Lin Ming's adventure can be described as "bearing the humiliation and bearing the burden": although he was just a trial member of a small Baihu Institute in Foshan, he could only be regarded as an extremely low-level "official" in the Ming Dynasty's martial arts system. , if he were an ordinary military household, he would really be nothing. Fortunately, the intimidating title of "Jinyiwei" was still quite powerful in the late Ming Dynasty, and everyone had to respect him. 【Read full text】
This time he pretended to be a man and boarded the ship to work, and did not sail directly to Lingao, just to make it safer for him to sneak into Lingao - it is true that he fully integrated into the character, working hard and rushing to do it was not counted, and he spared no effort to win over people. . His face was tanned and his skin became rough. Gradually, the "official air" and "gongzi brother" atmosphere on his body was rubbed away one by one.
After sailing back and forth on the sea for several months, Lin Ming felt that it was almost done, so he told Gang Shou that he wanted to join the Australians in Lingao. This was not a rare thing in Guangdong and Fujian. Lingao There has been a large-scale active immigration wave in the country. Every day, people cross the sea to Lingao to "go to Kun". After paying their wages, they disembark in Kaohsiung.
He had carefully planned to disembark in Kaohsiung - he had been here more than once, was already quite familiar with the situation here, and had a general understanding of the Kun thief's style of doing things. Not only that, there are many ships going to and from Lingao here, and it is not far from Dajuan. There are many ships belonging to Ming merchants in both places. Most of these ships have to recruit supplementary personnel on the spot before setting off, so it is easy to get on board.
Now he is staying below the deck of Dongshan Residence, with bright eyes, planning his next move.
"Young man, what are you thinking about?" Manager Liu went to get dinner. Brought it in.
"No, I didn't think anything of it." Lin Ming concealed himself. When he saw that Manager Liu had brought dinner, he quickly stood up and said, "Manager Liu. I should take care of this..."
"You are new here and are not familiar with the ship. What should I do if I ask you to take it out of the sea?" Manager Liu squinted his eyes and smiled, "I know you are a scholar and you must be able to play chess - just play a few games with me after dinner. ”
"How can I be a scholar..." Lin Ming quickly denied.
"Young man, don't hide it from me. Not only are you a scholar, but your family background is probably pretty good." Manager Liu took out the wine bottle and wine glass from the cabinet.
"You can't drink on the ship. I'm old. If you drink a few sips to rejuvenate your blood, you're relying on your old age, so I won't let you."
"You can do whatever you want, Manager Liu. I understand the rules on the ship." Lin Ming quickly changed the subject.
Fortunately, Manager Liu stopped talking about family background after pouring the wine. Lin Ming breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the food on the plate - it was unexpectedly good! What was even more unexpected was that Manager Liu and he ate the same thing. Even for the boss and Tsunasou, the food at Dongshan Jushang is not much different from that of ordinary sailors. In the past few months, he had only eaten enough on the ship. At first, the coarse food was almost unpalatable, and it took him a long time to get used to it.
The food at Dongshan Jushang is quite rich. Not only are the vegetables fresh - that's okay, after all, we have just left the port - but there are also fish and shrimps to eat. You must know that although Lin Ming has been living on the boat almost every day in the past few months, he has not eaten a few decent fish and shrimps, only salted fish and braised shrimps. Not only was it salty and smelly, but it was also so small that I had no idea where the boatman got it.
"How about it? We have good food on this boat. The owner is a kind-hearted person." Manager Liu couldn't help but brag on behalf of his master, "Look at which other boat owner provides such good food to his crew."
actually. Chen Huamin and Liu Deshan accepted the ideas of some Australians, and the food and remuneration they gave their men were better than those of other maritime merchants. Shortly after implementing this policy. They find that it is much more cost-effective to use a small number of people for better treatment and a large group of people for lower treatment. The sailors on the Dongshanju only had half the cargo capacity of the Ming Dynasty merchant ship, and the labor cost per voyage was actually one-third less.
"You are right, Manager Liu. You two gentlemen are both kind." Lin Ming has now developed the habit of echoing whatever anyone says.
Lin Ming hadn't had a decent meal for several months. When he encountered this "good meal", he ate it up like a storm. He even mixed the bit of marinade on the bottom of the dish with rice and ate it. . After eating, he poured another bowl of water and rinsed his mouth.
Manager Liu took a sip and said with a smile: "You also said that you are not a scholar. How can ordinary clerks be as good as you? Needless to say, you can lick the vegetable juice clean with your tongue. Rinse your mouth after meals. Then... Not to mention. We, Mr. Liu, are not like this."
Lin Ming secretly complained in his heart. He didn't expect that after several months of hard life, he had not completely changed the traces of his original life. This old man could see it, but could the thief Kun see it? I can't help but feel a little discouraged.
