Chapter 14 - Disaster (Part 1)

The sky was clear, with only the slightest breeze blowing. The deck was full of people. Early in the morning, Qingyu asked Zheng Xi to gather everyone on the ship, including the four merchants who had not left the hatch for ten days.

She stood on the balcony of the building and saw Zheng Xi signaling that everyone was here. She cleared her throat and said loudly, "Everyone, it has been eleven days since our ship went to sea. Some people have been seasick in the past few days. I have never told everyone about the rules on the ship. Last night, Chen Erhu, Chen Sanhu and Chen Sihu tried to seize the ship, but I threw them into the sea."

Hearing this statement, there was a sudden uproar from below. Someone who was friends with Chen Erhu and knew what the three brothers were doing last night suddenly shouted, "What do you mean by trying to seize the ship? Can the three of them accomplish this?"

Another man shouted, "You must have used some dirty trick to get rid of him!" They then started pushing from below.

Zheng Xi and Ding Dong also took a few sailors to take precautions. Gu Sui and his men blocked the way of those people intentionally or unintentionally.

The next words that came from Qingyu's mouth were so cold that it made the people below stunned and quiet for a moment, "Even if they don't want to seize this ship, if I want to throw them into the sea, I will throw them out."

Qingyu continued amidst the silence, "On this ship, I am the law! Since I bought all of you, you are my property. I can do whatever I want with you. What's wrong? If I don't like you anymore, I'll throw you into the sea. Your objections doesn't matter. If you don't like my rules, get off of my boat! The sea is very wide. I don't care if you are added to the water ghosts of the sea."

The noise below immediately calmed down. Zheng Xi and Ding Dong still looked at the troublemaking prisoners with caution, while Gu Sui looked at Qingyu with a little annoyance, gritting his teeth secretly. What does she mean that they sell themselves to her?!

"Where's our eldest brother? You threw him into the sea too?!" The two young prisoners pushed away the people in front and asked loudly. The few people behind them were not as noisy as the previous prisoners, but their hidden anger was radiating out.

A low and hacksaw-like voice sounded and said, "I'm here." Qingyu gave way slightly, allowing the man behind her to appear. She only found out this morning that the man's name was Yang Zhao. When the prisoners below saw him, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Qingyu changed her previous harshness and said, "Everyone, some of you are employed by me, some of you are sold to me, and some of you are cooperating with me. Since I brought all of you in this ship, we all have the responsibility to protect the safety of everyone on this ship. I will not tolerate any unscrupulous thoughts and behaviors. However..."

Qingyu paused for a bit and glanced at the people below. She then said slowly, "We are all here to seek money. I promise that as long as everyone is not evil and we work together, I will make everyone make a lot of money on this boat trip. After I go back this time, I will return your slavery certificates and get 20% of the profit from this boat trip. Dividends will also be distributed as bonuses to those who have made great contributions during the voyage. On the return trip, the captain can take four stones of cargo and the sailors can take two stones of cargo."

Now, even Gu Sui's brothers began to whisper. Zhang Dahu leaned in front of Gu Sui and asked in a low voice, "Boss, is this girl telling the truth? I'm afraid I won't even have a few hundred taels of silver for the two stones of goods when I go back."

Gu Sui smiled faintly and said, "Then you just have to go back with your life." The little girl is not bad. She is gives rewards and punishments where ut was due. It seems that this ship is worth running.

Zheng Xi reiterated, "Two stones for each person, and four stones for the leader!" He added to Qingyu's earlier statement and muttered, "Including Ding Dong and the others, more than a hundred stones have been removed at once. You are too generous, the leader!"

Qingyu said with a smile, "Our ship can carry 20,000 stones, but you are still reluctant to part with these more than a hundred stones?"

She then added, "Besides, they have to go ashore to get those goods themselves. You can just give them some space to load them."

Zheng Xi shared his thoughts and said, "I think those prisoners will always cause trouble." Remembering those who were the first to make noises, he thinks that it is better to throw all of them into the sea and save some space.

Qingyu frowned and insisted, "They haven't done anything yet," She suddenly turned to look at the horizon and smelled the scent of the wind. She then said with a smile, "Zheng Xi, go and take out all the empty buckets."

