Chapter 403: Another Cargo Ship
Li Daoxuan was enjoying a dry-pot carp when the ship returned.
Seeing his little people on board, vibrant and full of life, Li Daoxuan let out a sigh of relief. Every time his miniature charges ventured out of his sight, the Heavenly Lord, their caregiver, worried immensely. Seeing them return alive brought him more joy than anything.
However, Xing Honglang's expression was noticeably grim.
Just then, Bai Yuan stepped forward to greet her: "Commander Xing, congratulations on your safe return. Was the trial voyage of the immortal ship successful? Did you encounter any difficulties on your journey? Your expression seems to suggest..."
Xing Honglang sighed. "The situation in Shanxi is dire."
Bai Yuan blinked. "Oh?"
The two stood on the dockside, discussing the events unfolding in Shanxi, and Li Daoxuan, listening intently, heard every word.
It turned out that Wang Jiayin had declared himself king. Such reckless folly! As a man of the Ming Dynasty, did he not recall the story of the Ming founder?
Amassing grain, delaying proclaiming oneself king, and never being the first bird to stick your head out—that was the true path to power. Rushing to declare kingship and indulging in drink and pleasure only revealed a vulgar display of power and ignorance. No wonder the man's life wouldn't be long. He wondered if, with his own unexpected intervention, history would still unfold as recorded.
Bai Yuan teased, "Oh, eager to go back and marry Gao Chuwu?"
Xing Honglang's face flushed crimson again. "Absolutely not! I'm not eager at all. I'm being forced to marry him. Right now, I wish I didn't have to go back, so I wouldn't be pressured by him."
Bai Yuan chuckled. "Still saying that? Be careful, the Heavenly Lord might threaten to strike him down again."
This startled Xing Honglang, who immediately looked up at the sky and performed a deep bow. "Heavenly Lord, please don't take it seriously! Please don't strike down Chuwu!"
After that, she added, "I want to get back to Gao Family Village quickly and discuss with San Shier, the chief administrator, if we can apply for more grain to aid Shanxi... *cough*... to exchange for salt with Shanxi."
Li Daoxuan heard her correction and silently sighed. *Aid, then aid! You are not wrong; you don't need to force yourself to say "exchange for salt." I understand!*
Besides, exchanging for salt was indeed very necessary.
Gao Family Village's chemical plant had already begun construction. Once completed, it would require a vast quantity of salt to produce alkali. The speed of industrial alkali production was entirely different from manual methods, and the demand for salt would become astronomically high.
Gao Family Village would certainly face a salt shortage again!
Of course, whether it was alkali or salt, Li Daoxuan could directly "bestow" them.
However, such direct bestowals were not healthy. He still hoped his little people could establish their own supply chains.
It was time to assist Shanxi, prompting its people to vigorously exploit their salt lakes and produce salt.
Xing Honglang hurried towards Gao Family Village.
Li Daoxuan, however, did not follow her with his view. Instead, he opened his model cabinet, rummaged through it, and pulled out another ship that Cai Xinzhi had custom-made for him.
This was an inland river transport vessel, slightly shorter than the first warship. Its layout was flat and plain, without a deckhouse or cannons, only a small cockpit at the bow containing switches and a rudder.
Although smaller than the warship, because it lacked cannons and a deckhouse, its deadweight was much lighter, giving it a far greater carrying capacity than the warship. In the real world, such flat-bottomed ships, piled high with various cargo containers, would not capsize and could transport massive amounts of goods in a single trip.
Li Daoxuan was too lazy to type out instructions to Bai Yuan. He simply placed the cargo ship directly into the box.
At this moment, the sailors on the warship had just dropped anchor, stretching lazily and planning to rest on shore. Bai Yuan had just watched Xing Honglang depart and was sitting at the Qichuan Ferry stronghold, pondering the problems in Shanxi.
Suddenly, they saw the clouds in the sky part, and another enormous ship slowly descended from the heavens.
Bai Yuan exclaimed, "The Heavenly Lord has bestowed another immortal ship!"
The sailors cheered excitedly, "A new ship! A new ship!"
However, when the ship landed on the water, everyone paused, their faces a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Ah, no deckhouse, and no cannons?"
"Is this... a fishing boat?"
"Don't be silly! Have you ever seen such a huge fishing boat? This is a cargo ship."
"But, does a cargo ship really need to be this enormous?"
Bai Yuan suddenly understood. "Transporting ordinary goods certainly doesn't require such a large cargo ship, but we will need to transport vast amounts of grain to aid Shanxi in the future. Shanxi has millions of people; without large cargo ships, how could we possibly help them all? Moreover, it's not just Shanxi—there's Henan, Hebei... countless suffering common people await us to carry out Heaven's will. Such large ships are absolutely essential!"
The sailors finally grasped the implication.
Bai Yuan laughed heartily. "Alright, it's time for the second round of recruitment! This time, we're not recruiting combat sailors, but logistics personnel. All you folks who want good wages and fear being on the front lines can eagerly sign up for the logistics corps!"
That announcement proved exceptionally effective.
Especially among the fishermen living near the Heyang Ferry, who, upon hearing about high income and no need for frontline combat, immediately rushed forward to sign up!
Li Daoxuan watched as Bai Yuan dispatched men to board the cargo ship, beginning to experiment with piloting the new vessel. He stood ready to intervene if needed, before finally shifting his view back to Gao Family Village. Xing Honglang still hadn't returned.
Li Daoxuan was about to find Gao Yiye to relay a message about bestowing a large amount of grain to aid Shanxi, when his gaze suddenly shifted, catching sight of a familiar figure: Gao Sanwa.
He was holding a thick stack of papers, furtively peering around below the watchtower, looking as if he wanted to go up but didn't dare.
Li Daoxuan was greatly amused. *Hmm? What's this kid up to?*
Gao Sanwa was no longer a child. The mischievous boy who caused trouble in the seventh year of Tianqi had, over three years, grown up. He had experienced all the typical childhood antics—learning Pinyin instead of characters, skipping class, getting his share of beatings—and was now a full sixteen years old.
However, his sneaky nature remained, as he lurked around the watchtower, looking comical and suspicious.
Li Daoxuan thought, *Although this child is a bit naughty, he's not the type to do evil. He's probably not here to steal from the village treasury, is he? So, what exactly is he doing?*
Just as he was pondering this, a figure suddenly emerged from behind Gao Sanwa. It was San Shier, who grabbed Gao Sanwa by the nape of his neck and loudly declared, "Hey! Gao Sanwa, what are you doing peeking around under the watchtower? Don't tell me you're planning to draw a mustache on the Heavenly Lord's holy statue? I'm warning you, other mischief is fine, but defacing the Heavenly Lord's statue is a crime for which even death is not enough to atone!"
Comments