Chapter 9: The Riot

“There’s no real cure for this disease,” He Ma said. “We can only rely on quinine. We’ve brought a lot of it. If it’s not enough, Lin’gao has a large stock. So I’m not worried about the mortality rate—with quinine, people will live. But if there’s an explosive epidemic, I’m afraid we’ll have a shortage of beds and nursing staff, which will seriously affect the patients’ recovery.”

“We’ll listen to you on this matter. We’ll do whatever you say,” Wang Luobin said. “In short, there must not be an explosive epidemic!”

The loss of labor due to an epidemic was a very serious matter, whether from death or illness. From a cruelly pragmatic point of view, if there was a sufficient supply of new labor to fill the gaps, the dead were better than the sick. The resources required by a sick person far exceeded those of a healthy one. Not only could they not work, but they also required manpower and material resources to care for them.

The transmigrator group had not yet reached such a level of abundance; labor was still quite precious. The cycle for each basic laborer, from being taken in at Guangzhou to being officially put to work, was as long as 90 days. The food, medicine, and manpower consumed during these 90 days were a huge expense.

“Besides taking medicine, prevention is still the main thing. We especially need to increase the supply of mosquito nets,” He Ma said, “to the point where each person has one. If we can’t manage that at this stage, at least all windows must be covered with gauze.”

“As for burning artemisia to repel mosquitoes, I’ve already submitted a report to the Executive Committee. Director Liu said that dried artemisia can be supplied freely, and if it’s not enough, we can purchase more from the mainland. It would be best to send someone to handle this matter specifically.”

“Does drinking artemisia soup have a preventive effect?” He Fanghui interjected. “Isn’t artemisinin supposed to be a new generation of anti-malarial drug?”

“Artemisia has no killing effect on the malaria parasite. What’s effective is actually Artemisia annua. Secondly, even if we had Artemisia annua, it would still be very difficult to extract the active ingredient with our current pharmaceutical factory’s level. Let’s just honestly give the patients quinine,” He Ma said. “To be cautious, all elders should also start taking preventive medication from today.”

Subsequently, the transmigrator group launched a vigorous sanitation campaign, cleaning up and burying garbage, filling in low-lying areas, clearing stagnant water, and installing window screens. They were busy as bees. A large amount of dried artemisia was transported from Lin’gao, along with special ceramic fumigators. With the fumigators, it was less likely to cause a fire. The dormitories in the camp were all wooden plank houses, and careless use of fire could lead to a major disaster.

The entire camp was shrouded in the smoke of artemisia day and night. In reality, there were very few mosquitoes on the beach. The artemisia was mainly fumigating the people. Everyone from Wang Luobin down to the basic laborers was tormented by this terrible smoke and complained incessantly.

But these measures didn’t seem to be very effective. After a few days, malaria began to enter a large-scale outbreak period. It started with a few people a day, then became more than ten, then dozens. The hospital quickly filled up. He Ma ordered several independent barracks to be immediately vacated and used as dedicated isolation wards. There weren’t enough medical orderlies, so all the women among the immigrants were mobilized to serve as temporary nurses.

Anti-malarial drugs were distributed according to the severity of the illness. The malaria parasites of this era had not yet developed drug resistance, so the medication was effective almost immediately. But even so, it took at least ten days for a person to recover from the illness and return to work. As more and more laborers fell ill, He Ma began to lose his mind—he simply hadn’t prepared so many anti-malarial drugs!

The health department had not estimated the severity of the malaria situation in Hainan very accurately. The anti-malarial drugs they brought were mainly for the future landing in Taiwan and the development of Southeast Asia. After arriving in Lin’gao, malaria was only sporadic in most parts of the island, and more common only near the Li areas. This had led them to misjudge the severity of malaria in Hainan.

By this calculation, to ensure the laborers could work effectively, they had to give each laborer preventive oral anti-malarial drugs, which far exceeded their reserves. The mass production of quinine was still years away. What would they do if they exhausted their reserves? Moreover, for malaria, quinine was not the most effective drug. Its therapeutic and curative effects were far inferior to the chemically synthesized chloroquine and primaquine.

