Part 10/16:
Their lives were perilous, involving backbreaking work, constant threats from tigers, and exploitation. Tales recount how tigers would prey on workers in the jungles, and how laborers bore the scars of both injuries and the toll of arduous toil. The Kangchu system, an early land management approach, organized the landscape into river-based settlements controlled by river bosses, which often included gambling dens, brothels, and general stores—reflecting the social complexity of plantation communities.