Chapter 6: Member of the Southeast Asia Company

However, it was not easy to gather information about the “big three-masted ship that spewed black smoke.” The ship was not in Bopu at the moment, and the naval sailors who were usually seen everywhere in Bopu were much fewer at this time. She had no choice but to wander around the Bopu port area, hoping to find a naval acquaintance to inquire about it.

However, she did not see any of the elders she knew here. She wandered around Bopu for two or three days in vain, gaining nothing. She had no choice but to go to Li Qianji again, but she did not know where her “chiefs” were now. Li Qianji only knew that Li Haiping was still in Kaohsiung before she was sent back, and she knew nothing after that.

Although she had gained nothing, she did not dare to leave this place, for fear of missing the Australians’ reply to her naturalization—with the status of a naturalized citizen, she could move freely in the Australians’ territory. Although she was gradually developing a second heart, her mistress’s prestige was still there, and she did not dare to disobey or neglect her orders. At best, she was just paving a way for herself.

At this time, in the office of the Executive Committee, someone made a final decision on her application:

“Since she has expressed her willingness to fight for our cause, and the Political Security General Bureau finds her unreliable, then let her take her Hangzhou to the front line—the cannons will prove whether she is sincerely defecting to us.”

Thus, Li Huamei’s naturalization was approved. Si Kaide soon received two official documents sealed with wax. The first was the approval of Li Huamei’s formal naturalization as a naturalized citizen, with a full set of related documents; the second was the political appraisal of Li Huamei from the Political Security General Bureau: Class 4C: “Unreliable, usable. Further observation”—the lowest level.

Minister Si knew that according to this level, Li Huamei was on the Political Security General Bureau’s blacklist. Anyone rated as Class 4 was a target of close attention by informants.

To say that this level was even worse than that of a refugee who had just entered a quarantine camp—it was on par with a refugee with a background as a small leader of a secret society. That kind of person would be directly sent to the mines in Sanya if someone reported that they had made “anti-social remarks.”

“It seems her end will not be too good,” Si Kaide sighed and said with some regret. He then issued an order to list Li Huamei’s establishment in the sequence of the Southeast Asia Trading Company under the Colonial and Trade Department—this was in accordance with the phone call from the General Office just now. According to this phone call, Li Huamei’s Hangzhou would be transferred to Taiwan.

The day after receiving the notice of her naturalization, Li Huamei began her long journey of naturalization. To ensure that she could follow the steps with preparation, the Colonial and Trade Department specially dispatched a naturalized clerk to accompany her throughout the process.

First was the creation of a household registration book and an ID card. Since Li Huamei currently had no fixed address—the trading post was a temporary residence—her household registration book was temporarily suspended. Only a temporary ID card was issued. The clerk said that she had better find a fixed residence within three months—bought or rented would do.

Li Huamei carefully pressed her thumbprint on the cardboard, and then left the fingerprints of all ten fingers on the relevant registration book.

“This is your ID card. You must carry it with you. It is very useful as a naturalized citizen,” the clerk said.

Li Huamei took the folded cardboard in her hand and looked at it carefully. The cardboard was very hard and stiff, and when folded, it was only half the size of a palm. The three black Song-style characters on the cover read: Temporary ID Card. Below was a line of small characters: “Great Song Australian Sojourn Police General Bureau, valid for three months from the date of issue.” When opened, it was detailed with her name, date of birth—the top line was in the Arabic numerals they commonly used, recorded in the Gregorian calendar, and below was according to the reign title of the Ming Dynasty. Place of birth: Macau. The residential address was: no fixed address. The occupation column read “Captain,” and the education level column was “non-illiterate.” Finally, the nature of the household registration was: non-agricultural.

At the bottom of the column was a row of twelve Arabic numerals. The ID card was stamped with a bright red seal: Lingao County Police Bureau. Below was the date of issue.

Li Huamei took this ID card and came out of the Bopu police station. She was immediately taken to a room on the first floor of the customs building. An inconspicuous wooden sign at the door of the room told her that this was the location of the Southeast Asia Company.

The clerk in the Southeast Asia Company immediately took out a pile of documents for her to sign, including the shareholding agreement for her Hangzhou. The clerk explained to her that she was joining the Southeast Asia Company as the owner of the Hangzhou, so she was considered a shareholder of the Southeast Asia Company. The company would give her a certain number of dividend shares according to the condition of her ship, and would give her dividends at the end of the year according to the profits. In addition, she could also enjoy the salary and related benefits issued by the company.

