Naruto Online: Hyuga Branch Family? Let's go all out!

Chapter 258 Nobles are not as good as pirates

Noon.

Noqi stretched out her jade arm, but grasped at nothing.

She suddenly opened her eyes and saw only an empty bed.

"They're gone!" Nojiko was stunned for a moment, then sighed. She was angry, but not too angry.

There are so many people in this world who abandon their wives and children to become pirates that it's hard to tell whether this behavior influenced the culture or whether the culture of this world caused this behavior.

Although he is a journalist and not a pirate, both professions require going to sea, so there is no difference.

Nojiko only hoped that this one night together would result in her getting pregnant, so that she would have something to look forward to in the future.

But wait...

Why is it so cool in this room? Isn't it summer?

Nokiko suddenly stood up and found that she didn't feel any discomfort in her body. She had felt some pain in her lower body last night, but now she couldn't feel it at all.

Then there were ice blocks placed all around the room!

"Where did this ice come from?!" Nojiko bent down and grabbed it, looking bewildered. It was icy cold.

It really is ice!

She wore jeans and a tank top, huh?

Looking at his smooth arms, Nojiko was stunned again.

Wait, I have a tattoo!

Because Nami disliked her tattoo, Nojiko also got a tattoo on her arm.

Not only did they get tattoos on both arms, but they also got them on their collarbones.

But now, not only are the tattoos on my arms gone, but the ones on my collarbone are gone too!

"Aha!" Nojiko almost burst out laughing. What girl doesn't love beauty? Besides, this world isn't the kind of world where tattoos are popular. Even pirates don't have tattoos anywhere except for their pirate crew's logo.

Now that she's discovered her tattoos are gone, of course she's happy!

She stepped out of the bedroom and saw that not only were there ice cubes everywhere in the bedroom, but also in the living room.

In the center of the living room, the table that was originally used to place miscellaneous items had been cleared out. Two chairs were placed on either side of the table. Ning Yuan sat on one of them, while on the other side sat a creature that looked like a bird but had a human face.

"What is this?" The creature looked up at them blankly.

"Nokiko, my girlfriend!" Ning Yuan introduced.

"Oh, hello, hello!" the creature spread its wings. "I'm Morgans, the editor-in-chief of the World Economic Herald!"

"Ah, hello, hello!" As a country girl, the town mayor was already a big shot to her, and the editor-in-chief of the World Economic Herald? That was a big shot among big shots!

Who would have thought that such an important person would appear in my home?

So, if he's a big shot, then what about Ning Yuan?

"He clearly said yesterday that he wasn't a reporter and that it was his first time submitting an article, and the editor-in-chief came to his door the very next day. How can such a thing happen!" Nuoqi Gao felt that he had been deceived by Ning Yuan again. He was clearly a big reporter, the kind of big reporter that the editor-in-chief would personally come to ask for articles!

Muttering to himself, Nojiko said aloud, "I'll bring you a cup of tea!"

After saying that, he went into the kitchen. After serving the tea, he simply left the room, leaving the living room for the two of them to talk.

In the living room, Morgans took a sip of tea: "So, Mr. Ning, which capacity would you like to use to cooperate with us?"

Morgans looked at the three contracts in front of him.

The first type is a contracted reporter for the World Economic Daily. These reporters have a guaranteed base salary, but it's not much. Their main income comes from the huge commissions they receive after their news is published.

Because they receive a guaranteed minimum salary, the news stories they gather can only be submitted to the World Economic Daily.

If a reporter frequently encounters major events and makes headlines every day, their income will certainly be high.

But that's simply not realistic.

The World Economic Herald has a large number of contracted reporters, who are located all over the world, and the amount of news they record every day is simply enormous.

However, the World Economic Daily has limited space, and only 1% of these news reports can be published in the newspaper. Of those 1%, there is a 1/200 chance of making the headline.

In other words, out of 200000 journalists, only one person can make the headlines.

How low is that probability?

Therefore, most contracted journalists live off a guaranteed minimum wage; dreaming of making big money from it is no different from a pipe dream.

Even though Ning Yuan knew the plot and knew that following Luffy would bring big news, Luffy didn't cause trouble very often, and the only thing that made headlines was the Enies Lobby incident.

