Chapter 130: Goods can be bought on credit, ships can be bought on credit, so why can’t people be bought on credit?

Castel may not have many sailors, but there are pirates on many nearby islands all year round. Jeremiah only needs to take a bag of gold coins to the tavern and say hello, and he can bring back a ship full of sailors.

On the Stormy Ocean, sailors and pirates are the same thing, and merchant ships will never call on strangers.

"That's different. I don't just need sailors who can sail. For example, here's the contract I'm giving you. Do you want to take a look?"

Hughes patted the papers on the table.

The corner of Jeremiah's eye twitched. Of course he didn't want to read it, as he couldn't read.

"That's the reason. I do need sailors, but I need more than just sailors. I didn't get a close look at your boat, but it should be a wooden sailing ship, right?"

Jeremiah nodded. This was a bit strange. What was a wooden sailboat? Aren't all boats wooden sailboats? Was he talking about a sampan? That thing really didn't have a sail.

"If I use steel to build ships and steam engines as power in the future, my sailors must be literate and understand mechanical principles. These are much more difficult in comparison, so I choose to find people among the cadets to learn sailing, rather than finding people among the sailors to go to school."

Jeremiah was a little confused. He was not quite sure what a steam engine was, but the name seemed vaguely familiar. However, he had heard of steel shipbuilding.

This is a bit confusing, how can you build ships out of steel? They will sink.

This kind of thing had nothing to do with him, but he was silent for a while and still asked. After all, Jeremiah was a captain, and he was really curious.

Xiu Si picked up the silver cup on the table and said, "Take this and put it in the sea to see if it will sink or float. I don't have time to do physics experiments with you now. You can take the contract. By the way, I will write you a note. You can attend the literacy class in the future. Of course, it's free."

Jeremiah left somewhat puzzled. He was not worried about the contract. He just wanted to find someone who could read it to him. He had always done this before.

Learning to read was of little use. How many contracts could he sign in his lifetime? Jeremiah thought it was a waste of time.

But looking at the silver cup in his hand, Jeremiah unknowingly walked to the seashore.

He still felt a little puzzled. A ship made of steel? How was that possible?

He had been drifting on the sea for half his life, and had never seen a piece of steel float on the sea.

Jeremiah found a puddle among the rocks and threw the silver cup into it. The cup spun and sank to the bottom of the water.

Jeremiah snorted coldly, it seemed that the lord was just talking nonsense to deceive him.

I fished out the silver cup from the water. It was worth some money and could be exchanged for some fried fish.

Jeremiah shook off the water on the cup and was about to leave, but something in his mind made him stop.

Boat. He looked down at the cup in his hand.

After hesitating for a moment, he carefully grasped the rim of the cup and placed the cup upright into the water, being careful not to let the water flow into the cup.

Then his eyes slowly opened wide.

The cup was floating in the water, swaying, but it really stood upright in the water and did not sink!

"How is that possible?"

Jeremiah picked up the cup and weighed it. It was indeed made of heavy metal. He raised his hand and threw it into the water. The cup sank instantly.

Jeremiah's mouth dropped open.

It was not until the evening that Jeremiah came back, still holding the cup in his hand - at this time he had specially smashed a hole in the stone.

He played in the water at the beach all afternoon.

Jeremiah bought some fish from a stall and should have gone back by now.

But after hesitating for a moment, he looked to the south again.

In the reflection of the setting sun, the door of a two-story building in the distance was open. He recognized that place. It was said to be a school. The lord here opened a literacy class in it.

After touching the note in his pocket, Jeremiah finally walked towards the school.

He still had no interest in learning to read, but he was really curious about why the cup could float on the water.

Perhaps those who can read will know - he took a step forward with this thought in mind.

"Connor, call Beatrice later. I need to talk to her about letting her return to the Rhine. I've already told Jeremiah about the ship."

"He agreed?"

Connor asked curiously as he tidied up his desk.

"I haven't received an answer yet, but he will agree. He has no reason to refuse, and he's not stupid."

Zeus yawned. "See, I told you that these pirates will eventually become merchants, right? As long as they keep choosing the most advantageous options, they will eventually end up on this path. The Queen is actually doing the same thing. She is boiling frogs in warm water. They are almost cooked and haven't realized it yet."

Boiling a frog in warm water? This phrase is very interesting. Connor thought about it for a while before speaking: "Master, there is one more thing you need to know."

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"What's going on? Is it something to do with the ship?"

"There is some connection. You still remember Qiao Xi, the young man who bought the goods from us on credit and wanted to buy the ship on credit."

Hughes became interested: "What happened to him?"

"He encouraged many islanders to go with him. He was said to be planning to establish a chamber of commerce - of course, it was just a name."

"How did he do it? I offered my employees a high salary, but he was able to poach them?"

"That's the key - he said he had secured the cargo and the ship, and now he was in need of manpower, and was willing to give others a share of the money in proportion in exchange for support."

".How many people support him?"

"It is said that there are already more than ten people, including some serious sailors."

"Wait, where did the sailors come from on the island?"

"Last time, someone on Jeremiah's ship caused trouble on the shore, so the patrol sent him to a construction site to do hard labor for a few days. He found that the wages were good and lunch was provided, so he just stayed and did not leave. After finishing his hard labor, he has now received a salary and has also taken literacy classes with other islanders."

".Are these so attractive? I remember that being a pirate makes as much money as working as a laborer, right?"

It is true that Zeus paid his employees a lot of money, but it depends on who he compared it with. Pirates, who make a living on the edge of a knife, certainly can't compare to him. Even if pirates are in decline now, they are still far behind.

"Master, it's different."

Connor hesitated, and took a moment to organize his words: "Castel has a sense of order."

"A sense of order?"

"Yes, most pirates board pirate ships only when they are forced to survive. But in Castel, there is nothing that would force them to survive."

"The wages are high here, so you won't starve to death?"

"Not really. There's a sense of security here, more order, more hope."

(End of this chapter)