Daily life with the ship girl

"No wonder."

Li Ran looked at the driver's familiarity and thought of the drivers he encountered when he traveled on Earth. He thought that these drivers were locals after all and must be very familiar with the customs and practices of Qiyun Port. He just didn't know where to start, so he asked quickly:

"Uncle, let me ask you a question."

"Little brother, just say whatever you want."

"Is there a place in Qiyun City that sells toys, like stuffed dolls or something like that?"

"For toys, go to the west section of North Street. There are many categories there. Children's Day is approaching soon, so many vendors have started promotions in advance."

"Children's Day? Do you celebrate this festival here too?"

"Yes, the whole world celebrates it. How come you don't know, little brother?"

The driver asked in a somewhat strange way. When Li Ran heard the driver ask this, his face looked a little strange. He was getting more and more confused about whether he was on Earth or in a parallel world. He scratched his head and said:

"I know, it's just a little strange. Isn't it only the beginning of May?"

"Little brother, today is May 5th."

"Ah? So fast." Li Ran was a little confused. Has he been in this world for so long without realizing it?

Yes, ever since celebrating Walkerlan's birthday on March 3, he seemed to be busy, and there was no calendar or anything like that in the tutelary fort. He said with a sense of loss:

"Time flies so fast."

"Who says it isn't? Summer is here before we know it."

The driver echoed.

Then Li Ran lost interest in the conversation. Bismarck noticed that Li Ran looked a little disappointed, so she asked softly:

"Admiral, are you homesick?"

"Ah, I think about it. I've been away from home for almost three months." Li Ran smiled bitterly and looked at the pedestrians holding children outside the car window. He felt strange that he had lived in this strange world for so long. He didn't expect it. He said meaningfully:

“People are sometimes very adaptable.”

Bismarck always felt that Li Ran had something else in mind. She looked at Li Ran's profile, then took Li Ran's hand and said:

"No matter how time changes, I will always be by your side to protect you."

Li Ran smiled bitterly and said helplessly:

"Why can't I be happy when you say that?"

Bismarck looked at Li Ran's face, which had unconsciously become darker, and a hint of tenderness flashed in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Li Ran touched his cheek in confusion.

"Is there something on my face?"

"It's okay." Bismarck looked away and thought to himself, Admiral, why do you sometimes act like a playboy who knows everything, and sometimes act like a fool who knows nothing?

The car drove along the bluestone street. There were fewer people on North Street at noon, so the car was driving quite fast. It soon stopped at Nangong Umbrella Shop.

After Li Ran paid the bill, he and Bismarck walked into the umbrella shop.

The architectural style of the umbrella shop is quite modern. There are not many people in the store. Li Ran let go of Bismarck's hand and said:

"Let's bring some umbrellas back for them. I think there are no parasols at home. I felt like something was missing during the last barbecue at the beach."

"Yeah." Bismarck was a ship girl, and generally speaking, as a woman, she was born with a love of beauty. Looking at the dazzling array of umbrellas in the store, she began to choose.

Li Ran saw that there was only a middle-aged woman and her daughter, a little girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, in the store.

He watched Bismarck go to choose an umbrella. The little girl was enthusiastically introducing the product to Bismarck. He smiled, walked to the counter and started talking to the old lady:

"Sister, how long have you spread out this umbrella?"

"It's been open for more than ten years. The young man's accent must not be from here. How could he think of visiting my old lady's store?"

"Don't say that, big sister. You still look very young. Besides, it looks like it's going to rain. I've finally come out here, and I can't let my female companion get wet in the rain."

"Yes, the boy is quite considerate. By the way, Xiaoyu, go get those couple umbrellas that just arrived yesterday."

"I got it, Mom." Xiaoyu talked to Bismarck, then went into the store's warehouse to get the couple's umbrella.

Li Ran looked at Bismarck with some trepidation, and found that she was still there choosing an umbrella, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was a little worried that Bismarck would be angry with these people. After all, he and she had not yet officially dated. If it were in a game, the current favorability level might be just over 60.

But, couple umbrella, hehe, this thing is good, he quickly said to the aunt:

"Thank you very much, big sister. By the way, does your store have umbrellas for children? Um, some cute cartoon ones."

"Yes, come with me." The aunt thought for a moment, then took Li Ran to the children's umbrella area and introduced:

"These are some cartoon umbrellas that have just arrived. I heard they are from many world-famous cartoons. Many adults buy a few and they are very popular."

Li Ran listened to the introduction, nodded, then picked up an umbrella, opened it, and found that the quality was pretty good, especially the umbrella with many cute little bears and rabbits painted on it. He thought about how many destroyers there were in the port area, the lively and cute Firefly, Sigsby who didn't like to wear small clothes, the shy Walkerlan, the hard-working and courageous, Keeling who would bite his tongue when talking, and yes, there were Z24 and Z28. He almost forgot the submarine U47. Well, they were all children, so that was eight. After thinking about it, Li Ran decided to buy a few more for emergency use, and then said:

"Big sister, you go ahead and do your work. I can choose it myself."

