The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 39 A True Man Should Be Like This

The next day, Zheng Zhilong walked out of the cabin looking exhausted...

When he got to the deck, he realized it was almost noon. He usually got up at the beginning of the morning, a routine he had maintained since childhood. Why did he sleep until this hour today?

Zheng Zhilong was anxious. As instructed by the councilor, he should have returned to report before last night.

He went to great lengths to gain the trust of the councilor, but now he has ruined his promising future by indulging in wine and women.

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but feel remorse, and he even began to hate Lin Qian.

At this moment, Lin Qian called out to him from the stern: "Brother Yi Guan is awake? Come up quickly, let's have another cigar."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong went up the stairs and stood in front of Lin Qian with a bitter face, saying, "Brother Lin, you've really put me through a lot..."

Lin Qian laughed nonchalantly, "Brother Yi Guan, are you worried that you won't be able to report back in time and will be blamed by the councilor? Don't worry, I had Jose write a letter last night saying that there is a lot of cargo on the ship, and Brother Yi Guan stayed up all night to count it. He will return a day later, so the councilor can rest assured."

"Really?" Zheng Zhilong's worry immediately turned to joy.

"Of course it's true!" Lin Qian patted his shoulder affectionately. "Don't worry about eating and staying here with your big brother. If you like it, I'll have Jose write tonight so you can stay a few more nights!"

"No, no, no!" Zheng Zhilong waved his hands repeatedly, "How could I dare to bother you like this?"

"Hahahaha..." Lin Qian laughed heartily and led Zheng Zhilong into the captain's cabin.

After lighting a cigar, Zheng Zhilong exhaled a smoke ring with satisfaction and said sincerely, "To be honest, I came here at the request of the councilor to try and negotiate a lower price... But since you've been so sincere to me, I can't go back on my word. I'll report back to the councilor now..."

Lin Qian held up one finger: "Brother Yi Guan, I asked for 400,000 taels in my letter to the councilor, but as the elder brother, how can I put you in a difficult position? I'll reduce it by 100,000, so it's only 300,000 taels, how about that?"

Zheng Zhilong's eyes widened: "Brother, are you serious? That's 100,000 taels of silver, this..."

Lin Qian waved her hand to interrupt him: "There's no need to persuade him anymore. What's 100,000 taels of silver for the sake of brotherhood?"

As the saying goes, "ask for the moon, bargain for the moon," Jose's letter asked for almost twice the normal value of the goods.

If they were to actually negotiate a settlement of 400,000 taels with Zheng Zhilong, the councilors behind him wouldn't be fools and certainly wouldn't agree to it.

After all, this batch of goods is only worth about 200,000 taels. Selling it for 300,000 taels would already be a premium of 100,000 taels.

Zheng Zhilong's outlook on life was shaken, and he couldn't calm down for a long time as he looked at Lin Qian's dashing figure.

A capable and loyal leader like him—where else in the world can you find such a brother?

He worked as a boatman for his uncle's boat guild and also as an interpreter in Macau. Because he was still young, few people he met paid him any attention.

He has always had to go to great lengths to please others since he was a child. When has he ever been treated with such sincerity by others?
Zheng Zhilong suddenly had the idea of ​​becoming sworn brothers with Lin Qian, but then he thought that his identity was just an interpreter, while Lin Qian was noble, generous, and unrestrained. Why would she become sworn brothers with someone of his status? So he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Just as she was puffing on her cigarette, someone knocked on the captain's cabin door and handed Lin Qian a thick stack of documents.

Lin Qian took the documents, glanced at them, told the man to leave, and then placed the stack of documents in front of Zheng Zhilong.

"This is the cargo manifest on the ship, which is even more detailed than the one I gave to the congressman. I had someone make a copy, and you can take it back with you so we can report back."

"This... Brother is so thoughtful..." Zheng Zhilong was at a loss for words.

"After I finish this cigarette, I'll have someone lead the brothers to conduct another on-site inspection of the cabin."

Zheng Zhilong patted his chest and said, "Brother, you are so sincere and thoughtful. How could I not trust you? We will follow the list!"

Lin Qian smiled and said, "Friendship is friendship, but official business still needs to be done. You should see it for yourself so you can know what's going on."

After some further refusals, Zheng Zhilong, who was completely swayed by Lin Qian's flattery, had no choice but to accept Lin Qian's proposal.

However, although Zheng Zhilong made a big fuss about it, when he actually went down to the hold to inspect the cargo, he was extremely thorough and didn't let anyone off easy.

Lin Qian knew history and was aware that Zheng Zhilong was inherently a two-faced and ruthless tyrant, so she was not surprised.

The fact that he dared to let Zheng Zhilong count the goods proves that there is absolutely no error in the types and quantities of the goods.

By the time Zheng Zhilong finished counting the goods, it was already evening, and Lin Qian invited him to stay for another meal.

