Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1110

Chapter 1110: Settlers (XXL)

Channa Kesava heard strange news in the town yesterday. Apparently, the king was opening up new land and looking for people to settle, and those who agreed would receive 40 acres of land and a three-year tax exemption. He was moved, but also cautious.

“What do you think, Laila?”

Since he couldn’t make up his mind himself, he told the offer to his wife and enquired.

Laila thought for a while, but instead of giving a reply, she asked a question of her own. ” Do you know where His Highness is looking to settle you? ”

Channa Kesava thought about it with a frown and nodded. “I don’t know exactly, but the people all over the town were talking about the Mahajala Lake (Eyre) being turned into a large freshwater lake as big as a small sea. If I had to guess, the king must be looking to settle a few villages near the lake to develop it faster.”

“Seriously?” Laila was surprised and a little skeptical. “That dried desert? Is His Highness going to make us live there?” She was already thinking of rejecting the offer and looking for another job.

Channa Kesava did not know his wife had already become resistant to the idea, but he still nodded at her question. “From what I heard, it should be the case. The canal project that the kings were participating in has been completed, and apparently, the rivers from Vishala Nagari will be rerouted to the Mahajala Lake, along with three tributaries and small rivers in our own kingdom.”

Hearing her husband’s words, Laila’s rejection stuck in her throat. If it were really true, then it was a big opportunity. Forty acres was a large area, and if the Mahajala truly became a vast freshwater lake, then her family could even farm freshwater fish and sell them to the cities and towns.

She changed her mind and came up with a solution. “In that case, you can give it a try. Since this is the project His Majesty the Emperor started, and all five kings of the land are involved, it should not be false, but I won’t be going with you. I’ll find a job here in a shop or a company, and once you settle there, contact me. Then we can move.”

Channa Kesava thought about it and nodded. Indeed, it was much safer if he went alone first and called his wife after understanding the situation and understanding what type of land they would be allocated.

He packed his bags, clothes, utensils and set off. To join the initiative, he met the few people who had asked him yesterday whether he was willing to go inland and cultivate land, and he joined their group.

Surprisingly, he didn’t have to travel the whole way by carriage. The train went halfway before finally diverting toward Surya Nagari. After getting down at the railway station, they all took a carriage to their next destination. The carriage moved through the dry, arid desert, and he was already beginning to regret it. The air was so parched he could feel the lack of moisture with every breath.

‘ No wonder Mahajala Lake cannot retain water for long, ‘ he thought to himself. With this kind of dryness, not to mention Mahajala Lake, even the ocean may dry up. Of course, He was exaggerating, but that was how dry the air was.

He finally arrived at the place where a group of people had gathered around a civil servant in his blue cap.

Looking around the surroundings, it was actually not bad; maybe there was water underground since there were weeds growing. ‘ So this is the place that will be turned into a village? ‘

He stood in the line, went along with others and got his own allocated land. Of course, he hesitated when he was made to sign the contract, where he had to cultivate the land for at least 4 years before he could sell it, but ultimately looking at the vegetation his confidence increased a little so he signed and received the land deed and was shown to his land, which was already demarked.

“So this is it.” Looking at his vast land, he felt emotional. He finally had land once again. Back in the empire, he had been forced to sell his land to a rich businessman and leave in search of work. If he were educated, it would not have been a problem to find a job anywhere in the empire, as jobs were exploding, but he only knew how to farm and fish. The best job he could get was manual labour, and he did not like living under someone else’s roof, so he decided to emigrate to Prabhavapura.

It was here that he met his wife and married her four months ago. Nearly half a year after coming to this kingdom, he finally had a foundation of his own.

For now, he was allowed to sleep in the large building that had been temporarily constructed, but the civil servants said the government would be helping in the construction of the house in the next few months, so he had no worries.

