Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 20 Today's % Discount
"Stop the ship? Why should we stop the ship?"

When the sun jumped out of the sea level, on the open-air bridge of the Flamingo armed merchant ship, Captain Senfa, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Mr. Lu Ting beside him in confusion.

“Of course it’s business.”

Mr. Lu Ting said confidently, "Anyway, stop the boat."

"You mean the ship?" Senfa lowered his voice, covering his mouth with one hand and whispering, "Won't he rob us?"

"If he had wanted to do that, we would have been prisoners last night."

Mr. Lu Ting said confidently, "Believe me, Senfa, this does require a risky gamble, but I am very confident that those heavy artillery in our cabin may be able to be sold!"

Before Senfa could say anything, Mr. Lu Ting added, "As long as we unload those cannons, our ships will be able to reach the Suzaku Islands much faster. Even if it's only a day, it will catch those who have ill intentions towards us off guard."

"Stop the ship!" Captain Senfa gritted his teeth and gave the order loudly. He had enough reason to believe that Mr. Lu Ting would not harm him.

"Why did they stop the ship?" The Magic Mirror muttered in confusion on the open-air bridge of the Valkyrie, which was following far behind him with its hull hidden.

"It seems that the other party is a smart businessman"

Cheng Lang smiled, and then he saw someone waving flags on the boat in the distance.

"What are you talking about?" Cheng Lang asked.

"The artillery of the Principality of Rika is on sale, with a 10% discount today." The magic mirror translated strangely.

“I said he was a smart person.”

Cheng Lang smiled and then shouted, "Remove the sails! Drop the anchor!"

"Oh!"

The vine goblins responded in unison, pulling the vines hard to retract the white sails.

"beep--"

Almost at the same time as the boat stopped, Cheng Lang blew the Mirage Horn, and the sea surface was covered by a thick fog a moment later.

"That ship is coming!" said the magic mirror in surprise.

"Wukong! Get the artillery ready." At this time, Cheng Lang issued another command that the magic mirror could not understand.

"Whoa whoa!"

The goblins on the gun deck responded immediately, and at the same time, Cheng Lang also lifted the ship's stealth mode.

After a short wait, the armed merchant ship Flamingo, with all its lights on, sailed into the thick fog, and after some maneuvering, it headed towards the Valkyrie at a head-on angle.

This was undoubtedly a gesture of goodwill; otherwise, they could have taken advantage of the Valkyrie's reefing and anchoring to seize the T-head position that was more suitable for bombardment.

With both sides being cautious, the two ships gradually approached each other, and finally when they were less than 50 meters apart, the Flamingo also dropped anchor.

"I am Senfa, the captain of the Flamingo armed merchant ship."

From a distance, Captain Senfa, standing on the bridge, held his cocked hat to his chest with one hand and bowed slightly. He then hung the hat on the locked steering wheel and spoke enthusiastically through a tin trumpet, "Friends we met by chance at sea, we have a batch of high-quality cannons forged in the Principality of Rika on board. Since we're in a hurry to travel, we'd like to sell them at a 10% discount. I wonder if you're interested."

"What size cannon? How much does each one cost?" Cheng Lang, who was also standing on the open-air driving platform, asked loudly after being reminded by the magic mirror.

"They are all standard 15-coin caliber, and after the discount, each one only costs 22 gold coins."

Senfa responded loudly and enthusiastically, saying that he might not be good at being a captain, but he was confident enough in doing business.

"Are there any high-end products inlaid with armor plates?" Cheng Lang asked again after the magic mirror's whispered reminder.

Over the past few days, he had already figured out the calibers and types of artillery from the magic mirror.

The caliber of artillery in this world is calculated using the diameter of a gold coin. In simple terms, "15 coins" is the length of 15 gold coins arranged together.

Although the patterns and styles of the gold coins issued by different countries are slightly different, their weight and diameter are uniform. According to his estimate, it is only about one centimeter.

"We only have two cannons inlaid with armor plates."

Senfa secretly clenched his fists and said with suppressed excitement, "They are all small cannons with a caliber of 5 coins. Each one is inlaid with half an armor plate. The price is gold coins each. They are all the latest products of the Lika Royal Forge!"

