Chapter 10: The Secret House

Xiao Zishan and the others rose to return the greeting, their earlier wariness toward people from another time having long since faded. These were living, breathing men, no different from themselves. Over several transactions, Gao Ju had proven himself a man of integrity—someone worth cultivating. After the crossing, he would be invaluable.

Pleasantries dispensed with, they got down to business. Thanks to their new hydraulic hand truck, they had managed to haul over four pallet loads—more than a hundred crates in all. Xiao Zishan's promotional items were exhausted, so this shipment consisted entirely of wholesale purchases: mirrors of various sizes, disposable lighters, frosted and spray-decorated glassware. Wen Desi, having done extensive research, had discovered that pearls fetched extraordinary prices in the late Ming, so they had also brought large quantities of cultured pearls.

The steward ordered his men to crack open sample crates and present them one by one. Master Gao had long since steeled himself to expect rare goods with every visit, yet each new item still managed to astonish him. The disposable lighters captivated him most of all—nothing could rival their convenience for starting a fire.

He turned the Wenzhou-made lighter over in his hands. By now, translucent plastic no longer amazed him. He flicked it several times, then stared at the small flame with open admiration. "This method of striking fire is no different from flint and steel," he mused, "except that oil replaces tinder and a wheel strikes the spark. Nothing within is particularly rare. Yet your craftsmen have combined such ingenuity into one small, exquisite object—truly unmatched."

Wen Desi and the others exchanged knowing glances. Who said the ancients were ignorant? Master Gao had grasped the principle at a single glance. Of course, the butane inside was something the ancients could never produce, but he had correctly identified the liquid as oil.

"However, this lighter cannot be refilled," Wen Desi explained. "Once empty, it must be discarded."

"Is that so?" Master Gao stopped flicking. "A pity. Why can it not be refilled? To throw away such a clever, practical thing seems terribly wasteful."

Wen Desi wondered how to explain the concept of disposability. Should he tell him that in their time, nearly everything was disposable? That might frighten the man half to death. He hedged, saying craftsmen were working on improvements.

When the goods were tallied, the total came to over thirty thousand taels. Several full-length dressing mirrors nearly made Master Gao's eyes pop from his skull—even in the imperial palace, such things would leave the Emperor slack-jawed. The pearls also won Gao Ju's favor. Since troubles had erupted in Liaodong, tribute pearls from the northeast had ceased entirely, and South Sea pearl harvests remained meager. The market was desperately short.

Master Gao knew they preferred gold, so he exchanged a thousand taels' worth. Then he ordered porcelain brought from his storeroom—as much as would fit on the pallets, tightly bound with straw rope. In truth, he had no idea how these three managed to transport more cargo with every visit. He dared not ask, but privately speculated whether they might know some manner of teleportation sorcery.

Xiao Zishan gazed at the crates of gold and silver until his head swam. Thank goodness they had bought the hydraulic truck—how else would they move nearly a ton of precious metal? While his mind wandered, Wen Desi inquired about their commission to purchase a house.

Gao Ju considered the question carefully before responding. "Normally this would present no difficulty. But as overseas merchants, you are not permitted under Ming law to purchase property here. Of course, you are all of Chinese descent—your speech and appearance are Chinese enough. Change your attire and you could quietly take up residence." He paused. "Only—of late, with these rare goods appearing on the market, I find myself under considerable scrutiny."

They understood immediately: success attracts attention. With so many unprecedented goods suddenly flooding Guangzhou, who knew how many eyes and ears were watching?

Their original plan to establish a foothold inside the city had fallen through. According to the crossing strategy, Guangzhou was to serve as the mainland trade gateway—exporting modern products manufactured at the Hainan base, importing materials and personnel, and serving as a window for observing Ming developments.

Seeing the disappointment written across their faces, Gao Ju revealed a proposal of his own—one he had been mulling over for some time. In his estimation, the Australian merchants wanted a house because they needed a stable location for long-term trade: a place to store goods and lodge personnel. Their motive was the same as when the Portuguese had bribed high officials to lease Macau—only on a smaller scale.

"However, I do have another idea..." He stroked his sparse whiskers, regarding them with an inquiring look.

"Please enlighten us, Master Gao."

"What you gentlemen want is simply a place to stay in the city. I have a property here. If you do not find it beneath you, it is yours to use."

