Kraft returned to the hotel with the book under his arm.
The hotel was relatively quiet in the afternoon. There were no customers in the small restaurant on the first floor. The boss was wiping wooden wine glasses behind the counter. When Kraft came back, he took the initiative to say hello: "You came back quite early. You want something to eat."
What? I recommend grilled fish with beer.”
"Why do you say 'ye'?"
"Oh, your companion just came back not long ago. You don't look like you are here to do business, otherwise I can recommend some old acquaintances to you." The boss put down the cup. It is not good to be busy, but there is no need.
People's afternoons are too boring, and they can't leave the hotel and hang out. It's best to have someone with whom they can chat.
Ryan actually came back so early? Kraft thought he would have to spend at least a whole day wandering out. After all, it was hard to find things that were "mysterious enough". Even if he went to find those captain friends, he might not always be able to find them just right.
Others' main business is to run a business and make a profit, not to collect all kinds of gadgets, especially gadgets that don't look normal.
Many times, captains or sailors are in a foreign country. In order to relieve the depression and torture caused by a long voyage, they have two more drinks in the bar. When they go out, they will have a chance to meet local people selling various things.
Some of these unidentified people will make some lies, such as it will bring good luck or have special functions, and then the drunkards will buy something they have never seen before.
It is not ruled out that if you are in a place with strong folk customs like the Icefields, you will see a tough man holding an ax to sell you when you go out, and ask if you are interested in taking a look. It is difficult for the person you encounter to tell whether the other person is really asking you to take a look.
Or I would like to express to you tactfully, "Brother, I'm a little short of money recently."
There are many specific reasons, and there is no need to go into details. Most of them are similar to the fact that Kraft was promoted by locals as "local specialties" and "purely handmade products" when he was traveling. When he bought it, his mind was filled with excitement, and after the purchase, his eyes went dark.
Unjust behavior.
Later, more than once, I found traces of torn off labels in the corners, or simply mass-produced goods from the small commodity market that had no labels torn off.
Kraft only lost dozens or even hundreds when he bought a souvenir. The captain and sailors later realized that losing blood might not be that simple. Losing a few black silver coins was not a big deal, but losing more would be a bit painful.
At this time, they will be very willing to sell these things to get some money back. Most of the trinkets found on the sailors' stalls have this origin.
"So, boss, you know a lot of people in Wendeng Port?" Kraft found a seat near the counter and sat down. It was a rare visit to Wendeng Port. The lunch just left him still unsatisfied, "Just grilled fish.
No beer."
Many of the taverns and hotels in these ports also function as information distribution centers, and the bosses sometimes work part-time as intermediaries while chatting with you, and some of them also stock up on goods themselves.
Regardless of whether they have the above functions, most bosses are quite good at chatting, and the guests coming and going give them enough content to talk about. It's a bit like the taxi driver in the impression of otherworldly souls, sitting in one position for a long time
It's just a conversational skill passively developed by working people.
The boss asked the chef to bring the grilled fish, poured himself a glass of beer, leaned on the counter and cleared his throat.
"How can there be a man who doesn't like beer?" He took a sip of beer, and the foam wetted his wanton beard. "The ones I know are all people who make a living at sea. Most of them I don't see a few times a year. Some of them
From time to time, I will help them sell goods and recommend sources of goods to them.
When I was in my twenties, I was envious of them. I wanted to save some money so I sold the hotel, then bought a boat, and then like them, I led a group of sailors and ran across the Dunling and Icefields."
Among the young people in Wendeng Port, at least nine out of ten have the same dream as the boss. To have a boat of their own, to challenge the rough sea, and then bring money and enough to brag about in the pub for a few days.
The story comes back.
"Sounds good, but then why didn't you go?" Kraft picked up in time so that the boss could continue the conversation. It's a bit embarrassing to say that Kraft himself had such thoughts. He always had some concerns about the ocean.
Practical romantic fantasy.
"Well, it's not because I know more people." The boss sighed, seeming to be thinking of his lost youth.
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"As I get to know more people, I realize that things are not as good as I thought. Even though those people seem to be running around looking cool, they actually live a life of careful planning. They make money by relying on information and connections. Most of their net worth is in
On the ship, if you take the old route, you won’t make a lot of money, you still have to look at the market conditions on both sides.”
The boss is very familiar with its operations and must have really considered joining the industry.
Kraft also became interested. He really didn't know much about these things before: "What about the new routes? I remember that there are always some captains who like to run routes that few people take, such as from us to the other side of the ice sheet.
.”
What the boss said reminded him of the story of Captain William, the captain who transported food and wine in exchange for the furs from the icelanders.
Cousin Lane's stories aroused his great interest in strange overseas lands. He even wanted to collect such stories, record them, revise them and publish them, and compile a "Craft's Fairy Tales" to be passed down to future generations.