Frustration could not help but appear on his face. Manager Liu thought that something had touched his heart, so he couldn't help but exhort him: "Young man, don't be discouraged. You are still young and have a lot of strength. The sea is now peaceful. Do your best. If you want to Although it is not easy to become rich, it is probably possible to earn a living in a well-off family."
Lin Ming suddenly had an idea. He realized that no matter how much he covered it up, the traces of his past life could not be completely erased. Being on Lingao is nothing like this on a sea-going ship. The sailors and crew all come and go at any time. They gather together in groups and no one cares about anyone else's business. I heard that the Kun thieves love to get to the bottom of things, and any clues they reveal will definitely be discovered by them.
Manager Liu's words seemed to come from the old man's love of nagging, out of kindness. Lin Ming knew that it also contained the meaning of "bottom of the plate".
If you cannot answer satisfactorily, you will not be able to gain their trust. This ship was built by an Australian shipyard. The relationship between the ship owner and the Kun thief is probably very shallow. If he goes to Lingao to chat with the Kun thief, he will die immediately! It seems that it is not possible to pretend to be poor in such a secretive way. You have to make up a reasonable life experience to catch the eye.
Thinking of this, he had made up his mind. He turned around in his mind several times and already had a draft. He deliberately sighed and said: "Manager Liu, you are indeed wise in seeing things! To tell you the truth, there was indeed something in my family in the past. With a small family fortune, although it is not considered rich, we have no worries about food and drink. It's just that our parents left early..." With tears streaming down her face, she made up a traditional story about a prodigal son who lost his family fortune and had to live on the sea to make a living. .
Although this kind of story is old-fashioned, there were many examples at the time, and it was easy to make it up satisfactorily. Lin Ming also had an advantage. He was a "worm on the ground" in Foshan. He was extremely familiar with the local situation and could easily find families with similar stories. The young master of the family he chose to perform deeds had already died in Guangzhou after falling into despair - others did not. I know, Lin Ming knows.
He immediately took care of the whole family's affairs and settled them on himself. When he got to the emotional point, he pretended to wipe his tears to show that he was crying. In this way, even an old man like Manager Liu was fooled by him. Seeing that he was sad, Manager Liu even gave him a few words of advice.
"Originally, I thought you were good at writing and doing calculations, so I wanted to keep you on board as a copywriter. But since you want to go to Lingao to join Kun, I won't mention it." Manager Liu said, "I heard that Australians are very popular there. A way to survive, so many people who cannot make ends meet go there to find a way to survive. Now they are living a good life. You are young and literate. As long as you are willing to work, you will definitely be reused in the future."
"Thank you, Manager Liu, for your comfort. I don't dare to think about this now. I heard that there are many Australians working in Lingao, and as long as they work hard, they will have food, so that's why I want to go to Lingao. I just want to be able to come here in peace." Gao, I have a job, a house to live in, and I just need to be down-to-earth and earn a bowl of food. I really can't do the work on this ship."
Before modern times, there were no weather forecasts, weather radars, or barometers for navigation; navigation charts were incomplete, and there were pirates... There was no safety in sailing, and going to sea meant taking risks. Ordinary people are not desperate people, and no one is willing to get on a ship to make a living. Lin Ming's confession was reasonable and reasonable. It is completely consistent with his status as a descendant of a poor family.
"You are being too modest," Manager Liu said after taking a few sips, his face slightly flushed. "You probably don't know that someone like you who can write and do calculations can do anything if you are willing to shave your head and have a bonnet. Work as a 'cadre' - probably the 'official' of the Australians. No matter how much, you can first eat a portion of the imperial grain. Do you think this kind of benefit is available in the Ming Dynasty?"
Lin Ming was startled and thought to himself, I really didn't know that Kun Thief was so "thirsty for talents", but this way, his plan is one step closer to success. He quickly apologized and said with a smile: "My parents are suffering from physical and skin problems, so shaving my hair is a big deal. Even if I don't shave my hair, it's probably easy to earn a living..."
Manager Liu nodded: "The filial piety of young people is commendable. I won't say much as an old man. I just go to Lingao and live a good life. I am an old man. I have stayed with the master all my life. I am used to it and I can't walk anymore. , no matter how young you are, ten or twenty years old, you can join the Australians and find a future." After that, he drank the wine in one gulp.
After dinner, Lin Ming cleaned up the tableware and returned to the cabin. Manager Liu had already set up a chess game, and the two of them went back and forth to kill each other for several games. Lin Ming usually had nothing to do in Baihusuo. He was good at all kinds of entertainment to relieve boredom. His chess skills were superb. He knew that this ship was closely related to the Kun Thief. Manager Liu and others had been to Lingao many times. It was an excellent channel to understand the inside story of the thief Kun, so he deliberately controlled his chess skills. The two of them fought back and forth in an inseparable manner, which made Manager Liu, who had been sweeping the ship, hooked up. The two chatted while playing chess. , Lin Ming took the opportunity to learn a lot about Lingao. (To be continued)
