Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Wu Wanruo's expression did not change upon hearing this question.

"Didn't you just say the answer yourself?"

"lady...?"

That seems to make sense; there's no reason why a wife wouldn't love her husband.

After all, if you don't love someone, why did you go along with them in the first place?

Wu Wanruo did not respond to Chi Honghai's words. At this moment, her face showed some displeasure, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that this was intentional.

"However, my wife has not yet been formally married."

After hearing this, Chi Honghai stared blankly at the other person, momentarily tense by what he had just heard.

He held the teacup in his hand, his thumb constantly rubbing the body of the cup, as if trying to relieve some kind of pressure.

Seeing that Chi Honghai looked somewhat flustered, Wu Wanruo reached out and supported his other hand, which was resting on the table.

"Are you overthinking it? I know your situation right now. Everyone is having a tough time, busy all day long. I don't blame you for this. So many people have to live with you. The people are more important than me. I said this myself, not on your behalf."

Chi Honghai's panicked heart calmed down a little after his left hand touched Wu Wanruo's hand.

"I am a pirate, and they are all my crew members, they just didn't board the ship."

Wu Wanruo squeezed his fingers: "Whether they are commoners or pirates, I only saw a real Chi Honghai who was saving people, not a local tyrant who treated human life like dirt."

"Of course I know about your hijacking of the official ship. After all, that's how I got here. I also know that you kidnapped those craftsmen. Even if you did all this for yourself, you have to admit that you saved so many people. Without you, many of these people would be dead by now."

"Weren't those women rescued from another pirate den? You're a pirate, you didn't rob or kill civilians, you only plundered government ships, aren't you much better than those people?"

After listening to Wu Wanruo's words, Chi Honghai smiled and shook his head.

"Hey, why are you shaking your head? I'm just telling the truth. Are you having second thoughts?"

"Regret what?"

"I regret... having existed..."

Chi Honghai loosened his grip on his right hand, and the teacup fell to the table with a "clang." He then grasped Wu Wanruo's hand with his right hand.

"If you, a weak woman, do not regret following me, how could I regret it? I, Chi Honghai, have been in the business world for many years, and what I value most is integrity."

Wu Wanruo's sweet smile returned.

She didn't break free of Chi Honghai's hand, and she stood up.

"Quickly change your clothes and shoes so you can get some rest."

Chi Honghai looked down and realized that the originally clean ground was covered with wet mud and sand from his stomping.

When I lived alone, this house wasn't this clean.

"No, I might have to go out later, so I'll just sleep here at this table for a while."

As he spoke, Chi Honghai looked back at the path he had taken.

"It's nothing, don't worry, take a rest." Wu Wanru patted Chi Honghai on the shoulder.

The tension, exhaustion, and arrangements of these past few days have kept Chi Honghai on edge.

All the long hours of hard work were just a matter of keeping going. Now, leaning against the table, after the conversation ended, he fell asleep immediately.

While he was asleep, he only felt a slightly cool breeze in the room.

-

I slept for nearly two hours, and it was already afternoon.

Shen Er's voice could be heard from a short distance outside the door.

"Master! Master! Something terrible has happened!"

Before Shen Er could reach the door, Wu Wanruo pushed it open and stared intently at him.

Shen Er stopped abruptly and looked at Wu Wanruo.

"Madam...Master?"

"Master is sleeping, what happened?"

"It seems like the water on this mountain... the more you dig, the more water there is..."

Startled awake by the commotion, Chi Honghai propped himself up from the table, wiped his face a couple of times, and then shook it off.

"What happened?"

Seeing that Chi Honghai had woken up, Wu Wanruo didn't block Shen Er and stood at the door, speaking quietly.

"Go."

With Madam's words, Shen Er stepped through the door and addressed Chi Honghai inside.

"Sir, the brothers are digging more and more water in the pond on the mountain with their shovels. It looks like they're going to flood the pond. Nobody dares to dig anymore. I came to ask you if you have any ideas."

Why does the water in the pond on the mountain keep increasing the more you dig?

Could it be that we've struck groundwater?

Listening to Shen Er's words, Chi Honghai thought to himself, "If this really is groundwater, wouldn't that be a good thing? It would save us the trouble of relying on the heavens or even manpower to store water."

Chi Honghai stood up, turned around, and was about to walk out the door.

"You're saying the more you dig, the more water there is?"

"Yes, sir, the water on the mountain is getting more and more abundant the more we dig. The pits we've dug are big, but it seems like water comes out after only a few shovelfuls. The brothers are all afraid the mountain will be flooded."

Chi Honghai glanced at the distant mountain peaks and then headed towards them.

As I was about to leave, I heard Wu Wanruo's voice behind me.

"Wait a moment!"

Chi Honghai turned to look at his wife, who took out two polished sticks from behind the door in the room.

Wu Wanru handed the two sticks to Chi Honghai and Shen Er respectively.

The two looked at the sticks in their hands, one end of which was specially made to look like it had been squeezed by hand.

"It rained a few days ago, and I saw that the mountain path was slippery, so it wasn't very safe for the villagers to go up. I asked Ai Si to make some walking sticks for going up the mountain based on what I drew. The mountain path is still wet now, so you can try them out when you go up and see if they work well."

"Thank you, Madam, thank you, Madam," Shen Er said hurriedly.

Chi Honghai squeezed the cane in his hand, looked at Wu Wanruo, and then turned and walked into the mountains.

The two of them, leaning on their canes, made their way up the mountain.

"Master, you must say that the walking stick that Madam made is really useful for going up the mountain. This morning when we came up, our feet were so slippery that we didn't dare to put any weight on it for fear of falling. With this walking stick, it's much easier to go up the mountain."

Hearing Shen Er's praise, Chi Honghai's face was full of pride. He looked up and smiled, deliberately not letting Shen Er see him.

He spoke after his smile faded.

"Your old man's judgment is never wrong."

"Yes, yes, yes, the master's eye is impeccable. Two years ago, everyone could tell that the artifact was real, but the master still managed to tell that it was fake."

As they talked, they walked to the top of the mountain, where they saw a group of people surrounding the pond.

No one dared to use the shovel.

When they saw Chi Honghai arrive, everyone called out to him.

"master!"

Chi Honghai patted down with one hand, indicating that everyone didn't need to be so polite.

He stood at waist level, took a breath, and then walked to the original pond to see what had happened.

Upon closer inspection, the pond was full of water. As soon as one stepped near it, water seeped out and even got into their shoes.

This is not just about to flood.

This is where it's flooded!