Pirates: How Many Divisions Do the Five Elders Have? Impossible! Absolutely Impossible!

The dock area, not far from the port, has various cargo distribution points.

Clothing, food, and various manufactured goods transported from the East Blue are repackaged here and then shipped to various parts of the Grand Line.

The area near the back of the mountain is covered with lush vegetation.

With its green tiles and red walls, and willow-lined walkways, the area is dotted with Chinese-style courtyards.

This is Shurima's most famous health resort.

People who have toiled and struggled on the sea all their lives can find complete relaxation here.

The giant dog-headed ship was not docked in the pier area.

This indicates that the two most loyal customers of the sanatorium have not yet returned.

This is normal, after all, Garp and Zephyr haven't really retired. Sengoku finally caught them, so naturally he has a lot of things to entrust to them.

In addition to the bustling city boulevards, there are also tranquil health resorts.

Between the health center and the city avenue lie Shurima's two iconic hospitals.

Shurima People's Hospital and Shurima Old Western Medicine Hospital.

The two hospitals have completely different styles.

The Shurima People's Hospital is bustling with traffic.

Women holding children, strong men carrying elderly people on their backs—all sorts of people wore expressions of anxiety yet hope.

This place provides affordable medical services to the general public.

The price was only a fraction of what the court physicians of the Drum Kingdom quoted.

However, the level of medical care was not compromised in the slightest.

One can imagine that the doctors here must be extremely busy.

My feet are always on the ground, working at full capacity.

Conversely, the Shurima Old Western Medicine Hospital next door had very few patients.

However, the guides at the hospital entrance maintained their elegant posture.

This hospital targets wealthy individuals from all over the world.

Doctors working here obviously have a much lower workload, while their theoretical income is higher.

If we follow the Western model and leave everything to the capital market, then without a doubt, medical resources will spontaneously and uncontrollably flow towards traditional Western hospitals.

However, this is not a problem for Ma Qiao.

He can seamlessly integrate the human resources of the two hospitals and ensure that doctors maintain basic professional ethics when facing different patients and varying workloads.

Because whether it's Head Nurse Akali or doctors like Kennen, Shen, Dr. Mundo, they are absolute authorities in their respective medical teams.

The other assistant physicians and interns either came from other countries because of their reputation or were among the Shurima University School of Medicine.

In any case, in Shurima, doctors are no longer an aristocratic profession standing on a high pedestal, but at the same time, they still enjoy reasonably high salaries and a high social status.

"Luo Zai, this is where you'll be working from now on."

Ma Qiao patted Trafalgar Law on the shoulder and said with a smile:

"Keep up the good work, I believe in you! But as for your mother's wish for you to get married, that might be a bit difficult; doctors here don't have time for dating..."

Aren't you worried about my past reputation?

Ignoring Ma Qiao's well-intentioned reminder, Trafalgar Law coolly asked, "I'm known as the 'Surgeon of Death' in the North Blue!"

Ma Qiao laughed heartily, "You can rest assured about that. You can go ask your surgical director Dr. Mundo, what his reputation was Jianghu in the day..."

Placing Trafalgar Law, this budding Supernovas, under Dr. Mundo's command can be seen as a way to temper his arrogant nature.

However, Ma Qiao knew that it was still difficult for Luo to settle down and seriously be a doctor.

Because there are still things on his mind that he can't let go of.

That was to avenge the death of Mr. Corazon.

Trafalgar Law is a crucial advisor to Ma Qiao in his efforts to deal with the Doflamingo Group and to lay the groundwork in the vital New World.

Ma Qiao had a general understanding of Dressrosa, but the comics weren't that detailed. The specific layout of many cities was only known to locals or people like Law who had been with the Donquixote Family for a long time.

Just as Ma Qiao was plotting his attack on Doflamingo, Vivi suddenly walked into Ma Qiao's office with an invitation and a strange expression.

