Chapter 175: Future Prospects

Early the next morning, the Sand Ship fleet, which had rested and reorganized overnight at Eagle Beak Bay, hastily set sail. This time, the formation included two additional Fu ships.

After the Debon parted ways with the fleet, a certain someone who had stayed up all night watching videos merely muttered in a muffled voice, "Return to port," and then went back to his cabin to sleep like a log.

The remaining crew raised the sails and weighed anchor, heading straight west along Zhoushan. With its pirate recognition flag stowed, the Debon was just a very unremarkable sand ship, and by noon the next day, the wooden vessel had silently slipped into Hangzhou Bay.

A pirate ship naturally could not moor brazenly right at the doorstep of Tangzhuang, so the Debon's anchorage was a private port in Haining County. This private port was only twenty to thirty li by water from Tangzhuang, and was the Debon's customary stopover.

After docking and settling in, reward silver was distributed, and immediately half the men ran off to Haining County town for some serious relaxation. Chen Huoding and Ma Liu, however, took a boat to Moyun Temple. After finding Great Master Lu, the two sides promptly handed over the black wooden box. Then Erye left Ma Liu behind to report to the leadership alone, while he himself wandered around idly, and before he knew it, he had strolled right into Tangzhuang.

He wandered back and forth inside Tangzhuang, dawdling until the market closed for the day. Only then did Erye slowly board a black canopy boat, arriving at Wuxian Temple outside Hangzhou City at dusk.

Upon learning of his second brother's arrival, Zhou Tong was overjoyed. He hurried out from the rear hall to greet him, grabbed the hand of Chen Erye, whose expression was clearly troubled, and laughed heartily: "Kill a chicken, slice the meat! Today, we brothers shall drink until we're drunk!"

By the time the food and wine were fully laid out, the sky had long since turned pitch black. Zhou Tong had by now noticed that something was off with the man, so he waved away the accompanying guests, closed the door, and the gang leader asked gently, "Second Brother, is there something weighing on your mind?"

Chen Huoding's face was a knot of conflict, his fierce tiger-like eyes brimming with apology. Hearing his elder brother's question, Erye could hide it no longer. With a "thud," Erye knelt before Zhou Tong: "Elder Brother, Chen Huoding is disloyal and unrighteous. Today, I must abandon my elder brother and leave!"

"Huoding, what are you doing?" Zhou Tong was greatly alarmed by these words.

"Elder Brother, Huoding wants to go to Dayuan to join the army, to fight for a future of wealth and rank with blade and gun!"

"Aiyah!" Zhou Tong slapped his thigh upon hearing this. "I knew this day would come!"

"You were born with a restless nature — who doesn't know that?" Zhou Tong crouched down and grasped Chen Huoding's arm. "Good brother, if you want to leave the partnership, then leave. This is a good thing. How could I, your elder brother, stand in the way of your future prospects?"

"Elder Brother, Huoding is worse than a pig or a dog!"

"Ah, Pingfeng Stronghold has been scattered ever since the day we came down from the mountain. Fortunately, all the brothers now have a path forward. Huoding, you go and strive for your future. In my heart, there is only joy. Do not act in such an unmanly manner!"

Having said this, Zhou Tong helped Chen Huoding to his feet, then thought for a moment and added: "Things are different now compared to the past. Our every move is governed by the rules of the Upper Realm. This matter must not be publicized."

"Yes, come with me to kowtow before the spirit tablet of the Old Stronghold Master. Huoding, you were taken in back then by his decision. You must, after all, say your farewells."

Hearing this, Chen Huoding could not help but wail loudly.

Early the next morning, a large group of Beggar Sect experts escorted Zhou Tong and Chen Huoding to Moyun Temple.

Upon meeting Great Master Lu, Zhou Tong explained the whole story to the Great Master, and then solemnly testified to the Great Master: This man, Chen Huoding, formally resigned from the Stronghold Labor Company last night. Yes, the two parties parted on friendly terms; wages, bonuses, social security, and medical insurance have all been settled clearly, with no contractual disputes whatsoever.

Now, he asked the Great Master to take over this fellow.

After hearing this, Lu Cheng was initially astonished as well, and only after thoroughly questioning Chen the Second did he understand the full cause and effect.

Fine, Great Master Lu was at his wit's end this time. The man had already decisively burned his bridges and resigned from his original company. The Transmigrator Group naturally could not shut the door on talent, could they? What was the most valuable thing in the 17th century?... Talent!

And so, Chen Erye thus temporarily remained at Moyun Temple. His status? He went from an externally hired advanced captain to the lowest-level mailroom clerk in the company — no helping it, who told you to jump ship? In the new company, everyone is equal; start from the bottom...

And Comrade Ma Liu, the man with the donkey-like face, after this incident, smoothly took over the throne of captain of the Debon, as he had wished.

As for Chen Erye's final destination... After consulting his own wishes, and through telegraphic exchanges with Dayuan, Lu Cheng informed Chen Huoding of some good news a few days later: Considering the meritorious service Comrade Chen Huoding had rendered in the past, the Military had agreed to accept him for recruit training, and granted Erye a special privilege: he could freely choose his branch of service.

Dayuan's current enlistment model did not allow for voluntary sign-up: all personnel entering Dayuan were forcibly assigned to a specific work post based on the files established back at Moyun Temple. Unless an individual later demonstrated a particular specialty, their job type would not be changed.

