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As the summer harvest unfolds, people become busier. The East River Ferry, which is used to keep goods and workers between the Manhattan community and the docks in the Brooklyn Industrial Area, is no longer sufficiently fueled by one diesel-powered fishing vessel after the Customs anti-smuggling vessel was scrapped. Not only that, but the fishing boat is also responsible for transporting supplies and minerals to West Point, 80 kilometers to the north, every three days, and even the coal from the Staten Island coal mine needs to be transported by this dilapidated old fishing boat.

Steel production capacity has increased from 500 tonnes per month to a theoretical 2,000 tonnes per month due to the gradual improvement of metallurgical infrastructure in the Brooklyn Industrial Area, but the problem has come that the coal of Staten Island and the coal and iron ore shipments of West Point Town are increasingly difficult to feed this large stomach that is expanding every month.

The Hudson River's inland waterway transportation capacity has become a serious bottleneck for the continued development of the Manhattan community today. The captain of the fishing boat, Liu Baidong, complained to the community committee more than once that even if he could endure such hard work, the fishing boat would not be able to stand it.

So as early as a month ago, the dog-headed military advisers from the Ministry of Industry and even the Brooklyn Shipyard, who had observed the Yan zhòng problem, gathered together to offer advice.

Someone built a manpower paddle or pedal paddle steamer on an inland river, and this bad idea was killed on the spot, and now even the recruitment of Indian hired labor has reached a critical point.

The idea of making wooden rafts to transport ore directly upstream from West Point was also dismissed. Not to mention whether the almost one-time wooden rafts can handle such a large number of transportation tasks, not to mention that such an unreliable transportation method will make the ore that has been dug up with great difficulty go to waste, after all, this is not transporting wood from West Point.

In the end, Lin Youde, the chief engineer of the industrial zone, and You Qi, the ship designer, jointly launched a plan: to build an inland steam-powered transport ship. The reason is that the hull is simple to build, and the steam unit led by Lin Youde has successfully overcome the production design of the 20-horsepower steam engine.

More than two months ago, the steam engine technology restoration project only built a few horsepower steam pumps, and after several technical and safety improvements, now the 10 horsepower steam engine has been used in the urban water supply and drainage system of the Manhattan community, and some processing workshops with low power demand are also used.

The latest engineering progress is that the 20-horsepower steam engine has finally been preliminarily realized, and it is not very troublesome to change it to marine power, and it is also used to verify the processing technology of the transmission shaft of the ship's power unit.

You Qi's original idea was to use such a marine steam engine to drive inland waterway transport ships, and did not have a technical reserve for future ocean-going sailing ships. Fortunately, Lin Youde also realized that the current power gap is not limited to the machine tool workshop in the industrial area, so the first set of 20 horsepower marine steam units was off the assembly line.

In a corner of the Brooklyn shipyard, a 40-ton river gondola was launched from a small slipway a few days ago. Even if the shipyard was short of manpower in order to rush the construction of the naval warship, it only took less than a week for such a small civilian ship that was incomparable to the Enterprise. On the contrary, it took a lot of effort to install the newly designed 20 hp steam unit.

Lin Youde, the chief engineer of the industrial zone, carefully checked all the equipment installations in person, until he could not find anything else that was unpleasant, and then he gave the order to make a fire.

Fatima, an Indian who had become proficient in the operation of the West Point steam pump, was transferred to the river waterway carrier, named East River 01, as a steam engine boiler operator.

The clever and hard-working Fatima is now fluent in Mandarin, and has even mastered hundreds of Chinese characters under the teaching of the police chief of the Chinese clan in West Point! His younger sister, Dama, had already become a teacher in a special Indian kindergarten run by Chinese people in the East Side of the Brooklyn Industrial Area.

Fatima checked the operation specifications in the manual again, although many words are still a little difficult to read, but the careful Lin Youde still helped to add a Chinese character library to Fatima.

With the hard work of the stokers, the boiler began to heat up, and gradually the pressure increased to the normal operating range. Fatima decisively turned on the power transmission, only to see the hull of the ship swaying slightly, and began to move slowly and diagonally.

The mechanics on the shore of the ship began to applaud enthusiastically, and even Fatima blushed with excitement, as if the magical power of the ship was to create itself.

After a few days of sea trials, when fully loaded with cargo, the East River 01 inland river steam engine ship can continue to sail at a speed of more than 5 knots downstream, and the counter-current sailing will be reduced to 3 knots, although it seems extremely slow, but it is enough to undertake the task of transporting goods to and from West Point, and only 4 people including the crew are needed, and the European or Indian steam unit operators trained in recent times can fully meet this kind of manpower needs.

Jiang Zhaolong, the director in charge of the Brooklyn Industrial Zone, placed an order for the manufacture of 10 20-horsepower inland river steam engine ships in one go, and also urged Lin Youde to continue to tackle the problems of marine steam units with higher horsepower output. The result made the shipyard director Shi Yige and the ship designer You Qi laugh from ear to ear, and the first work of the East River 01 became a ferry between the Brooklyn Industrial Area and the Manhattan Community Pier.

