The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 41 Shandong Giant
Lin Qian's gaze swept over the other boatmen.

The faces of the crowd showed fear, lingering apprehension, or dissatisfaction.

"Everyone has been sailing at sea for a long time, and it's not easy to reach the shore. They want to have some fun, and I understand."

Lin Qian said loudly.

This was the first time Lin Qian, who had been silent all morning, had spoken to the boatmen, and all of them looked at him.

Lin Qian took out a hard biscuit from her clothes and held it in her hand.

"I know you've been eating this ash-like stuff for half a month, and you want to drink and eat meat!"

Then Lin Qian pointed north.

"That's the Ming Dynasty over there. We've all been at sea for half a year, and we all want to go home, to see our mothers, our wives and children. I feel the same way as you!"

After a morning of this, the boatmen thought Lin Qian was going to scold them, but to their surprise, her three sentences struck a chord with them, and they couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"But we can't break up now, because everyone hasn't received the money for this shipment yet. I've calculated it, and each person is guaranteed at least three hundred taels of silver!"

The boatmen's hearts sank. They knew the Frankish ships were valuable, but they never expected to receive three hundred taels.

The vast majority of ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty could not earn more than three hundred taels of silver in their entire lives.

Lin Qian continued, "I know it's tough for everyone, and it's tough for me too! But what can we do? We're men! Men have to support their families, and no matter how bitter or tiring it is, we can only swallow it down!"

"How can we go home empty-handed? How can we pay for our parents' medicine? How can we buy clothes for the children? How can we feed the whole family?"

The boatmen all lowered their heads. Even those who were unmarried were born of parents, and who wouldn't want to take good care of their parents?

Remembering the earnest looks in the eyes of their parents and family, the boatmen felt that no matter how much hardship they endured, it would be worth it as long as their families could live well.

Besides, that's three hundred taels. How many times in a lifetime can a person earn three hundred taels?

"Don't forget, everyone, we're in a business where we're living on the edge!"

Lin Qian's words brought everyone back to reality.

"If even one person leaks the information, we will all be hunted down by the authorities! That's why we established the rule of roll call. Besides roll call, there will be other rules in the future. Without these rules, we would hardly be safe!"

"Therefore, from this day forward, anyone who breaks the rules will be severely punished. I'm making this clear today; if anyone is punished in the future, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

After he finished speaking, all the shipwrights looked ashamed and lowered their heads. For a moment, the only sound on the deck was the sound of the waves crashing.

Lin Qian took in everyone's glances and realized that the time was right. She softened her tone and said, "Alright, you've been standing all morning. Go back to your cabins and rest. Get ready for lunch."

After these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the deck relaxed considerably, and the shipwrights returned to their cabins in twos and threes, their steps heavy.

Seeing the boatmen disperse, Lin Qian turned to Zhou Xiucai and said, "Second Brother, now that we're closer to the coast, let's buy more fresh ingredients from the fishermen. Buy some wine, meat, vegetables, and fruits. Don't worry about the cost. Tell Uncle Chen what you want to buy, and he can decide."

“Okay.” Scholar Zhou nodded in agreement and went down the stern tower.

"Third Brother..." Lin Qian wanted to find Lei Sanxiang, but after looking around, she couldn't find him.

Chen Jiao said, "He went back to his cabin... Don't take it to heart, that's just his fiery temper."

Lin Qian smiled and said, "Brother, what are you saying? I know Third Brother's temper. I must thank all the brothers for supporting me today."

Chen Jiao quickly cupped his hands in greeting and said half-jokingly, "I wouldn't dare! The methods you've used today, Chief, have certainly broadened my horizons."

Lin Qian laughed heartily, put her arms around Chen Jiao and Bai Langzai's shoulders and said, "Brother, you're too kind to me. Come on, let's go to my cabin and have a cigar."

Chen Jiao laughed and said, "No, I can't stand your weird-smelling tobacco, you'd better spare me..."

Even so, Chen Jiao still went into the captain's cabin with Lin Qianbai and Langzai.

Lin Qian lit a cigar for each of the three of them, and then they started chatting idly.

It just so happens that Lin Qian and Bai Langzai didn't go to the pleasure boat yesterday, so Chen Jiao recounted what he saw and heard there.

The air fills with a cheerful atmosphere whenever women are mentioned.

"...You didn't see it, this southern woman looks shy, but she's actually quite energetic in bed. Yesterday, her screams almost shook the pleasure boat apart..."

