President Peterson was furious. This was his trading company's private dock, and
Lorist was equally baffled. He didn't know the third young master of the Qikede Trading Company at all, couldn't think of any way he might have offended him, and had never even had any contact with the Qikede Trading Company. What gave that third young master the right to take his ship?
By the time the two arrived at the dock, they found that all they were facing was a thoroughly drunk drunkard.
Two groups faced off at the dock. On one side were the manager in charge of the Peterson Trading Company's private dock, Lorist's sailors, Captain Wilson, and the rest. Facing them was a dead-drunk drunkard hurling abuse. From what could be gathered, he was saying that the ship's owner had the audacity to look down on the Qikede family, and he was going to take the ship to teach the owner a lesson.
Though the drunk third young master had more people standing behind him, they at least knew their limits. Aside from trying to persuade the third young master to go back, they took no action—standing well-behaved behind him, not acting on his drunken ravings to forcibly seize the ship.
"What exactly is going on?" President Peterson asked in a deep, stern voice.
"Sir..." The dock manager stepped forward and bowed. "I don't know either. An hour ago, this Qikede Trading Company merchant ship came alongside and docked. I assumed they were just borrowing our dock for a moment and didn't think much of it. This sort of thing has happened before, and we've always been accommodating. But then this third young master got off the ship and barged onto Lord
There was a red handprint on the left side of the dock manager's face.
"Who did that?" President Peterson's face was dark as a storm cloud.
The dock manager glanced at the third young master, who was still carrying on.
The third young master was still shouting: "Dare to offend our Qikede Trading Company... tired of living, are you... taking your ship is doing you a favor... and you... you dare block me... I'll destroy you... wipe out your entire family..."
Lorist was furious. A trading company's young master, and what an arrogant tone—did he really think he was second only to heaven?
He stepped forward a few paces and surveyed the crowd behind the drunk young master: "I am Count Norton, the owner of this ship. I have no acquaintance whatsoever with your Qikede Trading Company and no prior dealings. Will someone step forward and explain—when did our Norton family ever offend your company, and why does your young master want to seize my ship?"
Finally, an old man in steward's attire emerged from the crowd: "My apologies, Count Norton. Yesterday morning, when your ship overtook our fleet, our young master had signals raised asking you to stop and meet with him, and horns sounded to invite you aboard. But you ignored his invitation and sailed away on your own. Our young master was very displeased, feeling that you looked down on him and the Qikede Trading Company... After returning here and finding your ship at dock, combined with having drunk too much and being in a foul mood, he let his temper get the better of him..."
Lorist stared at the old man as though he were an idiot: "So you're the large merchant fleet we overtook yesterday? Is your young master's brain working properly? We left you over a hundred meters behind. In those massive waves, could we possibly have seen your signals or heard your horns? Was it even remotely feasible for us to stop, turn around, and go back to accept your invitation? And you want to take my ship over something like this? The Qikede Trading Company really is overbearing!"
Lorist let out a cold laugh: "Heh heh, you want to take my ship? Sure—only I wonder what price you're prepared to pay."
The old man misheard, thinking Lorist was intimidated by the Qikede Trading Company: "Count Norton, your ship is very fast and would be extremely useful to our Qikede Trading Company. Hand your ship over to us, and you'll earn the friendship of the Qikede Trading Company..."
Lorist spat: "To hell with your friendship! You want my ship? Simple—defeat the Norton family. Step over my corpse, and you'll have my ship..."
President Peterson stepped in front of Lorist. He now fully understood what had happened: "Since your third young master is drunk, then as the owner of this dock, we will take your third young master back to sober up. You may leave now. Tell your president not to forget to come and collect his son."
The meaning was clear: they intended to hold the drunken troublemaking third young master until the Qikede Trading Company's president arrived to apologize, whereupon the man could be released—that way, neither side would lose face. If these Qikede Trading Company people wanted to take their third young master back right now, they would have to wrest him from President Peterson's hands, and no one could afford the consequences.
President Peterson waved his hand, and two guards emerged from behind him. They seized the cursing, drunken third young master and headed toward the carriage at the rear. There was a stir among the Qikede Trading Company crowd, but no one rushed forward to fight.
The old steward who had stepped forward gave President Peterson a half-bow: "Then we'll trouble the President to look after our third young master. We are truly sorry for everything that happened tonight. We will report this matter clearly to our master. We shall take our leave."
