Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 22 The trouble that cannot be avoided
It was only a hundred meters from the pier to the Xinweng Tavern, and Cheng Lang was also carefully observing everything around him.

In addition to the sailboats of various colors but similar styles around the berths, there are also many vendors along the way in this busy pier.

Some of them sell all kinds of seafood or fruits and vegetables that you have seen and never seen before, while others sell spices with rich aroma and even various snacks.

Some even held up wooden signs with messages like "Buying/Selling Large Amounts of X" or "Recruiting Sailors for Long-Distance Voyages." He even saw the words "Sincerely Seeking a Mate" on one of the signs.

Compared with these colorful commercial activities, most of the buildings here are built with stones and wood, and the ground under your feet is paved with stone slabs or stone strips.

Most of the pedestrians around were dressed like dirty sailors, and their hygiene conditions were really hard to describe.

Not to mention them, even Captain Senfa, who was walking in front of him and kept talking to him, was filled with the unignorable smell of rotten sweat and the fishy smell of the sea, as well as a body odor that was even stronger than both.

In comparison, Cheng Lang, who always picked up clothes to wear and never forgot to take a bath before going to bed, became an outlier.

Captain Senfa also noticed this small detail, and this further strengthened his intention to establish friendship with Cheng Lang.

Even though it was his first time going to sea and he was naturally afraid of the sea, he had heard a proverb from sailors and captains more than once:
Keeping clean and tidy at sea is more difficult than defeating pirates, but a captain who can dress neatly is often qualified to fight most pirates.

As it happens, what happened last night proved the truth of this proverb.

Cheng Lang didn't have time to take a closer look, and Sen Fa didn't have time to talk in detail. The two of them and Mr. Lu Ting, who caught up a little later, politely walked into a bustling tavern filled with the aroma of food.

Under the warm light of the oil lamps fixed on the wooden beams, the sailors at the tables were not very clean, their language was extremely vulgar, and they even had flintlock rifles and scimitars blatantly on their waists. They were either holding wooden cups and drinking heartily, or leaning over and whispering about some secret topics with their heads almost touching.

At the wooden bar facing the entrance of the tavern, there was a young girl in a white robe holding a harp. She was plucking the strings and singing a song that seemed to be blessing the harvest.

Inside the bar stood a middle-aged man with a flintlock rifle on his waist. He looked quite similar to Mr. Napit, who had just collected tolls on the pier.

"Lizar, three glasses of blood orange beer." Mr. Lu Ting said without waiting to sit down.

"Mr. Lu Ting, is it really you? We haven't seen each other for many years."

Lizar, the bartender standing at the bar, greeted them warmly and then shook hands with Mr. Lu Ting across the bar. "These three drinks are on me."

"It's been years since we last met," Mr. Luting said with a hearty laugh. "So please have a larger cup."

"no problem!"

Lizar was particularly generous. He took out three wooden cups from the shelf behind him and placed them on the table with a thud.

"This must be Mr. Senfa, right? I often hear the captains of the Flamingo Trading Company mention you."

Lizar took out three blood-red oranges, sliced ​​them skillfully and threw them into three cups, then filled the cups with foamy beer one by one.

"It's really me"

Senfa shook hands with the man, took the beer he pushed towards him, and said enthusiastically, "I've often heard captains, including Mr. Lu Ting, mention the beer at Xinweng Tavern and the generous bartender, Mr. Lizar."

"I have nothing to do with generosity in their mouths."

Lizar said, pushing a large glass of beer to Mr. Lu Ting and Cheng Lang in turn. "Gentlemen, let's talk about something that can fill our stomachs. What hot-selling goods have you brought this time?"

“There’s no rush for these.”

Mr. Luting once again spoke before Captain Senfa could speak, "Lizar, we captured some pirate sailors on the way here, and now they have been sent to the backyard of Xinweng Tavern.

Please help organize an auction tonight. We want to use this cheap labor to exchange for some ransom to make up for the losses on the road."

"Leave this to me."

Lizar immediately made a promise, "The people you sent are just in time. The plantation is short of manpower recently. They will fetch a good price."

"This is the best news I have heard on this trip," said Captain Senfa after taking a big sip of beer.

"Flamingo Company seems to be in some trouble?" Lizar said casually while wiping the wooden cup with a towel.

