Chapter 88: Reselling
According to Rock's standards, Boers like Jeffrey were probably similar to the puppet troops during the Anti-Japanese War. There were many such Boers in the Cape. The British formed a colonial force with a total of about 53,000 people in the Cape and used them in the Boer War. Among these 53,000 people, there were not only Boers, but also many blacks.
What’s interesting is that Rock didn’t see many black people in Cape Town, probably because all the black people were in the army or in the mines. This was inconsistent with Rock’s impression of South Africa. South Africa in the 21st century has almost become a black country, but in the Cape now, there is not even the shadow of a black person.
At dinner, Rock finally understood why Jeffrey said that giving each of the Boer girls a piece of bread would be enough.
"Food in the refugee camp is rationed. Each person is given three-quarters of a pound of cornmeal per day, sometimes rice or potatoes, one ounce of coffee, two ounces of sugar, half an ounce of salt, and one pound of meat per week. However, women and children whose relatives are in the guerrillas do not receive meat. Infants and children under six years old can receive a quarter quart of milk every day." Cape used the imperial system, not the metric system, and these "ounces" and "quarts" made Rock dizzy.
One pound 4 is approximately equal to 450 grams, one ounce is approximately equal to 30 milliliters, and one quart is approximately equal to 1.13 liters. If you understand these units of measurement, you will roughly understand the situation in the refugee camp.
To be honest, it was much better than Rock had expected. There was coffee, sugar, milk, and meat. What else did he want?
If this standard were applied to the Qing Dynasty, many people would probably be willing to live in refugee camps.
Compared with food, the environment in refugee camps is the main reason for the high mortality rate.
It is impossible for the British to prepare tall and spacious rooms for the refugees, so the refugee camps are full of low tents, which are about one meter high. Adults have to bend down to go in and out, and they cannot move freely in the tents. Often there are seven or eight people living in one tent, and the degree of crowding can be imagined. There is not enough drinking water in the refugee camp. In the corner of the refugee camp, there is a stream diverted from the Elsdi River. The main living water for the refugee camp comes from this stream.
When Rock saw the stream, he was furious. On the wire mesh above the stream hung a naked Boer woman's body. It looked like the body had been hanging there for a long time and had already decayed to a considerable extent. Below the body was the stream, which meant -
"Half a month ago, this woman tried to escape through the creek. The guards shot her dead and hung her body on the barbed wire to warn the Boers with ill intentions—" Jeffrey didn't think there was anything wrong with this.
It's not just Jeffrey. I'm afraid that most people of this era don't think there is anything wrong with this. In 1893, German scientist Robert Koch first clearly pointed out that bacteria can be transmitted through water, food, clothing and other channels, thereby causing diseases.
Although Robert Koch's discovery caused a strong response in the medical community, it still needed more theoretical support to attract attention at the national level, not to mention the Cape Colony. I'm afraid no one would link the high with the corpses on the barbed wire.
"Take the body away immediately, find a place to burn and bury it. From now on, drinking water must be purified and no one is allowed to drink raw water casually." Rock was also a new official, and the first thing he did was to cut the drinking water.
"Inspector, purify - how to purify?" Jeffrey didn't understand Rock's order.
"Boil the water. From now on, you can only drink boiled water. You are not allowed to drink raw water." Only then did Rock remember the white people's obsession with ice water.
Rock didn't know why white people were so obsessed with ice water. In the bar, even if Rock only wanted a glass of water, the bartender would throw two . Not to mention daily life, Rock had almost never seen white people boil water unless they needed hot water to make tea.
This is a cultural difference, just like white people don’t understand why Chinese people always drink hot water.
But it is obvious that hot water has far greater benefits than ice water. At least after the water is boiled, it can kill most of the bacteria in the water. This is also a solution when there is no special water purification equipment.
Although it cannot completely solve the problem.
"Yes, sir." Jeffrey still didn't seem to understand, but he didn't question it, and that was enough.
"We need more and bigger tents, or sturdy houses. Winter is coming soon. People will die if they live in tents like this." Rock was more worried about the weather. It was already March, and winter was coming .
Winter in Cape Town is from May to August every year. I guess Chinese people in Cape Town will not be able to understand the term "March in Spring" in the future.
"Sir, are you referring to those military tents? It's impossible for us to get military tents. Military tents must be prioritized to ensure supply to the front line." Jeffrey was also helpless. If possible, Jeffrey also wanted to make these women and children live a better life, but Jeffrey had no choice.
"I'll find a way to deal with the tent. You go and deal with the body on the barbed wire first." Rock was going back to Cape Town to find Henry. This kind of thing still required Henry's intervention.
"Military tents? No, no, no, there's nothing I can do. Even if we go to the director, he can't get us military tents. All military supplies are managed by the expeditionary headquarters. Even our governor can't interfere." It's not that Henry didn't want to help, he just couldn't help.
It was already evening when Rock returned to Cape Town, just in time for dinner. Dinner was custard, fish and a stewed chicken. These dishes were not made by Anna, as she did not have the skills. The current chef of Rock's family is Marvin from Qing Dynasty. Marvin used to be the head chef of the French Embassy in Qing Dynasty. After the Boxer Rebellion began, Marvin became an out-and-out traitor and was put on the Boxer's blacklist. If Marvin continued to stay in Qing Dynasty, he would be dead, so Marvin simply accepted the employment of the Cape Town Police Department and came to Cape.
As for why Marvin works here at Rock, the operation is very simple. Henry hired chefs from Qing Dynasty under the banner of providing Chinese food for Chinese police officers. All he needs to do is prove that Marvin's cooking skills are not up to standard, and then Henry can justifiably fire Marvin.
"Unable to intervene? Do you believe this? If the expeditionary force headquarters really has such strict management, where do the military supplies on the market come from?" Rock didn't believe Henry's lies. The Cape Town market was flooded with all kinds of military supplies, and those military supplies were resold by corrupt officials.
