What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 243 Skip the animation (800 monthly votes in April)

"Hey boss, wanna buy an apple? It's almost Christmas Eve, I'd like to give it as a gift!"

Tang Wen was woken up early by the noise outside and realized that it was market day. He then saw many more apple stalls and the stall owners enthusiastically promoted their apples to him.

The stall owner doesn't look young; is he already starting to do business on Western holidays?
Why buy apples on Christmas Eve?

"You don't understand?" The stall owner was a little confused. He thought Tang Wen was a young man, but he didn't expect him to be so unfashionable!
"Let me explain to you. The day after tomorrow is Christmas Day, and tomorrow night is Christmas Eve, which is New Year's Eve in foreign countries."

Eating apples sounds like "pingguo" in Chinese, which means "peace and safety," so buying them as gifts for your wife or friends is a sure bet. That's how foreigners give them as gifts.

Tang Wen: "But, in foreign languages, apples and peace don't sound like each other, right?"

The stall owner's CPU, which was running at full speed, got stuck.

Yes, do foreigners also pay attention to homophones in Mandarin?

Are you buying apples?

"It's eight o'clock. Come and have breakfast. I've prepared some snacks; I hope you enjoy them."

As the ship girl stepped out of the courtyard, the surrounding noise subsided, and all attention was focused on the new, beautiful foreign girl.

The stall owner also came to his senses and became excited upon seeing a face with exotic features:
"This princess is being convoluted, right? Do you know why we eat apples on Christmas Eve?"

The ship girl's face was immediately filled with confusion:

Don't you eat apples on Christmas Eve?

"what?"

Her words struck the stall owner like a thunderbolt, and the people at the market nearby heard them clearly and rushed to spread this "truth".

At that time, apples were still a very expensive fruit, and those who had just been tricked into buying them immediately threw down their bags.

"You're lying! Foreigners have already said it's fake. You sold me such expensive apples, give me my money back!"

"I want a refund too! It's only a few items and it's only five yuan! You're robbing me!"

"Refund, refund!"

The vendors who had bought a batch of apples intending to sell them quickly were dumbfounded. They hurriedly went to find the "foreigner" who had just spoken, but the latter had already grabbed Tang Wen's hand.

"Run!"

In the blink of an eye, the two disappeared. Seeing this, the stall owner quickly shouted to the angry crowd:

"That was a fake foreigner, he just dyed his hair... Let me explain, it's a Christmas Eve apple..."

……

Tang Wen pulled the ship girl back into the house. After a brief moment of confusion, she had changed back into her default attire. Hu Li neatly held the clothes she had given her in her palm.

"how did you do that?"

He was a little curious. The ship girls changed outfits almost instantly every time. Was this also a feature of the second game?
"Ah, I skipped the cutscene. Don't you want to skip it? Then I'll show you."

"Uh... Stop, stop, stop!"

Tang Wen grabbed the hand that was about to tear off his clothes:
"It's not necessary!"

……

At noon on the 23rd, the Xinfeng ship, carrying the rescued crew members, docked at Echeng Port.

Officials who had been waiting took them away, while media from both sides snapped photos and occasionally expressed their pity. The monkeys were already thin, and the tropical climate combined with their life as sailors made them look almost fat, dark and like stranded wild men. In the eyes of the media, they looked as if they had suffered some inhuman torture.

Marino was also nervous about stepping onto land again and being exposed to the public, when he saw Gao Yuliang walking towards him with a smile.

He instinctively turned his head and saw the dangerous look in the eyes of the crew members escorting him, as well as a force that was neither too strong nor too weak.

Marino's legs went weak, and the people supporting him on either side lost their grip, causing him to suddenly kneel down.

Gao Yuliang was somewhat at a loss, then he saw the monkey with tears streaming down its face, babbling something, and after being forcibly pulled up, it kept bowing and nodding to him, so he understood.

The old man put on his acting skills and immediately stepped forward to hold Marino back, his nostrils instantly filled with a strong odor.

Gao Yuliang's eyes welled up with tears from the fumes, and he seized the opportunity to say:
"Our international friends have suffered so much! They were trapped in a sunken ship and then caught in a fire. It's such a misfortune!"

The surrounding media immediately understood that this was touching!

Director Gao was so concerned about their safety that he even shed tears.

This touching scene was immediately captured and appeared on major news outlets as quickly as possible. The Goose City Daily even directly praised the Dongjiang Maritime Joint Defense Team for shining with the light of humanity and providing more effective protection for the safety of fishermen.

Tang Wen, the owner of the fishing boat Xin Feng, was also present. He first praised Xin Feng for rescuing the stranded sailors in the crisis, and then changed the subject, saying:
"In order to put out the fire, the Xinfeng had exhausted all of its fresh water reserves and had to stop fishing and return to port ahead of schedule."

The fire burned through the landing ship's hull, and the leaked fuel polluted at least ten square kilometers of sea, causing us to lose tens of thousands of tons of fishery resources. It will take at least ten years to fully recover.

The once beautiful and bountiful Nansha Islands have become unclean due to human damage, impacting the habitat and survival of dozens of species. Tens of millions of yuan are needed for cleanup and the release of fish fry to restore their populations.

"I hereby declare that Lile Reef, Ren'ai Reef, and their surrounding waters are all legally contracted operating areas of Gaijin. I demand that the relevant parties apologize, remove the wreckage, and compensate for the economic losses!"

Meanwhile, Marino, who was standing nearby, started chattering away, and the translator quickly told the reporter:
"Captain Marino of the Sierra Madre wants to expose his superiors' embezzlement of disaster relief supplies and applies to stay here to avoid persecution upon returning home!"
He also expressed his apologies for the unintentional loss and offered his condolences to Mr. Tang Wen.

After speaking, Marino bowed sincerely to Tang Wen, and the other monkey sailors quickly followed suit. Tang Wen looked ashamed and helped them up, appearing quite touched.

The reporters were immediately in an uproar. They all thought Marino would either be deported or held accountable, but they didn't expect him to voluntarily apply to stay. Could there really be a hidden story?
Big news, absolutely big news!

Gao Yuliang and Su Weiguo from the Qiongzhou Maritime Surveillance Bureau stayed behind to deal with the media, while Tang Wen took the opportunity to sneak away and meet up with the ship girl who was waiting for him in the car.

"Commander, the Second Fleet has been discovered!"

She just told Tang Wen the news on the public channel, and that's why he quickly ran away.

"what's the situation?"

"The Hipper has been spotted by a helicopter and confirmed to be a tourist ship traveling from Chile to Antarctica. The Hipper and Blücher have just been exposed. Please provide instructions."

November to January is a popular time for expeditions due to warming Antarctica. During this period, the Second Fleet has already entered the Drake Passage, so encountering cruise ships is not uncommon.

Tang Wen closed her eyes and then saw the Hipper sailing at a top speed of 33 knots against the cold wind. Less than two kilometers away from her was a cruise ship changing course.

"This is the 'Xia Vilia' cruise ship, the warship ahead. Can you identify yourself?"

Following Tang Wen's instructions, the Hipper responded:

"This is the Hipper. I am on a mission. Civilian vessels, please keep your distance."

"Hipper, is that Hipper?!"

The Hipper did not respond.

“I am Mammon Barnes, captain of the Xia Vilia. Are you really a member of the Hans Navy?”

(End of this chapter)