Chapter 160: A Wild [Li Huamei][y203] Appears

While Wen Desi and the Jesuit mission head were haggling over the issue of proselytizing, the others dispersed to various places, hoping to find their own romantic encounters. Many of them had been deeply influenced by the Age of Discovery since childhood, so as soon as they landed, some clamored to go to a tavern to meet beautiful barmaids.

After wandering around for a while, they were greatly disappointed. Although this was a Portuguese stronghold, there were not many Portuguese people. Most of the people walking on the streets were still Chinese. There were few Portuguese men, let alone Portuguese “foreign horses.” Occasionally, they would see a few graceful and noble ladies or ordinary Portuguese women, but in terms of aesthetic taste, they were nothing like the “foreign horses” they had imagined—they were short, with black hair and eyes, and lacked the iconic full breasts and plump buttocks.

Someone suggested going to the dock area, thinking they might as well go directly to a brothel and get it over with, skipping the petty-bourgeois sentimentality of a tavern barmaid. The dock area was indeed lined with brothels, with sailors of all skin colors coming and going, creating a lively scene. The touts seemed to be local Chinese, and they were not picky, warmly inviting the strangely dressed transmigrators in with a mishmash of languages as soon as they saw them peeking at the entrance.

A few of them were half-pushed, half-willingly into the dark courtyard. A row of simple small rooms with curtains hanging at the doorways surrounded them. The heavy breathing of men merged into a grand chorus of human lust. The few long-deprived men couldn’t help but have a physiological reaction. Just then, a few women emerged from the small rooms, putting on what they thought were their most charming smiles, pulling open their clothes to expose their chests—which, to these modern men who were numb from watching adult films, looked almost breastless. Not to mention they were all as thin as children, with small, pointed faces that looked a bit swollen in the dim light, and their eyes were as thin as slits. They also exuded a strange smell. The group, who had just been full of lust, were so put off by this sight, and since they were not the legendary “foreign horses,” their desire instantly subsided. They made the excuse of not having enough money and slipped out one by one.

With no women to flirt with, their mood soured considerably. There was nothing much to do in Macau. The famous sights of later generations had either not yet been built or were in military restricted areas. Although the Portuguese residential area was quite distinctive, it was still a small place, and they got tired of it after a few rounds. In their boredom, they actually found a real tavern near the dock area! A sign shaped like a cup was hanging outside the door.

The eyes of the group of wolves lit up, and they quickly pushed open the door. As soon as they entered, a wave of noise, strong alcohol, and smoke hit them. The smoke inside was so thick it made their eyes water. They saw a group of sailors of various skin colors all puffing away, paying no attention to the newcomers.

“Damn, I thought sailors all chewed tobacco,” Monde said.

“That’s because open flames are not allowed on ships, so they use it as a substitute. Once they’re ashore, why wouldn’t they smoke to their heart’s content?” Ye Yuming said dismissively. He was here as a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture. He had just made a round of the market and found no varieties they didn’t already have. In fact, all of Macau’s supplies came from the local area of Guangdong, so there was nothing special. Ye Yuming had been instructed to look for potatoes, but there were obviously none in the market. There were some sweet potatoes, though.

“Speaking of tobacco, when will the tobacco you’re growing be ready?” The speaker was Ma Jia. This person had been quietly blending in with the crowd. He had a bachelor’s degree in law, specializing in international economic law, which was a useless skill in the current Transmigration group—they were obviously not in a hurry to deal with international economic law. He had managed to get into the visiting group this time purely by talking up the importance of maritime law in his application, with the goal of “investigating international maritime law.” Behind his unremarkable clerk’s demeanor was his ambitious plan to become the future president of the maritime court and to personally draft a brand new maritime law and commercial law.

“Tobacco is planted in the spring. It’s not something that grows immediately after planting,” Ye Yuming said dismissively. “Besides, how to cure the tobacco is a technical difficulty. The earliest you can expect to smoke is by the end of the year.”

“Why not just buy some tobacco?” As they spoke, the few of them sat down. Someone immediately ordered a bottle of rum—drinking this was the mark of a true man of the sea!

The rum came in a rough ceramic bottle, wrapped in a rattan sleeve. The wax seal on the cap was still intact. Monde, feigning expertise, examined the seal and opened the bottle.

Ye Yuming was puzzled. “You can read that seal?”

“Of course!” Monde said grandly. “This seal, one look and you know it’s Puerto Rican rum!”

As soon as he said this, a crisp “pfft” of laughter was heard from the smoke-filled room, faint but audible. The group looked around, but the room was so smoky they couldn’t see who it was.

“Damn it!” Ye Yuming felt a little uneasy.

“Who cares. Let’s drink,” Monde said, pouring a glass for everyone. “My treat.”

