Chapter 77

And all these benefits were brought about by the young Tanka man on the large sailboat. No one would question his ability to fight a crocodile shark anymore, nor would they doubt his Tanka identity. Even Old Rong personally bestowed him the title of Sea Leader, which could only mean that the old man recognized his capabilities and was about to entrust him with the responsibilities of a Sea Leader. The question was, could he gain the recognition of these Tanka people?

The answer was only one: Yes! If even someone who could hunt a whale alone and navigate a boat to the fishing grounds faster than anyone else wasn’t recognized, who in the Tanka community could be stronger? The Tanka people didn’t have many formalities; things like morals, prestige, family background, and power were irrelevant to them. Whoever could lead everyone to catch more fish was the Sea Leader, and that was just how practical they were.

Spiritual strength can’t be seen or touched, but it does exist. The return journey was heavily loaded, and the wind direction wasn’t ideal, but the boat’s speed didn’t slow down at all. Any Tanka person looking at the large chunk of whale meat in the hold had boundless energy, the wooden oars creaking as they rowed, wishing they could fly back to Zhenzhou Port. Hong Tao also raised the ball sail; now, with a long line of small boats trailing behind, he didn’t have to worry about the boat going too fast. As long as the wind wasn’t too strong, the ball sail could help the rowers behind save some effort. Thanks to everyone’s joint efforts, the fleet accurately arrived at the southwestern part of Hainan Island by midday the next day, slightly off from Zhenzhou Port but easily corrected.

“Uncle Cai, lower the gangplank. That Hong Tao is back. This time, the sea expedition is a bit unusual. He only left three days ago, how could he return so soon, and with so many small boats? Has the Tanka community gone mad with him?”

It was a stroke of luck that Hong Tao returned just half an hour before Luo Youde. His large bird ship was already fully loaded and about to set sail for Mingzhou. Seeing Hong Tao’s distinctive black sailboat from afar, Luo Youde immediately sensed something was amiss and hurriedly switched to a nearby boat, heading towards the anchorage of the Tanka boats.

Not only did Luo Youde see this strange fleet, but everyone in Zhenzhou Port and the Tanka people outside the port saw it too. They all wondered why the Tanka fleet, which usually took ten to fifteen days, returned so quickly. Those with less curiosity just glanced around the dock and then continued with their own business; the Tanka people and their lives were not closely related, whether they ate fish or not, they could still live. Those with more curiosity and closer ties to the Tanka people quickly got into small boats and rushed to where the Tanka boats were moored, eager to see what the Tanka fleet had returned for.

Among them were merchants from other places who had arrived a few days earlier to buy fish. In modern times, they would be standard seafood merchants. All the seafood caught at sea would be transported by fast boats to Guangzhou and Quanzhou, then sold upriver to the Song people who loved seafood, turning a profit several times over. Unfortunately, there were no long-distance preservation techniques or conditions at the time; otherwise, the profit from transporting seafood inland would have been even greater.

“Old Luo, your nose is sharp indeed. How did you know I was returning today? Come, take a look at this. Ah Zhu, give Mr. Luo a piece of skin.” Hong Tao saw Luo Youde’s boat from afar; it was like a Mercedes-Benz among a group of Xiali, standing out. He was also about to find Luo Youde; even if he didn’t come, he would have to go to him, as the whale oil needed to be sold, and the Tanka people couldn’t run shops or have such a sales network, relying on Luo Youde to arrange it.

“This is definitely not a crocodile shark’s skin. Uncle Cai, you’ve seen a lot, can you recognize what this is?” Luo Youde took the piece of whale skin from Bo Jiao, examining it from all angles but still couldn’t identify what kind of animal it came from, so he passed it to Luo Dacai.

“Forgive my old eyes, I can’t recognize it!” Luo Dacai had already seen it and was just feeling it again, but he could only shake his head.

“Hahahaha, do you know what a whale is?” Hong Tao was very pleased; the rarer something was, the more valuable it was, the more it could show his ability, and the higher the price he could get!

“Ah! A whale! This is... you encountered a whale? And you... hunted it?” Luo Youde almost pulled out his beard. For someone who often sailed the high seas, whales were not unfamiliar, yet they were also very unfamiliar.

Almost every long voyage would see their presence, but they could never get close, nor dared to. In the southern barbarian countries, some ships would even offer sacrifices and bow to the whales, not exactly treating them as gods, but no one dared to provoke them. But this young man, who had once fought a crocodile shark alone, had returned with a pile of fresh whale skins, which could only mean one thing: he had hunted a whale and succeeded.

“Hahahaha... I encountered it, of course I couldn’t return empty-handed! Not many, just one, about four or five zhang long, not very big. Look at the boats behind, they’re all loaded with whale meat and oil. Old Luo, let me tell you quietly, we’re going to get rich! Haven’t you always been worried about not having a long-term business? This time, I’ve found one for you. How about it? Let’s work together. The glass-making business won’t be affected; let’s process these whales first. It won’t earn any less than making glass!”

Hong Tao started to sweet-talk Luo Youde again. He had developed a habit of doing risky investments, always trying to persuade others.

“You mean you want me to sell whale meat! I can try that, but I don’t know if you can catch more whales. If it’s just one, it’s better to sell it to them!” Luo Youde wasn’t very interested in Hong Tao’s proposal. He turned and pointed to a few nearby boats, all of which were merchants coming to buy seafood. Some were familiar with the Tanka people and were already asking questions, even starting to haggle. They were very interested in the whale meat, as such things hadn’t appeared for many years.

“Old Luo, how should I put it? Can’t you think a little more highly of me? Selling whale meat! What a ridiculous idea. Even if you sold all the whale meat as abalone, how much money would that be? The big business I’m talking about isn’t this, but the whale oil! Forget it, you won’t understand. Here’s what I want you to do: buy a few large earthenware jars, the bigger the better, and transport them to the Wen family’s beach. I’ll wait for you there, and then I’ll tell you what whale oil is. Oh, and help me sell the whale meat on these boats at a good price. We Tanka people are not good at business and can be cheated by those unscrupulous merchants. Uncle Cai can help me deal with them. I won’t talk to you more, I need to go back and prepare.”

Hong Tao didn’t want to argue with Luo Youde anymore. Sometimes, doing is better than talking, and sometimes, talking is better than doing. At that moment, Bo Fu, Huang Hai, and Chen Ming’en also rushed over, and Hong Tao had to deal with them. He couldn’t handle the whale oil processing alone and needed to come up with ideas while others did the work, just like before.

PS: Clicks, favorites, and recommendations! Throw them all at Hong Tao...

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