Daily life with the ship girl

Li Ran walked over with amusement, and was then pulled aside by Pinghai and Saratoga.

Saratoga saw that no one followed, and saw that Shengming looked expectant, so she pouted and said:

"Admiral, if it was done by reputation, then..."

Li Ran sighed. He knew that his reputation had left a shadow on everyone since the last dinner when he displayed his dark cooking skills. The reason why he was in a sudden impulse today was to change their ideas.

He glanced at Pinghai and saw that she shared his feelings. He sighed and said softly:

"You have your own favorite things, right?"

"Of course," Saratoga blurted out.

Li Ran nodded and said:

"Then if something you like is denied, will you be angry?"

Even if Saratoga and Pinghai were slow-witted, they understood what Li Ran meant.

Seeing their reactions, Li Ran continued without hesitation:

"She'd be angry, right? I would be angry too, but what about Ming? We all inadvertently denied her a preference, but she didn't get angry, and she didn't even resist. This makes us feel even more guilty. So, Jiajia, Pinghai, this dish tonight, no matter what, is made to help Ming regain her confidence. Besides, with your admiral's guidance, the fish and chips won't be too bad."

"Oh." Pinghai lowered her head. She glanced at Saratoga and found that the other party rarely talked back to the admiral, which surprised Pinghai.

Saratoga noticed Pinghai's eyes, and for the first time she felt that it was not a pleasant experience to hurt others unintentionally.

Li Ran also knew that the change of concepts could not be accomplished in a short time, and that the reputation of cooking still had a long way to go. He thought for a moment and said:

"That's all I have to say. I don't mean to blame you all. Let's go back first. Reputation should be looking forward to your comments."

Pinghai and Saratoga nodded slightly, then followed Li Ran into the garrison.

Yixian and Lexington looked at Li Ran bringing Pinghai and Saratoga back and smiled at each other. It seemed that their sister would grow a lot through this incident.

Li Ran looked at Shengwang and tried to act as usual, but he knew that Shengwang was extremely nervous at the moment, so he pretended to be relaxed and teased him:

"Reputation, hurry up and prepare the tableware for everyone. You've been a little slack today, haven't you, head maid?"

"I understand." After hearing that, Shengwang came to her senses. She actually forgot the duties of the head maid. Her flustered look made everyone smile knowingly. The not-at-all-cool Shengwang looked even more adorable.

Li Ran watched as Reputation went to get the tableware, and found that the ship girls sitting at the table all showed their considerate side tonight, especially Saratoga, who usually liked to make noise, and seemed to have grown up a lot. A touch of tenderness flashed in his eyes:

They experienced and grew.

Chapter 241: Cooperation

Li Ran breathed a sigh of relief as no one denied the famous grilled fish and chips.

Yixian also seemed to have adapted to the atmosphere of the port area. Li Ran looked at Pinghai and Saratoga and praised them generously. He thought for a moment and said:

"Well, I have a suggestion. Let's abolish the kitchen ban. However, Reputation's cooking skills are not yet proficient enough. I suggest that Reputation be allowed to help in the kitchen in the future. After all, everyone has their own specialty. What do you think if Reputation can learn from everyone?"

"Since the admiral said so, we can only agree." Lexington said this, and then thought of something:

"Admiral, what are you going to do about the mission of the seven governors?"

"After I finish attending the fleet review ceremony, I will bring Bei Zhai back. I will not forgive anyone who threatens Bei Zhai."

"But the other party is the Governor."

"Governor? So what? I know that Governor Xiao Xiao and Governor Chen Yao have helped me a lot in this game, but the governors of other war zones seem to look down on me, a major general who suddenly appeared. This is a bit troublesome and annoying, but I can't become a puppet. Xiguang Garrison is my territory."

"That's right." Lexington nodded, but then she thought of her substitute, who was not such a simple person, and said:

"Admiral, since you returned to port, you have been out to sea so many times during the training month. Did you go to the seven war zones?"

"Yeah, I thought you guys didn't notice."

"That's right. No wonder you ordered that no one could contact you during the training month. But how did you get so far in one month?"

"The goblins have actually concealed a lot of their discoveries about underground fortifications. Otherwise, why do you think I gave the order that no one could get close to the research building?"

"But……"

"No problem. Although I used the equipment found in the underground fortifications to travel to the seven major war zones that month, the equipment was too old and was scrapped after the eighth use. Now even if you want me to take you to experience it, it is impossible."

"I see. But, Admiral, can you tell me what that device is?"

"I don't know. I can only tell you that a large part of the resource consumption during the training month was falsely reported by me, and most of the transformation cores were also invested in the use of equipment."

When Saratoga heard Li Ran say this, she finally understood why there was always such a big gap between the income and expenditure of resources these days.

Seeing that Jia Jia was about to lose his temper, Li Ran quickly raised his hand and said apologetically:

"Jia Jia, don't be angry first. Didn't I confess now and get leniency?"

