Chapter 26 People from Afar
East African Colony, Second Town.
This is the location of the small town of Rufu in Tanzania in the previous life, and the name of the Little Rhine in the previous life was Rufu River.
The Little Rhine runs in a southwest-northeast direction in East Africa. It starts from the Uluguru Mountains, turns northeast at Kisaki, and flows into the Zanzibar Strait in the Indian Ocean north of Bagamoyo.
The second town was located on the eastern bank of the Little Rhine. More than 500 newly assigned Chinese immigrants were settled here. At the same time, more than 50 immigrants who had lived in the first town for a period of time were transferred from the first town to guide the production and life of the new immigrants. There were also three Germans responsible for local security management.
Ernst was not afraid that these Chinese immigrants would have bad intentions. These were all selected, illiterate old farmers who had no sense of resistance.
As we all know, the Chinese have the second highest tolerance in the world before being forced into a dead end, the first being the Indians who are good at not resisting.
As for the French, they can surrender on the battlefield, but if you reduce their treatment, the Parisians will dare to besiege the government building the next day. (Cold joke)
This is Ernst's opinion, but it is absolutely true for this era. After all, the Chinese at the bottom of society are well aware of the golden rule that "the people should not fight against the officials."
Looking at ancient times, even if the leaders of resistance in Chinese history had not received any education, they had read a few books. A typical example was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was just suppressed. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, had participated in the imperial examinations and was considered a top student in that era.
Going back further in time, Chen Sheng, the leader of the earliest peasant uprising in Chinese history, could say something like "How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan?" Even if he had never been to school, he must have heard some great truths and had some insights. After all, as a village head, he had a high probability of coming into contact with lower-level bureaucrats and local dignitaries of the Qin Dynasty.
Therefore, when Ernst was selecting immigrants, his top priority was farmers and even refugees. They basically had no culture or knowledge, and at most had been exposed to some opera and storytelling.
As a Chinese in his previous life, Ernst understood these people’s thoughts best.
It is no wonder that the British liked to use Indians in their colonies. They were obedient on the one hand, but they were also born with the ability to take advantage of the power of others, which just happened to cooperate with Britain in suppressing the colonies.
There will be no problems in the East African colonies. What we should really be careful about are the natives who are temporarily captured. There are not many of them now and they cannot cause trouble, so we need to be vigilant in the future.
As for the Chinese, their status in the East African colonies was not low, at least in theory. After all, the Germans and Chinese in East Africa were both hired workers of the Hechingen Consortium and had signed contracts, so the two were equal in name.
Just like what people say in later generations, everyone is equal, but would you dare to say such a thing to your boss in a company? So the actual situation was that the Germans in the East African colonies were all in the management, while the Chinese were under the management, similar to a company.
The natives were not counted as part of the population of the East African colonies from the very beginning and are currently considered assets, and assets to be sold.
Influenced by the development of East African colonies, the Sultanate of Zanzibar even adopted the strategy of small profits but quick turnover, and the prices of indigenous slaves sold to the Arab region were reduced.
With these natives as comparison, the newly arrived Chinese immigrants were more honest and worked harder. After all, the natives had proved that the Germans were not easy to deal with, and they always kept in mind the priorities.
Under such circumstances, the second town was developed quickly. With the experience of the first town, the second town appeared on the land of East Africa as long as the process was followed.
There was also a new breakthrough this time, that is, rice cultivation. This is indica rice introduced from India. Tanzania and India are both tropical, so the East African colonies did not directly try subtropical rice cultivation. It is also convenient to transport from India as the distance is closer. As long as the price is negotiated with the British merchants passing through the port of Dar es Salaam along the way, they can bring some on their return journey.
The Second Town is close to the Little Rhine River and has a more secure water source than the First Town, so rice is grown in large quantities in the Second Town. In the future, it is likely that rice will be grown near the wetlands in the East African colonies like in the Second Town.
After all, rice has a higher yield than wheat. In the East African colonies, which also require human development, it is reasonable to pay more labor costs and pursue better yields.
Not only that, Ernst also plans to grow higher-yield corn in the East African colonies in the future. In his previous life, Africa was a continent where corn was widely grown.
…
In the second town, the newly arrived immigrants are reclaiming the newly developed paddy fields. They use water wheels to bring water from the Little Rhine River from the riverside into ditches and then into the paddy fields with well-built ridges.
Li Tiezhu and his fellow farm workers were busy digging a new water canal. Their dark and thin bodies seemed to be wielding the shovels effortlessly. They stepped on the Prussian-made shovel, and the soft red soil was brought out by the shovel. They raised their hands, turned the shovel over, and piled the soil on the ridge on the side.
"Uncle Jiaxiang, you have been here for a few months. Tell us what this Kilmann (German transliteration) is like? Does he keep his word?" Li Tiezhu asked while digging the ditch.
Li Tiezhu was a newcomer who had just arrived in the East African colonies from North China and did not know much about the Germans in the East African colonies.
Zhang Jiaxiang was digging in the dirt in front and said, "Why are you asking so many questions? You can beg for food wherever you go. In the Qing Dynasty, you were a tenant farmer for the landlord. Now that you are in Ah Fei Ka (German transliteration), you are a tenant farmer for Master Kilman. What's there to be afraid of?"
Li Tiezhu said, "In the Qing Dynasty, we have been farming for the landlords for generations, so we know them well. But we are not familiar with Master Kilman. Aren't we afraid if we are unsure?"
"What are you afraid of, kid? You are so young. Can the Kilmans be scarier than Master Zhou in your village? If you had a way to survive, you would have run to Ah Fei Ka to farm for Master Kilman. Don't daydream about nonsense all day long. Just be thankful as long as Master Kilman gives you something to eat." Zhang Jiaxiang said to Li Tiezhu.
"That's right. The weather was dry this year in my area and there was no water in the river. Mr. Zhou went to live in the city, and he had to collect rent every penny. There was no food at home and we were starving. So Mr. Kilman came to recruit workers and I signed up. Finally, I got on a ship at sea," Li Tiezhu recalled.
Then he said, "That was the first time in my life that I had seen such a big boat. It was bigger than Mr. Zhou's house. But life on the boat was not easy. I had vomiting and diarrhea the whole time in the first few days. The little food I got at the dock was all fed to the fish in the sea."
"It's great to be here at Ah Fei Ka. I went through this same thing at the beginning. Now I can have three meals a day. I could never imagine such a good life in the Qing Dynasty! I can finish work at the end of the month and get two taels of meat if I do a good job. This life is better than the Chinese New Year!" Zhang Jiayi said with emotion.
"If I do my job well, can I really eat meat? Uncle Jiaxiang, don't lie to me." Li Tiezhu asked with shining eyes.
"Why would I lie to you? I've been getting it for three months. As long as you don't rank last, every team can get some."
Li Tiezhu heard this and said, "Then let's work hard. I haven't tasted meat in several years!"
He worked even harder as he spoke. Others who were listening to their conversation also became excited, and the progress of repairing the canal was greatly accelerated.
The Second Town was becoming more and more presentable in the hands of the new immigrants. Even the Germans in charge of its management were a little surprised at the diligence of the Chinese. In terms of their hard-working spirit alone, the Chinese were truly admirable.
(End of this chapter)
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