Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 183 Local: Countryside ([-])

Thinking of this, Chen Tingmei's heart suddenly warmed up. He turned his head and said seriously to this country man: "The Englishman is good at boating and sailing across the world. Is it possible that such barbarians can defeat the enemy? A few days ago, at the mouth of the Gambia River, our fleet, under the wise command of Commander Lu, smashed the British barbarians, sank more than ten ships, and killed more than a thousand enemies. , Captured countless. Now, my fleet has successfully transferred in, and maybe I will be able to return to the court in a few days."

"Hey, let me just say it!" The militia chief clapped his hands excitedly, and said, "I will definitely take a boat to Zhenhai Fort the day the fleet returns. I have killed more than a thousand enemies, and Commander Lu is really a fairy-like figure. But it’s a great achievement! Alas, it’s a pity, I haven’t seen what Chief Lu looks like. Back then, I was a firearms soldier on the “Maritime Writer”, and Chief Han often saw him. Chief Lu was the commander of the fleet, but he never See you by chance. Later, I heard that the "Sea Literary Scholar" was sunk in the battle with Yingyi. It's a pity. It seems that many people died in that battle. There are navy brothers and army brothers. Some of them The one is from our village..."

Listening to the man talking upside down about the past, Chen Tingmei didn't feel impatient at all, and kept listening with a smile.

The three of them were chatting like this while hurrying on the road. After a while, the village was in front of them.Standing on the hillside at the entrance of the village, Chen Tingmei had a panoramic view of the village in front of her.

This is a standard village of [-] households. Traditional Chinese-style houses with red bricks and blue tiles are hidden among lush orange trees.The vines in the yard of the house climbed up half of the fence along the woven reed brackets, and some birds landed on the top of the fence from time to time, chirping and looking at the courtyard.

A group of urchins at the entrance of the village seemed to be playing some kind of game. A dozen or so children, big and small, were yelling and having fun.Several hounds followed behind them wagging their heads and wagging their tails, seeming to share their simple happiness.

What a peaceful rural picture!Chen Tingmei looked a little intoxicated.Now he suddenly understands the mentality of the militia director, yes, if it were me, I would not believe that our fleet is gone, nor would I want to believe that our beautiful and peaceful life would be broken.

Who the hell said our fleet is gone? !Chen Tingmei roared silently in her heart.

A few urchins at the entrance of the village were playing a game of war. The older boy in the lead was wearing a big black-brimmed cap that he got from no one knew where.With this "sacred" military cap in the eyes of the children, this child naturally became the leader of the group of children, giving orders to the others.

"Enemies are coming!" The eldest child pointed the wooden stick in his hand in the direction where Chen Tingmei and the three of them were walking, and shouted in a childish voice: "There are all platoons, five rounds of fire, ready to... release!"

Then a group of children held wooden guns in their hands, lined up in a decent row, and with the auxiliary word "啪啪啪" in their mouths, they "fired" at the three of them.

The director of the militia laughed, and dashed over, hugged the leading older child in the midst of the chaos, and instantly disintegrated the "army formation" of the children.

"Uncle Sun, you are stupid! You were beaten into a hornet's nest before you rushed over! Oh, you are stupid!" the child twisted and twisted in the arms of the militia director, mumbling dissatisfiedly.

Chen Tingmei looked at the two people, one big and one small playing together, and felt a sense of peace in her heart.The child looked ten years old, with chestnut hair and a Central Asian face, and looked quite cute.

"This baby is pitiful." The village chief next to him suddenly sighed, and said softly: "It is said that the three of them were trafficked to us from the Black Sea. He was conscripted into the army, went to sea with the navy, and never came back. The superior quickly issued a pension of 200 yuan, but the family lacked a pillar, so how could they live on. Fortunately, his wife is still Shrewd, he bought half of the pension money and bought [-] acres of land, and then rented it out to an Italian who came begging for food, and agreed to get half of the harvest for each person, so the two girls managed to live on."

Chen Tingmei remained silent.

The director of the militia put down the older boy, straightened the military cap on his head, and walked over holding hands, and said, "Today is Sunday, a bunch of brats are on vacation and no one cares about them. Malati and the others are playing a war game." ,Ha ha."

Chen Tingmei stepped forward and raised her hand to pat the young man on the shoulder, and then encouraged: "Little Malati, you are a man now, you should study hard in the future, and strive to go to high school in the future, and then enter the Academy of Natural Sciences for further studies, to be a Scientist, make your mother proud."

"I don't want to be a scientist." The child raised his face stubbornly and said, "Little Malati will be able to ride a horse when he is five years old. In the future, I will go to military school, and then I will become a soldier and kill all the British!"

"Malati, why do you hate the British so much?"

