The Great Ming in the Box

Chapter 403: Delivering Another Cargo Ship

Li Daoxuan was eating dry pot fish when the ship returned.

Seeing his people hopping around vigorously on the deck, Li Daoxuan breathed a sigh of relief. Every time they ventured outside his sight, this Deity nanny worried intensely. Their safe return brought him immense joy.

However, Xing Honglang’s expression clearly wasn’t good.

Just then, Bai Yuan stepped forward first. “Boss Xing, congratulations on your safe return. Did the celestial ship’s trial voyage succeed? Any difficulties? I noticed your expression…”

Xing Honglang sighed. “Shanxi is in dire straits.”

Bai Yuan: “?”

Standing right on the dock’s edge, the two began discussing affairs in Shanxi, allowing Li Daoxuan to clearly overhear their conversation.

So Wang Jiayin had proclaimed himself king? What reckless audacity! As a subject of the Ming Dynasty, had he never learned Emperor Taizu’s lesson?

Amassing grain, postponing declarations of kingship, and avoiding the limelight—these were the true paths to reign. Rushing to become king the moment one gained a shred of power, then indulging in feasting and revelry? Only the aura of the uncouth could explain it. No wonder he died young; it remained to be seen how this historical variable Li Daoxuan introduced would alter events.

Xing Honglang declared, “Mr. Bai, I plan to return to Gaojia Village promptly.”Bai Yuan chuckled, “Ah, rushing to marry Gao Chuwu?”

Xing Honglang’s face instantly flushed crimson. “What nonsense! I’m not rushing at all. I’m forced to marry him. Honestly, I wish I could never return—spare myself his pestering!”

Bai Yuan retorted, “Still talking like this? Careful, the Deity might announce he’ll execute him again.”

The threat jolted Xing Honglang into immediate action. She bowed deeply toward the sky. “Deity, ignore my babble! Please, don’t punish Chuwu!”

Only then did she elaborate, “I must get back to Gaojia Village quickly and discuss with Thirty-Two whether he can request more grain. To aid Shanxi… cough… to trade for salt from Shanxi.”

Li Daoxuan noted her correction but silently reassured her: “Aiding them is fine! You aren’t wrong; no need to pretend it’s just about salt. I understand.”

Besides, securing salt was genuinely urgent.

Gaojia Village’s chemical workshop was under construction. Once completed, it would demand vast quantities of salt for alkali production. Industrial-scale processes operated entirely differently from manual methods; the future salt requirement would be staggering.

Salt shortages were destined to return.

Naturally, Li Daoxuan could directly “bestow” both alkali and salt.

Yet such direct provision wasn’t healthy. Establishing their own supply chain was preferable.

It was time to bolster Shanxi—spur its people to revive salt ponds and expand production.

Xing Honglang hastened toward Gaojia Village.

Li Daoxuan didn’t shift his view. Instead, he opened his model cabinet, rummaged inside, and retrieved another ship custom-made by Cai Xinzi.

This inland freighter was slightly shorter than the first warship. Its flat deck layout featured neither towering cabin nor cannons. Only a small pilot house sat at the bow, housing simple controls and a steering wheel.

Though smaller, lacking heavy cannons and superstructure made its deadweight significantly lighter. Its cargo capacity actually surpassed the warship’s. Real-world flat ships could be stacked high with containers without capsizing, transporting immense volumes per voyage.

Li Daoxuan couldn’t be bothered typing instructions for Bai Yuan. Directly, he lowered the cargo ship into the box.

Aboard the warship, the weary water troops had just dropped anchor. Stretching, they prepared to disembark for rest. Bai Yuan, having just watched Xing Honglang depart, sat atop Qiachuan Fortress pondering Shanxi’s plight.

Suddenly, the clouds parted overhead. Another colossal vessel descended slowly from the heavens.

Bai Yuan shouted, “The Deity bestows another celestial ship!”

The water troops cheered, “A new ship! A new ship!”

However, as it settled on the water, they stared dumbfounded. “Huh? No cabin? No cannons?”

“Is this… a fishing boat?”

“You idiot! Ever seen a fishing boat this size? It’s a cargo ship.”

“But why build such a massive freighter for simple goods?”

Enlightenment struck Bai Yuan. “Ordinary goods? True, but aiding Shanxi requires moving vast quantities of grain. Millions live there! Regular ships won’t suffice. Shanxi’s just the start—Henan, Hebei… countless others suffer. Delivering divine justice necessitates this scale!”

Understanding dawned on the water troops.

Bai Yuan announced loudly, “Time for another recruitment drive! Not combat water troops this time—logistics troops instead! Fellow villagers: high wages offered without frontline danger? Step up eagerly!”

The announcement ignited fervor, especially among Heyang’s fishermen. High pay without battle risk? They surged forward enthusiastically.

Li Daoxuan watched Bai Yuan direct crew aboard the freighter. As they fumbled through its operation, his hand hovered ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble. Only after they gained competence did he shift his view back to Gaojia Village.

Xing Honglang hadn’t arrived yet.

Li Daoxuan intended to find Gao Yiye—task her with announcing his plan to bestow relief grain for Shanxi—when a familiar figure caught his eye: Gao Sanwa.

The young man clutched a thick stack of papers. At the foot of the watchtower, he peered up furtively, hesitating as if torn between climbing and retreating.

Hmm? What’s this lad scheming?

Gao Sanwa wasn’t a child anymore. The reckless brat of Year Seven of Tianqi had matured through three years’ worth of mischief: replacing Chinese characters with pinyin, skipping school, enduring the “dietary discipline” of bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat… Having lived through the full spectrum of boyhood escapades, he’d finally grown. He’d turned sixteen this year.

Yet traces of that sneaky, roguish spark lingered. His furtive loitering beneath the watchtower remained as comical as ever.

Mischievous, yes, but no malice lurks in this one. Surely he’s not plotting to steal from the village treasury? Then why the secrecy?

Before Li Daoxuan could ponder further, a figure emerged behind Gao Sanwa: Thirty-Two seized the boy by the scruff of his neck. “Aha! Gao Sanwa! Skulking around the watchtower? Scheming to deface the Deity’s sacred statue? Pranks I tolerate—but defile his image? An unforgivable offense!”