Daily life with the ship girl

Li Ran's body froze due to Lexington's action, and before he could react, the admiral came to Li Ran surrounded by the crowd.

"Hello, I'm Admiral Lei Ming of the Lei Ming Garrison, and my current rank is major. This is my secretary ship, the Yamashiro. By the way, you guys have met on the Fuso just now, so there's no need for me to introduce them to you." Lei Ming is not the kind of person who puts things in an overbearing manner. After all, it's normal for admirals to show off their ships, and he has been an admiral for so many years, he has "cordially" visited many new garrisons, and the feeling of being called a seal makes him feel particularly good.

Li Ran listened to the other party's self-introduction. He nodded and felt the amazing touch of Lexington's softness. He was a little frightened, but he still suppressed his inner uneasiness and introduced himself:

"Hello, I'm Li Ran, the trainee admiral of the Xiguang Garrison. This is my secretary ship Lexington, and the destroyers Gogan and Gilling. The others are other shipgirls visiting my island, so I won't introduce them one by one."

Before Lei Ming could react, a pleasant female voice came from not far away in the crowd:

"Admiral, why are there so many people?"

"I'm sorry, she is also my ship girl, the battleship Bismarck." Li Ran showed an apologetic expression, and then said to Bismarck:

"They are merchants who came to the island to discuss business, as well as a delegation from the Thunder Garrison. Why are you here? How is U47's injury?"

"Much better. It will take a while for her to enter the channel. I saw a lot of people at the dock through the reconnaissance plane, so I came to take a look."

Lei Ming's face froze for a moment, and then all the whispering merchants looked silently at the short-haired woman in black military uniform, who walked over with a dignified aura, and the aura she exuded intimidated everyone.

"I'm sorry, this is not the place to talk. How about we chat at your house?" Li Ran looked at everyone who was shocked by Bismarck, including the opponent's ship girls, except Yamashiro and Fuso who were not affected. He was very satisfied. This could be considered as a courtesy.

Lei Ming thought he was a European, but it turned out that he was a non-European. He originally wanted to see Li Ran's surprised and envious expression when he heard that his wedding ship was the Yamashiro, a battleship. But now he saw that the opponent's lineup was even more luxurious than his. Moreover, he heard from Gu Ying that Bismarck was the elder sister of the Tirpitz, one of the six outstanding ship girls in the First Ship Girl Academy. He felt that the world was full of malice.

Li Ran saw that Lei Ming's face was not very good, and thought that Bismarck's appearance was too shocking, so he quickly said:

"Don't worry, Bismarck just returned from the battle, so he must have some bad luck. Come with me to the garrison. We can sit down and talk about anything."

"Then I'll have to trouble Admiral Li." A pot-bellied merchant said hurriedly in a flattering tone. He saw the ship of Sihai Trading Company parked in the port. That was the ship of the eldest lady of Sihai Trading Company. His mind raced and he was the first to respond to Li Ran so as not to embarrass Li Ran.

Li Ran couldn't help but look at the other person again, and then looked forward to Lei Ming's reaction.

Want to expose me? Are you blind first?

Although Lei Ming's eyes were a little hurt by Li Ran's combination of punches, he was not the kind of petty person. Instead, he let go of Shancheng's hand and said to Li Ran:

"Nice to meet you."

Since the other party has put down his so-called major's airs, Li Ran will not continue to put on airs. After all, for the admiral, military rank is at most a symbolic thing, linked to honor. After all, even if you are the governor, you have to be polite when you go to other admirals' garrisons. After all, private fights between admirals will be handed over to the gendarmerie.

"Welcome." Li Ran stretched out his hand and shook hands with Lei Ming. Then he heard Lei Ming chuckle and curse in a low voice that only the two of them could hear:

“Damn Europeans.”

Li Ran was stunned. He touched his nose and thought, it turns out that drying boats is a common problem among admirals in this world. Interesting.

"It's okay, I'm just lucky."

Everyone looked at Li Ran and Lei Ming who seemed to be on the verge of a fight just now, but now they were talking and laughing. Everyone was confused, but seeing the two admirals like this, the merchants secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and in their hearts they admired Li Ran for not being a petty person.