"They killed my father!" Malati said with red eyes: "No one will ride with me, hunt with me, or sleep with me anymore, so I will kill them."

Listening to the child's astonishing words in plain language and extremely serious attitude, several adults present sighed inaudibly.

Malati's home was at the entrance of the village, and Chen Tingmei and the three followed the child.A lush Parana pine stands at the door. The sharp-eyed Chen Tingmei saw that a part of the bark at the bottom of the pine tree had been carved with a few simple patterns with a knife. It seemed that two people, one big and one small, were playing on horseback. The smaller person in the front was riding a pony, the older person was riding a tall horse in the back, and behind the two horses was a long-haired woman standing under a tree and watching them quietly.The strokes carved by the knife are relatively immature, but it can be seen that they are extremely attentive.

Chen Tingmei could only sigh again in her heart.

This is a standard housing issued by the government, divided into three rooms on the left, middle and right, with a kitchen, utility room, yard and fence.The utility room was converted into a sheep pen, where four or five bleating goats were raised.There was a big dog lying in front of the sheepfold, and when it saw people coming in, it threw itself into Marati's arms wagging its head and wagging its tail. Marati lovingly stroked the soft fur of the big dog. A boy who wants to kill the British.

The mistress of the house was away, probably out to work in the fields.In the yard, an Italian was killing two fish by the well. When he saw the village chief and militia director bringing in a stranger, he stood up cautiously and stared at them blankly.

"Marati, you are back." The Italian said in somewhat unfamiliar Chinese, "I caught two fish by the lake, and I will kill them for you to eat later."

Malati snorted and played with the dog to himself, ignoring him.

The Italian was suddenly a little embarrassed, even though his face was covered with beards, Chen Tingmei could still see that his face was a little red.

"Ahem." The village chief cleared his throat, and then said, "Zamparini, I have already handed over your materials to the county, and the county will issue you an ID card after a while, and you will be We are citizens of the East Coast Republic of China. Remember, you must obey the law, be loyal to the country, perform military service on time, pay taxes, and there is nothing else to tell you. You are lucky, you should cherish it."

The Italian nodded with some joy.

After the village chief finished speaking, he said to Chen Tingmei in embarrassment: "This Italian named Zamparini came from La Plata to ask for a living. He has been here for more than a year. He was originally a tenant of this family. With [-] acres of paddy fields, I usually help the family mow some grass, herd sheep and so on. A few months ago, Malati’s mother came to me and told me that I want to... and Zamparini... so what ...Getting married, I need to declare the household registration to Zamparini. I think it's really not good to have no man in this family. In addition, both of them are willing, so I will report to the county according to their wishes I went. Well, a few days ago, I heard that the county has approved it, and the ID card will be issued after a while."

Chen Tingmei nodded in approval.Now the country is just starting up and lacks population.The remarriage of widows can increase the fertility rate, which is naturally something to be encouraged.However, at this time, he finally understood the reason why Marati was indifferent to the Italian.This child must have deep feelings for his father, so he would be extremely disgusted with this cheap stepfather in front of him, which is also human nature.

Seeing that Chen Tingmei didn't say anything, the village head said cautiously: "Their family has 50 acres of paddy fields, five goats, and two pigs. The property valuation has exceeded the property tax threshold of 45 yuan stipulated by the state. But I Considering that their family's life is not very easy, so they declared their property as [-] yuan on their own initiative, so his family did not pay taxes..."

Chen Tingmei is the clerk sent by the top to check the accounts. He will start to check the accounts of the village in a while, and there is no reason why he will not find out the little tricks of the village chief.Therefore, the village head saw that others were relatively easy to talk, so he boldly spoke out first.

Chen Tingmei smiled when she heard the words, and said: "Village chief, you did the right thing. The country has just issued a new regulation. The families of military martyrs are exempted from tax for ten years, and they also enjoy various preferential policies. Martyrs sacrificed their lives for the country. Why have the heart to bully their orphans and widows. So, what you did, village chief, is absolutely right."

After the village chief listened with a smile, he said, "Then, Clerk Chen, shall we start sorting out the accounts and counting the supplies now?"

"Alright, the country is constantly at war with Yingyi. The sooner this matter is settled, the sooner we can do our best for the country." Chen Tingmei nodded and said.

……

At the end of August 1637, several working groups sent by the Government Affairs Council basically cleaned up the local materials and accounts. At the same time, they also made a preliminary investigation of the local people's conditions including ideological trends and submitted a report to the Executive Committee. Provides an important basis for decision-making.At the same time, it also made the Executive Committee and the Government Council realize that the support and morale of the people are available, so they have strengthened their determination to fight with the British.

(End of this chapter)