"Hmph!" Saratoga turned her head away. What should she do? After all, Li Ran was the admiral. Even if he didn't tell her, she probably wouldn't understand that there were problems with the liquidation of resource inputs. Since Li Ran decided to tell her, she could only say angrily:

"Then I will just listen to the admiral's explanation."

Li Ran smiled bitterly, then pondered for a moment and began to recount what he had experienced during the training month:

"After the training month began, while you were training, I would go to a port area every day through those strange devices in the underground fortifications. The first place I went to was the Governor's garrison of the Pacific. I don't know who made that device, but with that device, I could reach the Governor's garrison accurately every time."

"On the surface, I visited the seven governors' garrisons on a whim. However, these visits have made me realize that the value of the Death Route has long been coveted by many people."

"So the admiral chose to cooperate with the seven governors?" Lexington finally understood why the admiral, who had originally refused to cooperate with foreign countries, suddenly changed his mind. However, it seemed that the admiral did not intend to completely open the port area, and it seemed that Xiguang Island still had no intention of opening up to the outside world. This made Lexington a little confused:

"But the admiral only opened up three islands, and Xiguang Island is still closed. Why is that?"

"Actually, I chose to cooperate with the seven governors because we alone cannot guarantee the peaceful development of the three islands. I don't like trouble and I hate conflicts with others. So, I deliberately talked to those governors about the Death Route and mentioned the news of the deep-sea attack in the unknown sea. I didn't expect that the seven governors were so interested in it."

In fact, Li Ran also revealed that he had seen Pachina and heard some of the things he said to him, such as "the unknown is the most terrifying." Although Li Ran did not understand these, as the governors of the seven war zones, they were all old foxes with broad knowledge. They were curious about Li Ran's identity, and also became wary.

Out of curiosity and vigilance, the seven governors agreed to Li Ran's "rude conditions". Of course, in return, they offered the trading value of the Death Route and the military base construction plan on the three subordinate islands of Xiguang Island, especially Island C. The geographical delegation was just testing Li Ran's sincerity.

Li Ran deceived everyone at the time, and the geographical delegation did not completely understand the cooperation between Li Ran and the governors.

It can be said that Li Ran just took advantage of the information asymmetry. Some things are unilaterally true, but because Li Ran himself is the governor's collaborator and the mysterious man outside the treaty in the great navigation exploration plan, the seven governors will not tell others about their plans. It can be said that Li Ran provided a great temptation, that is, the unknown waters.

Whether it was Governor Xiao Xiao or Governor Chen Yao, both of them had had contact with Li Ran, and they were the first choice because they knew that Li Ran’s Xiguang Island’s geographical location was really suitable to serve as a bridgehead for the great voyage exploration plan.

The reason why the edge of other war zones was not chosen was because only Li Ran's direction was completely far away from the range of those large deep-sea habitats.

"But what price did the Admiral pay?"

"Price? I just made a big promise. The seven governors are essentially human beings. Although Xiao Xiao and Chen Yao are really worried about the safety of their respective battle zones, the other five governors had to agree to my cooperation because of their own interests."

"The admiral is taking advantage of people's greed?" Yixian pointed out incisively. Although she didn't know what Li Ran was planning, she could feel it.

"That's right, greed is the greatest original sin." Li Ran snapped his fingers and said calmly:

"You know, for the seven governors, their positions are already unshakable, but they also have their own pursuits. As long as they can see irresistible benefits, they will have no choice but to take the bait even if they know it is bait."

Lexington sighed: "But Admiral, this is too dangerous."

"I understand, but there is nothing we can do. The unknown sea is like a sword hanging over our heads. It could fall at any time. The location of our garrison is too dangerous."

Pinghai still doesn’t understand:

"But what exactly are the benefits that the admiral is talking about?"

"Thirty years ago, the joint fleet of the seven war zones failed in their exploration of unknown waters. After such a long time, there is an opportunity to present it. Do you think these governors will give up this opportunity to go down in history?"

Li Ran leaned back in his chair, looked at the ceiling, and then said:

"To be honest, I agreed to this cooperation, and I also have my own plans. There are some things I must figure out."

Everyone was silent. They knew that this was all the admiral could say and they could not ask any more questions.

Chapter 242: Words That Came Out of My Mouth

When the ship girls saw that Li Ran remained silent, they also knew that the admiral always had his own plans for some things, and there was no use thinking too much.

Lexington saw the atmosphere suddenly become dull, and even Yixian frowned. She gently gathered her flaxen hair by her ears, and then, considering that there were new sisters joining the port, she should be happy, so she said:

"Admiral, you said we shouldn't talk about work during supper."

When Li Ran heard Lexington say this, he waved his hand lazily, then made a pistol gesture, aimed at the patterns on the ceiling, made a soft "Biu" sound, and then said:

"No matter what, we should deal with these strange things as soon as possible. I'm sorry, Yixian, I let you hear some unpleasant things when you first arrived."

Yixian looked at her admiral, who was now showing such a childish side. She felt a little warm in her heart, and then smiled softly and said:

"Admiral, if you can say this, it means you trust us. Although I just arrived, I can feel it. This is very important to me, so Admiral, you don't need to apologize."

