Chapter 675: Food earned through labor is dignified
Chapter 675 Food earned through labor is dignified
The port of the roundabout island.
The humid and stuffy cabin.
Sesame paste, sitting cross-legged next to the electric light, was reading the storybook she borrowed from Sis to the children around her.
At first, Misa was doing this alone, with the purpose of helping the active children to relieve boredom and teach them to read and write.
Later, Sesame paste also joined in.
Thanks to this, she recently found that her language skills have improved a lot, especially in reading and writing. Some popular texts can be read normally even without the help of VM.
Squatting next to Sesame paste, a little girl about seven or eight years old hugged her knees, her eyes staring at the cat ears that were shaking on her head.
When a story was finished, she finally couldn’t help her curiosity and spoke softly.
”Sister.”
”What’s wrong?” Sesame paste turned a page and looked at the little girl with a gentle smile.
Sesame paste remembered that the little girl’s name was Gooseberry.
Her father was a fruit farmer. He entrusted her to the ship and fled into the jungle outside the Golden Gallon Port with other Moon Tribe members who were determined to resist.
Like many children here, she had no relatives on the ship, and it was Misa who had always taken care of her.
The little girl looked at Zhima Paste timidly, embarrassed for a while, but finally said what was in her heart.
”Are you the messenger of the Silver Moon Goddess?”
Zhima Paste blinked and asked after a slight pause.
”Why do you ask that?”
”Because those people said so… everyone on the ship,” the little girl continued in a low voice, “I wonder… the Silver Moon Goddess of Silver Moon Bay and the Moon God of Borneo Province are actually the same person.”
Occasionally, she would see some mercenaries in Silver Moon Bay secretly praying to this sister with cat ears, but everyone in the cabin said that she was the incarnation of the Moon God.
Everyone said something different, and she couldn’t help but be a little confused. What exactly is this sister with cat ears?
Looking at the eyes staring at her eyes, Zhima Paste showed a smile on her face and reached out to gently touch the little head of Gooseberry.
”Hmm… maybe it’s true. After all, myths and history are all written by people.”
”Really?” Not only Currant, but all the children’s eyes lit up.
”Yeah!” Zhima Paste said with a smile, “It just so happens that my sister has a good friend who likes to study this… You can discuss it with her. Although she doesn’t seem to like to talk to people, she is actually a very warm-hearted person.”
After reading the story.
Zhima Paste closed the book, patted her pants lightly and got up from the floor. At this time, she noticed an elderly woman looking at her, so she walked over and asked with a smile.
”What’s the matter?”
The old woman’s name was Sang Ru. She was already sixty years old. She was the oldest survivor here and also a prestigious elder among the Moon Clan.
Looking at Zhima Paste who walked in front of her, the old woman nodded slightly and spoke sincerely.
”Nothing, I just want to thank you on behalf of everyone… Those children are poor people. Their fathers are thousands of miles away fighting against the army of the Xilan Empire. I don’t know if they will have the chance to reunite in the future. Thanks to you and Misa, at least they have the opportunity to learn knowledge.”
”I just did what I could, and I am actually very happy.” Faced with such a solemn thank you, Zhimahu couldn’t help but feel a little shy and scratched his cheeks embarrassedly.
”Even so, we are very grateful to your friends who took us in,” Sang Ru looked at her seriously, and said with a little shame in her tone, “If there is anything we can do to help, please tell us, even if it’s to help you wash your clothes or the deck or something. We have been eating and using your things… Everyone feels very sorry.”
Looking at the serious old man, Zhimahu said with a smile.
”Really, there’s no need to do this. We–”
”This is very important to us.” Sang Ru lowered her eyebrows apologetically, “I’m sorry, these words may make you feel embarrassed. In the ancestral teachings of our Moon Clan, only food earned through labor has dignity… We are very grateful for your help, and we will definitely repay you, but if conditions permit, please give us a chance to fight for our dignity.”
Zhimahu stared at the old man blankly.
Feeling the seriousness and determination in that pair of eyes, she held the old man’s wrinkled hand and responded to her request with a serious expression.
”Well, I promise!”
