This is the taste of the sea......

After half a year, Lorraine returned to Plymouth again.

It is one of the most famous ports in England, Europe, and the world, and belongs to the great Royal Navy.

The mighty Channel Fleet is stationed here, and the proud predecessor of the Royal Naval School of Great Britain, the alma mater of Lorraine, the Plymouth Maritime School, holds classes here.

Devon Harbour is the heart of Plymouth.

The world's finest Devon Harbour dockyard sits by the red lighthouse, where the best shipwrights work day and night to build one beautiful and mighty sail ship after another for the Royal Navy.

There are also long rows of anchorage piers like floating islands on the sea, from which huge warships flying the rice flag sail out to sea, and energetic sailors sing on the deck.

But perhaps because Devon Harbour is so famous, people often forget that along the calm Plymouth Bay, there is a long string of pearl-like civilian harbors.

They were also part of Plymouth, and for a long time they were the preferred place for England to set sail and return.

The Port of Soto is one such people's port.

Like most of Mingang, it is chaotic, free, and houses of all kinds are built haphazardly. Behind the sleek docks, there are countless dirty alleys dedicated to hiding dirt and dirt.

Along the way, you'll find pious priests, ostentatious adventurers, industrious farmers, coquettish prostitutes, crooks, brokers, lawyers, craftsmen, and bankrupt craftsmen.

Of course, the most common sights here are the sweaty dock workers, the drunken sailors and the true spiritual symbols of England, the greedy, fearless and cunning maritime merchants.

Coming out of Tavistock, Lorraine exchanged all his money for a carriage ticket to Soto Port, carrying his broken skin on his back, all the way to a pawn shop called "People Have Three Urgency".

Before he could trample Shaq's arrogance under his feet, he had to eat first.

Across the high, almost chin-tipping counter, the honest black clerk was pricing Lorraine's most valuable thing in a certain utmost professionalism.

"A pocket watch, a needle ......" Brother Hei glanced at the table clock in the store, "It's a mess, basically can't be treated as a clock." ”

Lorraine shrugged.

The miniaturization of clocks and watches is a new trend that has emerged in recent years, and the precision of the needle is a fantasy. More often than not, pocket watches are still regarded as a luxury accessory, a symbol of aristocratic status.

Seeing that Lorraine had no opinion, Brother Hei closed the lid of the watch, took out a single-tube jewelry mirror, and knocked it into the eye socket.

"Hmm...... An emerald, about two carats, can be cut to 80 points, but the color is a little worse. The dial is made of silver, with scratches, a lot of scratches, and dirt ......"

He frowned and pulled out the jewel mirror and looked at Lorraine solemnly.

"Sir, can we be more careful in the next robbery? Jewelry is a delicate Caucasian woman, and for a gentleman, it is not right to step on their face with boots. ”

"If I'm going to rob." Lorraine put the bite unusually hard, "I will respect your opinion." ”

Hei Ge'er was a little regretful, because Lorraine was very cunning and unwilling to admit that the pocket watch was dirty, which gave him one less valid reason to lower the price.

He wrapped his pocket watch in black velvet and packed up the table full of identification tools.

"Sir, a broken pocket watch, three percent new, the store is willing to pay eightpence."

"How much?"

"Eightpence." He compared it to six with his black and fat palm, and said confidently, "I dare to say that this is the highest offer in Minato, and the owner's generosity is well known." ”

"It's only eight pence......" Lorraine frowned, "give me back the pocket watch." ”

Brother Hei'er's face changed slightly, and he subconsciously tugged the black velvet in his hand.

"Sir, I promise with the credibility of my master, even if you look for a convenient port in Soto, you will not be able to find a store with a higher price than ours, so why waste your time?"

"Really?"

Although Lorraine grew up with a golden spoon in his mouth in this life, he really did not have the opportunity to make a living, but in the previous life, he ......

His small movements alerted Lorraine.

With a snap, Lorraine slapped the sword on his waist on the counter and asked with a smile, "Do you know it?" ”

Brother Hei couldn't help swallowing his saliva: "This is the royal ......"

"Royal Navy Lieutenant Officer Commands Sword."

Lorraine said word by word, drawing his sword slowly, and in front of the black buddy, he unscrupulously showed its snowy blade.

