Emerald Harbor.
As the largest port in the Kingdom of Searle, it has always been very prosperous, with countless ships berthing every day, and the need to unload cargo alone is enough to feed the coolies at the entire dock.
Joba is one of them.
As an ordinary coolie on the dock, in addition to working hard every day, he has to watch his hard-earned money being exploited by port officials and gangsters. I also had to pick up wild vegetables to survive. The family conditions are really not very good.
And today's instructions from his wife when he went out made this honest guy frown deeply.
"Little Bruce is already ten years old, it's time to think about the future!"
As the son of coolies on the docks, Bruce Jr. could not go to school like those children of nobles and wealthy citizens, or even more luxuriously hire tutors to train them.
The world has always been unequal. Even the number of pastors and training opportunities in the church are monopolized by the upper class. For the lower class, there is almost no hope of changing their destiny.
In the same way, knight training, even as the training of the most ordinary warrior, is simply impossible. The daily cost of eating meat alone is an astronomical figure.
Instead of being an adventurer or a mercenary without a skill at your side? Watch out for dead bodies lying in the sewer the next day!
"Maybe...the only way to become a sailor is?"
Chopper murmured.
He naturally didn't want to see Bruce go his own way and become the coolie with the lowest status. He just thought about it for a long time, and it seemed that only sailors were more suitable. After all, the only things he could touch were the docks and those big ships. As for the relationship between the third officer of the Crescent, it is not a big problem to put an intern sailor on board.
The only key is, what should little Bruce do in the past few years before becoming an apprentice sailor
Even a ten-year-old kid is already considered half of the labor force and should contribute to the family.
Moreover, Chopper was very worried that if he didn't find something for little Bruce to do, this troublemaker might soon be bought by the three hands and become a very common thief on the pier.
By gods, that's no honor.
Due to the many calculations in his mind, Chopper looked a little dazed, and he didn't even pay much attention to the new notice on the roadside.
To be honest, even if there is any big news in the announcement, for a small person like him, it is nothing more than a little more after-dinner conversation, even if it is the new king's decree!
For the nobles of the entire Emerald Port, it was a shocking event that the Kingdom of Sear suddenly changed to a king.
But as far as Chopper is concerned, the king is too far away from him, and it is not as thrilling as the news that the prices of black bread and wheat flour are about to increase.
"Hey old seal, thanks for the rum on the end!"
"Doc, the barbecue last time was really good!"
"Jeff, have you heard? Yesterday Old Berry caught a golden eel, which is a legendary delicacy. Unfortunately, he didn't taste it, but sold it..."
…
Arriving at the pier, he greeted the workers without saying a word, and Chopper took off his coat and folded it carefully.
Carrying boxes or something, it was really worn out, but this was a rare and complete set of decent clothes, and he planned to let little Bruce wear them again in the future.
"Chopper, what's on your mind?"
On the contrary, he looked absent-minded, and when he was seen by the workers, he immediately asked questions in a hurry.
"Hey... it's not about little Bruce!"
Chopper replied with a wry smile, and the surrounding workers suddenly showed sympathy or understanding.
The problem of the little ghost in the family is also their difficulty. After all, the children at this time need to grow and eat a lot, which is also a huge burden on the family.
Moreover, both parents are busy with work and have no one to take care of them, so they are easily abducted or learn bad things.
"Actually, in a family like ours, the brats will either be fishermen or sailors in the future, or coolies like us. If they are lucky, work hard, be favored by the ship owner, and be promoted to first mate or something, they will be great and decent people. …”
After Chopper said his plan, he suddenly sighed.
He looked at the sea not far away, smelling the slightly fishy air in his nose, but there was a hint of unwillingness in his eyes.
Because he knows very well that if this continues, unless a miracle happens, his family will have to struggle at the bottom of society for several lifetimes.
But even if you know, so what
The children of nobles are still nobles, and the children of slaves are still slaves. There are still too few people who can change their own destiny.
"Let's go, go to work!"
Chopper draped a rag over his shoulders and greeted his fellow workers.
The work on the pier is done daily, and the daily work is received every day. If there is less work, the family's dinner today will not be settled, which is the most important thing.
Therefore, Chopper didn't care about emotion, and immediately greeted his companions to prepare to start work.
"It's the dry season now, and the trade winds haven't come. I guess there's very little work today!"