'Just a few minor inconveniences'

Mr. Lu Ting picked up the cup and said, "Okay, Lizar, take us back to the room first. I can't wait to take a comfortable hot bath."

"Please go upstairs"

Lizar smiled and said, "My brother has already arranged a room for you."

"let's go"

Mr. Lu Ting picked up the cup and winked at Cheng Lang.

Seeing this, Cheng Lang, who had been silent just now, just nodded, and also holding the cup, followed the two of them up the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor.

Just as the bartender Lizar said, a young and beautiful blonde girl in a maid outfit was already waiting for them at the stairs.

"Captains, I'm Lilia, the trader sent by Mr. Napit. Here are three connected rooms prepared for you."

Lilia said enthusiastically, "You can see your merchant ship just by opening the window. Also, I took the initiative to prepare some simple food for you in your room."

Captain Senfa casually opened a door and looked inside. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Thank Mr. Napit for our hospitality. Lilia, please take us to the warehouse. I want to complete the first transaction first."

"Please follow me," Lilia said respectfully.

"Captain Cheng Lang, come with me." Captain Senfa made an invitation.

Cheng Lang, who had been silent just now, nodded, put the cup in his hand into a room he liked, followed Captain Senfa and Lilia, went downstairs from another staircase on the second floor, and then walked into a warehouse not far away.

The forty old cannons and their corresponding shells that were unloaded from the Valkyrie have all been delivered here, and some people are currently busy conducting a detailed evaluation and inspection of these cannons.

Lilia took a look at the form handed to her by a young man and handed it to Captain Senfa. "These cannons are in good condition. This is the valuation we made."

Captain Senfa took the form and took a look at it before handing it to Cheng Lang. "What do you think of this price?"

After taking a quick look at the quotes on the paper, I found that the cheapest of these cannons was only valued at two gold coins, and the most expensive was no more than six gold coins.

"You are the owner of Flamingo Trading Company, so it's up to you to decide." Cheng Lang returned the form to Senfa, but his answer was flawless.

“The price is too low”

Captain Senfa took the form and handed it back to Lilia, saying in a dissatisfied tone, "We would rather ship it to Pier 11 tomorrow morning for the transaction."

"Captain Senfa, the price is negotiable." At this moment, Mr. Napit also walked into the warehouse. "Please quote the price you expect."

"15 gold coins for each cannon" Senfa quoted a "sky-high price" without thinking.

“That’s not how you negotiate prices.”

Mr. Napit shook his head helplessly. "We are already old friends. Please let us show some sincerity to each other."

"After we leave the Suzaku Islands, we will declare war on the Swordfish Trading Company," Captain Senfa said incoherently. "Is that sincere enough?"

Napit was stunned for a moment, then said, "How about forty cannons, regardless of caliber, six gold coins each?"

"Eight gold coins"

Senfa continued to "remind," "My captain still has two 5-coin cannons inlaid with armor plates and enough Rican wine.

So let's get this loot traded over quickly, and then we can get down to business."

Napit raised an eyebrow, his attitude becoming more enthusiastic. "In that case, how about 7 gold coins per cannon? The shells are worth an extra gold coin."

"40 cannons plus all the shells, 300 gold coins." Captain Senfa offered a new price.

"make a deal"

Napit seemed eager to make another deal. He readily extended his hand and shook hands with Captain Senfa, saying, "Lilia, go get 300 gold coins and give them to Captain Senfa."

"Captain Cheng Lang, you and Lilia go get the gold coins and then send them directly back to the room." Senfa said.

"Alright"

Cheng Lang nodded, knowing that the other party was trying to get rid of him, and followed Lilia out of the warehouse and back to Xinweng Tavern.

After taking the wooden box containing 300 gold coins from the bartender and checking them carefully, Cheng Lang first went back to the second floor to say hello to Mr. Lu Ting, then pushed the door open and walked into the room he liked, and stuck the small mirror he brought with him on the mirror in the bathroom of this room.

Without staying in the room any longer, Cheng Lang scattered the gold coins and hid them all over his body. He left the Xinweng Tavern and returned to the captain's room of the Valkyrie not far away, and locked the starting capital in the stair compartment.

After leaving the Valkyrie again, he did not rush back to the Xinweng Tavern. Instead, he strolled leisurely on the pier.

