Chapter 3: The Harbor

Two mountains on the left and right stretched out from the sea, like arms embracing the ocean. Between the two mountains, a long beach stretched out, looking like a golden snake floating on the green waves. There was a lot of foam on the shore, gently pushed by the sea waves. The foam gathered more and more, piling up in strands, looking like a silver snake and a golden snake entangled with each other.

The harbor under the scorching sun was very busy with people coming and going. Five three-masted sailing ships and more than ten two-masted sailing ships were docked at the four rows of stone piers. It was not completely packed, but it was a bit congested. However, the entry and exit of merchant ships were still smooth. A crane with a stone base and a wooden handle on the pier was lifting a huge net from a three-masted sailing ship. Inside the net were bales of straw. The workers controlling the crane turned the winch with great effort. Wooden barrels were rolled down one by one from the wooden planks connecting the ship to the pier, and dockworkers stopped them with pry bars.

One of the piers extended the furthest into the sea. At the end of the pier stood a tall stone tower. On the tower, there was a large fire pit and two copper plates connected at a ninety-degree angle. The wheels under the copper plates were placed on iron rails surrounding the fire pit. Two guards holding long spears stood by the fire pit, looking back and forth into the distance.

The surveyor was using a leather tape to measure how much space the ships occupied on the pier. The Tax Collector and his tax clerks were counting the unloaded cargo. The porters pushed or carried the cargo to the temporary warehouses by the pier or to the cargo wagons inside the harbor. The scorching sun baked the earth. Everyone who was not in the shade was sweating profusely.

At this moment, George had just stepped off the wagon.

“Click-clack, click-clack.” After stretching his limbs, George walked straight towards a two-story small building inside the harbor.

The guard in front of the small building saw George and quickly walked up, placing his right fist on his left chest and bowing: “Lord, welcome to Morbihan Port.”

George returned the greeting: “Is Port Officer Baroman here?”

“Mr. Port Officer seems to have just gone out because of a dispute between merchants. Please go inside and rest for a moment. I will arrange for someone to tell him you have arrived.”

George walked through the hallway and went directly to the second floor. At the end of the corridor on the second floor was the Port Office. Unlike the offices at City Hall, the Port Office looked more like a reception room. Besides the desk and chairs, there were also benches, small tables, and cabinets for guests. George casually opened the cabinet, took out a glass, and poured himself a cup of water.

“Sir, why did you only just return? Lord has been here for a long time. Did John not find you in time?” Before the entrance of the Port Office, the guard said to a short, fat man wearing bright silk clothes.

“Little Tom, John found me long ago. But I had to finish the matters at hand before I could return.” The fat man smoothed his hair, which had been messed up by the hurried journey.

“But won’t Lord get impatient waiting? What if he gets angry?” Guard Tom was a bit worried.

“Tom, you have been here for too short a time to really understand Lord’s character.” He said, adjusting his clothes to cover his slightly exposed belly. “Lord always prioritizes work. If I had interrupted my work and returned directly just now, I would have made him angry.”

“Tom! Look, is my appearance okay?” He said, spinning quickly with his fat body.

“No—no—no problem, Sir, but you must take the feathers off your back first.” Tom rubbed his stiff face with his hand.

“Then help me take them off. I don’t know if they are from a sea bird or cargo from the ship.” He said, gesturing for Tom to help.

“Work hard, Little Tom. You will find that the job you are doing now has a very bright future.” After confirming there would be no more mistakes, Baroman patted Tom on the shoulder and hurried upstairs.

George sat on the bench and waited for about one-third of a Magic hour. Not wanting to waste time, he began to sit and regulate his breath as soon as he sat down. He calmed his mind, relaxed his whole body, and breathed evenly and smoothly. He inhaled in nine sections, with each section entering the aperture; he exhaled in three parts, with each part retaining the rhyme. Slowly, a pagoda appeared in George’s mind. The tower looked like a bamboo shoot, thin and tall, with a roof-like top. The ancient pagoda was hexagonal, with four smooth and sturdy red lacquered pillars on each side. The snow-white pagoda wall was embedded with six round doors. There was also a strangely styled mural on the doors. Inside the tower, there was a large altar.

Each corner of the pagoda’s floors extended outward, and under the stone dragon heads looking up, small bronze bells were hung. It seemed as if a clear breeze blew, and the bells rang with a tinkling sound. On the wall of this Chinese-style pagoda made of green bricks and blue tiles, there were actually Western-style stained glass windows. Whether there were other Western elements, George could not tell at the moment. This weird mix of styles was really puzzling.

Just when George wanted to explore the pagoda further, a sudden feeling told him to stop his current action. Since he started practicing cultivation, this feeling had appeared and became sharper and more accurate over the years. It must be Baroman returning.

George stopped regulating his breath and opened his eyes. Before even a hundred ticks had passed, Port Officer Baroman had already stepped into the office door.

