Chapter 743 - 224: Night Talk in the City of No Return
The cost of the meals is still on me, and after all this effort, I end up earning less than twenty coins from you. It’s nothing compared to the stewards who just show half their face from a distance and easily get thirty coins."
Chen Yan smiled, "Do you feel you got a bad deal?"
"Not at all." The crewmember chuckled, "If the steward doesn’t show up to let you see him, you probably wouldn’t be willing to pay either."
Ah, it turns out we all understand in our hearts.
After thinking for a bit, Chen Yan understood why the crewmember was telling him all this...
Simply, he was afraid of trouble.
Although he wore the appearance of a Gu Family member, after all, he was just a low-level crewmember, working hard hauling goods.
Officially speaking, these ways of making money were not allowed by the family; those stewards might have their own backing.
And low-level crewmembers are hardly of a higher status than ordinary Loose Cultivators—just a little more stable in terms of livelihood.
If they encounter someone with a temper, they’ll obediently pay for this so-called meal fee under the roof.
But if they regret it afterward and cause a scene—the steward is at least a leader, and probably has more senior stewards backing him up.
While a low-level crewmember, if dragged into it, might suffer some hardships.
This crewmember seemed to speak heart-to-heart with Chen Yan, but was actually using a mix of moderate and hard techniques.
It appeared sincere, enough to let the other side’s grievance for being forced to pay, dissipate some.
It also helped himself avoid some potential trouble.
Knowing the other party’s intention, Chen Yan smiled, looked at him, and said seriously: "Rest assured, since I’ve paid the money, I won’t come back to hassle you later."
The crewmember looked satisfied, "I knew you were a sensible person."
He paused, then laughed, "Don’t worry, during this month on the ship, if there’s anything I can help you with, I will. My authority isn’t much, but the stewards usually prefer to stay in the cabin cultivating, spending lonely and boring days on the ship, and are too lazy to come out and talk nonsense with us.
As long as he doesn’t see, I can offer you some convenience."
Chen Yan naturally knew this man was making big promises—on this deal, he only earned twenty coins from him, what great convenience could he really offer?
It was just sweet talk to appease him.
However, Chen Yan had a thought, smiled, and said, "I don’t have many other needs, but I do like to go out for some fresh air at night. If we get the chance, we can have a bite and a drink together to slightly ease the boredom of the journey."
The crewmember blushed; he actually knew that selling him food and then staying to eat was indeed taking advantage.
But Chen Yan said indifferently, "I’m not a gourmet, but I do have a quirk—I love hearing interesting stories and news. You’ve traveled far and wide on this ship, with a wealth of knowledge. If you’re willing, we can drink and chat in the evenings, and you can tell me some interesting stories."
The crewmember laughed heartily, even more satisfied with Chen Yan, and nodded, "That’s easy! We who travel by ship have plenty of stories to tell! Having seen a lot, if you talk about being well-informed, even ordinary cultivators, though much more cultivated than us, may not know as much as us sailors."
Chen Yan immediately acted interested and took out the last bottle of spiritual liquor to give to the sailor.
Then, he took out a jar of liquor from his Storage Jade Pendant.
This jar was not from the Domain Realm but brought over from the real world.
A case of Flying Maotai, with every bottle poured out (to avoid the labels and packaging revealing traces), was stored in an unmarked ceramic jar, sealed and preserved in the Storage Jade Pendant.
Chen Yan still had ten jars of Maotai in his Storage Jade Pendant.
Chen Yan gently removed the seal on the jar, and immediately a rich aroma of sauce-flavored liquor spread.
Whether in the Domain Realm or the real world, sailors rarely dislike drinking.
The sailor smelled the aroma, his eyes moved, took a spoon to taste, and nodded, "Though it’s mundane liquor, not brewed with Primordial Spirit Grain, its aroma is somewhat novel."
With that, he simply put away the spiritual liquor—planning to save it for a slow enjoyment—and instead drank the mundane liquor Chen Yan took out to satisfy his craving.
"Since you’re not stingy, I won’t be polite with you. So tell me, what do you want to find out?"
Chen Yan nodded and slowly said, "This time our ship is heading to the Southern Border City of No Return...to be honest, I’ve never been to the Southern Border, let alone the City of No Return. I just want to hear about the geography and customs there...
So that I won’t be completely unfamiliar and unaware when I get there."
The crewmember sighed with relief and laughed, "So that’s it. Then you’ve asked the right person.
If you asked about other places in the Southern Border, I might not know much.
But if you ask about the City of No Return, I’ve been going there frequently for years. In a whole year, I go there at least three to five times!"
With that, the sailor pointed to the ship’s cargo hold and laughed, "What we do is transport goods for the family, running the ship for them.
The family owns large medicinal fields in the Western Border, planting various special spiritual medicines unique to the Western Border, some of which are rare in the Southern Border, so we have to transport them several times a year to the Southern Border.
When we go to the City of No Return, we must spend a few days resting and playing in the city..."