Chapter 334 - Quarantine Camp
Xiao Zishan also promised that he and the General Office staff would come to teach whenever time permitted. Meanwhile, another matter—urgent, though not critically so—weighed on his mind.
"What should we do about the Children's School?" he asked.
The Children's School addressed the education of minor children who had accompanied the transmigrators. Currently, only three or four such children existed, all under ten, and all had gone without formal schooling for over half a year. They ran wild daily, their parents too consumed with work to supervise studies or daily life.
The numbers were small, the scope limited—but the responsibility fell to the General Office. Xiao Zishan found the problem vexing. The children's youth required dedicated caretakers and teachers. Their numbers were too few to justify a separate institution like a Yuhong School. Most transmigrators didn't even have wives yet; the first baby boom wouldn't arrive for years. Establishing such a school was a project for eight or ten years hence.
He shared these considerations with Hu Qingbai and Bai Yu. "How can we satisfy everyone?"
"Long-term, institutions like Yuhong School will be necessary. We'll need at least nursery facilities within two or three years." Hu Qingbai thought for a moment. "For now, we can establish a dedicated class within the Education Park." He considered further. "A general subject class. I'll teach it personally. But ideally, allocate a female instructor to me as well. The children are young; women have a certain natural affinity."
"Let Fang Yijing handle it. She worked in a kindergarten before."
"That would be ideal." Hu Qingbai outlined his vision: "Half-day classes, multi-grade instruction. I'll also select a few indigenous children—those with gentle temperaments and good Mandarin—as study companions."
"A sound plan." Xiao Zishan nodded. "I'd considered something similar, but the class size seemed too small."
"Indigenous children are fine companions. Many are bright and lively."
"Let me review the candidates first when the time comes." Xiao Zishan paused. "Best to have the Ministry of Health conduct thorough physical examinations beforehand. They must be completely healthy. And—presentable in appearance."
"Certainly. No problem." Hu Qingbai privately found it amusing how trivial the matters this Director managed could be.
Having seen off the "Imperial Envoy," Hu Qingbai turned to Bai Yu. "Find Wu De. Inform him about the Simplified Normal School recruitment and ask him to coordinate. After all, the natives are under his management—he knows best who's suitable."
Bai Yu nodded. "Naturally."
He found Wu De and relayed the request. Wu De frowned. "The Simplified Normal School is a good initiative. But locating that many eligible girls may prove difficult."
Wu De briefed him on the current refugee intake situation. By May 1629, over six thousand refugees had been received through the Guangzhou Station pipeline. Of these, more than four thousand had been transported to Lingao and settled in Bairen Commune. Five hundred had been placed in Leizhou. Over a thousand remained in Guangzhou.
"We've transported considerable numbers," Wu De said, "but the age distribution is uneven. You're requesting three hundred fifty girls between fifteen and twenty all at once. Where am I supposed to find them?"
"I assumed there were many women..." Bai Yu muttered. "Didn't the ancients consider daughters 'money-losing goods'?"
"Yet they were also keen on abducting and purchasing women. These refugees wandered all the way to Guangzhou—the likelihood that young girls were sold or seized along the road is extremely high."
"Just provide however many you can."
Wu De consulted his computer. "One hundred twenty, at most. And I still have to allocate forty to the Ministry of Health."
"The Ministry of Health needs that many?!"
"In my view, forty is still insufficient for their needs. Right now there aren't enough personnel dispensing disinfectant in the camps." Wu De dismissed Bai Yu.
"Hm. Everyone comes to me asking for girls. Don't think I don't know what you're all after!" Wu De muttered to himself. Then he called out: "Chu Yu!"
"Coming!" Chu Yu had transformed since her early days. Her hair was cropped short now, her clothing modern. With womanhood and some proper nutrition, she looked nothing like the scrawny servant girl of the past.
"Summon Dugu Qiuhun. Tell him we're going to inspect the Quarantine Camp."
Wu De, People's Commissar for Civil Affairs, occupied a seat in the Executive Committee's first tier of power for one simple reason: his work was the heaviest and most critical. The most brilliant technology, the grandest industry, the deepest treasury—all meant nothing without people to do the work. And Wu De controlled the Transmigration Group's entire human resource apparatus.
