Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 6 The man favored by Mazu

"Shi - Zhu - Niang, Niang, next to the word for female is Liang, how do you write the word Liang?" Qizai scratched the back of his head with fingers covered in wet mud, unable to remember how to write the word Niang.

In a blink of an eye, the new year was approaching, and the old clam still didn't speak.Two months passed by in a blink of an eye. Rough food and poor entertainment were nothing to Lin Hai.He is very patient, which is the most important quality of an agent.

The loan money borrowed by the Shi family has been paid off long ago. Lin Hai's outfit was unique in this era and was sold at a good price in Xin'an County.Xin'an County was separated from Dongguan County in the first year of Wanli. Its jurisdiction included Shenzhen and Hong Kong in later generations. The county seat was in the ancient city of Nantou in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.

This city was originally the seat of Dongguan's Qianhu Station. During the Jiajing period, the deputy envoy of Guangdong Haidao moved here from Guangzhou. Later, a member of the coastal defense general was appointed to manage tides and Hui.Therefore, there is no shortage of people in Nantou City who are curious and have a lot of money. This is why Lin Hai's fancy clothes are so popular.

In the past two months in the Shi family, Lin Hai had never seen Shi Qi's father.Later, Zhu Niang quietly told him that Shi Qi's father had become a pirate a few years ago. Shi Wusi was afraid of being implicated and did not recognize his son at all. There has been no news for more than two years.

As for Aunt Chunhua, unfortunately, just a few days before Zhu Niang rescued Lin Hai, the Madam's Portuguese son-in-law went to sea and would not be able to come back for at least three or four months.

Lin Hai just settled in Zhu's family. Apart from growing his hair and waiting for Lao Ben to speak, his most important thing was to teach the Shi family's aunt and nephew how to read on the muddy ground by the river.Two months later, Zhu Niang can already write hundreds of characters, but Qizai can't even write the names of his family members.

"You are not a son of a man! You could do it yesterday, why have you forgotten it today?" Zhu Niang struck Qizai twice on his head and grabbed his hand to finish writing the word "mother".

"Master, it's time to tell stories. Are we still going to talk about the Straw Hat Boy today?" The little kid was forced by Zhu Niang to become Lin Hai's teacher, but this kid still regarded him more as a storyteller.

Before Lin Hai had time to reply, Zhu Niang had already broken off a branch and said to her nephew with a smile: "I won't be a storyteller from today on. If you don't keep your heart in mind and study hard, you will make my aunt unhappy. I'm going to beat you up with twenty solitary crutches to relax your mind."

Qizai had been whipped a lot these days, and his whole face fell when he heard this.Just at this moment, Shi Wusi's voice came from the boat: "He opened his mouth! He opened his mouth!"

Lin Hai jumped up from the ground and ran to the boat. Sure enough, he saw that the old clam that had been exposed to the sun for two months finally opened its mouth.

Shi Wusi opened the clam shell with trembling hands, revealing a pearl as big as a dragon's eye.The beads were fresh and bright, with a slight color, and shone brightly under the setting sun. Even Lin Hai could see that they were extraordinary.

"Hey! What a bead!" Shi Wusi had tears streaming down his face.

"Zhenzhu!" A trace of excitement flashed in Lin Hai's eyes. These days, he heard from Pearl Mother that the southern pearls produced in Guangdong and Guangxi are divided into nine grades. The best among them is the Zhunzhu, one of which is worth thousands of gold.

"Abba, how much silver are these beads worth?" Zhu Niang was slightly slower than Lin Hai and was about to run to the boat.

"That's hard to say. When I was young, someone in the county picked up pearls and took a look at them from a distance. They were not as big as this. I heard that they were sold for more than 800 taels... ahem... more than 800 taels of white flowers. Money." Shi Wusi coughed violently and almost lost his breath from excitement.

"Hey! It's more than 800 taels... let's sell it as soon as possible." Zhu Niang felt dizzy after hearing this and carefully closed the old clam.

"Sell it, sell it, I want to buy a pirate ship." Qizai also ran onto the boat, shouting and wanting to touch the bead, but was blocked behind by the Pearl Mother.

"Uncle Shi, this pearl is so rare. Is it difficult to find a buyer?" Lin Hai was also a little excited. The purchasing power of 800 taels of silver was equivalent to several hundred thousand yuan in later generations. Is it enough to buy a seagoing ship?
"Brother Lin, I can see that." Shi Wusi coughed a few times and calmed down, "It's better than this, Nanny, tomorrow we will go to find your Aunt Chunhua. The people on her flower boat are usually rich people and officials, so... Please ask her to help us find a buyer for us."

"Aunt Chunhua...is she reliable?" Lin Hai was a little suspicious, "I mean, wealth is not revealed, but this bead is a bit eye-catching."

