Chapter 158: Picking Up Leaks

Aibu Yibaniersi's office is very messy, filled everywhere with ship blueprints and models, with all sorts of chaotic documents mixed together.

He should find a secretary or a clerk to tidy up his office, but it is clear that this guy has order within the chaos and can always find what everyone needs among his documents.

"If you are buying ships for transport, I suggest you buy this type. Bulutuo, you are an old crew member too, you should know the price." Aibu is a typical Wealth Church Believer; he has shrewd eyes and a mind that is overly calculating.

The players have dealt with these guys quite often; as long as the other party hasn't awakened, it is unlikely they will be easily swindled. This is also why the matter of purchasing supplies cannot be left to Bulutuo alone; he is truly not very suitable for this kind of thing.

The market price for this type of ship is around 4,000 Xide. It seems to be quite a bit cheaper than the market rate. It only takes five years; calculated under normal circumstances, this type of ship can recoup its cost. As long as it operates for a few more years, or even as long as twenty years, it might even earn tens of thousands of Xide.

"I see that most of the ships in our port are Cement Ships; this kind of wooden Sailboat doesn't seem to be common." You'eryuan looked at the blueprints. "The ship we are sailing is already twenty years old, and there are always various parts that need replacing."

Seeming to know the other party would say this, Aibu smiled and said, "That is why we provide a warranty service; these are naturally not a problem. Not to mention, we have insurance. If you encounter an accident while sailing at sea, we can also compensate you for 40%."

As he spoke, the other party took out another document; this was an insurance contract.

Several players gathered together to look at it. This insurance contract stated that a premium of 300 Xide must be paid annually. It can cover not only 40% of the Sailboat but also 20% of the cargo and supplies. Of course, it specifies that some flammable and explosive materials cannot be covered, which also includes heavy cargo like Steel.

It must be said that these people are really good at doing business.

Or perhaps, these sailboats are truly very unsafe, which is why such an insurance policy exists.

"Do not doubt it; even for the Steel ships produced by the Wisdom Church, we use the same insurance, it is just slightly more expensive than this amount." After all, people who can afford Steel ships do not care about paying this little bit of insurance premium.

"Are there any more ship models for us to choose from?" You'eryuan did not make an order on impulse, but instead inquired about other ship models.

In this kind of large-scale business, one generally does not expect a deal to be struck immediately. Aibu was not in a hurry; he brought over a stack of materials and placed them in front of You'eryuan.

"These are the mainstream models we currently have for sale." Aibu said with a smile, "Of course, the vast majority of these need to be ordered. If it is a Steel ship, it will take at least half a year after placing the order to be towed over from a large port."

The other party was not worried that these people would not buy. It was clear that these young people were Bulutuo's investors. They looked inexperienced in the world; either they had suddenly come into a small sum of money, or they were the juniors of some noble. In short, if it were up to Aibu to choose, the only thing truly suitable for business was the 4,000 Xide Sailboat.

You'eryuan flipped through the contents very carefully and took screenshots.

Although taking screenshots here cannot be transmitted offline, one can always show them to the players when they return.

Perhaps someone might even be able to build one according to the blueprints.

After all, at 4,000 Xide, the price is truly too high. With this money, one could buy a decent-sized manor in the Royal Capital.

Although the players can afford this money now, everyone still has to operate the port and transport goods out; these are all places where money is needed. Wasting money on a Sailboat is not as good as getting it right in one go.

After all, for the players, five years is too long a time. Sailboats are not suitable for transporting many heavy goods, and plus, Tana City is not on the edge of the sea, but on a gentle river, so the power of the sails is truly somewhat insufficient.

After flipping through for a while, You'eryuan pushed the materials forward, "I think we need to consider it."

"That is also normal, but I must remind you, you are also aware that there are many more Cement Ships and Steel ships recently, so old-fashioned Sailboats are now somewhat on the decline. You see those at the dock? Many have already been reserved. Now there are only three left at the dock that haven't been reserved. If you are late, you might not even get these three." Aibu reminded them, "And I have to receive several more buyers recently."

"Okay, I don't think we will consider it for too long." You'eryuan thanked the other party, "I need to discuss it with my partners, and I will come to find you when there is a result."

"No problem." Aibu smiled and sent them out, while patting Bulutuo on the shoulder, "Old friend, remember to come find me for a drink after you get settled. We haven't chatted together for a long time."

"Yes, yes." Bulutuo pinched his red nose and gave a hehe laugh, "I also miss the days at the Xianyu Jiuba, but that is already in the past. I rarely drink now."

No one knows how Bulutuo went from being a Captain to the miserable life of needing relief from the Calamity Church.

"Calculating it this way, it's not worth it at all. How much is our ship worth? Buying one that doesn't even look that new costs so much money." Zhuguli had already started muttering, "It's not that I'm saying anything, but how about we build one ourselves?"

"Building it yourself takes too long. Think about it, if we use wood to build a ship, we need to have air-dried wood in advance, and I don't know how long that process would take." You'eryuan was the first to reject this resolution, "It is best if we look around everywhere."

The players have the brains for business, it's just because this is a game, they aren't as proactive as in real life.

Of course, there are also those who are the opposite; they are actually more proactive in the game.

You'eryuan is clearly the type of person who is more proactive in the game. He had long since seen many abandoned ships nearby. Those wooden Sailboats were no different from the one they had renovated, and were even somewhat newer.

But because there were damaged parts in places like the masts, they had been left aside, or rather, these ships were not sold because they had some problems and were not put back into repair.

Bulutuo clearly also saw those ships. He frowned and said to You'eryuan, "Who knows if there are still damaged parts inside those ships? You have to know that our original port also had many abandoned ships, but only two of them were worth repairing."

