Chapter 436 I Want to Help
"Going to sea? Is there something urgent?" Zhang Da asked curiously. Ordinary people would not mention going to sea for no reason. It is too dangerous.
"Nothing, just that an old friend of mine may have run into some trouble recently, so I went to see him." Gragas looked like a gangster boss who had retired for many years and was about to come out to help his friend settle the matter.
Zhang Da also looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze: "I wonder if you are some retired pirate?"
Gragas said unhappily, "Have you seen my bounty?"
"That's not the case, otherwise we would have sent you in jail a long time ago." Zhang Da had heard that he was a powerful figure, but he had no idea what he was like, and he hadn't found any information from Shark Chili.
And since he has been able to operate so brazenly in the Sabaody Archipelago for so many years, it means there is nothing wrong with him. Otherwise, he is like Rayleigh, who has both problems and no problems. This is not something Zhang Da should be involved in. Besides, everyone is familiar with each other now, so it’s okay to just treat it as a joke.
"You've only become stronger after your trip to the sea." Gragas curled his lips, "If not for your original physique, when I was young, I could beat nine people with just my belly!"
"Wow, one against nine! I didn't dare to be so arrogant when I was on Summoner's Rift."
An old man and a young boy were talking nonsense at the door. They were just bragging, so they might as well brag first and talk about it later. Who cared what nonsense they were bragging about?
Rui Mengmeng came over and said, "Boss, we have finished counting everything."
Zhang Da also nodded and asked, "How much?"
Gragas gestured: "This number."
"The price has gone up?" Zhang Da still remembered the approximate price before. "It's inappropriate to rip me off right after we've met after so long, isn't it?"
"Even newspapers are going up in price now, so everything has to go up a bit?" Gragas said matter-of-factly. "You've already swept the entire criminal zone, so why would you be so fussy about such a small amount?"
Zhang Da also said confidently, "How much you earn and how carefully you spend your money are two different things. We're all so familiar with each other, why not give us a little discount? Even if it's just a small discount?"
"You really are... ah, got it." Gragas waved at the three little girls and stuffed a 500-Beli coin into each of them. "Here, here, I'll give you money to buy ice cream. Don't let this unscrupulous boss rob you!"
Seeing that Zhang Da did not stop them, the three children accepted the coins and said crisply, "Thank you, uncle!"
Although they are not short of this little money, they should be polite when expressing their gratitude to others.
Zhang Da waited until they collected the money before complaining, "You are too stingy."
"You said it's a better discount. It's already a discount. If you don't want it, just give it back to me." Gragas called his workers to leave.
"Wait a minute, give me another 500. I'm still a little girl!" Zhang Da also called out Xia Lulu after her transformation. It's good to be given free money, so don't be silly.
"..." This trip to Gragas cost me 2,000 Beli.
Xia Lulu, in human form, tossed the coin in her hand helplessly: "Five hundred Baileys, is that really worth it?"
"That profiteer uncle is very rich, so he will try to rip him off as much as he can." Zhang Da also said, "It's only because Tom knows Ye Yan, and Ye Yan's height is too high, otherwise I would dress them up as little girls and rip them off for another thousand Baileys."
Xia Lulu narrowed her eyes and said, "Please focus your attention on normal things."
"Okay, then before the opening, Teacher Xia Lulu can come and teach me flying magic?"
…
Amidst the hustle and bustle, the tavern finally reopened, and the sign that read "Tatsuya's Tavern" was hung back up.
Although not everyone wanted to work in the tavern, everyone still sat together in the lobby on the first day of opening. However...
"It's so quiet..." Weiwei was waiting at the door with a large tray in her arms, but no customers came for a while.
Ye Yan, dressed as a waiter, asked doubtfully, "Was this place really popular before?"
"Of course, if it weren't for the short business hours, it would be the most popular bar." Zhang Da thought about it and realized the problem. "Well... I think we forgot to advertise. I guess everyone doesn't know about the reopening yet."
"What should we do?" Jackie Chan asked, "How should we advertise here? Should we hand out flyers?"
"No, it's almost noon now. The government workers at GR 63 will come to eat and drink nearby." Zhang Da also said, "They are our regular customer group. There will be people there by then."
"Oh..." Everyone waited doubtfully.
