Chapter 86

Chen Qihong, like his grandfather, could speak both the Tanka dialect and Mandarin. As soon as Hong Tao said he couldn't understand, Chen Qihong immediately translated the Tanka lyrics into Mandarin for him. Although some words were still hard for Hong Tao to understand, he could figure out the meaning of the sentences after some thought. ▲∴

"Hehehe... Little brother, you have a good voice, a standard baritone. How about I write you a song called 'Nan Ban Niang'? You can sing it to Huang Sha when you have nothing to do, and educate her in advance. Let her not be too strict with you after marriage and not nag you too much." This gave Hong Tao something to talk about. Chen Qihong and Huang Sha's wedding was also scheduled for the summer. If it weren't for this sudden dry brother, the young couple would have been married long ago. It wouldn't be right for the younger brother to get married before the older one.

"You're teasing me again, I won't talk to you anymore..." Chen Qihong was more clever than the average Tanka people because he had read books, and this really worked. When Hong Tao teased others, they usually didn't notice, but only the Chen family father and son could understand. For Hong Tao's habit, Chen Ming'en didn't say much, but Chen Qihong deeply detested it. However, he wasn't a match for Hong Tao in a verbal sparring match, so although they were nominally a family and dry brothers, their relationship wasn't very close.

The Tanka people's wedding was quite fun. They also had a wedding night prank, and it was particularly intense. The most important thing was that the bride and groom could fight back, which perfectly aligned with Hong Tao's philosophy. As long as they could fight back, Hong Tao was the most troublesome one. He was even more troublesome than the pranksters. You wouldn't be able to stop even if you wanted to, because he would chase you and keep pranking until he was tired.

However, the Tanka people's wedding prank tool was a boat. The wedding procession also used boats, not sedan chairs or cars. The wedding venue was on a row of boats belonging to the bride's family. When Hong Tao, Karl, and Chen Qihong tried to approach the row of boats in a small boat, Bo Xiaoer and Bo Xiaosan on the row of boats used bamboo poles to push Hong Tao's small boat away, preventing him from boarding. Hong Tao and Karl each held a bamboo pole, and both sides engaged in a fierce battle. In the end, Hong Tao, of course, won. If he lost, he wouldn't be able to take the bride.

After grabbing Bo Zhu, who was covered in red cloth and wearing embroidered shoes, onto his small wooden boat, it wasn't over yet. The bride's family would also row their small wooden boat, pulling the small wooden boat with the bride to prevent it from leaving. They would pull the rope and row the small wooden boat in the opposite direction, as if they were reluctant to let her go. So the groom's family had to engage in a tug-of-war with the bride's family, a tug-of-war on the water! Hong Tao and Karl were both tall and strong, and Bo Xiaoer and Bo Xiaosan couldn't match them. In the end, Hong Tao successfully took the bride's small wooden boat away.

If, during the process of grabbing the bride, the bride and the groom could be pushed into the water, it would be even better. Like fish in water, the bride and groom swimming back to their new boat was considered very auspicious. Unfortunately, Hong Tao didn't know this beforehand, so he always protected Bo Zhu and didn't let the Bo family succeed. When he found out about this rule later, he still insisted it was for safety reasons, saying that if someone drowned, it wouldn't be good.

As for what happened after they returned to the new house, he originally wanted to imagine how the notorious Hong Bapi, who had seen many women in his three lives, would corrupt the young Song Dynasty bride. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right, and he couldn't write anything beyond holding hands! So, Hong Tao and Bo Zhu just held hands on his newly made Song Dynasty bed. Surprisingly, holding hands was also a strenuous activity, leaving both of them panting and exhausted. If it weren't for the fact that it was Bo Zhu's first time holding hands, Hong Tao would have done it again. The next morning, Bo Zhu still had the aftereffects of holding hands, walking with a limp.

The wedding was held according to Tanka customs, but after the wedding, Hong Tao wouldn't follow Tanka customs in his daily life. He would live as he pleased, making his life as comfortable as possible. He wouldn't even consider whether something was pleasing or displeasing; if something made him uncomfortable, he would ignore it. If life wasn't comfortable, what was the point of talking about the future? Hong Tao had an unshakable principle: he wouldn't do anything that made him uncomfortable, and he could abandon anything that did.

The Women's Federation Chairman! This was the first wedding gift Hong Tao gave to Bo Zhu, and it was also the beginning of his gradual change to Tanka customs. Tanka women were very capable, even more so than Tanka men, but they didn't have any social status, no standing in the community, and no voice. Hong Tao now wanted to give them power without making other Tanka men feel it. By the time they realized it, it would be too late to change. This was Hong Tao's scheme to fundamentally change the Tanka people's mindset.

