In order to recruit enough crew, I had to "deign" to a low-end bar in Waterfall City, where I sat at a table with a few sailor-looking guys.

"You all look like you're all running boats, right?" I asked casually.

"Well, both. Friend, what about you? One of the people sitting across from me asked politely.

"Hehe, I'm also running a boat!" I replied.

"You don't look like it!" The man shook his head, pointed to his wrinkled face and said, "Although running a boat in the underworld is not like basking in the rain in the sun and the sea, but the wind blows too much, and the complexion will always be pale." Moreover, some of the yin winds blowing out of the tuyeres close to the yin veins are like knives, and you see my face has been cut one by one! ”

"Hahaha! That's right! ”

The others looked at me and smiled, all with teasing expressions, as if they thought I was lying, but there was no malice.

I was amused by him, and then explained: "It's true that my days of running ships are not long, and I am not a sailor, but a shipowner. ”

"Shipowner?" When the sailors heard this, they became even more interested, and they asked, "Which ship is yours?" ”

I pointed out the open window and said, "Now, that's the newest ship!" ”

The sailors poked their heads out curiously to look at it, and then they all nodded enviously and said, "Well, it looks like a good ship, it can carry a lot of cargo!" ”

I climbed up with the help of a pole and said, "My ship has just been built, and everything is new, but there is a shortage of manpower." Are you interested in getting on my boat? ”

The sailors laughed again and said, "Oh, it turns out that you, the big boss of the ship, have come here to recruit employees!" It's a pity, a few of us have an appointment, and now we are doing a good job on our respective ships, and we have no plans to change jobs for the time being. ”

I couldn't help but be a little disappointed when I heard it, but I still patiently asked: "You all have high qualifications, so are there any other colleagues who are still idle to introduce me?" ”

The sailors were also enthusiastic, and turned to help me find a target in the bar. Finally, someone pointed to the table in the innermost corner and said, "Go to that table and ask." I remember that those three guys had just terminated their contract with their former employer, and they happened to be idle and had nothing to do! ”

I looked over there and saw three sailors-like men, each holding a barmaid playing cards and gambling for money. One of them was tall, with a hooked nose, a cigarette in his mouth, and a meaty face. Well, it doesn't look like a good guy......

"How did I greet them in the past, do you know their names?" I asked.

"That Zigao's nickname is 'Hook', and the other two are his younger brothers. As long as you can get the hook right, the three of them will walk with you. Plus, the hook is well-connected, so you might be able to recruit more sailors! The zealous sailor replied.

"How's the hook running the boat?" I asked again.

"Hook used to be a boatswain on other ships, and he really didn't have the ability to run a boat, and he was definitely a ruthless character in managing people, fighting, and fighting water thieves, and he had done it on many large merchant ships, and he was a capable person."

"Why is such a good crew idle now, and no one invites him?" I wondered.

The people at the table all showed strange smiles at this time, and said, "We don't know the specifics." However, he spends money lavishly, and I'm afraid you can't afford to pay his salary! ”

Well, I can afford the high salary and treatment requirements, and as long as it is a person with outstanding ability, I am interested in recruiting it. As for the thorns, hey, did I encounter fewer thorns when I was an officer in the Yin Army?

So, I thanked him, got up and went back to the bar to grab a bottle of wine, and moved on to the hook table.

There were messy wine glasses on the table, a handful of playing cards and a bunch of Yin Yuan, and it was clear that they were playing against the landlord. The hook three while playing cards, while the mouth of the foul language constant, scratching the bad cards must scold a few words, holding a good card will also involuntarily burst out a foul mantra applaud. I saw that they were gambling vigorously, and I couldn't interject for a while, so I had to stand by and watch them play for a while.

"Hey, there's a guy here!" A barmaid sitting on the lap of the hook saw that I was standing and hadn't left, so she reminded me.

The hook finally looked up at me reluctantly, then frowned and asked vigilantly, "What are you doing?" ”

Whoever asks for something, must first do what he likes. Although I don't usually like to gamble, in order to catch up, I still pretended to say: "I see that you are gambling lively, can you add in to play two?" ”

"Who are you? Do you understand the rules? A horse boy sitting opposite the hook raised his chin and said impatiently: "Our hook brother never gambles with strangers, and wants to play cards at another table!" ”

Since the trick didn't work, I didn't bother to detour anymore, so I said to the hook straight to the point: "You're the hook, right?" I heard that you are now a freelancer, and you are quite famous in this industry, and I happen to have a boat, and I am also short of manpower, so I wanted to come and talk to you. ”

"Oh?" The hook seemed to feel a little surprised, put down the cards in his hand, looked me up and down with a pair of "eagle eyes", and asked, "Do you have a boat?" What ship? ”

When I saw that he was finally interested, I replied confidently: "Is it a cargo ship, or a new ship, with excellent performance and can run long distances." ”

"Which route? What kind of business do you do? The hook asked again.

