Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

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

There may not be many sailors in Castel, 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. Would you like 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 why. 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 sailboat, right?"

Jeremiah nodded. This was a bit strange. What was a wooden sailboat? Aren't all ships wooden sailboats?
Is he talking about a sampan? Those things really don't have sails.

"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 to learn. Therefore, I choose to recruit students to learn sailing rather than recruit sailors to go to school."

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

This is a bit puzzling, how can you build ships out of steel? They'll 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.

Hughes casually picked up the silver cup on the table and said, "Take this and put it in the sea to see if it sinks or floats. I don't have time to do physics experiments with you right now. Take the contract. Oh, and I'll give you a note. You can attend literacy classes 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 possibly sign in his lifetime? Jeremiah felt it was a complete 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 could that be possible?

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

Finding a puddle among the rocks, Jeremiah 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 telling nonsense to deceive him.

I fished out the silver cup from the water. It was worth a few dollars 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.

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

After hesitating for a moment, he carefully grasped the rim of the cup and placed it upright in 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, but it really stood upright in the water and did not sink!

"How can it be"

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 evening that Jeremiah returned, still holding the cup in his hand - a hole had been punched into the stone by him.

He played in the water at the beach all afternoon.

Jeremiah bought some fish from a stall and should have gone back home, but after a moment's hesitation, he looked 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 where the local lord had opened a literacy class.

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 returning 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 these pirates will eventually become merchants, right? As long as they keep choosing the most advantageous options, they'll eventually end up that way. The Queen is actually doing the same thing, boiling the frog in warm water. They're almost done, and they haven't even realized it yet."

Boiling a frog in warm water? This phrase was interesting. Connor pondered it for a moment before speaking.
"Master, there is one more thing you need to know."

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

"There are some connections. You remember Josh, the young man who bought the goods on credit from us 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's just a name."

"How did he do it? I pay my employees a pretty good wage, right? How could he still poach them?"

"That's the key—he said he had secured the cargo and the ship, and now he just needed the manpower, and he was willing to give others a proportional share of the money 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 shore, so the patrol sent him to a construction site to do hard labor for a few days. He found out the pay was good and lunch was provided, so he decided to stay. After completing his hard labor, he now receives a salary and is even taking literacy classes with other islanders."

".Are these really that appealing? I remember pirates earning about as much as working as a laborer, right?"

It is true that Zeus pays his employees a lot of money, but it depends on who he is compared with. Pirates, who make a living on the edge of a knife, naturally cannot compare to him. Even though pirates are in decline now, the difference is still quite large.

"Master, it's different."

Connor hesitated, taking 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 live. But in Castel, there is nothing that forces them to live."

"The wages are high here, so I won't starve to death."

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

(End of this chapter)