Chapter 381 - To Taiwan

When Li Siya lightly jumped onto the small boat, it had been two hours since she had gone ashore. She was wrapped in her cloak, and after boarding, she said only one word: “Go.”

The oars broke the dark surface of the sea, and the sea breeze blew, making her body, which had just been warmed by wine, feel a chill. She involuntarily tightened her cloak.

Her two hours in the tavern had been very fruitful: from a drunk low-ranking commercial assistant, she learned that a “big shot from the company” from Batavia was about to arrive in Dayuan. Then, from a Dutch servant, she learned that this big shot would also be bringing his family, and more than one. Someone else mentioned that there were women among the arrivals, and Governor Putmans had ordered a room to be specially prepared for the upper-class women, even purchasing silk fabrics and bedding from Fujian.

This greatly interested Li Siya: women who traveled by sea were extremely rare in this era. Although merchant ship captains sometimes brought their wives, most high-ranking officials did not bring their female relatives when sailing—sea voyages were very dangerous. Reefs, pirates, unpredictable weather, and long sea routes made every voyage like walking on a tightrope.

The specific arrival date was probably in early June. After a short stay in Dayuan, they would continue north to Japan. Li Siya knew that from Batavia to Dayuan and Japan, one could only sail north with the south monsoon in spring and summer, and then return with the north monsoon in autumn. If they arrived in Dayuan in June and went to Japan after a short stay, it meant they would most likely return to Batavia in early October.

This indicated that the visitor was only on a short visit, not a long-term appointment. The visitor was likely a high-ranking company official tasked with inspecting the operations of the East India Company’s trading posts and checking their accounts.

Li Siya already had a plan in mind. This upcoming inspector from the East India Company would be an important tool for her to complete her mission.

On this early summer night, the starry sky was particularly brilliant. The Milky Way, which had become a murky mess under the skies of the old world, shone exceptionally brightly here.

On the roof of the Taibai Observatory, Zhong Xiaoying was bent over the eyepiece of the transit instrument, recording the astronomical time of stars crossing the meridian.

After recording the last piece of data, Zhong Xiaoying handed the record to her adoptive father and then curiously peered through the astronomical telescope to observe the starry sky.

“So beautiful!” Zhong Xiaoying couldn’t help but exclaim as she looked at the beautiful starry sky. The starry sky seen through the astronomical telescope was even brighter and more brilliant. “Father, you are truly amazing!”

The young girl’s eyes were filled with admiration.

“One day, when we can achieve electrification, what you see will be even more beautiful…” Zhong Lishi said to Zhong Xiaoying, “Father is going back to Gaoshanling tomorrow to develop a new large clock. It will take a month to return. You must take good care of yourself, and you must not neglect the daily recording of astronomical time—the Yuanlao Senate will send a Yuanlao and a few students to work with you. You know the Yuanlao who is coming, it’s Uncle Yuan from Fangcaodi. He has an astronomical observation group…” Zhong Xiaoying nodded vigorously and said to Zhong Lishi, “Father, come back soon. Your daughter still wants to learn from you…”

Thinking that he was going to Taiwan tomorrow, and looking at the innocent Zhong Xiaoying, Zhong Lishi couldn’t bear to deceive her. He had to say that he was going to participate in a top-secret research project. But if he told Zhong Xiaoying the truth, it would make her worry about him—this little girl had learned from somewhere that malaria in Taiwan was very serious, and she had been worried about her friends from the female servant school who had been sent to Taiwan with their masters.

At dawn, the port of Lingao, which had been asleep all night, awoke from its slumber. This day was destined to be particularly busy. On the docks, workers were constantly busy, hoisting boxes of supplies onto the transport ships moored at the docks.

At the berth of the transport ship nicknamed “The Spanish Whore,” Zhong Lishi was directing the dockworkers to gently hoist boxes and straw bales of various sizes and lengths into the cargo hold, reminding the rough-handed workers to be particularly “gentle” with these boxes. Because the goods inside these boxes were none other than the clock components ordered by the Taiwan region and the calibrators for timekeeping in Tainan.

On this trip to Taiwan, besides installing the clockwork and debugging the calibrators for the Tainan region, Dr. Zhong had another important task: to try to survey the southern cape of Tainan in preparation for building a lighthouse in the future. This lighthouse would be of crucial significance to the safety of navigation along the coast of Taiwan. For this reason, the Executive Committee had specially dispatched Yuanlao like Liu Zheng from the long-range exploration department to go with him.

Seeing the dozen or so boxes of cargo being safely hoisted into the ship’s hold, Zhong Lishi’s anxious heart was finally half at ease. Now, whether these treasures could be safely transported to their destination depended on the sea conditions along the way.

Zhong Lishi boarded “The Spanish Whore,” and a sailor led him to his assigned cabin. It was a two-person cabin, quite small—about the size of a train sleeper car in the old world. It had two sets of double bunks facing each other. However, on this ship of only 200 tons, it was considered a special privilege. The sailors and soldiers could only sleep in hammocks. Zhong Lishi’s bunk was on the top.

