Chapter 40: Isn’t It Strawberry?
“Huh? I can’t set sail?”
Xiao Qin said, “Given that you met two fish tides and your boat was damaged, the supervisors believe that somebody might be plotting against you, so you are not allowed to go to the ocean. Also, there are only nine days to go until your Fishing Trial. I suggest you focus on cultivating yourself for the time being.”
Han Fei asked, “Have you found who did it?”
Xiao Qin said, “There is no evidence, but we have reasons to believe that the Tigers are behind it.”
“The Tigers?”
Han Fei was not surprised at the answer. Not everyone could ruin a boat in the port without alarming other people at all. He felt that the compensation he asked from Li Jue was not enough.
“In that case, Sister Qin, I’ll take my leave.”
Since he could not go to the ocean, he had no income of spiritual energy, which was intolerable to Han Fei.
The market was already lively although it was still early in the morning.
Suddenly, someone shouted, “Water! Clean rainwater here! Twenty coins per kilogram! Only five hundred kilograms are available!”
A customer negotiated: “Boss, twenty sea coins is too much. It rained only several days ago. Your price is too high!”
Someone else agreed with him. “Old Qin, I’ll have ten kilograms if you sell it for eighteen sea coins per kilogram.”
However, Old Qin chuckled. “You think it’s expensive? It hasn’t rained for half a month, and since the weather is fine, it probably won’t rain again until half a month from now. Water will only be more and more precious. Twenty sea coins per kilogram is already my best offer.”
The crowd grew quiet.
Soon, someone said, “Fine, Old Qin, give me twenty kilograms.”
“I’ll have ten.”
“I’d like fifty.”
...
Shocked, Han Fei watched the five hundred kilograms of water be bought out in only two minutes. He did not know that one could make money so fast with water.
It did make sense on second thought. The only source of water for the floating island was the rain, which was surprisingly infrequent. As a result, water was always in demand.
Han Fei thought of something. There was infinite seawater in this place! Wouldn’t he become rich if he could make distilled water with it?
Han Fei was considering it when he passed a beggar.
Wait, that’s not right...
Everybody on the floating island is a cultivator! Why is he begging?
The beggar was wandering about with a broken bowl covered in dust.
He stepped back in fear when he saw Han Fei and tried to flee.
Han Fei shouted, “You, stop there!”
The beggar cried, “Have some mercy! I’ve already been kicked out!”
Han Fei was stunned. “You’re... Brother Gang?”
The beggar shook his head quickly. “Xiao1 Gang. Please call me Xiao Gang.”
Han Fei: “...”
Han Fei asked, “You’re not dead?”
Li Gang’s legs shivered when he heard that. Do you really want me dead? After everybody learned that Han Fei was Tang Ge’s brother, he was hung on the top of a mast for three days in a row. He was not killed only because he had many friends in the eastern market. However, since his heart was hurt when he was kicked out of the Tigers by Li Gang, he had only one-tenth of his previous strength, and his life was quite miserable.
Hugging Han Fei’s leg, Li Gang cried, “Bro, please spare me! I can’t die! I need to make a living for my girlfriend! If I die, someone will take her away!”
Han Fei was lost for words. “Who’s going to kill you? I’m a kind-hearted person.”
Li Gang complained to himself, You are kind-hearted? I wouldn’t have ended up like this if it weren’t for you.
Han Fei asked, “You were kicked out by the Tigers?”
Li Gang nodded in fear. He couldn’t afford pissing off Han Fei right now!
Han Fei came up with a plan. “How about this? You will follow me in the future. I’ll give you an enjoyable life.”
“Huh... Huh?”
Li Gang thought that his ears deceived him. Was it a trick?
Han Fei said, “Clean yourself up and find me in my home. I’m short of hands right now. I’ve offered you an opportunity. It depends on you whether or not you can grasp it.”
Li Gang was a smart gangster. Was it possible to follow Han Fei? Of course! Tang Ge was his brother, and his future clearly couldn’t be too bad. However, why was Han Fei interested in him? Did Han Fei want him to collect protection fees?
Thinking about how he was mugged by Han Fei twice, Li Gang felt that it was very possible.
...
An hour later, Li Gang arrived with a pale face. It was obvious that he was badly wounded, but the dust on his face had been cleaned.
When Li Gang came, Han Fei was toying with many bottles and had even moved a giant pot out. There was no telling what he was up to.
Seeing that Li Gang was here, Han Fei asked, “How much strength do you have left?”
Shivering, Li Gang replied, “I’m as good as... a level-two fisher.”
He was of a mind to kill himself. Did he want to beg? Of course not. But he would be committing suicide if he were to go fishing as a level-two fisher.
Han Fei raised his head in surprise. “Huh? You’re crippled now?”
Li Gang replied reluctantly, “Not... Not exactly, but the pills for my recovery are too expensive. They are worth ten mid-quality pearls...”
Han Fei scorned, “So, the bad guys who work for bad guys may be abandoned any moment.”
Then, Han Fei placed a dozen mid-quality pearls before Li Gang and said, “I can cure you, but you must not betray me, or you will suffer more than wounds. Your girlfriend will probably really be taken away.”
Li Gang was filled with disbelief. Were the dozen mid-quality pearls for him?
Feeling warm, Li Gang burst into tears. “Boss, I’ll be yours in the future. I’ll do anything that you ask...”
Han Fei waved his hand and said, “All right, that’s enough! Why don’t you tell me first if there are any seasonings on our island?”
“Seasonings?”
Han Fei said, “The things that can give food a more interesting taste, like salt!”
Han Fei had never had any decent food since he came to this world. There was salt, but salt alone was not enough to remove the stink of the seafood.
Li Gang got it. “Oh! Boss, you’re talking about spices! But only the rich people can afford them!”
Han Fei was immediately amazed. “So the answer is yes?”
Li Gang said, “Yes, but ordinary people can’t afford them. Most spices can only be bought with mid-quality pearls.”
Han Fei was a bit disappointed. It was too expensive. He had planned to open a barbecue restaurant and make distilled water. But if the seasonings were so expensive, he probably could only make barbecue for himself.
“What about alcohol?”
Li Gang said, “Alcohol is cheap. The fish-head liquor is only worth thirty sea coins per kilogram. Boss, you want to drink?”
Han Fei said, “Let’s go. Show me the spices first.”
...
There was a plantation with a coverage of a thousand acres at the south end of the floating island, next to the cliff.
Han Fei was startled by the exuberant plants in the area. “I didn’t know that there were farmers on this island.”
Li Gang scratched his head. “They are not exactly farmers. Most of them planted spiritual herbs at the beginning, but probably because the environment was too poor, the spiritual herbs all retrograded into spices. Even so, many people believe that spices are still spiritual herbs. That’s why spices are still expensive.”
An old man was basking in the sunlight with a bottle of liquor in his arms. He showed no response when Han Fei and Li Gang walked onto the plantation.
Han Fei went forward and asked, “Grandpa, we’re here to buy spices.”
The old man glimpsed Han Fei and continued his sunbath. “You can’t afford them.”
Han Fei was gloomy. How do you know that? I have fifty mid-quality pearls left!
The old man raised his hand and pointed at some wood shelves not far away. “They’re all there. Each of them costs one mid-quality pearl.”
Han Fei walked over curiously, only to be dumbfounded by what he saw.
“You call them spices? Aren’t they strawberries?”