Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Getting down from the ship, Li Jian took a deep breath and looked around. Seeing the scenery, he was relieved because the port was not worse than Jayapura Port at all. When he was informed that he would not be taken to the Bharatiya Empire's mainland but would be taken to one of its overseas territories, that too in the newly discovered continent, he was worried, thinking that he would have to live in the jungles and would have to constantly fend off attacks from wild animals. But from the looks of it, he was worried too much.

This port, named Bhanu Bhavana (Brisbane), although not as large as Manila, compared with size alone, it's not too far off from the port of Jayapura.

Hundreds of ships were still docked at the port, with a constant stream of people boarding and disembarking. The traffic flow was no different from the other two ports he had seen; people were hurrying around, creating a vibrant mercantile atmosphere.

This port gave him a weird feeling. Unlike Manila, it conveyed a sense of vastness, as if he was no longer confined to the frontier he had been assigned to, but free to go anywhere under the vast umbrella of the Bharatiya Empire. It was like an interconnected net of transportation, travelling from one nation to another as easily as travelling from one town to another. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to make a living, he was tempted to see the full extent of this behemoth of a nation, whose extent of power he could barely comprehend.

"Please move along."

Suddenly, he felt someone nudge him forward, which made him wake up from the trance and realise that he was blocking the path. He quickly apologised and moved aside, giving space for the other compatriots to get down from the ship.

Finally moving his attention away from the various interesting things at the port, he was startled to discover that a group of people had already stood a few feet away from them, watching them as if they were some sort of aliens.

Li Jian felt very uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, they're just curious. They mean no harm. It's your pigtails that are attracting all the attention. You see, in Bharatiya society, only a certain caste of people wear pigtails, and they're quite rare in the overseas territories."

"They're just confused, trying to figure out what to make of you."

The man who spoke was the guide assigned to their ship. Every ship had one, and the man standing before them, Feng Chi, was theirs.

Hearing his explanation, Li Jian and the others, who had been somewhat taken aback, began to calm down.

Feng Chi showed them the way to what he called the immigration office, where the Bharatiya asked for name, age, number of family members, and skills.

They were warned to tell the truth or else they would be deported. Although Li Jian did not know how the Bharatiya would get to know if the person was telling the truth or not, he guessed that no one wanted to lie, especially after travelling so far.

"My name is Ho Ming, 23 years old. I have a wife, Lin Chiu, 19 years old. No children. I have worked as a farmer all my life, and my wife knows a little embroidery. All my clothes are stitched by her."

"My name is Han Qing. I am 17 years old, not married, no family member, I can do labour."

People began to report their names one by one, and each person was asked to take a different exit. Li Jian realised that people with skills might be getting better arrangements, so when it was his time to report, he did not hold back.

"My name is Li Jian. I am 24 years old. I have a son, Li Bai, who is three years old. I had a wife, but she died. As for my skills, I have worked as a carpenter all my life. I have experience in woodworking for the landlords, and I was even praised for my craftsmanship."

As he guessed, as soon as he reported his skill, the person who was writing down everything about him on paper raised his eyebrows. He even received a sentence, "Sorry for your loss," from the man. He could tell that it was perfunctory, but at least it showed him that he had unknowingly increased his importance in this foreign land.

He was asked to take the furthest exit, and he did so without any hesitation because he recognised that this was the exit where the people who had some skill went.

Going through the exit, not knowing what to expect, he was taken aback when a carriage was waiting for him. A Bharatiya person asked him to get on the carriage. He wanted to ask where they were taking him, but unfortunately, there were no translators around, so he simply obeyed and moved forward.

Placing his cloth bag at the top of the carriage, letting his son go up first and finally getting inside himself, Li Jian was surprised because he saw a familiar face. It was none other than Ye Chen, the person who stood up for all the refugees back in the Kunming refugee camp. He had lost contact with this person after he moved away from the camp, but who would have thought he would meet him again here?

Ye Chen looked at him and smiled. He actually introduced himself, which made Li Jian quite embarrassed. He really thought that it would be okay for this guy to die so that a little food would be left over for him and his son. Still, going through so many hardships, he had already developed a strong mind. He quickly recovered from his embarrassment and introduced himself with a smile.

"Brother Ye Chen, you might not know, but I was in the camp along with you in Kunming. I did not get a chance to talk to you, but let me just say thank you for bravely standing up to the Ming soldiers, and thank you for giving poor people like us some hope."

Ye Chen laughed but then smiled, "Don't mention it, Brother Li. This is what I should do. You have to understand, I was quite desperate as well. I only stood up for my own selfishness. If it benefited my brothers, then it is only a coincidence. I do not deserve your high praise."

Li Jian felt even more embarrassed. He would be alright if Ye had been an arrogant person, but he was so nice, which made him feel even more guilty. Maybe in his heart, he was hoping Ye had a stinky personality so that he could justify his thoughts, even though he was clear in his heart that it was very unlikely. But still, hardening his resolve, he continued to talk as if nothing hapenned. In such a way, both started discussing what they had witnessed throughout their journeys. It turned out that the ship Ye Chen took did not stop in two different ports but came directly to Bhanu Bhavana after only one stop at the Jayapura Port.

"Brother Ye, if you arrived earlier than we, then why are you still waiting around in the carriage?"

Ye Chen shrugged, "I was told to wait since yesterday. The Bharatiyas did not arrange any work for me. They said that I will have to wait until they find more people to go with me."

Li Jian already understood what was happening. "Brother Ye, when they asked if you had any skills, did you mention anything?"

Ye Chen nodded, "Yes, I worked as a clerk under the magistrate's office."

"Oh, no wonder, Brother Ye. I mentioned my carpentry experience, and I was sent into this carriage. It looks like the Bharatiyas have prepared different jobs for people like us."

Ye Chen nodded in understanding. At the same time, he was surprised by how acute Li Jian was. A few hours passed, and the carriage was finally filled up when two more people joined them. One was a middle-aged man called Pei Zhu, and the other was a young man called Bai Zhong. There was even a woman in the carriage who was the wife of Pei Zhu.

The carriage finally moved, and they were taken to a place where all the other carriages gathered, and they were asked to take a bath, throw away all their clothes, and shave off their hair.

The request immediately startled Li Jian, but he calmed down after he got to know that he would be given new and fresh clothes, as well as finally have their work arranged.

The person who resisted the most was the wife of Pei Zhu, as she didn't want to go bald. Thankfully, the people of the Bharatiya Empire looked considerate and did not fully shave off their hair. By the time she came out, her hair was shortened like a little boy's.

To Be Continued...