The garrison of Beisha City, along with minor officials, totaling only four to five hundred men, surged forward with joy to begin unloading.
Shark after shark was dragged ashore and neatly arranged.
From the Zhenyuan alone, over twenty sharks were unloaded.
Each shark, five to six meters long, weighed one to two thousand catties.
Three ships, docking in rotation to unload the fish, presented nearly a hundred large fish. The sight of them left the citizens of Beisha City who came to watch both shocked and full of anticipation. They wondered if the county magistrate would mercifully distribute some of this abundant fish.
However, the astonishing events were far from over.
After the sharks were unloaded, the fifteen-meter-long sperm whale was revealed to everyone's eyes.
A Kun!
So large! Look at those fins, it must be a Kun!
Humans managed to slaughter a Kun!
This is the Marquis of Liaodong, is there anything he cannot do?
Exactly, it's just slaughtering a Kun! It's a pity we can't join the Marquis of Liaodong in such a thrilling endeavor!
Do you think, next time, the Marquis of Liaodong will slaughter a dragon?
You dimwit, don't drag me into your death wish.
The person who spoke of Fang Er slaughtering a dragon was immediately silenced by someone beside him. Slaughtering a dragon? Is that something one can just say? The true Son of Heaven is the current Emperor!
Wang Songqi pointed at the sperm whale with a trembling finger. Marquis, is this giant Kun truly killed by you?
Chai Shao and Yuchi Jingde also disembarked. Hearing Wang Songqi's question, Chai Shao retorted, "This thing is called a sperm whale, not a Kun!"
Wang Songqi was astonished, unsure if Chai Shao was correct. After all, the existence of fish in the East Sea named Kun was merely legend. Could this sperm whale truly be killed by human hands?
Fang Er nodded and then pointed at the sperm whale. "Have someone cut this behemoth open immediately and extract its whale oil; it's a valuable commodity. Also, if you find any hard objects in its belly, do not discard them. Remember to notify me."
Wang Songqi quickly nodded in agreement. The fifteen-meter sperm whale was cut into pieces by soldiers wielding their weapons. The whale oil was collected in wooden barrels as per Fang Er's instructions.
Half an hour later, a soldier approached, carrying a dark mass. "Marquis, is this the thing you mentioned?" the soldier asked, standing beside Fang Er.
Fang Er caught a whiff of a foul odor. Chai Shao, overwhelmed by the stench, retreated and fanned his nose incessantly. "Damn it! What is this? Did you pull out fish dung?" Cheng Chumo also showed a look of disgust. "Brother, are you sure this is ambergris? It looks quite different from what I've seen at home."
Fang Er explained, "Don't mind its current appearance. After soaking in seawater for some time, it will transform into the ambergris you've seen. We're just not sure about the exact soaking duration." Yuchi Baolin mused, "So, this thing, like medicinal herbs, requires processing?"
Cheng Chumo took the ambergris, or rather, what could only be called a concretion at this point, from the soldier's arms. He weighed it, his eyes lighting up. "Brother, this must be twenty to thirty catties." One qian of ambergris is worth one liang of gold. One catty is one hundred sixty qian, so thirty catties would be worth four thousand eight hundred taels of gold! This was truly a windfall.
In that short time, the whale oil had been completely extracted. Fang Er walked over to Wang Songqi, who was directing the soldiers' work. "Find people to set up pots and refine this whale oil." Fang Er already had plans for the whale oil's use. This substance maintained sufficient viscosity at high temperatures, making it suitable as a lubricant. This was historically accurate for whale oil's use. Of course, whale oil alone had some drawbacks, but with proper blending with current lubricants, it should be fine.
As Wang Songqi's orders were relayed, the citizens of Beisha City began to bustle. The sperm whale yielded over a thousand catties of oil. Large cauldrons were set up on the dock, and the oil began to be rendered. After the soldiers finished segmenting the sperm whale, they turned their attention to the pile of sharks. Pieces of lean-looking flesh were separated from the bones.
Cheng Chumo, having secured the piece of ambergris, became greedy upon seeing the red shark meat. He took a piece of shark meat, sliced off a piece with his knife, and threw it directly into his mouth. Fish stew. This was a popular dish during the Tang Dynasty, mostly using boneless, large fish. However, as soon as the shark meat touched Cheng Chumo's tongue, he spat it out. "Ptooey!" He then wiped his mouth and looked at Fang Er with a dejected expression. "Brother, this meat is so fishy!"
Fang Er... "This is meant for the citizens to fill their stomachs. What are you making a fuss for? If you want to eat, go see if Baoju has prepared the shark fins on the ship. Those should be delicious." When the large ships docked, there was no news from Li Baoju about eating shark fins; he might still have been researching cooking methods. Cheng Chumo suspected, "Could that thing be as fishy as this shark meat?"
Fang Er waved his hand, "You'll know when you try it yourself." As Cheng Chumo turned, he saw Yuchi Baolin already rushing towards the Zhenyuan. "Damn it! Baolin, wait for me!" Fang Er shook his head and stopped paying attention to the two.
Yuchi Jingde looked at the sperm whale, now reduced to a skeleton, and asked in confusion, "Kid, since that ambergris comes from within this sperm whale, why bother digging for silver mountains? Why not just go out to sea and catch fish?" Fang Er said helplessly, "It's not that easy. We were lucky this time. This thing usually stays in the deep sea; it's not easy to encounter one. If we're unlucky, we might drift at sea for three to five months without encountering one."
Alright, that explanation dispelled Yuchi Jingde's professional whaling idea. The more people, the greater the strength; the more pots, the faster the oil rendering. With ten large cauldrons, a thousand catties of whale oil were rendered in less than two hours. They were packed into wooden barrels, sealed with lids, and then fire-sealed to prevent spillage during the ship's motion. The wooden barrels were loaded onto the Zhenyuan and stored in the cargo hold.
"Brother, hurry! The shark fin tastes amazing!" Fang Er turned to see Cheng Chumo standing by the side of the Zhenyuan, waving at him. In his other hand, he held a golden-colored object and was bringing it to his mouth.