Chapter 21

Hong Tao didn't return to the boat immediately; instead, he called all the children to the stern and began teaching them how to control the sail, starting with Bozhu. He showed them how to judge the wind direction and the intensity of the wind on the sail by observing the strips of cloth on the top of the mast and on the sail. The small wooden boat left the fishing area and circled the small island continuously. Bozhu learned for a while, then it was Bojiao's turn, similar to learning to drive at a driving school, with the boat serving as the instructor's car.

Bozhu had a strong learning ability and quickly became proficient in operating the sail. However, she still had some difficulty judging the intensity of the wind on the sail, but it didn't significantly affect her operation. Bojiao, who had been to sea with his grandfather, was also familiar with sailing and learned quickly. However, at 11 years old, he lacked the strength to raise and lower the sail, so he had to stand up and use both hands to pull the sail rope with all his might. Boyu and Bosha were younger and slower in mastering the sail, and they couldn't pull the two ropes at all. Hong Tao had Bojiao teach them step by step, not expecting them to be able to operate independently right away, but just to understand the basics.

"Do you like pearls?" As it neared noon, the children were tired. Hong Tao simply anchored the boat and started thinking about other things to do, as he couldn't stay idle.

"Pearls! Grandfather doesn't allow pearl diving; it's very easy to get entangled in seaweed and die!" Bozhu clearly understood what Hong Tao was planning and quickly brought up Bofu to try to stop him from taking the risk.

"Don't worry, I'll just go down and take a look. I won't die. Do you see the big rat head on my back? It's a god from my place and can protect me!" Hong Tao wouldn't listen to anyone's advice. In a few quick moves, he took off his shirt and pants, leaving only his underwear, which had a logo embroidered on it—a modern product.

"Th... th..." Bozhu was a bit at a loss at Hong Tao's shameless actions. She didn't dare to stare, but she wanted to look. Her face, wrapped in a headscarf, was like a blooming flower, dark with a hint of red.

"Plop!" Before Bozhu could say another "th," Hong Tao picked up a large stone from the cabin and jumped into the water, sinking like a weight. The few people on the boat all leaned over the side, watching the sea surface.

Could Hong Tao dive for pearls? Not a chance! But he could free dive, which means diving without any equipment. He learned this from diving enthusiasts at the Blue Hole near Pyramid Island. Of course, according to his usual style, he only learned the basics. After a few tries, he considered himself proficient. Compared to those diving enthusiasts, he was a novice, unable to dive deeper than 20 meters and could only hold his breath for about 3 minutes. Some of them could dive to 70-80 meters using a fixed rope and hold their breath for about 10 minutes, even outperforming ordinary divers with oxygen tanks.

What was the South China Sea like in the Song Dynasty? Hong Tao could confidently say that the South China Sea of this era was even richer than the Caribbean Sea of later times! The sandy bottom was dotted with large and small reefs, and the water was very clear, allowing visibility up to 20-30 meters. Schools of small fish swam among the reefs, quickly darting into the crevices upon spotting Hong Tao, only to re-emerge a few seconds later and regroup.

On the sandy bottom, there were starfish, sea urchins, sea snails, and various unknown marine creatures. Clumps of seaweed, under the sunlight, vigorously performed photosynthesis, occasionally releasing a string of bubbles. A few black-brown sea otters darted through the seaweed, stopping to stare at Hong Tao with caution, probably thinking: "Damn! Another big rat! It's bigger than us, is it here to take over our territory?"

Hong Tao wasn't there for them. After carefully observing and confirming that there were no large predatory fish or venomous creatures like jellyfish or sea snakes, he started treading water and floated back up with the large stone.

"Bozhu, throw down the rope and recite the multiplication table. If I don't come up, pull me!" Play is play, but safety is still important. The sea looks beautiful but is full of hidden dangers. Just being careful isn't enough; you never know what might happen, so some safety measures are necessary. The simplest is to tie a rope around your waist; if you can't come up, someone can pull you up.

After tying the rope, Hong Tao picked up the large stone from the side of the boat, took a deep breath, and sank again. This time, he went straight to the bottom, stepping on the sand and searching for his target: large scallops with grooved surfaces. Hong Tao wasn't sure which shells contained pearls, but since movies and TV shows always showed pearls coming from these scallops, he decided to go with it. It was just for fun, after all; whether he found pearls or not didn't matter.

After several trips, he had collected quite a few scallops, along with some sea urchins, sea snails, and seahorses. By the time he was exhausted, a small pile had formed at the bow of the boat, all his spoils.

"Give me a hand..." Hong Tao had played to his heart's content and didn't have the strength to pull himself back onto the boat. He had to rely on Bozhu and Bojiao to pull him up.

"Ah!" As soon as Hong Tao climbed onto the boat, Bozhu let out a scream and turned away, covering her face.

"Hehe... the quality is a bit poor." Hong Tao looked down and saw that his underwear had slipped down to his knees. Being thick-skinned had its advantages; he didn't admit to being shameless but blamed the poor quality of the underwear.

"Bojiao, light the charcoal basin. We won't go back for lunch today; Uncle will make you a seafood barbecue!" Putting on his pants, Hong Tao lay on the deck, resting his head on Bozhu's lap, and started directing the children. He had long forgotten about the pearls. After all the effort, his stomach was growling. Instead of wasting time and energy going back for lunch, it was better to solve the problem right there.

The fishing boats of the Tanka people always carried a small charcoal basin for cooking lunch at sea, usually for making porridge. Hong Tao didn't plan to make porridge but a barbecue. Without a grill, he found the largest scallop, pried it open, and used half the shell as a griddle. He then cleaned the sea urchins, sea snails, and scallops, sprinkled a little salt, and they were ready to go.

The natural environment was excellent. The scallops were easily the size of a five-inch plate, with some exceeding seven inches in diameter. The sea snails were as big as a child's head, and the sea urchins were especially delicious. Everyone gathered at the bow, following Hong Tao's example, placing the seafood on the shells to heat up. Once it was almost cooked, they started eating, quickly finishing off the pile of seafood.

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