Everyone took a sip. Rum was considered a strong liquor in Europe and America, but its average alcohol content of 40% was only a low-proof white liquor to these men. The liquor had a peculiar aroma and a spicy taste, which suited the palates of the few who loved to drink.

While drinking, they pricked up their ears to listen to the conversations around them. But unfortunately, most of the transmigrators only knew a smattering of English, no one understood Portuguese, and they even had to ask the Venezuelan foreign guest for help with Spanish. After listening for a long time, they heard nothing useful except for a few Chinese sailors talking about trivial matters in Minnan dialect.

Just then, someone suddenly pushed open the door and stood there shouting. He then switched to several other languages, the last of which they understood:

“Who wants to join the crew of Lord Aragones de Sidoña’s Countess Scarborough?”

“Hey, this is really like the Age of Discovery,” Ma Jia whispered, nudging Monde.

“That’s right. It would be even better if there was a barmaid,” Monde said enthusiastically, fiddling with the embroidered cell phone charm he had brought as a souvenir—he had originally intended to use it to seduce a barmaid. Unfortunately, this tavern only had a gloomy-faced, strange fat man of unknown nationality serving drinks.

“Shh!” Ye Yuming suddenly became alert. “Heads down!”

“What’s wrong?” Ma Jia was surprised.

“Didn’t you read the enemy intelligence report?” Ye Yuming whispered.

“Who reads that stuff—”

“The Spanish galleon that attacked us before the New Year! It’s called the Countess Scarborough!”

“Ah?!” The few of them were stunned. Xiao Bailang, who was here from the mechanical department for an inspection, instinctively reached for the derringer on his belt. The person next to him immediately held him down.

“Are you crazy! This is Macau. If a fight breaks out, we’ll be the ones to suffer!” Ma Jia whispered斥责 (chìzé, to reprimand) him.

“I’m not afraid of him—”

The few people around him held him down firmly on the table. They all gripped their pistols. Monde had also opened the cap of his grenade. If a conflict broke out, they would first be treated to a “bamboo-cased watermelon.”

“Who wants to join the crew of Aragones de Sidoña’s Countess Scarborough? One silver peso upon boarding! And one every week after that!” Seeing no one respond, the recruiter shouted out the terms.

After shouting for a few more minutes and still getting no takers, the recruiter had to leave. Only then did the group let go of Xiao Bailang.

“The Countess Scarborough is in Macau. We have to tell Wen Zong about this immediately!”

“Alright,” the group was about to get up and leave.

“Boss, a gin.” A clear female voice reached everyone’s ears. Someone was speaking Mandarin, and it was a girl. Monde’s eyes immediately turned. A young woman in trousers and a loose Spanish-style shirt, with her hair in a ponytail, appeared in his field of vision. “My GOD!” This was the first Han Chinese woman they had seen in months who more or less fit modern aesthetic standards. The few wolves exchanged a look, and they all saw the burning flames in each other’s eyes. Even the matter of reporting the Countess Scarborough was thrown to the nine clouds.

“Miss, would you grant me the honor of buying you a drink?” Monde, putting on a gentlemanly air, was the first to rush up. Before the girl could answer, the faces of the few men around her, though not tall, were clearly much more formidable than the group, and their expressions began to turn sour. Ma Jia quickly went over to smooth things over. “Hehe, sorry to bother you. It’s rare to hear someone speaking Mandarin here. My brother is just too excited.”

“Then I’ll have a rum, just like yours,” the girl said gracefully. The group looked at her closely. The girl was about in her early twenties. Although her overall features were good, her skin was slightly rough and her complexion was dark, likely from spending a long time at sea. From the small Malay curved sword at her waist and the few fierce-looking men around her, she might even be a pirate.

A Chinese female pirate! The thought excited the few of them again, and they naturally thought of the character Li Huamei. This inexplicable association, coupled with the girl’s beauty, greatly increased the transmigrators’ favorability towards her, and they chatted even more enthusiastically.

“May I ask for the young lady’s name?” Monde used all the gentlemanly airs he had learned from movies.

“My name is Li Huamei.”

The group was instantly dumbfounded! This is what you call seeing a ghost! Had they not traveled through time, but into some kind of video game? They couldn’t help but pinch themselves and stare at each other.

Seeing their strange behavior, Li Huamei was a bit puzzled. “Is this name very strange?”

“No, no, not strange at all,” the relatively normal Ma Jia quickly smoothed things over. “Please forgive us. Your name is exactly the same as someone they are familiar with.”

“This name is very common. It’s inevitable to have the same name,” Li Huamei said with a beautiful smile, making the hearts of the few wolves flutter.

“I wonder what kind of person this Miss Li you know is?”