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Chapter 986: Building Zhoushan Port

The first brave group of locals from Nanhui Mouth, who were willing to venture to the island, boarded a Gao Family Village cargo ship and set off for Zhoushan.

The atmosphere aboard the ship put them at ease; the difference between Gao Family Village's sailors and the imperial navy's was stark.

Imperial sailors rarely treated common folk as human, but Gao Family Village's sailors were "the people's soldiers," readily mingling with the masses.

They shared their food with the commoners, and during the voyage, even taught them Gao Family Village's unique, stirring songs.

Still, the locals harbored reservations, and their worries deepened once they learned their destination was Zhoushan.

Zhoushan, they knew, was an island long abandoned by the imperial court, now a notorious pirate den. Was it truly reliable to go there and build ports, docks, and factories? What if pirates attacked?

Any such apprehension vanished the moment they arrived at Zhoushan.

Before their eyes lay forty-one massive ships guarding the docks, flanked by dozens of supporting sailboats. A fleet of this immense scale, they realized, could easily crush any mere pirate band. Even Zheng Zhilong, the most formidable admiral on the southeastern coast, wouldn't stand a chance.

With such overwhelming military protection, the locals breathed a collective sigh of relief.

As soon as they stepped ashore, they saw a group of rough-looking, ill-favored individuals, diligently felling trees, clearing land, and leveling ground, all under the watchful eyes of musketeers.

The locals cautiously inquired, "Who are those people?"

The sailor who had brought them chuckled softly. "Those are the pirates from Zhoushan and Shengsi. We defeated and captured them, and now they are atoning for their sins through work. This is called Labor Reform."

The locals, hearing the term "Labor Reform" for the first time, were a little bewildered. Someone couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that similar to us? Are they just working too?"

"No, no, it's quite different," the sailor said with a smile. "You are free laborers, not labor reform inmates. You earn wages and benefits for your work. You are also free to resign and leave anytime, or use your days off to visit family on the mainland. And you won't have musketeers standing guard over you with guns while you work."

"The labor reform inmates, however, receive no wages. If they don't work, they get beaten, and they don't get fed. Nor can they leave whenever they wish."

The locals chuckled. Though the name "labor reform inmates" sounded odd, these pirates' treatment was essentially no different from that of an old ox at home: told to work, it had to work; if it didn't, it got whipped. Of course, there was no quitting, let alone visiting family.

It seemed rather grim when they thought about it, but then again, who told them to be pirates?

The locals exclaimed happily, "Wuagei, the pirates are wuagei!"

Young Master Bai, intrigued, asked, "What does 'wuagei' mean?"

The locals laughed, "It means 'they deserve it!'"

Everyone burst into laughter. This dialect certainly had a punch to it.

Soon, the locals were settled on the island.

Gao Family Village's Blue Hat technicians, administrative staff, and researchers all arrived by ship in a steady stream. Everyone could tell that the Heavenly Lord valued the sea no less than the threat of the Manchus; Zhoushan was to be developed with utmost dedication and effort.

Zhoushan Dinghai Port and Zhoushan Shipyard, two major construction projects, advanced simultaneously.

A month later...

The locals who had come from Nanhui Mouth received their first month's wages.

For unskilled manual labor, the basic wage was two taels of silver, plus a five mace living allowance for island life, a five mace special bonus for the first group of island workers, and a one tael risk bonus.

The final amount they received totaled four taels of silver!

This income absolutely stunned them.

"Holy crap, four taels of silver!" they muttered. "How long would it take to save four taels by catching crabs and collecting shells on the beach?"

And this was just for unskilled manual labor.

One local, who possessed some carpentry skills, was responsible for building wooden bridges and frames for the docks. His wages, consequently, were calculated based on the technical worker pay scale.

With a basic wage of four taels of silver, and factoring in all the various allowances, his total income soared to six taels of silver.

This exceptionally high income left the first group of islanders utterly flabbergasted.

As soon as their wages were in hand, the workers immediately applied for three days of leave.

Then, they hitched a ride on a Gao Family Village cargo ship back to Nanhui Mouth.

They were somewhat apprehensive, fearing they might earn the money but be unable to take it home. However, they soon realized their fears were unfounded; the people of Gao Family Village made no trouble for them at all, approving their leave and allowing them to "return home in glory."

The moment this group returned to their village, they immediately boasted to those who hadn't dared to go to the island in the first batch: "I made a fortune on the island, hahahaha!"

And with that announcement...

The consequences were easy to imagine.

After their three-day leave ended, these workers returned to the seaside to wait for a ship, followed by nearly all the young men from their village...

Moreover, this news grew wings, spreading from Nanhui Mouth to the neighboring Huating County, Shanghai County, and Qingpu County.

Most of the common folk in Shanghai County at the time were actually quite poor; they often couldn't afford food and had to subsist on Yangcheng Lake's famous hairy crabs. After eating too many, they grew weary of them, feeling nauseous at the mere sight of a crab.

Now, hearing about such a golden opportunity to earn money, why wouldn't they jump at it?

After earning money, wouldn't it be far more appealing to buy some pristine white rice? They never wanted to eat hairy crabs again.

Consequently, throngs of impoverished people from Shanghai County, Huating County, and Qingpu County flocked to the Nanhui Mouth seaside, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gao Family Village's cargo ships each day.

The moment a ship docked, they swarmed forward, shouting loudly, "Imperial Merchant Sir, please hire me for the island! I can work hard, and I'm tight-lipped; I won't speak a word of anything I see on the island!"

The construction speed of Zhoushan Dinghai Port and Zhoushan Shipyard instantly accelerated several-fold...

Soon, a town began to form on Zhoushan.

Once the workers were assured of the island's safety, some returned to their hometowns and brought their wives and children, causing Zhoushan's population to swell and the town to become increasingly prosperous.

With the growing population, various needs began to emerge.

Initially, these demands were met by Gao Family Village's transport ships, but gradually, the locals began to address them themselves.

Carpenters, after their shifts, would craft furniture, which their wives and children would then sell from small stalls in town.

Blacksmiths, too, after finishing their work, started forging items like kitchen knives for sale.

Even a disabled man, unable to perform heavy labor, opened a snack shop in town, and his business surprisingly thrived.

Subsequently, the "workers' children's school" for Zhoushan Dinghai Port and Zhoushan Shipyard was also built, with teachers transferred from Gao Family Village taking to the podium...

It was amidst this scene of thriving prosperity that an envoy from Liu Xiang's pirate group arrived.