Chapter 17: Bob's Tavern
"What? You all know about Sword's affairs."
Goodman poured himself a glass of wine with a disappointed look on his face and brought it to his lips: "So you guys have heard about the big explosion, too?"
"Explosion?" Molly and Bayer pricked up their ears; they had never heard of an explosion.
Zhang Da also felt relieved. Uncle Goodman’s dock was closest to the scene of the incident, so the rumors should not be that outrageous.
Goodman suddenly became excited and drank the wine in the glass with a slurp: "Let me tell you, I was reinforcing the mast of a ship at that time, and suddenly I heard a loud noise. If that kind of power was gunpowder, I estimate that it would take at least this amount."
Mrs. Molly, however, was not interested in the amount of gunpowder used and pressed, “What happened next?”
"All the boatmen in the dock were so scared that they held their heads, wishing they could dig a hole and crawl into it. Only I finished the work at hand calmly. Who am I? I am Goodman. Thinking back to when I was young..."
Mrs. Molly patted him on the back: "Let's get to the point!"
"... Later I heard that the explosives had been planted long ago, and that brave and resourceful man deliberately lured Sword and his men, 300 people, there, and then detonated them, blowing all 300 people up into the sky!"
Mrs. Molly covered her mouth, and little Bair's eyes sparkled.
Tom also has a tendency to assimilate.
Zhang Da also hurriedly explained to them: "In fact, they hurt themselves... Then I took them to the naval base to exchange for the bounty, and then there was an accident on the way, which caused the explosion..."
He didn't say that he was responsible for the final explosion, so he couldn't explain the source.
As for the navy, they probably won't investigate further. It's just a criminal with a bounty of 8 million berries, it's not worth it.
After hearing this, the Goodman family's excited expressions cooled down.
Mrs. Molly tilted her head: "So ordinary."
Bayer tilted his head: "How lame."
Goodman tilted his head: "So boring."
Tom tilted his head and said, "Meow?"
Zhang Da also picked up Tom, kneaded him into a round shape and flattened him: "Tom, don't join in the fun ! I have tolerated you for a long time!"
“Meow meow meow…” Tom waved his paws and begged for mercy.
"In short, there is no such thing as a hero, nor do I have thirty or three hundred subordinates. I was just lucky enough to get a bounty. By the way, these are for you." Zhang Da also handed them the things he had prepared.
"Oh my, what a great apron!"
“This hat is so cool!”
"Isn't this the latest model of sumo panda sunglasses!" Goodman tried it on happily. He had been planning to buy a pair for a long time, but that part of the budget had been promised to Zhang Da as salary, so he wanted to wait until next month.
Mrs. Molly also noticed that the apron Zhang Tatsuya gave her and the hat Baier gave her were both Sumo Panda brand, and said worriedly, "Isn't this too expensive, Tatsuya-kun? Even if you get a lot of bounty, it's better not to spend it lavishly."
"It's okay, as long as you like it. Just think of it as a way to thank Uncle Goodman and Sister Molly for taking care of me during this period of time."
"Don't be so polite. It sounds like you're saying goodbye."
"Hey? Brother Tatsuya is leaving?" Bayer stopped fiddling with his new hat, obviously reluctant to let him go.
"Well, I plan to move out and buy or rent a store nearby. I've caused you a lot of trouble these days."
Zhang Da also always felt that the conditions that Goodman offered him, namely, 100,000 Baileys a month for working one hour a day, were too generous. It was called a job, but in fact, it was more like taking care of him.
Mrs. Molly was the same. She prepared everything for him, whether it was food, clothes, or various daily necessities. Many times, she was like an older sister taking care of her younger brother.
Although they were not related at all, this family was so kind that even Zhang Da felt ashamed.
It would have been fine if you had no other choice before, but now that you have a little capital, it’s not right to keep staying in someone else’s house, right?
Mrs. Molly wanted to persuade him to stay, but Goodman stopped her: "Okay, Molly, don't underestimate a man's determination to live independently!"
"but……"
Goodman waved his hand and said, "No need to be so rude. A man should be decisive when doing things. That's what I told Brother Tatsuya at the beginning, and it's still the same now. Now that you've made the decision, just do it!"
Bayer looked at Goodman with burning eyes.
"What's wrong, Bayer? Do you think something is wrong?"
"No, I just thought my dad was so handsome just now!"
“Hahaha!” Goodman lost his composure in an instant. “How can this be called handsome? I remember when I was young… I was a hundred times more handsome than I am now!”
"Okay, stop bragging." Mrs. Molly brought up the serious matter, "Is there anything specific that Tatsuya-kun wants to do?"
Zhang Da also said: "I haven't decided on this yet. I need to look around to see if there are any suitable stores. I also don't know what I can do with the money I have."
8.1 million Baileys sounds like a lot, but he has no idea how much he can do with it.
Goodman thought for a moment and said, "In that case, maybe you could go check out Bob's pub."
"Tavern?"
Goodman nodded. "Yes, it's the one Bayer often went to. Old Bob is almost seventy years old and wants to sell the pub and retire."
"But the tavern...can I run it well?" Zhang Da was mainly worried about the safety issue. Wouldn't it be more likely for pirates to cause trouble in the tavern?
"Old Bob has been able to run the business for so long, so there must be no problem with what you say!" Goodman said, "Most of the people who go there are shipwrights like us, and officials from the navy and the world government go there occasionally. No one will cause trouble."
Zhang Da was also a little tempted. He knew the tavern, which was located on the west side of Island 59. There were not many competitors such as restaurants and bars around it. Many boatmen liked to go there to have a drink and chat after get off work.
Zhang Da has been here for almost a month and has not heard of any trouble there. It seems to be a good place to go.
"How much would it cost to buy it?"
"At most 10 million Baileys, right?" Goodman said a price that even Zhang Da couldn't believe.
"So little? I heard that a sailboat can easily cost hundreds of millions of Baileys."
Goodman looked at him strangely. "Boats are different from houses. Every ship is the product of our hard work. We cannot afford even the slightest mistake. But for a tavern like Bob's, we can just send a few apprentices to build it."
“Uh…” Zhang Daye was speechless. Is the real estate in this world so worthless?
Goodman added: "Of course, fortresses like places where nobles live or naval bases are another matter."