Lin Qian, having been with countless women in her previous life, was a seasoned veteran of the world of romance. Upon hearing this, she cooperated by asking a few more questions.

Bai Langzai, connecting this to the story of the injured girl, understood why there was wound medicine on the pleasure boat. He then realized that Lin Qian had anticipated the boatmen's lateness for roll call today and had even bought the wound medicine for whippings in advance.

The meticulousness of his thinking truly shocked Bai Langzai.

After the three finished smoking their cigars, Zhou Xiucai returned from Uncle Chen's place.

Lunch was ready, and the four of them ate together in the officers' mess below the captain's cabin.

Lin Qian had Lei Sanxiang summoned as well.

Zhou Xiucai said, "He said he had things to do in the afternoon, so he ate in his room."

"Alright." Lin Qian understood that Lei Sanxiang was upset because he felt he had been humiliated in public, but she didn't take it to heart.

Chen Jiao and Zhou Xiucai stole glances at Lin Qian's expression, and seeing that he showed no unusual reaction, they were relieved.

……

The officers' quarters were located at the stern of the gun deck, below the mess hall.

After lunch, Lei Sanxiang was cleaning up the dishes in his cabin.

At this moment, Lin Qian lifted the curtain and walked in.

Upon seeing him, Lei Sanxiang greeted him in a muffled voice: "Helmsman."

Lin Qian didn't reply, but walked straight to the table, sat down, and placed the things she was holding on the table.

Lei Sanxiang looked over and saw two wine jars and a whip on the table. The whip was the same one he had used that morning.

"What does the captain mean by this?"

"I offended Third Brother in front of the boatmen this morning, so I've come to apologize. If Third Brother is angry, feel free to whip me a few times, as long as you don't hold it against me and hurt our brotherly feelings." After saying this, Lin Qian took off his shirt and turned his back to Lei Sanxiang.

"You're overthinking it, Captain. I'm not that petty or stingy."

Lin Qian said, "If you're not angry, why are you still calling me 'Helmsman'? Hurry up and do it, stop being so effeminate!"

Lei Sanxiang was a typical straightforward guy who was proud to be a Shandong man. He couldn't stand being provoked by the word "woman." Upon hearing this, he angrily retorted, "I said I'm not angry, so I'm not angry. You're the captain, so what if I call myself the captain?"

"You must be thinking that I made you call him 'helmsman' in public, making you lose face in front of your friends, and that I was using you to establish my authority among the shipwrights, right?"

"Hmph." Lei Sanxiang's thoughts were exposed, and he didn't dare to talk back, only letting out a cold snort.

"You're probably thinking again that I asked you to punish the erring boatmen so that I'd make you the bad guy, aren't you?"

"I didn't!" Lei Sanxiang's voice was much weaker.

"You're probably thinking now that everything I'm doing and saying is just an act, that brotherhood is nothing compared to power and wealth in my eyes, right?"

"Bullshit! If I thought that way, I wouldn't be a hero! You son of a bitch! Don't forget back in Luzon, when Fourth and Fifth Brother betrayed us, I was on your side!"

Lin Qian deliberately provoked him with that last sentence, and sure enough, Lei Sanxiang loudly refuted her.

Lin Qian turned around with a smile and said, "Of course. Since Third Brother doesn't want to fight, let's drink. I've heard that people from Shandong have a huge capacity for alcohol, but I don't know if it's true or not."

After saying that, he opened two wine jars, and the aroma of wine immediately filled the air. The jars contained yellow wine that he had just bought from the pleasure boat.

Lei Sanxiang took the wine jar, gulped down three large mouthfuls, then wiped his mouth and said, "Of course it's real!"

Lin Qian also drank a few sips, but they didn't get to talk much, and the drinking was rather dull.

Taking advantage of her slight intoxication, Lin Qian took out two porcelain bottles from her bosom and placed them on the table. They were the wound medicine that Bai Langzai had bought from the pleasure boat.

"What does it mean?"

"Medicine for wounds," Lin Qian said calmly.

Lei Sanxiang sneered: "Brother Lin, you've misunderstood me. Between brothers, even if I'm angry with you, do you think I'd actually fight you?"

Lin Qian shook her head: "This stuff isn't for my own use. Once the smell of alcohol on you dissipates, take these two bottles of medicine and apply them to the boatman who was beaten."

Lei Sanxiang's drinking motion froze.

(End of this chapter)