Solomon Shipyard

Along the way, the middle-aged man chatted and laughed with Mark and the others. He led them past ship after ship under construction, through rows of wooden buildings, and into the heart of Solomon Shipyard.

The streets here were bustling. Merchants could be seen everywhere selling fabric and ceramic wares. Some workers dressed like shipwrights sold snacks, while others ran shops selling takoyaki.

Even pirates seemed remarkably well-behaved on this island.

"We're here!" The middle-aged man led Mark and the others to the entrance of an estate. Pointing at the red-and-yellow wooden house inside, he said, "Master Jerry is in there!"

The estate was enormous. A cobblestone path stretched from the wooden house all the way to the gate.

Green lawns lined both sides of the path, with a gray stone fountain standing in the middle.

Mark passed the fountain and arrived before the wooden house.

The house was a two-story building.

All kinds of colorful flowers filled the upstairs balcony. A bird's nest rested beneath the eaves, while ivy crawled up the walls.

It looked like a country villa, warm and inviting.

As they approached, the middle-aged man stepped forward and knocked on the door.

After waiting for a moment, the door opened... and a purple-haired young man in his early twenties walked out. He wore a light-blue homespun shirt. His muscles were a full size larger than Mark's, and he stood around two and a half meters tall.

He was not particularly handsome, but the more one looked at him, the more pleasing he seemed.

He held a wrench in his hand and was covered in grease, with sweat staining his face. He had clearly been working just moments ago.

"Baroen, are you here to see Master?" the purple-haired young man asked as he wiped away his sweat.

Baroen, the middle-aged man, smiled. "Housen, these people say they know Master and want to ask him to build them a ship, so I brought them here."

Housen, the purple-haired young man, examined Mark and the others, his gaze lingering briefly on Chiu Chiu.

Then he said, "Wait here a moment. I'll call my master."

With that, he shut the door, leaving them to wait outside.

After waiting at the entrance for a while, the bored Mark asked, "Uncle Baroen, is that Housen Master Jerry's son?"

Baroen shook his head upon hearing Mark's question.

"He isn't Master Jerry's son."

A trace of envy appeared in his eyes. "Housen is Master's true disciple."

"His true disciple? Then aren't you Master Jerry's disciple, Uncle Baroen?" Daisy asked curiously.

When they had first met, Uncle Baroen had said that he was Master Jerry's disciple. Why was he now saying that Housen was Master Jerry's true disciple?

"It's like this..."

Uncle Baroen explained the matter to Mark and the others.

Everyone on this island was Master Jerry's disciple. Solomon Island had originally been an unremarkable shipyard.

But twenty years ago, after Master Jerry arrived, everything changed.

Master Jerry's skills were exceptional, and he treated people kindly. Whenever someone came to him with a problem they could not solve, he never hesitated to teach them and pass on his techniques.

Master Jerry would also regularly gather the island's residents together and teach them shipbuilding techniques.

As time passed, Solomon Shipyard's shipbuilding standards steadily rose, and it gradually earned a name for itself across the seas.

Today, many years later, Solomon Shipyard had become one of the sea's foremost shipbuilding hubs.

From then on, everyone on the island addressed Jerry as Master.

But that was merely an honorific. The only person Jerry had truly taken in as a disciple was Housen. Housen had been born into a shipwright family at Solomon Shipyard, but when he was ten, his parents died in an accident while repairing a ship, leaving Housen alone. Jerry chose to adopt him.

Though Housen had been adopted, he was nothing short of a genius at shipbuilding. Jerry was also extremely fond of him, personally taking him as his disciple and teaching him all of his skills without reservation.

It was the only time Jerry had ever accepted a disciple.

Although Housen and Jerry now called each other master and disciple, their bond was as close as that of father and son.

As Baroen spoke, a trace of envy appeared in his eyes.

He admired Jerry deeply and dreamed of having a master like him.

As they chatted and laughed, the door opened again. An elderly man emerged, with graying hair, copper-rimmed glasses, and a hunched, slight frame. He wore the same kind of homespun clothes, though his were dark green.

He looked like an old scholar, without the burly strength one would expect from a shipwright.

But the observant Mark noticed that the old man's thumbs and fingers were unusually thick, and calluses could faintly be seen across his palms.

Those were calluses formed only through frequent use of tools or weapons.

"Master Jerry, hello!" Seeing the old man emerge, Baroen stepped forward and greeted him respectfully.

The old man smiled and nodded, then turned to Mark and asked,

"You've come to ask this old man to build you a ship?"

Mark stepped forward. "Yes, sir! Crocus told me there was a master shipbuilder named Jerry here. That must be you."

The old man laughed heartily. "So it was that old fellow Crocus. I never thought that after all these years, he would still remember an old man like me."

"Of course Crocus remembers you!"

"Fine, young man. Since Crocus sent you to me, I have no reason to refuse. What kind of ship do you want?" the old man asked directly.

What kind of ship did he want... Mark pondered for a long while.

He looked at Daisy and Chiu Chiu beside him. They were both his companions, and he had to consider their safety.

When sailing the seas, the most important thing was a good ship.

With that thought, Mark made up his mind and looked at the old man resolutely.

"I want the best!"

He had made up his mind. Since he had encountered a top-tier master shipbuilder, and the man had agreed to build him a ship, then he would build the very best one.

That would greatly improve their safety at sea.

Daisy and Chiu Chiu had no particular reaction upon hearing Mark's words.

But Baroen and the other two revealed shocked expressions. "The best?"

Mark nodded firmly.

The old man coughed lightly. "This old man can build the best ship, but the cost will be extremely high!"

"How much Beli will it take?" Mark asked.

"One billion two hundred million Beli!!!" After saying that, the old man added, "That amount is only for the materials. The labor costs... will be another one hundred million Beli!"

Mark fell silent at that.

The moment Chiu Chiu heard that the labor cost alone was one hundred million, it could no longer hold back and fully unleashed its Mouth Cannon nature:

"Old man, let's put aside the one billion two hundred million Beli in material costs for now. One hundred million Beli for labor? What, do you have hemorrhoids growing in your mouth...? How can you ask for so damn much!"