Chapter 66

Hong Tao followed their wishes in small matters, but in big matters, no one's words mattered. In mid-September, the fishing season would arrive, and all the Tanka men would sail out to the open sea, which they called "chasing the sea." Whether one could become the pillar of the family did not depend on how much fish and shrimp they could catch or how many abalones and sea cucumbers they could gather in the small sea, but rather on whether they could chase the sea and return with a full load. At that time, merchants from Qiongzhou, Guangzhou, and even Quanzhou would come specially to buy these tons of sea fish with large ships. One boat of fish would be enough for a family to live on for half a year.

Hong Tao had to participate in this. He wasn't interested in how much fish he could catch; with advanced fishing tools, the Tanka people in the cooperative didn't need to chase the sea once a year and could still eat rice every day. What he valued was the Tanka people's emphasis on chasing the sea. If he could stand out during this time, he would be a hero among the Tanka, and people would believe whatever he said. Otherwise, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't become a leader among the Tanka. Since Hong Tao wanted to make the Tanka people his first step in development, becoming a Tanka leader was the best shortcut, and the only way to reach this position was to chase the sea.

"Does killing a sea dragon count?" To stand out during the sea chase, Hong Tao racked his brains. But after much thought, the only way he could catch the most fish was to continue killing sharks.

"Are you going to kill a sea dragon again? Where will you find them if they listen to you?" Huang Hai was immediately unsettled by Hong Tao's question. The last time he fought the sea dragon was out of necessity. The creature came and went without a trace. Unless Hong Tao was the son of the Dragon King, how could he kill it whenever he wanted?

"I have a way to make them come out, but it might not work. I want to try. Does killing a sea dragon count?" Hong Tao ignored Huang Hai's suspicious look. He knew about the rumors of being the Dragon King's son but didn't bother to explain. Pretending to be a deity was his forte, and this legend did him no harm. Let it be; as long as no Nezha suddenly appeared to strip his skin and bones.

"It counts... but you're already engaged to Azhu..." Huang Hai didn't know what to say. After much hesitation, he finally came up with a reason, hoping Azhu could hold Hong Tao back from taking risks.

"Azhu will go with me. We are a couple now. Whether we enjoy happiness or suffer, we will do it together, right, Azhu?" Hong Tao had already discussed it with Azhu. Since their engagement, this girl had devoted herself entirely to him, even defying her grandfather. As she put it, she was already a member of the Hong family, and her grandfather couldn't control her.

"Yes, I will go with him!" Azhu was even more excited than Hong Tao. She had pure Tanka blood, but unfortunately, she was born a girl.

"I'll let Huang Lang follow you..." Huang Hai was at a loss. Although Hong Tao was a Tanka, no one really treated him as one, always seeing him as a distinguished guest from afar. Talking about Tanka rules to him was generally useless.

"No need, we can manage on our own, so others won't be jealous!" Hong Tao rejected Huang Hai's last bit of goodwill. Huang Lang couldn't sail the new sailboat, and he wasn't familiar with killing sharks, so he wouldn't be much help.

On the 15th of the ninth lunar month, Zhenzhou Port suddenly became different. Countless Tanka small wooden boats, with various patched sails, seemed to emerge from the sea, gathering outside the port, leaving only one channel open. As dusk fell, a large number of connected boats arrived, turning the area outside Zhenzhou Port into a sea of stars, with each connected boat hanging a small lantern that would stay lit until the next morning.

The Tanka people's twice-a-year sea chase was about to begin. Facing the unknown, each Tanka man took out the last bit of money from home to buy the cheapest rice wine and gather with their family, drinking under the light of the ship's bow all night long. The Song people in Zhenzhou Port were not overly surprised by this grand scene, having long been accustomed to it. Apart from a few patrol boats from the maritime patrol camp patrolling the channel, everything was as usual. Many foreign sea merchants, seeing this spectacle for the first time, couldn't resist their curiosity and rowed small boats out of the port to get a closer look at the Tanka connected boats, but were all driven back by the patrol boats.

At this time, the Tanka people were the most fierce. Once they were provoked, it could trigger a chain reaction, and such incidents had happened in history. Therefore, the patrol boats drove away any boats trying to approach the connected boats, preventing anyone from getting close. After all, the Tanka people only caused trouble for two nights a year, and even though they were the lowest class in the Song Dynasty, the Song people were willing to give them two days of relative freedom.

Hong Tao didn't dare to drink with others anymore. He planned to quit drinking; it was too much of a distraction. He still needed to take the opportunity to become a hero among the Tanka and couldn't let drinking ruin his plans. After sending Azhu back to the connected boat, he and Karl began a routine inspection of the newly repaired sailboat. They checked the rudder, sails, ropes, halyards, fresh water, food, harpoons, and spare equipment, putting everything back in order. They kept busy until midnight and then went to sleep in the cabin.

The new sailboat was over a meter larger than the Tanka small wooden boats. The middle and rear parts had a small cabin, a closed space with two hammocks hanging inside, which was Hong Tao's bedroom. Three people would take turns sailing and resting. When building the boat, Hong Tao originally wanted a larger cabin, but the main structure included several bulkheads forming watertight compartments. This design was safe but divided the usable space in the cabin, making it inefficient.

Just after the hour of the tiger, the already noisy area outside Zhenzhou Port became even more bustling. Each Tanka family about to chase the sea placed simple offerings on the ship's bow and lit incense. All the women hid in the cabins, while the men knelt on the ship's bow according to their seniority, bowing to the Dragon King and Mazu, praying for a smooth journey and a full return.

PS: Click, collect, and recommend! Throw them all to Hong Bapi...

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