Chapter 309: Family Background

Lin Ming’s adventurous journey could be described as “enduring humiliation for a greater purpose.” Although he was only a probationary centurion and then a centurion of a small chiliarchy in Foshan, a very minor “official” in the Ming military hierarchy, for an ordinary military household, it was less than nothing. Fortunately, the intimidating title of “Embroidered Uniform Guard” still held considerable power in the late Ming Dynasty, and everyone had to show him some respect.

This time, he pretended to be a clerk and worked on a ship, and did not sail directly to Lingao, all to make his infiltration of Lingao safer. He truly immersed himself in the role, not only rushing to do hard and tiring work but also sparing no effort to curry favor with people. His face became tanned, his skin rough, and he gradually shed his “official air” and the aura of a “young master.”

After sailing back and forth on the sea for several months like this, Lin Ming felt it was about time. He told the boatswain that he wanted to go to Lingao to join the Australians. This was no longer a rare occurrence in Guangdong and Fujian. A considerable wave of voluntary migration to Lingao had already appeared, with people crossing the sea every day to “join the short-hairs (a derogatory term for the Australians).” After settling his wages, he disembarked in Kaohsiung.

Disembarking in Kaohsiung was a carefully calculated move. He had been here more than once and was quite familiar with the situation and the Australians’ way of doing things. Not only that, there were many ships traveling to and from Lingao, and it was not far from Tayouan. Both places had many ships belonging to Ming merchants. Most of these ships had to recruit additional personnel on the spot before departure, making it easy to blend in.

Now he was staying below the deck of the Dongshanju, his eyes bright, planning his next move.

“Young man, what are you thinking about?” Manager Liu went to get dinner and brought it in.

“Nothing, nothing,” Lin Ming said, trying to cover it up. Seeing that Manager Liu had already brought dinner, he quickly stood up. “Manager Liu, I should have done this.”

“You’re new here and not familiar with the ship. What if you fell into the sea while getting it?” Manager Liu said with a smile, his eyes crinkling. “I know you’re a scholar and will definitely be able to play chess. Just play a few games with this old man after dinner.”

“How can I be considered a scholar?” Lin Ming quickly denied.

“Young man, don’t try to fool me. You are not only a scholar, but your family background is probably not bad either,” Manager Liu said, taking out a wine pot and cups from the cabinet.

“Drinking is not allowed on the ship. This old man is old, so I’ll have a few sips to get my blood flowing. I’m taking advantage of my age, so I won’t offer you any.”

“Please, Manager Liu, help yourself. I understand the rules on the ship,” Lin Ming quickly changed the subject.

Fortunately, after pouring the wine, Manager Liu did not bring up the matter of his family background again. Lin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. The food on the plate was surprisingly good! What was even more surprising was that the food Manager Liu was eating was exactly the same as his. On the Dongshanju, even the owner and the boatswain’s meals were not much different from those of the ordinary sailors and crew. For the past few months, the food he had eaten on the ship was barely enough to fill his stomach. At first, the coarse food was almost impossible to swallow, and it took him a long time to get used to it.

The food on the Dongshanju, however, was quite sumptuous. Not only were the vegetables fresh—which was to be expected, as they had just left port—but there was also fish and shrimp. Lin Ming had spent almost every day on a ship for the past few months, but he had rarely eaten decent fish and shrimp. It was all salted fish and pickled shrimp, which were not only salty and smelly but also pitifully small. He didn’t know where the shipowner got them from.

“What do you think? The food on our ship is good, right? The owner is a kind man,” Manager Liu couldn’t help but boast about his master. “Look at which shipowner feeds his crew so well.”

In fact, Chen Huamin and Liu Deshan had adopted some Australian ideas, and the food and pay they gave their men were better than those of other sea merchants. Not long after implementing this policy, they discovered that “using fewer people with better treatment” was more cost-effective than “using a large group of people with very low treatment.” The number of sailors and crew on the Dongshanju was only half that of a Ming merchant ship of similar cargo capacity, but the labor cost per voyage was one-third less.

“You are right, Manager Liu. Both masters are benevolent,” Lin Ming now had the habit of echoing whatever anyone said.

Lin Ming hadn’t eaten a decent meal in months. Faced with this “good meal,” he immediately devoured it like a whirlwind, eating everything clean, even mixing the last bit of sauce on the plate with rice and eating it. After finishing his meal, he poured a bowl of water and rinsed his mouth.

Manager Liu took a sip of wine and smiled. “You still say you’re not a scholar? What ordinary crewman has your manners? Licking the plate clean with your tongue is one thing, but rinsing your mouth after a meal is another. Even our Master Liu doesn’t have these manners.”

Lin Ming cursed inwardly. He hadn’t expected that months of hardship had not completely erased the traces of his former life. Even this old man could see it. How could the short-haired bandits not see it? He couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened.

