Chapter 141 - A New Beginning (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“What?! That… that… ship over there is yours?!” Anne’s jaw nearly fell to the ground. “Don’t tell me that you’ve really found Kidd’s treasure? But that can’t be right. Even if you had money, you still wouldn’t be able to afford an entire frigate, right?”

“That’s a long story. I’ll explain to you some other time. Right now, tell me, how did the cannoneer recruitment go?”

…..

Although the Jackdaw was a rather spacious vessel, Zhang Heng did not plan to recruit too many crew for their first voyage. Including Anne, he now had a core team of eighteen members. He planned to recruit another fifteen at the beach, including skilled seafarers such as cooks and carpenters. Then he would have Anne recommend seven to eight more people, mainly gunners, so the organizational structure would be relatively stable.

After several trips, and only after the wheels had been oiled, would they hire more. Even though doing it this way meant that it would take a longer time to complete the full complement of crew, it also meant that he did not worry about other small-time groups muddling along. Besides, time wasn’t of the essence for Zhang Heng.

As for the appointment of Anne as their boatswain, Zhang Heng had already approached Billy and the others about it. Women were considered to bring bad luck to a vessel. Unsurprisingly, female pirates, in the 18th century, was still somewhat of an anomaly. Generally, everyone had their concerns but Zhang Heng was resolute about this matter.

Since it was the captain’s first order, no one refused, nor did they ask for a vote.

In the end, after a lengthy discussion, Billy and the others decided to accept the appointment, but only on one condition–Anne’s fighting skills had to be tested first.

The reason behind this request was well-grounded. After all, in addition to managing and assigning tasks to the crew, the boatswain must also lead by example during a battle. If the boatswain was taken down by the enemy in a fight, forget about the crew having the morale to fight after that.

Zhang Heng had no objection to this requirement. He could instantly designate Anne as the boatswain of the Jackdaw, but to convince everyone on the ship would have to be of her own effort. Fortunately for her, although Zhang Heng might be worried about many things, he wasn’t concerned about her fighting abilities.

Looking up the two opponents who were easily a head taller than her, the redhead did not even flinch, nor did she show any signs of fear. On the contrary, she seemed excited.

The rest of the pirates started to gather instinctively to watch the battle unfold. The acting referee, Billy, said to Anne, “This is just a test. You’re not allowed to be heavy-handed. You are also allowed to surrender at any given time. So, there’s nothing to worry about. Next, you can choose one opponent from these two. As long as you can defeat any one of them, we will accept you as our fellow…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the girl cut him off by picking up the saber on the sand. She swung it around to get a feel of it and flashed Billy a smile. “Let’s not complicate things. The both of you can fight me together. Otherwise, it would be meaningless if the fight ends too soon.”

When the other pirates heard this arrogant declaration, a massive uproar broke out among them.

Zhang Heng did not have to see the fight, already knowing how it would end. Besides, there were more important matters that needed his attention.

Since becoming a captain, he had a constant nudging at the back of his mind that there were always more things to do. Back on the Sea Lion, his main focus was to learn, observe more, and to speak less. To avoid alarming Orff, he was rarely involved in the affairs onboard. Instead, all he had to do was manage his own time every day. Now, however, he was responsible for an entire ship, and there were a million things bogging his mind down.