The boss forced a wine burp out of his stomach and snorted disdainfully, "That's what I thought when I was young. Like many people, I always thought that I was smart. There are many smart people in the world. Someone must have thought of the new route.
, but it was either difficult to drive on the way or there was a problem with the destination, so it was not developed until now.
Let's just talk about the ice fields. It was not difficult in the past, but there were only a few tribes that could communicate with each other, and it was still hard-earned by the old captains. Now it is enough to trade with a few familiar captains, and others have to follow the same path to get there.
Continue further along the coastline to find other new tribes.
As for those new tribes that have not had much contact with us, it is hard to say whether we can communicate with them."
The boss took another sip and showed an expression like someone who had been through it before: "So it's better to do some stable business. Every year, some of the people I know never come back, even those who take the old route are no exception. Can I do it in the tavern?
Good stories are told while drinking, and no one really wants to be the protagonist of adventure stories all the time.”
"Indeed, only living people can come back to tell stories, and how many people will care about the people who feed the fish." Kraft agreed with the boss's statement. Even the Titanic would have accidents at sea, not to mention the current situation.
As for wooden sailboats, sea travel is not as stable as the souls from other worlds. If the boat capsizes and there is no rescue, it is basically equivalent to waiting for death.
"Boss, do you know where there is a shop selling rare gadgets in Wendeng Port?" Kraft asked in passing, without high hopes.
"No, you can only see this kind of thing on the street stalls. Stores without a stable customer base here would have starved to death." The boss put down his glass and shook his head, "It's a pity that you can't see the street stalls in the past two days. Wait until the snow melts.
Besides, don't give those people high prices, I've never found anything more valuable than two silver coins."
It’s true that he said it from the bottom of his heart. Buying something at a high price from a street stall is a big mistake. Kraft has a very clear understanding of this.
…
…
After eating the grilled fish, the boss's conversational nature was also expressed, and Kraft went upstairs and knocked on Lane's door.
"Are you there, Ryan?"
"Come in, I've already bought something." Lane opened the door and invited Kraft to come and see his results. He was lucky, the stonemason happened to have a broken stone from a broken stone sculpture.
hands, allowing him to express his creativity.
When Kraft entered the door, he saw a very impressive ornament placed on the table. It was a stone-carved palm, cut off from the wrist, and just enough to be cut downwards and stand on the table.
There is also a crooked rune engraved on the palm, a bit like the tentacles of a squid. It is not polished or anything fancy, and it looks like it was dug out of some old ruins. Of course, Kraft has no ability to identify cultural relics.
Yes, but his intuition told him where he had seen this style before.
When he thought a little more seriously, a large memory flashed quickly, and his inhuman consciousness told him that this was very similar to a certain rune on the rune eyeball that Ryan bought. It seemed to be slightly upgraded, compared to the rune on the eyeball.
The original version is smoother, and there are no lags or corners at the junctions of the strokes.
"Where did you buy it? The same place as last time?" Kraft pressed his temples.
He had no symptoms of dizziness or headache, but he was just not used to this feeling. It seemed as if he was divided into two parts, one part was an ordinary person, and the other part expanded infinitely, and he could easily fish out the piece he wanted from the vast sea of information.
.
This gave him a subtle illusion, feeling that there was a living thing surging in his skull, and his brain had its own independent ability, making him dissatisfied with this small living space.
"How do you know it was bought from the same... captain as last time?" Ryan almost thought that he was exposed to the same stonemason to buy things. Fortunately, he realized in time that Kraft didn't mean what he said and changed his mind in time to tell the stonemason.
Became a captain.
Ryan wiped his sweat and added to his words: "He said he bought it from the same place as last time. It is indeed related to the pair of stone eyeballs last time, right? He knew I would buy these things, so
Leave it to me. I think grandpa will like this." The language here is similar to English, and there is no distinction between grandpa and grandfather, so Lane calls Old Wood the same as Kraft.
People who don't know the inside story can easily mistakenly think that they are biological brothers, but in fact they are almost the same.
"By the way, I'll give you your money back. I have a good relationship with him. He sold it cheaply, so he didn't use your money." Ryan took out the purse Kraft gave him in the morning and returned it intact.
Kraft.
"Well, how much is it, why don't we share it together?" Kraft took the money bag, not doubting Ryan's intention at all.
"It doesn't matter, it's just the price of one silver coin. I'm going to have my own fiefdom soon, so I don't have to worry about it." Speaking of this, Ryan's face was filled with pride.
Considering that he was almost 20 years old, Old Wood also felt that it was not a problem to let him run around. He had already planned to officially grant this guy the title of a knight and give him a piece of land for the family to spread its branches.
At that time, he will be assigned two good horses, a set of full-body armor and weapons, and he can also recruit his own followers.
"When the time comes, I am willing to come and testify to your generosity and virtue." Kraft smiled, "I will go back and take a nap first, hoping to be refreshed when I set off tomorrow morning."