Chapter 47

The Tanka people did not like these soldiers, probably because they were often driven away by them. So after boarding the boat, they didn't even have time to talk to Hong Tao before they raised the sail and sailed out of the harbor. It was then that Hong Tao realized that the small wooden boats that came to the dock to find him were not just two, but there were three more Tanka small boats with tattered sails following behind. Hong Tao didn't recognize the people on the boats, but each of them held bamboo poles and machetes, probably helpers found by Chen Ming'en, ready to rush in and rescue him if he was in trouble.

After leaving Zhenzhou Port and sailing about half a nautical mile west, a large cluster of Tanka boats appeared on the sea. Hong Tao roughly counted at least 50 of them, indicating that this was a Tanka settlement. However, with so many boats gathered together and without advanced fishing equipment, the catch from net fishing alone was probably not enough to sustain them. How did they survive?

"Wow! These are abalones! So many?" As the small wooden boat approached these clustered boats, Hong Tao finally understood how they made a living. It turned out to be abalones, sea cucumbers, mussels, and other seafood. Almost every clustered boat hung strings of these items to dry, and the smell was incredibly refreshing.

The Weng family was related to the Bo and Huang families, with their two daughters married to Bo Xiaosan and Huang Lang, both of whom were honest, hardworking, and diligent. Hong Tao's lobster traps and wind sails were partly due to their efforts. From the number of their clustered boats, it seemed they had lived comfortably in the past, with four boats in total. However, from the condition of the boats, they were not the most dilapidated, but they were among the worst. Many planks were rotten, the hulls were covered with barnacles and other marine organisms, and the canopies were full of holes, looking like they had just been salvaged from the seabed.

Huang Hai had previously told Hong Tao that the Weng family's hard life was because most of their men had died, almost one per year. Now, only the second son's family was intact, while the other three families were widows with children. Without men, they lost more than half of their labor force. It was already a great feat for the widows to keep their children from starving.

"Ah, have fewer children and plant more trees!" Hong Tao, looking at the five half-grown boys who had to share a pair of shorts and a girl hiding behind the cabin curtain, only half her face visible, couldn't help but think of a classic slogan from the future. What to do when poor? They relied on having more children to provide more labor, but the more children they had, the poorer they became, creating an unsolvable vicious cycle.

"Second Brother, go buy some food for the children and a few bolts of cloth so they have clothes to wear. Even when going out to sea, they can't go bare-bottomed. Uncle Fu, don't glare at me. We have money now, no need to be so frugal. What's the point of earning money if we don't spend it? Take it from my share if you don't want to!" As soon as Hong Tao said he would buy food and new cloth for the children, Bo Fu immediately hid the basket of copper coins behind his back, but Hong Tao noticed and scolded him, using modern terms without caring if he understood.

"Your money doesn't come from the sea breeze. Do you think marrying a wife, buying a new boat, or eating white rice every day is free?" Bo Fu, with his straightforward temper, discussed money with Hong Tao in front of the Weng family, which was embarrassing for them. The only surviving second son of the Weng family buried his head in his crotch, his forehead veins bulging, but he couldn't say a word, for the poor have short tempers!

"Oh, the boy hasn't even married your daughter yet, and you're already so unreasonable. Xiao'er, take it and buy what Tao said. Go quickly and come back soon!" Huang Hai was much more flexible-minded than Bo Fu. When Hong Tao and Bo Fu argued, Chen Ming'en couldn't take sides, so he had to mediate to prevent further conflict. There was no right or wrong in this matter, only smoothing things over.

"Uncle Fu, we won't worry about food and clothing anymore. If only your family lives well while your relatives and friends starve and go bare-bottomed, who will help us if something happens? Life at sea depends on unity. If I give you a large merchant ship now, can you and my second and third brothers sail it? We have big plans ahead. Even with three or four families, it might not be enough. Maybe all the Tanka people in this area will join us. When that happens, I'll make you my chief manager. I trust you with the money, and no one will take a single cent more!"

Hong Tao didn't really want to argue with the old man Bo Fu. People who are afraid of poverty are often reluctant to spend money, fearing they might become poor again. This is very normal. However, he still needed to guide him, using a mix of persuasion and encouragement, a skill he was very adept at.

"Ah! Boy, you can't gather people for trouble, that's a serious offense!" Bo Fu was confused by Hong Tao's words. He couldn't understand what "big plans" meant. Going to sea to fish, raising children, and marrying off his daughter were his biggest concerns. How could it be any bigger? Huang Hai probably didn't understand either, but he didn't ask, preferring to watch and see what Hong Tao would do. Only Chen Ming'en understood clearly, being the most educated and quick to make connections, his face immediately changed.

"Grandpa, you're overthinking it. I want to take everyone fishing together! The sea is vast; even if there were a hundred times more Tanka families, it could still sustain them. Now that we have money, I want to build a small boat from my hometown first. This boat is very fast and can help us transport our catch. I just don't know if the Song Dynasty shipwrights can build it."

Hong Tao actually wanted to say, "You're so smart, you figured it out!" but he held his tongue and shifted the topic to building a new boat.

"We Tanka people have our own shipwrights. If it's a clustered boat, we don't need to find the locals. We Tanka people can't build large sea-going ships, but what does your hometown's boat look like?" Huang Hai took over the conversation. Now, he didn't dare to underestimate anything Hong Tao said. The lobster traps, rolling hooks, and new sails had all proven to be very useful, and Hong Tao had even fought a shark. If Hong Tao were a Tanka, he would be a Tanka hero.

"This needs to be built together with a shipwright. I don't know carpentry, but I understand shipbuilding. In my hometown, one type of person draws the design of the boat, and another type builds it. The designers are called engineers, and the builders are called shipwrights. Designers are more skilled than shipwrights." Hong Tao didn't miss any opportunity to boast. He had no qualms about boasting to these simple Tanka people.