“Hey, Kesava, we are going to see the Mahajala Lake, you wanna come? ”

The guy from the neighbouring plot, whom he had just met, invited him. Since Channa Kesava had nothing to do for now, he agreed and went along.

They took camels and travelled for nearly half a day, and he once again realised how horribly dry the whole area was. ” We’re lucky that the government settled us on a patch of green land, or else I don’t know if I could have held on, ” he commented, and the fellow travellers nodded in agreement.

” We are here! ”

The guy who walked at the front of the group shouted with excitement.

Channa Kesava looked towards the horizon with anticipation, and sure enough, in the sweltering heat, a water body was seen floating up the horizon.

Maybe the camels noticed it as well; they increased their pace, and within half an hour, they reached the Mahajala Lake.

Putting his feet into the water and feeling the cold touch, a sense of relief washed all over him.

The lake was indeed large; he could not see the end at all. Also, with curiosity, he scooped up a bowl of water with his hand and took a sip. His eyes lit up. It was really fresh water, not as good as the Godavari River, but still it is drinkable. This can definitely be used for agriculture.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Suddenly, a man approached them from their blind spot.

Only now did Channa Kesava and his group notice that several people were actually working on the shore. They had set up a large tent of sorts, and under it, people wearing yellow hats were studying a paper blueprint.

“We have just come to see the Mahajala Lake. We are the people who decided to settle in the new settlement that has opened up. What about you, sir?” his companion enquired.

Hearing the answer from the man, everyone’s eyes lit up, and that included Channa Kesava. Apparently, a water line would be connected from the lake to their settlement, and a large reserve would be dug, from where irrigation canals would be formed, sending water directly to their farmlands.

It looked like he had made the right decision, not to mention in the empire, even in Suvarna Dwipa, if he wanted a plot of land which had direct access to water, he had to pay a lot of money which he did not have, but now by simply agreeing to cultivate the land for at least four years, he already got over 40 acres of land just like that.

He was not the only one excited; the other companions who had travelled with him were smiling from ear to ear as well, and the excitement was palpable.

” Can we help out? ” Channa Kesava suddenly asked. In his mind the faster the water line is connected, the faster he could call his wife to the village, and the faster he could start planting.

The civil engineer thought for a while and nodded.

“We’ll be laying down the pipework. If you men are willing to help, it would be a great relief. I can guarantee you’ll earn a good salary for your effort.”

Channa Kesava immediately nodded, and his companions were the same. Anyway, they were free with nothing to do other than direct the construction of the house they will be living in, might as well get a temporary job and earn some money.

The work was not as difficult as they thought; they simply had to tighten the metal pipes and direct them towards the settlement. They did not know how the water would be sent up, but they didn’t ask. Channa Kesava figured that a steam engine would be brought over, so he had no doubt, but what he was confused about was why the pipe was placed on the surface and not under the ground. According to common sense, if it is placed under the ground, the water will stay cool, and the pipe will also not rust quickly.

He had not gone to higher education, but with common sense, he could tell that a pipe subjected to cold water and hot weather will not last long. Putting it underground might have been enough to avoid it.

” Sir, why cant the pipe be placed under the ground? ” He finally decided to ask.

The civil engineer who was doing the same work they were, lifted his head and replied, ” It’s because the level of the water in the lake keeps rising. In the last few days, the level rose by over three metres, so we did not want to dig out the pipes every time the water level rises. ”

Channa Kesava was surprised. ” The width of the lake is still rising? How much more? ”

” No idea, ” the civil engineer shook his head, ” but I’m sure the place we are standing now will be submerged in a few days. If it rains, it might happen faster. ”

‘No wonder the pipes are placed above,’ he understood completely now.

In this way, several days passed. The width of the lake increased once again. A fellow settler who had built a small fishing boat set out from the edge of the lake to see how big it had become. He didn’t return by evening, but no one worried too much; they all knew the lake was enormous, and they assumed he might have slept on the opposite shore.