He dismissed the maids and summoned two trusted servants, then slipped a ring of keys into his sleeve and led the way. They passed through narrow alleys to the back courtyard, where the air carried the sharp ammonia smell of mules and horses—the stable yard. But Master Gao did not enter. Instead, he circled around a wall corner to a passageway that dead-ended at a small house. An elderly servant sat by the door; upon seeing his master, he rose hastily.

"Open the door."

The old servant produced a key and let them in. On the wall of the inner room hung an iron-clad door. Unbolting it, they stepped through and found themselves outside the estate entirely. Before them stretched an extremely secluded cobblestone path running along the base of the city wall. On one side lay wasteland beneath the foundations; on the other rose the high rear walls of wealthy households. No one was about. Weeds grew wild between the stones, and they occasionally passed branching alleys.

"These alleys lead to the main road out front," Master Gao explained. "Their entrances all have wooden gates that are normally kept locked. Though this path is public land, ordinary people cannot get in."

After several hundred meters, they reached a rear wall so weathered it was nearly crumbling. Unlocking the door, they entered a small rear courtyard paved with blue stone slabs and planted with banana trees and flowers—very secluded. Proceeding inward, they found three connected courtyards, all kept clean and fully furnished.

"This is my secondary residence. Reserved for emergencies."

This was Master Gao's secret house. He maintained several such properties in and around Guangzhou. This one was meant as a sanctuary—a place to hide should disaster ever strike.

The front gate did not open onto the street. What faced the street was a sundry-goods shop, outwardly an ordinary oil-and-salt store but actually one of Master Gao's arrangements. Beside the shop was an inconspicuous side door with an alley leading directly to the house—very convenient.

Servants were on hand. Seeing the master bring guests, they hurried to boil water and serve tea.

"Those of us in the overseas trade must be exceedingly cautious," Master Gao sighed, settling into his chair. "Making a living is not easy."

Smuggling meant dealing with unsavory characters—pirates, river bandits, mountain brigands—all the sort who would kill for money. Kidnapping, extortion, murder, and robbery were commonplace.

Though they had backing in the prefectural, provincial, and capital governments, officials were greedy and made constant demands. Moreover, the court remained inherently suspicious of overseas trade, and there were periodic proposals to ban Portuguese commerce with Guangzhou. Local officials frequently used this threat as leverage to squeeze merchants.

"All that is still manageable," Master Gao continued. "What troubles us most is the recent surge in pirates. Foreign and Chinese ships alike have suffered greatly, and our livelihoods have grown difficult."

Xiao Zishan recognized an opportunity to gather intelligence on piracy along the Guangdong-Fujian coast. He feigned ignorance: "Sailing from Australia, we found the route quite peaceful."

"That is your good fortune." Master Gao smiled bitterly. "Compared to Fujian and Zhejiang, this area is relatively calm. Haicheng has been utterly devastated."

Since the second year of Tianqi, pirates along the Fujian-Guangdong coast had been recruiting followers and forming confederacies, declaring themselves kings. The most powerful were Yang Liu, Cai San, and Zhong Liu. In the sixth year of Tianqi, Fujian's Regional Commander Yu Zigao and the Guangdong naval forces mounted a joint suppression campaign. They pacified Yang Liu, while Cai San and Zhong Liu fled abroad, temporarily curbing the pirates' momentum.

Yet before long, Zheng Zhilong, Zhong Lingxiu, Li Kuiqi, and other pirate fleets resumed raiding the Fujian-Zhejiang coast. Fujian suffered most severely. Yuegang in Haicheng County—China's largest export port since the Longqing opening—was left in ruins. Ships heading overseas, fearing pirate attacks, had dwindled to a trickle.

"Here in Guangzhou, things have been quiet since last year's joint campaign by Fujian's Commander Yu and our provincial navy. The Portuguese also patrol the river mouth, since their interests lie in Macau."

So pirate activity was concentrated along the Fujian coast. This intelligence boosted their confidence—at least initially, they would not have to face BOSS-level figures like Zheng Zhilong or Li Kuiqi.

"Still, caution is best," Gao Ju reminded them. Though Guangdong's coast harbored no major pirates, small pirate and bandit gangs were as numerous as hairs on an ox. They were strangers here; mooring and disembarking would require particular care.

(End of Chapter)