“I can’t afford it.”

Cheng Lang muttered secretly. At this moment, they only had 407 gold coins on the ship. Compared to dreaming about buying those ridiculously expensive small cannons, buying some ordinary large-caliber cannons was his only option.

Thinking of this, he said loudly, "Forget about these small cannons. I want to buy some 15-caliber cannons, but I need to inspect the goods."

"We'll prepare it for you right away, and I'll introduce it to you personally later!"

After Senfa finished speaking, he waved his hand behind him. Immediately, the dirty sailors on the ship pulled the ropes and pulled up a cannon from the bottom cabin together, and loaded them onto a small boat that had been put into the water.

A moment later, Captain Senfa rowed a boat slowly to the middle of the two boats and stopped.

At the same time, Cheng Lang, who had already put on a hypocritical mask, also rowed over in a small boat.

"This is the 15-coin artillery we're selling at a reduced price."

Senfa didn't ask about Cheng Lang's identity at all. He just waited for him to get closer and then took the initiative to introduce him, "This is the latest product of the Royal Cannon Foundry of the Principality of Lika."

After a subtle glance at the small mirror in his hand, Cheng Lang felt confident and asked, "I plan to buy 20. Do you have that many in stock on your ship?"

"Twenty?"

After some calculation, Senfa said, "Yes, we have 20 artillery pieces, but two of them are second-hand goods. I don't know..."

"Then let's go with 18 doors."

Cheng Lang rejected the second-hand goods and then asked, "Can it be cheaper?"

“This is already our cost price.”

Senfa said awkwardly, "Well, although I can't give you a discount on the price, I can give you 100 shells of various types for free. What do you think?"

"That's very kind of you"

Cheng Lang thought for a moment and asked again, "I wonder if you buy second-hand cannons. I have some old cannons on my ship, and I'd like to exchange them for some regular supplies or any goods you can sell on your ship."

"My friend, I have to remind you that old artillery is not worth much." Senfa kindly reminded.

"It's much better than throwing it into the sea, isn't it?" Cheng Lang asked back. After a whole night of "testing", he was roughly sure that the heart of the ship should not open towards the cannons, and those old and worn cannons that were looted would no longer be needed as ballast.

"We have wine produced in the Principality of Ricardo on board our ship"

After Senfa finished speaking, he remembered Mr. Lu Ting's reminder and quickly added, "Also, this place is actually not far from the Zhuniao Islands. If you are willing to join us on a trip to the Zhuniao Islands, the old cannons on your ship might be able to sell for a high price."

"Are the Zhuniao Islands short of artillery?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

"certainly"

Senfa explained, “Ever since the various islands of the Suzuki Islands began to confront each other a few years ago, they have been in urgent need of various artillery to improve the defense of the coastline.

However, because the Suzuki Islands lack copper, iron, and cannon-making technology, they have always relied on imports for their cannons and gunpowder. Now, regardless of the caliber of cannon, they accept all.

“I’ve never been to the Vermilion Islands before”

Cheng Lang said truthfully, "So, could you please explain the reason for their confrontation?"

“very simple”

Captain Senfa suppressed his surprise and explained, "The Vermilion Bird Islands are rich in Vermilion Bird Stone, a very beautiful blood-red gemstone. Ever since a large and high-quality mineral vein was discovered on a small island a few years ago, the various islands have been competing for it."

After a brief pause, Captain Senfa continued, "In addition to Vermilion Bird Stone, the Vermilion Bird Islands are also rich in some precious spices. As long as those can be shipped back to the Star Sea Continent, they can also bring in very high profits.

The mining of Vermilion Bird Stone has almost come to a standstill now, but the output of spices is very large, and we went there for the spices this time.

How about we go to the Zhuniao Islands together? Once we get there, I'll help you sell those old cannons for the highest price possible."

"I need to think about this. This is a slight deviation from our original course."

After a moment's hesitation, Cheng Lang replied, "Before that, why don't we trade the artillery first?"

"If you're willing to come along, I'm willing to offer an additional discount of two gold coins on the current price of each cannon."

"Please prepare the artillery first."

Cheng Lang pointed behind him and said, "I need to discuss this with my first mate. I'll give you an answer later when I pay."