The Women's Federation, in simple terms, was to organize married and unmarried women from each household into an institution, transforming them from a loose, purely helping mode into a structured organization. They would be responsible for logistics and processing work and would receive a fixed income. This proposal was put forward under the guise of improving work efficiency, treating all women equally, and not giving Bo Zhu, the chairman, any extra money. It was quickly approved by all the cooperative members.

Their thinking was simple: since the women in their households could earn money, why not let them? Who doesn't like money? For this, they even thanked Hong Tao for the idea. However, they didn't realize that this money was originally supposed to be distributed according to shares. Even without the Women's Federation, they wouldn't have lost a penny. The federation just changed the mode, and their income actually decreased because the cost increased, with an additional wage being paid!

Once these housewives stepped out of their homes and became members of the federation, they gradually entered the working class. After a period of time, their knowledge and thinking would change. With the influence of Hong Tao and Bo Zhu, they would also adopt some modern thinking. At that point, it would be very difficult to make them return to being housewives. Anyone who tried would be their enemy. Hong Tao and Bo Zhu would naturally become their leaders and supporters. Anyone who opposed Hong Tao would be opposing them.

"Sister-in-law, I got paid! Look, Ahzhu... oh, no, the chairman, also gave me these leather gloves, called labor protection supplies, and said I'll get them every month!"

"Grandpa, help me save it. Ahzhu said that if I work for two or three years, I can save enough for my dowry without needing Grandpa and Brother's help."

"I see that those girls are all getting paid. You and the kids can go to the canteen tomorrow. I've calculated that the money we pay to the canteen is much less than my wages. I'm better at sewing and cooking than they are."

In the second year of Shao Ding (1229 AD), in the Jiyang Military District of Guangnan West Road, a women's liberation movement began on a small island off the coast of Zhenzhou. Women from seven or eight Tanka families stepped out of their homes and joined the collective production force. The self-sufficient lifestyle of the past was replaced by collective labor, collective canteens, and collective security.

This model was very novel for people of that era. It was neither like the forced conscription by the government nor the simple employment by ordinary merchants. Instead, it was a family-based investment and cooperation. No single household could complete these tasks, but when everyone worked together according to certain rules, the benefits were numerous, and the efficiency increased several times. For the Tanka people, there was nothing they couldn't accept or change, as they had nothing to hold onto or protect, with their lives being too cheap and their status too low.

Even if the older generation, like Bo Fu, Chen Ming'en, Wen Laoer, and Wen Laoda, had various habits, they all shut up when they saw the heavy, golden copper coins in their hands. Hong Tao didn't just bring them empty ideas but also tangible benefits. The Tanka people were restricted and marginalized by successive governments because they had no land and nothing to lose. If they couldn't survive, they would rebel. A people who could become pirates and bandits could change anything. Any method that could feed and clothe themselves and their families was a good method! If it could also allow their children to read and write, it was like magic, and anyone who opposed it would be their enemy!

After the Lantern Festival, production on the island resumed. Wen Laoda and Wen Laoer, along with their sons, set up a longer keel on the beach, and Hong Tao's second new-style sailboat began construction. This time, it was a 17-meter-long large sailboat. Actually, Hong Tao didn't want to rush the shipbuilding industry because he wasn't sure about the seaworthiness of his new-style sailboat. The 6-meter-long sailboat hadn't yet sailed far out to sea or encountered strong winds and waves, so it couldn't be considered a qualified ocean-going sailboat.

However, Wen Laoda brought back two large pieces of nanmu wood. After seeing the new sailboat his brother built for Hong Tao, he was very envious and wanted to contribute to earn merit, so his son could also learn to build new ships from Hong Tao. Therefore, he strongly advocated building a large ship, otherwise, the two large pieces of wood would be wasted. At 17 meters, or about 56 feet, this would be considered a large ocean cruiser in the future, and one wouldn't be allowed to sail it alone without a Class A sailing license. Hong Tao wasn't sure if it would be useful, but this was pushing him to improve!

But the large pieces of wood were already there, and a new ship needed to be built. If he didn't let Wen Laoda work, it would dampen his enthusiasm. What to do? Hong Tao decided to build and test at the same time! He first had the two Wen elders use the two large pieces of wood to make the keel and the stabilizer. No matter how the ship was built, the keel wouldn't change. The ship's design, Hong Tao believed, was fine. If there were problems, they would be with the mast, planks, and structure. So he told the two Wen elders not to install the bulkheads or the secondary keel until he returned from sea trials.

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