Solomon Shipyard

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

The streets here were bustling, with vendors everywhere selling cloth and pottery. Some people dressed as shipwrights sold snacks or 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 a 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 lay on both sides of the path, with a gray stone fountain standing in the middle.

Mark walked past the fountain and arrived at the front door of the wooden house.

The house was a two-story building.

All sorts of colorful flowers decorated the upstairs balcony. A bird's nest rested beneath the eaves, while ivy climbed the walls.

It looked like a pastoral villa, warm and inviting.

Stepping forward, the middle-aged man knocked on the door.

After waiting for a moment, the door opened... A purple-haired young man in his early twenties stepped out. He wore a light-blue coarse linen shirt, and his muscles were a full size larger than Mark's. He also stood around eight feet tall.

He was not particularly handsome, but he had a pleasing appearance.

The young man held a wrench. He was covered in grease, with sweat on 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 him to build them a ship, so I brought them here."

Housen, the purple-haired youth, looked Mark and the others over, 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, was that Housen Master Jerry's son?"

Baroen shook his head when he heard 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? Isn't Uncle Baroen also Master Jerry's disciple?" Daisy asked curiously.

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

"It's like this..."

Uncle Baroen told Mark and the others about it.

It turned out that everyone on this island was Master Jerry's disciple. Solomon Island had originally been a rather unremarkable shipyard.

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

Master Jerry's skills were exceptional, and he was kind to everyone. 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 islanders together and teach them shipbuilding techniques.

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

Many years later, Solomon Shipyard had become one of the seas' foremost centers of shipbuilding.

From then on, everyone on the island called Jerry Master.

However, that was only 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 his parents had died in an accident while repairing a ship when he was ten, leaving Housen alone. Jerry had chosen to adopt him.

Though he had been adopted, Housen was a genuine genius at shipbuilding. Jerry liked him greatly, personally accepted him as his disciple, and taught him every bit of his craft.

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

Though Housen and Jerry now called each other master and disciple, their bond was like that of father and son.

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

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

As they chatted and laughed, the door opened again. An elderly man with graying hair, copper-rimmed glasses, and a hunched back walked out. He was not particularly tall, and he wore the same kind of coarse cloth outfit, though his was dark green.

He looked like an old scholar, without the sturdy, powerful air of a shipwright.

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

Those were calluses formed only through frequently wielding tools or weapons.

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

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

"Are you here to have this old man 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 didn't expect that after all these years, he would still remember this old man."

"Of course Crocus remembers you!"

"Fine, young man. Since Crocus sent you to find me, I have no reason to refuse. What kind of ship do you want built?" 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 make them much safer at sea.

Daisy and Chiu Chiu showed 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 very high!"

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

"1.2 billion Beli!!!" After saying that, the old man added, "That figure is only for the materials. The labor cost... will also be 100 million Beli!"

Mark fell silent.

The moment Chiu Chiu heard that the labor cost was 100 million, it could no longer hold back and fully displayed its Mouth Cannon nature:

"Old man, let's not even talk about the 1.2 billion Beli in material costs yet. But 100 million Beli for labor? What, do you have hemorrhoids in your mouth or something... Why do you need so much money?!"