Chinese people knew very little about the outside world. Even in Guangzhou, where foreigners were relatively common, they still could not distinguish between different foreign races and regarded all foreigners as "red-haired people."
This term may have originated with the Portuguese and Dutch, who were the first to make contact with Southern Fujian. They had once fought the Ming dynasty. These European merchant ships were equipped with cannons and served as both trading vessels and warships. Thus, the Chinese believed that these "red-haired people" used trade as a pretext while actually preparing to invade China. If they were merchant ships, why would they carry cannons?
Yet they kept such thoughts deeply concealed, showing only contempt for foreigners. Even children were like this. They mostly imitated the adults and stubbornly believed that foreigners could not receive a proper education overseas, that they were "people beyond civilization."
Nick found that most Chinese people were remarkably hardworking. Even if they lived on a capital of four or five Shillings a day, they remained content with their meager income and lived happily. They hoped to wear silk clothing on festival days, carefully saved whatever was left over, exchanged their accumulated copper coins for silver, or turned unstable, luck-dependent work into a fixed profession. That way, not only would life be secure, but their income would improve as well.
Sailors as strapped for cash as Captain Yao had most likely picked up some bad habits. Otherwise, at his age, he should long since have saved enough to go ashore and become a shipowner himself, or have his son inherit his position. Nor would he have dressed so shabbily.
After being attacked, Nick did not immediately return to the hospital. Instead, he searched through the gambling dens frequented by sailors and soon found Captain Yao playing