But at this point, He Ma had no other choice. The number of sick people was increasing daily. Many had poor constitutions and were exhausted from the previous period of overwork, so their resistance was very low. Even with specific drugs, they couldn’t pull through. The death rate climbed steadily. From no deaths at the beginning, it rose to three or four a day, then seven or eight, then a dozen. The bodies of the dead were carried to a remote beach and cremated on pyres. At its peak, more than twenty bodies were cremated on the beach every day. The new cemetery was full in less than a week, and He Fanghui had to urgently develop a second phase.

The thick smoke from the incessant burning of bodies caused great panic among the laborers. A rumor spread that working at the roadbed construction site would lead to infection with “miasma” (which was not actually a rumor, as most of the infected were road construction workers). Morale in the camp continued to drop, and an atmosphere of fear permeated the camp. Although no one dared to raise objections in the face of the transmigrator group’s powerful military force, they knew from the reports of the internal network members that the laborers’ resentment and fear were growing.

But the construction progress did not slow down at all. To set an example, Shan Daoqian went to the front-line construction site with the engineering team every day. He took his medicine on time and was full of confidence in its preventive effects.

But the laborers didn’t see it that way. They were filled with fear and resentment about having to continue working in the “land of miasma.” The network members began to issue orange alerts: a riot was about to happen!

The construction command headquarters held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures. Three resolutions were made: effective immediately, all elders, regardless of their position, would take turns going to the front-line construction sites to set an example and calm the people; second, the standard of food supply would be greatly increased to soothe complaints and strengthen the laborers’ constitution; third, the compound anti-malarial tablets, originally only issued to elders and soldiers, would first be distributed to the workers entering the inland areas. At the same time, He Ma would be sent back to request more anti-malarial tablets, so that everyone could take them.

However, the event occurred earlier than they had anticipated. A strike broke out in the camp that day. A labor team assigned to the road construction site, led by their captain, refused to go to work. Several other teams also drove out or detained the captains and group leaders who were supposed to take them to work.

Zhuo Tianmin was in the public office of the labor camp. Hearing the commotion, he came out to talk to them, only to be greeted by a volley of ceramic fumigators and other miscellaneous objects.

“We’re not going to work!” the laborers shouted at him. “We didn’t come here to die!”

Zhuo Tianmin knew the situation was getting worse by the minute. Many labor teams, though not explicitly on strike, were watching and waiting, unwilling to leave the camp for work.

Wang Luobin contacted Zhuo Tianmin via walkie-talkie: “What’s the situation on site?”

“It’s not good. They refuse to go to work,” Zhuo Tianmin said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his face covered in dust and grime. “I’ll try to work on them some more…”

Zhuo Tianmin continued to painstakingly try to persuade them to give up their resistance and go back to work, promising that as long as they took their medicine on time, they would not get sick. The current patients were all infected in the past.

“…If you take these pills, you won’t get malaria. I’ve taken them too. I can go to the construction site with you…” Zhuo Tianmin didn’t have a megaphone and had to shout at the top of his lungs.

“To hell with your medicine!” The laborers barricaded in the barracks threw out the pills they had been given. “Keep the medicine for yourself! We want to live!”

“Everyone, don’t be afraid—” Before Zhuo Tianmin could finish his sentence, a few men who could no longer hold back rushed forward and punched him. He was knocked to the ground, and then a dozen hands swarmed over him, grabbing and holding him down. Someone shouted, “Beat him to death!” In an instant, he had already taken several punches and kicks. Zhuo Tianmin was held so tightly he couldn’t move. A huge fear surged through him: he was going to be beaten to death!

The moment he was knocked down, the labor camp erupted into chaos. Someone set fire to the public office and began looting. They started beating the medical orderlies and the “running dogs” like the labor group leaders and captains. A few female medical orderlies who were distributing medicine didn’t escape in time and were raped. In the confusion, a clerk under Zhuo Tianmin escaped from the camp and rushed to Yulin Fort to report. The labor teams that were not involved in the riot were quickly led away from the scene by their captains. The infantry squad on guard duty outside acted according to the contingency plan and promptly secured all key points, preventing the riot from spreading further.

Wang Luobin had already received news of the riot in the camp. Now, hearing that the public office had been burned and Zhuo Tianmin had been captured by the laborers, he was shocked. A rebellion?!

Xi Yazhou had already arrived, fully armed, brandishing a pistol.

“I think we should send in the troops.”

“Zhuo Tianmin is trapped inside. If we rush in recklessly…” Wang Luobin hesitated.

