## Chapter 2082: Selling Goods
“Is it always this bad here?” Mr. Zhang frowned and asked. The simple folk here made him feel like bandits and peasant armies from his country were moral exemplars.
“It would be better at the pirate crew’s own stronghold and on their ships, as that’s where they live. As for here, I suggest you bring some weapons; it can prevent a lot of trouble,” said a pirate first mate.
“Alright, grab some weapons,” Mr. Zhang said. He preferred to use his fists and feet, but he had also practiced swordsmanship, and quite skillfully at that. I was once saved by his swordsmanship on the Sturgeon No. 3.
These Qing people also had scimitars and firearms tucked into their waists. Now they looked like proper pirates. As we continued forward, there were far fewer people trying to make trouble.
Our first stop was a pawnshop in Smelly Fish Alley. It was indeed quite smelly, as there were many fish markets in the alley. However, once inside the shop, incense was burning, so it didn’t smell bad.
It was a seemingly ordinary little shop. A brass railing separated the counter from the outside. In cabinets on both sides were placed some wine, coins, handicrafts, etc. It looked very simple, just a normal pawnshop.
The pawnshop owner looked like a bearded old man. He must have been quite strong in his youth, with tearing scars on his arm. He wasn’t dressed richly either. We felt he was just an ordinary small boss. Could he really accept our goods?
“Welcome, guests,” he said, glancing up as our group entered. He didn’t seem bothered, but I knew he had several guns hidden behind his counter.
“Boss, do you accept large-volume goods?” a Gluttony Believer asked, speaking in authentic Nordic and pirate slang.
The reason we came to the Misty Island, besides the fact that pirate captains like Aniya had been here before, was this. One of the Gluttony Believers also frequently visited the Misty Island.
His family had been fishermen on the northern shore of the Holy Roman Empire for generations. He was born with an unusual appetite and liked to eat raw fish, not sliced sashimi with soy sauce, but raw and whole, scales included. He would vomit if he ate cooked food, somewhat like a ghoul.
Consequently, he was driven out of his village, accused of being possessed by a demon. His unique characteristic naturally attracted the Church of Gluttony, and with no other recourse, he joined the church decisively.
After joining, his peculiar appetite was cured, and he could eat anything now. Although he had to eat a lot of it, he fell into financial crisis.
The church he joined was a small local branch. It had no formal sacrificial activities, nor any industries. Its believers all supported themselves, and most of them had legitimate identities and professions.
Since he had been a fisherman since childhood and was good at swimming, he became a sailor. Then, by chance, he joined pirates with a captain and mixed with several pirate crews, eventually living on the Misty Island.
When I gathered Gluttony Believers familiar with the seaside, I unexpectedly found this guy who was familiar with the Baltic Sea situation, spoke Nordic languages like Norwegian and Swedish, and was well-versed in pirate rules. It was like discovering treasure.
Even Captain Aniya and the other three pirate captains had entered the Misty Island before, but there was a time difference of decades. They didn’t understand many changes or the current situation. However, this man was a true pirate expert, a surviving old hand, and knew the industry’s situation like the back of his hand.
During our training period, he had been explaining the changes in the current pirate market to other captains and first mates, helping them understand the situation.
After we decided on the route to sell the plundered goods on the Misty Island after robbing a Russian ship, this pirate Gluttony Believer was responsible for the communication.
The shop owner looked up and asked slowly, “Large-volume commodities? How much?”
“Five thousand tons, approximately oil, coal, weapons, and some miscellaneous items,” said the pirate Gluttony Believer.
“Some miscellaneous items” is a very common term here, as ship robberies would always yield a lot of miscellaneous items, which would eventually be sold as a batch under the guise of “miscellaneous goods.”
“Hiss, you’ve pulled off a big one,” the shop owner said, looking at us with some surprise. Looting over a thousand tons of goods at once was a very good haul, let alone scarce items like coal and oil.
“Then I won’t say more, and please keep it a secret, boss. Just tell us if you can accept it, and if so, give us a price,” the pirate Gluttony Believer said.
“You come to me for a transaction, it’s understandable. I can keep my mouth shut, and I have the ability to get rid of it. Coal is seventeen silver coins per ton, oil is twenty-five silver coins per ton. I’ll need to see weapons and miscellaneous items in person before I can appraise them,” the shop owner said.
“Too low, this price is unacceptable,” the pirate Gluttony Believer immediately said. We truly didn’t care about the price, but we couldn’t be treated like lambs to the slaughter or fools, especially not to show that we were in a hurry to sell the goods.
“It’s not low. Sea trade is like that. I still need to figure out transportation, sales, and how to launder the goods so the owner doesn’t find out. These are all costs,” the old man shook his head, unwilling to increase the price.
“Tsk! The market price for oil is from eighty to one hundred and twenty gold coins, and coal is from thirty to fifty silver coins. You’re pushing the price down to less than half. Who can accept that?” the Gluttony Believer said.
We had checked the market price before coming. Although prices fluctuated in different regions due to exchange rates and production, oil, coal, and other resources were scarce in the Scandinavian Peninsula, and the prices could only be high, not low. His price cut was too absurd.
“I also have to bear the risk of selling the goods, as well as the fee for keeping quiet. I can increase it to twenty for coal and thirty for oil at most. This is already a conscientious acquisition price,” the shop owner said.
He had originally intended to offer a low price first, then bargain with both sides, leaving room for negotiation. The final transaction price would not be too high.
Unexpectedly, the other party directly said, “Okay, although we’re taking a slight loss, it’s still acceptable. Let’s consider it a good start to our cooperation. It’s a deal.”
“What?” The shop owner was stunned instead. He thought the other party would negotiate further, and he still had some room to maneuver. He didn’t expect them to accept immediately; it was completely beyond his expectations.
“I said, it’s a deal. Boss, you can prepare the gold coins and head to Pier 30. Cash on delivery. Remember to bring more people to unload the cargo; we won’t help with transportation,” said the Gluttony Believer.
“Oh, oh, okay. Happy cooperation,” the shop owner was still a bit slow to react, but he was very happy to have made a transaction.
In fact, we didn’t sell all the plundered supplies; we kept a considerable portion. We couldn’t sell everything at once; it would be too conspicuous.
At this moment, the Gluttony Believer suddenly asked, “Also, boss, do you hire people here?”