This time, Zheng Zhilong insisted on going back to report, and since Lin Qian had already achieved her goal, she didn't force her to stay.

Amidst harmonious farewells, Zheng Zhilong boarded the same sloop he had come from and sailed back to the port of Macau.

After traveling some distance, Zheng Zhilong turned around and looked back. He saw Lin Qian standing on the gunwale, the setting sun casting his silhouette against the shimmering waves of the large sailboat.

Looking at this scene, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, thinking, "This is what a true man should be like."

……

On the deck of the large sailboat, Lin Qian watched Zheng Zhilong depart into the distance, feeling a pang of regret in her heart.

This person might become his future formidable enemy; letting such a tiger return to the mountains is a decision that may or may not be right.

But killing him without a clear explanation would not only offend the Portuguese, but also make it even harder to sell the goods. In any case, this feigned negotiation with Zheng Zhilong, which seemed like a concession on his part, actually resulted in a price 100,000 taels higher than the expected selling price, making it a very profitable deal.

As for what will happen in the future, let's deal with that later. Lin Qian isn't worried about a young upstart right now.

"Captain, what should we do with those two women?" a crew member asked.

"Send them back to the pleasure boat." Lin Qian added after saying that, "Those who want to help with the business can go on the pleasure boat themselves tonight."

"Alright, thank you, Captain!" The crew cheered enthusiastically.

Before long, the two "older sisters" emerged, surrounded by the boatmen like stars around the moon.

Bai Langzai stepped forward and gave each of them twenty taels of silver: "This is a tip from the captain."

The two women bowed to Bai Langzai and Lin Qianxing to express their gratitude.

José said to the two men in Chinese, “Row the flower boat closer; you’ll be quite busy these next few days.”

One of the women said happily, "That's wonderful! I thank you all in advance."

The crew members watched the two women disembark, wishing night would fall sooner.

Jose leaned close to Lin Qian with a mysterious look and asked, "Captain, how do you know that kid likes natural feet?"

These two women were specially arranged by Lin Qian when she received Zheng Zhilong yesterday.

Lin Qian wanted to find women with unbound feet because Zheng Zhilong in history married a Japanese woman.

But the fact that José could ask such a question shows his deep understanding of Chinese culture, so I couldn't help but joke, "You even know what natural feet are?"

José said with a hint of pride, "I understand women very well."

Such a boast made Lin Qian chuckle.

……

evening.

Lin Qian sat at the nautical table writing in the logbook. On the table was a sheet of paper with celestial data recorded by Bai Langzai recently.

The cabin was quiet, except for the occasional alluring cries of women coming from the pleasure boats in the distance.

Lin Qian finished writing a page, put down her pen, and stood up to stretch.

Listening to the decadent music coming from next door, Lin Qian suddenly remembered something, quickly walked out of the captain's cabin, and called Bai Langzai in.

Bai Langzai was stargazing at the stern of the ship when he heard the call and pushed open the door with a sextant in hand: "Helmsman, you were looking for me?"

"Go to the warehouse and see how much wound medicine is left," Lin Qian instructed.

"It ran out a few days ago."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qian took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table: "Go to the pleasure boat and buy some; one or two bottles will be enough."

Bai Langzai sized up Lin Qian, noticing he didn't seem injured, and suppressed his doubts, simply asking, "On the pleasure boat... are there any wound medicines?"

Lin Qian couldn't help but smile: "Give us more money and we'll have it. Go on."

Without saying anything more, Bai Langzai picked up the silver and went out. He walked all the way to the side of the boat, where there was a small boat sent by the pleasure boat to pick people up. Bai Langzai went down the rope ladder to the small boat.

Once aboard the pleasure boat, a strong scent of perfume mixed with the smell of alcohol immediately hits you.

The madam was greeting guests at the bow of the boat when she saw Bai Langzai board. She quickly sent one of her girls over to greet him.

When Bai Langzai explained his purpose, the madam's face immediately turned cold.

Bai Langzai took out some silver: "One or two bottles will be enough."

The madam was immediately overjoyed. She accepted the money and gave a few instructions to her girls. A moment later, one of the girls brought over two porcelain bottles.

"This is Qingmeifang's top-grade wound medicine." The madam shoved the porcelain bottle into Bai Langzai's hand, her face beaming. "Since you know we have this, young master, you must be someone important. Why don't you order a girl?"

Bai Langzai looked embarrassed and hurriedly waved goodbye, then fled back to the boat as if escaping.

A moment later, he returned to the large sailboat and handed the porcelain bottle to Lin Qian.

When I entered the captain's cabin, Lin Qian was reading a Spanish parchment book, looking very focused. Without even looking up, she said "thank you for your hard work" and asked Bai Langzai to put the medicine on the table.

Bai Langzai was full of doubts, but he refrained from asking them and simply took the sextant and left the captain's cabin.

(End of this chapter)