It was already the end of the twelfth lunar month when Yan Siqi and Zheng's aunt and nephew completed their inspection around the island and returned to the Yan's Army territory in Tainan's Tainan Port.
She got her wish and found that the Gu couple's parent-child trip and self-charging trip to Taiwan was very successful.
The two took their baby and nanny to live in Yan Siqi's large tile-roofed house not far from Mazu Temple. They enjoyed the 180-degree unobstructed sea view on the terrace in the morning. In the morning, they inspected Songjiang technicians to teach them weaving skills, and followed him in the afternoon. Wen Akun visited Baodao's characteristic black tea rolling workshop and deerskin processing factory. In the evening, in the warm evening breeze of the South China Sea, he ate a feast of raw seafood, drank pure natural coconut juice without additives, and watched the nanny. Run barefoot and play on the beach with your baby.
The fiery amorous feelings of the island's wide opening and closing cannot be found in the graceful and exquisite Jiangnan, which made Gu Shouqian and Han Ximeng feel fresh and happy.
If there is any slightly dissonant episode, it is that after Yan Siqi and Zheng Haizhu returned, when the two couples sat down with Zheng's aunt and nephew to discuss business, Gu Shouqian did not show too much involvement and only spoke warmly. He said to Han Ximeng, "Just do whatever you want."
Han Ximeng then talked privately with Zheng Haizhu. Her husband was a little absent-minded, wondering whether he still despised the business path after all.
Zheng Haizhu remembered that the Gu family in history soon fell into decline in the turmoil of the late Ming Dynasty. In the end, it was the great-granddaughter who inherited Han Yuan's embroidery skills who set up accounts to recruit apprentices and support their livelihood. Men from aristocratic families may not necessarily be as capable as they are from generation to generation. What's more, if a woman can make her own way in the world, why bother forcing the men to keep pace with her?
Zheng Haizhu then explained Han Ximeng: "Confucius said, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. I think I should add, don't do to others what you want to do to yourself. Think about the leisurely days that those ladies in Songjiang enjoy. Don't you also sneer at it? So, let's think about it with excitement. It's normal for the young master to be in a bad mood. The young lady must not have a grudge. Besides, I think the young master has drawn many buildings looking at the sea and the sun, and doors facing each other this time. The picture of the large sailing ship was given to the Wen family brother to be carved on the tin of black tea. He also asked Brother Yan many questions about the artillery on the ship. It is enough to show that the young master is far-sighted and open-minded. He does not look down on businessmen, let alone warriors. .”
Han Ximeng did not refute.
No matter how much a wife criticizes her husband, she will not refute a third party's praise of her husband.
And Zheng Haizhu understands one thing better: whether it is sisters, close friends, or extending to all acquaintances, when a woman complains about her husband, the listener should never add fuel to the fire.
Seeing that Han Ximeng seemed to be chewing his words carefully, Zheng Haizhu continued: "Miss, we are doing business together. Taking advantage of the east wind of Songjiang's opening and closing next year, we will make a good plan for the shipping trade from South Zhili to Taiwan, so that the Han family and The Gu family's business is going to the sea, and of course it is your courage, Miss. But if the young master only loves calligraphy, or firearms skills, he can delve into this field. In the future, your juniors will be engaged in business, literary, and appreciate calligraphy and painting like Dong Gong. , if you practice Western skills like Mr. Sun Yuanhua, you will find a bright future."
】
Han Ximeng was relieved, and then he thought about business again, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Songjiang cloth, Weitang yarn, Suzhou embroidery, Huzhou silk, Hangzhou brocade, there are too many of these things in Jiangnan, Brother Yan is grateful for your kindness , letting Haoming Trading Company only ask my second uncle to collect cotton cloth is a great help to our Han family. Then we can’t be ignorant. Ah Zhu, look at it, should our couple invest money into Haoming Trading Company, or should we directly ask Yan Brother buys local products from Taiwan and goes back to Songjiang to do it?"
Zheng Haizhu had already prepared for this answer.
Han Ximeng was kind to her, and she was repaying the favor, but at present, she did not want to introduce the Gu family to be the original shareholders of Haoming Trading Company. Haoming Trading Company should not dilute its equity so quickly.
"Miss, the risk of dividends is greater than the risk of reselling, so it's better to buy the goods directly. The copper that Brother Yan took over from Japan is best sold in Ming Dynasty, but my firearms workshop must order a lot, otherwise I can't make cannons, Miss. Don't compete with me. Taiwan's local black tea is mainly sold to the Dutch. In the future, it may be sold to the Tatars through Liaodong. In places like Jiangnan where people are accustomed to drinking clear tea, it is difficult to sell it for the time being, and there is no need to sell it. Songjiang is cold in autumn and winter. , Taiwan’s deerskin should be easy to sell. There is another thing that Miss must buy, which is cane sugar.”
