Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 20 Welcoming the bride on the water
In mid-spring of the fifth year of the Apocalypse, the temperature gradually warmed up. The coast of Guangdong received a spring rain in late February. It rained for a few days and then became sunny again.

On February [-]th, the sky was clear and clear on both sides of the Pearl River Estuary, and the spring breeze was blowing. Everything in the world had been washed by the spring rain for several days, and the scenery everywhere was full of freshness.After nightfall, half of the bright moon climbed up into the sky. The moonlight was as clear as water and fell on the boundless sea, like countless silver fish jumping on the top of the waves.

Just after midnight, crackling firecrackers sounded outside the Chen Kee Shipyard in Macau. A three-masted ship clad in red and colorful sailed away from the dock amidst the commotion, splitting the waves and heading southwest.The ship is thirteen feet long, four feet wide, and nearly two feet high from the waterline to the bulwark. From a distance, it looks like a moving floating city on the water.

From the first time they saw this boat, the young shipwrights at the shipyard felt that it was a little strange.

The stern of the ship is like a barbarian ship, and the tall stern is spacious and comfortable.The hull structure is the same as that of Fuzhou, with a keel but no ribs, and the lateral support relies entirely on bulkheads.When it comes to the bow, it looks like a Japanese ship. There is a horizontal log for mooring, and the superstructure is a frame-type wooden railing with fenders like those of Anzabune.

The most bizarre thing is that the Japanese-style bow is equipped with a long bowsprit.Like the barbarian ships of the Francois, Red Mao Yi, and Luzon Yi, the bowsprit of this ship is connected to the foremast through a stay rope. However, there is no sail hung on the stay rope, but a festive red flag is tied on it. Silk cloth.

There is no sail on the mizzen mast of the ship, and it is driven only by the hard sails of the foremast and main mast.Shipwrights who are familiar with Yi ships can tell from the mast alone that the mizzen mast of this ship should have been hung with a soft triangular sail.

The old shipwright said that this was the red seal ship of Japan.Even more powerful, it can even be seen that it is the last ship among the Zhuin Ships. It was built by the shipyard of the powerful Japanese merchant Sueji's family.

This is naturally the sea-going ship that Li Guozhu put at Chenji Shipyard for repair, but the current owner has become Lin Hai.

At this moment, Lin Hai was sitting on this last ship, which was a combination of Chinese, Western and Japanese. Next to him were the twins of shopkeeper Chen, Chen Guangzong and Chen Yaozu.Today is the day of great joy for Lin Hai and Zhu Niang. The Chen family brothers are seventeen years old and have yet to get married. They are the best men in this wedding and will be the best men in future generations.

The wind direction offshore is changeable. In February, the south wind actually blew, so the ship was sailing in the wind.The man on the deck commanding the ship was a fat man with a loud voice. It was hard to imagine that his fat body could be so flexible.

"Changing sides! Pull the rope quickly! What cotton shit are you talking about? If you delay the timing, be careful, the master will make you wait for the noodles."

"The helmsman upstairs, you haven't eaten enough or what? The boss is holding a wedding, so he can't afford to eat for you. Oh, are you guys keeping your stomach empty on purpose?"

Fighting the wind is a very complicated operation. All the sailors on the ship are performing their duties, but the fat man can't sit still and wanders around on the deck like a meat ball rolling around.The sailors didn't take him seriously, and there were people booing him wherever he went.

Then a young sailor with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks grinned widely: "The fourth master of the family, you are the ancestral general of cleansing and the long-standing marshal of the food king. I don't know if a table of wine and food is enough for you to worship the five internal organs temple. You guys don't dare to go there." You keep picking up food, so what's left in your stomach?"

Everyone on the deck burst into laughter, and the fat man didn't feel dissatisfied and kicked the young sailor happily: "Hones, fuck your mother!" Brother, how can I sit at the same table with you guys who are so incompetent?"

This group of sailors were laughing and joking while turning the sails and steering the rudder quickly. They cooperated very skillfully with each other and performed this difficult wind-fighting operation very beautifully.Lin Hai, who was in the stern office hall, had been observing their maneuvering, and he couldn't help but secretly cheer when he saw this: They are indeed a pirate gang that has been in the Beibu Gulf. In terms of wind-fighting skills, I am afraid that they are still in Li Guozhu, a gang of merchants and thieves. above his subordinates.

