Chapter 5

"Chatting? No, just talking to myself, that's called telling stories. They can't understand what I'm saying, so what's there to chat about? The women and children are eating separately at the stern of the boat, while Hong Tao and the Bo family and the Chen family father and son are sitting in the middle of the boat, which is considered the main table. They don't have a table for eating; they just sit barefoot on the deck. This is something Hong Tao really hates, because he is tall, so he has to bend over like a big shrimp. Fortunately, he practiced kneeling and sitting at a sports school when he was a child, otherwise, eating a meal would break his back."

"Has the young man read books?" The others didn't have as good an appetite as Hong Tao. They seemed to prefer eating the glutinous rice and were less interested in seafood, just watching Hong Tao perform alone. Chen Ming'en raised his wine bowl and, looking at Hong Tao who was struggling with a crab leg, asked a question out of the blue.

"I have read books. I studied for 10 years in Australia, but the Chinese characters there are a bit different from here. I can recognize most of them, but when they are put together, I may not understand the meaning correctly." Hong Tao still couldn't adapt to the way of speaking at that time, but fortunately, these boat people didn't have many formalities. When they heard strange words, they just laughed it off.

"10 years of schooling! Why not go for an official position, and come to fish instead?" Chen Ming'en had just brought the wine bowl to his lips but put it down again, looking at Hong Tao in disbelief.

"In our place, you need to finish 10 years of schooling to find a decent job. Being an official doesn't depend on reading books, but on being elected by people. This official not only needs to know how to read and write but also needs to understand some professional knowledge... For example, an official managing shipbuilding not only needs to know how to read and write but also needs to understand the general process of shipbuilding and know which craftsmen to assign to which positions. If he manages poorly, people will replace him after a few years and choose someone else." Hong Tao was being cautious and didn't dare to say that he studied for 16 years and still couldn't find a good job. He was already considering the people's ability to accept this, but even 10 years seemed a bit much. He decided to go with the flow and make Australia sound even more mysterious, so if he did something out of the ordinary later, people would understand.

"Your grandfather was chosen by us as the village elder. Is there such a place? Then what do you need the government for?" Bo Fu also understood what Hong Tao was saying and pointed to Chen Ming'en, asking Hong Tao.

"Government?" Hong Tao didn't explain the election to them but heard a word that was representative of the era.

"That's the emperor of our Song Dynasty! We call him the government." Chen Ming'en said this while bowing in the direction of the shore.

"What year is it now? Who is the emperor?" Hong Tao finally knew which dynasty he had traveled to, the Song Dynasty! But the Song Dynasty is divided into the Northern and Southern Song, so he had to ask.

"It's the year Wu Zi, the first year of Shao Ding. The emperor should be Emperor Lizong, but I can't remember his name; he's from the Zhao family." Chen Ming'en took a big sip of wine and didn't seem to care much about the current government.

"I heard that our Song country is at war with the north. Is the capital still Tokyo?" Hong Tao knew nothing about the Shao Ding era, who Emperor Lizong was, or what year the first year of Shao Ding was. He had no historical timeline in his head, only knowing that the Southern Song started in the early 12th century, so he had to ask.

"That was all a hundred years ago. My ancestors fled south by boat to avoid the Jins, just like you, planning to make a living by trading goods. But the locals here didn't accept outsiders, and the language was different. Out of necessity, we became boat people and lived by the sea." Chen Ming'en not only gave Hong Tao a vague answer but also revealed his family history, looking sad and drinking a bowl of wine in one gulp.

"Oh..." Hong Tao didn't know how to comfort him, so he just kept quiet, thinking to himself. The Southern Song had been established for over a hundred years, so it must be the early 13th century. How long until the Southern Song was destroyed by the Mongols? He had to do some calculations. The Ming Dynasty was established in the mid-14th century, and the Yuan Dynasty lasted for about 90 years. These historical facts Hong Tao could still remember. A simple subtraction made him a bit depressed. It seemed there were only a few decades left until the Battle of Yamen. It looked like he had traveled to a turbulent era, and it would be hard to live out his life in peace.

"Fear not the northerners! They are far away, and we have boats. As long as there is the sea, we can live!" Seeing Hong Tao also looking down, Bo Xiao'er patted his shoulder and the deck, encouraging him in broken Chinese, word by word.

"Brother, you're right. The sea is our home, and no one can take it from us. Come, I'll also raise a bowl to everyone, thanking you for taking me in as an outsider." Hong Tao thought about it and realized that who the hell was the emperor had nothing to do with him. Given his limited historical knowledge and personality, if he were thrown into Lin'an, he would probably be caught by the government and made a spy within a few days.

His habits, way of speaking, clothing, and every action were different from others! This couldn't be changed in a short time, maybe not even in a lifetime. Now, by chance, he had ended up with the boat people, which was a good thing. At least they wouldn't kill him for being too different, and that was something worth celebrating. Whether the wine tasted good or not, he would have a bowl!

"Young man, although you are an outsider, we, the Chen family and the boat people, will not deceive you. We originally wanted to take you into our fleet and make you one of us, but since you have read books, joining the boat people means you can't go ashore to make a living, and it would cut off your path to an official position, making you ashamed before your ancestors. We thought about it, and it's better not to do this. Tomorrow, when my in-laws come, we will gather some travel money for you, and you can go to Quanzhou to see if there are any large ships going to Nanyang. You can go back with them." The mood had just improved, and Chen Ming'en spoke again.

Originally, Hong Tao had some doubts about Chen Ming'en's quick acceptance of him. The boat people were at the bottom of society, unable to do many jobs and not allowed to attend school. This was a method used by successive governments to prevent them from becoming uncontrollable. Hong Tao was very clear about this, and the museum of the boat people in the future also had such introductions. But Chen Ming'en didn't mention this to him at the time. He probably wanted to take advantage of him, seeing that his tall and strong body could do a lot of work. Who wouldn't be happy to have a strong laborer, especially in an era with low productivity, who only needed to be fed and didn't require wages, making it even more convenient than hiring a long-term worker.