Chapter 7: The Road to Finding Family

Having gained nothing, Li Huamei left Si Mida’s place and walked aimlessly towards the pier. Since she couldn’t get any news for the time being, she might as well go back to the ship and inspect it carefully to see what parts could be modified. She had long been curious about the Australians’ ship modification technology: many old and broken ships, once they fell into their hands, would become very beautiful when they were put back into use, and the ship’s handling and speed would be greatly improved.

But these “magical modifications” were only available for their own ships. Outsiders, no matter how much they paid, could not get these modifications. Now that she had joined the group, she was considered “one of their own.” No matter what the Southeast Asia Company did, it shouldn’t be a problem for her to request to modify her ship—not to mention that she was willing to pay for it herself.

For someone like her who had been making a living at sea for many years, a ship was not just a simple means of transportation, but also the place where she entrusted her life. At critical moments, the condition of the ship often determined everything. Therefore, she never spared any expense in the maintenance and preparation of her ship.

She was calculating in her mind. First was the installation of a steering wheel. This device that could change the course with a slight turn was too easy to use, much more flexible than a tiller. Then there was the sail system. The Australians seemed to use a hybrid rig that was different from both the Europeans and the Chinese, and its efficiency in using the wind was much higher than that of ordinary ships…

Of course, the most crucial thing was to get more of the Australians’ cannons—she had long had her eye on that thick and short carronade. The 48-pound cannonballs it fired could deal a devastating blow to enemy ships. Although it was not as good as the Australians’ best cannons, if the Hangzhou was equipped with it, she would be invincible at sea, except for the Australians.

Another thing was to equip her sailors with a batch of Nanyang-style rifles. The rate of fire and accuracy of these rifles were enviable—especially in boarding battles, if her men had this weapon, they would have an overwhelming advantage over the enemy’s matchlocks and even better flintlocks. She didn’t dare to hope to get the kind of rifles used by the Fubo Army.

But when she asked at the shipyard, she was told that there was no time to take her business at the moment, even if she was a ship of the Southeast Asia Company. If she had a very urgent need to modify her ship, she would have to ask the company to file a report for her, so that the modification of the Hangzhou could be included in the shipyard’s production plan.

Li Huamei’s usual way of thinking was that there was nothing that couldn’t be done with silver coins. This was the first time she had been defeated by a planned economy, and she was inevitably very unaccustomed to it.

In desperation, she had no choice but to go to the office of the Southeast Asia Company for help again.

“You’ve come at the right time,” the female clerk said happily. “We were looking for you anyway. The Hangzhou doesn’t need to be modified for the time being. Here is an order for you: in three days, you will command the Hangzhou to transport a batch of goods to Kaohsiung.”

“What?!” Li Huamei was still thinking about modifying her ship, but she didn’t expect to be assigned a task right away. “To Kaohsiung?”

“Yes, to Kaohsiung,” the clerk said, taking out a file bag. “This is the voyage mission book and the nautical charts. Please keep them safe. They must be returned after the mission is completed.”

Li Huamei knew of Kaohsiung—she had been to Dayuan many times in the past. She knew that Kaohsiung was on the coast not far from the Dutch port of Dayuan, in a place originally called Takau.

“Understood, I will set off tomorrow morning—” Since the Australians already had something for her to do, it was better for her to be more proactive.

“No, no,” the female clerk quickly stopped her. “Ship departures are allocated by voyage. You must depart at the time specified in the mission book. You cannot depart without authorization—otherwise, it is a serious violation of discipline. When you work for the chiefs, you must follow the rules. You cannot act on your own.”

Li Huamei was educated by the female clerk at the Southeast Asia Company before she was allowed to slip away. This feeling was really bad. She, who was originally a free person, now felt as if she had crashed into a net. Every step she took was subject to many restrictions. Every time she opened her mouth, she was asked for documents, and every time she closed it, she had to fill out a form. Everything was about rules—it was even less free than under her mistress.

Li Huamei couldn’t help but sigh: you eat someone’s food, you are under their control. This Australian seafood congee was not so easy to eat, there were too many rules. If it weren’t for her sister’s whereabouts, she would not have been willing to come here as an undercover agent.

Thinking back to the hotel in Macau back then, when the “young turks” of the navy wanted to recruit her as a captain, they were so eager that they almost showed her all their assets. Compared to that, the Australians had changed so much in the past few years, and they vaguely had the status of the hegemon of the South China Sea—she was probably no longer in their eyes.

If she had accepted the conditions and become their captain back then, perhaps she would be a famous figure here now. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

Since she already had a specific task and couldn’t modify her ship for the time being, she might as well use these three days to look for her sister first. Anyway, she now had an ID card and there were no longer any obstacles for her to go anywhere in Lingao. By the way, she would also find a place to live for herself—she no longer wanted to live in her own trading post.