…
At the same time, on the deck of Rourou, there was a lot of chattering.
A man and a bear lying on the side of the ship were holding binoculars and looking excitedly towards the west.
”Oh oh oh! Rourou! Another ship is coming!”
”I saw it! It’s a circle bigger than ours!”
Although they have been bored in the port for many days, the two lively treasures never idle themselves and always find some fun for themselves.
For example, now.
The two of them played a guessing game, guessing whether the first ship to dock today was a warship or a cargo ship.
At present, it seems that Rourou won.
A cargo ship with a wide and long deck, spewing black smoke, was seen heading towards the port under the guidance of two speedboats.
After seeing the cargo ship full of cargo, the loudspeaker of the dock suddenly sounded a broadcast like a long-awaited rain.
Urged by the broadcast, the workers who were sitting on the shore basking in the sun stood up one after another, lazily threw their towels on their shoulders and walked to their workstations, startling a group of seagulls squatting on the dock singing in chorus. The
originally leisurely port suddenly became busy again.
At present, the battle in the southern waters is in full swing. Even though the location of the circular island is far away from the center of the battlefield, there are still not many foreign ships here.
Looking at the empty sea, Rourou sometimes can’t help but naively think that maybe this is also the reason why the port governor didn’t drive them away.
After all, those docks are empty anyway.
At least they will pay 1,000 dinars per day as detention fee.
Tail: “Oh! Rourou! Did you see what’s piled on the deck?”
Rourou: “I can’t see clearly, it looks like ore?”
Tail suddenly shouted.
”Oh no, Rourou, we are in trouble! On that ship… maybe there are pirates!”
Rourou looked at Tail in surprise, who suddenly touched his chin in a deep voice.
”Ah?! How did you see that?!”
”You don’t understand this, Rourou.”
Tails put away the telescope, stepped on the side of the ship, and cleverly raised his not-so-clever eyebrow.
”Tails saw through it at a glance. The Mistral that came with the Mistral was actually a pirate ship disguised as a cargo ship! They looted the port and kidnapped the governor’s daughter, but fortunately the White Bear Knights stopped them… This is usually how it’s shot in movies!”
Finally realizing that this guy was joking again, Rourou, who was relieved, looked at her and complained with a smile.
”What the hell is the Mistral?”
”That ship came from the northwest, don’t pay attention to these details! Isn’t there something more worth complaining about, Rourou!”
When saying this, Tails suddenly wrinkled his nose.
”Wait… Rourou, by the way, do you smell anything strange?”
Rourou was slightly stunned, and took a deep breath against the sea breeze. Then the furry bear face was squeezed into a ball, pinching the nose and sticking out the pink tongue.
”Yue!”
”Stinky!”
…
At the same time, on the deck of the Mistral, the furs spread out one by one were emitting a strong and disgusting smell.
Although Mogavi had expected that the furs might have started to stink, the decay speed of biomass in the tropical environment was beyond his imagination.
The moment his mercenaries untied the hemp rope tied to the fur pile, a pungent stench quickly filled the entire deck.
The smell was like a whole container of canned herrings opened at the same time, and even the bravest awakeners were forced to step back several steps before they could stand firm.
However, Mogavi could not care so much.
In order to prevent the furs from continuing to rot and ferment, he could only endure the churning in his stomach and urged the retreating mercenaries to spread the furs one by one on the deck, and then scoop up sea water with buckets and pour them on them one bucket after another.
There was actually nothing wrong with this treatment method.
In the case of insufficient salt, pouring seawater directly on the fur to rub and beat it is also one of the treatment methods for tanning fur and leather.
Saltwater can not only kill bacteria on the surface of the fur, but also prevent the fur from cracking, and clean the sweat, blood and grease on the surface of the fur.
However, Mogawi still underestimated the roughness of this batch of goods and the waterproof performance of the Northwest Wind cargo ship.
The buckets of seawater not only failed to wash the fishy smell into the sea, but also let the seawater mixed with grease and blood seep into the cabin.
Now the entire lower deck is like a murder scene, with sticky grease and wet blood everywhere.
Seeing his beloved ship turned into such a ghost, Captain Song Haining was so angry that his lips turned blue and his whole face turned liver-colored.
