When it came to woodworking, Uncle Goodman wasn't exaggerating—this really was child's play for a craftsman of his level. With Shark Chili and Zhang Da Ye helping him, the room was remodeled in less than two hours. He even used the leftover lumber to make a bed, carving an ornate design into the headboard.
Artoria and Rui Meng Meng watched for a bit, but seeing they couldn't contribute much, they left to go train. That left Tom and little Baier to stay and observe.
Goodman also took the chance to teach his son while he worked, explaining each step in detail.
Halfway through, Tom felt he already knew all of it. Brimming with confidence, he stood up, ready to show off—only to step on a nail and tumble screaming down the stairs, never coming back up.
"Tom!" Baier cried out and ran after him.
"Is Tom okay?" Shark Chili asked nervously.
"He'll be fine. Just a nail," Zhang Da Ye said calmly, handing Goodman another piece of wood.
"But it sounded like he rolled all the way down the stairs. Are you sure he won't be hurt?" Shark Chili still wasn't convinced. He had never seen Tom shatter into pieces before, so he didn't know how durable the cat really was.
"I'll check," Zhang Da Ye sighed. Tom himself would be fine, but the floor might not survive—what if it had a cat-shaped dent now?
Sure enough, when he went downstairs, Tom was perfectly fine. The floor was intact too.
Tom was sitting on the ground, clutching his eye dramatically while lifting his leg so Baier could pull the nail out.
"Yooowwwww!" Tom wailed the moment Baier reached toward his foot.
Zhang Da Ye could clearly see Baier's hand hadn't even touched the nail yet…
When the nail finally came out, Tom kept screaming anyway, putting his whole heart into it.
"Tom, it's already out," Baier said, holding up the nail.
Tom peeked at it, then suspiciously checked his own paw. In an instant, he leapt up and tried walking—perfectly fine.
…
When the work was done, Goodman and Shark Chili came down for a break.
"You've only had this tavern for two months, right? It's gotten livelier and livelier," Goodman remarked.
Zhang Da Ye thought about it. He had arrived here in early May, bought the tavern in early June, and now it was late July. Almost three months had passed in this world without him noticing.
"Yeah, and I should thank you, Uncle, for looking after Tom and me back then. Who knows what would've happened otherwise."
"Haha, don't bring that up. I didn't do anything big," Goodman chuckled.
"Actually, I've been thinking of heading out to sea for a while," Zhang Da Ye said, deciding it was better to tell them in advance.
Baier jumped up in excitement. "Brother Da Ye is going out to sea? To become Pirate King?!"
"You're still stuck on that Pirate King nonsense?" Goodman gave him a smack on the head.
"Mom says hitting my head will make me stupid!" Baier protested.
"Better stupid than chasing after being Pirate King!" Goodman snapped, then turned back to Zhang Da Ye, frowning. He didn't think the young man was that reckless.
Zhang Da Ye laughed. "It's just traveling. I've got no interest in pirates."
Goodman immediately imagined countless possible reasons—maybe he wanted to search for his homeland, maybe he wanted revenge on the pirates that stranded him. After all, whenever asked, Zhang Da Ye only said his hometown was a big and wonderful place but never where. About his drifting at sea and family, he'd only muttered something about bad luck.
Goodman figured he must have suffered something harsh—maybe an accident at sea, maybe pirates had scattered his family.
"Are you going alone or with your companions?"
"Of course with them."
"Right, with such strong allies, a journey makes sense." Goodman nodded. With a swordswoman who could match a Warlord of the Sea and a robot that fierce, they'd be fine anywhere.
Zhang Da Ye noticed he might have misunderstood, but just asked, "Uncle, I also wanted to ask you about ships. How much would a good one cost?"
"Buying a ship?" Goodman was surprised. "Why not just travel on a ferry or passenger liner?"
"That's not free enough. With my own ship, I can go anywhere I want. I even thought about turning it into a floating tavern—earn some money while docking along the way."
"That depends on the size. Good materials aren't cheap either. With your group's current size, a small sailing ship under twenty meters would be enough."
Zhang Da Ye did a quick count. Four people and a cat. A ship too big would be hard to handle, but under twenty meters… that was about the size of the Going Merry. If more people joined later, they'd be cramped. Better to aim higher, like the Thousand Sunny.
"I want something around forty meters long. As for materials… any chance of Adam Wood?"
Goodman froze.
Adam Wood? He'd worked as a shipwright for decades and never seen it once. There were only a handful of Adam Trees in the entire world, rare beyond rare. And even if you had the lumber, it was so tough that only master shipwrights could use it. The cost of such a ship would skyrocket.
"Forget Adam Wood. That stuff's impossible to get. Whenever it shows up, it sells for an astronomical price. Even if our entire shipyard worked together, we'd only build with it if we trusted the buyer completely. The price would be billions."
"…Right," Zhang Da Ye muttered, suddenly remembering Franky had gotten it on the black market. "Okay then, how about using the best materials your shipyard has?"
Goodman calculated. "That would run about three to four hundred million berries, depending on the design. Not a small sum. You might want to consider a second-hand ship instead."
"We'll just work hard and earn it. We also need to find a reliable navigator anyway." Zhang Da Ye already had nearly one hundred million berries. Four hundred million didn't seem impossible. Worst case, he'd just hunt more pirates in lawless areas.
Goodman nodded. "Alright. Once you've saved enough, come find me. I'll design it personally."
…
At lunch, Goodman and Baier stayed to eat. Goodman refused to take any labor fee, only charging for the lumber used.
When the food was served, Goodman insisted they didn't need to be so generous—but by the end of the meal, his worldview was shaken.
Two frail-looking girls could eat more than grown men. The robot ate food instead of charging with electricity.
Shark Chili ate like a normal adult, which made Zhang Da Ye very relieved. At least one member of the crew wasn't a bottomless pit. Still, he wondered if that little food was really enough to fuel him.
"My body has a system that converts food into energy. My appetite changes based on energy consumption. After battles, I'll eat more," Shark Chili explained.
"Right, you don't need nutrition for growth…" Zhang Da Ye paused, suddenly realizing. How did the giant shark's energy get replenished again?
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