Survival at Sea: I Became Number One by Growing Mushrooms

The two approached the counter at the same time and said in unison, "Exchange the rings."

The clerk lazily looked up: "500 gold coins."

Jules couldn't help but shout, "Wasn't it 400 gold coins?"

"If you don't have the money, I'll give it to this customer instead," the clerk said disdainfully, looking at the two of them.

The young man took out gold coins, and Xu Jiawei smiled coldly and took out Yu Le's contract.

"The contract clearly states that the seller has the right of first refusal, and you said 400 gold coins when we came, but now it's become 500 gold coins in less than an hour. Your Stardust Merchant Guild has no credibility and doesn't even abide by the contract!" Xu Jiawei said loudly, and everyone around heard her.

"Yes, I was just here. The clerk only gave the seller 20 gold coins, and the seller was supposed to redeem it for 400 gold coins. Now it's 500 gold coins. The Stardust Merchant Guild is such a rip-off."

"I'm never coming here again. I'll just go to the Golden Dragon Chamber of Commerce instead."

Seeing the surrounding chatter, the counter staff member's face turned ashen: "Security, throw these two people out!"

Before Xu Jiawei could even make a move, the surrounding customers were already furious. "Is the Stardust Merchant Guild bullying its customers? What kind of business is this, bullying a young girl like this?!"

Seeing the angry customers gathering around, the staff were now scared; things had escalated.

At that moment, a middle-aged man came downstairs and asked, "What happened? Who's causing trouble?"

The staff immediately pointed at Xu Jiawei: "The manager is the one causing trouble, kick her out immediately!"

The middle-aged man frowned and called over another employee, asking, "What exactly happened?"

The shop assistant glanced at the counter clerk and then explained what had happened.

The administrator frowned even deeper, looking at the clerk at the counter: "You're fired!"

The sales clerk slumped to the ground, only then realizing her mistake. She shouldn't have made such a big fuss for the sake of sales targets. Then came resentment; it was all that woman's fault.

The manager turned to Xu Jiawei: "Although it was the counter staff's fault, your disturbance has damaged the reputation of our Stardust Merchant Guild. If you pay 500 gold coins to buy the ring, then this matter will be over. If you don't agree, then this young man will get the ring."

Xu Jiawei was so angry she almost laughed. Were all the people in the Stardust Merchant Guild really so arrogant? If she sold mushrooms to the Stardust Merchant Guild, they might not even look at them before throwing them away.

"How can we let Master Xu pay the money himself? Master Xu, you are very precious. It's not worth getting angry with this kind of person. Let me handle it for you."

Jin Jian walked in with a smile and slammed 500 gold coins onto the counter.

The administrator of the Stardust Merchant Guild frowned deeply. What were the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild members doing here, and Master Xu too...?

"Jin Jian, have you come to my Stardust Merchant Guild to cause trouble?"

Jin Jian smiled outwardly, but inwardly he was overjoyed. The Stardust Merchant Guild, these ignorant fools, had thoroughly angered Master Xu. Now the Stardust Merchant Guild would have no chance to poach him.

"How could that be? Our Golden Dragon Merchant Guild's distinguished guest is in trouble and being bullied, shouldn't we help? The money has already been paid, Stardust Merchant Guild wouldn't want to go back on its word, would it?" Jin Jian said.

Looking at the onlookers and the golden tablet staring at him, the manager of the Stardust Merchant Guild felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit. If he went back on his word, it would prove that the Stardust Merchant Guild was untrustworthy. If he gave it to them, he would be doing the work for the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild and enhancing their reputation for respecting customers.

"Give her the ring." The Stardust Merchant Guild manager could only choose the lesser of two evils and gave the ring to Xu Jiawei. The player next to her took his money and walked out the door.

This farce is finally over.

"Master Xu, you can come to me anytime if you need anything. Oh, and this is for you." Jin Jian handed over a long, thin object.

Xu Jiawei took it; it felt like a cell phone.

"Master Xu, this is a communication device from the mainland, a magical communicator. My contact information is on this. If Master Grace has any news, I will contact you immediately."

Xu Jiawei put away the magic communicator and then said goodbye to Jin Jian.

Jin Jian watched Xu Jiawei's retreating figure, a smile playing on his lips: "My Golden Dragon Chamber of Commerce is about to rise to prominence. What did headquarters say?"

The old appraiser walked over and said, "Headquarters said you did a good job and will reward everyone in our branch."

Jin Jian's smile grew even brighter; good days were coming.

Xu Jiawei arrived at Missili's courtyard with the ring in her hand. Missili was still drinking: "You're back? So quickly. You really didn't find it?"

Misri took another big gulp of wine.

"Master Mishili has been found. Is this the one you're looking for?" Xu Jiawei handed over the ring.

Missiri dropped the bottle in his hand and staggered over, saying, "Yes, yes, this is it, this is it." Missiri tucked the ring into his pocket and began to sob.

"Thank you, this is the only thing my wife left me before she passed away." Everything else has been buried with her.

"Where did you find it?" Mishiri didn't believe there was any place he hadn't searched.

"Speaking of which, someone wants to apologize to Master Missiri. He should speak to you personally," Xu Jiawei said as she called Yu Le in.

After learning the whole story, Mishiri just sighed heavily: "For medical treatment? Sigh, never mind, I forgive you. You can go now."

"No, I want to stay and atone for my sins, I'm willing to do anything." Jules was stubborn, no matter how Missy tried to get him to leave.

However, Xu Jiawei believes that this might be a good thing for Le, after all, he is a master, and learning even a couple of moves would be a gain, but it might not be so for Missiri.

"I promised you I would design the blueprints for your raft myself, and I keep my word. I'll come find you after the rainy season ends," Mishili said to Xu Jiawei.

"Thank you, Master," Xu Jiawei said immediately with a smile.

"Oh right, here, take this. Use it for now, and I'll redesign it after the rainy season." Mishili slapped his forehead, realizing he'd almost forgotten.

[Ding! Congratulations, player, you have obtained the Basic Boat Blueprint. This can be upgraded to a Level 4 Boat. Requires 10000 Planks, 10000 Nails, and 1 Basic Boat Blueprint. Upgrade now?]

Xu Jiawei clicked "yes," but the system prompted her that she didn't have enough materials. It seemed she would have to wait a few more days; she should have enough materials by then.

"Master, what is the rainy season you mentioned? Are there other seasons? Could you tell me about them?" Xu Jiawei realized that this was related to natural disasters and wanted to learn more.

"The rainy season lasts for a month, and it will continue to rain until the next season begins. The next season is the cold season, which also lasts for a month. Therefore, the ship design must take into account natural disasters of all seasons. Next is *****."

Xu Jiawei didn't understand a single word that followed; it was as if the translation had suddenly stopped working and the sound had been blurred.

It was definitely the system's doing; it didn't want Xu Jiawei to know too much. Xu Jiawei cursed the damn system in her heart.

"Thank you, Master. It's getting late, so I'll be leaving now." After bidding farewell to Master Mishili, Xu Jiawei prepared to explore Shipwright City. Apart from doing quests, she hadn't done any sightseeing since arriving here. She wondered when she would be able to come back next time. She wanted to buy some herb seeds and finished herbs, since her herb inventory was running low.