Chapter 295: A New Use for the Five-Masted Ship
When Hai Ji went to see the ship, he was troubled. The five-masted vessel had been docked for some time. It had already suffered damage to its sails and masts during the pirate attack and subsequent grounding. After being towed back to Lin’gao, it had only received basic repairs to keep it afloat. The navy had originally planned to give it a major overhaul and convert it for ocean-going use, but after Ma Jia established his Maritime Court, the ship’s ownership became uncertain, and it was left neglected. It had since endured another typhoon, and the vessel that appeared before Hai Ji was a sorry sight—only three masts remained, most of the rigging was damaged, and the deckhouse was in ruins.
Even if they managed to sail such a ship back, it would need extensive repairs before it could be sold for anything more than firewood. Furthermore, sailing it back through the treacherous Qiongzhou Strait was no easy task. Hai Ji was undecided. He had heard the Australian official named Ma say that the Australians were interested in buying the ship. He thought this might be a solution, but he didn’t know what his master would think and couldn’t make the decision himself. He decided it was best to return first and report.
However, Hai Shuzu insisted on bringing the ship back. Hai Ji pointed out in vain that bringing the ship back would require a large sum for repairs, a full crew of sailors, and a risky journey across the strait—there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be attacked by pirates again. Even if they made it safely back to Shenying Port, selling such a large ship would take time. In that case, it would be more profitable to sell it to the Australians on the spot.
But Hai Shuzu was adamant. Hai Ji had no choice but to take the silver and return to Lin’gao to arrange for the repairs. Although Hai Ji knew nothing about ships or sailing, he could tell from the vessel’s condition that the repairs would be costly, and he had no idea how long it would take. Fortunately, Hai Shuzu had allowed him to “just fix it enough to sail back.”
Hai Ji’s repair mission was warmly received by Li Di, the port director of Bopu, who offered to contact the shipyard on his behalf and even offered to repair the ship for free. The condition was that the five-masted ship would help transport a shipment of goods on its return to Qiongshan. Overwhelmed by Li Di’s enthusiasm, the flattered Hai Ji readily agreed.
The shipyard immediately went to work. The five-masted ship was towed into the dry dock. Subsequently, the hull was carefully repaired, and the damaged masts and sails were restored. Citing a shortage of mast timber, the shipyard only repaired the three masts that were still relatively intact, completely removing the other two. The ship’s interior and deck underwent some strange modifications: two large cargo hatches were cut into the deck, and iron davits for launching small boats were installed on both sides. Finally, manually operated derrick cranes were installed on the fore and aft decks.
In reality, some structural modifications were also made internally to leave room for future conversions.
Repairing and modifying wooden ships had become very easy for the shipyard now. They had dry docks, steam-powered cranes, and a well-equipped workshop for processing timber—all necessary ship parts could be manufactured in a very short time. They had also standardized the metal fittings used in shipbuilding. Combined with modern process management, the shipyard operated 24 hours a day, and the repair and modification of the ship took only seven days.
Afterward, under Li Di’s command, batches of cargo were loaded onto the large ship, so much that the ship’s waterline was pressed down to the full load level. Finally, four small flat-bottomed boats were lifted by the puffing steam crane, and a group of workers carefully secured them to the davits.
Hai Ji was puzzled to see his family’s ship transformed in this way. But he thought that since the ship was going to be sold in Qiongshan anyway, as long as it could get there, it didn’t matter what it looked like. In any case, the Australian named Li had said that as long as they helped transport the goods, the repairs would be free, and they wouldn’t even have to pay for the sailors. All Hai Ji had to do was accompany the ship back to Qiongshan.
The large ship set sail under the escort of a patrol boat. Three days later, Hai Shuzu’s ship finally returned to Shenying Port. When the five-masted ship, flying the Hai family’s flag, entered the port, the entire Qiongshan Prefecture was in an uproar—no one had expected a ship that had been lost to pirates for over two months to return. Many people who had been puzzled by Hai Shuzu’s sudden ability to repay his debts now thought that since his ship had returned, he must have made a huge profit later on.
Not only had it returned, but the ship was also fully loaded with cargo—no one knew what was inside the identical, finely crafted wooden crates reinforced with iron sheets. Only Lin Baiguang knew that they contained equipment and materials for opening the mine, including the four flat-bottomed boats, which were specially prepared for mining operations.
Thanks to Hai Shuzu’s reputation and some well-placed bribes, the inspection of the cargo by the Qinglan Patrol and Inspection Office was a mere formality. The ship did not unload its cargo after docking. Hai Ji went directly to report to Hai Shuzu.
“This is truly a miracle!” Hai Shuzu said, looking at the chest of silver before him, his mood better than he could have imagined. “I never thought the Australians would be true to their word and exchange all the goods for silver for me!”
“They still deducted one-fifth, didn’t they,” Lin Baiguang thought with a private smile.
“Hey! According to the people who came back, if it weren’t for their rescue, I would have lost both the ship and the cargo. How could I have gotten over a thousand taels of silver plus a ship!” Hai Shuzu didn’t look like he had suffered a loss at all; his face was beaming as if he had come into a windfall.
