Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

After returning to Xin'an County in disgrace, the county magistrate obeyed Chen Qian's orders.

They counted all the property that had been confiscated from Chi Honghai and sent it to the island where Chi Honghai was.

However, a significant portion of the wealth was squandered, and it can never be recovered. All that can be done is accept whatever amount remains.

Losing Chi Honghai's fortune was like losing several pounds of flesh from a county magistrate's body; it hurt him deeply.

Not only were his two ships hijacked, but now he has to pay back the money he swallowed up earlier.

After working so hard for so long, I haven't earned a single penny.

When the officials brought over several cartloads of goods, Chi Honghai was completely bewildered, wondering whether the county magistrate had been terrified by him that day or had a change of heart.

But there's no reason not to accept money that comes knocking on your door, especially since it's your own money to have.

As for the courtyard house that Chi Honghai owned in Xin'an County, he also managed to sell it. For him, that courtyard house carried the fruits of his labor and memories for more than twenty years.

But now, for Chi Honghai, this courtyard is no longer his home. His identity has changed, his life has a new beginning, and his place of residence is no longer that courtyard.

Most importantly, he is not the same Chi Honghai as before.

The external threats have now been temporarily eliminated, at least not overtly.

The most urgent task is to develop before those adults turn their backs on us. These officials are like mudfish in a quagmire, very slippery. They can easily manipulate those who outwardly comply but inwardly defy us.

When you no longer have any value to them, or when your value does not meet their expectations, you become a pawn that can be discarded at any time.

What's scary isn't abandoning someone, but knowing too much.

Looking at the timber soaking in the saltwater, Chi Honghai walked to the shipyard again.

At this point, the bottom of the shipyard had taken initial shape thanks to the round-the-clock work of a hundred or so people, but it would be at least next year before it could be put into actual construction.

Time flies, and winter has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Logically speaking, winters in Guangzhou shouldn't be too cold, at least not snowy.

But things are different now. Not only is it snowing in Guangzhou, but it is also snowing exceptionally early.

It was only early December, shortly after winter began, when snowflakes started falling over Guangzhou Prefecture. Chi Honghai realized something was wrong. It was snowing in Guangzhou Prefecture so early in winter; he wondered how bad it would get this year.

The snow caught the local people off guard, as those in the south had almost no thick cotton-padded clothes to cope with it.

In addition, with the typhoons in July and August and the government officials' forced requisitioning, the house was very clean, and the clothes we wore were thin and clean, all made of coarse hemp. Even if we stuffed some straw or rice straw in them, it was pitifully little. They couldn't even keep out the wind, let alone the snow.

The sudden snowfall also posed a challenge for Chi Honghai on Hong Kong Island.

The situation was roughly as described above; the winter supplies were not adequately prepared, and everyone, including himself, was freezing.

However, the situation on the island was relatively better, as the excess timber left over from the previous logging trips came in handy.

Seeing everyone shivering in the cold snow, some people's skin was red from the cold.

Chi Honghai ordered that unless absolutely necessary, no work should be done. The snow was too heavy for the time being, and forcing things to happen could easily cause problems. Work should only be carried out after conditions have improved step by step.

He first went to the timber warehouse and took a look around. Although the remaining timber filled two warehouses, there wasn't much left if he were to distribute it all.

He stood at the warehouse entrance for a while, lost in thought, and then came up with an idea—central heating.

By gathering everyone together as much as possible to make fire and provide warmth, the consumption of wood can be minimized.

However, once he started taking action, Chi Honghai quickly discovered a major problem.

Although we could reinforce and raise the temporary sheds in front, and then light a fire in the middle of the sheds so that everyone could warm themselves around the fire.

However, the warmth provided by this fire is ultimately limited. If you are a little far from the fire, or if there is someone crowding in front of you, it is basically no different from not having a fire at all.

Chi Honghai felt a pang of sadness seeing everyone huddled together for warmth.

Looking at the shed and the fire burning inside, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

He then ordered that all the slightly thicker clothes on the island be given to the workers, and that they be allowed to carry their usual tools such as axes and shovels as they went out.

Seeing that the master was busy, Shen Er followed him. As everyone carried their tools and followed the master toward the stove, he said from behind.

"Sir, even though it's cold, we don't have to tear the house down. If it's really necessary, we can go up the mountain and chop some more firewood."

The workers behind them echoed Shen Er's words, advising the master that there was no need to demolish everyone's houses.

"Who said we were going to tear the house down?"

Everyone looked at the master, wondering what he was going to do.

Chi Honghai walked outside the kitchen, glanced at the adjacent shed, and tapped the ground with his foot: "Get up."

He summoned the craftsmen and told them the reason.

Then they went to the base of the wall on the leeward side of the shed and selected a spot. Chi Honghai personally used a shovel to draw the outline of the kang (a heated brick bed) – a rectangular area about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) long and seven chi (approximately 1.5 meters) wide.

"Come on, dig down along this line! Dig to a depth of about one and a half feet, and make sure the bottom of the pit is roughly flat!" Chi Honghai instructed.

After digging the foundation pit, Chi Honghai had the craftsmen bring in broken bricks and stones to lay a layer of broken bricks and stones at the bottom of the pit and tamp them down firmly. This would make the entire bottom more stable, able to withstand considerable weight, and also insulate it from the cold air underground.

But the most crucial aspect is the layout of the flue.

Since it was the first time for Chi Honghai and the craftsmen to do this, they discussed and planned as they went, but Chi Honghai relied more on his memories of watching documentaries in his previous life.

After the final discussion, he first used a wooden stick to draw lines on the compacted foundation: "Look carefully, make a 'returning dragon cave'! Starting from the stove, after the smoke comes in, it can't go straight, it has to swirl around a couple of times."

The craftsmen then used the well-mixed thick yellow mud (with a small amount of straw mixed in to increase adhesion) to build two parallel low walls on the base along the marked lines. The walls were about half a foot high and about one foot wide, with a distance of about one foot between them.

These two low walls start from the direction of the stove and extend parallel to the direction of the chimney, then cleverly bend and connect at the end to form a "回"-shaped passage that connects the beginning and the end, ensuring that the smoke and heat can fully meander under the kang (heated brick bed).

The chimney is not erected directly, but is made to tilt slightly upwards, and the opening of the chimney must be higher than the house!

Northeasterners generally call this "climbing smoke," because only a chimney like this can allow the smoke to travel forward powerfully and not get blocked in the kang (heated brick bed) or back into the house.