The second one was from a collaborating reporter.

Collaborating journalists are freelance journalists who can submit their news reports not only to the World Economic News but also to other newspapers.

The third one is for columnists.

In its early years, the World Economic Journal was an economic newspaper, so it had a column to comment on the economy. Later, although the newspaper changed its direction under Morgans' leadership, the column was still retained. However, the column was no longer used only to comment on the economy, but to comment on everything.

For example, people comment on various countries, kingdoms, princesses, pirates, and even the navy.

Previously, a columnist wrote an article evaluating the world's most beautiful women, listing Empress Boa Hancock as number one, thus giving rise to the title of the world's most beautiful woman.

Columnists receive extremely high fees and wield significant influence, but the requirements for them are correspondingly high; at the very least, their writing must be substantial and they cannot spout nonsense.

It was obvious to Morgans that Ning Yuan was a person with clear logic, excellent writing skills, and quite independent thinking, making him very suitable to be a columnist.

The previous interview, which seemed to be a question-and-answer session, was actually a case of the mouse being completely led by the nose by Ning Yuan.

This kind of thing might not be obvious to outsiders, but Morgans, as a journalist, knew it all too well.

"Columnists are required to contribute at least once a week." Ning Yuan looked at the requirements in the contract: "They need to evaluate the most controversial content of the week, and select the best entries?"

Morgans nodded: "How about it? Although your article might not get published, it's much easier to get published than to make the front page, and with your abilities, I don't think it will be a problem for you!"

The newspaper bird next to Morgans nodded frantically, indicating that it was right, right, sign this one!

If Ningyuan becomes a contracted journalist, it will still have to fly back and forth every day as a liaison bird.

But if Ning Yuan becomes a columnist, it will only need to fly back and forth once a week.

"That's not really a problem for me, but what if I write a lot of articles?" Ning Yuan asked.

"One article a day?" Morgans generously replied, "Don't worry, as long as the quality is up to standard, I'll publish it for you every day!"

"What about ten articles a day?" Ning Yuan asked again.

"Oh dear!" Morgans was speechless. "That's a bit much. Newspaper columns are limited. Even if you had a lot to write, we wouldn't have room for it! But don't worry, if your writing is truly good, I can make room for you in other columns!"

Ning Yuan nodded. To be fair, Morgans' reputation as a news king was well-deserved.

He certainly didn't expect that Morgans would personally come to his door just to sign a reporter.

Logically speaking, you're the only ones in the world with newspapers, and you're running a monopoly, so you could have adopted a more respectful attitude. But Morgans was able to be so courteous and humble.

If a guy like that doesn't succeed, who will?

"Then let's sign this!" Ning Yuan took the columnist's contract, wrote his name heavily, and also, pen name, huh?

"Are you still using the name Zhiyuan?" Morgans asked. "I suggest that you differentiate your pen name from your real name to some extent, otherwise it's easy for people to associate it with the same person. Sometimes, being a columnist can be quite offensive. I had an author who criticized the World Government in his column, and because his pen name was similar to his real name, the World Government found him!"

"And then?" Ning Yuan asked.

"He's been out of contact for over two years!" Morgans shrugged. "I would never reveal the real information of the contracted authors, but the World Government has a lot of spies, and those authors don't have much ability. They also like to drink and stuff, which exposes their identities."

"I advise you, unless absolutely necessary, not to reveal your identity in crowded places like taverns. You have no idea which one of them might betray you!"

"I understand!" Ning Yuan nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, editor!"

"Oh, no need to thank me, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement!" Morgans smiled, then put away the contract. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now!"

"No rush!" Ning Yuan pulled out a manuscript and handed it to Morgans: "Take a look at this while you're at it!"

"Another news story?" Morgans frowned. "Let me tell you, this is a remote, backwater place. Even if something big happens, it's unlikely to make the World Journal, unless there's some kind of follow-up to that dragon case, eh?"

He was astonished to discover that the manuscript was not a news article, but an argument.

This article perfectly fits the identity of a columnist.

