Chapter 1134 - Farewell to Lingao
This indicated the visitor was only on a short-term assignment, not a permanent posting. The visitor was likely a Company VIP tasked with inspecting trading post operations and auditing accounts.
Li Siya had already formulated a plan. This arriving East India Company inspector would serve as an important tool for completing her mission.
In the early summer night, the starry sky blazed with extraordinary brilliance. The Milky Way, which had become a smeared blur in the polluted skies of the old timeline, was here a distinct, glittering river of light.
Atop Taibai Observatory, Zhong Xiaoying bent over the transit instrument's eyepiece, recording the astronomical time of each meridian passage.
When she finished noting the final datum, she handed the record to her adoptive father, then curiously leaned in to observe the night sky through the astronomical telescope.
"So beautiful!" she exclaimed, gazing upon the brilliant vista. The stars seen through the telescope shone even brighter, more dazzling. "Adoptive Father, you are truly remarkable!"
Adoration filled her young eyes.
"Someday, when we achieve electrification, what you see will be even more beautiful..." Zhong Lishi said softly. "Father must return to Gaoshan Ridge tomorrow to develop a new large clock—I won't be back for a month. You must take good care of yourself, and the daily recording of astronomical time must not be neglected. The Committee will send a Committee member and several students to work with you. The one coming is Uncle Yuan from Fangcaodi—you know him. He has an astronomical observation group..."
Zhong Xiaoying nodded vigorously. "Adoptive Father, please return soon. Your daughter still wishes to learn from you."
The thought of tomorrow's departure weighed on him. Looking at the innocent girl before him, Zhong Lishi could not bring himself to deceive her completely. He had told her he was leaving for a top-secret research project. But if he revealed the truth—that he was sailing for Taiwan—she would only worry. Somehow she had learned that malaria in Taiwan was terribly severe, and she had fretted constantly about friends from the Maid School who had accompanied their masters to that perilous island.
At dawn, Lingao Port stirred from slumber. This day was destined to be exceptionally busy. On the docks, workers bustled without pause, hoisting crates of supplies onto transport ships moored at the piers.
Zhong Lishi stood at the berth of a transport ship nicknamed the "Spanish Whore," directing dock workers as they hoisted boxes and straw-wrapped bales of various sizes into the cargo hold. He admonished the more heavy-handed laborers to be especially gentle. The cargo in these crates was precious indeed: clock mechanism components ordered by the Taiwan Region, and calibrators for the Tainan timekeeping system.
Dr. Zhong's mission in Taiwan had two parts beyond the installation and calibration work. He was also to survey the southern cape of Taiwan in preparation for constructing a lighthouse—a beacon crucial for navigation safety along the coast. For this, the Executive Committee had dispatched Liu Zheng and other Remote Exploration Ministry members to accompany him.
Watching more than ten crates safely lowered into the hold, Zhong Lishi allowed himself a partial sigh of relief. Whether these treasures reached their destination intact would depend on sea conditions during the voyage.
He boarded the "Spanish Whore." A sailor led him to his assigned cabin—a cramped two-person berth, not unlike a train sleeper from the old timeline, with two facing bunk beds. But on this 200-ton vessel, such accommodations represented exceptional treatment; ordinary sailors and soldiers slept in hammocks. Zhong Lishi's bunk was the upper one.
He had just stowed his luggage beneath the bed when the door swung open. It was Liu Zheng of the Remote Exploration Ministry. Years of fieldwork had tanned him darker than any construction worker from the old timeline, but his body had grown robust and solid. Seeing Zhong Lishi, he boomed his greeting: "Long time no see, Dr. Zhong! We shall be companions on this voyage!"
He surveyed the cabin. "The conditions on this ship are a bit rough, but at least it belongs to our Remote Exploration Ministry. Not bad."
"Doesn't this ship's registration still belong to the Navy?" Zhong Lishi asked. When boarding, he had noticed the Navy's "Lin-Te" designation painted on the stern.