Time passed minute by minute, Tom, who was lying on the bar, yawned, and spider webs almost formed on the bodies of other people, but there was still no one in the store.
Perona stretched and asked suspiciously, "Are you bragging? In fact, the tavern had no business before. Did Sister Altria catch pirates to support you?"
"Don't talk nonsense. The money we made from the tavern was enough for us to eat, wear and use before." Zhang Da was also puzzled. "What happened today? It's weird."
Weiwei, who was originally full of expectations, became listless. Was this a business failure? Did she lose money on the wine she bought today?
"Ha, I see." Ye Yan's expression became interesting, "Those World Government staff that I always mentioned probably won't be here anytime soon."
Everyone's eyes were focused on him, and Zhang Da also asked, "What's going on?"
Ye Yan said: "I asked Qi Yao to go out and investigate. Thanks to us, those officials have been very busy these days and have no time to drink."
"Is it related to us, because of those prisoners?" Zhang Da also said, "Weren't they all handed over to the navy to deal with? What does it have to do with them?"
Ye Yan explained: "It didn't matter at first, but we caught more and more, and released more, which was almost equivalent to covering the island in the future. The illegal area is almost becoming a normal area."
"Although this is not what some people want to see, things have already developed to this point and they can only accept it with a pinch of their nose. In addition, they have to find ways to govern the situation, such as sending sheriffs, so they are very busy."
"So, we did a great thing?" Weiwei became happy. She also had a contribution here. She used her ability to help catch many people.
Jackie Chan said: "For ordinary people, it should be a good thing to restore an orderly life. At least we don't have to worry about a shell suddenly flying in from the window."
Two groups of pirates fighting in the street, shells hitting houses, etc., are commonplace in the lawless area. Even when Zhang Daye captured Fuzifu, if Fuzifu had not wanted to run away at first, and was caught up by Zhang Daye just when he ran to the border between the two islands, who knows how many houses would have been demolished in the fight between the two.
Zhang Da also sighed: "I just didn't expect that this could trick me. Apart from this, everything is good."
"That's great." Weiwei was no longer sad. After knowing that her previous actions had a positive impact on ordinary people, Weiwei became full of energy. She also clumsily comforted Zhang Da not to be discouraged and that business would get better.
Zhang Da also touched her head with a helpless look. He would not be so upset about such a small matter. Now the nature of opening a tavern was basically for fun, to find something for everyone to do. If they really wanted to earn money for food, they might as well go to the sea to hunt sea beasts.
"Okay, everyone, do what you need to do. Just leave a few people here to watch. The others don't have to wait."
Everyone dispersed. Shark Chili and Jackie Chan went to the yard to practice martial arts. Altria took a bamboo sword and went to the yard. Ye Yan took two bananas and went back to take a nap.
Wendy and Zhang Da also went to practice magic together. Perona took out the flying chess and asked Tom to play with her, and called Kalu to join in. Vivi took Xia Lulu to wait for guests at the door, and Rui Mengmeng volunteered to stay and look after them.
The business hours at noon passed quickly, during which only a few customers came here and there. They were all old customers of the tavern. They saw the familiar tavern open and decided to come in and sit down.
It was not until they saw Tom lying on the counter playing flying chess with Perona and secretly cheating when throwing the dice that they were sure that Tom was the same Tom and that the interesting tavern was back.
And... we have the princess of Alabasta and the cat-eared beautiful girl to entertain us!
The princess of Alabasta sent us wine! Even the words "welcome" when we entered the door were particularly pleasant to the ears. They felt that they could brag about this for the rest of their lives, but when they walked out the door, they were a little worried that they would be assassinated by someone sent by the king of Alabasta.
But I can’t care about so much now, I’ll just go brag first!
Weiwei was a little dazed holding the banknotes in her hand: "I clearly paid for the wine, why are you giving us extra money?"
Xia Lulu also had a copy in her hand. She explained, "It's a tip, probably to show that they recognize our work."
After the business hours
Regarding Weiwei's intention to hand over the money, Zhang Da also said, "Keep it for yourself. From now on, all the money earned from running the pub will be used as pocket money for you. Whoever works can get a share of the money, and those who don't work will get no share."
