Malone's betrayal dealt a blow to the businesswoman. The former was the person she trusted most in Nassau, and could even be said to be the only person she trusted when she first came to the island.
Unexpectedly, he was bought early. Although according to Malone, he only sent Malcolm three messages, Karina felt nauseous at the thought of a pair of eyes staring at her all the time.
Perhaps the only thing to be thankful for is that most of the information Malone has is related to trade. For things like meeting with black gladiators, the businesswoman is alone. Malone has mentioned several times that he wants to go with her in the name of protecting safety. , but she rejected them all.
She didn't doubt Malone's intentions at the time, but simply thought that she might offend Laeli with the guards, otherwise Malcolm might already know that someone had invaded his study.
Karina tried her best to restrain her emotions, asked a few more questions, and then handed Malone over to the four sailors of the Jackdaw. On the ship back to England, Malone had mentioned that he had a sister in Kent, so it was for the best for him.
Even if he wants to come back, it will be a year later, and Karina and Malcolm should have already decided the outcome by then.
When everything was over, the businesswoman felt a deep exhaustion, and threw the short musket in her hand on the side of the road. Until today, she didn't understand what her father told her in prison, don't trust anyone on the island. What's the meaning.
The relationship between Ma Long and her has already surpassed that of friends, and is more like a family member and a mentor. To Karina, losing Ma Long is far more than losing an experienced captain who is familiar with various ports and customs.
If Wilton's blatant threat on the beach made her feel fear for the first time, now Malone's betrayal made her experience another kind of cruelty.
There was even a moment when she wanted to give up in her heart. She was not sure what was waiting for her before going down this road, and what she would have to pay to win the war with the Black Merchants Alliance the price.
The businesswoman stopped in front of the carriage, and looked around in a daze, not knowing where she should go at the moment, until the coachman coughed lightly, "Miss Karina."
"Sorry, go to Captain Zhang Heng's residence."
Karina made a decision, opened the car door and sat on it. She didn't look back. Those things that happened in the past let it stay in the past forever. Since her father was imprisoned, she has come to this point There was no way out at all, since that was the case, she could only go on like this.
After waiting half an hour for the carriage to stop again, the businesswoman's expression had returned to normal.
Zhang Heng was studying Dutch with Vincent in the living room. He looked up and saw Karina standing outside the door, and nodded to the young ship doctor, "Let's stop here today."
The latter heard the words and put away the books, and Annie ran out to find Harry in the afternoon, so after Vincent left, only Zhang Heng and Karina were left in the room.
Zhang Heng picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup of tea for the businesswoman. Maybe because of the oriental, he still prefers tea to coffee.
"How are things over there?"
"The ghost has been found, it's Ma Long." Karina paused, not much expression could be seen on her face, as if she was talking about something unrelated, "The problem is not serious, It has basically been resolved and will not affect what we are doing, but now the Breeze has no captain, and there is another transport ship that needs a captain after it is repaired."
"Have you chosen?"
"The captain of the Breeze, I plan to let the original first mate take over. In order to avoid this incident from happening again, I will test him regularly. As for the other ship... it is a bit troublesome, because I plan to recruit sailors on the spot in Nassau , so in order to find someone who can subdue them, and at the same time, this person must not be a pirate, it is best for him to be familiar with the customs of various ports in the colony."
"This request is not simple."
"I know that excellent captains are scarce no matter where they are, not to mention that almost all outstanding captains in this place are pirates, but I will not treat him badly in terms of salary, I can offer twice the salary of ordinary captains. "
Zhang Heng thought for a moment, "Some captains of merchant ships lost their ships and cargo after being robbed. They had no choice but to come to Nassau to seek gold. Some of them should be able to meet your requirements, but many pirate ships lacking captains are also I'm staring at them, so let's go, I'll talk to Billy tomorrow to see if he has any suitable candidates to recommend."
Karina nodded, "I thought about what you said before, we are competing with the Black Merchant Alliance, only the support of small and medium pirates is not enough, I plan to contact the big landowners on the island, and try to see if I can help They shipped the harvested crops for free in exchange for their support. In addition, the things collected from the second-hand goods exchange were too fragmented. If they were pulled directly to the colony, no one would buy them and they would only be treated as garbage, but it was a pity to just throw them away. They are technically valuable after all.”
"how do you want to do it?"
"I plan to open a grocery store in the colony and here, and dispose of these odds and ends there. I don't want to make money, as long as I can make up for the loss, so that we don't have to post money on it all the time. It is." The businesswoman explained.
Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
"how?"
"I thought Malone's affairs would hit you, but looking at you now, my worries seem unnecessary."
"I was really angry and disappointed at the beginning, but I thought about a lot of things on the way here, and I am not so angry anymore. There are many things I did not do well in this matter. I was just used to being alone. He asked him for help, but he didn't pay attention to the difficulties he encountered. He owed a sum of money in the casino and borrowed it from many people, but he didn't bother me. He would rather accept Malcolm's solicitation. He probably didn't think I could be of any help then." Karina laughed at herself.
However, the businesswoman didn't bother with this problem anymore. She looked into Zhang Heng's eyes and said seriously, "I want to defeat Malcolm, not simply to let the second-hand goods trading company survive on the island, but to want to defeat Malcolm." Completely destroy him, drive him out of Nassau, replace him as the most powerful black market merchant on the island, no matter what the price is, no matter what dangers are waiting for me ahead, I don't care, I can't do this I won't stop."