Chapter 63: Sweet Harbor Storm - Silver from Guangzhou

Arriving at the villa, Chuyu took off her straw raincoat and hung it under the eaves, then quickly came over to unbutton his. Wu De saw that her blue cotton dress was soaked through, covered in mud, her legs bare, her feet caked in black mud. Her hair was wet and stuck together in strands, her lips were blue with cold, and her body was trembling, yet she was carrying a bundle on her back.

“What are you doing here? I told you I was going on a business trip! You’re so fussy!” he scolded, seeing her disheveled state. “Walking out in the pouring rain, are you looking to get sick?” But his words were already tinged with affection.

“I’m from a servant background, how could I be so delicate?” Chuyu didn’t seem to mind. She didn’t care that her clothes were still wet and untied the bundle from her back. “I saw that Master didn’t bring this. Since you’re on a business trip, you must be going to an official’s territory, so I rushed to bring it.”

Opening it, he saw a black anti-stab vest inside. In the past, Wu De would wear this as a precaution whenever he went to the countryside or the quarantine camp, weather permitting. Recently, as the situation had improved and the weather had gotten hotter, he rarely wore it.

“Master always wears this protective vest on business trips. I saw you forgot it, so I hurried over,” Chuyu said excitedly. “I thought I wouldn’t make it, but I didn’t expect Master hadn’t left yet. Put it on now.”

“This—” Wu De was at a loss for words. It was fine to wear this thing today, but if the sun came out, he would be cooked alive. Chuyu’s heartfelt concern still moved him greatly. “Alright, I’ll take the clothes with me.”

“Remember to wear it—”

“I’ll remember.” He decided to be a good person to the end and agreed to everything. “You should go back quickly too. I’m leaving soon.”

“Master,” Chuyu wiped her wet hair dry, gently flicked it back, and burrowed into Wu De’s arms, whispering, “Master, you must come back safely—”

A warmth spread through Wu De’s heart. Nothing could make a man feel more pleased than having a woman who relied on him completely, even if she was not beautiful.

“I’m going to Guangzhou to do business, not to a mountain of swords and a sea of fire. What are you afraid of!” he chided in a low voice.

“Master is engaged in the business of rebellion,” Chuyu looked up, her not-so-large eyes clear and bright. “Guangzhou is not like Lingao; it’s under the rule of the officials. Master, be careful in everything. Chuyu wants to serve you for a lifetime.”

Wu De wanted to comfort her, to say that he was not a rebel, but then he thought, why deceive himself? So he nodded solemnly.

The Dengyingzhou left the port and sailed northwest towards Guangzhou Bay. An hour later, Bopu Port had disappeared over the horizon. Only the light from the lighthouse at Lingao Point was faintly visible.

As dusk approached, the wind grew stronger, mixed with rain. Wu De looked at his watch; it was 17:05, but the sky was already as dark as evening. The sea was rough, and the Dengyingzhou, with a displacement of only 70 tons, was like a leaf in the waves, appearing and disappearing.

Wu De sat in the captain’s cabin, watching the sea outside the glass window. The Dengyingzhou was a converted fishing boat, and its living facilities were not very comfortable. The so-called captain’s cabin naturally had no leather high-backed chair, but only a rattan armchair, fixed to the deck. This was the captain’s throne.

“Chief, the rain is too heavy, and it’s dark. We can’t see anything. Should we stop and anchor?” The first mate entered the cabin and reported to Wu De. His straw raincoat and hat were completely soaked, his lips blue with cold.

This first mate had been promoted from among the captured pirates. His surname was Wang, and because of his thick beard, he was called Wang Dahu. He was originally a small boat owner with his own two-masted boat, engaged in coastal trade and transportation. Until one day he was robbed by the red-haired foreigners at sea, lost everything, and became a pirate. Unfortunately, the first time he went out to sea with his leader, he was wiped out by the transmigrators. Wang Dahu, who had swallowed a bellyful of water, was pulled out of the sea with little breath left. He was thrown on the beach to die. A transmigrator from the navy saw that he had a good physique and was good material for hard labor, so he took pity on him and turned him upside down to drain the water, saving his life.

After honestly smashing stones and digging earth in the labor reform team for a few months, he passed the preliminary political review. The assessment was that he had not been a pirate for long, his bandit habits were not deep, and his connections with the pirate network were few. He was the kind of “usable and reformable” person. He was also familiar with the coastal routes, so he was absorbed by the navy. After serving for a few months, he passed the second secret political review by the General Administration of Political Security. His trust level was raised to IIB, and he was appointed as the first mate of the Dengyingzhou.