As for special talent like Chen Erye, while Great Master Lu told him the good news, he also subtly recommended the Marine Corps to Chen Erye: a small administrative hint.

... Ever since the Marine Corps was established, the Great Office had been tirelessly supporting its own favorite son, and the intelligence system Lu Cheng belonged to, as the number one lackey department subordinate to the Great Office, naturally did some "small" extra work in areas that were not convenient to mention openly.

Chen Huoding thus entered the military-political system of the Crossing Faction, becoming a clueless pawn. After this, Erye stayed on at Moyun Temple. To signify a "complete rebirth," Erye also shaved off his long hair and full beard — his previously weathered look had concealed his true age. Only now, when his original appearance was revealed, did people see that Chen Huoding was just a young man of 25.

Not long after, on a night so dark one could not see their own hand, Chen Huoding boarded the Sand Ship fleet bound for Dayuan.

After drifting at sea for over half a month, Chen Huoding arrived at the legendary Dayuan Island with the fleet on May 10, 1628.

The moment they entered the Dayuan Channel and brushed past the fleet, the "Seabed Scoop No. 1," which was dredging mud with a giant iron shovel raised high, gave Erye a shock.

Fortunately, Erye was, after all, a man who had stayed up all night watching videos, so he had some immunity to large machinery. This prevented the former Qianshan Fortress brothers, who had been standing by early waiting to laugh at Erye's expense, from getting their wish...

After several months of dredging, the navigational conditions of the Dayuan Channel had greatly improved: the South Channel, originally used for ship passage, now had a water depth of 5.5 meters, a depth that could guarantee the passage of fully loaded large Fu ships and medium-sized galleons.

Currently, Seabed Scoop No. 1 was clearing the sandbar between the north and south channels. Once completed, the channel could be expanded from a single lane to a dual lane.

Erye greedily took in the scenery of Dayuan Island along the way: the enormous Dun Tai built of red brick; the red castle under construction in the distance; streamlined boats with white soft sails slicing past the fleet like sharp arrows.

As the fleet ventured deeper into the Taijiang, one could see, across the shore in the Chikan New District, patches of red enclosing walls drawing ever closer, revealing rows of bamboo and wood roofs within the district. Camphor trees as thick as washbasins stood erect along the roadsides; these transplanted plants had already passed their adaptation period and were continuously extending along the district's roads.

The fleet soon sailed across the Taijiang, which was only 5 kilometers wide.

With the maturation of concrete technology, the first concrete gravity wharf on the Taijiang had just recently been put into use at the Chikan Pier District.

Previously, limited by a lack of raw materials, all of Dayuan's docks were wooden pile structures — low load-bearing capacity, easily damaged components, and very difficult to repair once damaged.

After the Kiln District produced enough soil cement, a gravity wharf equipped with a wood gas crane, specifically for docking cargo ships, officially began construction. A large number of workers labored busily on the banks of the Taijiang for two full months: first, a cofferdam was dug out; next, the foundation was prepared; then, the outer thick wall was built within the cofferdam using concrete; finally, the interior space was filled with massive stones — due to the lack of steel bars, the entire wharf was filled with concrete and stone blocks.

No cargo ships had arrived at Chikan today, so the trapezoidal wharf, which extended a full 100 meters into the Taijiang, easily accommodated four sand ships.

The port affairs and district receiving personnel, already extremely adept at immigration work, had by now gathered in large numbers on the wharf, just waiting for the newcomers to disembark.

When the staggering, listless immigrants crawled out of the ship cabins, what greeted them first was the scorching sunlight of the subtropical island, followed by the bustling, noisy Chikan Wharf; the sand ships and Fu ships moored to the left and right, and the water birds perched brazenly on the trusses overhead... these creatures would occasionally drop a fish from the Taijiang from their beaks, but more often than not, they'd drop a splat of dung onto people's heads...

Over 1,000 newcomers successively stepped onto the wharf via the stone steps. Having already learned to queue at Moyun Temple, they were soon led by people wielding short sticks and blowing whistles, marching team by team towards the district complex. There they would undergo rest, reorganization, and assignment. Based on their physical recovery, typically within 3 to 7 days, everyone would begin work at their new posts.

Chen Huoding naturally would not go with these people to the district to await assignment; his receiving unit was different from theirs — the New Army Camp inside the Dayuan Shang Hall.

A little over an hour later, the main "cargo" on the four sand ships had been fully unloaded. Chen Huoding finally boarded a boat as well, crossing the Taijiang once more, and arrived at the island he had carefully observed earlier, the one with the large red Dun Tai.

On the wooden dock of Dayuan Island, several old friends were already waiting for Erye.

The most familiar to Erye was the man standing over 1.9 meters tall, a former mercenary and once the Field Marshal of Moyun Temple, Wei Yuan. It must be known that during the early days after Wei Yuan first crossed over, he was confined to the rear garden of Tangzhuang and not allowed out, and during that boring period, Wei Yuan could only play with guns every day and serve as a firearms instructor for the Transmigrators.

That was precisely the time when Chen Erye had clung to Tangzhuang and refused to leave — taking beatings and scoldings, just to learn the principle of aligning three points into one line, just to fire a single pistol bullet. Who knew how many kicks the short-statured Erye had taken from the giant? It was all tears when spoken of...

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