Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

"I...I don't know what value I have," the young woman said with a sorrowful expression.

"It's been three breaths already," Lin Hao said expressionlessly.

The young woman immediately panicked, then gritted her teeth and said, "My name is Lin Qian, and I am the widow of the former leader of the Black Tiger Gang on Nanri Island in the south. My father was an exiled official of the imperial court. These are the only two identities that have any value. I wonder if you are satisfied, sir?"

"The widow of the former leader of the Black Tiger Gang?" Lin Hao immediately became interested.

"How did your former gang leader die?" Lin Hao asked with great interest.

"My husband died of an illness," the young woman said, wiping away her tears.

Lin Hao's eyes turned strange: "Oh? What kind of illness? Did your hands tremble, your speech become slurred, and you were mentally confused before you died? It looked like a stroke or tuberculosis? And after you died, your skin was bluish-white, and your teeth and nails loosened and fell out?"

After listening to Lin Hao's description of the symptoms, the young woman nodded with difficulty and said, "That's exactly it. How did you know, young master?"

Lin Hao smiled. "Of course I know. That's what it looks like when someone dies from mercury poisoning. Isn't your son's nail falling off too?"

After Lin Hao finished speaking, the young woman's expression froze: "Young master, are you saying that my husband was poisoned to death?"

Lin Hao didn't answer directly, but turned and walked outside, saying as he went, "You should know whether he died from poisoning or not. As for your son, there's no need to worry. People poisoned by mercury will naturally recover after leaving the source of the poison, after all, the human body has a detoxification function. If you want him to recover faster, give him more eggs and milk, and also make sure he drinks plenty of water and strong tea. However, his damaged body will probably be difficult to recover. Also, it's best to throw away all his personal belongings in case there's still mercury residue on them."

After mercury poisoning, the body will gradually detoxify and recover as long as you leave the place where the mercury evaporates.

However, this process is slow, taking about three to six months to recover. Mercury ions can bind to proteins, causing them to denature. Tannins in strong tea can also react with heavy metal salts to form insoluble precipitates. As for drinking more water, it's even simpler. Absorbed mercury is mainly excreted through the kidneys in urine. Drinking water can dilute the concentration of toxins in the renal tubules and accelerate excretion.

However, these methods can only remove mercury ions from the body, but the nervous system damaged by mercury ions cannot be restored. Even if it is cured, there will be lifelong and irreversible sequelae.

Since the other party is a child, it is almost certain that their intellectual development will be severely impaired, their learning ability and memory will be far below that of ordinary people, and their personality will become timid and dull. Moreover, after the lungs and internal organs are damaged, their resistance will also be weakened, making them more susceptible to illness.

Ignoring what the other person thought, Lin Hao and Lin Chengfeng left the room again.

At this moment, he understood why Li Jiu had locked them up here alone.

I had previously gathered information about the Black Tiger Gang on Nanri Island. The original leader of the Black Tiger Gang led a group of brothers to rule Nanri Island, mainly making a living by farming and occasionally trading goods at sea for profit.

However, due to his fair conduct and clear distinction between rewards and punishments, more and more people flocked to him, and his strength grew stronger and stronger.

Unfortunately, he died suddenly a year ago, and his gang was inherited by one of his subordinates. But since then, the Black Tiger Gang's modus operandi has gradually changed. The Black Tiger Gang began to rob ships at sea on a large scale, gradually transforming from maritime merchants into pirates.

Their strength also expanded considerably during that year. However, ultimately, their core members were still the same group who had received favors from the former gang leader. If these people were to learn the cause of the former gang leader's death, the Black Tiger Gang would likely face a new period of internal strife.

"It seems that Li Jiuyuan was quite ambitious after all," Lin Hao said to his third uncle with a smile.

"What's the use of having lofty ambitions if he can't even figure out how to divide money?" Uncle Three shook his head with a smile, then looked at Lin Hao with a mocking expression and said, "That Lin Qian was clearly offering herself to him just now, Hao'er, how come you weren't tempted?"

Lin Hao glanced at his third uncle and said irritably, "If you're interested, you can take her into your room. But I'm not interested in women with sons."

"I didn't realize you were so discerning, Hao'er. You're not getting any younger, aren't you going to consider this? This woman is stunningly beautiful, and her hips are big and round—she's obviously a fertile woman; she's top-notch!"