Zhong Lishi had just put his luggage under the bed when a person pushed the door open and entered. It was Liu Zheng from the long-range exploration department. Liu Zheng had been running around for years, and his skin was darker than that of a construction worker from the old world, but his body was even more robust and sturdy. Upon seeing Zhong Lishi, he greeted him with his explosive voice, “Long time no see! Dr. Zhong! We’ll be companions on this journey!”

He looked around the cabin, “The conditions on this ship are a bit poor, but at least it’s our own long-range exploration department’s ship. It wasn’t easy.”

“Isn’t this ship still registered with the navy?” Zhong Lishi asked. When he boarded, he saw that the stern was still painted with the navy’s “Lin Te” (Lingao Special) number.

“The navy has agreed that this ship is at our disposal whenever we need it—that’s already very good.” Liu Zheng took out a cigar, glanced at Zhong Lishi who was about to stop him, and said with a smile, “I’m not smoking, just smelling it. I know the rules on the ship.”

Zhong Lishi asked, “I have a question I’ve never quite understood…”

“Ask away!”

“How did this ship get such a nickname?”

Liu Zheng burst out laughing, “Everyone wants to use the transport ships, and the transport capacity is tight. Unless it’s an urgent mission and a special ship can be dispatched, you can only wait for a ship of opportunity. In the entire port of Lingao, only our ship is on standby at all times. Our exploration department doesn’t use ships very often, so it’s often idle. When it’s urgently needed, it’s available on call. This one uses it, then that one uses it. The brothers all say, ‘This ship is like a prostitute, being used by everyone in turn,’ so it got this name.” After saying that, the two of them burst out laughing.

While they were laughing, the door opened again. It was Fang Jinghan who entered. His poker face was also dark, showing traces of long years of fieldwork. He was startled to see that Liu Zheng had already arrived and said, “Old Liu! How are you already on the ship? Didn’t sister-in-law say she was coming to see you off?”

“I don’t want her to see me off. She’s so fussy, she’ll definitely cry again.” Liu Zheng waved his hand, “I don’t know which idiot told her that there are headhunting natives in Taiwan. She started crying and snotting, telling me not to go…”

“You have a child now, right? A wife naturally feels differently,” Dr. Zhong comforted him.

“Aren’t I going to expand the living space of our great Han nation for the sake of my child!” Liu Zheng said with a serious face.

Fang Jinghan said, “Big Liu, this time when we do fieldwork in Tainan, we have to appear amiable and approachable, so as not to alert the natives…”

Liu Zheng waved his hand impatiently and said, “I know, I know. I’m not a Nazi. As long as they are willing to assimilate, we are all one family. Otherwise,” he made a beheading gesture, “they can only be passed down as a historical term.”

Zhong Lishi knew that these two were “Huaxia Society” Han chauvinists and didn’t interrupt much. They then discussed the fieldwork for this trip—he was also participating in the survey, and Dr. Zhong felt that his physical fitness might not be up to it.

“It’s not a big problem,” Liu Zheng said. “I’ve read a few European survey records. The road to the southern cape is not too rugged. We will bring porters. At worst, we’ll have the porters carry you in a sedan chair. The problem is that there are many natives, and they are quite fierce. It wasn’t until the Japanese occupation period that they were all subdued.”

Zhong Lishi felt that being carried in a sedan chair for a survey was a bit ridiculous, but if his physical strength really failed him, he would have no choice. He said, “For safety, we will definitely ask the expeditionary force for an escort. As long as we pay attention to our methods, these natives are not completely unreasonable. We should try to pass through peacefully and get the data.”

All preparations were complete. The 60th escort fleet was ready and waiting quietly in the harbor for the order to depart. When the loud chime of the customs house clock tower in the port sounded, the commander of the escort fleet gave the order to set sail. The sailors cast off the mooring lines and raised the anchor chains. Tugs slowly towed the sailing ships away from the dock one by one, and the loudspeakers on the dock began to play “The Warship March.” The soldiers and sailors on board waved goodbye to their friends and relatives on the shore.

Zhong Lishi leaned against the ship’s rail, looking at the crowd seeing them off, and couldn’t help but think of Zhong Xiaoying at home. At this moment, a familiar shout suddenly came from the crowd. Zhong Lishi followed the sound and was surprised to find Zhong Xiaoying desperately squeezing through the crowd, shouting at him, “Father! Father! Why did you lie to me!”

Zhong Lishi couldn’t explain to her at the moment and could only wave his hand desperately and shout back, “Go back! Wait for me to come back! I will definitely come back!”

While he was shouting, Zhong Xiaoying suddenly dived into the sea below the breakwater. Amid a chorus of gasps, she emerged from a dozen meters away and swam fiercely towards Zhong Lishi’s ship.

Zhong Lishi was flustered for a moment, stammering, “Quick! Quick! Save her!”

The lifeboat in the harbor immediately went over to rescue her, but Zhong Xiaoying paid no attention and continued to swim after the ship. Zhong Lishi sighed helplessly, “Signal for her to come aboard.”