Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1498 Lin Baihu

Liu Deshan sold all the rough sugar on board here at a quite satisfactory price—only the refined sugar was left. According to the market introduction of "Hong Kong Ship Bow Paper": the price of rough sugar in Jiangnan is lower than that of Dayuan, but the price of refined sugar The price of goods in the south of the Yangtze River is relatively high.

Now that we have arrived at Da Yuan, naturally we can't leave empty-handed.Empty cabins are wasted money.Their next stop is going to Shanghai. Jiangnan gentry still have considerable demand for overseas luxury goods.Liu Deshan bought American furs, high-quality European woolens, Indian printed cotton cloths, and spices from the East Indies, as well as some Western groceries that the gentry liked to fill up the cabin.Liu Deshan originally wanted to buy some deerskins, but he was told that the deerskins and all deer products were sold to Australians, and the senior staff had no stock at all.

"Cousin, do you want to go to Kaohsiung again? Buy some Australian groceries. Australian groceries sell very well in Jiangnan..."

"Huamin, you don't know about this. There is a big store in Shanghai that acts as an agent for Australian groceries. They recently have enough stock, so the market price is not high. We can't make a lot of money by shipping it. If there are many vacancies, take a large batch. It’s better than nothing.” Liu Deshan said, “Furthermore, the Australian goods in Kaohsiung are mainly foreign goods, and we can go there when we return from Shanghai, and we’ll just ship them back to Guangzhou and sell them to Mr. Qin.”

Immediately decided not to go to Kaohsiung, directly sailing to Shanghai.After loading fresh water in Kaohsiung, paying all expenses, and just about to set sail, Guanshi Liu came to report that someone wanted to take a boat to Lingao to work.

"Didn't you tell him that our next stop is going to Shanghai? Shandong is next, and Lingao is the last."

"He said it doesn't matter: I have no money, and I am willing to work on the ship to earn the fare."

"Oh? How did he know that our ship was going to Lingao?" Chen Huamin was a little puzzled, because the destination of this voyage was indeed Lingao. He and Liu Deshan had already discussed it. After returning to Guangzhou, they would go to Lingao to see the "situation". , by the way, let's see what new products are worth buying.

"It's not a secret," Liu Guanshi said, "He himself said that this boat looks like an Australian boat. Since it is an Australian boat, it must be going to Lingao."

"He is a sensible person," Chen Huamin said with a smile, "but we are not Australians, and this is not an Australian boat. He is only fooled by the matter of going to Lingao."

Liu Deshan asked, "What kind of person is he?"

"In his early thirties, he behaved and talked like a scholar. I heard that his accent has a Cantonese accent, and I chatted with him a few times - he is an authentic Cantonese."

"Scholar, can you work?"

"It looks like he has a strong body, not a weak scholar." Liu Guanshi said, "I don't think he looks like a villain, but like a son of a rich family who has come out to wander."

"Can such a person work?"

"He came to Kaohsiung to work on a boat, and then went to Daguan. I also know the owner of the boat—an old acquaintance in Guangzhou. He said that he got the boat in Guangzhou, and he is very honest and capable." Guanshi Liu Said, "We didn't have enough manpower on board, so it's not a bad thing to add another man who can pay for it. There's no need for wages."

"Success, let's take him with you." Liu Deshan immediately made a decision when he heard "no wages" the most.

"Thank you two masters for your kindness!" Lin Ming kowtowed swiftly, "Young one must work hard to repay your kindness!"

"You don't need to kowtow, I heard Guanshi Liu said that you can read and write, and you are also a gentleman, so let's call you peers."

"This, the younger one absolutely dare not, the two masters are the proprietors, how dare the younger one be more polite?"

"Okay, okay, the place on the boat is small, so I don't pay much attention to this set of etiquette. Since you can read and write, do you know how to make money?"

"Yes, yes."

"Then follow Guanshi Liu to do things." Chen Huamin saw the other party's behavior and speech, at least he was also a child who had studied in a middle-class family, but he was dressed in rags and humbled when he went to work on the ship. The man brought him a new short shirt, "It's inconvenient to wear a long shirt when doing things on board, so you can make do with it first."

"Yes, thank you sir."

Lin Ming made a bow, and hurriedly followed Steward Liu back to the cabin.Manager Liu ordered someone to bring him a brand new set of blue trousers and coat, and said, "Young man, you can rest in this cabin at night, chat with me, an old man, and play a game of chess. Accompany me to the cargo hold to take stock."

Lin Ming smiled all over his face, saying yes again and again.This time it was his desperate move.Since his sister-in-law disappeared in Macau three years ago, he has spent a lot of effort and used almost all his contacts in Guangdong to try to rescue Li Yongxun.

But this place in Lingao has already become an iron bucket for thieves, and Australians behave completely differently from Daming, and almost all of Lin Ming's connections are useless - it's almost impossible to get in, and most people heard about this. When the matter involved the Kun thief, no matter how "capable" he was, he would avoid it all.Since the Australians burned Wuyangyi, their influence around Guangzhou has grown day by day.No one wants to go against the Australians for a Jinyiwei hundred households.He spent a lot of effort and collected a lot of information about the thief, but there is still no information about the whereabouts of his sister-in-law.