"How did you know I'd offer you a columnist contract?" Morgans asked in surprise. "You actually guessed that?"

Ning Yuan shook his head: "How could I possibly guess that? But I just believe that strength can take you anywhere. As long as I write well, even if I were a beggar, you would still publish my articles, let alone if I were a journalist!"

"You're mistaken!" Morgans shook his head. "There are plenty of capable people, but very few rise to the top, precisely because there's a lack of bosses like me who can and dare to use people!"

"If you submitted your article to something like the Donghai Daily or the World Government Daily, do you think they would report on it?"

Ning Yuan nodded: "Yes, yes, Mr. Morgans is the best. How about I write another article praising you?"

"Hehehe..." Morgans chuckled shyly, "Is it long? I just wanted to take a look at your manuscript. Could you finish writing it before I finish reading it?"

"Of course!" Ning Yuan nodded.

"Alright, I'll read it, you write!" Morgans spread out the manuscript, first looking at the title: "Reflecting on the Tax Issues of Major Kingdoms Through the Protection Fee Policy Implemented by the Evil Dragon!"

"Hmm?" Morgans became interested and continued reading.

Then, the very first sentence of the article gave Morgans a major critique.

Perhaps no one would have guessed that the villagers under the rule of the dragon were much happier than those under the rule of the nobles!

"Huh?" Morgans was dumbfounded. No, is this for real? Brother, you're not talking nonsense, are you?

Look down again.

After the dragon occupied Cocoyasi and the surrounding villages, it devised a scheme called protection money, which was actually a life-buying fee. The fee was 10 Berries per year for adults and 5 Berries per year for children!

Based on this alone, the Arlong Pirates can be described as extremely heinous.

However, aside from the money for buying lives, the Arlong Pirates made no further demands on the villages and towns. They did not collect commercial taxes, agricultural taxes, head taxes, or heavenly gold. There were no losses or layers of exploitation in the tax collection process. Villagers no longer needed to bribe officials, and the navy soldiers and local police could no longer extort money from the villagers.

Before the dragon arrived, the local villagers had been growing oranges for five or six years, but they couldn't even afford the 100,000 Berries needed to save their lives. But after the dragon left, every household in the village had surplus wealth, and everyone could afford to buy wallets. Every wallet was full of money, and the food to entertain the Straw Hat Pirates stretched from one end of the village to the other!

"Huh?" Morgans' eyes widened, and he was a little confused.

He was the editor-in-chief of the World Economic Herald, and even though the newspaper had undergone a transformation, he still understood economic issues.

It is not hard to see from this article that during the ten years that the evil dragon ruled Cocoyasi, the economy of Cocoyasi village not only did not get worse, but actually got better.

real or fake?

Morgans scratched his head and suddenly saw Nokigo watering the orange trees outside.

He simply got up, went to the window, and asked, "This one, uh!"

"Nojiko!"

"Oh, Nojigo!" Morgans asked, "I heard that the dragon is collecting protection money here—100,000 Berries for adults and 50,000 Berries for children. Is that true?"

"Yes!" Nojiko's face immediately darkened at the mention of the dragon. "My mother was killed by the dragon because she couldn't afford to pay these fees. What, do you think Ningyuan-kun is lying?"

She thought that Ning Yuan had told Morgans about what happened here, but Morgans didn't believe her.

"No, no!" Morgans shook his head, then asked, "Is this money collected monthly or annually?"

"Of course it's a year! How could it be a month!" Noki rolled her eyes. "Nobody could afford a month!"

Actually, if you do the math, you'll see that Nami used 100 million to buy the entire village's life-saving money.

If the life-saving money is collected monthly, then 1000 villagers would receive 100 million yuan a month. How is it possible to buy the life-saving money of the entire village with 100 million yuan?

Moreover, a newspaper only costs 50 Berries. If newspapers are used as an equivalent, 10 Berries can only buy 2000 newspapers.

A newspaper in Guining costs 2 yuan, which means 10 Berries = 4000 Ningyuan!

What does it mean to pay 4000 yuan a month to save one's life? Let alone returning home, even citizens of neighboring developed countries can't afford this amount, let alone paying it for ten years!

