"What do you think?" Zhang Heng found Billy and Di Freina and told them about Karina, and there was no need to hide this matter for the core members of the ship, and there was no possibility of concealing it.

The quartermaster took the lead in speaking, "The matter of the Black Merchant Alliance is not a secret, I went to find a few friends this morning to inquire, what she said is basically in line with the facts, in this matter new captains and new ships like us are very at a loss, before the establishment of the Black Merchant Alliance, the price of the Sea Lion to sell loot is basically in the third range, our current strength may not be as good as the original Sea Lion, but the development potential is definitely greater, there is no problem in getting a third range of prices, But now I can only accept the bottom bracket, and I'm a little worried about the members' opinions. ”

Di Freina said more tactfully, and Billy was more direct, "We old people don't talk about it for the time being, the new recruits must be aiming for us to have a warship and make more money, but if they find that their hard-earned loot can't be bought at a good price, or lower than the income they deserve, they will definitely be dissatisfied, but now we can still control the situation, but if we want to continue to grow and develop, we will definitely have to compete with several other pirate groups on the island for talents, Until then, the issue of remuneration had to be resolved. ”

The helmsman paused, "Actually, there are already some people who have contacted our crew in private, they should be optimistic that the results of our first voyage to sea will not be too good, and they want to poach, and it is not only a matter of the purchase price of the trophy, but also ......"

"And I'm a captain who looks young and has little experience, and the first thing I did when I got power was to recruit a female boatswain to make everyone think I shouldn't be in this position for long." Zhang Heng helped Billy fill in what he wanted to say but didn't finish.

"That's pretty much what it means, we trust you, not only because you saved our lives, but also because of your composure and calmness in the face of crisis, you have proven that you can grow into a qualified captain on the way back to Nassau from Charleston, but others, they have not sailed with you, they will inevitably be suspicious of you, the current situation is not fair to you, other rookie captains usually have more time to prepare and run-in."

"Owning a warship is a perfect place to start, but it also makes us a target of criticism, and a lot of people on the island are waiting to see our jokes, and if we don't get a good result on our first voyage, we're going to have to lose people and have trouble recruiting good people." ”

…………

An hour and a half later, Billy and DuFreina walked out of the study, greeted Anne and Karina downstairs, and hurried away.

The latter was worried, she had basically told all the situation on her side last night, but Zhang Heng did not immediately express his position after hearing this, only said that he would discuss it with the crew.

So Karina didn't go back to the hotel, but simply stayed here for the night and waited for the results.

Zhang Heng was a little impressed by her, this girl had a good life since she was a child, according to herself, until her father's accident, she was no different from those ladies and ladies of high society, every day she participated in the ball, listened to the opera, or had some afternoon tea with a few girlfriends.

As a result, she found three stools to put together last night, and made do with them all night, but when she got up in the morning, there seemed to be something wrong with her neck, and she had rubbed the back of her neck all morning.

Waiting for the two to leave, Karina hurriedly and impatiently walked upstairs, she tidied up her clothes in front of the study, and Zhang Heng's voice happened to come from inside.

"Come in."

The businesswoman took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Zhang Heng's so-called study is very simple, there is only a table and a few stools in it, and the bookcase in the corner of the wall is still newly made before he went to sea last time, and now there is not a single book on it, but fortunately, the light is not bad, the afternoon sun spills in through the window, and falls on the shoulders of that figure, plating the ends of his hair with a layer of gold.

Zhang Heng was measuring the distance between the points on the nautical chart with a parallel ruler, and his appearance was not much different from the usual exercises in the library, which made Karina stunned.

She has been in Nassau for two months, and she has seen a lot of pirates, most of them are vulgar, the level of education is generally very low, and many times it is a little difficult to communicate, but the young man in front of her is obviously an exception, and she has already felt the clear logic and keen insight of the other party in the exchange between the two last night.

And now Zhang Heng is something she has never seen, if it weren't for the short musket hanging on his chest and the scar on his arm, it would be difficult for Karina to associate the figure in front of her with the pirate.

"The time has been set, and we will go to sea in three days." Zhang Heng's voice pulled her back to reality, Karina's heart thumped, now the situation on the island is different from the past, there are very few pirates who have the strength but have not joined the alliance, most of the remaining pirate equipment is very bad, and there are not enough people, basically can't grab anything too valuable, in other words, if Zhang Heng refuses her, then her trip to Nassau this time is tantamount to failure, not only may she lose her father, but also with the current family situation, there is only one way to go bankrupt.

"My helmsman and quartermaster suggested that we negotiate with the alliance to raise the price range, because they don't believe in your ability, if it is your father who is here now, they may still be willing to gamble, but your qualifications are indeed too shallow, you have not done anything like this before......" Zhang Heng's words made Karina fall into an ice cellar.

Although she was mentally prepared, Karina still felt that the world was spinning, and at this moment she was finally knocked down, and her whole person was wrapped in a deep sense of frustration, and she collapsed in her chair and sobbed.

After more than two months of busyness, but nothing was gained, when she saw the Jackdaw anchored in the harbor, she thought that there was finally hope, but she did not expect that it was ultimately disappointed, and at this time she only felt a kind of despair that had no way out.

Zhang Heng was a little sorry in his heart, but he had to do it, because choosing a future partner is a matter of caution for any captain, especially when Billy and Di Freina are not optimistic, he must know whether Karina is worth investing in.

The result was to his surprise, the businesswoman only collapsed for just half a minute before raising her head again, although her tears were still rolling in her eyes, but her eyes were no longer dazed and helpless, and seemed to have returned to the determination when she slept on the bench before, "There must be something else, is there anything else I can do right?" ”

"Well, if you can prove your abilities, I can convince my crew too." Zhang Heng pointed to the mark he had just made on the nautical chart, "Do you know where this is?" ”