"What's up? Is your girlfriend getting married?" Ma Qiao asked casually.

"Pooh!"

Vivi really wanted to add something extra to the uncle's coffee.

I don't have any close female friends.

It seems like all the girls I know are...

"This is an invitation to the Alabasta Food Festival!"

Vivi slammed the invitation onto Ma Qiao's desk. "King Cobra sent out numerous invitations all over the world a month ago, and now many people are gathering in the capital, Alubarna."

"Cobra, he's serious!"

Ma Qiao shook his head, feeling that relying on a food festival to boost the economy of a country with tens of millions of people was unreliable.

Moreover, Alabasta is arid and receives little rainfall, making it unsuitable for food production.

Indeed, the Western Regions of ancient China had many renowned delicacies.

If you disregard the appearance and hygiene of food from a certain world power known for its cleanliness and hygiene, the taste is actually quite good.

These are all arid and rain-scarce areas.

However, the drought in Alabasta is not just like that of the Western Regions of China or a certain world power; it is comparable to that of the Sahara Desert and Egypt.

At least Ma Qiao had never heard of any particularly famous Egypt dishes.

Roasted camel might be good?

Ma Qiao neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

However, since he is Vivi's father after all, Teacher Ma still has to give him some face.

The distance from Shurima to Alubarna is less than 500 kilometers. Ma Qiao then stopped using his Fathead Fish Airship.

After trying out the traditional Alabasta sand boats and experiencing land travel, Ma Qiao once again visited his father-in-law's house.

Alubarna appears much more prosperous than it did when I visited more than two years ago.

The streets were bustling with people, and vendors were hawking their wares everywhere.

It's clear that Cobra's laissez-faire approach over the past few years has brought vitality to the entire country.

Vivi pretended to look at the map and led everyone to the East Square, where the food festival was being held.

The noise level here is a level higher, almost a third of that in central Shurima.

All sorts of ingredients were loaded onto horse-drawn carts and transported in.

Dressed in chef's uniforms and hats, the court chefs were like busy guards, constantly on the move.

And you can see all sorts of tourists who clearly aren't locals everywhere.

It seems that Cobra's food festival plan was quite successful.

However, these ingredients clearly came from other countries.

The concept of "governing by doing nothing" is quite good; why are you changing it?

Ma Qiao really wanted to say a few words to his Cobra.

But upon closer reflection, perhaps I really was too conservative.

Perhaps Cobra's move can actually improve Alabasta's international image, attract tourists, boost consumption, and revitalize the economy?

I can't be too old-fashioned.

"Oh! Isn't this my Baron Shurima!"

Cobra walked up to Ma Qiao with a smile.

He pointed to the bustling scene. "How about it, is the food festival I've prepared grand enough?"

Ma Qiao nodded. "It's very impressive. May I ask how much it cost?"

"This is a necessary investment..."

Cobra chuckled and quickly dodged the question.

Ma Qiao quietly contacted Ekko remotely, asking him to check Cobra's data backend.

You won't believe it until you check, and what you find will shock you.

This guy actually borrowed from every online lending app and Huabei service.

This is an online lending platform protected by regulations...

Without sufficient collateral, you simply cannot obtain a loan.

If repayment fails, the collateral will be directly reclaimed by the power of the rules, just like phone bills swallowed by Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scoop).

Ma Qiao took another look.

Wow, that's impressive.

Cobra has staked Alabasta's customs revenue for the next ten years!

Our Great Qing Dynasty would call this expert...

"Speaking of which... Your Cobra..."

Ma Qiao looked around and asked a question he had wanted to ask for a long time, "Where are your royal guards? Apart from Pell and Chaka, I don't see any other guards."

"Well, my brother Crocodile is enough!"

Cobra patted Crocodile behind him and said with great trust, "With this Shichibukai keeping watch, would anyone dare to cause trouble in Alubarna?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Cobra was full of confidence.