Lorist had been expecting something entirely different—the company president's pride, people charging forward to seize their man, then himself stepping in to flatten them one by one in a grand display of prowess, followed by the elder generation emerging when the younger were beaten, the conflict escalating, the Peterson Trading Company defeating them with his help, and from that point on being firmly bound to the Norton family...
How come every last one of these Qikede Trading Company people was so level-headed, retreating so decisively to settle the matter quietly? This was outrageous! Where was the bearing of one of the seven great companies of the Forde Commercial Alliance? At the very least, for the sake of face, they should have hurled a few harsh words...
"Locke, it's settled. Let's go back and keep drinking..." said President Peterson.
"Still drinking?" Lorist couldn't fathom what President Peterson was playing at. He could only put away all his wild speculations, give Captain Wilson and the others a few instructions to maintain vigilance over the ships, and then climb into the carriage with President Peterson to head back.
"The Qikede Trading Company may command the most maritime trade routes, but on land it still depends on our Peterson Trading Company's overland freight caravans. Otherwise, it would have difficulty assembling sufficient supplies and goods. Tomorrow, that Qikede president will come calling—he'll give you an explanation. After all, this whole mess was caused by his drunken third young master. As long as he doesn't want a conflict with our Peterson Trading Company, he'll have to obediently come and apologize." President Peterson said this with considerable self-assurance.
"I'll be relying on the President for everything then. What I didn't expect was why this third young master of the Qikede Trading Company could be so brainless and reckless. He doesn't look that young—how is he still behaving like a spoiled rich kid? Could it be that he's deliberately trying to provoke a conflict with the Peterson Trading Company? After all, I think his excuse—taking offense because our ship overtook his fleet and didn't accept his invitation—is far too flimsy to be convincing," said Lorist.
President Peterson burst out laughing: "Don't worry, Brother Locke, it really is that simple. I do happen to know why that third young master got so drunk and threw that tantrum. Everyone in
Earlier this year, the Qikede president finally made up his mind. He set three difficult tasks, one for each of his three sons. Whoever completed his task best would be named his successor and receive focused training to inherit the company. That's why this third young master is so dead drunk—the deadline for his task was yesterday, and because of the storm, he only returned today. He's clearly lost his qualification to inherit the company. That's why he was throwing a drunken fit on our private dock, and not one of the people he brought along dared to listen to his orders."
President Peterson paused in thought, then said: "Stay at my house tonight. Don't worry—tomorrow morning the Qikede president will come to apologize in person. In fact, we can discuss something else as well. Where would you like to deliver those accumulated magical beast pelts?"
Right! He'd almost forgotten about the delivery. Lorist replied: "The whole reason I came to buy a merchant ship was to transport these magical beast pelts. How about we conduct the trade on Shiluowasi Island? That's also territory of our Norton family."
"Shiluowasi Island?" President Peterson murmured. "I think I've heard that name somewhere..."
Lorist said: "Shiluowasi Island belongs to the Andinak Kingdom, roughly two hundred li from Qilin Port. It was the largest island of the former Krisen Empire..."
"Wait a moment, Brother Locke. Isn't your family's territory in the Northland? How did Shiluowasi Island come to be your fief?" President Peterson asked.
So Lorist briefly recounted his experiences...
President Peterson's expression grew somewhat grave: "So your Norton family belongs to the Andinak Kingdom, and you're a count of the Andinak Kingdom?"
"Yes. What's wrong, President? Is there a problem?" Lorist asked.
President Peterson sighed: "A significant problem. I'm sure you've heard of the commercial blockade the Alliance has been imposing on the Andinak Kingdom, both openly and covertly? It's real. The Andinak Kingdom inherited the imperial lineage of the former Krisen Empire. For nearly two hundred years, the Forde Commercial Alliance and the former Krisen Empire were mortal enemies. The empire may be gone, but its lineage lives on—and that is precisely why the Andinak Kingdom faces this commercial blockade and hostility. It's an unspoken consensus and a voluntary course of action taken by all the trading companies and people of the Alliance."
Lorist was dumbfounded: "No way... I never imagined hatred could run this deep. Twenty or thirty years of peace, and with the Krisen Empire gone, your Alliance people still hold such a grudge? Isn't it said there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests? Pursuing profit is supposed to be a merchant's very nature."
