CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 95: YOU CAME AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME

Warehouse 17 at the port, one of the three warehouses rented by ’Wei Ling’ Sea Trade, was closed at both doors, but inside it was brightly lit and bustling with noise.

"Finally, I can drink some liquor. Damn, I was drying up at sea, and the rotten booze from Scandinavia has a sour taste."

"When can we leave? If we delay any longer, the good girls in Copper Alley will be taken!"

"In such a hurry?"

"Of course, haven’t touched a woman in dozens of days!"

"Weren’t there a few good-looking women among the Skyrim cargo? I think there was even a noble lady; head scolded us after messing around, you didn’t go?"

"Skyrim people are too rugged; I prefer someone smaller, my hands are relatively small."

"No wonder you went to Copper Alley..."

Inside the warehouse, dozens of sailors sat cross-legged on the ground, drinking liquor and eating meat heartily, telling dirty jokes and laughing out loud; they even wrestled and made a fuss in high spirits. Their happiness was justified, as more than a month of arduous sea travel was finally coming to an end, followed by half a month of their joyful time.

Most of them didn’t have the habit of saving money. For those involved in sea trade, even if the route was stable, it was easy to encounter natural disasters or human threats, and the merchant ships they passed might turn into pirates — they had done such things before — so living in the moment was their philosophy of life. No matter how much money the captain gave them, they would certainly spend it all within half a month.

But that was enough; just the money they received was enough for them to live like a gentleman for half a month. Even if they had the thought of stability, Xuanzhu County, this place of indulgence and vanity, would ultimately drain all their wealth.

Amidst the laughter, the three people sitting in the middle looked tensely at Bai Yulan. On the left sat the well-built youth, Baolong, responsible for managing the three teams of the third ship; on the right sat the gray-haired old man, Wu Laoyezi, responsible for managing the second team of the second ship; the burly man sitting in the middle was the one responsible for managing the entire fleet and the first team of the first ship, Hei Qi.

While looking at the sea log and ledger, Bai Yulan suddenly asked, "Where did the second ship hit a reef? How far is it from the warehouse?"

"Right next to the warehouse." Wu Laoyezi immediately said, taking a puff from his pipe and exhaling a cloud of smoke to the side. "That room was a temporary warehouse, not having suffered a loss just because it happened to be empty."

"Transfer the share from the adjacent warehouse over here; we can claim a loss." Bai Yulan said, "In and out, we can gain an extra three hundred gold rounds."

Baolong said, "Actually, we could say the price of Grace Lock in Scandinavia went down, allowing us to get more—"

Bai Yulan shook his head: "No need, continue to report the profit at the highest price."

Baolong, dissatisfied, stood up and loudly said: "But the fact is that Grace Lock doesn’t sell well in Scandinavia! It was alright to stick to the highest price the previous times, but continuing this way, the hard-earned money will be snatched away by that trust-fund kid—"

Boom!

Hei Qi suddenly punched, sending Baolong crashing into the sailors’ banquet nearby, landing amidst the chicken and fish, with a tooth knocked out and nose bleeding.

The sailors were not surprised, laughing heartily and changing to another spot to keep eating, drinking, and gambling. Baolong wiped the blood off his face, silently climbed up, and Hei Qi asked: "Know your fault?"

"I know." Baolong bowed his head and said.

Hei Qi’s tone also softened: "Being sliced like this, I am even more upset than you. I receive less money, and I am the one with the biggest loss! Supervisor Bai’s share is the same as yours; you lose some money, he loses some as well. Do you think he’d feel good about it?"

"But ultimately, we are just employees hired by the Silver Blood Association. The ship isn’t ours, and neither is the cargo. Everything you pride yourself on can be easily taken away by Silver Blood Association; any Heyang Navy can sink us anytime. Silver Blood Association can crush us like ants effortlessly!"

"I don’t expect you to understand Supervisor Bai’s intentions, but do not threaten others."

Baolong whispered: "I didn’t hit him, it doesn’t count as a threat..."

Hei Qi walked up to him, grabbed his collar, and said coldly: "Heard me?"

