Chapter 205: The Sea Party (Part 2)

She collected a dozen or so pounds of eggs and exchanged the rest of her egg ration for a full bucket of milk. Zheng Shangjie, with Qian Xuanhuang’s help, carefully moved the items out and secured them to the frames of the two bicycles. The eggs were strung together with straw ropes to prevent them from breaking in the basket. The milk had been pasteurized. Wu Nanhai was a little pained that she was taking so much milk at once. To expand the dairy herd, the amount of milk available for human consumption each day was very small, so the daily surplus was very limited. This withdrawal accounted for more than half of his total surplus.

“What do you need so much milk for?” Wu Nanhai was curious. “Are you making cheese? I have some here too.” His current method of dealing with surplus milk was to make cheese. Milk could be made into several types of cheese, and even the whey could be used to make cheese, so there was basically no waste.

“Of course, but besides making fresh cheese, we also need to make cream,” Zheng Shangjie said.

Wu Nanhai immediately thought of cream cake. “That’s mouth-watering…”

“I plan to bake a big cake for the annual meeting. This is a practice run. I’ll send half of it to you later.” Zheng Shangjie used this as an excuse to get another note from Wu Nanhai, allowing her to buy a few kilograms of flour and a small packet of high-quality yeast from Huang Dashan’s fungus laboratory.

After securing these items, Zheng Shangjie rode to the Nanhai Cafe. It now served as a small shop providing various consumer goods to the transmigrators. She bought a few boxes of hand-rolled cigars, some spices, two cases of rum and rice beer, a dozen or so cases of kvass and soda, a few cans of coffee, and many tropical fruits from Chu Qing.

“The drinks, fruits, and the vegetables you ordered will be delivered to you tomorrow morning. Here is the delivery note.” Chu Qing expertly calculated the bill, wrote out the delivery note, and took the large stack of circulation coupons from Zheng Shangjie, counting them. She pressed a few keys on the cash register, and the machine made a dinging sound.

“Your change is 15.71 yuan.”

Zheng Shangjie said, “Keep the change as a tip.”

“Thank you, Chief,” Chu Qing said gracefully, dropping the change into a small locked wooden box with a slot on top.

“You’re not taking it yourself?”

“There are several people working in this cafe. The tips have to be shared.”

“Aren’t you…” Zheng Shangjie almost said, “the boss’s wife.” Fearing she might be too sensitive, she swallowed her words.

The two of them packed the purchased items into the wicker baskets and rode back to Lingao Cape Park. Zheng Shangjie immediately changed her clothes, washed her hands, and started working with Mendoza and Qian Xuanhuang, preparing everything they needed. Originally, Zheng Shangjie had wanted to get a few large pieces of pork and beef for the barbecue—the meat ration she and her husband had accumulated was not small—but the Qian brothers thought it would be too conspicuous, and besides, they weren’t desperate for a barbecue.

The next morning, Chu Qing sent a farm worker with a Zidian-Gai handcart loaded with various goods, vegetables, and fruits. A box of charcoal was delivered from the fuel factory—fuel was now uniformly supplied in the green and blue zones. Lin Chuanqing was the first to arrive. He came on a live-well boat, its hold filled with seafood caught that morning, from fish, crabs, and lobsters to various shellfish, all swimming in the flowing seawater.

“There’s so much, I’m afraid we can’t finish it all…” Zheng Shangjie’s eyes widened. Although everyone was tired of seafood, a seafood barbecue was a rare opportunity and thus very tempting.

“Don’t worry, the dozen or so people you invited all have good appetites,” Lin Chuanqing laughed heartily, scratching his already slightly graying buzz cut. “I’ll take care of preparing the seafood. I’m a fisherman through and through.”

Qian Shuixie—who had returned from Sanya on leave for the annual meeting—and Zhou Weisen brought out a large family-sized BBQ grill from the boat’s hold. It was part of the yacht’s equipment. They opened the glass doors at the front and rear of the upper main cabin, connecting it to the fore and aft decks to create a spacious activity area. The grill and dining table were set up on the open upper deck.

Lin Shenhe was the second to arrive. The group of elders in Danzhou had been disgraced by the work team incident, but Lin Shenhe alone had no “political or decision-making errors” and had escaped unscathed. He was thus included in the list of those returning to Lingao for the annual meeting instead of continuing to “hold the front line.” Lin Shenhe wore a snow-white imitation Adidas casual tracksuit, fake Converse sneakers, and an imitation American police baseball cap, holding a bouquet of flowers. He looked handsome and dashing, like a sunny young man.

He smiled and first thanked the hostess, Zheng Shangjie, for the invitation, then presented the flowers. Zheng Shangjie’s face bloomed into a smile—no one had given her flowers since D-Day. She immediately called Qian Xuanhuang to quickly get a vase and place it on the table.

