"I have never sung praises to God."

"But today, here, in Lucy, who belongs to us, allow me to praise Him with all my heart."

"He created this wonderful festival for us, He defined the beauty and goodness of the world for us, He made us understand the warmth of home, so we will cross the ocean and meet here."

"May wealth and glory always accompany us, may we sail smoothly on the seas, may we have no regrets today and the day to come, until we are called by our respective Lords, and may we not forget our youth."

"Young man......"

Lorraine raised her glass, and the crowd chanted in unison

"It's enough to have a future, what do you want money for!"

"To our future!"

"To our Admiral!"

"Merry Christmas!"

“Merrychristmas！”

……

Under the graceful and lilting waltz, Carmen and her father dance on the dance floor.

Spain has no shortage of dancers, let alone Carmen, who is a decathlon. Her dance steps have a smell as warm as water, and her slender neck is like a swan, calm and quiet, flowing with the waves.

Under her guidance, intentionally or unintentionally, even if her father's dancing skills are not good, he still shines in the center of the dance floor.

And with such an excellent opening, soon Clen and his younger sister, Acharin and Cecilia, Pierce and his little cousin went off one after another.

Madame Judea instigated Bell to offer Aophee a courageous invitation, and Aoife reluctantly accepted, and the two walked onto the dance floor together.

The skirt blooms, and the flowers are in full bloom.

Ramos, who had come all the way from Southampton, smiled and leaned over to Lorraine.

"The opening dance is routinely led by the host, and your sudden assignment to Carmen seems to have scared Mr. Xavier."

"It's a family feast, and it's a reunion feast. While social avoidance is inevitable, I at least hope it doesn't turn out to be the whole of Golden Night. It's ...... you."

"What's wrong with me?"

"Obviously, my beautiful wife and two young children are by my side, why are you coming to me if you don't accompany them?"

"Uh......" Ramos looked embarrassed, "my chairman, you don't really think that Eddie and I have traveled across the Atlantic just to have a good party, do you?" ”

"Three days after the annual meeting, the daylight of that day is the time for work, settlement and budgeting."

"That's why I need your opinion, in addition to my superiors and subordinates, you and Carmen are my most trusted partners."

Lorraine shrugged: "It seems that it was a mistake to let her lead the dance." ”

"It's a big mistake." Ramos smiled, "This year, two Briggs have been added to the Northwest of Europe to run the ocean, and four Snacoo have been added to the sea, and the business has grown greatly." ”

"At the end of the year, the profit can climb to 50,000, of course, 10,000 in the form of interest-free loans to the Caribbean, I think you already know."

Lorraine tilted his head and thought: "I thought it was twenty thousand, and I didn't know or approve of Wuxi." ”

"Left pocket out right pocket?"

"Left and right are only for the General Chamber of Commerce, and for your chapter, they are two pockets."

No wonder Eddie didn't approve of lending money to Chuck at the time. Parker. Ramos suddenly realized, "Straight to the point." I took stock of all 14 terminals and prepaid orders, and prepared to keep 30% for the budget, and put the rest into this year's dividend. ”

"Forty thousand...... Seventy out of ...... Twenty-eight thousand ......" Lorraine sipped his wine, frowned and groaned for a long time, "You know that there will be no dividends in the Caribbean this year, right?" ”

Ramos was a little surprised: "The Caribbean has been established for less than a year, Chuck. Parker's style of business is bold and risky. How can Ou Northwest refer to him for execution? Directors...... In fact, is your fleet flat? ”

Lorraine said that they really couldn't look down on the eight or nine hundred pounds full of blood and sweat, but their faces could show it, and they only smiled faintly.

"There was a lot of solidarity on board. Guided by hope, a year or two of unpaid labor is not a big deal for the elite, who have their own channels of earning. ”

"Really?"

"What are you lying to you for?" Lorraine seriously suggested, "I hope that you will propose a non-dividend proposal, and then the money left behind can be handed over to Clen, who has shipyard connections and can help you order a top-notch high-speed Galen Class 5 ship." ”

"Top?"

"Verse 12, verse 3 and a half. The New World's understanding of high-speed sailing is extraordinary, and I think they will become the mainstream of armed merchant ships for the next thirty years. ”

"Class 5 ship...... And it's a high-speed fifth-class ......" Ramos took a deep breath, "Is it really necessary to configure a fifth-class ship in the northwest of Europe?" ”

"Of course, there is no need for a pure Northwest Europe, even if you add the Baltic Sea or even the Mediterranean, a fifth-class ship will not be a very good choice."

"Because the density of warships there is too high, and the sea is too small, no matter whether it is troubled or peaceful, only Class 5 ships will not make our caravan safer."

Lorraine shook her glass and looked at the wine hanging on the wall, looking confused.

"But our tentacles have reached the New World, and we will go to Africa and Asia in the future."

"The main enemy of ocean trade is pirates, and destroyers are the nemesis of pirate ships. Having one or two high-speed Tier 5 ships in your fleet can help you reduce your trade losses and give your sailors more confidence, which is a lucrative investment in the long run. ”

Ramos was a little moved, and struggled for a while: "One or two? ”

"Let Clen arrange the tail of the hand, drive to Bridgetown to hang up the license, and you will directly bring the seafarers to the New World to pick up the ship, and return to Southampton to change into elite sailors."

