In July, South Africa is starting to cool down, and the few trees on the banks of the Berg River are also dropping large yellow leaves in the cold winds of early winter. In the endless fields at the base of the southern wall of the river fort, hundreds of Xhosas are toiling in the fields surrounded by barbed wire.

It is a vegetable field of about 500 acres, and a large number of wintering vegetables such as greens, cabbage, radish, lettuce, green onions, and onions are grown. Xhosa slaves carried wooden barrels filled with river water and watered crows of vegetables. These vegetable fields are all public fields, which means that all the output is owned by the local government of Hezhongbao to supply the ships on the east coast that may dock.

In addition to these vegetable fields, in the east of Hezhongbao, nearly 4,000 acres of farmland have already been harvested, and the sorghum stalks and wheat stalks are neatly stacked in the ground. Most of these farmlands are cultivated in the first year, so the yield is not very high. Among them, the average yield of wheat per mu is only more than 100 catties and less than 200 catties, the yield of sorghum per mu is only more than 200 catties, and about 900,000 catties of sorghum and 80,000 catties of wheat have been harvested in 4,000 mu of farmland. This grain, together with the growing livestock population, is enough for more than 1,000 soldiers and civilians in Hezhong Fort to feed for a year or two.

Most of the fields here are allocated to the newly arrived Far Eastern immigrants, and a small part of them are commons. According to the initial verbal agreement between the local government and them, the harvest in the first year will be divided between the two sides, that is, the government will take 60% of the harvest, and the new immigrants will take 40%.

Today is July 5th, and it is also the day of the public grain collection set by Fort River. Early in the morning, heavily armed militiamen pulled up barbed wire in the sunyard at the southeast corner of the city wall, enclosed a clearing, and expelled all the blacks who were roaming around the neighborhood and were preparing to do odd jobs. Eight o'clock in the morning. Mo Ming and Liu Ang, the two leading figures of the River Fort, walked into the drying field surrounded by a group of soldiers.

The weather is not very good today. The sun has been obscured by dark clouds. The temperature is only about two or three degrees Celsius, and there is still a lot of cold wind outside, so it feels very cold. Mo Ming looked around and saw many ordinary people outside the barbed wire fence who were ready to pay for public grain. These people were wearing all kinds of leather clothes and jackets, and there were full grain bags under their feet, and some acquaintances were still chatting with each other, with a cheerful look between their eyebrows and eyes.

This situation made Mo Ming very emotional. It was only half a year ago that when these people first came to Fort River, they were still unkempt and skinny. Mo Ming remembers it very clearly. At that time, there was a teenager who was as thin as those African refugee children in the old time and space movies, with no strands on his body, and he looked like he would die at any time, which shows how miserable these people are in Daming. Now, less than a year later, these refugees, who were weak when they first arrived, have all turned rosy. Obviously, after this period of recuperation, especially the large intake of meat and protein, their physical condition is now quite good.

If there were no East Coast people, most of these people would probably have to starve to death or be killed in Daming, but now everything is different, and they have all been reborn. Look at the joyful and fresh faces in front of you. Mo Ming couldn't help but feel a little proud, it was Lao Tzu who let these people survive! It was Lao Tzu who led the troops to rob the local people's grain, cattle and sheep. so that they can eat one by one with a round stomach.

As for the natives who either died directly under the swords and guns of the East Coast people's "grain collection team", or indirectly died of starvation because the East Coast people stole the grain, they were selectively forgotten by Mo Ming.

"Father-in-law, it's almost time......" A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy gently walked up to Mo Ming's side and reminded respectfully. This teenager's name is Mo Dazhong, and he is the young man who looks like an African refugee mentioned above. If it weren't for the war with the British on the east coast, the Portuguese ships could only dock at Fort River, instead of continuing towards the port of the East, he probably wouldn't have survived to the east coast, and the worst outcome was that he was thrown into the sea by the Portuguese sailors on board and died in the belly of the fish.

Finally, his ancestors accumulated virtue, and later Mo Ming, who was passive of compassion, accepted him as a righteous son and changed his name to Mo Dazhong. I usually follow my side to read and practice calligraphy, and do some chores. The young man can read words and looks, and his head is also smart, because he is inexplicably appreciated.

"Well, that, Lao Liu, can you start?" Mo Ming turned his head to ask Liu Ang's opinion.

"It's long overdue!" Liu Ang spit out a pinch of tobacco chewing in his mouth and said lightly.

"Phew!" Mo Dazhong rang a gong in his hand and shouted vigorously: "Start paying the public grain!" Take the village as a unit, come one by one, and do not walk around, and those who violate the order will be punished with 20 military sticks. ”

The crowd outside the barbed wire stirred, and soon fell silent under the reprimands of the officers. Two soldiers at the gap in the barbed wire opened a low wooden door, counted the heads of twenty people and an ox cart, and then closed the low door again, and the people outside the door could only continue to wait.