In the past few years, he has been unwilling to eat, and his life is very boring: his wife doesn't have a good look at him-it's no wonder that his wife's natal relatives lost a child with him, and they are already very polite if they don't call the door to make trouble.It was also fortunate that Li Yongxun ran away from home and came to Guangdong by himself, the main responsibility was not on him, otherwise Lin Ming would really have thrown himself into the sea to seek death.

Li Yongxun disappeared in his hands, and he still has to bear the responsibility.After several years of futile inquiries, Lin Ming finally made up his mind: If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get a tiger's cub.Since the base camp of the Kun thief is in Lingao, and nine out of ten my sister-in-law is in Lingao, I can only find out the whereabouts of Li Yongxun if I go to Lingao in person and mix with the Australians.Whether it is dead or alive, there must be an explanation to his wife.

Li Yongxun is just a child, it is probably not possible for the Kun thief to kill her, but if she falls into the hands of the Kun thief, the end is self-evident.Every time Lin Ming thinks of this, Lin Ming always secretly exclaims that it's a pity that this delicate and beautiful flower is so cheap to the thief - he would have known that he would have acted first.If she can be rescued, the girl is not perfect, and she will probably not be able to find her husband's family. It's okay to keep her at home and be with his wife...

Naturally, Lin Ming couldn't tell Madam what he was thinking, but Madam Lin was quite in favor of his idea of ​​going to Lingao to rescue Li Yongxun, because of this matter, she didn't even dare to go back to Nanjing and Guining.And every time her natal family came to write a letter, they would ask about Qianqian's whereabouts, which made her speechless.

"Long vines are worse than short ones. Instead of being so ignorant, looking for people to inquire about, it's better to go there in person!" Mrs. Lin is also from a family of military officers in Jinyiwei, and she is the most refreshing, "Sure enough, we can find her. If she is missing, she can always find a way to save her. If she is really unlucky, she will finally have a whereabouts. At worst, let's do my filial piety to the fifth aunt's family and elders for her!"

"Madam is right—" Lin Ming nodded repeatedly.

"It's just that you have to be careful yourself. I heard that the thieves also have factory guards..."

"The Great Song Dynasty is called the Imperial City Division..."

"No matter what they are called, I heard that the thieves are proficient in this way. They have eyes and ears everywhere, and someone will spy on every word and deed. Husband, you must always be careful."

"I can save it. Don't worry, lady."

"How can I rest assured?" Madam Lin's eyes rolled down tears, "I have already lost a younger sister, so don't lose yourself! This whole family depends on you!"

"Don't worry, I know the severity."

"Five blessings and longevity" in his family, Mrs. Lin certainly "understands righteousness", but the four concubines are not happy--after all, the life and death of Li Yongxun has nothing to do with them, the husband is going to take the risk of life and death, whether they are I don't want to.There must be some crying, but fortunately Mrs. Lin usually manages the family well at home, even admonishing and persuading, she finally persuaded everyone.

After settling all the matters at home, Lin Ming had to think about how to get to Lingao.

Going from Foshan to Lingao is very easy. From Foshan to Guangzhou, buy a ticket at the Dabo Shipping Agency at Tianzi Wharf, and you can get on the boat to Lingao in at most two or three days.Those with money will naturally have well-furnished cabins, while those without money will have clean steerages on cargo ships.

Lin Ming didn't intend to go to Lingao like this, he had already asked among those who had been to Lingao that outsiders would be strictly interrogated when entering and leaving Lingao.He himself is the best at arresting people, not to mention that he has too many acquaintances in Guangzhou, but as long as he shows up at Bopu Wharf, he will be targeted by the factory guards of the thieves.

If you want to be a spy, you have to hide your head and tail first, so that you don't stand out like ordinary people.It's just that I have been a Jinyiwei for more than 20 years, and my speech and behavior will have "official style", and I will reveal my secrets without speaking.After much consideration, Lin Ming decided to take a detour.Specifically, it is not to start from Guangzhou, but to go to another place.

He decided to go to Kaohsiung first——Kaohsiung is a new overseas territory opened by the thieves. He heard that there are many oceans and seas there. It was easy for him to hide his identity in the past, and then take a boat from Kaohsiung to Lingao.In this way, not only can you hide your whereabouts, but you can also inquire about the situation of the Kun thief in Kaohsiung along the way.Ever since the Kun bandits defeated Zheng Zhilong and swept across Zhangzhou Bay, the government and the public have paid more attention to this force.Lin Ming reckoned that within three to five years, the imperial court would definitely have another battle with the Kun bandits, and the information on the Kun bandits that he had collected would be a good thing for promotion and fortune at that time.

The plan was made, and Lin Ming could really work hard: pretending to be a down-and-out scholar, he quietly went to Guangzhou alone with only a little money, and became a clerk on a merchant ship bound for Kaohsiung, specializing in bookkeeping and assistant clerkship.He worked very hard on the boat. Although he was always seasick and he was not a deck sailor, he did his best and was willing to help with any work. He was highly valued by the leader.

(End of this chapter)