If it weren’t for the fact that the hiring fee was still deposited in the Silver Moon Bay Port, he would have wanted to throw this guy and the pile of cheap junk off the deck to feed the fish!
”… I’ll say it again, when we dock, get these things off my ship immediately! The cargo we agreed to carry is coal and iron! Not these moldy and smelly things!!”
”What moldy and smelly things!” Mogawei stared at him with wide eyes, “Do you know how much these things can be sold for in the desert! Especially in the northernmost Golden Lizard Kingdom, their popularity is even higher than the silk made of devil silk!”
Song Haining looked at him with a sullen face.
”I don’t care what this is, this is a cargo outside the contract! You breached the contract first! Mr. Mogawei! And our contract stipulates that my ship does not carry fresh goods!”
Mogawei argued.
”This is not fresh goods! This is fur–”
Song Haining interrupted him angrily.
”Enough, don’t play word games with me! This thing is just peeled off from the prey!”
Mogawei clasped his hands together and looked at him pleadingly.
”Please, my friend, I will make it clean for you after this deal is done! I guarantee there will be no odor on your ship!”
”Thirty thousand dinars!” Song Haining stared at him and said, “I won’t let you touch my ship again. When we dock at Silver Moon Bay, get out of here as far as you can!”
”Okay, no problem!” Mogawi nodded like pounding garlic, and said with a grin, “As long as you promise to wait for me outside the French Fries Port on the way back–”
”Get out!” Unable to tolerate this guy anymore, Song Haining pushed him and roared, “Take your pile of junk and get out now!”
Looking at the angry captain, the apprentice at the helm did not dare to talk to him, and could only rely on his unskilled experience to dock the ship.
The Northwest Wind happened to stop next to the Rourou, and the two cargo ships with completely different styles were parked side by side.
Tail and Rourou, who were leaning against the side of the ship to watch the excitement, were excitedly eating melons and shouting in a boisterous manner.
”Oh! A fight has started!”
”Come on!”
Hearing the voice coming from the deck of the cargo ship, Song Haining, who was about to grab the profiteer by the collar and teach him a lesson, subconsciously stopped what he was doing and looked towards the ship.
He saw a man and a bear standing on the side of the ship looking at this side.
The girl with short hair waved enthusiastically when she met his eyes.
”Oh, friend on the other side! Who are you?”
Song Haining squinted his eyes and stared at her and the big white bear beside her for a while, then looked at the flag hanging above the cabin, and felt that it looked familiar.
”This is the Northwest Wind! Who are you?”
The moment he heard the name, the man and the bear standing on the side of the ship were startled.
”Huh?!”
”Giao! It’s really the Northwest Wind?!”
Song Haining stared at the man and the bear intently, wondering where he had seen this pair of funny people. But Wei Tail thought he was waiting for him to introduce himself, and he said “Ah” quickly.
”We are Rou Rou! I am Wei Tail! She is Rou Rou!”
Wei Tail?
Song Haining was slightly stunned, and hadn’t reacted yet. Mogawi, who was standing next to him, shouted in surprise when he heard the name.
”Tail?! Wait, you are Tail?!”
Seeing that someone recognized him in the vast ocean, Tail immediately showed a surprised expression.
”It’s me! Have you heard of me?!”
Mogawi smiled embarrassedly and broke free from the hand that was grabbing his collar.
”I seem to have seen your portrait…ah, I remember, at the port of Silver Moon Bay! There was a group of guys from the Borneo Province, and they asked everyone about your portrait and the talking bear next to you.”
Hearing this, Tail and Rourou were immediately shocked.
”Giao?!”
”How come I’m wanted too?!”
Seeing the exaggerated reactions of the two, Mogawei hurriedly explained.
”It’s not a wanted order. The City Lord’s Mansion of Silver Moon City hasn’t heard of any movement, but you may have offended some… uh, guys who are not presentable. You’d better be careful recently.”
Hearing this, Tail finally breathed a sigh of relief.
”Thank you for your information! We will be careful!”
