Chapter 1228 - Southeast Asia Company Member

Gathering information on the "black-smoking three-masted ship" proved no easy task—the vessel wasn't currently at Bopu. And the Navy sailors who usually thronged Bopu's streets were now far fewer in number. She had no choice but to wander the harbor district, hoping to spot an acquaintance from the Navy she could pump for information.

Yet not a single transmigrator she recognized was anywhere to be seen. She spent two or three days drifting aimlessly around Bopu with nothing to show for it. She visited Li Qianji again, but Li Qianji didn't know where her "Chiefs" were either. All she knew was that Li Haiping had still been in Kaohsiung when she was sent back—nothing after that.

Though she'd come up empty-handed, she dared not leave this place, afraid of missing the Australians' response to her naturalization application. Only with naturalized citizen status could she move freely in Australian territory. And though faint stirrings of disloyalty had begun in her heart, the young miss's lingering authority remained potent. She still didn't dare disobey or neglect her orders. At most she was laying some groundwork for herself in advance.

At that same moment, in the Executive Committee's office, someone delivered the final word on her application:

"Since she claims to be willing to fight for our cause, and the Political Security Bureau considers her unreliable, then let her take her Hangzhou to the front lines—the cannons will prove whether she's genuinely devoted to us or not."

And so Li Huamei's naturalization was approved. Skade soon received two sealed official documents. The first approved her formal naturalization as a citizen, with a complete set of related documents attached. The second was a political evaluation from the Political Security Bureau: Class IV-C—"Unreliable, exploitable, requires further observation"—the lowest tier.

Director Skade knew that at this level, Li Huamei had been placed on the Political Security Bureau's watch list. Anyone rated Class IV was a priority target for informants' close attention.

This rating was worse than a fresh refugee in the quarantine camp—roughly on par with refugees bearing minor sect leader backgrounds. Such people could be hauled off to the Sanya mines the moment someone reported them for "anti-social speech."

"Looks like her future won't be too rosy," Skade sighed with some regret. He then issued an order placing Li Huamei's registration under the Southeast Asia Trading Company, a subordinate of the Colonial and Trade Department—this was per the phone call just received from the Government Office. According to that call, Li Huamei's Hangzhou was to be transferred to Taiwan.

The day after receiving notification that her naturalization was approved, Li Huamei began her lengthy naturalization journey. To ensure she properly followed each step, the Colonial and Trade Department assigned a naturalized employee to accompany her throughout.

First came the household registration booklet and identity card. Since Li Huamei currently had no fixed address—the trading house was only temporary lodging—her household registration was put on hold. She received only a temporary identity card. The clerk indicated she'd best find permanent housing within three months—purchased or rented, either would do.

Li Huamei carefully pressed her thumbprint onto the stiff cardstock, then left all ten fingerprints in the relevant registration book.

"This is your identity card. Carry it with you at all times—it's very useful as a naturalized citizen," the clerk said.

Li Huamei took the folding cardstock into her hands and examined it carefully. The card was very stiff and rigid—folded, it was only half a palm in size. Three black Song-typeface characters graced the cover: "Temporary Identity Card." Below in smaller characters: "Great Song Australian Provisional Government Police Headquarters. Valid for three months from date of issue." Opening it revealed her name and date of birth in detail—the top line in their commonly-used Arabic numerals using the Common Era calendar, below it in Ming Dynasty reign-year format. Place of birth: Macau. Address showed: No fixed residence. Occupation: "Ship Captain." Education level: "Non-illiterate." Finally, household type: Non-agricultural.

At the bottom of the form was a row of twelve Arabic numerals. The identity card bore a bright red seal: Lingao County Police Bureau. Below was the issue date: 1632.9.3.

After leaving the Bopu police station with her identity card, Li Huamei was immediately taken to a room on the first floor of the Customs building. An unassuming wooden sign at the door indicated this was the Southeast Asia Company's location.

The Southeast Asia Company clerk promptly produced a stack of documents for her to sign, including a share agreement for her Hangzhou. The clerk explained that she was joining the Southeast Asia Company as the ship's owner, effectively buying shares in the company. The company would grant her a certain number of dividend shares based on her ship's valuation, with dividends paid at year-end based on profits. Additionally, she could enjoy the company's wages and related benefits.

"Your Hangzhou, according to the Cheka's appraisal, is valued at fifteen thousand Spanish pesos—including all cannons and miscellaneous equipment. That's the amount we're listing as your share contribution. Do you have any objections?"