Lin Hao shrugged: "I'll tell Auntie what Uncle said."

"Oh? Oh, I was just kidding, but please don't tell your third aunt. She's incredibly jealous, don't mess with her." Uncle immediately begged for mercy.

"But then again, I thought you would release her like those maritime merchants did."

"Release them? I'm not stupid. Releasing those merchants would not only publicize our reputation for destroying Li Jiu, but also allow us to filter out those who are friendly to us and willing to keep their word. Even if there's only one, it's not a loss. As for this woman, she's only valuable if we have her."

Since they were already there, Lin Hao and Lin Chengfeng began to meticulously inventory the supplies in the village. They worked until the afternoon before finally completing the registration and cataloging of all the supplies.

…………

On the captured ships, many sailors were working diligently, cleaning the hold repeatedly. But not everyone was so hardworking; some went straight to the bottom deck, found a comfortable place to stay, and then became too lazy to move.

Meanwhile, in the hold of the largest Fujian-style ship, several men were leaning lazily against the wall. One of them said to a pirate who was diligently cleaning, "Hey, Xu Erdan, why are you working so hard? Just do a little bit. Are you really planning to work honestly for the Four Seas Gang?"

Xu Erdan wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Brother Li, it's good that the young gang leader didn't kill us. I was thinking, since he said he wanted to clean the cabin, let's make it as clean as possible."

"You're such an idiot, I think we should just call you Xu the Idiot from now on." The man chuckled, then ignored him, leaning lazily against the wall and dozing off. At that moment, he was incredibly grateful to be the helmsman. Not only had he escaped unscathed, but he could also rest so leisurely, unlike those rough men who only knew how to brandish knives and guns, still sunbathing on the beach. Although it was already October, the sun was still very strong. Being exposed to the sun all day would at least result in chapped lips; one could easily get heatstroke, which would be a real ordeal.

"Everyone, assemble on the beach!" Just then, the order came from the ship from the Four Seas Gang.

"Oh, let's go see what new orders our young leader has." The pirate stood up, stretched, and said nonchalantly.

When everyone had regrouped on the beach, Lin Hao stood expressionless at the front, with dozens of axemen behind him, ready for battle. This scene greatly surprised the sailors and other pirates.

After a while, Lin Er came over and handed a piece of paper to Lin Hao. Lin Hao glanced at it, then addressed the sailors, "Do you still remember the four prohibitions I mentioned earlier?"

The sailors nodded in agreement.

"Very well, my previous order was for everyone to participate in cleaning the cabins, and now some people are actually disobeying me. Do they really think the rules of my Four Seas Gang are just a joke?"

Ignoring the panicked crowd, Lin Hao began reading directly from the paper: "Chen Luer, Sun Daniu, Feng Laizi, Shen Jiu, Wang Mazi... these people step forward."

Lin Hao read out fifteen names in a row. When these people approached him tremblingly, Lin Hao said loudly, "I ask you, what is the punishment for disobeying any of the four prohibitions I mentioned earlier?"

Upon hearing this, the dozen or so people were immediately terrified. Realizing the danger, they knelt on the ground and frantically begged for mercy.

"Very good, it seems you all know." Lin Hao waved his hand, and immediately the knife and axemen behind him stepped forward, each grabbing one person and pressing them in front of everyone.

"Disobey orders, behead!"

As the blade flashed, fifteen heads rolled across the sand, leaving hundreds of people speechless with shock. Xu Erdan, standing in the crowd, was especially terrified, for among those slain was Li Ge, who had mocked him earlier. Had he not resisted the temptation, he would likely be one of them now.

Just when he thought he had escaped, his name was called. Cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body, and a silent fear enveloped Xu Erdan's heart. He felt cold all over and had no strength at all.

"Xu Erdan, Zheng San, Zhang Erniu, Liu Dazhuang, He Laoshi... These ten people diligently carried out my orders and were the most hardworking of all. They are all rewarded with five taels of silver."

The fear that gripped him vanished in an instant, replaced by immense joy and a sense of relief at almost being reborn. As the five taels of silver were handed to him, Xu Erdan clutched the silver in his hand, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Working for the Four Seas Gang doesn't seem so bad."