When Fang Lang returned to the Charles Jos, Captain Cross looked at Fang Lang who returned empty-handed with a surprised look on his face and asked: "Hey! Fang, why did you come back empty-handed?"
Of course, Fang Lang didn't return empty-handed. He had a first-generation Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watch on his wrist. For this watch alone, Fang Lang had the impression that there were only four pieces in the world, and the auction price reached more than 70 million. This is what Carlo must give to Fang Lang as a gift.
At Carlo's suggestion, Fang Lang spent fifty dollars to buy two Ruger P08 pistols, because according to Carlo's knowledge, the Ruger P08 pistols were very popular in the American collectibles market, but the specific value was unknown to him. It was unclear, but Fang Lang accepted his suggestion after careful consideration. Not to mention, there is one more way to make a fortune.
"Mr. Captain, I found pizza shops and pasta shops on the streets of Italy. I really don't know what to bring to the United States." After saying that, he shrugged and looked at Captain Cross with a look of helplessness.
"Haha... Fang, haven't you discovered the beauties who specialize in Italian street food?" Captain Cross started to joke with Fang Lang between men.
"Mr. Captain, I'm still young and haven't noticed the difference between Italian girls and American girls. I think I need your personal guidance."
Obviously, women are always the most attractive among men. Without Fang Lang answering, the surrounding crew members began to talk about the difference between Italian beauties and American beauties. The atmosphere was so lively that Fang Lang blended in. The team is fast.
Time flies like this, and the whole night is speechless. Early the next morning, before the sky was completely bright, the Victory Ship Charles Jos began to set sail, and Fang Lang also began his voyage life again after being reborn.
Captain Cross originally thought that young Fang Lang was bragging when he said that he was qualified for the shipping work of large ocean-going ships. However, when the first mate took Fang Lang with him, he became familiar with the location of the equipment on the ship and how to use it.
Fang Lang's performance surprised all the sailors on the ship. He was qualified for almost any role on the ship and seemed to have rich work experience in every position. This made Captain Cross very satisfied and felt that he had finally found someone of his own kind.
Because in European and American countries of this era, captains do not have to be the same as modern China. They must start from the grassroots level and take exams one by one before they can finally take the captain qualification exam. Most captains work directly in After studying navigation in a navigation school, you will be assigned to a management position on board a ship. As the chief engineer of an ocean-going container freighter in modern society, Fang Lang has a captain's qualification certificate and needs to take turns when the captain is resting.
Captain Cross is an exception. Because he is a black man, in American society, even if you are better than a white man, you cannot enjoy the same treatment as a white man. Therefore, he started from the most basic sailor, and finally through his own With hard work and a shortage of captains during World War II, I had the opportunity to become a rare black captain.
This made Cross like Fang Lang very much. Although traveling with the convoy fleet, there was no opportunity to choose routes independently, but when the two discussed, Fang Lang had a very rich reserve of navigation knowledge, including seasons, climate, ocean currents, and weather. There is a lot of geographical knowledge that even Cross has never heard of.
He is also very skilled in the use of navigation equipment on the ship. He can use sextant, compass, radio compass, and astronomical clock immediately. The measured routes, longitude and latitude are very accurate.
Fang Lang's sailing skills were unanimously recognized by the crew on the ship, and he was directly assigned to duty rotation after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.
In fact, Fang Lang also had unfamiliar equipment, such as anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-submarine guns on the ship. Whenever there is a chance, Fang Lang will go over and maintain these guns and artillery with the soldiers. After all, this is a man's romance. I don’t know whether it was because the escort fleet was too large, or because the Germans knew that this was an empty ship returning to the United States and had no attack value. Therefore, after fifteen days of sailing, Fang Lang did not encounter an attack by the German Navy submarine force. He was safe. Arrive in New York, the largest port city on the east coast of the United States.
During this period, the New York port was basically crowded with Liberty ships and Victory ships traveling to and from Europe. There were no free berths to berth other merchant ships, so most of the people seen in the port were American soldiers. Now, because it is a war period, in order to pursue the efficiency of ship loading, we basically work in three shifts. The loading and unloading work at the port is basically non-stop for people and equipment, so the efficiency is very high.
Based on Fang Lang's understanding of bulk cargo ships like the Victory Ship, it would take about ten days to load a 7,000-ton Victory Ship. As a result, Captain Cross told Fang Lang that they were loading and unloading supplies and overhauling ships in New York. The time turned out to be only three short days.
In fact, Fang Lang had been observing Captain Cross and others on the ship. After nearly half a month of getting along, Fang Lang felt that Captain Cross and others were trustworthy. After much consideration, in order to maximize the benefits and expand the quantity of a single purchase, he decided to involve all the crew members in his plan. Of course, he would not reveal everything.
Just before the ship was about to dock, Fang Lang found Captain Cross and said seriously: "Mr. Captain, I wonder if we can talk alone!"
Cross looked at this outstanding young man, picked up the pipe in his hand and took a puff, then nodded and said: "Of course, Fang, you can always talk to me if you have any worries."
Although he didn't know what Captain Cross was thinking, Fang Lang knew that he must have misunderstood something, but he didn't care.
"Mr. Captain, after getting along with you for half a month, you have not regarded me as an outsider at all. I am very grateful. In order to thank you for taking care of me during this time, I have a small business that may make you a small fortune. No. Know if you’re interested.”
Hearing that Fang Lang could make everyone a small fortune, he was moved in his heart and said with a smile: "Fang, of course we won't refuse anything that can make us rich. I wonder if we can tell you what it is specifically about. We can't do things that violate military discipline. , everything else is fine.”
"I wonder if bringing some personal belongings on board is considered a violation of military discipline?"
Fang Lang's answer made Captain Cross feel relieved. When he saw this boy suddenly and mysteriously wanted to talk to him alone when he was about to dock, he thought he was going to do something illegal and criminal! The result is that I want to smuggle some goods. I think American soldiers are capable of using military planes to transport drugs. You use a boat to carry some personal belongings, and you do it so mysteriously that it's shocking.
"Of course it's no problem. You can bring as much as you want, but what do you mean by bringing us together to make a fortune!"
"I have a way to make money. I will invest a hundred dollars now. I will purchase the goods and help transport them to Italy for processing. I will guarantee you three times the profit. I wonder if you are interested." Fang Lang will not tell the real profit. The less people know about this hugely profitable business, the better.
Cross's eyes widened when he heard Fang Lang say that there was three times the profit. Not all businesses have such high profits.
"Fang, are you serious?" Cross said seriously.
"Of course, you don't have to worry about anything. Just invest in me and I'll do the purchasing. You help me transport and I'll sell. I guarantee three times the profit. It's not enough for me to cover. If everything goes well this time, you will help me purchase and ship to the destination in the future." How about I pay you three times the price?" Fang Lang also looked directly into Cross's eyes and said seriously.
Some people may wonder, don’t these crew members know the market price of cigarettes on the battlefield? Why not buy it yourself and sell it yourself? In fact, the main place where the market for cigarettes is located is on the frontline battlefield. The crew members of the navy's transport fleet basically have no time to stay in the war zone, and they are constantly transferring supplies back and forth.
During the short stay in the war zone, most American soldiers will go to find women. After all, during the war years, soldiers had their heads tucked into their belts, and they would earn one extra day of life. Therefore, in this situation, Not many people can think about making money in the world.
However, there will definitely be some black market merchants who find these crew members to buy cigarettes, but merchants want to make money and will not let these soldiers earn too much, so Fang Lang's promise of triple the profit will definitely involve all crew members.
