Hong Kong variety show: Starting from helping Mr. Fok run ships

Chapter 71: The Rendezvous, The Sail!

"This is the most comfortable season to go out to sea."

After setting sail, Guo Dagui was noticeably happier. Having spent decades at sea, he knew the ocean better than his own family.

Hong Kong Island has a distinct four seasons and a subtropical monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.

Spring is warm and foggy, summer is hot and rainy, autumn is sunny and mild, and winter is slightly dry and cold.

Except for winter when the temperature may drop below 10 degrees Celsius, it is very hot most of the time.

May to September is the rainiest time, with typhoons and other weather events, but most of the time the rainfall is plentiful and flowers bloom in all four seasons.

Northerners find the most comfortable time living here during the winter.

"Old Guo, which way are we going?"

Zhang Guohao got a fishing rod and sat at the stern of the boat to fish.

Fishing isn't important; what's important is passing the time.

"Southwest, we've just set sail, don't rush. They're having a big meeting, so be careful. It'll take two or three days to get there."

Guo Dagui looked at Zhang Guohao and said.

Zhang Guohao didn't say anything more. He sat there, bored. After sailing for so many days, although it was rare for him to go out to sea during the day, Zhang Guohao wasn't too excited. There was nothing on the sea, just the blue ocean. What was there to be excited about?

Guo Dagui was right. Sure enough, the pirates wouldn't tell them the meeting place directly. They walked for most of the day before arriving at the first rendezvous point, which was a small island.

"Whoosh!"

When we were still far from the island, a large red firework went off on the island and was very conspicuous in the sky.

"Crackling and popping!"

Guo Dagui was prepared; he took out a tin bucket, lit a string of firecrackers, and threw it inside.

Then Guo Dagui took out a sheepskin coat and hung it on the bow of the boat. Next to the sheepskin coat were two purple lanterns.

This was also a specially agreed-upon code, proving that this was Boss Huo's fleet.

"They're here? Wait, there are still two people missing. We'll leave once they arrive."

On the small island, there was a small boat and a few men dressed in somewhat shabby clothes. As Zhang Guohao's boat approached, they shouted loudly, directing the direction for it to dock.

These people clearly spend a long time at sea, as there is a white, frost-like substance on their bodies, which may be crystallized from bathing in seawater and then drying.

These men were the pirates' liaisons; each of them had a machete tucked into their waistband and exuded the aura of desperados.

Apart from the leader who carried a gun, the rest of the people did not seem to be armed, which was obviously to show their attitude to the attendees.

Having a gun proves they have the ability to maintain order. Having only one gun represents their friendly attitude; they won't use the gun easily and welcome everyone to the meeting.

After all, those who came to the meeting were either pirates or members of various merchant guilds.

The people in the Chamber of Commerce are people you have to give money to; you need to intimidate them, but you can't afford to offend them.

The man who came out to meet Zhang Guohao was a man with a red cloth wrapped around his head and hair that looked like a hedgehog.

This man was in his early thirties, shirtless, revealing a muscular physique. Even in this weather, he dressed like this, showing he was in good physical condition.

"Boss Huo's men? My name is Lang Wu, and I need to pick up five bosses here."

The man in the lead looked at Zhang Guohao, nodded, and gave a brief explanation without any polite small talk.

Zhang Guohao nodded noncommittally, looking around at the small island and the two ships that had arrived.

It must be said that it's not easy for these pirates to make a living like this. They probably have to know the islands, reefs, and berths within thousands of nautical miles by heart. They can even find a berth on such a small island that can accommodate five or six ships. They really put in a lot of effort.

Being a pirate is an even more dangerous job, even more so than Zhang Guohao's shipkeeping. If you don't remember these locations, you might get caught and killed at any time.

Zhang Guohao looked at the other two merchant ships that were also participating in the pirate convention. They were about the same size as his own, and each ship had a dozen or so people on board. They were somewhat wary, but also seemed quite relaxed.

"This ship over here belongs to the Deng family, and the ship behind it belongs to the He family. They've both been at sea for a long time."

Old Guo walked over to Zhang Guohao and whispered, explaining the origins of the two ships.

Hong Kong Island is surrounded by the sea, so there are naturally many families that run ships, and the competition is fierce. A ship is not cheap, and if it gets swept away by the wind and waves, it can cause serious damage.

Zhang Guohao nodded, glanced at the other party, and seeing that they were not particularly impressive, he didn't take them seriously.

Since we're all going to a conference, it's better to chat less. It wouldn't be good if the pirates thought we were trying to form a group and attacked us.

Soon, two more merchant ships arrived, accompanied by another burst of firecrackers. After exchanging signals with the other ships, Lang Wu led them over without letting them dock. Instead, he steered his own ship out and had the others follow.

Originally, they came as individual merchants, but now they have become fleets, which continue to sail at sea.

Two days later, Zhang Guohao and his group finally arrived at the location of the pirate convention. Whether Guo Dagui remembered the route or not is unknown, but Zhang Guohao was completely lost.

They stopped at more than a dozen small islands along the way, ostensibly to replenish water, but in reality, it was to test whether anyone was following them and to confuse the merchant ships about their route.

The island where the conference was held was larger than the previous islands where we docked, and the boisterous voices of the people on the island could be heard from a great distance.

However, the noise wasn't pleasant; it was either gambling or swearing.

"Goodness, this is a great spot. It's a narrow passage, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The area inside is also quite large. If we hide inside, no one from the outside will be able to find us."

Guo Dagui came to the bow of the ship and pointed out the situation of the island to Zhang Guohao.

There are no beaches on this island; instead, it is surrounded by cliffs tens of meters high.

However, there is a passage in the middle, neither wide nor narrow. Ships like the one Zhang Guohao is standing on can sail in, but large ocean-going ships certainly cannot.

Two small boats were on guard at the entrance. Lang Wu waved his flag early and exchanged a secret signal with them.

"Are there cannons up there?"

Zhang Guohao looked up at the cliff and muttered something.

On the cliff, there were also pirate guards, with the barrels of two cannons—whether mountain guns or field guns—hidden among the vegetation.

If you don't look closely, you wouldn't even know there are cannons on it.

"Those defeated soldiers brought back quite a few good things; these pirates have finally upgraded from ragtag weapons to powerful cannons."

Guo Dagui also spoke up from the side.

"Be careful. We're here to deliver gifts; let's not cause any unnecessary trouble."

Zhang Guohao turned around and said to his brothers.