"This..." Shi Wusi couldn't help but mutter a little guilty.

But Zhu Niang said to her father: "You are too caring. If it weren't for her charity last year, our family would have died of starvation. Besides, you raised her children, so I don't believe her." Can do deceptive things."

The next morning, as soon as the white fish belly appeared in the east, Lin Hai and the Shi family's father and daughter set off in the small boat.Qizai was too excited to sleep last night, but he slept like a dead pig early in the morning, so the Shi family and his daughter did not wake him up.Aunt Chunhua's house is a three-room brick house located on a small sandbank in Shenzhen Bay. Zheng Xiaobao has not yet married, so only her mother and son live in the entire sandbank.The flower boat is open at night. Zheng Xiaobao has nothing to do during the day and goes to Nantou City to fool around as usual. When Lin Hai and the other three arrive, only Aunt Chunhua is at home.

After Pearl Mother explained the whole story, Aunt Chunhua looked at the bead and praised it repeatedly: "Good fortune! Good fortune! You have got such a treasure. You are truly blessed by my mother."

Lin Hai smiled at the side and said: "What Aunt Chunhua said is true. This is indeed thanks to the divine power of the Heavenly Concubine, but it also depends on the merits of the Zhu Niang."

Zhu Niang wondered: "Brother Lin, what do you mean by this?"

Lin Hai said: "I didn't tell you before, so it's okay to tell you. Before I returned to my hometown, Concubine Tian once entrusted me with a dream."

There was no one among the Dan people who didn't believe in Mazu. When they heard what Lin Hai said was true, the three people present couldn't help but change their colors and waited with bated breath for his next words.

Lin Hai picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, and continued to say to Zhu Niang: "Tian Fei said that I will have a great fortune when I return to my hometown this time. Although I will experience disasters, there will always be noble people to help me, and I will eventually turn disaster into good luck. Now it seems that falling into the water is the first calamity, but you are my noble one, and it is because of this opportunity that the Heavenly Concubine rewarded you with this pearl."

"Is there such a thing? I thought it was my mother who accepted my incense, so she gave me this bead." Zhu Niang looked at Lin Hai doubtfully.

Lin Hai smiled lightly and said: "How many good men and women offer incense to Mazu day and night, have you ever seen someone get such a good bead? Since this bead is pressed under me, it is clearly the Heavenly Concubine empress repaying you for saving people's merits."

"That makes sense, that makes sense." Zhu Niang murmured to herself, clearly having been fooled by Lin Hai.

Aunt Chunhua and Shi Wusi also looked at each other. It was such a coincidence that the pearl they had met once in decades was pressed under Lin Hai.Besides, who among those who travel overseas these days doesn’t believe in my mother? Who dares to lie about Tian Fei?

"So, Brother Lin is blessed by his mother, which is not an ordinary blessing." Aunt Chunhua looked at Lin Hai with a somewhat different look, patted her chest and said, "The thing about selling beads is only on me, there are many In a month or as little as ten days, I will definitely find a buyer for you."

The three of them had lunch at Aunt Chunhua's house and returned with the beads.Aunt Chunhua forced Lin Hai to have a chicken, a bag of rice and two jars of good wine, and told him to take them with him on the ship. She probably looked at Mazu's face and wanted to have a good relationship with him.

When we arrived at home, it was already dusk. Zhu Niang cooked a sumptuous dinner, including chicken and fish, and steamed a large pot of white rice for the first time.

After three bowls of wine, Shi Wusi was already a little tipsy. He rubbed his belly with satisfaction and said, "I haven't had such a good drink in a few years. I drank it for two meals today. It's really a good taste."

Zhu Niang also drank a lot, her cheeks turned red and she looked even more charming. She pressed Shi Wusi's wine bowl and said, "Abba, don't forget that there is still business."

"Be at ease, be at ease..." Shi Wusi wiped the wine beads from his beard into his mouth and said with a big tongue, "You take Qizai out, Brother Lin and I will have two more bowls."

"Grandpa, I'm not full yet!" Qizai protested vaguely while chewing on the chicken leg.

"Hurry up and go out with my sister. I won't starve you to death." Zhu Niang picked up her nephew and looked back at Lin Hai when she went out, her eyes almost watering.

Lin Hai seemed to have some realization in his heart, he picked up the wine bowl and said, "Uncle Shi, I have always been kind to you. I am so kind to you, and I would like to give you a bowl of wine."

"It's easy to talk about." Shi Wusi tilted his neck and drank it all in one gulp, "Brother Lin, you are originally from a wealthy family. In the past, this old man would never be able to reach you. But now that you are in trouble, the old man dared to ask. In other words, would you like the two families to become one family?"

(End of this chapter)