Chapter 1047 Return with a Full Load

"Boss! We're rich this time!" It was Zhu Youdao who spoke, but his "rich" wasn't the same as what everyone else meant by "rich." On the deck stood a dozen metal basins, each overflowing with shipworms. At first glance, the sheer volume of shipworms looked like bowls of noodles, making them less disgusting.

Ma Xiao heard this and said, "Old Zhu, is this thing really delicious? Don't send everyone on our ship to the hospital!"

Although he was an experienced officer and had been on a cruise ship before, he had always been in the Caribbean, where they didn't have the custom of eating this kind of food. Furthermore, compared to the military-trained crew members on the Calypso, he was a bit too refined.

"Captain, if you're a coward, don't eat it!" Zhu Youdao retorted directly after hearing this.

Although Ma Xiao is the captain of the Calypso, Zhu Youdao has the final say when it comes to "eating". Ma Xiao's words clearly challenged the authority of the chef of the "Calypso".

After hearing this, Ma Xiao curled his lips and said, "Who's scared?"

At this time, Yang Zhibin came over with a small bowl in his hand and a smirk on his face: "Captain, this is for you!"

"What is this?" Ma Xiao took the bowl with a confused look on his face.

Yang Zhibin said, "It's a dipping sauce. Just eat it raw. I'll get you one." Without waiting for Ma Xiao to reply, he used an iron bucket attached to a rope to collect seawater from the ocean. Then, he pulled a shipworm from the basin—not sure if it was intentional, but the one he took was the longest, about thirty centimeters long. He rinsed the shipworm in seawater and handed it to Ma Xiao, "It's not dirty, so you won't get sick if you eat it."

Zhu Youdao said, "What do you mean by unclean? I think you're superfluous! Shipworms, over a hundred meters below the sea! They're truly rare! Come, Captain, see how much everyone respects you. Let you take the lead and eat them!"

Ma Xiao looked at Xiao Peng, but Xiao Peng looked at him with amusement.

The people aboard the Calypso were actually quite upset about Ma Xiao's appointment as captain. They had initially thought Hua Chong would be the captain, but he'd gone to the Luna to become first mate. They'd assumed the Calypso's captain would be promoted from the main ship, but instead, Ma Xiao was parachuted in.

What they found most unacceptable was that despite the arrival of many crew members on the Luna, their positions had not been upgraded. For example, Yang Zhibin, who was previously the boatswain, was still the boatswain. Although they had been working together with the new crew members, there was still a sense of distance between them.

Especially Ma Xiao. Although they all acknowledged that he was a capable captain, he was an outsider after all. They always felt that they couldn't fit in. This was an opportunity to "put pressure" on Ma Xiao.

In fact, there are many reasons why the original crew of the "Calypso" was not upgraded. For example, if Yang Zhibin was made the captain, it would be a waste of talent and a bit of a pity - there must be someone to lead the work, right?

They are the heart of this ship!

Even though there are only a few dozen people on a ship, managing a ship is a complex subject. It's even more difficult than managing a company: after all, the captain's crew sees each other every day, and due to the cramped space and other factors, almost all of them have bad tempers. If Ma Xiao, as a captain, can't solve these problems, problems will arise sooner or later.

Just like Zhu Youdao directly confronted Ma Xiao just now, will such a problem occur on the Luna? Will Lao Liu confront Chen Cheng?

Hmm. Okay, sure! He'll be even more ruthless!

Oh my God, what kind of chef did I find?

Last time, because Hua Chong said that the sweet and sour fish he made was a little bland and asked him to add some salt, Lao Liu pointed at Hua Chong's nose and scolded him for a long time: "Have you ever eaten sweet and sour fish? Sweet and sour fish cannot be too salty!" Ten thousand more swear words were omitted afterwards.

Hua Chong was so scared that he didn't dare to talk while eating.

In the words of Lao Liu and Zhu Youdao: This is the dignity of a chef!

Xiao Peng looked at them with amusement, but Ma Xiao wasn't shy. He took the shipworm from Yang Zhibin's hand and said, "When we go to the Caribbean sometime, I'll take you to eat Kong Ke." He dipped it in the sauce, raised it high, tilted his neck downward, and placed one side of the shipworm in his mouth.

Zhu Youdao asked in confusion, "Boss, what is 'kongke'?"

Xiao Peng explained: "It's a conch."

Zhu Youdao looked disgusted after hearing this: "After all this talk, it's just conch sashimi. I can eat two kilograms by myself!"

Xiao Peng frowned slightly. "Old Zhu, that's enough! Not everyone can accept shipworms!"

Zhu Youdao also realized that what he said was a bit too much, so he quickly changed the subject and said to Ma Xiao, "Captain, I'm impressed by you! I can see from the way you eat that you really enjoy it!"

Why did he say that? Ma Xiao held the shipworm in his right hand, tilted his neck back, and put it into his mouth bit by bit, chewing it as he went.

He chewed it slowly and carefully, as if he wanted to fully enjoy the delicious taste of the shipworms.

Xiao Peng was a little confused. He had eaten shipworms before, but he didn't enjoy it as much as Ma Xiao did!

After waiting for Ma Xiao to finally finish eating the shipworm, Xiao Peng quickly asked, "Ma Xiao, do you like this shipworm so much? You're enjoying it so much, aren't you? You finished the whole shipworm in one bite?"

Ma Xiao smoothed his chest to calm down, then said with a bitter face, "Boss, what do you know? This shipworm is too sticky, I can't bite it through..."

"Pfft!" Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this.

Ma Xiao gave Zhu Youdao a thumbs-up: "But this thing is really delicious. Add some scallions, steam it, and dip it in ginger and rice vinegar. It tastes absolutely amazing!"

Zhu Youdao was stunned and said with a smile: "Captain, you are an expert! I plan to cook it like this for everyone!"

Xiao Peng curled his lips and said, "What kind of expert are you? Old Zhu, who doesn't know your three-axe skills? You just steam all the seafood with scallions and ginger."

Zhu Youdao glared and wanted to refute, but after taking a deep breath, he said, "You're right!"

Ma Xiao said, "Old Zhu, someone is challenging your authority as a chef. Don't be scared!"

Zhu Youdao sighed and said, "I'm afraid I'll lose my job if I take on this challenge. I'd better wait until my boss leaves before showing off on the Calypso."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

At this time, Hua Chong came over and said, "Boss, all the salvaged wealth has been transferred to the Luna. This time we're really rich!"

The 'rich' he meant was definitely different from Zhu Youdao's 'rich' – the Capitana was carrying the entire colony's annual income! Given Spain's penchant for plundering colonies back then, one could easily imagine the wealth aboard!

After hearing this, Xiao Peng clapped his hands and motioned for everyone to gather around him: "I now officially declare that the salvage work on the 'Capitana' is completely completed!"

"yeah!"