The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 19 Eavesdropping
This jellyfish also had another name in the Ming Dynasty.

"This is... jellyfish?" the cook asked doubtfully. "It's not difficult to process; you just need to soak it in salt and alum repeatedly. But... I've never heard of golden jellyfish before, and it doesn't sting."

Lin Qian handed the golden jellyfish to the cook: "These jellyfish have lived in the lake for too long, and their venom has degenerated."

The cook clicked his tongue in amazement: "I've really learned something new today. The world is truly full of wonders."

Lin Qian instructed, "Catch some and bring them back to the boat. Be careful and don't overcrowd."

The cook must have been leading the boatmen carefully down into the lake to collect jellyfish.

These jellyfish were so densely packed that they hardly needed to be caught; you could simply cast a net and catch several nets in no time.

Catherine stayed far away until the boatmen had all gone off into the lake, then approached them and cautiously asked, "Is your hand alright?"

"These golden jellyfish are not poisonous. You can feel them for yourself," Lin Qian said, handing the jellyfish to her.

Catherine screamed again and ran quite a distance before she heard Lin Qian's laughter. Only then did she realize that he wasn't holding anything in his hand, and she stomped her foot in anger.

Lin Qian felt a sense of familiarity upon arriving on the island.

It wasn't until he saw Jellyfish Lake that he realized he had been to this island before. In later generations, this place was called Palau, famous for its non-toxic golden jellyfish, and a diving paradise.

The island is resource-poor, with no freshwater rivers or lakes. Fortunately, it has a tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall, and collecting rainwater alone is enough to replenish its resources.

Half an hour later, Lin Qian called the boatmen to stop and walked towards the beach.

Now that we know the local resources, there's no need to bother searching for fresh water anymore.

The group descended the mountain and soon returned to the beach.

Lei Sanxiang's team was already waiting for him by the small boat. Their hands and bodies were covered with coconuts of all sizes tied with ropes, which looked to be several hundred.

"There's a coconut grove to the east; we can go pick some more tomorrow," Lei Sanxiang said excitedly.

Lin Qianming ordered some of his men to transport jellyfish, coconuts, and other supplies back to the ship.

The others picked leaves, rolled them into a funnel shape, and placed a container underneath to catch rainwater.

When the small boat returned, there were already more than a dozen funnels of various sizes on the beach, and some leaves were still left unused.

Lin Qian ordered her men to bring the remaining leaves back to the boat.

By the time we boarded the ship, it was already evening. The sun was setting over the sea, casting a beautiful glow on the island's waves.

After dinner, Lin Qian went back to her room to write in her nautical log. After finishing, she used a bamboo pen to sketch the appearance of Jellyfish Lake.

Catherine watched Lin Qian paint, and felt that Lin Qian's face looked even more mysterious under the candlelight.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Qian finished drawing, closed the journal, and blew out the candle.

Catherine then snapped out of her daze, fled back to her hammock, and felt her face burning slightly and her heart pounding.

I tossed and turned all night.

She was awakened by Lin Qian's voice after an unknown amount of time.

"Go take a shower," Lin Qian said to her in a commanding tone.

On the deck, the sound of heavy rain could be heard, and the boatmen were shouting and laughing freely in the rain, extremely happy.

Catherine secretly sniffed her own scent, her face flushed, she said "oh," and rolled out of bed.

The moment she pushed the door open, her eyes widened suddenly, and as if startled, she screamed and slammed the door shut.

“Damn it…they’re all here…” Catherine’s face turned red.

"Just close your eyes." Lin Qian said, taking off his shirt. He hadn't showered for several days, and his body was sticky and smelly.

Catherine quickly turned around: "Dream on! I'm not going to shower with you..."

"I had someone hang a curtain on the stern deck, you can go there." After saying that, Lin Qian took a towel, opened the door, and went to take a shower. Catherine had mentally prepared herself for a long time, but finally opened the door with her eyes closed, clutching the front of her black silk robe tightly with one hand, and groping her way up the stairs to the stern deck with the other.

The boatmen's taunts around her made her face turn even redder.

Finally reaching the stern deck, Catherine opened her eyes a crack. Sure enough, there were no other shipwrights here. A rope was tied between the stern mast and the side of the ship, with a canvas draped over it and a towel on top of the canvas.

There was a jar by the stern, and when Catherine opened it, she found it contained soapberry water.

Catherine walked behind the sail, took off her black silk robe, draped it over the rope, then scooped out soapberry water, rubbed it with her hands to create foam, and ran it over her wheat-colored skin.

……

The dense raindrops pounded against the deck and the sea with tremendous force.

Suddenly, a boatman sang loudly in the rain: "At daybreak, we set out to sea to cast our nets—"

The boatmen chuckled and sang along: "...As dusk falls, we return to port, the moon shining on the river! The wind blows the bow, waves crash against the planks, a fisherman's song startles the mandarin ducks—"

His voice was rough and off-key, and after he finished singing, the boatmen all burst into laughter.

Catherine washed herself very carefully, and only returned to the stern wearing her wet robe after all the shipwrights had washed back to their cabins.

Just as I was about to push the door open, I heard voices coming from inside.

Catherine immediately crouched down and hid by the door to eavesdrop.

"Brother Lin, when shall we set sail?"

"In a few days, before we set sail this time, we must bring enough water and food. We will inevitably have to help Lin Feng's brothers."

"That bastard Lin Feng claims he has ten thousand men and hundreds of boats. We don't know if it's true or not. If it is, we can't possibly provide all the relief."

"Lin Feng is a senior, Third Brother, you should watch your words."

"Brother, if you ask me, Lin Feng is completely unreliable. To accomplish this, we still need to rely on our own brothers."

"Not to mention the auxiliary troops, the Spanish guards in Manila alone number in the hundreds. Are we just going to throw our lives away with a single ship?"

"Don't forget, we have Catherine in our hands. According to Brother Lin's plan, we can pretend to demand a ransom and transfer most of the Spaniards away."

"Even if the Spanish fall for the trap, we lack artillery and will find it difficult to attack the city. We will still need to rely on Lin Feng and the Dutch. Speaking of the Dutch, have we received any news from Batavia?"

……

Catherine grew increasingly alarmed as she listened, her body trembling slightly. She covered her mouth tightly, afraid to make a sound.

She understood all the names the people in the room were talking about: "Lin Feng," "Manila," "Catherine," "Badavia," and "Netherlands."

Connecting these elements together, she had completely guessed what Lin Qian was going to do.

Unexpectedly, this is true. He actually has such great ambitions, wanting to annex Manila in one fell swoop!
If Manila suffers a setback, it won't just affect the honor and disgrace of her family; the entire national strength of Spain will be severely damaged.

She absolutely could not let Lin Qian succeed in his scheme, even if it meant mutual destruction!

Just as they were making up their minds, the conversation in the stern stopped and the cabin door was pushed open.

Catherine was startled and stood up.

Chen Jiao, Lei Sanxiang, Zhou Xiucai, and Bai Langzai walked out and looked her up and down, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Lei Sanxiang: "Brother Lin, this big-butt barbarian woman is eavesdropping on our conversation."

Lin Qian's voice came from the stern tower: "She doesn't understand Chinese, let her be."

Seeing Lin Qian dismiss her brothers, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)