"No."

"You don't currently have a captain's certification, but based on your consistent sailing performance, we believe you can easily apply for a Class B captain's certificate. Best to apply within a week—according to Senate law, all captains of ships under Senate jurisdiction must be licensed..."

"Fine, fine, I'll definitely apply."

"Also your education credentials..."

"I understand, I understand, I'll definitely go take the exam right away." Li Huamei nodded repeatedly.

"Any other questions?"

"None." Li Huamei felt dizzy from the lengthy explanations. She reasoned that since she was here undercover anyway, if she got cheated the young miss would have to bail her out. Without further ado, she signed everything and pressed her thumbprint to every document.

"This is your Southeast Asia Company work ID. Please carry it with you at all times." The clerk handed her another similar folding card—more thumbprinting and registration, of course.

"By order of the Senate and the Military Affairs Directorate, all Southeast Asia Company captains are to be granted the rank of Naval Reserve Ensign," the clerk continued. "Here's the paperwork. You'll need to visit the Fortress Command in the Port Authority building—they'll process it for you."

"All right..." Li Huamei's head was spinning.

Leaving the Customs building, she was taken to the Delong Bank Bopu office to open a savings passbook—for wages, dividends, and social insurance deductions.

"You now have social insurance provided by the Senate," the clerk recited from memory with a smile.

"What... 'insurance'?" Li Huamei was dumbfounded.

According to the results of the latest financial work conference, social insurance was now being rolled out to all fiscally-supported personnel: cadres, employees, workers, and soldiers. Three funds were established—pension, workplace injury, and medical—with contributions shared between the treasury and individuals based on a base amount.

Though the Southeast Asia Company had commercial shares, it was also state-owned, so it enjoyed this system. Li Huamei knew a little about insurance—marine insurance systems had long existed in Europe. In China, escort agencies bore similar guarantee responsibilities. But concepts like pensions were completely foreign. After much explanation, she finally understood that she had to pay money each month, and later when she got sick or was too old to work, she could collect money from the bank...

Who are they trying to fool, Li Huamei thought. Relying on a bank instead of children and grandchildren in old age—that'll never work. Even children and grandchildren aren't reliable—only real gold and silver in your own pocket is solid and dependable. This so-called pension insurance was surely just another way for these transmigrator bandits to extract taxes under a different name.

Speaking of taxes, the clerk hadn't overlooked that either, informing her that based on her wages and expected dividends, her projected income had already reached the individual income tax threshold: she'd have to pay income tax monthly—automatically deducted from her passbook.

After being tormented by bureaucratic paperwork all afternoon, Li Huamei finally emerged from the Fortress Command. She'd completed the last procedure and officially registered as a Naval Reserve Ensign. Of course, she still needed to pass two certification exams to prove her abilities. No matter how skilled you were, in the Senate's eyes you had to have credentials.

"Congratulations! You're one of us now." Hearing that she'd officially naturalized, Smida expressed heartfelt congratulations.

"Pah—who's 'one of you'?" Li Huamei's face reddened. After getting her documents, she'd come to Smida's place wanting to learn more about the Southeast Asia Company she'd joined. She'd seen several Southeast Asia Company merchant ships flying the Morning Star flag around Hainan before, but rarely spotted them in the South Seas. She'd just visited the company's office and hadn't gotten the impression they did much business—she found it rather strange. She hadn't expected to be teased the moment she walked in.

"Don't be shy." Smida had become chatty due to pregnancy. "At least now you count as one of the Chiefs' people. You're different from us—a heroine with your own ship and crew. The Chiefs all like you—especially those Navy ones. You might even get to be a proper wife."

"Those useless things..." Whenever these "fans" were mentioned, Li Huamei always recalled how each one trembled and couldn't even climb a mast. She simply couldn't respect them.

Smida wore an expression of disapproval. In her view, Li Huamei was now one of the "Chiefs'" subordinates—such disrespect was practically treasonous.

Li Huamei didn't get much information about the Southeast Asia Company from Smida—not only did Skade never discuss work with her, but Skade himself knew little about this Southeast Asia Company. Since its founding, the company hadn't conducted any long-distance trade. Under Navy control, it had handled cargo transport at most, never venturing farther than Vietnam. Only after Ping Qiusheng opened up Siamese trade had the Southeast Asia Company made a few runs to Siam.

(End of Chapter)