In fact, Li Ran didn't care how many people were coming from the opposite side. If a fight really came, these merchants would not be enough to withstand a round of bombing by Lexington's carrier-based aircraft. He was walking side by side with Lei Ming in front of the team, and the ship girls from the two garrisons saw that their admirals were so harmonious, so they followed behind, talking and laughing.

And those shrewd sea merchants were all smart people. They deliberately slowed down their pace and lagged behind the ship girls, which was considered as kneeling in order to save face for Li Ran and Lei Ming.

Bismarck saw the Fuso again. She still remembered the salvo fired by this ship girl very clearly, so she did not put on airs. She was not the kind of ship girl who liked to be domineering, but she was afraid that her admiral would suffer because there were so many people around.

Li Ran and Lei Ming walked side by side on the forest path. This road was built by fairies. The greening and gardening were impeccable. Moreover, the cement of fairies was a magical material. Some of the cement was similar in color to soil. At this time, she asked Lei Ming: "How is it?"

"Isn't this road made of dirt?" Lei Ming stepped on the road and found that it was exactly the same as the concrete floors in his own port area, but it looked like dirt no matter how he looked at it.

"This is the goblins' cement, only the color is the same as mud."

"Fairy cement?" Lei Ming sighed, then said:

"I'm not as good as you. I heard that although the fairies have many advanced products, they are very expensive. Moreover, the fairies never like to sell their products to outsiders. Unless they are some ship girls who are on good terms with them, they will sell them to our admiral for the sake of the ship girls."

"Oh, I see. Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go. It's so hot in this uniform."

"Young man, you need to adapt as soon as possible." Lei Ming, who looked to be in his thirties, listened to Li Ran's complaints and said to him in the tone of an experienced person:

"Let me tell you, we will have to deal with more and more of these sea merchants in the future."

Li Ran was not the kind of person who didn't understand the ways of the world. He followed the tone of the elder brother and continued:

"Been taught a lesson."

"You're welcome. By the way, which Admiral Academy did you graduate from?"

"I didn't go to Admiral Academy."

"what?"

Lei Ming was stunned for a moment, then stopped. Li Ran was a little surprised:

"What's wrong? Is it weird?"

"Not surprising." Lei Ming sighed:

"I finally understand what it means that Africans don't understand the world of Europeans, you damn seal."

Li Ran shrugged his shoulders to show his innocence.

Chapter 105: Waiting for a Price

Li Ran and Lei Ming chatted and laughed along the way, and then entered the garrison.

It was the first time for some of the sea merchants to enter the admiral's garrison mansion, so they were all whispering to each other.

Lei Ming looked at the decoration of Li Ran's garrison and exclaimed:

"Your tutelary fort looks a bit unremarkable from the outside, but I didn't expect it to be so magnificent inside."

"No, I'm very poor. As for this garrison, it's a bit crowded now. I was planning to build a dormitory, but I'm short of money. Alas, I can only live with the ship girls."

"Tsk, tsk, isn't that cool?"

"Look at you, are you thinking the wrong thing? Besides, the destroyers are here too, and they can make a fuss sometimes."

"Wait, you said your naval base is so big and it's a bit crowded, how many ship girls do you have now?"

"Not many, maybe just twelve."

"You are such a freak. I received a communication from the Pacific Governor's Office. He said that a new garrison called Xiguang has been established in the Pacific theater for less than three months. You should know that many new admirals are still traveling around with their initial ships to learn experience when they are three months old. It takes at least half a year for them to be transferred to a garrison. You are an exception."

Li Ran was a little confused when he heard Lei Ming say this. He had never heard anyone mention this before. Just as he was about to say it, he heard Lei Ming whisper:

"Those sea merchants are coming. I won't bother you to discuss cooperation with them. I'll go around and look around."

Before Li Ran could react, Lei Ming quickly walked to his wedding ship Shancheng, and then the two of them walked out of the garrison arm in arm.

Li Ran frowned. It would be better if some places on the island were not discovered too early. He thought for a moment and said to Lexington and others:

"Please pay attention to Admiral Lei Ming's movements. The area where the device is being constructed is now off-limits."

"Then I'll stay here, Bismarck. The Admiral's safety is in your hands. I, Kogan, and Gillion will take the shipgirls from the Thunder Garrison to visit the mansion. As for Z24, they prefer to stay with you, so you can take care of them as well."

