Chapitre 64: Chapter 64
Chapter 64 - A Merchant Ship
Rui Mengmeng followed Tom's instructions and rode around the fish shops on No. 59 Island, but they couldn't find any fish that interested Tom; either they weren't fresh or he had eaten them too many times.
"Let's go to 58GR, Old Bob has a buddy there who opened a seafood restaurant," Adrian suggested. "We can also take a stroll by the seaside and see if they have any freshly caught fish for sale."
Tom remembered the six old men who went fishing and thought it might be fun to use their fishing rods to catch fish. He nodded in agreement.
As for the incident where he was beaten up by the fish, Tom chose to selectively forget about it.
Artoria remembered the delicious grilled fish Tom had cooked that day and had no objections to going again.
They arrived at the same small bay as last time, and Rui Mengmeng parked the car steadily.
Sure enough, all six old men were there. Adrian got out of the car and said, "Mengmeng, give the bell a couple of squeezes."
"Sure."
Ding-a-ling, the clear sound caught the old men's attention. Old Bob turned around impatiently, his face quickly changing from cloudy to sunny. "Isn't that Adrian?" he exclaimed.
"It's Adrian, and you've finally decided to pay us a visit!" the other five old men exclaimed with joy, coming over with their fishing rods.
"You're too kind..." Adrian felt a bit surprised. When did I become so popular with these old guys? He hesitated, wondering if he should bow or shake hands.
Then the six old men walked past him and surrounded Tom. Tom looked left and right, realizing that these old men were no ordinary folks.
"Hurry, hurry, our haul today is quite good. Come take a look, pick whatever you like!" The old men guided Tom over to a bucket by the water's edge.
Adrian stood awkwardly in place, thinking, why are they not welcoming me and instead calling me by my name?
Artoria followed along, knowing that tagging along with Tom meant a free meal.
Rui Mengmeng poked Adrian and whispered, "Boss, it seems like they're not here to welcome you."
"Ah, I see, Mengmeng." Adrian felt a pang of disappointment.
Meanwhile, Tom had started a fire. Despite having just eaten, a cat can't resist the allure of fish.
The old men helped clean a few fish before they had a chance to talk to Adrian. "Young man, is there something you want to ask us?"
Adrian replied, "Nothing in particular, we're just here to make some purchases. Tom wants to find some fresh or rare fish. Since we happened to be passing by, we thought we'd say hello."
"Fresh fish? We've got plenty of those! I already gave Tom a bucket of them."
"I took some too, no need to be polite."
The old men were quite generous, but Adrian insisted, "You've worked so hard, what will you do if I take everything?"
"We don't fish just to eat, and we usually share what we catch with our neighbors." Old Bob chuckled, watching Tom turn the fish on the grill. "And as for the things we gave Tom, it's none of your concern!"
"That's right." The others chimed in.
Rui Mengmeng whispered to Adrian, "Boss, it seems like they're not very impressed with you."
"Ah, I see, Mengmeng." Adrian felt like deducting her salary. Why didn't I realize she could be so sharp-tongued when watching anime?
On a small fire, ten fish were grilling, each of varying size, species, and thickness. Tom mastered the timing perfectly, flipping each one just right.
He moved from one end to the other, turning the fish, occasionally using a small knife to score the skin and sprinkle seasonings.
The tantalizing aroma filled the air, making Bob's mouth water. He asked, "By the way, I forgot to ask, is this a new employee?"
Adrian nodded, "Yes, business has been good lately."
The teasing began again, "Look how good he is at running a business. Bob, your retirement was the right call; you wasted such a prime location!"
Bob retorted, "None of you have done any better!"
The banter continued until the owner of the seafood restaurant said, "If you're looking for special fish, why not come to my shop? We just got a Southern Sea special, an elephant tuna, last night. It's not commonly found around here."
After advertising his own shop, he continued the argument. Adrian knew about the elephant tuna, a fish with an elephant-like nose. Although it was considered a decorative fish, it seemed delicious here.
After a lively meal, the group sat back contentedly. "Such great grilled fish, a shame we don't have any alcohol," the restaurant owner lamented.
Bob grinned and pulled out a portable flask from his pocket, smugly taking a sip. The others wanted to give him a hard time for not sharing.
"You old rascal, you should share the good stuff!"
"Yeah, what's the point of being selfish!"
Bob taunted, "Hah, you weren't acting like this when you were making fun of me earlier. Now you're craving some booze."
The discerning restaurant owner could tell the flask contained good liquor. He tried to butter Bob up in hopes of getting a sip.
The others followed suit, and the old men acted like kids fighting for candy.
Adrian and the others were focused on eating, especially Artoria, who ate elegantly yet quickly.
Knowing Artoria's appetite, Tom gave her the largest fish. Despite that, she had already devoured half of it in no time.
After finishing their feast, Adrian excused themselves. "We'll be on our way to check out that elephant tuna at your shop."
Following the requests of the old men, Tom selected some fish he liked and placed them in the car to take with him.
Adrian saw Tom's nonchalant manner and thanked the old men on his behalf. But they all felt like they had made a profit.
With their things loaded up, Tom crouched back into the cart, Adrian jumped onto the car from one side, and Artoria hopped off from the other, like a well-practiced reaction.
"What's with the attitude?" Adrian asked, confused.
Artoria gazed out at the sea in the distance. "A ship is approaching."
"Really, a black shadow is getting closer!" Rui Mengmeng exclaimed, spotting the ship Artoria mentioned.
Adrian rested his hand on the sunshade and looked into the distance. Tom stood on Adrian's head, mimicking his stance to peer into the distance.
"I can't see what kind of ship it is. I might need a telescope."
Just then, a pair of binoculars was handed down from above, and Adrian accepted it and looked through. "Thanks."
After observing for a few seconds, Adrian put down the binoculars and looked up, coincidentally meeting Tom's gaze as he looked down.
"When did you go up there?"
Tom shrugged, descending from Adrian's head to sit on his shoulder
.
Adrian thought Tom might want to see farther from a higher vantage point.
But now wasn't the time to worry about that. Adrian asked, "It has a white flag, and I can't make out the insignia. The sails say 'Black Commerce Guild.' Is that how merchant ships are?"
(End of this chapter)
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
NewComer714
NewComer714 Thank you Kaiseth and trey hill for your overwhelming support!
Your supports means a lot to me.
Read advanced chapters of I summoned Tom at the start in One Piece world and many more. Also able to read my Doraemon fanfic.
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