Dugu Qiuhun appeared at the office door wearing an iron-grey Model 99 police tunic, People's Army summer service breeches, and tall black boots. The SS M32 replica he had brought from the other timeline was unwearable in Lingao under any circumstances, so he had settled for this compromise. It still projected sufficient Eisen und Blut.
"Let's go. Time to inspect the Quarantine Camp."
This was daily routine. No matter how heavy his workload, Wu De visited the Quarantine Camp with representatives from the security and health departments. With approximately a thousand people concentrated there at any time, a mass incident or epidemic outbreak would be no laughing matter.
Their vehicle arrived at Bopu. He Ma, dispatched by the Ministry of Health, met them there. The three proceeded to the heavily guarded camp, where an infantry company trained in riot control stood watch. Besides rifles and grenades, the soldiers were equipped with rattan armor, rattan shields, wooden sticks, and tear gas.
To date, aside from a few group brawls over meals and bathing rights, no major disturbances had occurred. To prevent importing regional rivalries, host-guest conflicts, and clan feuds into Lingao, Wu De had explicitly emphasized several principles in the guidelines telegraphed to the Guangzhou intake station: accept only orphans, single men and women, and single-household small families. Clans and extended families migrating together were rejected without exception. Before the Transmigration Group cultivated sufficient reliable administrators and a robust enforcement apparatus, the Executive Committee had no desire to expend energy resolving civil disputes. The clan problems already endemic to Lingao were quite troublesome enough; importing additional major lineages would only compound the difficulties.
Upon intake, refugees were required to sign contracts as indentured servants, forfeiting personal freedom. As servants, they were legally property. Their ties to original families were severed. After local "purification" and settlement in quarantine, they became—effectively—slaves without past or personal liberty. Even their memories were to be erased. The Transmigration Group would reshape them into the human resources it required.
Surrounded by a security squad, Wu De walked into the camp. For some reason, every time he entered, he thought of Escape from Sobibor. The association was entirely inappropriate, yet the similarities were undeniable: long strip barracks, surrounding barbed wire, tall watchtowers, armed sentries, and the fearful expressions on refugees' faces as his group passed.
The refugees had been drilled well by the Army. "Attention!" upon entry, "Dismissed!" upon departure, quilts folded with military precision, straw mats spotless—even in the women's quarters, standards were identical. The Army's capability in this regard was formidable.
When Dugu Qiuhun passed through, his black boots and breeches inspired visible terror. He had become the camp's symbol of dread. Many refugees could not forget his appearances at the main gate to judge disciplinary violators: a pale-faced young man with the serene smile of a scholar, whose small gesture would cause some unfortunate wretch to be dragged onto the rack and flogged until flesh tore.
Wu De employed a carrot-and-stick approach with the refugees. He ensured they ate their fill, had clothes to wear, received medical treatment, and could reunite with family. But the stick had to be credible, making clear who held authority. Generous bestowal without enforcement bred indulgence. Strict discipline was maintained. Those who obeyed the rules suffered no hardship; those who didn't were dealt with harshly. Repeat offenders were consigned to hard labor.
The policy was effective. Feedback from the economic departments receiving immigrant workers consistently praised their performance: obedient, hardworking, disciplined.
This also made the primary enforcer, Dugu Qiuhun, somewhat isolated within the Transmigration Group. Although most transmigrators were pragmatists, a significant minority embraced "universal values," and Dugu Qiuhun's ostentatious attire inevitably attracted distaste. Some BBS posts openly questioned whether his conduct in the quarantine camp constituted fascism.
Under this awkward scrutiny, Dugu Qiuhun continued to fulfill his duties. To remove him from the fire, Wu De relieved him of his concurrent position as Quarantine Camp Commander, replacing him with Yang He.
Yang He belonged to the otaku contingent—steadfast in ideology but possessing no particular expertise beyond online gaming. Command of the quarantine camp suited him adequately. He had served as a guild leader or high-ranking officer in several small MMO guilds and had some insight into managing groups. More importantly, he executed Wu De's instructions without question. This arrangement allowed Dugu Qiuhun's enforcement activities to continue unimpeded.
"What's the emotional status today?" Wu De asked Yang He.
"Very stable. Blue Alert Level."
"'Blue' every day. Don't treat this as box-checking." Wu De knew Yang He had only recently graduated from university and lacked real-world experience—a source of some concern.