"The Navy agreed it's ours to use whenever we want—which is pretty good." Liu Zheng produced a cigar, glanced at Zhong Lishi's expression, and grinned. "I won't light it, just give it a sniff. I know the rules aboard ship."
"I have a question I've never quite understood..." Zhong Lishi began.
"Ask away!"
"How did this ship acquire such a nickname?"
Liu Zheng laughed heartily. "Everyone wants transport ships, and capacity is always tight. Unless you have an emergency mission that can commandeer a dedicated vessel, you have to wait for an available ride. In all of Lingao Port, only this ship is on standby at all times. We in the Exploration Ministry don't use it often, so it sits vacant. When there's an urgent need, it's ready on call—this department uses it, then that one. The brothers all joke that 'this ship is like a whore, taking turns being used by everyone.' Hence the name." Both men roared with laughter.
While they were joking, the cabin door opened again. In came Fang Jinghan, his poker face equally weathered by years of fieldwork. Seeing Liu Zheng already present, he started in surprise. "Old Liu! How are you already aboard? Didn't your wife say she was coming to see you off?"
"I didn't want her sending me off. Fussing and nagging, inevitably shedding tears." Liu Zheng waved dismissively. "Some idiot told her Taiwan has headhunting natives. She was crying and begging me not to go..."
"You have a child now," Dr. Zhong said gently. "A wife naturally feels differently."
"Isn't it precisely for the child's sake that I'm going to expand the living space of our Great Han nation!" Liu Zheng declared solemnly.
Fang Jinghan interjected: "Big Liu, for this field survey in Tainan, we must present ourselves as amiable. We cannot alarm the natives..."
Liu Zheng waved impatiently. "I know, I know. I'm not a Nazi. As long as they submit and naturalize, we're all one family. Otherwise—" He made a slashing motion across his throat. "They'll only be passed down as a historical term."
Zhong Lishi knew both men were "Huaxia Society" Han chauvinists, so he refrained from comment. They proceeded to discuss the field survey—he would participate as well, though Dr. Zhong doubted his constitution would hold up to the rigors.
"Not a serious problem," Liu Zheng said. "I've read some European survey records. The road to the southern cape isn't especially rugged. We'll bring laborers; at worst, they can carry you in a sedan chair. The real concern is the natives—they're quite fierce. They weren't fully subdued until the Japanese occupation."
Zhong Lishi found the image of himself conducting a survey from a sedan chair rather comical, but if his strength truly failed, so be it. "For safety, we absolutely need the Expeditionary Army escort. But mind the methods. These natives aren't completely unreasonable. Best if we can pass peacefully—gathering the data is what matters."
All preparations were complete. The 60th Convoy stood fully assembled in the harbor, quietly awaiting the order to depart. When the deep bell tolled from the Customs Clock Tower, the Convoy Commander issued the command to sail. Sailors cast off mooring lines and retracted anchor chains. Tugs slowly pulled the sailing ships one by one from the pier, while loudspeakers on the dock began playing the "Warship March." Soldiers and sailors aboard waved farewell to friends and family on shore.
Zhong Lishi leaned against the gunwale, gazing at the crowd of well-wishers, his thoughts drifting inevitably to Zhong Xiaoying back home. Suddenly, a familiar voice pierced the din. He looked toward the sound and saw Zhong Xiaoying desperately pushing through the throng, shouting at him: "Honorable Father! Honorable Father! Why did you lie to me!"
There was no way to explain from this distance. He could only wave frantically and shout back: "Go home! Wait for my return! I will come back—I promise!"
Amid her cries, Zhong Xiaoying suddenly dove from the breakwater into the sea below. Gasps erupted from the crowd as she surfaced more than ten meters out and began swimming ferociously toward his ship.
Zhong Lishi felt his heart lurch. "Quick—someone rescue her!"
Lifeboats in the harbor moved to intercept, but Zhong Xiaoying ignored them, swimming relentlessly after the departing vessel. Zhong Lishi sighed in helpless surrender: "Signal them to let her board."
(End of Chapter)