From time to time, he would stop in front of some stalls, either to buy some snacks or simply to ask the prices.

Along the way, he also gained a general understanding of the prices in this world and the purchasing power of gold, silver and copper coins.

The currency of this world, the exchange of three kinds of coins is based on hundred.

To make a simple, inaccurate analogy, a copper coin is roughly equivalent to one dollar, a silver coin is roughly one hundred dollars, and a gold coin is ten thousand dollars.

Calculated in this way, whether it was the artillery that Senfa had sold to himself or the old artillery that he had just sold, the prices were really not cheap, especially those artillery inlaid with armor plates. Even if only half of the plate was inlaid, the price was ridiculously expensive.

But if he returns to the quiet and peaceful Pier 17, 10 copper coins are enough for him to fill his stomach with delicious snacks at any stall.

One silver coin was enough for him to drink cheap beer and get a good dinner in those taverns. If he was willing to pay more than 10 silver coins, those beautiful prostitutes would come to him enthusiastically.

But if you want to recruit ocean sailors, the price of "getting on board" basically starts at two gold coins.

Generally speaking, anything related to going overseas seems to have a very high price.

As long as he didn't set foot in the sea, the more than 300 gold coins he had were enough for him to live comfortably here for a long time.

In the cool evening breeze, Cheng Lang walked further and further in this small dock town.

But soon, he stopped again and looked with a frown at a berth in the distance that was closely guarded by guards.

At this berth is a sailing ship of the Duchy of Boerland. On the top of the mast, the flag with the emblem of the Royal Boerland Witch Hunting Corps is particularly conspicuous by the ship's light also hanging on the top of the mast.

Even on the open deck, there were more than a dozen sailors in white uniforms, holding flintlock rifles in one hand, standing straight like pencils, looking at the pedestrians on the dock streets with vigilance and pride.

Subconsciously touching the hypocritical mask on his face, Cheng Lang turned decisively and entered the alley leading to another street.

There are also many shops on this street and it is just as lively, but there are many more intricate alleys between the shops.

In these deep and dark alleys, the melodious calls of prostitutes can be faintly heard in some, while in others, the sounds of fighting and screams can be heard.

Others were either filled with the smell of urine and vomit, or there was simply a sailor lying at the entrance of the alley, holding a bottle of wine, drunk and dirty, and stripped of all valuables.

Compared with these flaws, most of the shops on this street sell local specialties and bulk supplies, among which various spices are the most common.

Wandering around casually among the bustling crowd, he found a lot of familiar things.

Chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, even chunks of ginger, baskets of garlic and dried star anise.

Of course, there were also cured meats, dried fish, sausages, which he didn't even look down upon, boxes of bread, barrels of beer, and a large number of blood oranges that he had just tasted in the beer, as well as many other fruits he had never seen before.

In short, you can buy almost all the food supplies necessary for going to sea on this street.

Follow an intersection to the next street further away from the pier. Most of the shops here sell clothes, canvas, various cold weapons and flintlock rifles.

Secretly thinking about coming here tomorrow to have a good look and buy himself some decent clothes, Cheng Lang walked along an intersection to the next street.

There are fewer pedestrians on this street, and most of the shops along the way are closed. The few that are open only sell wood and finished oak barrels, which are also necessary for going out to sea.

Just as he was wondering whether to continue to the next street, he heard shouting and sounds of chasing from the front.

Looking up, I saw a man in a cloak pulling another thin figure also in a cloak running out of an alley.

When they ran about sixty or seventy meters, four soldiers in the white uniforms of the Duchy of Boerland also ran out, holding not only lanterns with glass covers but also flintlock rifles.

"boom!"

Just as he was stunned, one of the soldiers raised his flintlock and pulled the trigger!
The moment the gunshot rang out, the man in the cloak in front fell to the ground, and the thin shadow he was pulling was also thrown to the ground, and they screamed one after another.

But soon, the two of them quickly got up and continued running towards Qian Chenglang.

Without any hesitation, Cheng Lang dodged and hid in the alley beside the street. He still had a vague understanding of this world, and he really didn't want to provoke the demon hunting group of the Principality of Boerland unless it was necessary.

But just when he was avoiding trouble, trouble found him!

(End of this chapter)