“I must also thank you, my worthy brother!” Hai Shuzu said, bowing to him. “Without you stepping in, this matter would never have been handled so smoothly.”
“You praise me too much. This was all done according to the Australians’ rules. I just sent someone to show the way. It was nothing.”
“They value credit and practice righteousness! Though they are from overseas, they are in no way inferior to the people of our great China!” Hai Shuzu was practically praising the Australians to the heavens. He opened the judgment document that Hai Ji had brought him. The unique binding and the crisp, white paper first caught his attention. After reading a few pages, his expression gradually became serious.
Lin Baiguang thought to himself that even within the Transmigration Group, there were probably no more than twenty people who could understand this legal document. How could Hai Shuzu understand this jumble of technical terms and simplified characters?
After a long while, Hai Shuzu put down the document without a word. Lin Baiguang wondered how much he had actually understood and was tempted to ask. But Hai Shuzu spoke first:
“The Australians are truly brilliant.”
“Oh?”
“Although I don’t fully understand the contents of this document, I have grasped about seventy or eighty percent of its meaning,” Hai Shuzu said. “The meticulousness of their thinking, the rigor of their actions, are things I have never heard of before.”
While Hai Shuzu was still marveling, Hai Ji became anxious. He was loyal to his master. When he was in Lin’gao, the man named Li had said that if they wanted to sell the ship, he was willing to buy it. Now that the ship was in Haikou and had made its appearance, it was best to sell it quickly and be done with it. He spoke up:
“Master, the Australians in Lin’gao are willing to buy the large ship. What do you think—”
“Good, let’s sell it to them.” Hai Shuzu’s impression of the Australians was now at its peak. In a fit of gentry temper, he answered decisively, “Just sell it for five hundred taels of silver—”
“Master, this, this, this…” Hai Ji was frantic. This ship had cost nearly two thousand taels of silver to build. Although it was now damaged and missing two masts, it had been repaired. It should sell for at least a thousand taels.
Lin Baiguang smiled. “Five hundred taels is too cheap. Steward Hai went to such great lengths to bring it back; you shouldn’t sell it for so little.”
In the end, they decided to sell it for one thousand taels. The men who had come with the ship paid the silver on the spot. The ship now belonged to the Transmigration Group. The Maritime Forces Department planned to use it for transporting coal between Qiongshan and Lin’gao. There was an unexpected benefit: although the ship had changed hands, everyone still thought it belonged to the Hai family.
Hai Shuzu was very satisfied with this deal, but Hai Ji felt it was a bad bargain. Since they were going to sell the ship, they might as well have sold it in Lin’gao. Sailing it back had wasted a lot of time and money, and he had made two round trips himself. He secretly thought that this was what people meant by “saving face at the cost of suffering.”
However, Hai Ji was still satisfied with his trip to Lin’gao. He had broadened his horizons, not only seeing the legendary great iron ship but also many other novelties. After returning, he had an endless supply of stories to pass the time with the other servants.
The preparations for the coal mine began in earnest. Lin Baiguang found himself once again the director of the coal mine preparatory committee. The newly renovated house was filled with exploration and design personnel from Lin’gao. This was highly inappropriate—the house Gao Di had bought was in the commercial district of Qiongshan, a bustling area. A group of strangely shaped figures, even in Ming dynasty clothing, gathered here, coming and going every day. Even with sedan chairs for transport, their cover would eventually be blown.
They had to be moved to the mine site as soon as possible. The Far-Range Exploration Team had already identified several potential mining sites. The coal resources in Haikou were mainly small mines, with little economic value by modern standards. Among the sites discovered by the team, the Planning Committee ultimately chose the Jiazi Mine on the banks of the Nandu River.
This mine was not the best among the candidates in terms of conditions; its reserves were small. But it had one major advantage: convenient water transport. The mining site was only ten kilometers east of the Nandu River. From there, small flat-bottomed boats could go directly to the mouth of the river, facilitating the transport of mining supplies and equipment in and the extracted ore out, avoiding the difficult task of building roads in the mountains.
The mountain range where the Jiazi Mine was located was purchased by Hai Shuzu. Lin Baiguang suggested buying up the other mine sites as well, but Ma Qianzhu thought it was unnecessary—in the future, this would be considered state-owned property, and they could just expropriate it. There was no need to go to the trouble.
Lin Baiguang had already, through Hai Shuzu, purchased a piece of land in a desolate part of the harbor and built a warehouse and a pier. With their own dedicated dock, the flat-bottomed boats carrying coal could travel directly down the Nandu River to the dock, unload into the warehouse, and wait for larger ships to transport it.
Note: Jiazi Coal Mine is a fictional place near Haikou, and it is not on the banks of the Nandu River. The name is taken from Jiazi Town, the administrative district where the real Changchang Coal Mine in Haikou is located. The entire island of Hainan has only two places with lignite: the Changchang Coal Mine in Haikou and the Changpo Coal Mine in Danzhou, neither of which is near a river.