"What's your name?" A clerk-like man asked, holding a quill pen dipped in ink.

"I ...... My name is Zhang Daniu. Zhang Daniu looked at the red-haired "scrivener master" in front of him, and was a little scared.

"Which is your food?" The clerk asked, glancing at the bullock cart behind him. Due to the large amount of public grain to be collected this time, hundreds of catties had to be paid to each person's head, so many people simply gathered together an ox cart to pull it over, which also saved a lot of trouble.

"I'm going to move down." After Zhang Daniu finished speaking, he turned around and walked quickly to the ox cart, moved down his grain bags one by one, and then put them in the designated place. He made a total of nine trips back and forth, carrying a total of nine bags of grain.

Several staff members were responsible for sampling his grain and putting it on a simple scale, weighing it, and then nodding to the clerk: "All qualified sorghum grains, 50 catties per bag, a total of 450 catties." ”

The clerk nodded, didn't say anything, brushed and wrote a few strokes on a piece of paper, then ripped it off and handed it to Zhang Daniu, and said: "Zhang Daniu, this is the receipt of your payment of public grain, put it away, don't lose it." ”

Zhang Daniu took it carefully, and then solemnly stuffed the receipt into the inner layer of his leather coat. Leather coats and jackets are not uncommon in Fort River, and as long as you take out some food, those bitter blacks will immediately exchange cowhides and sheepskins for you. Therefore, almost all of these immigrants from the Ming Dynasty mixed a leather coat, and some of them also stuffed some reed wool between the two layers of skin, and then sewed into a leather jacket, which had a very good effect on keeping out the cold.

This kind of clothing, which is already considered extravagant, is almost unimaginable in Daming. In Daming, even some small landowners who want to buy such a good piece of clothing made of cowhide or sheepskin will feel very difficult. After such a comparison, the centripetal force of these immigrants towards the government is stronger.

"That's right." The clerk suddenly stopped Zhang Daniu, who turned around and wanted to leave, and then said: "You paid 450 catties of grain, and there should be 300 catties at home, which is definitely not enough for you to eat until next year's grain harvest season." It's almost the winter farming season, and you can join the labor teams organized by the government to clean up rivers, dig ditches, and plant trees. You can also go to the sheepfold to help shear sheep, milk cows, and tann animal hides; Or simply go and help build the city walls and forts, where workers are recruited all year round. As long as you have the strength to go to these places, not only can you eat enough fish and meat, but you can also mix some wages and food to take home, so that the food will be enough to eat. ”

"Xie Lu Xie, Xie Lu Xie Mr. Xie. I see! Zhang Daniu said sincerely grateful.

The clerk waved his hand and motioned for Zhang Daniu to get out of the way, and the people behind him would continue to pay the public grain.

Zhang Daniu reluctantly stepped aside, and Master Zhang Defa and Master Zhang had already walked up calmly. The harvest in his field was about the same as that of Zhang Daniu, so he also had to pay nine bags of grain.

"What are you doing here?" There was a scolding from behind Leng Buding, Zhang Daniu turned around to look, and saw that it was Sun Shengjun in a blue military uniform. This guy doesn't know what kind of shit luck he has taken, and he has actually changed from a "no-see" background like a thief to a corporal of the local security force - a serious "official errand".

It looks like he was transferred to maintain order on the scene today, with a rifle on his back and a saber around his waist. The eye-catching white armed belt, shiny cowhide military boots, and dazzling brass five-pointed star shook Zhang Daniu upset. When the army is recruited one day, Lao Tzu will also go to mix this skin and come back to wear it. But seriously, this uniform is really in good spirits. And the treatment of these soldiers is really good, not to mention meat, you can also eat canned fruit, and if you are lucky, you can also taste some wine.

Zhang Daniu once tasted a canned fruit given to him by a soldier who was familiar with him. I heard that the fruit in a can called "glass" was produced in the village of Jushu in Ping'an Township, on the east coast, and was once the soldier's hometown. After Zhang Daniu tasted it once, he could never forget the sweet taste of canned fruit.

If you can't choose the next recruitment, you won't be a person! Zhang Daniu secretly gritted his teeth and said, and began to wonder whether he should go to the construction site less this winter and go to the martial arts field more to practice queues and military skills. I'm tall and strong, didn't the chief master last time say that he was a good seedling of a grenadier? That's right, I practiced hard for a winter, and after the spring sowing was busy, the government estimated that the militia would be conscripted to carry out the "grain requisition" action to the natives. Hehe, when the time comes, I Zhang Daniu will also make a meritorious service, and then I will be promoted to a petty officer, and I will tremble on this day. (To be continued......)