"But a ship of destroyers alone will cost at least twenty-five thousand ......"

"It's your problem." Lorraine raised his glass and touched Ramos, "You added two Brig and four Skuna this year, which is about the same as a destroyer in terms of cost." ”

"I'll have to talk to Eddie and talk to Clen together...... Ramos smacked his lips, "By the way, what's Carmen and Karen's relationship?" ”

"Probably a little better than Acharin."

"An old friend is like an enemy?"

Lorraine couldn't help but laugh: "Even Acharin and Karen are not to the level of enemies!" ”

"Not the problem, not the problem." Ramos stomped his foot, looking irritated, "Damn, do I need a gift for Clen!" ”

When the old song ended, the new song began again, and the hideous-looking Ramos was dragged onto the dance floor by the frightened lady, and Karen, who had returned his sister, gathered with Carmen and Wang to talk and laugh.

"What were the two elders talking about?" Carmen asked.

"We talked about two things." Lorraine organized the language, "One of them is about why you and Clen can't always form a friendship. ”

Carmen hid her mouth and chuckled: "Because I saved him money and bought his beloved shipyard cheaply." What about the other one? ”

"On how to normalize trade between chapters, including Northwest Europe, the Caribbean, and Boston."

Clen's eyes lit up: "Boston can enter the general trade system now?" ”

"It's just a few more formalities. It's the equivalent of smuggling ships, and it's not too much of a problem in the lawless New World. ”

Talking nonsense, chatting, Lorraine sincerely praised the dancing skills of Clen and Carmen, and stared at Wang Ye with some hatred.

"Wang Ye, you don't want to dance at all? Like Dylan's eldest daughter, Monica? ”

Wang also sighed and suddenly changed to Chinese.

"Head, I'm homesick."

"Huh?"

"You probably don't know that foreigners have a family reunion at Christmas, and we also have our own New Year, which is also a reunion. Lion dance and firecrackers, lively and lively......"

"What the hell are you trying to get?" Lorraine unconsciously changed to Chinese, and his face was not very good-looking, "Want to resign?" Want to leave the team? At this time? ”

Wang was also stunned for a while: "Where do you want to go......

"And what do you mean?"

"In Boston, don't those folks have their own community...... They were going to have a New Year's holiday, just before the end of January, and I wanted to take a leave of absence to see ......."

Now it was Lorraine's turn to be stunned: "That's it?" ”

"A few thousand pounds a month...... I'm crazy and resign now! ”

OkayTM makes sense......

Lorraine looked at Wang Ye speechlessly, then at Karen and Carmen, who looked curious, and hurriedly cleared his throat and changed to English.

"Karen, I wanted to ask you to take a trip to Boston in January. Looking at it now, the war with Cotton Jack is imminent, I'm afraid I can't get out, and if you go again, Catalina will be missing the rotation. ”

"I am going to let the king go on the Cyclops, with sixty thousand pounds with him, part of which will be paid off by the shipyard, and the rest will be used for the construction of the Valkyrie. If you have anything to explain in the past few days, you can also entrust it to Wang Ye. ”

The topic switched bluntly, and Karen reacted for a long time before asking, "Captain, have you decided?" ”

"This is the result of comprehensive consideration, and when I have my hands free, if you want to go to the shipyard, I can give you three months off."

"A word?"

"You know I'm not a liar." After getting rid of Clen, Lorraine turned his head to Wang Ye, "What about you?" Can you do it? ”

Naturally, the king was overjoyed.

"I'll definitely send the gold coins safely to the shipyard's safe!" Wang also solemnly promised, "But...... Captain, may I make another request? ”

"What?"

"I want to recruit some Chinese sailors ......"

"Are you serious?" Lorraine's brow furrowed, "Don't forget, most of them have no sailing experience, and they can't communicate with other sailors properly. ”

"I'm in charge of teaching them! Deck, sail handling, galley, and guns and simple shots, and languages! ”

Lorraine's brows still did not loosen: "Let me ask again, are you serious?" ”

Wang also sighed softly.

"Captain, there is a saying in the rivers and lakes, when you go out and rely on your friends, you can save someone's life and win a seventh-level floating slaughter."

"Those are two sentences."

"Uh...... In short, I can't stand the fact that the fellows are living like this. ”

Seeing Wang Ye's serious and expectant expression, Lorraine lowered his head and thought for a long time.

"First, until the language is cleared and approved by the foreman, they are all counted as probationary periods, and their annual income shall not exceed ten pounds, and there is no pension."

"Second, because they are smuggled into the ship, they are only employed by road markers until the smuggling is over, and no matter how good their performance is, they are not allowed to sign long-term contracts. After the smuggling is completed, it will be disposed of in the Chamber of Commerce. ”

"Third, they can't know about us in any way, and if they do, you're responsible."

"Fourth, the number of people should not exceed 30, the age should not be more than 25, there should be no physical and intellectual disabilities, and there should be no mutual grudges."

"Fifth, everyone should learn at least English and get started in two positions."

"Sixth, after admission, you will redeem their deed of sale at your own expense, and if you have family members, your family members will also redeem them, and you can temporarily help in the shipyard. As for the deed of sale, it is up to you whether you keep it or not. ”

"If you promise these seven ......"

"I promise!"

"Since you promised......," Lorraine shrugged indifferently, "Karen and Caterina will take care of the checks." ”

"Yes!"