"Generally, I travel between Giant Waterfall City and Hekou Town and Ghost Eating Forest, and occasionally I go to Thousand Island City and Snake Bay. It is mainly engaged in the business of ingredients, medicinal herbs and seafood. ”

"Eating the Ghost Forest?" The hook was surprised, "Why are you running so far away?" Isn't it possible to buy seafood in Estuary? ”

Since I wanted to pull him in, I couldn't hide this kind of superficial thing from him, so I said: "I now live in a fishing village outside the Ghost Eating Forest, where I specialize in purchasing and transshipment of special products from the Ghost Eating Forest." ”

"What about the boat, where does it usually stop?"

"Just stop at the dock in the fishing village!" I thought the hook question was a bit strange, but I answered it truthfully.

"Hahahaha!"

The hook suddenly looked up and laughed, and the other two ponies burst into laughter, and even the barmaid who accompanied the wine also covered her mouth and snickered, laughing so hard that I couldn't understand what they were laughing at.

"Hillbilly!" Hook finished laughing, and sneered with disdain: "You go, I won't go to that kind of country place!" ”

With that, the hook picked up the cards in his hand again and said to the two horses: "Come, leave him alone, let's continue to play." ”

I was stunned by his inexplicable taunt. Running a boat, you must be running around with the boat, why is it too far away?

Did he think that I was inexperienced as a new shipowner, or that I could not afford to pay a high salary since I came from a small place?

Capable people are generally more arrogant, and this hook is not only said to be very capable, but also has a wide network, and if you get him, you may be able to recruit more sailors through him. Perhaps, I'll have to show some more sincerity.

So, I relented and said, "There are many vacancies on my ship, and I have heard that you have worked as a boatswain on another ship before, and if you are willing to come, I can give you this position." ”

"Don't go!" The hook still shook his head and continued to play cards in his hand.

"Salary, treatment or something can still be discussed, my business will get bigger and bigger in the future, and naturally I can't treat you badly."

"!" The hook slammed the cards in his hand on the table, pointed at me and scolded angrily: "The hell Lao Tzu said that he couldn't go, and you still chattered like a mother-in-law!" Lao Tzu likes to spend all day drinking, what kind of shabby fishing village can you have besides salted fish? Lao Tzu is not rare to go at all! I don't want to give any amount of money! ”

The two horses also stood up and murdered me with a "bluff": "Get out!" Don't lose our hook brother's interest in playing cards, you want to be beaten when your skin is itchy, isn't it? ”

As soon as Hook and his horse shouted, the noise in the bar died down, and everyone turned their eyes to me and Hook in surprise.

I felt like I couldn't get up and down, and I looked at the two ponies angrily. What's that? If it weren't for the shortage of manpower on my ship now, I wouldn't have bothered to come over and fight this kind of person!

I clenched my fists hard, but finally resisted the urge to do it. He still has a wanted warrant on his back, and it is the first time he has come to Giant Waterfall City, so he really shouldn't cause trouble in such a strange place. So I put them off the hook, turned around and walked back to the bar with a black face, and sat down with the mocker.

"Boss, it seems that your conversation is not going well!" The mocker whispered.

I poured myself a glass of wine, raised my neck and took a sip before I said angrily: "These guys are all very big, and it seems that I am not recruiting employees, but as if I am inviting Bodhisattvas to come to the door!" ”

"Such an employee, even if he is recruited, it is difficult to serve the master!" The sarcastic ghost echoed in.

"Alas, I think that I used to manage hundreds of people under my command at the beginning, but now I can't even recruit a few sailors! It's really getting more and more back! ”

"Wow! Boss, do you still have this glorious history? Let me hear it in detail! I slipped out in a fit of rage, but the sarcastic ghost heard me and asked me with great interest.

But I didn't plan to tell it my details now, so I said, "Forget it, the hero doesn't mention the courage of the year." It's all in the past, and I'm mixed up like this now, and it's even more embarrassing to say it......"

The sarcastic ghost looked at me and smiled, "Boss, you are always so mysterious and secretive, you hide everything from me." ”

"I'm the boss, you're the boss?" I couldn't help but glare back at it and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense, and don't ask too much about irrelevant things!" ”

"Good, good!" The sarcastic ghost changed the subject back to me with great interest, and asked, "What do you say you can't do now, boss?" ”

"I don't know!" I replied angrily, "I'm annoying, wait for me to drink two cups and get off the fire first!" ”

I was drinking when a man came up to me, reached out and patted me on the shoulder, and said, "Hey! I heard you're recruiting sailors? It just so happens that I've been idle and have no work to do recently, so recruit me! ”