Next to arrive was Guo Yi, who brought his two maids as requested by Zheng Shangjie. Yi Liu and Zhi Tao, wearing brand new maid uniforms, stared at the Feiyun yacht, their eyes wide. Even though they were used to seeing Australian goods, this was the first time they had seen something so beautiful and exquisite.

“What are you staring at? Come and help!” Zheng Shangjie called out with a smile. The two girls replied with an “ai” and quickly boarded the boat. They had already studied at the maid school for a period and understood the Australian lifestyle and household chores. It was not difficult for Zheng Shangjie to direct them.

Bei Wei, Sarina, and Xue Ziliang arrived together. Bei Wei was still in uniform, but a newer one. Xue Ziliang and Sarina were also wearing imitation casual wear. When they first transmigrated, they had no spare clothes besides what they were wearing. The best clothes they could get were the counterfeit ones salvaged from Lando’s ship. Xue Ziliang brought a small barrel of fruit wine he had brewed himself as a gift.

Pei Xiuli was the last to arrive. She wore a bright red cheongsam embroidered with golden peonies, with a slit that went almost up to her thigh, causing a stir among the men and leaving the native maids speechless.

Ai Beibei had gone to the general hospital early in the morning. Seeing that almost everyone had arrived but the hostess was missing, Zheng Shangjie quickly called her several times to get her out of the hospital. Fearing that Qian Duoduo would be bored with only adults around, Ai Beibei had picked up Li Quan from the farm on her way. Ai Beibei promised to send her back in the evening. Although Sister Li was a little worried, she didn’t say anything.

Once everyone had arrived, the Feiyun raised its sails and set off. The weather was very good today. A gentle breeze blew across the sea, and a few white clouds drifted in the sky. Even in the winter of the Little Ice Age, on this warm afternoon, the sea off the tropical coast of Lingao still reached over twenty degrees Celsius. Because there would be shooting later, the hosts did not serve alcoholic beverages right away. Instead, they offered fresh coconut juice, mango juice, lychee juice, orange juice, and watermelon juice. Guests could also choose to have their drinks blended with cream, ice cream, and crushed ice to make milkshakes. Ai Beibei and Zheng Shangjie had spent the previous afternoon processing fresh milk into cheese and extracting cream. With cream and cheese, they could make various Western pastries and dishes today, such as the various Western-style snacks served with the drinks. For others, these were just delicacies, but for the two Western women, these foods had only existed in their memories since the transmigration. Seeing them again, they were overjoyed.

“Hoist the sailing permit flag,” Qian Shuiting instructed his daughter. According to naval regulations, ships had to register and obtain a permit before leaving port. Although the Feiyun was a private vessel, it still had to comply with this rule.

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Qian Duoduo wore a miniature sailor’s cap, a navy-blue silk scarf around her neck, and a waterproof diving suit, looking very much like a sailor. She turned and said loudly to Li Quan, “Release the flagpole rope!”

Li Quan, wearing the national school’s female student uniform, was a little timid being with so many “chiefs” for the first time. Hearing the little “chief’s” order, she quickly went to release the rope on the flagpole.

“Duoduo, Xiao Quan is our guest. Be polite…” Ai Beibei, seeing her daughter acting like an officer, quickly corrected her.

Qian Duoduo was not convinced. “I’m the captain! Of course I give orders.”

The two girls hoisted the flag to the top of the mast together. Li Quan curiously examined the deck, railings, and rigging of the sailboat, finding everything new and interesting.

After sailing for a distance, the boat sailed freely on the sea near Lingao Cape. Qian Shuixie stood by the helm, providing guidance to any guest who wanted to play captain. Qian Shuiting, Bei Wei, and Xue Ziliang were doing the hard work of turning the sails. The others chatted casually on the deck, drinking beverages and eating snacks. After a few minutes at sea, the sea breeze blew Pei Xiuli’s dress up, “exposing her spring scenery.” She had to hold down her thighs and go below deck. Zheng Shangjie had to lend her a skirt.

Zhou Weisen helped the two little girls as a navigator, and also helped any lady who acted as a surveyor to read the angles of various landmarks according to the navigator’s instructions. By changing the direction of the sails, the sailboat could sail forward in a zigzag pattern against a headwind of up to forty-five degrees. If they encountered a direct headwind, they could still move forward by making large zigzag maneuvers. The rigging lengths of this two-masted boat were fixed, so there were only two fixed forward and reverse directions. After determining the course and wind direction, the sails had an angular range in both forward and reverse directions that allowed the boat to move forward. The navigator would continuously monitor the angle between the boat’s course and the wind direction to determine the correct sail direction and the timing for changing sails. At the same time, the navigator constantly measured the boat’s position on the nautical chart, plotted the course, and more importantly, kept the boat away from dangers like shoals and reefs. The entire control design was very simple. A boat like this could normally be sailed by just four people, and in special circumstances, two people could handle all the sailing work.