……

……

Friday, July 9, 1621.

Men, women and children of all ages in West Point are still waiting at the docks as usual, and the twice-weekly inland river transportation has made hundreds of West Point residents a regular habit.

The small steamer with the sudden sound of steam slowly enlarged from the end of the line of sight, and everyone including Sergeant Guan Ruzhong had a surprised expression.

The ships that gradually approached the shore were not Liu Baidong's familiar fishing boat, but a kind of steaming guy who was a little smaller, or even two at a time. The European-inhabitants, accustomed to the steam pumping machines of the iron mines, still looked at this small steamer with deep curiosity, even the crew of which was Indian.

"Teacher Guan, I'll replace them...... Starting today, several boats take turns coming every day. Fatima actually appeared in front of Guan Ruzhong with a smile in a modern T-shirt style single clothes. He is good at Mandarin, and his shy smile is full of pride and gratitude.

"Yes, yes, Fatima! You're growing again! ”

The tall Guan Ruzhong patted each other's shoulders like caring for his own brother. In addition to becoming closer to the European residents, the sheriff, who has been stationed alone in West Point for a long time, only takes special care of this Delaware teenager. In addition to helping with work, Kwan Ruzhong also became a language and life teacher at Fatima.

I don't know when Fatima has regarded Guan Ruzhong as a father in another sense, and under the latter's teaching, Fatima is moving more and more towards the role of an ordinary Chinese teenager.

"Oh, young man, it's been almost a month since we left, and we're meeting again!" William, the one-legged acting mayor of England, walked over with a bright smile, looked at the warehouse covered with canvas, spoke Mandarin, and deliberately said in a mysterious voice that everyone could hear, "Tell everyone, what good things did you bring today?" ”

"Blueberry wine, wheat flour, soap ......" Fatima took a deep breath and almost shouted, "There are many, all of them are the latest goods!" ”

"Haha, our Fatima has become the captain! In the future, our tiles can be sold to Europe! The one-legged William took off his hat and made a deliberate gesture of salute and cheer, which caused a round of applause from the surrounding residents.

The economic benefits of exports to Europe have also affected West Point. Today's town is more than just a small colony or ore transfer station. After recruiting dozens of new European immigrants last month, West Point is also responsible for producing some of the primary building materials.

With the help of Manhattan community mechanics, Acting Mayor William and Reverend Brest organized a group of long-time residents to fund a small brick and tile factory, taking advantage of the abundant clay and gravel resources in the River Valley area. Such a self-hematopoietic industry has been privately supported by Mao Jian, a Chinese tax officer in West Point Town.

Guan Ruzhong and Mao Jian have now become the pillars of West Point's development. They all seem to have some kind of ideal, and they see this self-exiled place as a testing ground for freedom, building something very different from the Manhattan community.

This was not only the first of its kind in West Point, but also the first private workshop in the entire Manhattan community. For the Manhattan community, which is still a large enterprise, this cannot but be said to be a kind of irony.

In addition to brick and tile building materials, which no longer rely on the Brooklyn Industrial Area, the tiles produced in West Point have taken the mid-to-high-end route from the beginning. The Dutch residents, who are delicate and sturdy, and have a national tradition of European craftsmanship, have wholeheartedly integrated their aesthetics and life hopes into this kind of product that should belong to the Chinese people.

As soon as the tile of West Point Town came out, it surprised the "rich" people in the Manhattan community, and even Dong Jiunan received a lot of orders for high-end tile home decoration.

For every 100 tiles, the shareholders of the West Point Tile Factory offered a high price of 1 Spanish silver dollar, but the residents of the Manhattan community, who were not bad for money, ordered in large quantities almost without blinking an eyelid, which made William and others, who were worried about the high price, laugh.

Soon, even the interior renovation of the Community Council building took a fancy to West Point tiles. More orders have made the production plan of the West Point Tile Factory almost half a year later! It is said that even Ren Changle, the chief accountant in charge of European trade, made a point of inquiring about the matter.

Two small steamers totaling more than 70 tons of supplies were delivered to West Point, most of which were necessary for public construction, followed by food for Pecots prisoners of war in the coal and iron mines, and the remaining tons of household goods were sold at reasonable prices to two small European-owned grocery stores in the town for trade to residents and nearby Mohican Indians.

In the evening, at the home of Mayor William of West Point, a private dinner party is underway.

The whitewashed walls are covered with beautiful pale tiles, the floor is a dark red carpet imported from Europe, a few sets of simple wooden furniture are neatly arranged around it, and a few delicate kerosene lamps illuminate the dining room. Nearly ten plates were lined up on the oak table, containing grilled fish, potatoes and roasted meat, broth, white bread and other sumptuous delicacies, and it seemed that the more frugal William family had put a lot of effort into it.

This kind of home environment has become a common standard for the townspeople in West Point, and even other European immigrants who have only been in West Point for less than a month live in neat and stable mixed cabins.

Attending the dinner were not only Mayor William and his wife, Pastor Brest, an old acquaintance Sergeant Guan Ruzhong, tax collector Mao Jian, and the town's land garrison second lieutenant Cheng Peng, but also the captain of the small steamer Fatima who was going to stay overnight in West Point.