After all, the maritime merchant fleets travel by monsoon winds and cannot easily break the wind. This would cause too much damage to the ships and make navigation efficiency very low.But pirates who make a living purely by robbing are different. What they pay attention to is being elusive and coming and going like the wind. How can they have so many opportunities to wait for the right wind direction?

The only drawback is that these people know nothing about Western-style soft sails. This last ship originally had several soft sails, but they were simply not hung up at this time.

"Brother Zheng, come in and take a rest." Lin Hai greeted the fat man with a smile. He could tell that this guy just couldn't sit still.How could there be any need for him to command the sailors on the ship?
The fourth brother Zheng in his mouth was named Zheng Tingqiu. He was the youngest of the four sworn brothers in Shibi. Assigned by the eldest brother, the head of Zheng Si brought dozens of sailors to help the groom.

At this moment, Shi Bi and his two other adopted brothers, Ma Xuansheng and Xu Guixiang, were on the Hengqin Island in the southwest of the Macau Peninsula. The two-masted Guangzhou ship brought back by the four brothers was parked there, playing the role of the bride's maiden family in this Dan family wedding. character of.

Shi Bi has been working hard in a foreign land for the past two years and feels that he owes a lot to his family.Especially his girl, who became the family's breadwinner after he left, and didn't get married until she was almost 20 years old.He is also a respectable person now, and he will do whatever it takes to make his sister's wedding event a success.

Zhu Niang's family fled to Macau, and Lin Hai had no relatives, so he had no plans to hold this happy event in a big way.But Shi Bi didn't agree when he came back. The new uncle didn't want to be famous, but his elder brother-in-law still wanted to show his face!Haolai is also the boss of two hundred men, isn't he?
It's just that the wedding date has been set, Shibi came back too late, and there was no time to prepare for many things.Fortunately, my new uncle has a big three-masted ship, and together with the two-masted ship that Shibi brought back, the ostentation must be enough.Dan family weddings are always held on the water. As long as the boat is big enough, it will be a big deal.

On Da Hengqin Island, in the large stern cabin of the two-masted Guangzhou ship, Aunt Chunhua was combing Pearl Mother's hair in front of the bronze mirror. While doing it, she sang:
"The first comb is done with hands, holding a red rope to tie peonies. There is a big lazy food in my family, so I will make up for it when I marry a diligent wife; the second comb is done with loose hands, holding a mirror to look at the hibiscus, honoring my uncle, serving tea and cigarettes, and uniting my aunt and sister. Be diligent and frugal; comb your hair with three combs to the end, make the couple's white hair and eyebrows even, take care of the incense lamp in front of the gods, and observe the rules when you return home and don't be bullied..."

This is the last ceremony before a Dan family girl gets married. The female elders twist the bride's face and dress her makeup, and at the same time sing some salty water songs with an admonishing nature.

Saltwater songs are ubiquitous in people's lives. They are generally divided into three types: singing tunes, sighing tunes, and aai tunes. Their contents are diverse, covering all aspects of production and life, and they are the highlight of various festivals and weddings.

Take this Dan family wedding as an example. Before the bride gets married, she and her sisters and sisters-in-law have to sing "Sigh to the Sister" for ten days. The content is similar to the crying wedding ceremony in mainland China, except that the Dan family sings instead of crying. .

Shibi came back too late and had no time to prepare for these ceremonies, so Zhuniang and Hexiang sang a few duets, and Quan Dang went through the process.She didn't have many relatives, and her brother had been charged with a murder case, so she didn't invite any of the Dan people she knew well back home.

Despite this, Zhu Niang's heart still surged with unspeakable joy. A few months ago, she was almost forced to marry Lao Wang, but she never expected that she would actually be paired with the person of her dreams now.

Ever since she met Lin Hai, she had had good luck. Even her brother, whom she hadn't seen for several years, came back before the wedding. It all seemed like a dream, and sometimes it even made her feel unreal.

(End of this chapter)