”You’re welcome,” Mogawei smiled embarrassedly, glanced at Captain Song Haining beside him, and looked at Tail with expectation and said, “By the way, do you have any plans to return to Silver Moon Bay in the near future?”
Tail said as a matter of course.
”No, what’s wrong?”
Mogawei’s expression froze, and he scratched the back of his head.
”Ah… That’s difficult, it’s a headache. The guy I met in French Fries Port before asked me to come here to ask you.”
From this sentence, Tail’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he grabbed the railing with both hands and asked.
”Oh! What’s the mission? Oh no, are you in any trouble?”
”I guess so,” Mogawi looked at the pile of furs spread out on the deck and continued helplessly, “Because of this unexpected windfall, I offended my old friend next to me…”
”Who is your old friend! And it’s about money!” Song Haining glared at him fiercely, “Stop talking nonsense, get these dirty things off my ship!”
Seeing the captain looking at him emotionally, Mogawi quickly raised his hand to try to calm him down.
”I know, I know, don’t worry! I have to find someone to help me deal with these things first, right?”
Upon hearing this, Tail’s eyes suddenly brightened.
”Wait, you need manpower?”
”Do you have any?” Mogawi was stunned and subconsciously looked at the so-called meat ship. There were
a few sailors and mercenaries on the deck, but there were no more than thirty people at most, and it might not be as many as his own.
Tail smiled triumphantly.
”Then you’ve asked the right person. What we have here is people!”
”That’s great… I need two hundred, uh, preferably four hundred people to help me clean these furs. The method is very simple, just pour sea water on them and rub them repeatedly, scrape off the rotten flesh on the surface, etc. I can find a way to use the tools. It’s okay if you don’t know how to use them. I will teach you step by step… But do you really have enough people here?” Looking at the girl suspiciously, Mogawi was a little unsure whether she was joking or serious, and said with a lack of confidence.
”That’s a must! Wait here!”
Throwing down this sentence, Weiwei ran away from the side of the ship, rushed to the cabin, opened the door and shouted inside.
”Si! Come out to meet the guests!”
”What’s wrong, Wei…”
Sisi walked out of the cabin helplessly with a half-organized notebook in her arms. As a result, as soon as she stood on the deck, her whole beautiful face quickly twisted into a bitter gourd.
”Hey – did Rourou poop on the boat?”
Although the subconscious murmur was very small, Rourou with sharp ears still heard it, and a loud roar suddenly sounded on the deck.
”Am I that kind of person!!”
Sisi looked away with a subtle expression.
But Wei didn’t care about that, grabbed her shoulders and said excitedly.
”Si! The pirate ship next to us needs people to help deal with the furs that have just been peeled off! They need a lot of people!”
Sisi was stunned for a moment, then walked to the side of the ship, and glanced suspiciously at the man opposite who greeted him with a shy smile.
”Hello… Are you the captain here?”
Compared with the two just now, his intuition told him that this one might be a little more reliable.
”No… the one next to me is,” Sisi glanced at the big white bear behind him, then looked at the NPC on the opposite ship, calmed down and asked, “How many people do you need? What is the quotation? How to pay?”
Mogavi looked at her with a sharp look in his eyes.
”The more people, the better! As long as you can process all these furs within two days, I can give you 100,000 dinars! Cash payment!”
Hearing about the dinar payment, Si immediately showed a lack of interest.
”If it’s 100,000 silver coins, I can consider it, but forget about the dinars.”
”100,000 silver coins?! Are you pirates?!” Mogawei’s eyes widened, “Absolutely impossible! I only spent 100,000 on these furs!”
”Oh? Are you sure it only cost 100,000?”
Sis narrowed his eyes slightly, tucked the notebook in his arms under his armpits, put his arms on the railings on the side of the ship, and looked at him with a smile.
I don’t know why.
Being looked at by these eyes, Mogawei felt a little hairy in his heart, swallowed unconsciously, and finally raised three fingers after struggling for a long time.
”Don’t worry about how much I paid, 30,000 silver coins… for the sake of the beauty.”
Without paying attention to the flattery of the merchant, Sis pointed to the deck not far away with his chin.