Hearing this, Han Ximeng smiled and said: "Sucrose is also the product I have been eyeing in the past two days. Ah Zhu, your fellow countryman is really powerful. He took over Taiwan and it was only two years, right? He has already planted so much sugar cane. "
Zheng Haizhu nodded: "Sugar cane can only be grown well in hot places, and Taiwan is very suitable. I asked Wen Akun yesterday, and she said that this year's cane sugar was made in the twelfth lunar month, and it was estimated to be less than 10,000 kilograms. . I will take some to Xiamen in a few days to run an errand. For the rest, you and Brother Yan and his wife can discuss how much to buy."
…
On the second day of the Lunar New Year in the forty-seventh year of Wanli, Zheng Haizhu and Zheng Shoukuan boarded a sailboat carrying two thousand kilograms of cane sugar and were escorted by Yang Tiansheng, a sworn brother appointed by Yan Siqi, to visit Xu Xinsu in Xiamen.
Yang Tiansheng was also from Fujian. In his early years, he smuggled across the sea to Hirado, where he met Yan Siqi, and their friendship gradually deepened. After hearing that Yan Siqi was in Taiwan, he brought two of his ships and more than thirty men to join him.
Yang Tiansheng had heard rumors about Zheng Haizhu more or less, and at first he had some wild speculations. But when he saw her this time, there was no show off in her movements, making it almost impossible for people to realize that she was a woman. Seeing Wen Akun again Yang Tiansheng respected her even more than Yan Siqi and took it calmly when she and her husband went to sea on the same boat. Yang Tiansheng also treated Zheng Haizhu's aunt and nephew with great courtesy.
Previously, when Yan Siqi went to pay homage to Yu Zigao, the commander-in-chief of Fujian Province, Yang Tiansheng accompanied him. During the voyage from Tainan to Xiamen, Zheng Haizhu kept asking Yang Tiansheng about the current situation of coastal defense in this area of water, as well as the details of the appearance of Yu Zigao and Xu Xinsu.
As early as the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered General Zhou Dexing to set up Yongning Guards in Fujian, under the jurisdiction of Xiamen Zhongzuo Station and Jinmen Station. During the Wanli period, "guerrillas" were set up in Penghu. Although the guerrillas were not fixed garrison troops stationed on the island, they at least showed that the Ming court attached great importance to coastal defense in Fujian and Taiwan.
When the ship passed Penghu Island and approached the Kinmen Islands, a ship from the Fujian Navy approached. Yang Tiantian quickly ordered the sailors to raise the flag with the word "Yan", for fear that the other party would fire recklessly. Sure enough, after the flag was raised, the water The division's ship slowly turned around and sailed back to Kinmen Port.
"Brother Yang, General Yu's subordinates are quite diligent. Even during the Chinese New Year, they don't forget to patrol the sea."
Yang Tiansheng curled his lips: "It's not that I'm afraid that if I let the smuggling boat go, there will be less oil and water in my bowl. But Miss Zheng, look at the gunboats at Kinmen Station, they are indeed neat.
Zheng Haizhu took the telescope handed over by Yang Tiansheng and asked, "Is the large area in front of Kinmen Institute called Liaoluo Bay?"
Yang Tiansheng was slightly surprised: "Have you ever been to Kinmen, girl?"
"I've never been here, but I heard it from an official. Now that I've seen it in person, it's really spectacular. It can accommodate many warships, and it can be regarded as the gateway to Xiamen Island."
Yang Tiansheng nodded: "Yes, Kinmen Liaoluo Bay, Penghu Island, Taiwan... these are good places given by God to the Ming Dynasty. It will be difficult for Japanese pirates and foreigners to attack the Ming Dynasty."
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, that may not be the case, the key depends on whether these military key points can always be controlled. In the history of the late Ming Dynasty, the Dutch coveted and occupied Penghu Island and Taiwan, and finally broke out in the Liaoluo Bay naval battle with Zheng Zhilong Navy, who represented the Ming court.
After sailing like this for another hour, before docking at a private port in the southeast of Xiamen, sailor Yang Tiansheng put down a firewood boat and said to Zheng Haizhu's aunt and nephew: "I will go ashore first and report to the Xu family. This is just a walk. Etiquette, don't worry, girl, I have two thousand kilograms of cane sugar to celebrate the New Year and several thousand taels of silver, Xu Xinsu will not neglect the girl."
Zheng Haizhu watched Yang Tiansheng and his two followers go ashore and chatted with the guard who appeared. As expected, the guard led him to a house behind the port.
Zheng Haizhu turned to his nephew Zheng Shoukuan and said, "Go and change into your robe, and then put on the headscarf bought by the Nanjing Imperial College."
Not long after, Yang Tiansheng returned to the shore and waved his arms to let the ship dock.
Zheng Haizhu gradually saw clearly that the tall and thin man standing next to Yang Tiansheng was also dressed as a scholar.
"My wife is Xu Xinsu. Miss Zheng has worked hard all the way. Xu is unwelcome. I apologize. I apologize."
"Mr. Xu, you're welcome. We are one family on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, so we should travel frequently during the Chinese New Year. I brought some Taiwanese customs with me, sir, please accept them."
Yang Tiansheng on the side was secretly amused when Zheng Haizhu kept saying "sir".
This guy named Xu is a piece of shit. When I was in Hirado, like Lao Yang, I couldn't even read a few Chinese characters or Japanese characters.
