Chapter 746: Chapter 36 Commission Chapter 746: Chapter 36 Commission “`
A clamor pierced Cha Xiaodao’s ears, and, irritated, he rubbed his face and leaped from his hammock. Pushing open the cabin door, he exclaimed, “Has that Cai character finished or not? If he keeps having people wail in mourning, let the brothers carve a wooden plaque and hang it up, writing ‘Eight-armed Nezha Cai Mingfu’ on it, and we can mourn his dead ghost of a father too! Who can’t cry?”

The Tianbo Division’s holdings were a family legacy, passed down through generations. Cai Qian’s father, Cai Mingfu, had been a maritime bully in his early years, always engaged in smuggling for the Portuguese, half-pirate half merchant, with the nickname “Eight-armed Nezha.” Later, he disappeared. Some said he died under the Japanese Shogunate’s musketry, while others claimed Cai Qian killed his father to seize power. Rumors were rife.

Li Cha, having operated in the South Seas for so long, naturally had heard the old news about the Cai family.

The reason Cha Xiaodao was so furious was that last night, many of Cai Qian’s family’s servants were burning paper money and wailing on the tower ship for Tianbao, with the cries and sobs of young men and women carrying across the sea to the Red Flag Gang’s ships, disturbing his rest all night.

Cai Qian turned, smiling yet not smiling, “Brother Cha, do you come to mock me so early in the morning? Many of my subordinates are fishermen from the Dan family, who have always revered the Tianbao Dragon Head from the Red Flag. It was their own initiative to offer tribute; I was completely unaware. And here I am, kindly paying your per capita fee.”

“Per capita fee?”

Cha Xiaodao rubbed his hair, following Cai Qian’s gaze to the shore where about fifty to sixty unfamiliar men wearing conical hats stood. Next to their feet lay some spices and fruit wine, likely gifts.

Xue Ba juggled a tangerine, a hint of a cold smile on his lips. Several Red Flag sailors behind him, relaxed on the deck, standing or leaning, presented a lazy demeanor with an underlying confrontational intent.

Interestingly, on the nearby tower ship, a few servants surnamed Yan appeared to be joking as they occupied various parts of the vessel, seemingly sharing the Red Flag’s enmity with the enemy.

Cai Qian was negotiating with them, and standing with him was another person, an old man wearing a blue kerchief and tucking a white copper pipe in his waist, dressed similarly to the unfamiliar men. He seemed to be a leader figure.

Seeing Cha Xiaodao, the elder extended his two hands, straightening his thumbs to align them while bending his index fingers, with the other three fingers straight and tips pointing up against his chest, a traditional greeting among the Red Flag members, known as the “Three and a Half Incense.”

“Skinning Zhong of Anqing Union, at your service, Leader Cha. I have served as a helmsman under Leader Qian Tuo. I have a history with Red Flag. Is Leader Qian present this time?”

Cha Xiaodao’s expression softened as he returned the gesture. He didn’t doubt the old man’s words. In past years of disaster, many fishermen’s sons from the Yue Min coastal area came to join Red Flag on bamboo rafts. If they wished to leave dissatisfied, or were too injured to go out to sea, they typically received a sum to settle down. Those who had paid their respects and cut ties with Lantau Island might have become spies for the Red Flag pirates among civilians. Knowing the secret codes and signals of the Red Flag Gang wasn’t unusual.

“Under the orders of the Great Alliance Leader and Tianbao Dragon Head, Leader Qian has become the chief of one flag. He’s stationed in Macau by command. I’m afraid you won’t be able to meet him this time, elder. What did you mean by ‘per capita fee’ just now?”

Skinning Zhong looked slightly embarrassed but spit it out after some hesitation, “It’s the custom in Borneo, established since the late Ming Dynasty. To ensure the unity and survival of the Chinese People on the island, our Anqing Union, along with Jiutouhong, Old Ping, New Shisiping… a total of sixteen companies set the per capita fee. Anyone coming to Borneo to make a living must choose a company to sign a contract with and pay the per capita fee. A minimum of ten or so taels of silver, three to five dous of rice, or as much as twenty taels of silver, eight dous of rice. The company would provide them with a contract and a livelihood. If trouble came, the company would stand up for them. If they didn’t have money, they could still work, but the cost would be deducted from their contract.”