"no problem."

Li Ran felt relieved when he saw that Lexington had made arrangements so quickly. At this time, the sea merchants saw Lei Ming leaving with his ship girls, and they rushed up all of a sudden, surrounded Li Ran, and handed out various business cards.

Li Ran was a bit overwhelmed, but Bismarck quickly came to the rescue. She coughed and then said in full force:

"Please everyone be quiet for a moment."

The sea merchants looked at the short-haired female soldier approaching. The black Iron Cross medal on her collar was very eye-catching, and her aura was very fierce. They immediately fell silent and made way for Bismarck.

Li Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Bismarck stayed. Otherwise, if it was Lexington, he might not be able to control these sea merchants. However, he did not want the atmosphere to become awkward, so he said at the right time:

"You all have come all the way here, and I know you all want to have a win-win cooperation, but you see it's hard for us to talk standing up, why don't we sit down and talk?" A fat businessman rolled his eyes and immediately replied:

"Your Excellency the Admiral is right."

Everyone secretly cursed this guy as a bootlicker, and then they all responded.

Li Ran looked at it and saw that it was the fat man again. He had a better impression of this fat man. He nodded and said:

"please."

"You go first, Admiral."

Li Ran touched his nose. Well, it sounded really good to be called "adult". Hehehe, but he felt that he didn't really like that at all, so he said:

"You are all older than me, Li Ran. You don't have to call me sir. It makes me uncomfortable. Just call me Admiral Li."

As he spoke, Li Ran tidied up the rectangular dining table. Fortunately, he and the ship girls always paid special attention to hygiene after dinner, so the dining table was always one of the cleanest places in the garrison, and this rectangular table was really suitable for meetings.

Everyone looked at Li Ran sitting down on the main seat. Looking at Bismarck standing behind him with an expressionless face, they did not dare to act rashly and took their seats one by one.

Li Ran saw that everyone had sat down, and he coughed:

"Ahem, everyone, don't be so restrained. Now, everyone, please speak up one by one. As long as I, Li Ran, can do it, I will definitely do it."

"Um, Admiral, I wonder if Mr. Li Sanyan of Sihai Trading Company said that your ship escorted them to successfully cross the Death Route. Is this news true?"

Li Ran raised his eyebrows and looked at the person who asked him, who was a spice merchant. He smiled and said:

"Yes, and the one in charge of that great escort was none other than the battleship girl Bismarck beside me."

When Bismarck heard Li Ran say this, a hint of pride flashed in her eyes, but her face remained expressionless.

The businessman wanted to ask more, but someone else spoke first. It was the fat man who said with a smile:

"Well, may I ask the Admiral if you need some assistance?"

"Of course, I haven't asked for the gentleman's name yet."

"My last name is He, and my given name is Hai. Admiral, you can just call me Fatty He."

"Fatty He?" Li Ran saw that the other person seemed a little uncomfortable sitting there. He glanced at his big belly and understood a little. He quickly replied:

"To be honest, I'm sure everyone has seen that my port is in ruins right now, and no facilities have been built. Although I have received some supply ships from the Admiral Academy and the Kanmusu Academy, I'm still stretched thin this month."

"Then I wonder if the admiral is interested in building a supply station?" Although He Hai is just a small businessman, he is not inferior to those old-fashioned sea merchants in that he has a very active mind. Otherwise, he would not have risked running all the way to Xiguang Island. You should know that the Golden Line is making a lot of money every day. There are only two types of people who choose to come to Xiguang Island. One is some small sea merchants who know they cannot compete with those big sea merchants on the Golden Line, and some come here for the value of the starting point of the Death Route.

He Hai belongs to the latter. As a member of the Free Trade Alliance, he naturally understands the situation of Sihai Trading Company over the years. After hearing that Bai Nuoyan became the admiral, he saw that an admiral can greatly help the reputation of a trading company. Take Sihai Trading Company for example, their company was on the verge of bankruptcy, but because Bai Nuoyan became the admiral, a lot of cooperation came in, and various assistance emerged in an endless stream.

Sihai Trading Company has now stood up again and has become an important member of the Free Trade Alliance.

This is all because the eldest daughter of Sihai Trading Company became the admiral, that's all.