"Okay." The proprietress's heart blossomed when Li Ran called her "Big Sister" all the time. She was over 40 years old, and because her daughter was born relatively recently, she aged very quickly. Most people simply called her "Auntie", but Li Ran was the only one who called her "Big Sister", which made her feel a lot younger.

After a while, Xiaoyu brought the couple umbrella to the counter. Li Ran had just picked out some cartoon umbrellas with various small animal patterns on them. In particular, he saw an umbrella with a firefly pattern, which was perfect for his own starter ship. He returned to the counter with a bunch of umbrellas. Bismarck also picked out umbrellas for the sisters in the port area. Then he heard the aunt count the umbrellas on the counter, then took the couple umbrella that Xiaoyu had brought and said:

"This is a limited edition couple umbrella. Well, it just arrived at the store yesterday, and only the "Fated for Three Lifetimes" pair is left. The "Love is Stronger than Gold" and "Seas and Rocks Will Last" models have been pre-ordered. You came at the right time. Young man, I think you and your girlfriend are a match made in heaven. Do you want to buy a pair to take home as a souvenir?"

"Well, Bismarck, what do you think?"

"Admiral, you make the decision." Bismarck had a blank expression on her face. If you look closely, you can actually see that her cat ears moved, which was a sign of Bismarck's nervousness.

Li Ran thought for a moment, then said:

"Okay, pack these all up."

"Young man, do you mean to wrap up everything on the counter?"

"Yeah." Li Ran nodded.

"Okay, seeing that the young man is taking care of the old lady's business, I will give you a 20% discount this time. In addition, this is the membership card of Nangong Umbrella Shop, please keep it. These umbrellas cost a total of 1,600 Ocean Coins."

"One thousand six hundred?" Li Ran's mouth twitched. It's really damn expensive. Forget it, just buy it.

After paying the bill, Li Ran thought it would be difficult to go shopping with so many things, so he asked:

"Can you please deliver these umbrellas to my place?"

"Of course, young man, give me your address and I'll ask Xiaoyu to send it to you later."

"Thank you very much." Li Ran took out the note that Bai Kuang had passed to him before he left from his pocket, and said:

"Just send it here. Well, I'll take the couple's umbrella first. I'll leave the rest to you, big sister."

"Don't worry." The aunt was touched to see that Li Ran trusted her so much. You know, the shops in this world are not as black-hearted as those on Earth. Many shops value their reputation more than their lives, especially old shops like Nangong Umbrella Shop which have been around for more than ten years. They value the reputation of the shop even more.

"Okay then, we'll leave first."

Li Ran waved his hand, took the Fate of Three Lives Umbrella, handed it to Bismarck, and said:

"It might rain later, so take it."

"Yeah." Bismarck blushed. She stroked the rose relief on the umbrella handle, which symbolized love. A little sweetness rose in her heart. At this moment, Li Ran suddenly saw a girl opposite the umbrella shop. She was wearing a hat with the German Iron Cross Medal. He turned around and asked Bismarck:

"Bismarck, do you think that person is a ship girl?"

Bismarck was brought back to her senses by Li Ran's question. She looked in the direction Li Ran pointed and saw the familiar hat style. She frowned and said:

"It looks like a G-country navy hat, but it's quite far away, so I can't tell which shipgirl it is. Admiral, do you want to go over and say hello?"

"Well, of course. It seems that this little girl has run into some trouble." Li Ran looked at Bismarck, saw a hint of request on Bismarck's face, nodded and said.

Chapter 173: Fighting for Salary

Although Li Ran decided to help, he did not rush over with Bismarck immediately. Instead, he said:

"Let's wait and see what happens. Xiuxian, don't rush over, otherwise I'm afraid it will backfire."

"Hmm." Bismarck thought about it and felt that the admiral was right. It would be inappropriate to go forward to help for no reason.

Li Ran thought for a moment, and then he saw that the little girl seemed to be arguing with a guy in a suit. He took Bismarck's hand and said:

'Let's go over there, I see that little girl is getting pissed off.'

Li Ran was a little worried that if he let the two continue arguing, with more and more people joining in, it would add a lot of variables if he wanted to help.

Li Ran and Bismarck quickly pushed through the crowd, and then heard the little girl's voice, which was a little exasperated:

"I have completed the escort commission. Can you please stop pestering me? I will not go to your port area, and I don't want your salary. Please get out of the way."

"Leipzig, I can afford the commission." The man was anxious. He originally thought that Leipzig was just a ship girl with weak combat effectiveness and did not pay her immediately. However, after the escort commission was completed, he discovered that Leipzig's combat skills were sophisticated, and even the ship girls in his fleet obeyed Leipzig's command, and finally repelled the deep-sea fleet and escaped danger.

He originally thought that he could use salary as a bargaining chip to make Leipzig his ship girl, but as things progressed, he realized that he had made a stupid mistake.