When Li Ran heard Yixian say this, he felt a little happy, but then he thought of the plan, and a trace of distress flashed in his eyes. But as Lexington said, now is the time to relax and put aside the troubles for the time being, so he sat up straight, and then his face returned to calm:

"Let's not talk about work. The night patrols in Leipzig and Emden should be back by now."

Hearing Li Ran's words, Saratoga looked at the clock on the wall and found that it was almost ten o'clock. Then she bit a French fry and said vaguely:

"Well, they should be back."

"Jia Jia, don't talk while eating." When Lexington heard Jia Jia doing this again, she couldn't help but scold her in a sweet voice.

"Sister, you are so nagging." Saratoga made a face. She knew that her sister would not be angry at this time, so she was not afraid, but stuck out her tongue.

Li Ran looked at this scene and finally felt relieved. Then he said:

"Let's go to the dock together. I haven't taken you back to the garrison for a long time. I have been derelict in my duty as admiral for the past two months."

"No, it's not like that. The Admiral always likes to think about everyone like this. Pinghai knows it all."

"You are so naughty, let's go."

Li Ran smiled and patted Pinghai's head gently.

Reputation wanted to continue, "Master, I'd better stay and clean up."

"Let's go together. Picking them up is also part of our job." Li Ran knew that Mingwang had always constrained herself to the standards of a maid. However, if Yixian was here today, going to welcome Leipzig and Emden would allow Yixian to integrate into the port area more quickly. So if Mingwang was absent, it would seem like something was missing.

"If the master says so, then Shengwang can only obey." Shengwang knew that Li Ran would not say this easily. In addition, the other sisters were looking at her, and she knew that she could not be too stubborn about her duties as the head maid, so she nodded.

"That's great." Pinghai can be said to be the happiest one, because one of her shooting instructors is famous, and to her, Fame can be said to be both a teacher and a friend.

"Then let's go." Saratoga was also very happy. As expected, after a full meal, one would be full of energy. Besides, it had been a long time since so many people had taken a walk together. It should be said that since there were more sisters in the port area, everyone had less time to get together. She had always wanted to get closer to Bismarck and other G country ship girls, but Bismarck didn't seem to be easy to get along with, so she could only settle for the next best thing.

Moreover, Jia Jia also had a little selfish motive, that is, although the admiral explained the reason for her sister's matter, as a younger sister, she still hoped that her sister could have further progress with the admiral.

Li Ran looked at Gia Jia and felt a little strange, but he didn't think much about it. After all, although Gia Jia was no longer so willful, he was still mischievous. He stood up from his seat and stretched his body.

At this time, a cold wind blew in, bringing with it the chill of early autumn, causing Li Ran to shiver.

Reputation noticed this detail. She walked over considerately, took the admiral's coat, and said to Li Ran:

"Master, the weather is getting cold, please put it on."

"Thank you. It's already autumn without me noticing... Sometimes I really envy you guys."

Li Ran said the second half of the sentence in an almost inaudible tone.

"Admiral, what did you say?" Pinghai walked beside Li Ran, and she held Li Ran's hand naturally. No one else reacted much. After all, the relationship between Pinghai and Li Ran was more like that of brother and sister.

Yixian looked at this scene. As a ship girl, she was sensitive and intuitive, and could feel that this emotion was not mixed with other elements. She breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still a little worried about Pinghai. Just now, on the way from the research building to the garrison, she heard Pinghai talk about her upcoming formal transformation.

As a ship girl, after the formal transformation, your mind and body will grow further. At that time, Pinghai, can you still accept the current situation?

Li Ran didn't know that Yixian's mind could be so meticulous. She couldn't help but be a little absent-minded.

Pinghai and Li Ran walked hand in hand in front, but found that Sister Yixian didn't seem to follow them. She turned around in surprise and shouted:

"Sister Yixian? You are so slow."

"Oh, here we come."

When Yixian heard Pinghai say this, she came back to her senses and laughed at herself, thinking that she seemed to be overthinking. She had just arrived at the port and was worrying about nothing. She shook her head and quickly followed him.

Along the way, everyone talked and laughed. For the first time, I felt that maybe this was the daily life of the port area, plain and simple, mixed with a touch of warmth. We were really becoming more and more like a family.

The group walked to the pier, talking and laughing.

The sound of waves gently lapping against the shore, and from time to time tiny waves splash onto the concrete floor of the port pier. The sea breeze is a bit strong, and the chill is a bit deeper.

Li Ran subconsciously tightened his body, exhaled a breath of cold air, and said:

"I didn't expect Xiguang Island to be so cold at this time."

When Lexington heard Li Ran say this, she said softly:

"Has the Admiral not read the geography report yet?"

"Geography report?" Li Ran frowned. He always felt like there was such a document. However, he always dealt with the documents related to miscellaneous affairs in the port area first, and did not pay too much attention to other aspects. After all, there were so many documents that he could not handle them all on a normal basis. Some of them were also handled by Lexington, so it was inevitable that some omissions would be made.