Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Chi Honghai pointed to the sailboat in front of him, then turned to look at the Portuguese man: "Is it not allowed, friend?"

"This ship is no good," the Franco-Franklin said, pointing to the warship in front of him.

"This is a brand-new galleon that just arrived. This kind of thing requires royal approval, and I don't have that authority."

"Then, what about the smaller one?" Chi Honghai turned his hand and placed it on a smaller sailboat that was more maneuverable in coastal waters.

"Oh, friend. Well, that's fine, but I'm not prepared. Right now, I can only sell you one Caravelle sailing ship."

"What kind of ship?"

"Caravelle sailboat, friend, small boat."

"Alright, whatever it is, how much for this one?"

The Frankish man made a five-pointed sign.

"No way, that's too expensive, friend. Are you trying to make a one-time sale?"

"What are you saying? We Portuguese value honesty in business. Believe me, this is already the lowest price. Any lower, and I'd have to take money out of my own pocket. You wouldn't want to lose money on a deal, would you?"

Chi Honghai turned his head and glanced at Liu Qingjiang and Shen Er behind him.

"What do you guys think of that ship?"

"Sir, the one over there is better," Shen Er replied.

"If the Portuguese won't sell, there's nothing we can do."

"Sir, let's take this smaller one. At least we can put some cannons on it, so the brothers will have more options and fewer casualties," Liu Qingjiang said.

Chi Honghai nodded helplessly. Even if someone wanted to sell it, he couldn't afford it.

This is like the meat in the pot; it doesn't necessarily end up in your own bowl.

"Okay, this is it."

The Portuguese man remained motionless, simply watching Chi Honghai.

Only then did Chi Honghai hand over the gold bars in his hand to him.

"Two, is that enough?"

The other party smiled and accepted the gold bar.

……

The night passed, and early morning arrived.

The Portuguese man entered the tent and woke up the three men who were still asleep.

"Friends, friends! Your goods are loaded."

Chi Honghai stood up in response and strode out of the tent to look at the boats on the shore.

Liu Qingjiang and Shen Er followed closely behind.

"Friend, come aboard and see what you've got. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

The three of them boarded the ship's deck and went to the cabin.

The neatly stacked weapons and equipment and the open chests of silver coins shone brightly even in the dimly lit cabin.

Chi Honghai spoke rapidly.

"Friend? We're heading out to pick up the goods today?"

"sure."

A few days after setting off, led by Chi Honghai, the small caravel sailed to the vicinity of Hong Kong Island, accompanied by a medium-sized galleon.

Along the way, Chi Honghai said to the leading Portuguese man, "Friend, this transaction has Zheng's connections behind it, so you must not let it slip. If you are satisfied, future deals will be bigger and bigger, but if it is leaked, your situation on this waterway will be a bit 'tight'."

The Frankish man patted him on the shoulder with both hands.

"Rest assured, my friend, I am trustworthy, trustworthy!"

After we reached the shore, Pang San ran up to us, calling out "Master!" as he ran.

But Chi Honghai's expression didn't look good when he saw this.

"Didn't I tell you to check out the good stuff? What are you doing up here!"

"Sir, with Ai Si here, I'm just worried about you."

"Alright, hurry up and find some people to move all the goods out. By the way, how is Miss Wu?"

Seeing that Pang San hesitated and didn't speak, they pressed him again.

"I'm asking you a question! How is he?"

"Master, that woman... she hasn't been eating for the past two days, no matter what we do, we've tried everything..."

Upon hearing this, Master Chi's face instantly flushed red.

This woman can't just die like this. Right now, she's my life-saving charm; I can't let her become my death warrant.

After all, robbing smuggled goods is not something to be done openly, but robbing a woman who died, leaving no way to verify the facts, would make one a target for accusations.

He instructed Shen Er, Liu Qingjiang, and Pang San, who were standing nearby, to take out all the things they had placed and move them onto the Portuguese ship.

He then jogged back to the fishing village, leaving the Portuguese behind him somewhat bewildered.

"Your master?"

Since the crowd couldn't understand the language, they could only gesture the famous movements.

After looking at it for a while, the Portuguese man roughly understood what it meant.

"I haven't eaten, I'm starving. Sigh, it's still our fault for not being hospitable enough."

-

Chi Honghai walked into the fishing village and did not see Ai Si at the warehouse. He only saw two strong men standing guard at the door.

Seeing that the old man was panting, the two burly men hurriedly asked what had happened.

"Master, you're back?"

"What happened, sir?"

"It's alright, it's alright," Chi Honghai gestured, indicating there was no need to make a fuss. "Where's Ai Si?"

"Ai Si just went to Miss Wu's room. Miss Wu, she..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chi Honghai ran off again.

As soon as I got close to the outside of the house, I heard sounds coming from inside.

"Grandma, please have one. I can't bear the responsibility if something happens to you..."

"How about I give you one of my Ai Si?"

"Bang"

The door to the room was pushed open against the wall and then turned back.

The two people inside were startled by the commotion.

Looking at Ai Si's panicked face, he said, "What are you kneeling on the ground for? Get up! Does she deserve your kneeling?!"

"Put the bowl on the table and get out."

As the door closed, Chi Honghai took another look at the frail woman in front of him.

His lips and teeth were pale, his facial skin was already somewhat loose, and his whole body looked very haggard.

"Miss Wu, why do this? You're acting all virtuous now."

The other person didn't speak, and after looking up, they never looked directly at him again, only keeping their head down and staring at the ground.

Chi Honghai picked up the still-warm bowl and waved it in front of Wu Wanruo's view.

"Do you know? Don't underestimate this little bit of food; so many ordinary people want to eat it but can't get any."

"Oh."

Chi Honghai ignored the sarcastic remark and continued speaking.

"If I let you go back, you'll still end up as a concubine. You're willing to do that, so after you finish this, I'll send someone to deliver it to you."

"I didn't make things difficult for you while you stayed here. And while I was gone these past few days, Ai Si and the others probably didn't do anything to you, right?"

"Death is simple. You hate your heartless father, the greedy and lustful magistrate, and my ruthless killing. Don't you want to live and find a chance to take revenge? Miss, you have far too many regrets. It won't be easy for you to be reincarnated after death."

As he spoke, he scooped up a little porridge with a spoon and held it in front of Wu Wanruo's mouth.

Seeing that there was no significant reaction, he leaned in again, bringing the spoonful of warm porridge to his lips and putting it into his mouth.

After a while, Wu Wanruo tilted her head to look at Chi Honghai, her eyes bloodshot.

"Miss Wu, there's no need to hate me so much. At least for now, I've prevented that scoundrel over fifty from taking advantage of you."