Chapter 1050: The Seafood Arrives
The seafood shipped by the Zheng family had arrived, filling five massive ships.
To honor the value of the "Divine Bell," the Zheng family dispatched a vast fleet of fishermen. They embarked on a frenzied fishing expedition at sea, and soon, prized catches like abalones, giant lobsters, and tuna filled five twenty-meter junks.
Even then, the Zheng family felt they still hadn't quite repaid Mr. Li. After all, these five ships of seafood held little value for coastal fishermen.
But the Divine Bell Mr. Li had bestowed upon them was a true artifact of the gods!
The full five ships of seafood were delivered to Zhoushan Dinghai Port and laid before Li Daoxuan.
Now, it was Li Daoxuan's turn to get a headache.
“So much,” Li Daoxuan muttered, gazing at the massive abalones, giant lobsters, and tuna overflowing from the five ships before him, feeling a pang of dilemma.
He certainly couldn't eat it all. Before he could, at least half of it would rot. That would be an appalling waste. How could a true foodie possibly bear such extravagance turning to spoil? His eyes would swell with tears just imagining so many ships of rotting seafood.
Keep them alive? That wouldn't work! There were no scientific aquaculture techniques in this era. Relying solely on the experience of coastal fishermen? The mortality rate wouldn't be low. At least half would still be wasted.
What to do?
Whenever he encountered such an absurd predicament, Li Daoxuan liked to consult the "wisdom of strangers."
He opened his favorite history and military forum, and posted anonymously: “Guys, if you time-traveled to the Ming Dynasty and ended up with five ships full of fresh seafood on the coast, more than you could possibly eat, what would you do?”
An anonymous reply came instantly: “Got any giant octopi? You could, uh, have some fun with them and the ladies...”
User 'A Ray of Light, Day and Night': “Where’s the moderator? Can someone please deal with the guy on the first floor?”
User 'Martial Swordsman': “Fill the ship's hold with seawater and keep the seafood alive there. Then transport it inland to sell. You should make a fortune.”
User 'Nylon Bag in the Wind': “The mortality rate would be huge doing that. Even today, with all our oxygenation equipment for water, there's still some loss. In the Ming Dynasty, they wouldn't have any such devices. The losses during transit would be astronomical, wouldn't they?”
User 'Martial Swordsman': “Even if losses soar, what can you do? Just sell it for more. Charge ten times the price!”
The speaker had no specific intent, but the listener took heed.
Li Daoxuan mused. He certainly couldn't finish it all by himself, and he'd only get a fleeting taste of it through his proxy, which felt like such a waste. It would be better to transport these good things back and share them with his little people in Gao Family Village. Everyone could enjoy them together.
However, the need for oxygenation equipment during transport posed a slight problem.
Such equipment truly didn't exist in the Ming Dynasty. But the Ming Dynasty in his box was no ordinary Ming. With Gao Family Village's current technology, it seemed achievable. Gao Family Village could even produce steam-powered water pumps, so a steam-driven oxygenation device should also be possible.
Li Daoxuan immediately sought out Young Master Bai and Wang Zheng.
“Blow air into the water?” Young Master Bai mused for a moment, then chuckled, “That’s quite simple, actually. Our steam-powered water pumps use the force of the steam engine to draw water upwards. We just need to reverse its design: instead of drawing, it sends...”
Wang Zheng smiled and added, “The divine ships bestowed by the Heavenly Lord are powered by celestial electric motors. We just need to divert a small amount of power from the celestial electric motor using a shaft and connect it to a pipe. Then we can add an aerator to the ship. When the ship is moving, the celestial electric motor is already running, so it will naturally keep the seafood continuously aerated.”
Both men were pragmatic doers. Once they spoke of it, they immediately acted, quickly arranging for artisans.
Since the power source was already available, they only needed to connect additional shafts and pipes. In less than half a day, the aeration equipment was ready.
Workers transferred the five ships of seafood from the Zheng family into the sealed compartments of Gao Family Village’s river-sea vessels. The compartments were filled with seawater, and an aeration pipe was inserted. The moment the ships started, the pipes gurgled, blowing air directly into the tanks.
Li Daoxuan was overjoyed. “Perfect! Immediately, without delay, transport this seafood back!”
Who would not strive to fulfill the Heavenly Lord’s divine decree?
Several river-sea vessels departed at once, fully laden with seafood, setting course for Shaanxi....
Days later...
Luoyang, Xiaolangdi Naval Base.
Bai Yuan rose early. The sun shone brightly, and flowers seemed to smile at him. Yet, he felt quite tired. He had just woken up, but weariness already settled upon him.
Bai Yuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh. “I’m getting old,” he murmured.
In the seventh year of Tianqi, when he first arrived at Gao Family Village, he was just over forty. He was in his prime, quite capable in a fight. But this year was the ninth year of Chongzhen. A decade had passed in the blink of an eye, and white hairs now streaked Bai Yuan's temples.
“I wonder how many more years I have left to bustle about,” he mused, “and if I'll live to see peace under heaven.”
As he sighed, one of the Heavenly Lord's many animated statues approached him, accompanied by Gao Yiye. The statue waved at him. “Bai Yuan, good morning.”
Bai Yuan quickly offered a deep bow. “Greetings, Heavenly Lord! Greetings, Saintess!”
Even at fifty, he still strictly adhered to the ‘Rites’ among a gentleman’s Six Arts, never daring to show the slightest negligence.
Bai Yuan respectfully asked, “Heavenly Lord, Saintess, arriving at the Naval Base so early, do you have important instructions for us?”
Li Daoxuan chuckled. “Hee hee hee, no important instructions really, just some good things are about to arrive.”
Bai Yuan blinked in confusion.
“Come on, let’s go wait at the dock.” Li Daoxuan, in his proxy form, took Gao Yiye’s small hand and led Bai Yuan to the Xiaolangdi dock.
The dock was bustling. Even though it was still early morning, ships were already coming and going, as lively as a marketplace.
Merchant ships from both upstream and downstream were now increasingly converging at Xiaolangdi.
Not only were there merchant ships from his own people, but also those of independent merchants from outside.
The goods transported by his own people mainly originated from key locations like Gao Family Village itself, Xi'an, and Puzhou. These included the 'Warm and Sleepy' woolen sweaters, cotton knitwear from the textile factory, pottery from Yaotou Kiln, and glass art produced by the Gao Family Village Glass Factory....
The goods brought by independent merchants, however, were diverse. From up and down the Yellow River, all sorts of strange and peculiar items were shipped here, to exchange for the unique curiosities from Gao Family Village.
Especially the 'Warm and Sleepy' woolen sweaters. Not only had they become a sensation within the Heavenly Lord’s liberated territories and established themselves as a renowned brand, but their reputation also resonated beyond these areas. After all, woolen products were truly rare in this era.
The common folk in the Jiangnan region, upon seeing these woolen sweaters, regarded them as a rare marvel.
As Li Daoxuan reached the edge of the dock, he saw a large ship being loaded. Its cargo was rather peculiar: countless bottles and jars. Each jar bore a red label, inscribed with: “Dao Xuan Seafood Soy Sauce.”
Gao Yiye pointed at the ship and chuckled, “Heavenly Lord, this is the celestial soy sauce you bestowed upon us. The factories in Luoyang have already bottled it into smaller containers, and it’s now being prepared for transport to Jiangnan.”
Li Daoxuan walked over, smiling. He drew out a bottle from one of the cargo boxes, held it in his hand, and chuckled, “Make a note, I’m taking one bottle. It’ll come in handy very soon.”
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