Perona, who had been playing for the whole afternoon, was a little tempted. She lost two bags of chocolate beans to Tom in a chess game. If she wanted to buy more, she would have to wait until tomorrow to get her pocket money. If she could earn it herself... Seeing that Vivi and Xia Lulu seemed very relaxed at noon today, why not go and help?
But I've already refused before! It's so embarrassing to say I want to go now!
If she doesn't go, Wendy and Weiwei will have to treat her when she goes out to play next time. She is obviously the oldest one, so it would be embarrassing!
Perona was in a dilemma.
"Oh hahaha~~" Tom was flipping through a joke book, laughing and throwing chocolate beans into his mouth.
The laughter and the sound of chocolate chips being chewed hit Perona's heart like hammers.
Damn it, it's embarrassing, the worst that can happen is that I'll be laughed at by the black-hearted boss, earning some pocket money is more important. But it would be better to wait until Weiwei and the others are too busy to ask her for help, so that she can join without embarrassment, um, this is a good idea.
It was soon evening, and the pub opened again after everyone had dinner.
Zhang Da suddenly remembered something, rummaged through the inventory, and took out the piano: "Tom, I haven't played it for a while, can you play a piece?"
Tom became interested, quickly changed into a tuxedo and sat down on the piano bench.
Tom is completely different in a tuxedo, and his every move exudes elegance.
After a brief sound check, Tom straightened his tie and officially began to play.
The soft and gentle sound of the piano sounded, the melody was relaxed and uplifting, and everyone listening to the performance felt as if they saw a girl singing softly, pouring out her beautiful thoughts like flowing water.
Almost no one at the scene understood that Tom was playing Chopin's "Nocturne in E-flat major", but almost everyone could understand the emotions in the piece. This is a superb performer who can communicate with people through the piano.
Tom himself was also immersed in it, with a very focused expression on his face.
When the song ended, Tom stood up and bowed. Everyone belatedly started applauding and gave him praises without reservation.
Xia Lulu couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect Tom to look so handsome when he plays the piano seriously."
Piano master Tom was instantly defeated, and he stuck out his tongue in joy. He ran to Xia Lulu and kissed the back of her hand, then ran back to the piano bench and began to show off his skills.
How about playing with hands, feet, tail, or even dancing on the keys with your feet...
He went from being a piano master full of temperament to a funny guy who kept showing off to attract girls' attention.
Xia Lulu covered her face: "Just pretend I didn't say that."
Zhang Da couldn't help laughing out loud. Actually, Tom had a lot of talents. He could easily flirt with the little female cat by showing any one of them seriously. However, he always made a fool of himself when he got excited, or was disrupted at the critical moment, which made him often end up in a thankless position.
"Tatsuya-kun's tavern is really open!"
"I hear a piano! Is that Tom coming back?"
"Go in and take a look!"
There was a noisy sound outside the door, apparently a few guests at noon had done the tap water.
Weiwei and Xia Lulu hurried to the door, leaned forward slightly, and said in unison: "Welcome!"
"Ah, you, are you the legendary princess of Alabasta?" The guest who came in was surprised.
"Yes, but I'm just a waiter now." Weiwei was almost used to being asked this question, "What would you like to order?"
"Oh, um, a pitcher of beer, thank you!" The guest was a little flattered.
Weiwei and Xia Lulu got busy, and Rui Mengmeng also came to help.
Ye Yan's waiter attire finally came in handy, and he was very skilled in taking orders and serving dishes.
It's just that the customer he was serving looked at him with a hint of disgust, which made him so angry that he wanted to hit the customer with a hammer.
Perona held her chin in front of the counter, watching Vivi and the others busying around, expecting them to call her for help.
Maybe because Xia Lulu praised him, Tom kept playing the piano in a fancy way.
The guests' attention began to be attracted by Tom, and they cheered loudly and asked for more food and drinks. More and more people came in to see Tom even if there were no seats.
Xia Lulu wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Weiwei, "There are so many people here, I can't handle it all..."
Perona looked at her expectantly, ready to agree reluctantly.
Xia Lulu continued, "Why don't I go get Wendy to help?"
With a thud, Perona fell onto the counter, leaving a red mark on her forehead.
"Hey, Perona, you're here too? Can you help call Wendy? I'm a bit stuck here."
Perona: “…”
I want to help!
