Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Entes, you bloody idiot, are you gonna waste your money again?” Lisa stood akimbo as she berated her brother.
“Oh, Lisa, you know nothing. You can’t appreciate the beauty of this boat. This is definitely a masterpiece built by a master craftsman!” Entes swung his arm in a rather exaggerated fashion and continued, “Just look at the logs. They’re like the muscles of a man, and boy, they look strong and powerful!
“When I buy this boat, I’m gonna install a solar generator module and a set of expandable solar panels on the roof. Then, I’ll add some chairs and a table at the stern for fishing. The cabin will need some work as well. Satellite TV, a sofa, a fridge, a bar, and then a hybrid engine…
“I’m sorry, Zheng. I know I’m being a bit too forward, but this boat is just really, really beautiful. This masterpiece is a work of art, and I know it’s definitely something precious… and by the way, all those logs are some kind of light wood, right? The kind that’ll float even if the boat capsized? Even if the boat were destroyed by the waves, every single log could still float on the surface, and could be used as floating devices, right?”
“Sh**, can you shut up already?” Zheng Yang thought.
He wanted to make himself clear to Entes so badly.
There was naturally no way he would sell his spirit vessel, but he could get the villagers from the island to handmake another one that looked like his. If Entes was willing to trade his yacht for such a boat, it meant that this sailboat constructed out of logs was definitely very precious in his eyes, and that it could definitely fetch a very high price.
The problem was whether the folks back in the fishing village could build such a sailboat. His spirit vessel was constructed using a magic formation, which in itself was something unconventional. The wooden and steel parts fused with each other perfectly, entwining in such a way that the parts formed a single entity. The logs were joined seamlessly and were infused with natural gum to provide ultimate protection. Then, the logs were immediately dried and preserved, and finally, every single part was condensed into a sturdy, single whole through the coverage of the magic formation. It was due to all of this that the sailboat looked so sturdy.
It was a vessel made by occult means.
He wondered if the folks in the fishing village would be able to build something of such quality, or if they would simply do things conventionally and build something that would just work. One way or another, there was no way Entes would know just how impossibly high the quality of his sailboat actually was.
Entes continued yapping away, “I could tell that this is a new boat. It has nothing on it, not even a license plate. It’s something your elders made for you, no? You’re going to take the boat to port for registration, and then you’ll go on a brave and romantic adventure around the world, with this beautiful boat of yours, right? Rest assured, I’ll see to it that you’re well-compensated!”
Zheng Yang stayed silent for a while. Having spent the past several days busy crafting and modifying his spirit vessel, it was only then that he realized that he’d completely forgotten about registering his boat. To drive a vessel, even a sailboat, you needed a license. The only way he could get away with not having one was if he avoided docking at ports and somehow managed to evade capture by the coastguards too.
At the same time, he could tell that something was off with Entes.
Zheng Yang realized why Lisa kept calling Entes an idiot, and why Entes would rather just sit and wait for search and rescue than ask for his help.
Now, having taken a liking to Zheng Yang’s boat, the older man would try to get his hands on it without even bothering to haggle. In fact, he wanted it so much that he was even willing to elaborate just how precious and valuable the boat was to its current owner.
At the moment, Zheng Yang was completely oblivious to the fact that Entes was commonly known among his peers as “the weird guy.” He would go on yapping about art and throw huge sums of money at things that others thought was trash. He also knew a lot about trends and fashion, and had bought a yacht for himself just because he saw some other people sailing one. He was also very determined, as evidenced by his eight-pack abs, which he’d gotten after training hard, and made good on his word.
At the same time, however, he was blunt and straightforward, which caused him to get on most people’s bad side.
Putting it nicely, he was someone who followed his heart’s desires. Putting it bluntly, he was indeed an idiot through and through.
But then again, all those plans Entes had for renovating the spirit vessel piqued Zheng Yang’s interest very, very much.
Jordan, the black guy, was standing under the mast with a can of beer in his hand as he kept watch over the boat. Even though he could hear Entes yapping away about the boat like a lunatic, he kept his gaze locked on the sea before him, checking the wind vane every now and then, looking forward to something unexpected happening so he could get a chance to do something.
“So, what do you think, Zheng? Selling the boat to me right away before getting the registration done would do away with having to go through the trouble of changing ownership later,” Entes asked after taking a gulp of the beer, feeling his mouth turning dry.
Zheng Yang then looked at the others.
Other than Lisa, who was looking rather displeased, the other three girls were seemingly unfazed by Entes’s antics. They sat around on the ground, muching on their snacks as they watched Entes “perform,” guessing that Entes would eventually be able to convince Zheng Yang to sell his boat.
“Entes, my folks left me this boat, so I’m sure you can guess how much it means to me.” Zheng Yang then continued in a serious tone, “So I can’t sell it to you. But if you like it so much, I could try making a custom order for you back at home. We might actually be able to tour around the world on our boats together in the future.
“But I need to make myself very clear. This type of sailboat isn’t commerically manufactured through a production line. Every boat is handmade. Every part is done completely by hand, including the anti-rot treatments, and even molding and drying the logs into shape and whatnot. Not only does it take a long time to complete all this, but it’s also extremely labor-intensive. As such, I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to find someone wiling to take up the job.”
Entes looked very, very disappointed when he was first rejected, but he quickly got his hopes up after hearing what Zheng Yang said afterward. “Really? How long would it take, then?”
Zheng Yang recalled what Feller said when they were out chopping wood. He’d talked about what his grandfather had said about crafting a sailboat from logs. “It’ll take at least a year to treat the logs. And taking into consideration the crafting of the boat, it’ll probably take a year and a half in total, conservatively speaking.”
Entes scratched his chin as he elaborated, “A year and a half, eh? Well, it’s not like I can’t wait. Could you convince the master craftsmen to build the boat for me? Or rather, when are you going to return? I’ll go with you, and I’ll definitely give you a very handsome downpayment.”
“Me too, Entes! I want a sailboat like this too!” Lisa raised her hand and enthusiastically placed her order, even though she’d acted like her brother was wasting his money before.
Entes waved his hand dismissively and added, “Heh, such a primitive-looking and masculine sailboat is a dream that belongs to a man. You, girl, should just stick with yachts. I can give you my yacht when I get my hands on my own sailboat.”
“Hmph, Entes, you really are a jerk.” Lisa didn’t go on to pester Zheng Yang. Instead, she simply voiced her dissatisfaction after being shot down.
She probably hadn’t been all that enthusiastic about the idea to begin with.
Zheng Yang then added, “No need to head back with me, Entes. I’ll need to talk with them first, after all.”
“Alright then. Let’s talk about your reward now, mate!” Entes agreed to pay for the rescue and towing, in accordance to what the search and rescue team charged for such services. He was afraid of Zheng Yang being half-hearted with the negotiations, even though he had to pay the same sum to search and rescue, due to having asked for their help first.
The search and rescue team from the English Harbor was a for-profit organization, and they had a list of prices for the services they offered. They charged their clients according to their time, energy, and the scale of the operation. In Etes’s case, because the team had the yacht’s precise coordinates and real-time satellite positioning, making it a relatively easy operation, he would have to pay about 30 thousand pounds with the towing service added.
Wait, I’m about to get my hands on 30 thousand pounds?
Zheng Yang was rather dazed at the moment. After all, he never expected he could earn such a large sum so quickly.