"no problem"

Captain Senfa was particularly happy. "We will prepare now. Please take this cannon back with you. We just need to change ships."

Cheng Lang naturally had no objection to this. The two of them went to each other's boats to exchange boats, and then each rowed their boats to their respective sailboats.

Rowing the almost overloaded boat back to the Valkyrie, Cheng Lang took the vines thrown down by the vine goblins, tied them to the purchased cannon, and asked the vine goblins to help pull it up.

When he relayed the other party's proposal to the Magic Mirror, the latter immediately said with certainty, "That shrewd businessman wants us to help escort him."

"It's only a day's voyage, so it's not impossible to go."

Cheng Lang said with great anticipation. He couldn't wait to go ashore and take a look, and he wanted to see what the land in this world looked like.

"If we encounter pirate robbers on the way, we can make some extra money." The Magic Mirror, who kept talking about his business, also had a hint of anticipation in his tone.

"Then agree to their deal."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he had already walked into the captain's bedroom and took out all their financial reserves from the stairwell compartment - 407 gold coins, 51 silver coins, and 18 copper coins.

At the same time, Senfa, who had returned to the Flamingo, was also discussing with Mr. Lu Ting.

"Do you think they'll agree?"

Captain Senfa asked nervously. If the cannons he brought this time were shipped to the Zhuniao Islands, each one could be sold at a high price of 25 gold coins, which would allow him to earn a full 15 gold coins for each cannon.

Now he has to give up one-third of his profits just for a day's "escort", which makes him feel a little unwilling.

“Maybe.”

Mr. Lu Ting replied ambiguously, "Although we did lose some money, as long as the pirates who might still be watching us notice that we have an escort ship, our return journey will be much safer."

"It may also attract more pirates," Captain Senfa couldn't help but say.

Mr. Lu Ting earnestly reminded, “There is no harm in making friends with the captain of such a ship.”

"I hope so"

Senfa said, looking towards the open deck, "Prepare to trade artillery!"

As the order was given, the sailors used pre-prepared wooden frames to fix four empty oak barrels to the 15-coin cannons with their muzzles blocked by wooden plugs, and then pushed them into the sea one by one.

This is the tradition of trading artillery at sea, in order to avoid buyers launching boarding battles when buying artillery, and also to avoid sellers launching boarding battles when selling artillery.

Soon, a total of 18 cannons were pushed into the sea, and the sailors who jumped in later tied them together with thick hemp ropes to form a cannon sampan that barely floated on the sea.

A moment later, Cheng Lang, alerted by the other party's light signal, rowed over again alone.

"I am willing to accompany you to the Suzaku Islands. If any danger occurs along the way, I will provide assistance to the best of my ability."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he handed the wooden box containing 360 gold coins to Senfa on another small boat, and the two exchanged boats again.

At this time, there were several more wooden boxes containing 15-coin shells on the small boat.

"Thank you for your kindness. This will be the beginning of a friendship between us."

Senfa took the box with both hands and said gratefully. He still did not ask Cheng Lang's name or the name of the sailboat that was faintly visible in the thick fog in the distance.

After a careful count, Senfa said, "Yes, a total of 360 gold coins, sir. We will wait for you outside the sea fog, and then we will set off for the Suzaku Islands together."

"We will be ready as soon as possible," Cheng Lang responded with a smile.

Watching Senfa rowing away alone, Cheng Lang also rowed back to the Valkyrie.

Only after the Flamingo armed merchant ship sailed out of the thick fog did he command the Valkyrie to raise anchor and set sail, and slowly sail to the side of the cannons.

For the next half hour, as the goblins were busy, the artillery pieces that had been looted yesterday were all sent to the lower cabin and the cargo hold, which had very little cargo. The 15-coin artillery pieces that had been bought at a high price were dragged onto the deck one by one, and after removing the empty oak barrels and frames that provided buoyancy, they were placed on the artillery deck.

Although the gun deck still lacked a gun on each side to be "fully staffed", Cheng Lang was already very satisfied. After all, they finally had some long-range firepower, even if such firepower was still insignificant in the eyes of the magic mirror.

(End of this chapter)