“The people inside haven’t reacted yet. Once they do, they’ll guard Zhuo Tianmin closely and use him as a hostage to bargain with us. It will be difficult to rescue him then. It’s chaotic inside now, which is a good opportunity,” Qian Shuixie also supported an immediate assault.

“Alright, let’s assault. We must rescue Zhuo Tianmin unharmed,” Wang Luobin gave the order. “Try to minimize casualties.”

“Let’s begin,” Xi Yazhou ordered the orderly beside him.

The infantry company, equipped with anti-riot gear, advanced into the camp in a line formation. A hail of stones pelted their rattan shields and steel helmets with a clattering sound. The infantrymen, heads down and shields up, advanced without hesitation. The few who tried to resist were quickly routed by their clubs. A few minutes later, the infantry had the situation under control. The laborers had no weapons and no organization. They didn’t even know what they wanted to achieve. A few had tried to organize, but they were dispersed before they could.

The striking laborers were driven out and made to sit on the open ground, forbidden to move, awaiting their fate.

Zhuo Tianmin was bruised and swollen, but his life was not in danger. Someone had thought to hold him hostage, which had saved him.

“Old Zhuo, you’ve suffered,” Wang Luobin comforted him as he was carried out on a stretcher.

“I’m fine,” Zhuo Tianmin said, propping himself up and raising his hand. “This is not a big deal. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill…”

“Alright, alright, you get some rest first,” Wang Luobin comforted him. “We’ll handle it.”

Zhuo Tianmin wanted to say more, but at that moment, a few female medical orderlies, their clothes tattered, limped past, supporting each other and crying. Then, several more stretchers were carried by. Some were groaning in pain, while others were already covered with a sheet, silent.

He sighed and lay down without another word.

Wang Luobin ordered Zhuo Tianmin to be moved to his bedroom in Yulin Fort, and had Gao Lujie attend to him. Zhuo Tianmin’s briefcase, documents, and pistol were all recovered. They had been in the concrete safe in the public office and had survived the fire.

The smoke from the public office dissipated. The public office in the labor camp had been burned to a pile of scattered, charred wooden frames. If the fire hadn’t been put out in time, it would likely have spread, with unimaginable consequences.

Ten people died in the riot: three medical orderlies, five labor group leaders and captains, and two clerks. All the dead were personnel trained by the transmigrator group. This loss of personnel was a painful blow to Wang Luobin. And the burning of the public office meant that a batch of documents that had not yet been backed up were lost forever.

The punishment was swift and severe. Everyone agreed that such actions—beating an elder, burning buildings, and killing native staff—had gone beyond the scope of a strike. Besides, the transmigrator group had never recognized the natives’ right to strike. All things considered, the elders deemed this to be tantamount to a rebellion.

“This matter must be dealt with in the bloodiest way possible!” Xi Yazhou said excitedly. “They actually beat an elder! If we don’t kill a bunch of them, how will they learn that the elders are sacred and inviolable?!”

“We must kill one to warn a hundred,” He Fanghui also firmly supported this time. “They killed several native staff as soon as they started making trouble. If we don’t punish them severely, how can the native personnel who serve us feel at ease? We must find the culprits and execute them publicly!”

Qian Shuixie disagreed. In his view, the laborers’ strike was a normal demand for their rights. The methods were just a bit extreme—but he wisely did not voice his opposition. However, he did not express his approval either.

That day, all laborers stopped work and were assembled at the entrance of the labor camp. All available troops from the Army and Navy were concentrated here, their bayonets like a forest of steel. The atmosphere was solemn and oppressive. The natives knew from this atmosphere—there was going to be a killing.

On the beach opposite the main gate of the labor camp, a funeral pyre had been erected, on which lay eleven bodies wrapped in white cloth. A few carpenters were installing a gallows nearby.

After a brief trial in front of the funeral pyre, all the laborers who were identified as having participated in the beating and attack on the elder, who had killed the labor captains and medical orderlies, or who had raped the female medical orderlies were sentenced to death. One by one, under the brief verdict of “in the name of the Senate and the People, sentenced to death,” they were dragged to the gallows and executed. As the hangings were carried out, the funeral pyre was lit. The soaring flames illuminated the swaying bodies on the gallows. By the time the trial was over, twenty-five people had been hanged.