Zheng Xi was confused and asked, "What do you want to do with all those buckets?" Qingyu answered, "You should get ready to take a shower. It's going to rain soon." Zheng Xi asked in confusion, "Rain?" as he looked at the blue sky with white clouds floating in it.

When it rained heavily, Zheng Xi directed Lu Yao and Doctor Shi to bring out all of the empty barrels. After being reminded by Qingyu, Shiyi took off his clothes early and he started dancing happily under the downpour as he chanted, "Wow! It's raining! It's raining!"

Qingyu on the other hand, hid in her bedroom depressedly, looking out the window at the sea facing the stern of the ship, and listening to the noise on the deck.

Out of the blue, she heard a hackshaw-like voice that said, "Thank you!" Qingyu turned around and saw Yang Zhao's tall figure standing in the house,wearing a green suit. His messy hair and the stubble on his face made people look at him weirdly.

Qingyu asked, "Aren't you going to wash up?"

Instead of answering, he cupped his fosts and gave a deep salute as he said, "I will definitely repay you for saving my life." He then turned around and retreated.

Ling Qingyu was left stunned for a while. She then realized that she got another life-saving grace. Thinking of the life-saving grace, Qingyu glared at Lu Yao who had been sitting in the captain's room outside her bedroom with disgust. He ignored Qingyu's resentment.

Lu Yao turned to look at Shiyi, who was having a water fight with others on the deck below. Qingyu ignored Lu Yao as well, looked at the compass and instructed Ding Dong, "It is estimated that we will reach Myanmar in two days. Turn the ship to the left."

Ding Dong turned the steering wheel excitedly and answered, "Okay!" In less than a month, he arrived at Sanyu. Although they encountered some light wind and rain on the way, the ship went on its way as if nothing happened in the waves. It was indeed a good ship.

He was also very satisfied with the performance of the boat master. When he thought of the Gold-Threaded Swallow, he remembered that it was worth a thousand taels of gold. He imagined it as if it was right in front of his eyes.

A sailor standing next to Ding Dong quietly retreated out while Ding Dong and Qingyu were not paying attention. He greeted the other sailors and walked towards the back deck.

After everyone heard that the ship was approaching Sanyu, the atmosphere on the boat was obviously much more relaxed. The oarsmen had adapted to the bumps on the boat. At this time, taking advantage of the good sun, groups of two or three were basking in the sun on the deck.

The sailor who was near Ding Dong earlier walked down the cargo hold. The ship was divided into more than ten cabins with subdivision boards. For balance, only half of the cargo was placed in each cargo hold. In the cargo hold where the sailor went down, there were already several people squatting inside.

A prisoner who was a follower of Chen Erhu asked, "Tian Keng, are you telling the truth? Are we about to go ashore? Can you help us escape?"

Tian Keng assured him and laughed. He answered, "Of course! Our Xie family's fleet is spread across the entire ocean. As long as Mr. Hu helps me achieve something, I promise to recommend you to join the Xie family's fleet after we get to Myanmar. I guarantee that you will become a rich man in one year."

Hu Yu looked at the cotton cloth in the half cabin, lowered his head and drew circles on the ground. Someone next to him couldn't help but sat, "Brother Hu, the captain can only afford this kind of inferior product, let alone us.

If you make money, I'm afraid that you will get killed. Moreover, that girl has always been wary of us who were companions of Chen Erhu. Even if there is any benefit, it will be taken by Yang Zhao and the others. I am afraid that we won't get anything."

"Stop talking," Hu Yu interrupted him. Most of what people sell from trading ships are silk and high-end porcelain, but the goods on this ship are white cloth, ordinary porcelain, and some low-grade tea. According to Tian Keng, it is that the captain's idea to buy the leftover goods from a bankrupt business house.

Can these things even be sold? Even if they are sold, how much money can they get?

People like myself were sold as slaves because they broke military laws when they were in the army. This time when Yang Zhao and his gang were sent here, their group continued giving them trouble. Zhao's people were originally wounded and sick.

Their group cooperated with the government officials and tortured Zhao's people until everybody died except Zhao. It was impossible for Zhao to not avenge this and just stay put. Once Zhao recovers, he knows their group will all die.

Hu Yu said, patting the dust off of his palms, "Mr. Tian, ​​what is it that you want us to do?"