A tall, thin man next to Chopper had a worried look on his face: "Be careful of those people in the East District, they seem to want to shoot at our business!"
"Dare they?"
Chopper raised his brows, naturally with a bit of fierceness: "The donations we give to the 'Blood Ax Gang' are all the same. If they dare to come to grab the business, we will do it directly!"
In the face of survival, no matter how proud a person is, he has to bow his head, and no matter how honest a person is, he will become extremely vicious.
Especially after seeing that there were few ships on the pier and the coolies in the eastern district started to move, Joe Barton stood up immediately, almost immediately there was a fight on the pier.
The passers-by, small businessmen, and even the people on the patrol watched with a smile on their faces, treating it as a sideshow to pass the boring time every day.
"Boat!"
"A lot of boats!"
…
However, the fight did not break out after all. With the exclamation, Chopper was surprised to see a large cloud drifting into the port.
When he got closer, he realized that those dark clouds were all sails covering the sky and the sun, casting huge shadows, and the tonnage and style of the ships were the only ones he had ever seen in his life.
"What a big fleet!"
Chopper opened his mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time: "This is definitely not something that the nobles of the nearby islands can buy. Could it be from the mainland? But the season of trade has long passed..."
"Hurry up, get to work!"
Because of the arrival of a large number of jobs, the coolies naturally couldn't fight each other.
After all, no matter how hard it is for money, the reason why they fight and fight is not for this reason
But now, the experienced coolies already know that the only question is how much they can do today, and there is absolutely no situation where they cannot start work.
"Is this the boat there?"
Looking at the huge statue of a dragon head that looked like a deer, a horse, and had scales on the bow, Chopper asked his steward in puzzlement.
"Hey... This is the fleet from the Eastern Continent, the Dachang Empire, and the Yun Family Chamber of Commerce. Have you heard of it?"
The steward uttered a few awkward words.
Obviously, he didn't know the inside story, and he just heard the news, but it didn't prevent him from showing off in front of a group of coolies and satisfying his sense of superiority.
"Eastern Continent, Dachang Empire?"
Chopper blinked: "Where is that?"
As a coolie on the dock, he has come into contact with a lot of news. Compared with those farmers who only know how to bury their heads in the fields, he is already a well-informed person. He also has a certain understanding of the entire kingdom, but he can't imagine another continent or an empire. What a concept.
"Okay, hurry up and work!"
There was a hint of embarrassment on the steward's face, obviously he didn't know too well, but now he directly changed the subject: "If today's task is not completed, no one will go home for dinner."
"oh!"
The coolies shouted and were full of energy. After all, they were paid on a piece-by-piece basis, and the more they worked, the more they were paid.
…
A day passed unknowingly, the sun set, and the purple moon hung in the sky.
Under the bright moonlight, Qiaoba carried a handful of copper coins in his arms, two pieces of black bread, fresh onions, carrots... the harvest of his day's work, and returned home in the dark.
"Oh, great!"
After opening the door, a little boy ran out, holding the bread and cheering excitedly.
"Haha, little Bruce, you can finally eat your fill tonight!"
Chopper patted his son's little head lovingly, and said excitedly: "Did you know? A bunch of big oriental ships arrived at the pier today, and many unbelievable things were brought in, such as gorgeous colors, soft and smooth as if enchanted." Silk, as well as smooth porcelain, are said to be items that can be sold at a high price... It was shipped from a large chamber of commerce. If it succeeds this time, it will continue in the future... "
With excitement in his eyes: "If this is the case, maybe I can work full time every day, save a sum of money, and send you to study..."
"Honey!"
At this time, her wife came out, holding a bowl of broth, exuding a strong fragrance, which surprised Chopper even more.
After all, his wife is a very frugal person.
"Little Bruce's matter has been resolved. The sheriff came to our house today to make an announcement!"
The woman said excitedly: "Didn't you read the kingdom's notice? Starting this year, all school-age children can be sent to the newly built school for unified learning. The school also provides a lunch, all of which are free of charge." Yes... I heard that the kingdom will select potential seedlings from among them, and cultivate them as fighters and master knights!"
"Huh?! I didn't pay attention!"
Chopper picked up his son: "What do you mean?"
"That's right!"
The woman proudly puffed out her chest: "Little Bruce will become a decent man who can read and write, and maybe he will become a respectable lord knight!"