"Come, taste the freshly brewed cider, my ancestors' unique craft! The wild apples here don't taste very good, but the sake they make is not ordinary! With a mysterious smile, Mayor William took out a bottle of fruit wine from under the table, "When the vineyard is productive next year, I will give you a taste of my family's wine!" ”

"William, your wife has a big temper during her pregnancy now, and you dare to drink?"

Mao Jian, a young Chinese man and tax officer, stared at the wine bottle in the other party's hand, and while politely nodding to Mrs. William, who poured wine for him, he deliberately told jokes loudly.

"Haha, the man who drinks is the most energetic!" William laughed, causing the middle-aged women in the restaurant to take turns pouring drinks for everyone to blush.

"William, I'll advise you to take Hallie to the Community Center Hospital for a routine check-up. The climate here is humid, which has a great impact on health, and there is no room for mistakes in the early stages of pregnancy. Guan Ruxiao sipped the fruit wine and smiled sincerely.

Looking at her husband, Harley, who was already middle-aged, quietly withdrew from the restaurant embarrassedly, and the expression on William's face at this time was a little nervous.

Guan Ruzhong, who is already familiar with each other a lot, knows that William and his wife have had many miscarriages since they got married and have not successfully given birth to a child, so Guan Ruzhong also took this opportunity to propose a kind proposal.

"God willing...... It's hard to choose...... "William drew a cross on his chest, his expression even more embarrassed. And the priest Brest, who was sitting next to him, was silent.

In 17th-century Europe, there was still a very rigid tradition of maternity care and social behavior. Letting your pregnant wife go to a strange place to be examined by a strange doctor is an extremely unusual thing for a husband.

"Mr. Mayor, Mr. Guan often teaches me that science is the highest civilization." Fatima, an Indian boy whose face was red from the strong fruit wine, suddenly spoke aside.

Without expressing explicit disapproval or approval, William just looked at the priest Brest beside him slightly nervously.

The silver cross necklace had been given to He Yu, the second lieutenant of the land garrison, and now the priest of Brest was touching a new wood-carved cross necklace in his hand, and his face gradually became relaxed from the calm at the beginning.

"God cares for us, Hallie and the children represent our future, and a merciful God would love to see more people love each other." Brest whispered and raised his glass.

"Good! Mr. Sheriff, I'll take Hallie to the community hospital tomorrow for a check-up! Seeing that the priest Brest said that it was nothing, William's nervous heart was put down.

The most important topic has passed, and everyone in the restaurant has entered a state of drinking and feasting, and William, who is drunk because of his joy, even sings a strange song, which causes Guan Ruzhong and Mao Jian to spray rice. The curious Fatima carefully observed everyone's words and deeds, and was the most restrained one.

And William's wife, Hallie, didn't know when she returned to the restaurant to continue pouring wine for everyone, and at the strong request of everyone, she sat at the table with everyone and accepted everyone's blessings.

Just as the atmosphere of the dinner party was at its highest, a sudden knock on the door came from the living room next door. This anomaly interrupted everyone's interest.

Harley quickly got up to leave, and after a while, walked into the dining room with a young man.

"Danielson, aren't you on duty at the mines? Why did you run back to town, what happened? ”

William was stunned for a moment, and then Guan Ruzhong also stood up, he intuitively felt that something big had happened.

"Mine ...... There's an accident at the mine......" Danielson said breathlessly, still wiping sweat from his dirty sleeves.

"A prisoner of war?" At this time, not only Guan Ruzhong, but even Cheng Peng, the second lieutenant of the land garrison stationed in West Point Town, stood up.

"It's not...... It's Mohok...... They infiltrated people and burned down a factory. "The Dutchman told a more troublesome situation than the prisoners of war making trouble.

"! I knew these Mohoks didn't get along! Guan Ruzhong suddenly said something fiercely, and his fist slammed on the table, so frightened that William's wife Hallie quickly exited the restaurant.

"Are there a lot of people?" Pastor Brest glanced at Harry's departing back, then pulled the Dutch boy to his side, his voice low.

"No, I don't know! There was some commotion among the prisoner laborers, who were taken down by Bloom. But because they had to divide the manpower to put out the fire, Bloom and the others locked up the labor camp at first, but the fire appeared in the labor camp again from nowhere, and many workers were injured. ”

Danielson drank a glass of fruit wine, finally relieving himself, and a trace of smoke and dust could be faintly visible from his face.

"Danielson, you take a break and have something to eat...... William, organize a group of residents, bring weapons, and I'll take them to the mine right away! Guan Ruzhong made a decisive decision, and the men in the room listened quietly, "Cheng Peng, don't move your people first, and keep the highest vigilance." ”

Finally, Guan Ruzhong turned his gaze to Fatima, who had not spoken: "Fatima, you hurry back to the community now and report to the people there, we need support, we need to be as fast as possible!" ”

Instead of answering, she nodded firmly, and Fatima rushed out of William's house.

I hope there won't be any big trouble this time...... Looking out the window at the night sky in the northwest, I prayed in the center.

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