“Your Hangzhou, according to the valuation of the Cheka, is valued at fifteen thousand Spanish pesos—including all the cannons and other miscellaneous equipment on it—and you will be given shares based on this amount. Do you have any objection?”

“No.”

“You don’t have a captain’s license yet, but based on your consistent sailing performance, we believe it will be easy for you to apply for a Class B captain’s license. It’s best to apply for a captain’s license within a week—according to the laws of the Senate, all captains of ships under the jurisdiction of the Senate must be licensed…”

“Okay, okay, I will definitely apply.”

“And your cultural qualification certificate…”

“I understand, I understand. I will definitely go and take the test right away,” Li Huamei nodded repeatedly.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“No more.” Li Huamei was dizzy from the lengthy explanation. She thought to herself that she was here as an undercover agent anyway. If she was really cheated of her money, her mistress would have to cover for her. So she signed all the documents without saying a word and pressed her fingerprint.

“This is your work permit for the Southeast Asia Company. Please carry it with you,” the clerk handed her another similar folded card—and of course, she had to register her fingerprint again.

“According to the orders of the Senate and the General Military Supervisory Department, all captains of the Southeast Asia Company are to be granted the rank of naval reserve ensign,” the clerk continued. “This is the document. You will have to go to the fortress command post in the port authority building later. They will help you with the procedures there.”

“Okay…” Li Huamei was already starting to feel dizzy.

After coming out of the customs building, she was taken to the Bopu office of the Delong Bank to open a savings passbook: for receiving salary, dividends, and deducting social security fees.

“You now have the social insurance provided by the Senate,” the clerk introduced with a smile, reciting from memory.

“What… social insurance?” Li Huamei was dumbfounded.

According to the results of the last financial work conference, social insurance was currently being implemented among all financially supported personnel: cadres, staff, workers, and soldiers. Three funds were established for pensions, work-related injuries, and medical care, with the government and individuals each bearing a portion according to the base number.

Although the Southeast Asia Company had commercial shares, it was also state-owned, so it also enjoyed this system. Li Huamei knew a little about insurance. Europe had a maritime insurance system very early on, and in China, the escort agencies actually had a similar guarantee responsibility. However, there was no concept of pensions. It took a long time to explain that she had to pay money every month, so that she could receive money from the bank when she got sick or old and could no longer work…

Who are you kidding, Li Huamei thought. When you get old, you rely on your children and grandchildren, not this bank—even children and grandchildren are not reliable. The real gold and silver in your own pocket is the most reliable. This so-called pension insurance is just another way for the short-hairs to collect taxes.

Speaking of taxes, the clerk did not miss it. He informed her that according to her salary and estimated dividends, her expected income had already reached the threshold for individual income tax: she had to pay income tax every month—automatically deducted from her passbook.

After being tormented by bureaucratic paperwork for an afternoon, Li Huamei finally came out of the fortress command post. She had completed the last procedure and was officially registered as a naval reserve ensign. Of course, she still needed to take two certificate exams to prove her ability. No matter how capable you were, in the eyes of the Senate, you had to have a certificate.

“Congratulations, you are one of us now,” Si Mida said with sincere congratulations, smiling at her when she heard that she had been officially naturalized.

“Pah, who is one of you,” Li Huamei’s face turned red. After receiving the document, she came to Si Mida’s place to inquire about the Southeast Asia Company she had joined. In the past, she had seen a few merchant ships of the Southeast Asia Company flying the Venus flag around Hainan, but she rarely saw them in the South China Sea. When she went to the company’s office just now, she didn’t feel that they had much business, so she couldn’t help but feel a little strange. She didn’t expect to be teased as soon as she entered the room.

“Don’t be shy,” Si Mida said, becoming chatty due to her pregnancy. “You are now considered one of the chief’s people. You are different from us. You are a heroine with a ship and people. The chiefs all like you—especially those in the navy. Maybe you can even become a proper wife.”

“Those useless things…” Whenever these “fans” were mentioned, Li Huamei always remembered their trembling and cowardly appearance, unable to even climb the mast. She really couldn’t respect them.

Si Mida showed a disapproving expression. In her opinion, Li Huamei had become a subordinate of the “chiefs,” and it was simply outrageous for her to be so disrespectful.

Li Huamei did not get much information about the Southeast Asia Company from Si Mida—not to mention that Si Kaide did not talk to her about work matters, even Si Kaide himself knew very little about this Southeast Asia Company. Since its establishment, this company had not done much ocean trade. It had been under the control of the navy, undertaking freight tasks, and the farthest it had gone was Vietnam. It was not until Ping Qiusheng opened the door to trade with Siam that the Southeast Asia Company made a few trips to Siam.