"I know, aren't there even more abandoned ships here? We can completely consider looking at them. We help the other party clear the dock, and we can earn a profit ourselves, why not?" You'eryuan did not feel at all that he was being whimsical. As long as the ships inside were not scrapped too severely, they could be reused.

Once these wooden ships start operating and have stable transport capacity, it won't be too late to start researching Cement Ships.

As long as the game continues and more players come in, Cement Ships will be just around the corner.

Even Steel ships are not a problem. Haven't you seen that the smelter has already started hiring local workers? As long as there are people, manufacturing is not a problem at all.

"I actually think we can consider Cement Ships. Sailboats are completely unsuitable for our transport on the river." Zhuguli didn't like Sailboats at all. Although they look good and have a retro feel, Sailboats really can't be called safe.

Just the seasickness on this journey alone had already made Zhuguli feel very uncomfortable.

"Storms above, I didn't expect my old friend Bulutuo to still be alive!" A crew member shouted excitedly. Several young people on the dock also turned their heads and saw Bulutuo and his group.

"Old friend, I didn't expect you to be here too." Bulutuo saw a real old friend this time. He introduced them to the players, "This is an old friend of mine from the Aimilie Hao. At that time, he was the first mate, and I was just a crew member."

"Hehe, you still don't like to introduce my name. My name is Bob. Are these people your crew? How are they all so delicate?" Bob shook his head, "It's not that I'm saying anything, although they look strong, but at sea... oh right, if you use Cement Ships or Steel ships, you indeed don't need to be too rigorous."

"It's clear that you are also using Sailboats." Bulutuo asked, "I see that many Cement Ships have been docked in the port recently. Where did those Sailboats go?"

"Scrapped. The ones docked here are the ones that were too lazy to repair. In a while, they might be towed to Xiaoshuiwan." Bob pointed to his own ship, "Coming back this time, I have to see if Aibu can still repair it. If not, we can only consider Cement Ships."

"The price of a Cement Ship doesn't seem low; it must be at least 10,000 Xide." Bulutuo recalled the price he had seen before, "Even for a Sailboat, Aibu wants to charge me 4,000 Xide. It's practically robbery."

"Heh, it used to be 5,000 Xide. It's fortunate that I bought this old friend of mine 15 years ago; the cost was recouped long ago. And I bought insurance. Even if this thing is scrapped and given to Aibu, he will compensate me 1,000 Xide. As for the Cement Ship, he will give me a 20% discount, 8,000 Xide, which is not unacceptable." Bob suddenly revealed the real price of Cement Ships in the Port City, "But that guy is still as much of a scammer as ever. These broken ships are all recycled from old customers like us; he only gives us 1,000 Xide. They just patch them up and sell them, and can still earn an insurance premium from you."

Bob seemed to realize he had said too much, then patted his old friend on the shoulder, "But I have to say, the insurance he has is still very useful. At least if our ships need small repairs, he can handle them."

That is what was said, but the players were more concerned about the matter of Xiaoshuiwan.

"All the scrapped ships were sent to Xiaoshuiwan?" You'eryuan couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, of course. If you have the guts, you can go there and tow one away. But those ships are indeed damaged quite severely. Even if there are ones that can be used, it's impossible for anyone to be willing to tow them. After all, the cost of just towing that ship out is 300 Xide."

If 300 Xide could be exchanged for a Sailboat worth 4,000 Xide, the players would definitely go tow the ship without hesitation.

And there is also someone like Bulutuo who is familiar with ships.

"If possible, would you be willing to help us tow a few ships to Tana City?" You'eryuan had such an intuition, "If we tow Cement Ships, we can probably tow one in two or three days. We just need to find a few that can be repaired from there."

No one would refuse such a good thing; without a doubt, Bob would agree.

Bulutuo also felt that this matter was completely feasible. Regardless, this idea came from these new Believers, and it was worth the price.

As long as those ships weren't broken too severely, the Believers could just repair them themselves.

Anyway, the new Believers had already repaired one ship, so they could be considered experienced.

At the Xianyu Jiuba, Bob and Bulutuo chatted very congenially. The two hadn't seen each other for five or six years. Ever since Bulutuo stopped being a Captain, the two could only rely on occasional letters to keep in touch.

The two of them began to reminisce about their life at sea, while You'eryuan and the others nearby listened with great interest.

"By the Storm, do you know how terrifying those marine creatures are? We also encountered mutated marine creatures. Poor Xiaoshanmu, he was only sixteen when he died in the jaws of a mutated creature. It's not for me to say, but the Storm is clearly not attentive enough when it comes to dealing with mutated marine creatures; of course, it could also be that they simply can't control them at all. I heard that a wave of mutated marine creatures has already broken out at Weisite Gang, and the Storm's people are currently handling it. Those of us who live on the sea cannot go to Weisite for the time being."

"That is a major port, after all." Bulutuo dipped his finger in some Wine and began to draw on the tabletop, "If you want to go to Zhenzhu Haiwan, you must pass through here."

"Yeah, but I think you're right; if we bought a Cement Ship, it might be much safer." Bob had drunk a bit too much, and people nearby had come over to join in the fun, all of them discussing the performance of Cement Ships.

The Cement Ships sold by Aibu come in over a dozen models, and neither the players nor Bulutuo know enough about these Cement Ships.

But these crew members do; they quickly analyzed the pros and cons of several types of ships.

It looks like today's post is sorted; Zhuguli nudged You'eryuan at his side, "How about I post today's thread? I don't have any pictures anyway, you can post one with pictures and text later."

"Pfft, who wants to fight you for it? Post it if you want; I'll definitely post a more comprehensive one later." You'eryuan waved his hand and continued listening with great interest.

(End of this chapter)