Unable to restrain himself, Xue Ba interrogated, “I wonder which contract was signed by the Treasure Ship King, Lin Ajin, and which company received the full per capita fee for over ten thousand of the Lin Family’s sons?”

“`
Peeling Zhong bowed with his fist but remained resolute and unafraid, “Lin Ajin has three mines and a shipyard on the island and is the godfather to our Anqing Union’s minor director Yang Shouchang. The title of Treasure Ship King is also among the sixteen companies, so naturally, there’s no need to pay the per capita fee. The directors of the sixteen companies have discussed it; the fellow brothers of the Red Flag Gang are righteous fighters against the Qing, and the Tianbo Division has had years of friendship with us, so the per capita fees for both can be halved…”

Cai Qian’s face held a mock-smile as he twirled his ring. The image of Lin Ajin passed through his mind. He saw Cha Xiaodao staring straight at him and deliberately put on a generous front, “Brother Zhong, the fellow brothers of the Red Flag must have been tight on funds since the fierce battle with the officials a few months ago. The Tianbo Division would be glad to pay the entire per capita fee on their behalf.”

Cai Qian emphasized the words “in their entirety.”

“…”

Cha Xiaodao’s eyes twinkled, and he chuckled, “Mr. Cai is being too polite. Our Red Flag Gang isn’t that destitute yet. Xue Ba, have someone bring up the money.”

Xue Ba replied gruffly and waved over a dozen sailors. Soon, five large chests of gold and silver treasures were carried onto the deck, rich in gold with a lesser amount of silver, embellished with some jade and pearls. Most were gold coins of various Western designs, nearly overflowing, dazzling to the eye,
This was part of the wealth from Zheng Xiu’s Divine Tower Ship. When Zheng Xiu had sent Cha Xiaodao to Borneo, she had instructed him to bring it along to forge ties with the powers in Borneo and to emulate the old Yue Min folk from the Song and Ming Dynasties by acquiring some property and land from the indigenous people of Borneo.

Seeing Cha Xiaodao actually taking out money, Cai Qian’s pupils involuntarily shrank. He was somewhat unclear about Cha Daozi’s plans. He had just shown goodwill, hoping to make peace with the Red Flag and join forces against outsiders, to settle down in Borneo. Ideally, Cha Daozi would play the good cop, and he would play the bad cop, persuading and collaborating, causing an upheaval in Borneo to show these ignorant Chinese company folks that neither the Red Flag nor the Tianbo Division were pigs to be easily kneaded and squeezed. They miscalculated this intimidation tactic.

But what was Cha Daozi’s intention?

Just as he worried that the Red Flag’s representative might be an idiot with a brain of pure muscle, Cha Xiaodao seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked Cai Qian, “I wonder how many people Mr. Cai is bringing to the island, and which company you’re planning to join?”

At first, Cai Qian was choked up with indignation, but then a light flashed before his eyes. He suppressed the laughter in his heart and followed Cha Xiaodao’s line of thought, “This first batch, roughly a thousand people, but in total, it should be more than twenty thousand. As for which company to join, I haven’t thought about it. Since the Tianbo Division and the brothers of the Red Flag have both come to venture in Borneo, we have such a big shared fate; why not join the same company?”

“I had exactly that in mind. Speaking of fate, since Brother Zhong from Anqing Union has also rolled with us in the Red Flag Gang, that’s also a big connection. I think, we both might as well join Anqing Union!”

Peeling Zhong’s face changed color.

Cha Xiaodao pretended to calculate by counting on his fingers then solemnly declared, “Right now, we only have a little over four hundred people on the Red Flag ship, but the Great Alliance Leader will arrive within two decades, and there will be…” He steeled his heart, thinking he would scare them to death: “There will be forty thousand people!”

Pointing at Peeling Zhong, Cha Xiaodao continued, “Forty thousand from the Red Flag, twenty thousand from the Tianbo Division. From now on, we will all be stirring the same pot with the brothers from Anqing Union. These five chests of treasure will serve as our per capita fee.”

With that, he showed his white teeth and said with a chilling tone, “Please, Brother Zhong, relay this to Mr. Yang of Anqing Union.”