African Entrepreneurship Record

"I want to drink red wine and eat steak, not this kind of 'rubbish', and the conditions here are too simple. This bed doesn't even have a blanket, how can I sleep on it?" Igor, a Portuguese officer, shouted in the room. .

The meal that Igor called "junk" was actually the standardized meal of the East African Army. At the same time, two extra cans were prepared for this senior coalition official, including potato stewed beef brisket and mango, and two bottles of it. Beer and a pack of cigarettes, this kind of treatment is not common even for ordinary soldiers in East Africa.

"Stop howling, Igor. This is already very good. I don't believe you haven't eaten anything worse than this. Although the taste is weird, the food is still good." Igor's roommate Michelle from the UK said the lieutenant.

"And even if you scream, the East Africans outside will not meet your demands. You should be lucky that they didn't drag us out to work as coolies."

After hearing Mihir's words, Igor sat down at the table again impatiently, but he still complained: "Look at this environment, it's so dark and cramped, and there are two people living there. It's unimaginable, and it doesn't even have basic facilities." There is no bedding.”

"It's December now, and the weather is as hot as an oven. What else do you want? Instead, you can stay cool in this kind of 'cellar', and it's good that East Africa doesn't let you live in dormitories. And there are probably no dormitories in East Africa." In the dormitory, other soldiers and prisoners may have to use the ground as their bed and the sky as their quilt." Mihir retorted exaggeratedly.

Although the summer in the southern hemisphere is the winter in the northern hemisphere, southern Mozambique is close to the subtropics, so it is not too hot. Igor just complained, and Mihir could only follow the words of Igor, the "grudge woman".

However, the effect was very good. Igor was indeed relieved a lot. Mihir was quite scornful of the behavior of this Portuguese nobleman. Now that they have lost the battle, it would be considered merciful for East Africa not to directly execute them, not to mention that the treatment is good now.

"Look at this rice. Why don't we prepare bread? Do we want to eat the same as the big-headed soldiers in East Africa? And this dish looks like it is stewed in a big pot. There is very little meat and there are so many wild vegetables." Gore still said pickyly, but his words were tough, and his tongue did not deceive others. Igor was not idle, talking and eating, and quickly finished the food.

Regarding Igor's complaints, it is not actually the Guards Division's intention to make things difficult. It is actually that things in Mozambique are difficult to deal with. Among other things, most East African soldiers are very satisfied with things like wild vegetables.

The proportion of undeveloped land in Mozambique is even more exaggerated than that in East Africa. As a landlocked country, except for the farmland and plantations that have been reduced to battlefield front lines, there are no fruits and vegetables nearby. Fortunately, the East African soldiers have been in Africa for a long time, and from the indigenous Many edible plants are known there, and it is good to improve the food occasionally.

Using wild vegetables to improve food is also an operation of East African soldiers, because when they were on the mainland, there was no shortage of oil and water. The animal husbandry in East Africa was not developed, but it was large-scale, and the army was especially well supplied.

However, in this cross-sea battle, the logistical supplies of the Guards Division must also be transferred from sea to land, so it is difficult to deliver many things. Meat is okay, but it is even more difficult for fruits, vegetables and other things that are not easy to preserve. , so using local materials is one of the important courses for East African cooking soldiers.

Moreover, the chefs of the Guards Division considered that these coalition officers were probably used to eating a lot of meat and fish, and many of them had big bellies. They were afraid that they would not be used to eating, so they specially gave them more wild vegetables.

And even if the food is unpalatable, the taste of the canned food is uniform and should be able to satisfy the tastes of most people. Only a "hateful woman" like Igor will never be satisfied.

And his roommate Michel is more open-minded. He is very satisfied with the current environment. After all, he has suffered a lot. This can also show the difference between the British army and the Portuguese army. The British army is far less corrupt than the Portuguese army. serious.

Although the British army also has great corruption, the rules and regulations of the army are more complete than those of Portugal, and the "education of suffering" received by the British aristocrats is much better than that of the Portuguese aristocrats.

Especially for someone like Michel, who comes from a small aristocratic family and was born in the army. Although it is not as strict as Prussia, the tutoring is also much stricter. In particular, military training is an indispensable item, and an important item in military training is "Be hardworking and hardworking" in a battlefield environment.

And now that after being captured by East Africa, it was not considered abuse at all, but preferential treatment, Mihir was even more satisfied.

He didn't say anything about Igor's complaints, but he found it difficult to agree with them in his heart. As far as food was concerned, it was actually harder for him to accept it than for Igor. Igor was Portuguese, and Portugal also grew rice. Even if it's not in the recipes of Portuguese nobles, you should at least have seen it.

Mihir has never seen this kind of crop in the UK. Maybe the British who are used to it in India can accept it more easily.

…

After the meal, the East African soldiers took away the tableware. At this time, Igor was lying like a dead pig on the bed that he was not used to, while Mihir applied for books from the East African soldiers.

"I'm so bored here, can you guys find a book for us?"

Although they could not understand Mihir's English, the East African soldiers reported Mihir's situation to their superiors, and soon an interpreter arrived.

"Hello, Mr. Mihir, what do you want?"

"I hope you'll find a book. I'm so bored right now. It's almost like a year here."

Mihir's words made it difficult for the translator. After all, who goes to war with books!

However, after two hours, Mihir's request was still resolved, and an English book was actually found in East Africa, which is quite rare.

If it were just German books, then many officers in East Africa would still have them in stock, and some soldiers might also carry books. Reading is already relatively common for many East African soldiers who have received compulsory education.

However, English books are really rare in East Africa, especially in military camps. After all, English is not popular in East Africa. In addition, the printing industry in East Africa is not yet developed, so limited resources naturally tend to be more German-language products.

However, many people in East Africa are bilingual or multilingual. For example, Chinese immigrants can speak Chinese and German, which is not in conflict. Although most people cannot write or recognize Chinese characters, you cannot say that they cannot.

Even in Germany, there may be people who immigrate from the UK or take the initiative to learn English, so there are many people in the East African army who can speak English, French, and Russian.

Of course, it is certainly not too much to cover the Guards Division, but there is a soldier whose grandmother is British, so he can speak English. When he immigrated to East Africa from Europe, he brought a box of English books. This time he also brought a box of English books with him on the battlefield. This English "Bible".

So Mihir could only hold the Bible and read it, but this was also in line with Mihir's wishes. Nothing could soothe his soul more than a Bible in this terrible state.

After all, it is a product of religious culture and has psychological implications. In this case, Mihir's anxious mind seemed to have been baptized after being captured. For Mihir, this was not a test from God.

Of course, it would be perfect if your roommate is not "Igor".