Although Hei Qi was only a few years older than Baolong and their stature was similar, seeing Hei Qi’s eyes made Baolong instantly chicken out: "Heard!"

"This is called a threat." Hei Qi let go of his collar.

Seeing them resolve their internal affairs, Bai Yulan continued closing the ledger, saying: "Can’t find any more places to squeeze out money, so let’s leave it at that. Hand over the ledger tomorrow, now we can distribute the money."

The sailors had sharp ears; they instantly quieted down upon hearing the word ’distribute money’, their eyes resembling students looking at the class topper who finished homework — burning with desire — staring at the captains.

Hei Qi smiled, nodded to Wu Laoyezi, who proceeded to the nearby box, prying with his pipe to reveal it full of gold round coins.

"Bastards, line up to get your money!" Wu Laoyezi roared, and the sailors obediently lined up, like burly men turned elementary students, making Bai Yulan unable to resist laughing aloud every time he saw this scene.

"Old Goutou, sailor, takes three bags of money."

"Ying, kid, sailor, takes three bags of money."

"North Wind, boatswain, takes three gold rounds three bags of money."

"Old Mo, first mate, takes a dozen gold rounds three bags of money."

...

The money distribution proceeded methodically, with the sailors joyously counting their money; they weren’t the generous type, and of course, had to check if there was any missing money, as the captains wouldn’t acknowledge it once they left the room.

Wu Laoyezi sat on the sofa nearby, commanding the money distribution, and suddenly heard someone ask: "Wow, at least three bags of money, how much is three bags of money? Is it 700 money?"

Wu Laoyezi answered casually: "More than this time, there’s 900 money!"

"Wow, with this calculation, the daily wage is almost twice that of the Statistical Department captain, splendid..." The voice murmured quietly, unable to be heard clearly by Wu Laoyezi, who squinted and asked: "What did you say?"

"I want to ask if the higher the position, the more money you get?"

"Of course! Young people should work hard, and sooner or later they will be promoted to boatswain." Wu Laoyezi thought it was a young sailor chatting with him, so he casually encouraged him.

"Then I want to ask, how much does the boss Jing Zhengwei of ’Wei Ling’ get?"

"Him, let me think, he should get..."

Wu Laoyezi suddenly stammered, turned his head to see a young man dressed richly standing behind him, smiling and looking at him, scared to the point of rolling on the floor, face pale, mouth agape, "You, you..."

"You are Jing Zhengwei!"

Wu Laoyezi’s shout drew everyone’s attention; many changed their complexion upon seeing the young man, and Hei Qi, Baolong, Bai Yulan, and others stood up in unison. The sailors near firearms responded quickly, reaching for their weapons—

Clap!

With a clap from the young man, the warehouse doors burst open, and Jing Family guards rushed in with firearms pointed at the sailors. One sailor almost reached a light gun but had his hand shot through by a guard, causing him to roll on the ground screaming.

Leading the guards were naturally the two main protectors of the Jing Family’s young master, Mi Die and Li Sang, and the twin-blade guest Yin Minghong. Though outnumbered by the sailors, under their siege, there was a faint air of ’encirclement’.

Clap, the young man flipped over and seated himself on the shabby sofa Wu Laoyezi had earlier, continuing to clap strongly and smile, saying: "Everybody relax, I’m just here to inspect the local sentiment. You are all essential assets of ’Wei Ling’ Sea Trade, why the ’boss wants to harm me’ look?"

"Relax, relax, keep eating, keep drinking."

Though the young man said so, the surrounding guards remained silently aiming their firearms at the sailors, with every sailor feeling the acute sense of crisis like a thorn on their backs. Those intending to grab weapons instantly felt several firearms aimed at them, realizing moving rashly would lead to the same fate as the sailor rolling in pain.

The warehouse suddenly became somewhat quiet, except for the sailor with the injured hand’s cries, and everyone’s tense breathing and rapid heartbeats remained, with nobody daring to move.

"Seems I am not very welcome here," the young man smiled, saying: "Perhaps I arrived at the wrong time?"

"No."

At this moment, Bai Yulan suddenly stepped forward, looking at Lexu and said:

"Your timing is perfect."