As a qualified businessman, if you want to engage in maritime trade in this era, there is one thing you must understand: you can offend officials, gang bosses, and soldiers, but there is one type of people you cannot offend, and that is a group of people who cannot be restrained by the law but have the most powerful military force - the admirals.

As long as you become an admiral, you will automatically be protected by the Admiral Academy. Even if there is no Admiral Academy, every admiral has one or more ship girls around him. Even a destroyer girl who has always been described as an elementary school student is capable of defeating a reorganized division alone.

Over the past century, there have been countless tragedies resulting from the attempt to murder a certain admiral.

The naval forces of many countries were dissatisfied with the fact that their ocean hegemony was being taken away by the deep sea, and they once wanted to counterattack. Unfortunately, their counterattack was ridiculous. Up to now, the navy has become a mere formality, and only the admiral and the garrison are the big trees that all those who make a living at sea need to hold on to.

Li Ran frowned when he heard what He Hai said:

"Supply station?"

"That's right. Although I am not a big businessman, I can devote all my efforts to help the admiral build a multi-functional supply station. Of course, the premise is to ensure that I will not disturb the lives of you and your ship girls."

"Fatty He, what you said is not very kind." All the merchants immediately realized what He Hai wanted to do, and they immediately said:

"Admiral, my Linglong Company can provide an interest-free loan of one million ocean coins, as long as you allow our ships to dock and resupply at your port in the future. Of course, the tariff is one million for three years, how about that?"

"Tariffs?" Li Ran saw that this guy actually mentioned such a sensitive word. His tone turned cold, he looked around and said:

"You guys are thinking that I, Li, am a poor man and can use the customs duties as collateral to get your loan, right?"

He Hai immediately knew that something bad was going to happen. The representative of Linglong Trading Company was simply stupid. You know, every area where a garrison was located, within a radius of several hundred nautical miles was tacitly considered to be the admiral's territory. This guy wanted to use one million to buy three years of tariff exemption, which was simply throwing Li Ran's face on the floor.

The businessman glared at everyone, especially Li Ran, who had no smile on his face. He knew he had said something wrong and wanted to explain, but Li Ran would not give him the chance. He understood the importance of taxation rights, and this was related to his three-island attack plan. It could be said that Linglong Company had hit a snag. He said to Bismarck in a cold voice:

"Please send this guest from Linglong Company back. My place is rather simple and cannot accommodate a giant Buddha like you!"

"Sir, please come in!" Bismarck didn't know why the admiral was angry, but since he had made the admiral angry, there was no need to be nice to him and he could just drive him away.

The representative of Linglong Trading Company left the table in disgrace. If it were any other scenario, he would have slammed the table and threatened others, but this representative didn't dare to do that. The representatives sent out this time were to explore the way for their own trading company, but he failed to explore the way and stepped on a landmine because of his careless words.

Li Ran was still furious, he just sat there quietly without saying a word. All the merchants understood that this young man was not as weak and unreliable as he seemed. They secretly felt lucky that there was a guy ahead who could clear the minefields for them. They probably figured out some high-voltage lines that Li Ran could not touch.

"Admiral, they've sent him back." Ten minutes later, Bismarck returned to the garrison. Her tone was filled with coldness:

"The Linglong Trading Company's ships were also driven out of the port."

He Hai couldn't help but look at this young man differently. This was a great move.

Li Ran's anger subsided a little. He looked at all the sea merchants who did not leave the table. He nodded secretly. It seemed that he was right to take advantage of the situation this time. Yes, just as He Hai guessed, Li Ran was just taking advantage of the situation. After all, in negotiations and cooperation, only when you have the initiative can you wait for the price. And the party that had the advantage just now was the sea merchant, not Li Ran.

With the help of this incident, Li Ran made the maritime merchants understand that he was willing to accept some cooperation and some assistance, but he also had a bottom line. The bottom line was that he was the one who made the decisions on Xiguang Island, and all commercial activities or something else had to be approved by him. This was the message he wanted to convey, and the power of taxation must be in his own hands.

The representatives of these maritime merchants were quite smart, especially He Hai, who took this opportunity to say to Li Ran:

"Admiral, please calm down. I can help you build the supply station I mentioned for free. I was just wondering if my caravan could open a Kanmusu theme park on your island, a theme park only for admirals and Kanmusu."