"Inconceivable?" President Peterson scoffed. "You're absolutely right—there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests, and pursuing profit is a merchant's nature. In truth, the hostility toward the Andinak Kingdom and the commercial blockade were artificially instigated and fanned. The ones leading the charge against the Andinak Kingdom are the Twin Dragon Trading Company, the Mayflower Trading Company, and the Vecia Trading Company. Our Peterson Trading Company only played a supporting role when dealing with the former Krisen Empire, fulfilling our obligation to carry out the Alliance's resolutions.
However, we did provide assurances of cooperation regarding the commercial blockade of the Andinak Kingdom. Brother Locke, you're a noble of the Andinak Kingdom, which makes this magical beast pelt business quite precarious. If word ever got out, our Peterson Trading Company could easily be isolated by the other major trading companies and face joint retaliation..."
"As long as we don't fly the Furious Bear banner of our Northland Norton family, no one will know we're nobles of the Andinak Kingdom. Even if our trading of magical beast pelts is discovered, it can easily be denied—everyone knows there are no magical beasts within the Andinak Kingdom. As for the trading location, let's arrange it at Viscount Teberli's fief. We'll transport the goods there, and you can send ships to pick them up. That way, there's a cover story that Mr. Tim is handling the resale, having nothing to do with us..."
"That works. It's a good plan—settled, then." President Peterson sealed the matter with a decisive gesture.
The magical beast pelt business was finally sorted out, and Lorist breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly five hundred thousand magical beast pelts, translating to a transaction worth close to two million gold Fordes—for the family, this represented years of future investment capital and reserves for developing their territory, crucial to the stability and prosperity of the Norton family's domain...
Though the pelt trade with President Peterson had been settled, the smoked magical beast jerky, pickled whale meat, and snow salt he'd brought along this time would be troublesome to entrust to the Peterson Trading Company. First, they didn't deal in such miscellaneous goods, and second, the total value wasn't particularly large. He'd need to find another way—even if he couldn't sell them, they could be consumed within the family's own territory...
He sent a guard to notify
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning around ten o'clock, people from the Qikede Trading Company arrived. The Qikede president came in person, and he and President Peterson greeted each other warmly, the two old men getting along splendidly. The now-sober third young master of the Qikede family was brought along, standing at his father's side with a meek, submissive expression. The Qikede president thanked President Peterson profusely for taking in his drunken, troublemaking third son, preventing him from causing an even more unmanageable embarrassment.
President Peterson was equally gracious, emphasizing that as the seven great trading companies of the Alliance, they should naturally be like family to one another, and helping each other was only proper. He stressed that the third young master needed to learn a proper lesson from this—not to become disheartened by a temporary setback, and certainly not to drown his sorrows in drink and take his frustrations out on others. Such behavior showed a terrible lack of refinement. A true heir to a great company should know both how to handle victory with humility and defeat with composure...
After lecturing the Qikede third young master at length, President Peterson finally introduced Lorist to the Qikede president—the head of the Furious Bear family from the Northland, Count Norton.
The Qikede president had clearly never heard of the Norton family. A noble from the fringes of human-settled lands was beneath his notice. What interested him was the same thing—Lorist's strange ship. He was astonished to hear it could reach fourteen knots in heavy seas, noting that even the newest, fastest schooner warships only managed eleven.
Lorist shrugged and told the Qikede president with complete nonchalance that his ship had no use whatsoever besides speed. Due to the notorious reputation of the Cursed Coast in the north, he'd had to build the ship extremely narrow so it could navigate through the shallow reefs. And because the ship was so narrow, it couldn't carry much cargo—it served only as his personal vessel.
As for its stability and strong seafaring performance in heavy waves, that was simple: three-meter-deep bilge keels had been added beneath the hull to prevent capsizing. Any experienced shipwright could verify this at a glance. The primary purpose of the bilge keels was actually to protect the ship's hull from underwater reefs when navigating shallow coastal waters—if the keel struck something, it would be easy to back out of the reef field.
Once Lorist explained all this, the Qikede president lost interest. What he wanted were fast, high-capacity merchant ships. As Lorist had described, his ship's only advantage was speed, which made it essentially useless. He wasn't worried about Lorist lying—with all those shipyards under his command, he could send any master craftsman to take a look and determine whether the strange ship was as Lorist claimed.
As a gesture of apology for his son's harassment of Lorist the previous evening, the Qikede president presented him with a gift: an exquisitely packaged sandalwood box, about a foot and a half long. Lorist tried to decline but ultimately had to accept it. Then, at President Peterson's signal, he opened the box.
When the lid came off, Lorist was stunned.
Inside the box lay a gleaming, gold-plated flintlock gun...
...(To be continued.)