“Have a drink to warm yourself up first,” Wu De handed over his water bottle and asked, “What’s the ship’s speed?”

The first mate took the bottle, took a big gulp, and said, “7-8.5 knots.”

This was the speed with the diesel engine running. In such sea conditions, the power provided by the diesel engine was very useful for effective control of the ship.

“What’s the wind speed?”

“20 knots.”

It seemed that the rain was heavy, but the wind had not strengthened. This reassured Wu De slightly, but the barometer showed no signs of the weather improving.

“We can’t stop. We have to travel day and night to make it in time,” Wu De said. “Divide the sailors and marines into two shifts to sleep and take turns on duty.”

“Yes, I’ll go and arrange it right away!” Wang Dahu wiped his mouth and hurried out.

After arranging the affairs, Wu De put on his sailor’s hat, fastened his raincoat, and went up to the sterncastle. The six cadets who were on their first voyage were huddled on the deck of the sterncastle, vomiting. A few of them were already pale.

Seeing their officer arrive, the cadets struggled to stand up. Wu De stopped them. “Grab the ropes and stand up! First, learn to stand on the deck!”

“Yes, sir!” the leader managed a salute.

“You will be divided into two shifts. One shift will observe the nearby sea, and the second shift will go to the deck to assist with pumping water!” He gave the cadets their orders.

He walked to the front rail of the sterncastle, wanting to observe the situation in the distance. The wind seemed to have strengthened, and the heavy rain made it almost impossible for him to open his eyes. The raindrops fell densely on his face, and water streamed down his face. Wu De wiped his face, stood firm on the deck, and observed the sea with his binoculars—on the dark sea, he could only see some indistinct light and shadows.

The cold rain soon numbed his skin. The cold accelerated his fatigue, and he began to feel a little dazed. Wu De quickly shook his head to clear his mind. He returned to the captain’s cabin and studied the sea chart under the swaying lantern.

It had to be said that in this time and space with almost no navigation facilities, it was quite dangerous to sail at night with such a ship that had no radar, no GPS, and no gyrocompass. Wu De had chosen the safest route on the sea chart, the one least likely to encounter reefs and shoals, but the danger of running aground was still with the ship.

“Chief! The wind is too strong, the sails can’t take it anymore. The rain is too heavy, and the bilge is taking on water faster! The weather might get worse later,” Wang Dahu entered the cabin and reported to Wu De. His straw raincoat had been torn in the wind and rain.

“Sea state?”

“Wind speed 25 knots, wave height 3.3 meters!”

“Order! Lower the sails! Secure the ropes! Maintain course!” Wu De commanded.

“Lower the sails! Secure the ropes! Maintain course! Yes, sir,” the first mate saluted and left.

“Marine captain! Have your men work in shifts of five. All pumps on, assist with drainage! All non-essential personnel below deck!” Wu De threw down the dividers in his hand and commanded.

“Yes, sir!”

Wu De walked out of the cabin. The deck was a scene of bustling activity. The sailors, in shorts and barefoot, were lowering the sails, securing the ropes, and covering the cargo. The marines, in long trousers with blue armbands on their left arms, were busy draining water.

Just then, a wave lifted the bow high. Seeing this, Wu De immediately shouted, “Hold on tight!!! Hold on tight!!!!”

Before he could finish, the ship plunged into a trough, and seawater swept across the entire deck.

Wu De was also knocked down on the deck by the wave. He quickly grabbed a rope, struggled to his feet, and shouted, “Count the men! Report the damage!!!”

“No casualties among the sailors!!!” “No casualties among the marines!!” “Forecastle planking damaged!! Taking on water!!!” “Midship taking on water!!”

“Plug the leak in the forecastle, drain the midship!!” Wu De commanded in a loud voice. His voice was already a little hoarse from the wind and rain.

“Man overboard!!!” a sailor at the stern shouted, accompanied by a sharp whistle.

Damn it, Wu De looked at the cadets draining water on the deck. Only one was left.

He ran to the stern and looked in the direction the sailor was pointing. About 100 meters from the stern, two people were floating face down in the sea.

“Sir, should we rescue them?” the first mate, who had rushed over, asked.

