March 1, 1632. Monday, light rain.

Fabian Klingermann from Saxony sat in a small wooden boat next to his wife, Hannah, and their possessions consisted of a chest between Fabian's legs and a piglet in Hannah's arms. Years of war and natural disasters left the young German peasant with almost nothing to eat. And what is even more desperate is that such days seem to have no end in sight.

So, desperate, Fabian took his wife Hannah and boarded a migrant ship from Rostock to the port of Tatantan. The Swedish ship bound for the Tatartan port was called the "Fast Deer", and the captain Jacob was eager to get involved when he heard that everyone who traded with the Tatars had made a fortune.

Although it was impossible to dye the crazy porcelain trade, the entire shipload of supplies and immigrants to the port of Tatartan was at least twice as profitable. The Tatars have always been known for their generosity in money and have a good reputation in the Baltic region. And on the way back, you may be able to buy some Tatar specialties. Their plate armor seems to be very famous, a while ago there was a lucky guy from Gothenburg, who sold a set of plate armor to his own nobles, and the result was very well received, and the dozens of sets of plate armor accumulated in their hands were also sold out in a short period of time, making a lot of money.

Thinking of this, Captain Jacob's heart was on fire. So he sold all his possessions, borrowed 1,500 ducats from Dutch merchants, and began to procure supplies in Sweden, Poland, and Russia, as well as refugees and skilled workers from all over the world who were willing to try their luck in the New World.

At this time, the war in North Germany was in full swing, and the combined Swedes and Catholic forces were almost out of the dog's head. In Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony and other regions, production was greatly damaged, and craftsmen and peasants went bankrupt in large numbers, leaving them without food and clothing. Captain Jacob had no trouble squeezing a large number of refugees and a few craftsmen, and if it weren't for the limited space on board, Captain Jacob might have sold all the refugees he saw to the Americas. And just like that, Captain Jacob finally set sail after cramming the ship with more than 200 immigrants.

After a long voyage of three months, the sailing ship "Kuailu" finally docked in the port of Tatantan. The 211 German immigrants sold a large amount of copper, lead, linen, cloth, gunpowder, furs, livestock, and other goods for a good price, and the captain converted the money into 100 sets of three-year-old full-body armor and 250 sharp three-year-old command knives, and then returned to Europe.

It was under these circumstances that Fabian and his wife came to Uruguay, and they were placed in the Dingyuanbao Reclamation Area by the Executive Committee. The 1st Construction Team, a newly formed construction company, had already built two settlements each with a capacity of 100 people to the east of Dingyuan Fort, and the shelters were ready, and now they were waiting for the reclamation army to be in place.

"It's here!" The boatman smiled kindly at Fabian and handed him a few steamed potatoes. Fabian was grateful, the German from Pomerania had been here the previous year, had fought in the war with the French last month, and had been demobilized and assigned to the transport fleet, responsible for holding boats on the Big Fish River. As a freeman, he was said to have earned a monthly wage, and he was able to eat free steamed potatoes and salted fish in the canteen of the transport fleet, much to Fabian's envy.

Today's Dayu River channel is getting busier and busier, and you can see wooden boats full of all kinds of materials coming and going from west to west at any time, and the "golden waterway" is beginning to take shape. The transport fleet under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Company has more than 40 medium-sized inland river wooden boats and nearly 100 boatmen, who undertake all the transportation tasks on the Dayu River, the main artery that crosses the public.

Waving goodbye to the boatman, Fabian and Hannah were led away by the usher who had been waiting on the shore for a long time, along with a dozen other migrants on the boat. The usher, a "Tatar", gave up after a few words with them, as he seemed to find that no one in them understood what he was saying, much to Fabian's somewhat amused laughter.

Walking through a path overgrown with wild grass, the group stopped in front of a row of neatly built houses of red bricks. The usher began to consult with the few people who had been waiting there for a long time, still in a language he did not understand.

Fabian felt a little hungry, and the little he had eaten in the morning in the port of Tartan had been completely digested. He then took the steamed potatoes out of his pocket and looked around as he ate them. Of course, he didn't forget to share the food with Hannah.