”I think I saw that blood mink fur once in the palace of Petra Fortress. I heard that one piece can be sold for millions of dinars. You actually spent only 100,000 to get one, two, three… four pieces? Tsk, tsk, you really know how to do business.”
Facing the slightly narrowed eyes, Mogawei smiled awkwardly, and a hot sweat broke out on his back. He didn’t expect to meet someone who understands the market.
”…What do you want?”
”Not much, I just said it casually, don’t think too much.” With a faint smile, Sis continued, “Let me say one more thing, these raw hides are… emmm, very rough, if they are not rescued, they may not be saved. The residents on the circular island all have their own jobs, and now there is a war. Even if you can come up with the money, I am afraid you may not be able to find so many people at once, not to mention that they may not have done this kind of work.”
Mogawei looked at her in disbelief.
”Do you have professionals here?”
Sis said casually.
”I can’t say that all of them are, but there are still one or two out of ten… Isn’t that enough? We can guarantee to clean it up for you.”
Regarding this matter, she did not lie to that guy.
There are quite a few survivors in the Borneo Province who make a living by hunting, especially among the Moon Tribe who are good at using bows and arrows. In general hunter families, it is common for men to go out hunting and women to deal with the fur peeled off the prey.
Among the group of survivors rescued by Tail, a considerable proportion are hunters. Some simple work of dealing with fur is naturally no problem for their wives.
Mogawi hesitated for two seconds, and finally nodded.
”One hundred thousand silver coins, not impossible! But you have to agree to one condition, don’t tell the butcher in French Fry Port about those blood mink skins…”
He still wanted to continue doing business there.
If those butchers knew that he made so much money from this business, he was worried that those guys would skin him next time he went ashore.
Hearing this, Sisi knew that this guy had taken the bait, and a happy smile appeared on his face.
”Don’t worry, they are all law-abiding people. Even if they know, they won’t say anything. At most, they will scold you behind your back.”
The difference between the purchase price and the selling price is ten times that of the NPC. Most RPG stores are the same. You will get used to it after playing two games.
In comparison, “Wasteland OL” is more humane. Players in this game have the power of choice, which is extremely rare.
At least when they realize that they have been cut by the NPC, they can learn from their lessons and do business with someone else next time.
Or change the way of negotiating business.
”Hurry up then… don’t waste time.” Seeing that both sides had reached an agreement, Mogawi didn’t want to delay for a moment, and patted the railing on the side of the ship to urge.
However, the captain on the side grabbed his collar.
”Wait, you can’t get these goods on my ship! And after unloading the goods, you have to clean the boat inside and out for me!”
Mogawi looked at the woman standing on the opposite ship for help.
Reading her eyes, Sisi smiled faintly and said.
”Add 10,000 silver coins, and we will help you clean up by the way.”
”10,000 silver coins?! Why don’t you–” Hearing this offer, Mogawi’s eyes bulged out immediately, like a quack that was caught. However, before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the captain of the Mistral on the side.
”Deal! It’s decided!”
Seeing that both of them were looking at him, Mogawi had an expression that was more uncomfortable than constipation, but thinking of the batch of goods on the deck that were emitting a stinking smell, he finally nodded.
”Deal.”
”Then it’s a happy decision. One hundred and one hundred thousand silver coins. I’ll go tell the girls.” With
a smile on his face, Sisi turned around and returned to the cabin.
In a few minutes, a large group of ragged girls walked through the crowded and narrow cabin door and onto the deck.
The moment they saw the group of girls, Mogawei and Song Haining, who were standing on the deck, were stunned at the same time, and then their eyes changed when they looked at Sisi.
”…Tell me honestly, what kind of business are you in?”
Sisi said casually, lifting the hair that fell on his shoulders.
”Charity.”
Mogawei looked at this guy with an expression of “I don’t believe you.”
Not wanting to explain in detail to him, Sisi glanced at the deck opposite, then glanced at his side, and said casually.
”Go to the port and buy some plastic sheets, or borrow some. It doesn’t cost much.”
”There are a lot of stalls selling fish feed and urea there. I don’t want to dirty the boat.”
–
(Thanks to “Book Friend 20171130004559159” for the reward!!!)
(End of this chapter)
