Chapter 19

"Hong Tao!" Bozhu had become Hong Tao's echo, nodding to everything he said and immediately carrying it out.

"Hong Tao, little fish, little shrimp, little dragon, come over and help Uncle calculate, how many feet is four zhang?" Hong Tao didn't let up on the literacy campaign. He had already figured out the answer in his head but wanted Bozhu to lead the three children to calculate it themselves.

In the Song Dynasty, a bolt of cloth was less than 13 meters long. This kind of Li cloth was the narrowest, only about 70 centimeters wide. In this case, a bolt of cloth, including the double-layered edges, could barely make two sails. Two bolts of cloth for four sails were just enough for the four small boats of the Huang and Bo families. Bozhu's and her own family's three boats still lacked sails. But there was no way around it; they didn't have enough money to buy more thick Li cloth. To get more sails, they had to catch more fish. To achieve this goal, the beach immediately turned into a bamboo product factory. The men split bamboo strips and wove crab traps, the women used the light from the bonfire to cut and sew the sailcloth, and even the children had to help their parents. Dinner was simple: salted fish, taro, and white rice, eaten on the beach.

Hong Tao didn't know how to weave bamboo and wasn't skilled at sewing with large needles and thick thread, so he took on the role of chef, replacing the two sisters-in-law of the Bo family. He knew how to steam rice and taro, and he did it better than anyone in this era. The people of the Song Dynasty probably didn't know what "water-fished rice" was. This dish could yield a third more than steamed or simmered rice, making it look more abundant. However, it was just an illusion; a pound of rice was still a pound of rice, just deceiving the eyes.

To clarify, this "water-fished rice" is not the same as the abalone or shark fin rice served in modern restaurants. It was a cooking method devised during hard times to make more white rice. First, the rice was soaked in water for ten minutes, then boiled in boiling water like a white rice porridge. However, the rice wasn't fully cooked; when it was about 70-80% done, it was scooped out and steamed for another ten minutes. This method made the rice very fluffy and looked much more abundant. However, the texture wasn't as good as steamed or simmered rice, and a lot of the nutrients were lost in the rice water. As living standards improved, this method of cooking rice became less common in later times.

In the Song Dynasty, many ordinary people only ate two meals a day, adding a third only when they had to do heavy work. The Dan people were even worse off. Hainan Island lacked rice, and they couldn't even afford two meals of rice a day. If it weren't for Hong Tao, they would eat taro every meal. They only had white rice on the first and fifteenth of each month when they worshiped the Dragon King and Mazu.

Hong Tao had intended to adapt to local customs, but after one meal of taro, he couldn't do it. To prevent constipation and maintain his health, he decided to indulge a bit. Not only would he eat rice every meal, but he would also buy more precious wheat flour to steam buns and dumplings. A shrimp-filled seafood bun—how could you not be tempted? Dipped in vinegar and chili oil... Hey, every time Hong Tao thought about it, his mouth watered and his pillow got wet! Oh, right, there were no chili peppers at this time, so just vinegar would do! Even without vinegar, he could still eat five large buns without any dip!

That's what he said, but he couldn't be so shameless as to eat rice while everyone else was eating taro, especially with children around. So Hong Tao had already discussed with his adoptive grandfather, Chen Ming'en, that every time they went to town to sell fish, they would exchange for enough rice to eat rice every three days and taro the rest of the time. He was confident he could make everyone live a more luxurious life. If they couldn't catch enough fish, Hong Tao would rather leave. A modern person who had traveled through time three times couldn't even earn enough rice for three families; what face would he have to travel through time? He might as well bash his head against the reef and maybe end up back on Pyramid Island, continuing his life as a tribal king.

However, the fishing industry was just starting, and there were many expenses. The rice was really not enough, so Hong Tao shamelessly fed not only his own stomach but also others'. Water-fished rice with steamed salted fish and seaweed could be considered seafood rice, and the three children, Little Fish, Little Shrimp, and Little Dragon, ate it happily. Although the old miser Bo Fu looked unhappy, his bamboo chopsticks didn't stop. After two bowls of rice, he even had a large taro with the rice water. It was unclear why he ate so much at night; he didn't seem to care about his weight!

"Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the woodcutting! I'll take Ahzhu and the children out to sea to set the crab traps, and everyone else can rest for two days!" To quickly finish the crab traps and sails, Hong Tao proposed a new work plan the next morning. With only one broken sail available, it was better to focus on making the tools rather than wasting time and energy fishing. He also had a selfish motive; he didn't know how to weave crab traps or sew sails, and it felt awkward to be the only one idle. Additionally, he didn't want to see Ahzhu do so much heavy work. Since she would eventually be his wife, he wanted to be considerate and let her do less.

Others didn't understand what Hong Tao meant, but Chen Ming'en did and thought it made sense. So Hong Tao reattached the repaired broken sail to Bozhu's boat and took her and the three children out to sea. They went to the waters around Drum Island again, as the last trip had been successful. They would fish this area thoroughly. The depth was suitable for crab traps, which shouldn't be placed too deep, as they could get stuck and be lost. They only had three traps, and losing one would be a significant loss.

"Ahzhu, you're the aunt, set an example for the children. Come on, if you get it all right, I'll teach you how to use the sail!" This time, Hong Tao didn't let anyone else touch the broken sail. It had already been torn once, and although it was sewn back, it was weaker. He felt safer controlling it himself. However, he didn't let Ahzhu and the children idle. While steering the boat, he also tested their lessons from the past two days. The multiplication table and their names were part of the test. For this, a wooden basin filled with sand was placed on the boat, serving as Hong Tao's blackboard.

"Seven nines... seven nines..." After reciting more than half, Bozhu suddenly froze, stuttering on "seven nines," her face turning red, her hands twisting together, and her expression pained.

"Seven nines is sixty-three! Uncle, I know it all..." Bo Yu couldn't stand his aunt's lack of progress, blurted out the answer, and then recited it loudly.