"It belongs to the same person as the pocket watch. Ten years ago, the man used this sword in a broadside to kill a French baron, capture a fourth-class ship, step on your pocket watch, and as a result, he was promoted. ”

"The scratches on the pocket watch are from that battle, and the pattern on the back of the pocket watch is the coat of arms of the baron's family, recorded on page 162 of the Aristocratic Heraldry, you should go and see it."

Lorraine paused, lifted her eyelids and glanced at the black brother's face, "Do you know why they fell into my hands?" ”

The black brother's black and white eye sockets are a little congested.

He suddenly reacted, although the young man in front of him, although his black hair and brown eyes were not noble, and his shabby clothes looked like a vagabond, but his words and deeds, sitting and lying down, all reflected a good upbringing, and he also had a strong and rigid military temperament......

A well-educated teenager who had joined the army...... Such a person can have only one identity......

Lorraine smiled and pointed her sword to his heart.

"You know what? Under English law, if I had stabbed my sword down, I would have been sentenced to six to eight shillings for the charge of accidental damage to national property. ”

"I believe that the value of this pocket watch will be slightly higher than that, and that after the payout, the remaining amount will still be well over eight pence."

The tip of Lorraine's sword shifted, picking up the name tag on the black brother's chest.

"Mr. Friday...... I didn't expect your host to be a fan of Monsieur Defoe...... Mr. Friday, do you think I should be poked? ”

"Thirteen shillings and sixpence!" Friday's face darkened, and he said quickly, "The master has gone to Spain, and he has only given me so much authorization." One more penny, and he'll kill me when he comes back, and he won't have to pay compensation to anyone! ”

"It's still a little ......bit less," Lorraine sighed regretfully, and put her sword back into its sheath, "Still, it's a deal." ”

……

"Which ship needs seamen......

The docks in the port of Soto are full of boats, of all kinds.

There are the most common Kirk type in offshore merchant ships, the small sloop Slupp type, and occasionally the Snaku type with more masts, and the Galen type three-masted galleon, which is the most suitable for ocean voyages.

This was not unexpected.

The port of Soto was a gathering place for small merchants, with a focus on offshore trade.

In the rough waters of the Strait of Dover, the older sailboats are cheaper, with no significant disadvantage in cargo capacity and speed, making them the best choice for these offshore merchants.

Lorraine had planned to start here, accumulating money and observing the trading techniques of contemporary maritime merchants, but things did not go as smoothly as he thought.

Ports are bustling with people, and almost every ship needs dockers and sailors, but there is rarely a need for seafarers.

Even if there were a few of them once in a while, they didn't want to give Lorraine an interview after seeing his age and outfit.

In the concept of a merchant, a man as a seafarer could only stand out from the ranks of veteran sailors. They are not only the technical trades on the ship, but also the foremen of the sailors, and the assistants of the captain.

Of course, the exception is that the students who have received systematic teaching are of course.

The problem is that although Lorraine has been an honor student in the sea school, he dropped out of school halfway, has no certificate, and now he has a red mouth and white teeth, and he really can't convince strangers that this excellent resume is a little excessive.

Having been rejected four times in a row, a somewhat disheartened Lorraine dragged his legs to the central square, looked at the carefree pigeons in the field, and sighed and took out the brown bread he had just bought.

Brown bread has a rough texture, but it's cheap, two pence is the size of a dictionary, enough to eat a chunk for a week.

And it's dry, easy to preserve, and one of the most seafaring staple foods.

Lorraine broke off a small piece and ate a little for herself, crushed it and spilled it so that the pigeons could eat a little too.

The pigeons soon gathered together and huddled around his bench, cooing and cooing so loudly that it was impossible to concentrate on self-pity.

Lorraine muttered to herself: "What else do you say to get it yourself, you can't even get on the boat right now, how can I take it?" ”

He laughed at himself, put away his bread and stood up, ready to do his best, when he suddenly saw a large crowd gathered in the fountain, like a vast number of pigeons gathered around him.

A voice rang out in the middle of the crowd.

"Ya...... The Artis Chamber of Commerce recruits senior seafarers who can sail ships, and also welcomes those who are interested in business to join the shares! I have a boat! There are big ships! ”