Bai’s cousin Jian waited at the inner harbor. He had a long face, a narrow cap, and the look of someone who had been measuring the visitors since they landed.
“You came with a ship full of oil,” he said. “Not a reform delegation.”
“Not this time,” Bai replied. “I want to see the contract with our name on it.”
Jian led them to a low house near the water. Yao, an older relative who had helped raise Bai, sat at the doorway mending a sail. She did not stand when he entered.
“Have you come to sell our family story to mainland reformers?” she asked.
“No.” Bai sat on the step beside her. “The registry ledger lists us under a hall contract. I want to see the original before deciding what it means.”
Jian took a coil of rope inside and put it down. “The hall gives us this room, storage space, the flood barriers, and access to the fishing fleet. We pay the share because we use those things.”
His sister Sato came from the inner room. “The payment reaches my daughter now. She never agreed to it.”