"Are there any other places in your village where I need to pay fees?" Morgans asked again.

"That's all!" Nojiko said. "Before, the town's tax collectors would come to collect the money, but they were all killed by the dragon's men!"

At this point, Nojiko became even angrier: "They not only killed the tax collector, but they also massacred the entire town next door!"

Morgans didn't care about such things. As the editor-in-chief of the World Economic Herald, he heard countless news reports of pirates massacring towns every day, and this kind of thing didn't even faze him.

He was more curious: "In your opinion, during the ten years the dragon ruled the village, did your lives get better or worse?"

"Of course it'll turn bad, huh?" Nojiko blinked, somewhat bewildered.

Subjectively, she naturally believed that the dragon was a bad person, and that her life would definitely go downhill after the arrival of the bad person!

But compared to before...

Noki was bewildered.

Because her life is actually much better than before!

Bellemere used to work so hard, but she couldn't afford to raise her two daughters, or even buy them new clothes. Nami often had to wear Nojiko's clothes.

But after the dragon arrived, in the same orange grove, Nojiko, a young girl, single-handedly supported her family, and their lives actually improved.

Is it because there are two fewer people in the household, resulting in reduced expenses?

With my current financial resources, I think I could afford to raise two more daughters!

Does that mean I'm stronger than Bellemere?

How could that be? I don't know anything. Bellemere, at least, was a naval officer!

After much thought, Nojiko suddenly realized a terrifying possibility: it seemed that her current good life was indeed brought about by the evil dragon.

"No, impossible, how could that be!" Nojiko immediately shook her head. "There must have been some other difficulty. Yes, it must be because Nami and I were too young back then and didn't know any better, causing a lot of trouble for our family!"

Even if I haven't caused any trouble, Nami definitely has. For example, Nami might steal things, and maybe Bellemere used up all the money in the house to pay off other people?

That's definitely right, no doubt about it!

She forgot that Bellemere had served in the navy. Putting aside the fact that the villagers had to give her face, Bellemere should have had savings after retiring from the navy. However, by the time of the evil dragon, her family was still too poor to afford the money to buy their lives.

Suddenly, a warm hand pulled Nokiko into an embrace.

Nuoqi Gao looked up in surprise and realized it was Ning Yuan.

"Waaah!" Nojiko threw herself into Ning Yuan's arms and cried, "Have we been misunderstanding the dragon all this time? But he clearly killed Bellemere!"

"There's no misunderstanding!" Ning Yuan said calmly, "The evil dragon deserves to die!"

"But he clearly made our lives better!" Nojiko whispered.

"Your lives were meant to be like this!" Ning Yuan said softly. "It wasn't the evil dragon that made your lives better, but rather the town's tax collectors and officials who made them worse!"

Patting Nojiko on the shoulder, Ning Yuan comforted him, "So feel free to hate the dragon. A bad person can never be redeemed by someone even worse."

"listen..".

"What?" Ning Yuan asked.

"I don't quite understand!" Nokiko muttered softly.

"Then I'll tell you about it slowly later!" Ning Yuan said with a smile.

"Okay!" Nuoqi nodded emphatically, then gave Ning Yuan a big hug.

At that moment, she realized more than ever before that she truly had excellent judgment.

The person I found seems to be much better than you, little sister!

Morgans, standing next to me, curled his lip. "Showing off their love right in front of me, tsk tsk!"

I'm actually a little envious!

However, how come this child's thoughts are so similar to those of that group!

They even seem to be more powerful than them, because the Revolutionary Army keeps talking about overthrowing the World Government, but they don't get to the point.

Ning Yuan, on the other hand, immediately unleashed a trump card: Your noble rule is even worse than that of pirates.

Could he really be a member of the Revolutionary Army, infiltrating my World Economic News?

but..

Morgans picked up the second manuscript that Ning Yuan had just finished writing, the ink still wet, and then sighed deeply.

This writing is so good, and this flattery is making me really want to do the same.

Forget it, whatever. What revolutionary army? I don't understand!

Moreover, having a member of the revolutionary army in the newspaper office might not necessarily be a bad thing.

If they cause trouble over there, I'll be the first to know!

(End of this chapter)