At dawn on July 6, 1919, the Turkish cargo ship Fast was slowly sailing into the port of Salvador, Brazil, while U148 was lurking off the coast of Brazil under Hessen's command. For these German submarine officers and sailors, concealing their whereabouts was their specialty, and they had been told that their long journey would soon come to an end, and they would be able to return to Germany to visit their families!
With the war over, all neutrality clauses from the wartime had become a thing of the past. Whether it was British or French merchant ships or ships from Germany and Turkey, as long as they had legitimate credentials and procedures, they could freely enter and leave Salvador. For this ocean-going freighter flying the flag of the Ottoman Empire, the British and French ships that arrived here earlier did not show much hostility. Only a few young sailors stood on the deck waving their fists in this direction and shouting a few times, but most people just looked at the ship indifferently.
Dressed in civilian clothes, Zhang Hainuo was standing in the bridge of Fast, looking at the historic Brazilian city, which had a history of more than 300 years. It was located on the east coast of Santos Bay, a natural deep-water harbor. The anchorages and docks, roughly oriented north to south, seemed endless, and the bustling and historically rich urban area was scattered with many ancient fortresses. These fortresses were built by the Portuguese in the 17th century to defend against Dutch attacks. After entering the 20th century, they had basically lost their military significance and become places for people to sightsee and reminisce about history.
Guided by a Brazilian tugboat, Fast finally docked at a medium-sized pier not far from the port. Zhang Hainuo hadn't carefully looked at the dock here, but he was attracted by a behemoth slowly leaving the port on the port side!
Titanic?
That was Zhang Hainuo's first reaction, but unfortunately, that ship had long been lying at the bottom of the cold sea. In fact, large passenger ships of this era mostly looked very similar: tall hulls, three to four large funnels arranged along the centerline, two tall but slightly slender masts, the part of the hull below the deck painted dark blue, and the buildings above the deck painted in pure white paint.
This was a passenger ship flying the British Union Jack, so there was a 99 percent chance that its destination was Britain.
"At least twenty thousand tons!"
Otto, who knows when, also appeared on the deck. With his hands behind his back, he stood beside Zhang Hainuo and cast his gaze at the behemoth slowly leaving the port.
"I didn't expect such luxurious passenger ships to travel between Brazil and Britain now. It seems that there must be many British people doing business here!"
Zhang Hainuo's words were not out of concern. He couldn't just take these crew members to a desolate place to start from scratch, and anywhere there was an opportunity for business, there would likely be British people. Of course, perhaps there were Jewish people too!
Otto said lightly, "Britain's maritime trade spans the globe. The Portuguese were just here earlier than us! Before the war, there were probably many German merchant ships traveling between Europe and the Americas. I wonder when that prosperous trade will resume!"
The huge overseas merchant fleet of the German Empire?
Zhang Hainuo didn't want to tell Otto at this time that with the main force of the High Seas Fleet self-sinking on Scapa Flow, the angry Allied Powers would take away Germany's last batch of main battleships and a large number of merchant ships as compensation. Although Germany would regain a considerable number of ocean-going merchant ships in a few years, the glory before World War I had gone with history!
"Let's go! Let's go and visit the German Chamber of Commerce here!"
"The German Chamber of Commerce?" Otto was a little surprised. Weren't they "Austrians" now?
"Do you think it's necessary for Austria to maintain a chamber of commerce in ports like Salvador?"
When a country that used to have coastal ports suddenly became a purely landlocked country, its overseas trade would shrink significantly. Shipowners would lose their true home port, and they would no longer have a fleet to escort them. At this time, the best way for shipowners was to sell their ships and do other businesses. As for the overseas chambers of commerce, after losing the support of merchant ships and merchants, it seemed that there was not much need for them to exist!
As a country that had been under Portuguese rule for a long time, Brazil currently used Portuguese as its official language. Unfortunately, there was no one among Zhang Hainuo's crew who spoke Portuguese. Although Otto was proficient in three languages—German, English, and French—and knew a little Russian, he was of no use here. So, they needed to hire a Portuguese translator from the local German Chamber of Commerce.
After wandering around the dock for a while, Zhang Hainuo and Otto, through a series of inquiries in German, English, and French, found the German Chamber of Commerce not far from the dock. Here, the two of them finally felt a sense of coming home, although their self-introduction was still Austrian businessmen, the personnel of the German Chamber of Commerce were very enthusiastic towards them and invited them to sit down and taste the finest Brazilian coffee. As for the Portuguese translator, they said that almost every German resident here could handle this task, and this matter could be resolved in less than half an hour.
"Would you like to hire a Portuguese translator, gentlemen? Are you going to pay in Marks, Pounds, US Dollars, or Cruzeiros Reais?"
While Zhang Hainuo and Otto were quietly discussing the Brazilian coffee they were drinking, a female voice came from the front. Zhang Hainuo originally disliked women who talked about money as soon as they opened their mouths, but when he raised his head and saw the face of the speaker, he was immediately attracted by her spirited demeanor.
Beautiful? Compared to an iceberg beauty, she fell short; fresh? She certainly couldn't compare to Anna, and her complexion wasn't very fair. She wore a white shirt with a brownish-yellow vest over it, a combination that was very attractive due to her ample chest. Her khaki-colored shorts, and the small, well-proportioned calves peeking out from under the pants, along with athletic white socks and brown hiking boots, were all filled with dynamic charm!
In fact, since leaving Wilhelmshaven, Zhang Hainuo and his crew had not seen any German women for eight months. Poor Hessen and some of the crew who had never set foot on shore had not seen the opposite sex during this time!
Due to its location in the southern hemisphere, July and August were the coldest months of the year in Brazil, but in Salvador, a seaside city close to the Tropic of Cancer, the average daily temperature was still above 20 degrees Celsius, and if it was sunny, the temperature could reach above 25 degrees Celsius at noon. So, Zhang Hainuo and his crew didn't feel cold in shirts and suits, but compared to that, the woman's dress was obviously cooler.
Seeing these two well-dressed big men staring at her intently, the shapely woman snorted disdainfully and raised her voice slightly, "Gentlemen! Don't you understand German?"
Only now did Zhang Hainuo awkwardly avert his gaze, and Otto had almost the same expression. The two finally remembered the purpose of their visit here.
"Oh, can we pay in US Dollars?"
"Sure, ten dollars a day! From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., no overtime!"
Their performance just now obviously drew the contempt of the other party. This voice was less gentle and a bit more rigid than before.
Women were not easy to deal with; this was a common thought shared by the two men.
As an economics major or a German naval lieutenant, Zhang Hainuo didn't have the habit of bargaining, but that didn't mean he wasn't a savvy businessman. He was just good at distinguishing between big and small matters.
"No problem, any other requirements?"
"None! From now on, I officially accept employment from you gentlemen. Where would you like to go?"
"We'd like to take a stroll in the city of Salvador first and learn about the local customs."
After the scene just now, Zhang Hainuo didn't know where to put his eyes when he spoke. To be honest, the woman's light eyebrows and wild-looking eyes added a lot of color to her face, but when she made eye contact with Zhang Hainuo, there was a hint of caution in her eyes, which forced even this battle-hardened soldier to look away. Furthermore, without buttoning the top button of her shirt, the ample first characteristic of European women could be seen...
The German-descendant girl, whose name Zhang Hainuo still didn't know, folded her hands in front of her chest. "Of course! Are you gentlemen leaving now?"
Zhang Hainuo glanced at Otto, and they reached a unanimous conclusion through eye contact: they should have informed the members of the Chamber of Commerce to hire a male translator for them in advance!