Chapter 49: Money to win people over

...

This was the first time that everyone encountered such a situation and they didn't know how to deal with it for a moment.

"Hey, may I ask what help you may need? We are a small place with few people and few resources. If you need anything, please let me know in advance so that I can make arrangements."

The old mayor asked with a smile, as if he was flattering you as long as you had money you would be my dad.

Seeing that the old man became a different person immediately after receiving the money, Geer sighed that money really makes the world go round, and that every word of the ancients contained truth.

"No need for service, we can just wander around. We won't stay long, we should be leaving tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so we won't delay your work."

After saying this, Gel smiled meaningfully. Seeing that the old mayor was still squinting his eyes and looked calm, as if he was hard of hearing and didn't hear clearly, Gel suddenly asked:

"By the way, there is something I would like to ask the mayor."

"It's not really asking for advice. If you have any questions, please tell me. I will tell you everything I know."

The mayor put his hands together, rubbed his palms, and came forward to listen attentively.

"Old mayor, you don't have to be so polite. My name is Ger, you can just call me by my name. I think there should be quite a few bounty hunters in your town, right? You seem to welcome pirates so much."

The smile on the old man's face froze and his heart skipped a beat. Several people in the crowd around him also looked a little unnatural.

This young man is not as easy to fool as he seems. I didn't expect that he is also an old hand who pretends to be ignorant.

The old mayor controlled his facial expressions, and slightly opened his narrowed eyes. His eyes were sharp as if he had a sword in his eyes, and he unconsciously exuded a hint of murderous intent. He said in a calm tone:

"I wonder what you mean by that, Captain Gill?"

Seeing the old man's alertness, Gel was a little surprised that this old man who seemed to have one foot in the coffin was surprisingly strong. He was at least a swordsman-level warrior. Gel still smiled on the surface:

"Hahaha, don't be nervous. Although we are not bounty hunters, as you know, when sailing on the sea, there will always be some blind pirates who insist on delivering themselves to the door, so we will occasionally play the role of bounty hunters. I just want to ask where you usually go to exchange the bounty. I also need to exchange those useless pirate heads for cute Baileys. I don't mean anything else."

The mayor nodded when he heard this. This explanation was reasonable.

"I see. This isn't that difficult. There is a naval outpost on the other side of this island. You can see it just by climbing over the Whiskey Mountain behind. You can exchange the pirate corpses with bounties there."

Gel guessed:

It seems that you often lure and kill pirates in exchange for bounties. In order to facilitate the exchange of bounties, the navy has opened an exchange point here.

"I don't know which pirate group Captain Gol has killed that needs to be exchanged for a bounty. If the amount does not exceed 6 million Baileys, as long as the pirate's head is in good condition and can be clearly identified, we can directly help you accept it at a % discount on the original bounty, so you don't have to bother making a trip in person."

The old miserly mayor rubbed his palms habitually as he spoke. Seeing Geer's expression of "Do you think I am a fool?", he patiently explained:

"Captain Gul, you don't know that the Navy will often find various reasons to deduct as much as possible from the bounty. They also want to get a share of the bounty. Generally, 6-7% of the bounty is considered good. If you don't want to, they will say that they can't identify you or ask you to wait for a year to confirm that the pirate group has not appeared on the sea again before you can get the money. We are also forced to spend money to get rid of the disaster. 6-% of the bounty is used to deal with these parasites, so taking a % discount is really just a small reward for your hard work."

Geer exclaimed, "Wow, this has developed into a mature industrial chain. 6% new items are recycled at % off the original price? After all the layers of eating, drinking and taking bribes, it is really not easy to get % off. This is a very reasonable price."

However, the 20 million available funds you have are still too small to buy my goods.

"Thank you for the information, Mayor. I won't need it for now. I just happened to have seen how the navy redeems bounties, and I want to go and see it for myself. If possible, please arrange a guide for me to take me there tomorrow. Of course, I won't let him make this trip in vain. I'll give him 20 Baileys of hard-earned money."

Gel found a reason to reject the mayor's proposal, and then took out another 20 Baileys to hire a guide.

"Hahaha, no problem! No problem! Captain Gill, you are so polite. It's just a small matter. As long as you don't mind the trouble, it's fine."

The old mayor was quick to take the 20 Baileys from Gel's hand, then turned around and shouted to the crowd.

"Forrest Gump!"

"Forrest! Come here for a moment."

Soon, a young man who was about the same height as Gel and a bit thin came running over in a hurry. He looked at Gel and his group with a timid look.

The mayor was not at all shy about the fact that his financial sponsor, Gel, was watching nearby. He skillfully counted out 1000 Baileys from the stack of 10-dollar bills and put the rest into his pocket.

He handed the money to the young man named A-Gump and said:

"You will be Captain Gill's guide for the next few days. Take Captain Gill to the naval base to redeem the bounty tomorrow."

The other residents who were still shouting welcome showed envy in their eyes, wondering why this good job didn't fall on them.

"The mayor is so biased that he gave such a good thing to that loser Forrest Gump."

"Hush! Keep your voice down. Haven't you heard that Forrest Gump is actually the younger brother of the cousin of the mayor's aunt's son? He's a relative, so of course we have to take care of him."

"Go away! Where did you hear this news? It's too outrageous. Who would help such an unrelated person? What I heard was that Forrest Gump was actually the son of the elder brother of the mayor's first love. I heard that his whole family died tragically at the hands of pirates. His father died to protect the young mayor, leaving only two-year-old Forrest Gump and his grandmother. Later, his grandmother died of illness early, and Forrest Gump became an orphan. If the mayor hadn't been taking care of him, he would have starved to death long ago."

"Get lost, your story is even more outrageous than mine. Everyone knows that our mayor has been single for nearly 60 years. When he was young, many girls chased him but none of them worked out. Rumor has it that the mayor is not that good in that aspect! So he has no interest in women, so how can he have a first love? Besides, the mayor is a monster by nature. There are at least dozens of pirates who have died under his sword! How can he need anyone to protect him?"

"..."

Everyone began to discuss in low voices.

Here, Forrest Gump took the money and said to the mayor with gratitude:

"Thank you mayor!"

The old mayor rolled his eyes at him, thinking that this bastard really had no vision at all.

The mayor was not polite either. He jumped up and punched the monkey on the top of his head, scolding him:

"Why thank me? You should thank Captain Gill! Do a good job. If you can't satisfy Captain Gill, I will immediately arrange for a replacement."

Only then did Forrest Gump turn around and thank Gir repeatedly.

The matter here was settled, and the group went their separate ways and were free to move about as they pleased after arriving in the town.