Chapter 9

Under Hong Tao's direction, the five women quickly used hemp thread to secure the eight bamboo braids inside the large net cylinder, forming the basic shape of a ground cage. As for the task Hong Tao mentioned of cutting openings in the net cylinder and sewing on funnels, they gave him another pleasant surprise. Using only shuttles and hemp thread, the women quickly wove a funnel-shaped entrance directly at the designated spots by Hong Tao, leaving no trace of any cuts on the fishing net. A perfect ground cage was completed before noon, without affecting their lunch.

There would be no seafood hot pot today. A pile of taro and salted fish made Hong Tao stare in disbelief, wondering if eating too much of this stuff would even allow him to defecate. When it came to personal hygiene, Hong Tao was also quite helpless. When the Tanka women needed to urinate, they would take a bamboo tube split in half, squat at the stern of the boat, and solve the problem there. They would then wash the bamboo tube in seawater and use it to wash their bodies.

And for defecation? Even simpler, they would just squat on the side of the boat and do it in the sea, washing up afterward. Although Hong Tao found this quite hygienic, at least more so than using branches or bamboo pieces to clean their bottoms, the issue was that they did not avoid people. When they needed to go, they would just squat down, which made Hong Tao very uncomfortable. More uncomfortable still was that not only the married women did this, but Bozhu did as well. The most uncomfortable part was that he had to do it too! The only difference was that he could squat at the bow of the boat, while they could only squat at the stern.

During the morning, while working, Hong Tao discussed the Tanka lifestyle and customs with Bozhu, learning to avoid inadvertently offending anyone in the future. The Tanka had many rules, especially on the boat. For example, no woman could sit at the bow; they believed it was very unlucky for the sea voyage. The stern was where women belonged, and it was also the kitchen of the home, where they could row and cook simultaneously without any hindrance.

When eating fish, one could not say "flip the fish over," but rather "turn it over" for good luck. When he fell into the water, Bozhu's younger brother did not pull him onto the boat but threw him a rope to hold onto, which was also a Tanka custom. They believed that the person in the water might be a drowned ghost in disguise, so they would not pull them in, only give them a rope to hold onto.

On the first and fifteenth day of each month, the Tanka would place delicious food and drinks on the bow of their boats to offer to the Dragon King and Mazu. The Tanka claimed to be descendants of the Sea Snake God and liked to have a sea snake tattooed on their bodies, both men and women. On this point, Hong Tao was quite proud. He took off his outer clothing and showed Bozhu the colorful rat head tattooed on his back, which made her eyes widen. She did not quite understand why he would have a rat head tattooed on his back, nor did she understand how such a beautiful tattoo could be made. She had a sea snake tattoo on her upper arm, but it was only in black, making it look like a worm compared to Hong Tao's colorful rat head, which was ugly and small.

"This is the craftsmanship from my hometown. If I ever get a big boat, I'll take you to my hometown and get you a bigger, more beautiful Sea Snake God tattoo!" Hong Tao could only bluff in response to Bozhu's questions, as there was no set date for fulfilling this promise.

"%%&&￥&……&" Bozhu seemed to believe him, and even with her dark skin, her cheeks turned red. However, she did not shy away but sat at the stern and sang loudly. Although Hong Tao did not understand the lyrics, he could guess the general meaning from the other women's expressions. Oh no, he had really stepped in it, but he was not sure where.

Bozhu was not particularly beautiful; she was an average person with very dark skin. The only thing worth praising was her bright, large eyes and a set of white, neat teeth, which were rare in an era without dental correction or care. As for her figure, due to her long-term labor on the boat, her hands and feet were very rough, and she was not very tall, about 1.5 meters. Her arms and legs were round and plump, with no slender waist or curves. She was only 17, possibly even younger, and had not fully developed. Hong Tao could not see her hair, as she always wore a headscarf, leaving only her face exposed.

Hong Tao did not oppose Bozhu's advances. Although he was not particularly fond of her, he did not dislike her either. Given his current situation, if the Bo family made this request, he would find it hard to refuse. Moreover, Hong Tao did not consider this a big deal. He had already married a woman from the Samburu tribe in Africa, so what was there to fear? If he married her, so be it. In ancient times, monogamy was not the norm, and he could always marry someone else in the future, as long as he did not betray Bozhu.

"Ah Zhu, come on... let's go out to sea and try the ground cage, shall we?" To go out to sea, they needed a boat. Hong Tao had already checked, and apart from the small boat they had, there were no others. He could not use a raft, so he had to rely on Bozhu.

"Grandpa doesn't let me go out to sea alone..." Bozhu was willing but felt a bit hesitant.

"If we go together, it's not alone. We won't go far. Do you know any nearby spots with more fish?" Hong Tao, like a wolf in grandmother's clothing, gradually lured Bozhu into the trap.

"Sister-in-law won't agree..." Bozhu still had concerns.

"Sister-in-law, Ah Zhu and I are going to wash the net... Let's go!" Hong Tao did not wait for Bozhu's agreement, shouting into the cabin and pulling on Bozhu's sleeve to head to the boat.

"Don't go far... Take the fish and shrimp with you!" A voice from the cabin agreed but gave them two small tails.

"Come on, little fish and shrimp, let's get on the boat!" The two children at the bow of the boat, upon hearing they could go out to sea with their sister, quickly stood up. However, they were still a bit shy of Hong Tao and did not dare to come over. Hong Tao did not mind taking the two 7-8-year-old children; they were not useless. Poor children matured early, and yesterday, after dinner, these two children had been helping their sister and mother wash rice and fish, being very well-behaved.

"Raise the sail! Which way should we go?" On the small boat, Bozhu naturally stood at the stern, taking the oar, while Hong Tao, mimicking Bo Fu, stood by the small mast. After a bit of thought, he understood how the broken sail worked. It was very simple, just a piece of patched cloth held between two bamboo strips. The top rope passed through an iron ring on the mast, and pulling the rope raised the sail, while letting it go lowered it. The direction of the sail was controlled manually by moving the bamboo strips. This thing was only useful in light winds; with stronger winds, the bamboo strips would deform and could not hold much wind, but it was better than nothing.

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