Of course, merchants existed for the sake of earning money. However, these unscrupulous merchants were truly too ruthless. Although a single-masted sailboat wasn't a top-notch item, it could still be easily converted into a fishing vessel. According to Ol 'Seadog, constructing a new boat would probably require a few hundred guineas. Even after factoring in depreciation fees and black market selling fees, 200 guineas should be a fair price.
These unscrupulous merchants directly tossed out a purchase price of 20 guineas ….. this was truly a magnanimous demeanor of mixing milk into melamine. This was truly a top-notch standard.
When Ol 'Seadog heard the merchant's words, a nameless flame ignited in his heart as he slammed the counter forcefully.
"Which eye of yours saw that we were here to sell a single-masted sailboat?"
Ol 'Seadog was brimming with confidence, and his scolding carried a certain degree of authority. That merchant didn't dare to slight him and hastily inquired.
"Then may I ask if this customer has any requests?"
Ol 'Seadog raised his voice.
"Go and ask your boss. Two British Royal Navy Gallon Galen ships, a class III warship, plus sixty-three brand-new Krupp cannons, both one and three-pounder cannons, what price can he offer?"
That merchant's eyes widened upon hearing that, and immediately shouted towards that old man who was surrounded by the crowd.
"Dick, you fool. Let those small businesses wait by the side for a while. Once this business is done, I'll give you a 5% commission!"
Sheyan and Reef were both stunned. This black headscarf man was actually the boss, and that old man was merely a hired worker ….. when the boss spoke, Old Dick immediately squeezed out with an expression of relief. He then nodded and bowed towards Sheyan and Reef, inviting them to take a seat.
At this moment, those contestants naturally started cursing furiously. At present, there were at least a dozen of them, and they belonged to three different factions. Before coming here, they were already vexed from the queue. Who would have thought that someone would suddenly appear to fill the queue? Naturally, they wouldn't feel comfortable. Sheyan completely ignored them as he continued chatting merrily with Reef and Mogensha, treating them as though they were air.
In the end, those contestants weren't able to act here. Because to them, Tortuga was akin to the Hell's Gate camp in the Avatar world; a safe zone. Hence, they could only grit their teeth and leave. At this moment, Sheyan dispatched Jinkuang to engage in the most intense face-to-face confrontation with Old Dick. As the saying goes, when Jinkuang appears, who can contend against him? Sheyan immediately pulled out a stool and placed it beside Old Dick. He then leaped onto the stool and placed it affectionately on Old Dick's shoulder.
"My dear friend, these two ships are of excellent quality. They are round and beautiful. The price you offered is really unreasonable. Twenty-one three-pounder cannons are worth three hundred pounds each. That's more than nine thousand pounds …"
After Jinkuang bombarded him with words, he fished out a China abacus. After calculating for a while, he finally reported a number.
"Well, the total is four thousand one hundred and thirty-five pounds and seventeen shillings; you give me four thousand five hundred pounds."
Old Dick still felt that something was not right, but he still managed to complete the transaction with Jinkuang in a daze. The four of them immediately took the money and left. Before they had gone far, they suddenly heard the old profiteer screaming inside!
"Oh heavens! Even a brand new three-masted Galen ship is only a little over two thousand five hundred pounds! "
Sheyan and Reef exchanged glances when they heard the mournful screams that sounded like flesh being sliced apart. Then, they smiled knowingly before swiftly vanishing into the sea of people. Seconds later, Old Dick rushed out from inside, as he yelled in exasperation.
"What's wrong with me today? Why did I foolishly hand over the money? Damned swindler, you better pray you don't get caught by me! "
Following that, Ol 'Seadog brought Sheyan to another dockyard in Tortuga. Comparatively speaking, the prices and services here were much more reasonable. Sheyan then raised his request to the owner of the dockyard. That was to completely abandon long range combat capabilities, and only seek for speed. Sheyan then inquired if he could further increase the speed of the ship, and the price could be easily negotiated.
The owner of the dockyard was called Lohan. He was a forty plus year old bearded man, and spoke with a booming voice that was brimming with vigor. After listening to Sheyan's request, he proceeded to inspect the Hill Maiden, and assured Sheyan that the modifications would be completed by this time tomorrow. Moreover, the ship's speed could be increased by another 20%. Of course, the price was exceedingly exorbitant – five thousand gold guineas.
To an ordinary contestant, five thousand gold guineas was an astronomical sum. Sheyan's previous two fully armed and newly launched third rate ships were sold for less than five thousand gold guineas. Yet to the present Sheyan, it was merely a sum of money that he needed to ponder over.
