Zheng Zhihu looked absolutely pitiful.
His eyes were locked onto the marine chronometer as if it were the only treasure left in the world. If Li Daoxuan had nearly embarrassed himself earlier over seafood, now fate had reversed the situation completely. Zheng Zhihu looked ready to drool onto the deck.
Li Daoxuan laughed inwardly.
So this is how balance is restored.
He leaned forward slightly.
"You want it?"
Zheng Zhihu nodded so hard it seemed dangerous.
"Yes. I want it. What would it take for you to part with such a treasure?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head.
"It is not for sale. No price."
Zheng Zhihu's shoulders dropped instantly.
Of course it was not for sale. A device that could calculate one's exact position at sea was worth more than ten thousand taels. It could save fleets. It could decide life and death.
Then Li Daoxuan spoke again.
"Money is crude. Trade it for abalone instead."
"…What?"
"Abalone," Li Daoxuan repeated calmly. "If that is not enough, then large lobsters. If lobsters are insufficient, sea urchins will do. Tuna. A great deal of tuna. Salmon roe as well."
He stopped.
His mouth watered.
He slapped the table.
"Quartermaster. Is the seafood ready yet?"
"Coming. Coming."
The quartermaster rushed out with a platter of freshly steamed swimming crabs and placed it before him.
In that instant, Li Daoxuan forgot about chronometers, pirates, imperial authority, and possibly the future of maritime history.
He cracked two crab legs.
Crunch. Crunch.
Zheng Zhihu stared helplessly.
Seeing Dao Xuan Tianzun fully occupied with divine offerings, Wang Zheng smoothly took over.
"General Zheng," he said warmly, "your defense of the southern coast against pirates, both local and Western, is truly admirable. Your name will be recorded in history. I once even saw a depiction of the Great Battle of Liaoluo Bay."
"A depiction?"
Zheng Zhihu blinked. "What kind of depiction?"
Wang Zheng cleared his throat. "In any case, your Zheng clan has safeguarded these waters. It is only fitting that you possess this Divine Clock."
Zheng Zhihu's face brightened.
"Truly?"
"Of course. I created this one. I can create another. A second. A third. Even thousands."
Only then did Zheng Zhihu fully grasp that the device was the work of the man before him. Respect rose in his chest.
"However," Wang Zheng continued, raising a finger, "two conditions."
"I am listening."
"First, this Divine Clock must never fall into foreign hands. It is for your Zheng family alone."
"Agreed."
"Second, Mr. Li has very specific seafood requirements. You must procure them diligently. If mortals wish to receive blessings from above, they must not be stingy with offerings. May the Tianzun protect you. May blessings be abundant."
Zheng Zhihu felt momentarily dizzy from the sermon, but the calculation was simple.
Trade seafood for a device that guarantees safe navigation?
A fortune.
On the coast, seafood was common produce. Only premium abalone required effort. The rest were easily obtained.
He bowed deeply.
"My sincere thanks, Master Wang."
Wang Zheng waved quickly. "Do not thank me. If you must thank someone, thank the Dao Xuan Tiqnzun. Do not thank me."
Zheng Zhihu silently concluded that Wang Zheng was slightly eccentric.
Then he focused on the food.
He cracked open a crab leg and dipped it into soy sauce. Just as he was about to bite, Li Daoxuan sighed.
"The seafood is excellent. Extremely fresh. But this soy sauce is not ideal."
The soy sauce Zheng Zhihu had brought was common dark soy.
Li Daoxuan detected the problem immediately. Too salty. Too heavy. It overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the crab.
"You are fortunate," Li Daoxuan said. "I came prepared."
He stood and entered the captain's cabin. Moments later, he returned dragging a small sturdy chest.
This chest had arrived from Gao Family Village labeled Heavenly Lord Designated Delivery. No one had dared to open it. Everyone assumed it contained some divine artifact.
Li Daoxuan opened it.
Inside were bottles and jars.
He rummaged eagerly.
"Found it. Specialty seafood soy sauce. Dedicated dipping sauce for small seafood. And Sichuan style spicy seafood sauce."
The sailors from Gao Family Village collectively inhaled.
They had transported this chest thousands of miles.
For condiments.
Li Daoxuan returned to the table, poured the sauces into small bowls, and smiled.
"Try these."
He dipped a crab leg into the specialty seafood soy sauce and took a bite.
His eyes closed in satisfaction.
Zheng Zhihu followed.
He dipped. He bit.
He froze.
This was completely different.
Not aggressively salty. Not overwhelming. It enhanced the crab instead of suppressing it. The freshness blossomed on the tongue.
"Delicious."
He tried another sauce. And another.
Each one drew louder praise.
Then he tried the Sichuan style spicy seafood sauce.
There was a pause.
Then he recoiled violently.
His face twisted in agony.
"I would rather eat an entire banquet of Fujianese than endure this sauce again."
Wang Zheng stared. "Do Cantonese truly eat Fujianese?"
Zheng Zhihu choked. "No. I am Fujianese. It is a joke. Do not mistake me for Cantonese. And for the record, Cantonese do not eat Fujianese."
Wang Zheng fell silent.
Zheng Zhihu quickly moved on.
"These miraculous sauces. Where are they produced? Could I purchase some? If I sell them across Guangdong and Fujian, they would certainly become a sensation."
The merchant instinct had awakened.
Wang Zheng smiled faintly.
"They are not easily obtained."
He pointed upward.
"It depends entirely on the mood of the one above. If he chooses to bestow them, we receive them. If not, they are unavailable."
Those words sparked an idea in Li Daoxuan's mind.
He activated his Co-sensing ability.
His perspective shifted outside the diorama world.
Luoyang.
His refrigerator.
He took out a 500 milliliter bottle of specialty seafood soy sauce and another 500 milliliter bottle of seafood dipping sauce.
Carefully, he placed them into the miniature world.
Then he issued an order.
"Bai Yuan. Hire workers immediately. Decant these into smaller containers. Send a ship to the Nanhui Mouth market."
And just like that, the divine seafood sauce trade quietly began.