His dejection must have shown on his face. Manager Liu thought he had touched on a sore spot and tried to console him: “Young man, don’t be discouraged. You are still young and have strength. The sea is peaceful now. Work hard, and while it may not be easy to become rich, you can probably achieve a comfortable life.”

A thought suddenly struck Lin Ming. He realized that no matter how he tried to hide it, the traces of his past life could not be completely erased. Lingao was not like this ship, where the sailors and crew came and went, a motley crew where no one cared about anyone else’s business. He had heard that the short-haired bandits were very inquisitive. The various clues he had revealed would definitely be discovered by them.

Manager Liu’s words, which seemed like the rambling of an old man out of kindness, Lin Ming knew also contained the meaning of “getting to the bottom of things.”

If he could not give a satisfactory answer, he would not be able to gain their trust. This ship was built in an Australian shipyard, and the owner of this ship probably had a close relationship with the short-haired bandits. If he went to Lingao and said a few words to the short-haired bandits, he would immediately die without a burial place! It seemed that this kind of covering up and pretending to be poor would not work. He had to invent a plausible family background to fool them.

With this thought, his mind was made up. After a few turns in his head, he had a draft in his mind. He deliberately sighed and said, “Manager Liu, you are indeed very perceptive! To be honest with you, my family did have a small fortune in the past. Although not rich, we had enough to eat and drink. It’s just that my parents passed away early…” He then tearfully fabricated a traditional story of a profligate son who had squandered his family’s fortune and had to drift on the sea to make a living.

Although this kind of story was old-fashioned, it was not uncommon at the time, and it was easy to make it sound plausible. Lin Ming had another advantage: he was a “local worm” in Foshan and was extremely familiar with the local situation. It was easy to find a family with a similar story. The family whose story he chose, the young master had died in Guangzhou after falling on hard times—others didn’t know, but Lin Ming did.

He immediately took the stories of the two families, cut off the beginning and end, and attached them to himself. When he reached an emotional point, he even pretended to wipe away tears to show his sincerity. In this way, even an old hand like Manager Liu was fooled by him. Seeing his sadness, Manager Liu even consoled him a few times.

“Originally, seeing that you can write and do arithmetic, I wanted to ask you to be a clerk on the ship. But since you want to go to Lingao to join the short-hairs, I won’t mention it,” Manager Liu said. “I hear there are many opportunities there. Many people who couldn’t make a living have gone there to seek a new life, and now they are all doing well. You are young and literate. As long as you are willing to work, you will definitely be given important responsibilities in the future.”

“Thank you for your comfort, Manager Liu. I dare not think about these things now. I heard that the Australians in Lingao employ many workers, and as long as you are willing to work hard, you can have food to eat. That’s why I want to go to Lingao. I just want to get to Lingao safely, have a job, a place to live, and earn a bowl of rice with my own two feet. I really can’t do the work on this ship.”

Before the modern era, sailing had no weather forecasts, no weather radar, no barometers; the charts were incomplete, and there were pirates… There was no safety in sailing. Going to sea was a risky venture. Ordinary people, unless they had no other choice, would not want to go to sea to make a living. Lin Ming’s explanation was reasonable and completely consistent with his identity as a down-and-out son of a wealthy family.

“You are being too modest,” Manager Liu said, his face slightly flushed after a few sips of wine. “You probably don’t know that someone like you, who can write and do arithmetic, can get a ‘cadre’ position in Lingao as long as you are willing to shave your head and join the short-hairs—that’s probably what the Australians call their ‘officials’. No matter how much or how little, you can first get a government stipend. Do you think there is such a benefit in the great Ming?”

Lin Ming was stunned. He thought to himself: I really didn’t know the short-haired bandits were so “eager for talent.” But this way, his plan was one step closer to success. He quickly said with a smile, “My body, hair, and skin are from my parents. Shaving my head is too big a matter. Even if I don’t shave my head, it should be easy to earn a living…”

Manager Liu nodded. “Young man, your filial piety is commendable. This old man won’t say any more. Just go to Lingao and live a good life. I am old. I have stayed with the master for a lifetime and am used to it. I can’t move anymore. If I were ten or twenty years younger, I would also go to the Australians to seek a future.” After saying that, he drained the wine in his cup.

After dinner, Lin Ming cleaned up the dishes and returned to the cabin. Manager Liu had already set up the chessboard. The two of them played several games. In the chiliarchy, Lin Ming had nothing to do in his spare time and was skilled in all kinds of pastimes to relieve boredom. His chess skills were excellent. He knew that this ship had a deep connection with the short-haired bandits, and Manager Liu and the others had been to Lingao many times, making them an excellent source of information about the short-haired bandits’ internal affairs. So he deliberately controlled his strength, and the two of them fought to a draw, which made Manager Liu, who had always swept the board, exclaim with delight. As they played chess and chatted, Lin Ming took the opportunity to learn a lot about Lingao.