swayed from side to side, but could not be pried out.

His face flushed red, and he felt a little overwhelmed, so he turned around and yelled at his companions.

"Don't shout so loudly, it makes me look like I'm slacking off." Sun Huaian muttered, took a step forward, grabbed the crowbar with both hands, and exerted force at the same time as Zhang Yongshun, pressing the crowbar down hard.

"Crack!"

Under the huge force of prying, the roots connected to the ground of the tree stump were immediately broken and the whole tree stump was pried out.

"Huh..." The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.

"Damn it, when will we be able to clear such a large area of ​​land?" Zhang Yongshun complained as he looked at the deforested land in front of him.

"If we can't finish it today, we'll continue tomorrow. If we can't finish it tomorrow, we'll keep cleaning day after day." Niu Erhu poured a bucket of water from the pottery jar beside him and gulped it down. He wiped the water from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand and said with a wry smile, "This forest will be cleared sooner or later, and then we'll be able to grow crops to provide us with daily food."

"Don't look ahead while working." Sun Huaian took the water scoop from Zhang Yongshun, poured himself a scoop of water, and drank it in a few gulps. "Just work with your head covered, otherwise, you won't be able to do it for long. ... Who cares? As long as I have something to eat every day, I will do what the manager tells me to do."

"This endless work every day is enough to drive people crazy!" Zhang Yongshun dragged the tree stumps out from the ground with all his strength, piled them up in the open space next to him, and then bent down to pick up branches and dug out roots.

"If you don't work, do you want to eat other people's food for free?" Sun Huaian gave him a sidelong glance.

"Honestly, I want to join the armed guards." Zhang Yongshun turned his head and glanced at the guards in the distance who were carrying swords and guns. He whispered, "Look how relaxed and impressive they are. On weekdays, they only need to patrol a few villages and then they have nothing to do."

"Even if they occasionally go hunting in the woods and explore the surrounding native forces, it's like a picnic. It's really enviable! Not to mention, they all have women in their beds to hold while they sleep. It's beautiful just to think about it."

"Two years ago, they colonized and reclaimed this wasteland, built the original fort, cleared so much land, and constructed so many houses. Naturally, they deserve the status and women they deserve," Sun Huaian said. "That's right. They've endured two years of hardship, so they naturally deserve more special treatment and status than we do." Niu Erhu, holding a hoe, walked to another tree stump and began digging again. "Our colonization captain said that we're only staying here briefly. Once the fleet reaches Linhai Fort, they'll transport us all back to the Xinzhou continent."

"Hey, what do you think it's like over there? Is it like what Captain Colonization described to us, with bustling cities and towns, peaceful and beautiful villages, fertile fields, and cattle and sheep everywhere? And is it possible for all of us to live a good life with enough food and clothing?"

"Oh, and we'll each be allocated land. ... A full 40 acres! It's such a great thing, I can hardly believe it."

"How would we know what that idiotic New Continent is like?" Zhang Yongshun curled his lips and said, "I think this place is pretty good. There are mountains, water, and it's right next to the sea. We can find food everywhere, so we won't starve."

"You said that if we were to be shipped to the New Continent, we would have to take another ship and endure great suffering. Moreover, once we cross the ocean to that place, I'm afraid it will be even farther away from our Ming Dynasty. Later, once we have recovered and accumulated some savings, we will not be able to return to the Ming Dynasty!"

"Does staying here mean we can expect to return to Ming Dynasty one day?"

"..." Zhang Yongshun paused, his expression froze, and then he sighed, "Alas, we all have to have some thoughts in our hearts, right? My Zhang family's ancestral tombs are still in Sanshui, and our descendants must kowtow to them and burn incense!"

After hearing this, several people fell silent.

Before, when I was hungry and naked, I was only thinking about how to survive in the world, how to find a way to make a living, and how to find food to eat. Of course, I didn't need to think about these things.

It was not until half a year ago that they were recruited by the Chinese people from Xinzhou and boarded a ship. After a bumpy journey, they arrived at this desolate and unfamiliar place and finally settled down a little.

Although the food here is very simple, including potatoes, sweet potatoes, porridge, corn paste, and salted fish, it can always fill your stomach.

The armed guards hunted game in the forest or exchanged it for wild game from nearby native tribes, which provided everyone with some meat to satisfy their hunger, and life was pretty good.

Not to mention, several nets of fish are caught on the beach every day. Except for some that are made into dried fish, the rest are basically given to these immigrants to supplement their nutrition.

I heard that two years ago, there were only forty or fifty people who came here to develop the area. They couldn't even grow basic food and relied entirely on ships from outside to import food. I guess they lived an extremely difficult and miserable life.

It was not until August last year that Linhai Fort expanded after gaining more than 340 new residents. It opened up 700 to 800 acres of land in one go and planted a lot of high-yield crops such as potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes.

After these groups of immigrants were transported here from Guangdong, more people gathered here, making this wild area seem less primitive.

After resting for more than ten days and recovering a little, they followed the earlier immigrants to continue to open up new land and colonize the area, cutting wood, building houses, clearing land, drying salt, processing fish, sorting furs... from morning to night every day, with almost no rest.

It is said that the two masters in charge of this place are preparing to achieve basic self-sufficiency in food in the next three to four years.

After getting over the initial panic, they would also start to have wild thoughts about their future prospects in the dead of night.

In fact, they also knew very well that once they boarded the ship and went out to sea, it would be difficult for them to return to their homeland of the Ming Dynasty.

But deep down in their hearts, everyone subconsciously wants to be closer to the Ming Dynasty. In this way, the wind from the Ming Dynasty can still blow here, and the thoughts of their hometown will not be so far away.

Perhaps, when future generations have accumulated some savings or become successful, they can return home in glory and bring their remains back to be buried with their ancestors.

However, as a commoner wandering outside, I have no room to make my own choices and can only "go with the flow" and take root wherever I can find a chance to beg for a living.

Perhaps, that new continent is really a paradise?

(End of this chapter)