Probably due to the panic while dragging the dinghy to escape, the bow deck was a mess.
A toppled empty wooden barrel was stuck between the railings, and bundles of hemp ropes were haphazardly thrown under the mast.
If you look closely, you can find some pieces of salted meat tied to ropes on both sides of the hull. They emitted a fishy stench that attracted a few seabirds. At the moment, they were circling above Chen Zhou's head, wanting to snatch the food but fearing the bulky hairless ape.
Finding a clean spot to stand, Chen Zhou looked toward the stern.
His sight passed over the sturdy and towering main mast, and the first thing he noticed was the tiered and stacked sterncastle, which, along with the slightly higher forecastle, outlined the entire ship into a banana shape, with higher ends and a lower middle.
But because the bow sagged and the stern tilted up, even though the difference in height wasn't great, looking from the bow to the stern created a feeling of looking up.
Recalling the content from the original work, Chen Zhou knew that the ordinary crew's quarters and the food storage hold were located at the bow, while the Captain, first mate, and others of higher status lived at the stern, so he didn't waste any more time and continued straight ahead.
After descending the wooden steps inside the bulwark, he reached the middle of the ship.
The items here were still neatly arranged, the floor was flat, and the railings on both sides were intact. The deck, having endured wind and waves, showed signs of cleaning, unlike the dirty bow.
On the ground, a few covers used for lighting and ventilation were symmetrically placed, with grids covering them. By looking down through the gaps, one could see two shiny, black cannons.
In the center of the wooden wall connecting the stairs on both sides, there was a door leading to the lower deck of the foredeck. A cleverly designed cupboard stood next to the door, housing an hourglass fixed with brass. Its craftsmanship wasn't particularly fine, but it was sturdy and undamaged.
Curiously, Chen Zhou wiped away the water stains from the glass casing of the hourglass, gently turned it over, and watched the fine sand flow slowly. He thought it was a good timing tool and decided to remember to take this hourglass when transporting materials.
Experiencing such a late medieval sailing ship firsthand was entirely different from watching movies or admiring those meticulously modeled ones in games.
The ship was filled with the traces of sailors' activities, information left by the passage of time.
On the railings, you could see crooked short phrases carved by sailors with small knives, and on the boards, you could feel the textures left by brooms and mops. The ropes bore the sour stench brewed from sweat and seawater.
In an inconspicuous corner, a loose spike silently fell off. At the joints of the wooden boards, the old paint had begun to crack, and rust spots dotted the surface of brackets corroded by seawater, indicating that this ship was no longer young.
Opening the lid of the barrel under the mast, one could find a gaming cup and dice, cards soaked and stuck together by seawater, and bone gambling tools with dim yellow points, which were among the few entertainment methods for sailors at sea.
On the way toward the stern, Chen Zhou also saw a chimney formed by small tiles, with the fireproof mud on both sides emitting a faint smoke smell, thus confirming the location of the kitchen.
Continuing forward and pushing open the slightly ajar door of the sterncastle, a narrow corridor appeared in front of Chen Zhou.
The corridor was dimly lit, with several tightly closed wooden doors staggered along both sides. The paint on the walls was well-maintained, with no signs of peeling or cracking, and even very few cracks.
Moreover, the smell here wasn't as pungent as that at the bow, making Chen Zhou feel somewhat comfortable.
The environment of the sterncastle contrasted sharply with the chaos of the bow deck, showing that even though the conditions at sea were so harsh, sailors would still distinguish themselves based on their skills and seniority.
The Captain and the first mate undoubtedly enjoyed the most spacious and luxurious rooms, while the gunner, carpenter, ship's doctor, and priest, although not as privileged as the Captain, could still have a smaller private room, unlike ordinary sailors who squeezed into shared bunks at the bow.
Casually pushing open a door, the sunlight streaming in from the porthole on the side of the ship made Chen Zhou squint. Once he adjusted to the intense light, he could see the furnishings of the entire room clearly.
Though called a private room, it was not very large.
The upright wooden walls on all sides compressed the space, making it extremely oppressive, with a short table by the window and a bed beside it covered with dirty bedding.
At sea, fresh water was extremely precious. Even the person living here, though of higher status, couldn't afford to waste fresh water cleaning clothes or bathing.
At the end of the bed, four wooden boxes were sloppily stacked, tightly wrapped with a layer of fishing net, seemingly to prevent them from shifting due to the ship's motion.
After looking around, Chen Zhou found nothing other than the lantern hanging by the window and the parchment sea chart on the table. He then pulled off the fishing net, moved down the boxes, and pried open the clasps one by one to inspect them.
The box on top was opened first, revealing some books inside.
Chen Zhou took them all out and counted fifteen in total. Besides, there were five small wooden boxes sealed with wax.
Among these fifteen books, most were ordinary leather-bound volumes. Chen Zhou curiously flipped through a few and found that most were in English. However, six of them, though written in Latin letters, were not in English, as he couldn't recognize a single word.
From this, Chen Zhou inferred that those six books might be in Spanish or Portuguese. Judging by the illustrations, their content was mostly related to religion and some mythological fables.
Three other books were more exquisitely packaged, standing out prominently.