“Welcome, Lord, to inspect our port.” Baroman bowed, but his belly was so fat that bending down was difficult, making the scene quite funny.

“Alright, Baroman! You make it too hard for yourself every time you bow. Didn’t Father say that we don’t need to bow when there are no outsiders?” George waved his hand.

“Although Lord Viscount said that, it is not easy to change years of habit. Besides, if we change it and forget to bow in front of others later, people will talk about us, which would be even worse.” Baroman stood a bit stiffly.

“Never mind, you always have an excuse. Just sit down quickly. I feel tired just watching you stand.”

Baroman dragged a chair over and sat down heavily. The wooden chair creaked. The chair legs, which were slightly slanted outward, seemed to lean even more.

“Let’s talk about business first. A couple of days ago, you sent someone to notify me that the stone pier was not enough. It seems the growth of cargo in the port recently is a bit abnormal. Theoretically, it shouldn’t be this fast. Do you know what’s going on?” George took a sip from his cup to moisten his throat.

“It seems to be the reason of pirates. There were pirates on a section of the southward route. In these few months, many ships have been attacked. The harbors between us and the attack area are mostly too small to hold many ships, so we got a lucky break. Now many ships are unloading at our port.” Baroman explained.

“So that means this is an uncertain factor. If the pirates are wiped out, the number of ships coming to our port will drop immediately. By then, the new pier might not even be built. Will the new pier be left idle once it is built?” George tapped the table in front of him with his finger. “Building a new pier costs at least 5,000 Gold Coins. I do not want this money to yield no return. After all, the construction of the Territory needs a large amount of funds, so I hope you have a relatively complete plan to ease my doubts.”

“In fact, a few months ago, the pier already showed a trend of being insufficient, but because it was uncertain, I did not decide to report it. I have been busy with this matter these past few months. In recent months, many Merchant Guilds that had never come to our place before, like ‘Lucky Coin’ and ‘Ivy Federation’, have arrived.” Baroman said, then suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, George stood up, took a water jug and a glass from the cabinet, poured a cup, and handed it to Baroman: “Don’t be nervous. Drink some water first, think carefully, and speak slowly.”

Baroman took the cup with his thick and short fingers and drank a large gulp with both hands. The room became quiet for a moment. Soon, the peace was broken: “Later, four of these Merchant Guilds found that they could actually transport more of their cargo from our port as a transit point, which was better than their original trade routes. They hoped to open new trade routes here. According to the shipping volume they provided, the berths reserved for the original pier were already a bit tight. Plus, some ship fleets hoped to make a stop for supplies at our pier. Calculating this, if we do not build a new pier, the existing berths in the port will be completely insufficient.”

George rubbed his chin and thought for a while: “I will arrange the matter of the pier as soon as possible. Tomorrow, City Hall will start a feasibility survey and draw up a budget. The Guild’s craftsmen have already been contacted, but if construction starts, the earliest it can begin is after the autumn harvest.”

“No problem. As long as those merchants know that a new pier will be built here, there will be no problem. After all, good trade routes and supply points are not easy to find.” Baroman put down the cup and rubbed his hands.

“By the way, Baroman, how much information do you have about the pirates? Although the current situation is favorable to us, it is hard to guarantee it won’t become a threat in the future.” George said with some worry.

“The place where pirates are active is about half a month’s sea journey away from us. Also, the trade routes are not very smooth now, and the news is not as fast as before. However, there are no reports of the port being attacked for now. But news has come from The South that some Lords organized a joint fleet to wipe out the pirates but failed. Whether this is true or not is still unclear.” Baroman said, and sweat began to appear on his head.

“Failed to wipe out the pirates? We must find out whether they simply could not find the pirates or if they lost the sea battle. If they lost the sea battle, that will be troublesome.” George spoke with a heavier tone, and his expression was much more serious than before. “For the next while, intelligence on this matter is the top priority of our work. Of course, I will also arrange other channels to gather news on this, but the port has a natural advantage in this regard. Do not disappoint me.”

“I understand. I will try my best to pay attention to news on this matter.” Baroman immediately began to express his determination.

“Although there is no definite news about the pirates yet, let’s raise the defense level of the port by one grade first, just in case something unexpected happens.” George raised his right hand, but halfway up, as if remembering something, he put it down. “By the way, what happened at the port this morning that required you to handle it personally?”

“Sigh! It’s still the matter of the berths. It has been like this these days. The key is that the ones arguing are all big Merchant Guilds. Who does not have power behind them? Besides, there are many past grievances between those Guilds, so mediating them is really troublesome.” Baroman couldn’t help but complain.

“Alright, you have worked hard these days. Anyway, you will get a share when the new pier is built.” George said casually.

“How dare I, Sir!” Baroman quickly denied.

“Never mind, let’s not talk about this. It is already noon. Let’s have a meal together.” George extended an invitation. “It is a great honor, Sir!” Baroman agreed immediately.