"Fabian, is this the house for us?" His wife, Hannah, didn't feel hungry at all, and she shook Fabian's arm with some excitement and asked, "Can we really live here?" Ah, I'm going to make a pigsty and raise a few chickens. Honey, are you listening to me? ”

Fabian was about to answer when he saw that the people in front of him had finished talking. One of the tall European men faced them and said to them in German: "Hello everyone, I'm Christopher Grote, of course you'd better call me 'Grote' in Chinese, then I'll be happy." First of all, I would like to introduce to you that this is the 1st production team of the Pioneer Brigade of the Dingyuanbao Reclamation Area, and you are honored to be the first residents here. In the future, I will be responsible for the production life and security of the entire production team, and you can consult me if you have any questions. Of course, you must also complete the tasks I have given you. Okay, that's it, I guess you can't wait. So, now go and pick your house, one room for two, and those who are married can live in the same room! ”

As soon as Grote's words fell, the dozen or so German immigrants immediately crossed him as fast as they could.

"Next time, it's time to teach them the rules." Grote rubbed his sore shoulder and said smugly.

Fabian sat on a chair made of a tree stump and watched his wife, Hannah, excitedly spin around the room. In fact, there is only one room, and the area is not very large. The furnishings are simple: a simple plank bed, an equally rudimentary table, and two stump chairs. It is not an exaggeration to say that the family is surrounded by four walls, but Fabian has a feeling of peace and wants to cry.

After stumbling and struggling to survive in Germany for more than 20 years, I have witnessed so many relatives and friends lose their lives to war, hunger and disease, and even I almost followed in their footsteps. Unexpectedly, after being exiled to the New World, I suddenly realized that all this in front of me was not the life I had been pursuing?

There was no threat of war, no tax collector to extract his last copper coin, no unbearable cold, and he could live in peace with his dear Hannah, raising a few pigs, a flock of chickens and ducks, and a bunch of children.

God forbid! Fabian praised the Lord Almighty with great devotion at this moment.

No one can take my new life, not even the king! Fabian swore to God.

Smoke rose from the kitchen of the communal cafeteria at the head of the village, and it was almost lunchtime. Grote's sister Adele directs several Irishmen to move buckets of food from the kitchen into the cafeteria, and the entire production team of men, women and children will arrive on time.

Adele is a responsible person, and after being transferred from the Agricultural Bureau to the 1st Production Team of the Development Brigade, she has been working diligently. Although the salary is only 8 dimes per month, Adele, who is in charge of material statistics and distribution, is very busy every day until late before going to bed. Recently, a lot of immigrants have come here, and a lot of supplies have been brought here, mainly seeds, farm tools and food.

Adele knew that this was a prelude to the preparation of a large-scale reclamation by her superiors, and she carefully registered every material into the warehouse to ensure that it was correct. She also has a small bed in the supply warehouse, and she sleeps when she is tired, and continues to work when she wakes up.

In addition to being in charge of supplies, the canteen of the production team is also managed by her. There were 4 assigned Irishmen in the canteen, none of whom were freemen and were not paid to work here. Adele is a kind girl, and whenever the 4 Irishmen steal potatoes, she pretends not to see them. This made the Irish very grateful and motivated to work a lot.

Grotra rang the bell that had been erected on a wooden frame at the edge of the field, it was lunchtime. The migrant farmers, who were burning wasteland, leveling the land, and digging canals, stopped their work and, after placing their tools in their designated places, began to form a noisy team around the fields: one for men and one for women. After finishing the team, Grote took them to the cafeteria for dinner.

Today's lunch is still the same steamed potatoes, soybean salted fish and fish soup. People eat quickly and happily, which is not easy to eat on a regular basis in Europe today. Moreover, the rest of the work will be hard, and they need adequate nutrition to maintain their strength.

The Executive Committee has planned a full 1,000 acres of planting area on the side of the first production team, mainly planting potatoes, a high-yield crop, which is a breakthrough to solve the current food crisis. These immigrants also had to participate in various kinds of labor during their slack time outside the fields, such as building roads to the next production team; construction of public toilets and bathhouses; construction of water supply and drainage facilities; digging more wells, reservoirs and drinking water treatment facilities; Dispatch manpower and other production teams to build schools and medical stations; Men are also regularly trained in militia training. In short, all kinds of things will definitely not let you be idle.

In view of the heavy workload, the Executive Committee, in order to increase the enthusiasm of the immigrants, solemnly announced that when any immigrant obtained the status of a freeman, he would receive a free house and at the same time pay for the land he cultivated, up to thirty acres per person.

As soon as this policy came out, immigrants felt that they had hope, and their enthusiasm for work suddenly increased.

PS: Just came back from a business trip today. Since I uploaded the first chapter last Sunday, I was urgently dispatched by the leadership on a business trip the next day. For more than a week, I shared a standard room with another colleague, and I couldn't code words at all, and I was able to find time to send and publish manuscripts and manage book reviews. At present, the amount of manuscripts is almost bottoming out, or I will change to one shift ^_^ a day from today onwards