Chapter 563 Warm Heart
In the 19th century, information transmission was extremely inconvenient, so the people of the Far Eastern Empire had a very rudimentary understanding of the world situation. Many people could not distinguish between England, France, Germany, etc.
Most of the information about the powerful countries in the world is hearsay, and many countries are uniformly classified as foreigners. The West is naturally Westerners, and the East is actually Japan, so they are naturally called Orientals. Of course, due to historical reasons, Japan has its own nicknames in the Far East Empire, such as Wakoku, Fuso, etc.
Naturally, these Far Eastern workers employed in East Africa could not distinguish between so many countries, so they followed the East African garrison and called the Japanese "little devils" and the like.
The derogatory term "devils" is of course not unique to Japan. Those who have invaded the Far East Empire have been called devils, including the Western devils, the English devils, and the French devils. Only Japan deserves the name of "little" devils.
In this era, translation was actually a mess. East Africa was influenced by Ernst and had a unified translation comparison table for use by diplomats.
It is a rare opportunity for workers in the South Ryukyu Islands to discuss "national affairs" during their breaks, and today's lunch is ready.
Due to the shortage of manpower, East Africa treated these Far Eastern workers quite well and allowed them to share the canteen with the East African garrison.
Running canteens is a major feature of East Africa and plays an important role in the East African national system, including immigrant canteens, government canteens, school canteens, military canteens, etc.
After the East African army took over the South Ryukyu Islands, they naturally continued to carry forward this fine tradition, but the facilities in the South Ryukyu Islands were not perfect.
The canteen was also very simple. After requisitioning several houses, they broke ground and rebuilt it with bricks, stones and earth. The military canteen on Miyako Island could accommodate 500 people at a time, and the dining tables were all simply built with wooden boards.
The buildings in the South Ryukyu Islands are mainly made of wood, which has good earthquake resistance and the materials are easy to obtain. For military considerations in East Africa, they were transformed into brick and stone structures, which have better fire resistance and durability, but at the cost of sacrificing earthquake resistance.
There should be many chances of earthquakes in the South Ryukyu Islands, but at this time, East African officials believe that the South Ryukyu Islands are more likely to be hit by war.
"You are blessed today. Because you have performed well on the project, Governor Lucard has specially ordered a batch of canned military food to reward you with. They are all top-quality beef stewed with potatoes and braised pork. Usually, only the troops can get this treatment."
Before the meal, the "Big Brother Wang" mentioned by Da Zhuang, who is now the platoon leader Andre of the East African Army, broke the news to everyone.
It is no surprise that Andre is called Brother Wang. His original name is Wang Sanjin. He has served in the East African Army for seven years and is considered a veteran. Now he has been transferred back to the Far East to serve.
When I came back, I almost forgot how to speak Chinese. It was only after I got to know Da Zhuang and other Far Eastern workers that I remembered the language of my parents.
Da Zhuang said, "Brother Wang, these military cans must be very valuable, right? I saw you guys were reluctant to use them before, and you only took them out after the shortage of supplies."
Andre: "Hey, this military canned food! It's a kind of war food. It's actually no different from ordinary food, except that it can be stored for a long time. The East African army has a lot of this stuff. It's nothing special. It's easy to get tired of eating too much. If it weren't for the Japanese doing bad things and causing a shortage of supplies now, it would just be a mouthful. It would be great to cook like before."
Andre's casual remark was quite Versailles in the eyes of the workers. Canned food was actually not cheap and the cost was still relatively high. Because of the special location of the South Ryukyu Islands, East Africa had stored a large amount of canned food in advance for emergency use.
"Wow, this can of food tastes really good. It has meat and oil, and they even put a lot of salt in it. It's enough to fill you up. Brother Wang, you soldiers are living a really good life."
"Hehe, of course. Look at my military uniform. My life is pretty good. The honor in the East African army is very high, and the food is also first-class. You used to live a good life with just a meal, but here we have real meat and fish. The rice and noodles we eat are processed by the factory, and we can also eat fruits. Our life is pretty good."
Although Andre had said these boastful words before, it still made everyone envious. This is the fairy-tale life they are pursuing!
"Brother Wang, let's put other things aside. The fact that you have become a general in East Africa shows how capable you are!" Da Zhuang complimented.
Andre hurriedly stopped him and said, "What general? Don't talk nonsense. I am just a small platoon leader, a small official with only a few dozen people under me. You can just call me Commander Andre. General, the governor of the entire South Ryukyu Islands is only a major general. Don't harm me."
"Brother Wang, how did you become an official of the Westerners? We noticed that you have quite a few foreigners under your command."
Andre laughed and said, "That's easy. I was promoted because I performed well in the army. You call me Brother Wang, so I will take care of you. Don't mention the foreigner you mentioned in front of other people. This word is not a good word in the Far East. Don't think that our East African army doesn't know that many people in East Africa used to be from the Far East, so they should be more careful when speaking."
"Then Brother Wang, those of you who fled to East Africa, haven't you also become the common people of East Africa?"
"You're right. This is about nationality. Nationality is like a family tree. The family tree tells you which family you belong to, while nationality tells you which country you are from. For example, I am an East African, so I am naturally an East African. You are called Far Easterners. If we divide people by ethnicity, I am a German and you are Han Chinese."
"Brother Wang, tell me the truth. Can you become a German if you go to East Africa? Will they trust you to work for them?"
"This is nonsense. How can I be the platoon leader if I am not one of our own? In East Africa, everyone is equal, except for black people."
"Brother Wang, what is a black person? A very black person?"
"Haha, you haven't seen the world, but what you said is very right. Black people are very dark. For example, their teeth are the only white part of their body. If they don't show their teeth after dark, you can't see them. Have you seen charcoal? It's the same as that thing, with black skin all over." Andre proudly shared his knowledge with them.
"Uh, is there really such a dark person, Brother Wang?"
"What's so strange about this? Haven't you seen white people before? Some even have blonde hair and blue eyes! There are so many strange people in the world. For example, along the coast of East Africa, you can still see Arabs wrapped in white robes. The brown people in South Asia look like they haven't washed themselves..."
Andre shared his experiences, insights and overseas anecdotes with these workers like telling a story. At the same time, the East Africa he described became a paradise that made people yearn for it.
"If you had gone to East Africa back then, you would have made a name for yourself over the years and would not have to suffer here. But it's not too late now. Although the threshold for becoming an East African citizen has been raised, as long as you perform well, I will write you a letter of recommendation, and you can go to East Africa to enjoy life when the time comes."
Andre is a kind-hearted person, but he can't just randomly send people to East Africa, so he reminds these fellows to perform well in the project so that he can also have a chance to operate.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
