"Yiyi, Qingwen's idea is a little wrong." Xu Lang didn't hide it, and said what happened in the evening.

"Qingwen is telling the truth, her father and mother are really bad to her." Zhao Zhiruo told Qingwen about it, "I knew about these things when I first looked for her, but I didn't tell you, but I didn't expect her to let go until now." ”

"yes, I didn't expect that." Cheng Yiyi said with a smile, "I didn't expect her to have a father-lover complex at a young age." ”

Zhao Zhiruo didn't understand: "Sister Yiyi, what is the father-lover complex?" ”

"Nothing." Cheng Yiyi didn't answer, "Xu Lang, you don't have to take this matter to heart, I'll find a chance to talk to her." Qingwen is not very old, and many things are still relatively simple, so it would be good to be more enlightened and enlightened. ”

In early spring and February, the sea in Yulin Bay was warm and cold, but the weather today was very good and the wind was not strong. Van Basten, the head of the customs anti-smuggling team, stood on the bow of a 30-gunboat and looked around with a telescope. It was already noon, and the anti-smuggling boat came out for a whole morning, and it didn't encounter anything except a whaling ship that had gone out to sea.

Van Basten put down his binoculars and turned back to the captain and asked, "How far is it to the waters of Wanzhou?" ”

"Captain, there are Wanzhou waters ahead, and it will take about half an hour."

Van Basten looked up at the position of the sun: "Let's go to Wanzhou and go back, it's been a morning, and it's almost evening when I go back." ”

"Yes, Captain."

The anti-smuggling boat drove in the direction of Wanzhou for a while, and suddenly a bell rang from the lookout post, and the lookout stretched out his head and shouted: "Report to the chief, a merchant ship has been found at two o'clock ahead, five nautical miles away from our ship, and the course should be in the direction of Wanzhou." ”

"What kind of merchant ship, what flag is flying?" Van Basten asked.

"I don't know where it is, they didn't fly the flag."

Van Basten had some doubts in his heart, ordinary merchant ships should sail to Yulin Bay, which is the most prosperous place for commerce. Although the economy in Wanzhou has also developed now, there are still not many foreign merchant ships that go directly to Wanzhou, and why they do not fly their flags is not common sense.

"Lookout posts, signal them to stop the ship and wait for inspection." Van Basten decided to go up and have a look first.

The signal of the anti-smuggling boat was issued, but the merchant ship in front did not stop, but increased its speed, as if trying to leave the waters.

Van Basten was even more suspicious that there must be something wrong with the ship: "Sound the warning and speed up to catch up." ”

With a cannon shot, the anti-smuggling boat opened its sails and headed for the merchant ship in front of it at a speed of 12 knots.

The distance between the two ships was slowly approaching, and the bell rang again at the lookout post: "Sir, the other party has stopped the ship and raised the Portuguese flag." ”

Van Basten had already seen the ship's flag through the binoculars, but still ordered: "All cannons load shotshots, slow down, and slowly lean over." ”

The two ships were on the gang, and Van Basten took a team of anti-smuggling officers on the merchant ship: "Which of you is the captain?" ”

A Chinese came to Van Basten: "Back to the adult, the villain is the captain of this ship." ”

Van Basten looked at the Chinese in front of him: "Where did you come from, where did you go, what cargo did you load on board?" ”

"Lord Hui, this ship belongs to the Portuguese East India Company, we are from Goa, India, and we want to go to Wanzhou in Daming."

"You're from the Ming Dynasty." Van Basten asked, "How can you be the captain of this ship, what are you carrying?" ”

"The villain is employed in Portugal." The captain replied, "We don't have anything in it, it's all cotton." ”

"Can I see your cargo?" Van Basten felt that the captain was lying, that a boatload of cotton would never have been so deep.

"Your Excellency, please." The captain was not at all alarmed, "We really didn't have anything else with us. ”

"You guys go and take a look." Van Basten turned back and ordered.

After a while, the anti-smuggling team came out of the cargo hold: "Report to the sir, the cargo hold is full of cotton, and no other goods have been found." ”

Van Basten came again to look at the cargo list, and the list did indicate that the ship was transporting cotton, and the destination was Wanzhou.

"My lord, you see you've finished checking it too." The captain took back the list, "If there is nothing wrong, can the villain go, this ship of cotton will be sent to Guangzhou in a hurry." ”

"You wait a minute." Van Basten asked one of the senior superintendents who led the inspection, "Have you checked the bottom and inside of the cotton?" ”

"Not really." The superintendent replied, "Their cotton is all baled, and we haven't unpacked it." ”

"Unpacking." Van Basten became more and more suspicious that the ship must have something to do, and how could this draft be possible without something else.

"My lord, you can't unpack it." The captain was anxious when he heard that Van Basten was going to unpack and inspect it, "These cotton are packed according to the requirements of Wanzhou merchants, and we will not be able to deliver them after unpacking." ”

Van Basten ignored the captain: "Then go to someone to unpack and check, and by the way, see if there is a dark cabin under the cotton." ”

"Your Excellency." The captain stretched out his hand to stop the smuggling team, and his tone hardened, "This ship of cotton belongs to the Portuguese East India Company, if the adults have to forcibly inspect it, and there is any problem, the Portuguese will ask about it." ”

"Portuguese? You can ask them to come to me with the anti-smuggling team of Yulin Bay Customs, I am Van Basten, the leader of the anti-smuggling team. Van Basten laughed, "And I can tell you that I'm also from the Netherlands." But in Yulin Bay, you have to follow the laws of Yulin Bay, and I now suspect that your ship is carrying contraband, and it must be opened and inspected. ”

After Van Basten finished speaking, the senior superintendent who led the team pushed away the captain who was blocking the front and led the people back into the cabin. The captain looked at Van Basten with a dead face, and was silent.

When the superintendent came out of the cabin for the second time, he had a happy expression on his face: "Sir, they did carry other cargo. The cotton bales were full of ivory, precious wood, precious stones, gold and silver. ”

Van Basten didn't ask again: "Put the people in custody, and the ship will sail back to Yulin Bay." ”

"Wait a minute, sir." The captain pulled Van Basten aside, "Please also raise your noble hand, the things on the ship, the villain can honor the adults." ”

"How much can you honor me?" Van Basten smiled, "Look at how many people there are in my anti-smuggling boat, and how much silver you can come up with." You don't have to bother talking, someone will look for you when you return to Yulin Bay. ”

Unbeknownst to the captain, the Yulin Bay Customs recently made a new regulation that in addition to paying 5 percent of the tariff on the smuggled goods seized throughout Hainan Island, a fine of 10 percent of the value of the smuggled goods would be fined, and 30 percent of the fine would be given to the anti-smuggling team.

This regulation is due to the fact that the patrol house has recently begun to collect protection fees again, and the work enthusiasm of the patrol officers has been greatly increased compared to before, which makes most customs officers very jealous. Li Lin also had no choice, so he formulated such a departmental regulation that was not very legal, so the current anti-smuggling team has to send anti-smuggling boats around the entire Hainan Island every day, and it may be more than he can earn by working for a year to catch a smuggling boat, so Van Basten doesn't look down on the bribe at all.

In the evening, the merchant ship was sailed back to Yulin Bay. When Van Basten disembarked and returned to the anti-smuggling team, Maniche had not yet left work.

"Mr. Maniche hasn't gotten off work yet?" Van Basten looked a little excited, "I caught a big guy today, and this time we can at least have a few thousand taels of silver." ”

"Congratulations to the captain for making a fortune, I'm off work." Maniche replied lightly, sorted out the papers on the desk, didn't speak to Van Basten again, got up and left the office.