But even on the second day, he didn’t come back, and people finally began to worry. Thankfully, on the third day, he returned and announced that the lake was at least ten thousand kilometres wide. “The pressure of the water entering it is still strong. The lake might widen even more,” he informed, causing the settlers who had gathered around him to break into discussions.

The laying down of the pipe until the settlement was completed, and the civil engineers said that a steam engine would be arriving at the location today, so Kesava, along with others, set off to the lake. This time, the journey only took three hours instead of more than half a day, thanks to the widening of the lake.

‘ Maybe if I can get a Chetak, it will be much faster, ‘ he thought in his heart. Fifty kilometres was not a long distance, and if the harvest for the 40 acres is good, it would not be just a dream to purchase the Chetak-powered cycle.

Finally reaching the shore of the lake, he saw the familiar engineers working on a machine. They were fitting pipes behind it and making adjustments to the machine itself.

“Hey, guys, can you row the boat and take this pipe as far as possible and leave it there?”

Noticing their arrival, the engineers asked them to do something, and Channa Kesava and his group did not hesitate. Two people got on the boat that was already on the shore and started rowing, while another person took the pipe given by the engineer and held it in his hand and looked at it curiously.

“It looks like a suction pipe. There’s a filter mesh and some other parts attached to the end,” he said. Then he noticed the wooden barrel fixed at the tip. “Maybe they want the pipe to float on the water,” he added.

Channa Kesava nodded. “Probably to avoid sucking up sand.”

Going as far as the pipe allowed, they dropped the pipe into the water, and as expected, the wooden barrel attached to the pipe floated up, and the filter and suction element itself submerged .

After returning to the shore, he was told that the engine would be started in a few hours. Without hesitation, he headed back to the settlement where the reservoir had recently been dug. Those who wanted to watch the engine start stayed behind, while those eager to see the water enter the reservoir followed Channa Kesava.

As Channa Kesava gave his ear to the metal pipe sticking out at the end of the tube, he could hear a sound of gurgling. He got excited, the sound meant that the steam engine had been started, and it was already pushing water into the pipes.

He and several others waited with bated breath. The fellow settlers who saw what they were doing became excited as they understood what was about to happen and came forward to wait just like them.

” Glug! ”

A few minutes later, after an initial burst of water, the water began to pour out in great force.

” Hahaha! ”

” It’s here, the water is here! ”

Channa Kesava happily let himself be hit by the water and drenched all over. The people around him did the same. They all shouted in happiness and screamed in laughter, informing the other settlers about the situation.

Life in the settlement slowly began to take shape. With the reservoir being filled, people joined hands to dig out the irrigation canals, which took another month, and after everyone got water right to their own plots, cultivation began on a large scale. His wife quit her job and came back to live with him once again. Engineers came to the settlement every day and started marking the place for the road to be laid down.

Weeks later, the paving of the roads started, and the construction of the drainage channels also began, with all the drainage connected to a place outside the settlement where the biological waste will be turned into fertiliser and will be sold back to the settlers.

Another month passed, and their settlement finally received an official name, Mahajalapura. Police were appointed for internal security, a post office opened, an engineer settled in the village and started a small school, and a general store was set up by one of the settlers. Somehow, freshwater fish were introduced into the lake, and he himself shared the sorghum seeds he had brought from the empire.

Since the fertility of the soil was uncertain and the heat still made planting difficult, he decided to grow something that thrived in such conditions. Sorghum was the obvious choice.

It grew well in hot climates and didn’t require fertile soil; if weeds could grow, sorghum could too. Ground into flour, it could be used for bread, and it also made excellent camel feed. On top of that, it matured in just ninety days. Its long roots helped break up the soil and improve airflow, slowly increasing fertility over time.

He had never grown this crop before, but it felt like exactly what he needed. After his neighbours heard about its benefits, they bought some seeds from him as well.

In such a way, the future metropolis slowly began to take shape.

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