The next day, Xiao Qingyin went to Hong Kong Island, and Qiu Sanniang personally cooked her a meal.

The dishes were simple, all seafood that was either steamed, boiled, or stir-fried, but they tasted very fresh, and Xiao Qingyin ate until she was stuffed without realizing it.

After the meal, the two sat in a pavilion halfway up the mountain and drank tea.

Xiao Qingyin drank a cup of tea, then turned her gaze away from the shimmering waves of the distant sea and asked Qiu Sanniang, "You didn't just come to invite me to dinner today, did you?"

Qiu Sanniang raised an eyebrow: "What if that's the case?"

"Then I would be honored."

Xiao Qingyin said with a smile.

"I bet only a handful of people have ever eaten your cooking, right?"

If Yun Zhao knew, he would definitely be envious, jealous, and resentful.

Qiu Sanniang smiled and said, "You are the first person to taste my cooking. I just learned how to cook these past few days."

She couldn't even drink hot tea before, so naturally she wouldn't go to the steamy kitchen.

Now that the illness is completely gone, I can finally get back to experimenting with my cooking skills.

Xiao Qingyin understood her unspoken meaning and smiled, "It seems you've had quite a bit of free time lately."

Qiu San Niang nodded and turned to look at the sea.

Only a handful of ships were sailing on the vast sea.

"The Iraqi fleet has been completely wiped out, and it's estimated that they won't send any caravans or fleets over anytime soon. We don't need to go out and hijack ships anymore, so we're naturally free now."

She spoke with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Qingyin knew what she was worried about.

After Zhao Xu took office, under her and Yi Shuihan's guidance, she cleaned up the officialdom, abolished tyranny, and adopted a series of policies that benefited the people's livelihood, making the Southeast Prefecture increasingly stable.

People who had been forced to take refuge in the mountains due to oppressive government returned to their homes, and many small pirate gangs disintegrated.

Although the Hongyun Gang was thriving, without the Iraqi fleet and corrupt officials, it could no longer make a living through double-crossing as before.

The gang rules also prohibited plundering the people.

How can we feed 30,000 to 40,000 people?

Such days are bound to be unsustainable.

What Qiu San Niang was worried about was the future of the Hongyun Gang.

“I’ve considered disbanding the gang,” she told Xiao Qingyin. “But many members are used to gang life and may find it difficult to return to normalcy.”

Xiao Qingyin nodded: "It's hard for someone who's used to being a pirate to go back to fishing and farming."

They are used to solving problems with fists and knives, and to high risks and high rewards. How could they possibly be willing to toil in the fields for a living?

The elderly or frail members might be willing; they've had enough of wandering and just want to return to their roots.

Those hot-blooded young gang members were certainly not happy about it.

"So we can only consider the second option."

Qiu Sanniang continued.

Xiao Qingyin vaguely guessed what the second path she was referring to was.

Sure enough, the next moment she said, "That is to submit to the imperial court."

Xiao Qingyin gave a thumbs up: "Third Sister, what a spirit!"

Once a person has tasted power, it is very difficult for them to let go.

As the leader of the pirate alliance, Qiu Sanniang could be considered the queen who ruled over the South Seas. If she wanted, she could easily establish a maritime kingdom.

But she had no attachment to the power she held and was wholeheartedly devoted to helping her followers.

The Da Xi Dynasty has always been helpless against pirate gangs; the strength of their navy is incomparable to that of the pirate gangs.

Once the Hongyun Gang submits, they will gain a powerful navy.

The imperial court would certainly be happy to accept their submission.

But they certainly won't let Qiu San Niang continue as commander.

At most, she would be given an imperial title or some honorary position.

Whether he can live to old age peacefully is still unknown.

So after Xiao Qingyin finished praising her, she asked, "Are you really sure about this?"

"I've thought it through."

Qiu San Niang said with a solemn expression.

"Of course, I won't hold back all my strength; I still need to plan for myself. I want to keep eight hundred people and a dozen ships for future maritime trade."

As expected of Third Sister, she has lofty ambitions.

Xiao Qingyin smiled and said, "It seems you're ready to negotiate."

"Yes." Qiu San Niang nodded, "We're just waiting for you to help thread the needle."

Xiao Qingyin gave her a reproachful look: "You still say you're just inviting me to dinner? You've given yourself away."

Qiu Sanniang laughed heartily: "Eating is eating, and submitting is submitting; these are two different things."

Considering that besides the Black Tiger Gang and the Giant Whale Gang, the Pirate Alliance still had two other gangs, Xiao Qingyin asked, "Is it just your Hongyuan Gang that submits, or the entire Pirate Alliance?"

“It’s just the Hongyuan Gang and the Qingshan Gang,” Qiu Sanniang replied, “that Fatty Ke doesn’t agree to submit.”

Xiao Qingyin raised an eyebrow: "Everyone's saying he's completely infatuated with you, even going so far as to pluck all the red coral from the seabed, yet he's going against you?"

Qiu San Niang glared at her: "Where did you hear this rumor? He only gave me a red coral once, and when I didn't respond, he never gave me anything again."

She did want to pick a few more.

"Aren't you going to respond?"

Xiao Qingyin feigned surprise.

"I heard that you two are deeply in love and that your wedding is just around the corner."

Qiu San Niang stared at her intently.

"This isn't a rumor, it's just your conjecture, isn't it? You actually think I'd be interested in Fatty Ke?"

She and Fatty Ke are not from the same gang at all.

How could they possibly be together?

Xiao Qingyin shrugged: "It's not that I think so, it's that other people think so."

Qiu San Niang instantly understood what she meant, and smiled, "Your cousin told you that, didn't he? Only he would say something so silly."

“He not only talks nonsense,” Xiao Qingyin teased, “but he also does stupid things. A few days ago, the sun was so strong, but he still went to the sea every day to remove lice from whales, and he got sunburned.”

Qiu San Niang's heart tightened, and concern welled up in her eyes.

"Where are you hurt? Are you feeling better?"

She didn't even notice that he had sunburned that day.

I just noticed he'd gotten much darker.

Xiao Qingyin was overjoyed.

She was right; Qiu San Niang did have some feelings for Yun Zhao.

He sighed deeply and pointed to his chest, saying, "I'm injured here."

At first, Qiu San Niang was a little puzzled. Sunburn usually occurs on the head, face, shoulders, back, hands, and feet, while the chest is covered by clothing. How could she get sunburned...?

Seeing Xiao Qingyin's ambiguous expression, he immediately understood.

She wasn't talking about sunburn at all; she was talking about heartbreak.

She immediately said irritably, "Why did you lie to me for no reason? You made me worry for nothing."

Xiao Qingyin pressed her advantage: "I'm not lying to you, he is really badly injured. He has been staying at home for the past few days, unable to eat or drink, and he has lost a lot of weight."

Qiu Sanniang rolled her eyes at her: "I don't believe it."

"If you don't believe me, then so be it."

Xiao Qingyin slowly poured herself a cup of tea.

Just as he was about to drink, he suddenly seemed to remember something and laughed, "Speaking of which, my cousin did something silly. When I went out, he went out too, saying he was going to find Fatty Ke."

Qiu San Niang was taken aback: "What does he want with Fatty Ke?"

"They said they would teach him how to approach whales, so that the Giant Whale Gang wouldn't be a mere shell of its former self without any whales."

With a "bang," Qiu San Niang's teacup fell onto the table.

She stared at Xiao Qingyin in astonishment: "He really went to see Fatty Ke?"