She had been to Dongmen Market a few times before, but that was under the condition of being entertained and accompanied by someone. This was the first time she had gone there alone and at ease.

However, she was somewhat unaccustomed to this “naturalized citizen uniform” she was wearing. Although the skirts she wore were always relatively short for the convenience of fighting at sea, she still felt a little “humiliated” to be walking around on the street in trousers like a street performer. Whether it was in the Ming Dynasty or among the Portuguese in Macau, no decent woman dressed like this.

Therefore, she would unconsciously pull at the hem of her uniform from time to time, as if trying to make it serve the purpose of a skirt in vain.

The road to Dongmen Market had been widened. The slow-moving ox-carts that were common in the past were now fewer. The road was now filled with all kinds of horse-drawn carriages—two-wheeled, four-wheeled, for passengers, for goods. The sound of bells under the necks of the pulling horses could be heard everywhere. Although the quality of the horses was not very good, the number of horses here surprised Li Huamei. In the entire South China, it was generally difficult to see horses.

There was a public horse-drawn carriage from the Bopu transportation hub to Dongmen Market—the ox-carts had all been stopped because they were too slow. But she had long wanted to try the “steam-wheeled vehicle” that spewed black smoke and could pull its own carriages. Speaking of which, the Australians’ vehicles and ships all seemed to spew black smoke and could move on their own without oxen or horses, and they were also incredibly powerful.

Li Huamei got on the “Lingao City Railway” from Bopu to Dongmen Market. She knew that Dongmen Market was the most prosperous and lively place in Lingao. If her sister was working for the Australians, she would not fail to show up here.

The fare for the city railway was very cheap, so the train was crowded with farmers and small vendors carrying vegetables, chickens, ducks, and various goods. Li Huamei bought a second-class ticket. Although it was also an open car, because the fare was half more expensive than the third-class seat, the carriage was much emptier, and the carriage was also a little further away from the smoke-spewing locomotive. The people sitting in the second-class carriage were all workers and staff wearing naturalized citizen uniforms like her, and occasionally there were a few “officials” with four pockets. They belonged to the group with a higher income level in Lingao.

The small train ran briskly on the wrought iron tracks. Li Huamei sat in the rearmost seat, where she could not only enjoy the scenery, but also be a little further away from the black smoke that drifted over from time to time.

As far as the eye could see, it was a sea of green, dotted with many red and white brick and tile houses. The area along the road from Bopu to Dongmen Market was originally a large area of barren wilderness. Now, many new residential areas and farms have been built along the road.

The fields on both sides of the Wenlan River were flat and well-irrigated, making them particularly suitable for growing rice. They had been the main agricultural production area of Lingao since ancient times. However, due to the lack of water conservancy facilities and labor, most of the land had not been developed. In the past few years, with the continuous development of the Agricultural Committee, much of the land has been converted into standardized farmland, and a number of state-owned farms with intensive management have been established, cultivated by immigrants from the mainland who have been settled in standard villages—they are no longer ordinary self-cultivating farmers or tenant farmers, but agricultural workers under the Agricultural Committee.

Many people with a pioneering spirit and good farming skills, whether they were landlords or refugees, received the support of the Heaven and Earth Society and started private farms of varying sizes. These large and small farms have all been transformed to a certain extent according to the standardized farmland standards of the Agricultural Committee. The canals, roads, sluices, granaries, stables, and forests… are all neat and uniform, reflecting a unique modern aesthetic.

The small train, spewing black smoke and white steam, ran through this beautiful field. A sea breeze blew by, dispersing the smell of coal smoke. The cool breeze caressed her cheeks, making her feel refreshed. This picturesque scenery was the work of the Australians’ divine brushstrokes. Just as they had built fast ships that could sail freely across the four seas on the originally barren Bopu beach—it was full of incredibility.

What kind of magical arts did they possess that could turn decay into magic and stone into gold everywhere? In the past, Li Huamei was full of curiosity about the Australians, but now she was full of reverence, so much so that she no longer hated her undercover mission as much.

She got off at the Dongmen Market station. Dongmen Market had already expanded into a sizable market town. In terms of scale and population, it had far surpassed the original location of Lingao County Town—Lincheng Town. And it was constantly expanding southward along both banks of the Wenlan River. It seemed that it would not be long before it would swallow up the entire Lingao County Town.

Li Huamei stood on the bustling street of Dongmen Market, with its heavy traffic and crowds of people, feeling lost and helpless. Where could she find her sister in this crowd? She didn’t even know what to ask. Everyone here seemed to be in a hurry. Where could her sister be?