“How can we rescue them? The wind and waves are so strong now. Besides, those two kids are already gone! Their first time at sea…” Wu De said angrily. “Go, get the remaining boys down to the midship! Ai…”

At midnight, the wind was strong and the rain was heavy. Wu De went down to the midship. The off-duty sailors and marines were gathered together eating, while the four surviving cadets were huddled in a corner, sobbing softly.

Wu De walked over to them and sat down. “You all know?” he asked.

The four of them didn’t speak, just buried their heads and cried.

“The sea is like this. What you usually see is only her calm side. Today’s wind and waves are not the biggest.”

“Not the worst, my god…” one of the cadets stopped crying and looked at Wu De.

“That’s right. Look at them, they don’t care at all,” Wu De pointed to the sailors who were eating and joking. “The sea can only be conquered by those of us who are not afraid of hardship and death. Only after experiencing this can you be considered a real man. If you want to be a naval officer who commands the seas, you must be able to endure such suffering.”

“I don’t want to be a naval officer anymore, wuwuwu,” the child, who was crying with snot running down his nose, was about fourteen or fifteen years old and was clearly terrified.

Wu De sighed and said, “You guys rest for a while. You’ll be on watch again in two hours! Those who don’t want to be naval cadets, you can drop out when we get back!”

After saying this, he ignored the cadets and turned back to the captain’s cabin. He returned to his cabin and began to eat dinner. Dinner was simple: 4 rice cakes, 1 piece of dried fish, 1 grapefruit, and 1 cup of water. He sandwiched the dried fish between the rice cakes and chewed hard, washing it down with water. This damned field ration!

After a night of wind and rain, at dawn the next day, the sky gradually brightened, and the wind and rain subsided. The Dengyingzhou finally resumed its normal voyage and arrived at Guangzhou Bay on the morning of the third day.

The delivery point was at the Guangzhou pier. The men from the Qiwei Escort Agency escorted them all the way, mobilizing nearly half of the entire agency’s manpower. The current Qiwei was almost a subsidiary of the Guangzhou station, with two-thirds of its business serving the Guangzhou station.

Zhang Xin rushed to the pier and supervised the loading of the iron boxes containing fifty thousand taels of silver onto the ship.

“This is fifty thousand taels. We are contacting the Gao family to raise more ready cash, but it’s difficult to mobilize funds right now…” Zhang Xin reported.

“So tight? Doesn’t the Gao family owe us over a hundred thousand taels for the goods?”

“It’s not just the Gao family. Our accounts receivable are close to one hundred and eighty thousand,” Zhang Xin said. “But according to the rules, the first settlement is not until the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Most of the goods sold by the merchants have not had their payments collected. It’s the same for everyone—they can’t produce much ready cash. The interest rate for borrowing in Guangzhou is very high right now. Even if the Gao family can raise a few tens of thousands of taels, we will have to pay interest, just a little less.”

“How high?” Wu De knew that the Executive Committee was still worried about where the subsequent silver would come from.

“The market rate outside is two percent a month. The Gao family would probably accept one and a half percent.”

“A monthly interest rate of 20%?!” Wu De almost shouted. This usury was ridiculously high. The annual interest rate was 240%!

“Even at this interest rate, as long as we can complete the turnover of goods within a month, we can still make a profit. Both the British and the Portuguese are willing to pay cash for sugar. If it really comes to this, we can consider such short-term borrowing!” Zhang Xin took a copy of a letter from his pocket. “This is another proposal from the Guangzhou station to the Executive Committee. But the matter is large and may be a distant water that cannot quench a nearby thirst. However, if it can be implemented, the future money supply will be much looser. The telegram has already been sent, and the Executive Committee should discuss it soon.”

“Alright, I’ll take a look. If it’s feasible, I’ll directly send a telegram to the Executive Committee recommending its adoption.”

Time was tight. The Dengyingzhou did not stay long in Guangzhou. After loading the silver, they made some minor repairs to the ship, replenished the fresh water, and immediately set off for Leizhou.

On the ship, Wu De opened the copy. It was a document drafted by the Guangzhou station. In this document, jointly drafted by the three main business leaders of the Guangzhou station, they proposed that the Guangzhou station use its subordinate enterprises to absorb the deposits of the official and gentry families in Guangzhou and even the entire Liangguang and Fujian regions.

“Deposits?!” Wu De was shocked and stood up from his chair. Only four words came to his mind: “wildly fanciful!”