Although Leipzig is famous for loving to make money, it does not mean that money can buy her off. The man in the suit obviously chose to ignore this point. What's more important is that Leipzig hates people who go back on their promises and withhold wages the most.

"I said, it's not necessary. Man who goes back on his word, please get out of the way immediately!" Leipzig was obviously angry. Looking at the behavior of the man in front of her, she remembered when she accepted the escort commission and first met this man. The other party was gentle and well-spoken, and he was calm in the face of danger in the deep sea. Unfortunately, she later discovered that this man was so hypocritical. When she went to get her salary back, he made excuses on the grounds that there was no formal contract signed. He also kept inviting her to join his port area on the grounds of salary.

Leipzig felt very disappointed. She had thought the other party was a straightforward person and a very upright gentleman, but she didn't expect that he was a black-hearted, stingy and treacherous villain. She pushed him away and was about to move forward.

Unexpectedly, the man in the suit shamelessly grabbed Leipzig's wrist with his backhand and said to the onlookers in a pleading tone:

"Please help me to speak for me. I was wrong. My ship girl is about to betray me. Leipzig, promise me that you will not leave, okay?"

How could those passers-by understand the things between the admiral and the ship girl? When they heard that the man in the suit looked extremely vulnerable, they couldn't help but feel sympathy and began to persuade him in various ways:

"Hey little girl, look, he has admitted his mistakes. What's the conflict that can't be discussed by sitting down?"

"Yes, yes, little girl, you have to be considerate of your admiral. It's not easy for him either."

……

Leipzig was obviously stunned. It was obviously the first time she had met such a shameless person. She looked angry and shook off the hand of the man in the suit. Then she trembled with anger:

"Don't lie to me, or I'll report you to the gendarmerie!"

"Please judge for yourself..."

The man in the suit has obviously given up everything. He will use any means necessary to get Leipzig back to the port area.

Unfortunately, a burst of shrill applause forced him to stop the performance.

"Excellent, Bismarck. You've seen it. This is what is called a clown show. They are hypocritical and grandstanding to attract attention. This is the first time I've seen someone so shameless in order to salvage a boat."

"I saw it."

"Have you made the record?"

"Of course, is it correct to write [As an admiral, he used unfair means to intimidate and threaten the Freedom Ship Girl and made unreasonable demands]?"

"Yes, I think you should know the regulations of the military police, right?" Li Ran looked at him with a smile, then slowly walked forward and whispered in his ear:

"I'll give you half an hour to settle Leipzig's salary. Otherwise, we'll meet at the Governor's Mansion. It just so happens that some staff from the gendarmerie should be visiting the Governor's Mansion. I don't think you don't know that the opening ceremony of the Far East branch of the Admiral Academy will be the day after tomorrow. If something bad like this happens at this time, I think you know the consequences better than I do. Do you understand?"

The man in the suit is the admiral of a small island near Qiyun Port. Due to the increase in the number of cargo ships traveling to and from Qiyun Port recently, the demand for escort commissions has also increased. Since his own ship girls are unknown, he wants to use his naval base to act as an intermediary for the free ship girls, and then take on some large escort commissions for them and make a profit from it.

As time went by, his greed became worse. It was common for him to owe or delay the employment fees of those free ship girls. And because he never mentioned the contracts to those free ship girls, he usually used salary as a threat to force many free ship girls to work for him for a few more months without pay.

However, he has restrained himself recently because the Governor's Office recently posted a notice that no matter who you are, you must not cause trouble in the next few days, otherwise you will be permanently disqualified as an admiral.

Hearing Li Ran say this, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat, but he was still stubborn. He obviously saw that Li Ran was young and thought he was just a greenhorn, so he said with a fake smile:

"Young man, sometimes I advise you not to think of being a hero and saving the damsel in distress. If I say you are maliciously competing and hindering me from retrieving the boat, I think your future will be in jeopardy."

"Oh, are you threatening me? You loser?" Li Ran smiled, then said coldly: "I'll give you ten minutes. If you don't pay the salary to this free ship girl, you will bear the consequences yourself."

"You..." The man in the suit was obviously angry. He looked at Li Ran coldly and took the money out of his briefcase:

"Here, here are three hundred ocean coins for your new water!"

Leipzig's face was extremely ugly, and she said coldly:

"We agreed on three thousand, why did you go back on your word?"

"Do you want love!"

"You shameless villain!" Leipzig was obviously angry. She obviously did not expect the man in the suit to be so shameless.

"Tsk tsk, it's better not to be so black-hearted." Li Ran said, and then pretended to take a step forward carelessly, and slapped the suit man's briefcase into the air with his hand, and then said:

Oops, I'm so sorry. Hey, look everyone, it's raining money.

"You!" The man in the suit was stunned. He obviously didn't expect Li Ran to play by his own rules. You said you would be a hero to save the beauty, but why did you act like a rogue?

As the briefcase flew out and fell, a green reconnaissance plane flew over everyone's heads, and then money began to rain from the sky.