Sheyan had sold the fruits of the Great Sargasso Algae for a whopping 160,000 gold guineas. After deducting various expenses, including the dividends of the pirates, and the extravagance of purchasing food for Paul, Sheyan currently had over a hundred thousand gold guineas in his hands.
Hence, Sheyan very straightforwardly agreed to Lohan's request. After paying, he then inquired Lohan intentionally or unintentionally.
"I wonder if there's any method to construct a ship that can sail faster than the Black Pearl?"
Lohan was stumped for words, as he shook his head and replied.
"That's practically impossible."
Sheyan curiously inquired.
"Why?"
Lohan probably knew that Sheyan was a huge customer who squandered money like water. After pondering for a while, he chuckled and brewed a cup of coffee for everyone, before inviting them to sit down.
"This is a long story. Actually, there are many legends regarding the Black Pearl. Yet the one that people firmly believe, is that it is not only in name but also in reality, it is the fastest ship in the Caribbean sea. It is even viewed as the representative of freedom! Yet, hasn't anyone analyzed the reason why the Black Pearl is able to firmly hold the title of the fastest ship in the Caribbean sea? That's obviously impossible. In reality, when every shipbuilder comes into contact with this line of work, they all have the ambition to construct a ship that surpasses the speed of the Black Pearl! "
"Years ago, when I was learning shipbuilding under the tutelage of a special class royal craftsman, Master Jason Lisse, I discussed this matter with a friend. He told me that when the Black Pearl was first launched, it was merely an ordinary 5 masted armed merchant ship. If there's anything special about it, it would be that it possessed an exceptionally outstanding keel!"
"Keel?" Reef was flabbergasted. He wasn't too familiar with the technical terms of shipbuilding.
Most probably, Lohan wanted to entice these few tycoons to spend more money, hence he patiently explained.
"The keel is when a ship is being constructed, it is a longitudinal component that connects the bow and stern of the ship. On top of the keel, there are ribs that cross over to reinforce it. Similar to a human or animal's spine, there are ribs on both sides. The keel is the backbone and core of the ship. With it, the ship has a backbone. "
Seeing that the contestants had a rough understanding of the situation, Lohan earnestly continued.
"After the Black Pearl was launched, it was initially used as an armed merchant ship. You guys should understand right, an armed merchant ship refers to when it encounters a navy, but when it encounters other merchant ships or pirates, it would be armed."
"According to our conjecture, the successive captains of the Black Pearl were all individuals who possessed exceedingly high attainments and foresight in the field of ships. Therefore, after they captured the enemy's ships, not only did they plunder the riches, they could also very easily search for some precious and rare ship components from the other ships, before installing them onto the Black Pearl. For this reason, they didn't hesitate even if they couldn't tow the other ships away.
After hearing Lohan's words, Brother Black and Reef simultaneously glanced towards Sheyan. Obviously, they were thinking about how Sheyan could plunder precious ship components from other ships. Sheyan instantly fell into contemplation, while Lohan continued.
"What we can confirm is, the captains of the Black Pearl definitely possessed a paranoid hobby of pursuing speed! Therefore, during the long plundering process of the Black Pearl, they had plundered an innumerable number of ships, equipping the entire ship with various precious components. Without exception, these components were all capable of enhancing the ship's speed. Therefore, during the long years of plundering, the ship gradually transformed from quantity to quality. Finally, it became the current king of speed in the caribbean sea, the symbol of freedom, the Black Pearl! "
Brother Black couldn't help but interject.
"That doesn't sound too difficult. Then theoretically speaking, as long as one has the money, one can purchase sufficient speed-enhancing components to surpass the Black Pearl right?"
Hearing that, Lohan laughed heartily.
"That is the reason why I mentioned that dragon bone at the start of this story! To a ship, it is a whole entity composed of thousands of intricate components! It definitely isn't as simple as piling up precious components. "
"Believe me, my friend. Some precious and intricate ship components even possess their own soul! Can you imagine a band without accompaniment, with only a singer? If you like sweetness, would you request to add a spoonful of Malaysian sugarcane sugar to a fragrant black pepper steak? "
"The reason why the Black Pearl became the unrivalled king of speed, was because it possessed a unique dragon bone when it was first constructed!!! Only such a miraculous dragon bone could support the backbone of the entire ship, suppressing the conflict and backlash of those precious components. Like a commander of an army, it could perfectly integrate those components together, thus creating the king of speed in the caribbean sea! If not for that dragon bone, those components installed on the Black Pearl would've long been in a frenzy of conflict. " If you like this story, I welcome you to donate your recommendation votes or monthly votes to * * (qidian.com). Your support, is my greatest motivation.)
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