Miss Princes is very resolute in her work, and she doesn't shy away from talking about gold pounds. Shade sat in the single sorceress's apartment and thought about it, and decided that there was no need to save this expense:
"How about a basic salary of £5?"
He stretched out five fingers and shook them:
"I will give you 3 pounds before departure, and I will give you 2 pounds at the end of the night. I can increase the salary according to the situation. As for my purpose, I just want to walk around the cold water port city and get to know a few trustworthy people with special transactions.
A black market for items.”
Although 5 pounds seems like a lot, if the other party can really introduce Shade to places like the Black Raven Library or Old John's Pawn Shop, then the broker's fee can only be considered low.
The green-haired girl looked at Shade, tapped the armrest of the chair with her fingers, and shook her head gracefully:
"The fixed price is 10 pounds. I will give you 3 pounds upfront and 7 pounds in the evening. If you are not satisfied, we can discuss the final payment at night. I have already taken you to my usual residence in this city, so you don't have to doubt me.
.”
This price is acceptable, and Shade has already planned to use the Cold Water Port, where thousands of ships gather, as a common trading location:
"no problem."
A smile appeared on Miss Prince's lips, but only for a moment.
After that, Miss Princes took out a very expensive-looking silver-gray metal box with a handle from the bathroom. The box was rectangular in shape, with patterns of branches, leaves and flowers all over the surface. The pattern appeared golden, like a plated
He got a layer of gold. But according to Miss Prince's income level, Shade probably thought too much.
He slowly pulled the handle and opened the box. As the lid of the box rose, layers of shelves slowly unfolded inside, allowing Shade to see the layered cosmetics in the box.
Metal screws connect different layers of metal plates, brass-colored nuts, springs and bearings to ensure that the shelves inside the box can be unfolded smoothly. Although this cosmetic box does not use any high-end steam technology, it is the era of sophisticated mechanical craftsmanship.
, but can be seen from this box.
"Sit still and don't move. I'll do some simple makeup on you."
The young lady has already begun to take out bottles and jars from the makeup case. She doesn't seem to mind being stared at by a strange man face to face during the makeup process. This is not to say that Miss Princes is a very casual girl.
, Xia De felt that she seemed to have a particularly good impression of him. When she started to help with makeup, she was also very familiar with his facial features.
It only took her ten minutes to finish dressing up Shade. When Shade looked in the mirror in the bathroom, he could still recognize himself at a glance. But to someone unfamiliar with him, this kind of simple makeup
The subtle adjustments in appearance made by technology make it difficult for people to equate John Watson with Chad Hamilton.
"The ladies' makeup skills are really amazing."
He touched his face in the mirror:
"Why do I feel like she trusts me so much? Doesn't this lady have any so-called vigilance? Or does she want to gain my trust in this way?"
【Why not because of other possibilities?】
A murmuring voice rang in his ears, his tone full of laughter.
"for example?"
【She likes your face.】
"Is this the first time you've joked with me?"
The chuckle meant that she wanted to end the conversation. Although she never said hello in advance when she spoke, except for the day when Sha De first came to this world, she always spoke at the most appropriate opportunity without being abrupt at all.
.
"I'm really getting used to her."
After that, Shade was kicked out of the bathroom by Miss Princess, and the blonde sorceress had to do her makeup in front of the mirror.
She asked Shade to wait for about half an hour. Shade didn't have the habit of rummaging through other people's belongings, so he sat on the sofa and waited.
He was still thinking about Miss Princes, and moved his eyes to the coffee table to pour himself tea. There were many things scattered on the coffee table, and an open notebook was next to the teapot. He had just entered the door.
Although the coffee table was messy at that time, this book was not there yet. It seems that Miss Princes flipped through it when he entered the bathroom just now.
Shade didn't mean to look, but the notebook and the teapot were too close.
[23rd of the Sleeping Moon, 1852]
This is the first line written on the right side of the notebook. It is the date of December last year. In other words, what Shade saw was Miss Prince's diary for December last year.
Now that he saw the date, as long as his eyesight was fine, the following line of text was naturally seen by Sha De.
【Who are you?】
"Huh? Of course I'm Shade."
He thought to himself, and then realized that the sentences in the diary were not written for him. This line of letters occupied three full lines in the lined notebook, and was specially bolded with blue-black ink, as if the writer was writing it.
Express your inner strong emotions.
"Miss Princess lost control last December? What does that mean?"
Shade was a little confused and looked up in the direction of the bathroom. The bathroom in this apartment was very narrow, not even big enough to accommodate three people standing at the same time. You could see the silhouette of a beautiful blonde girl, who was concentrating on putting makeup on herself in front of the mirror.
.
"I don't want to pry into other people's privacy."
Although he thought so, but because he was worried that Miss Princes would lose control, Shade carefully turned the page of the paper. He did not turn to the second page, but turned back five pages.
There is still only one day's content written on a piece of paper, but the time has come to the end of December last year. It is written in beautiful cursive letters:
【No! Don't ask my maid strange questions!】
Shade pursed his lips and became even more worried about Miss Prince's mental condition. This way of writing a diary that talked to himself made him think of many terrible things.
After restoring the diary to normal, Shade did not continue to look through it. It took Miss Princes half an hour to put on makeup on herself. There was also no big change in the facial features, but it would definitely be very confusing to people who were not familiar with it.
It is difficult to connect the two looks together.
"Then we will happily cooperate!"
Before leaving the apartment, the young girl paid no attention to the open diary, and Shade stretched out her hand again. Miss Princes reached out and held her beloved's hand, but after shaking slightly, she found that he had not let go.
He looked at Xia De in surprise, and Xia De seemed to be stunned for a few seconds before letting go:
"Oh, sorry, I just thought of other things."
【No problem, she didn't lose control.】
This is the answer Shade got at the risk of being considered a hooligan.
Miss Princess was not angry, but reminded:
"Don't do this to strange ladies in the future. I have a good temper, but if you meet someone with a bad temper, you will get into trouble."
Then he raised his right hand and held his naturally drooping left arm, and asked sheepishly:
"Mr. Watson, what do you think of the way I've made myself look ugly now?"
She is really a girl with a very good character.
Without staying too long in the city, they took a carriage back to the dock area. There was nothing to do on the way, and Miss Princes even talked to Shade about some political-related topics.
This can be regarded as the best entertainment topic when you are bored. Seeing Shade looking out at the street scene, the young girl asked:
"Mr. Watson, what do you think of the city of Coldwater Port?"
"Although shipping has made the city a lot of money, the current development method cannot be said to be very sound."
Shade said, looking at the children running outside. The barefoot children were chasing an iron ring:
"This city seems prosperous, but shipping trade alone as the main means of profit is still too single. The current prosperity is based on the development of the New World. I know that the development of the New World may last for hundreds of years.
, but the status of Coldwater Port is not irreplaceable. It has grabbed the dividends of the times, but it is just borrowing its status from the old era. If the city managers do not realize this, then what will happen to the city under this chaotic prosperity?
It’s really hard to say how long it can last.”
The management of the dock area by the Coldwater Port City Hall is actually very negligent. Smuggling, smuggling, and the sale of dangerous goods can be seen everywhere in the dock area. The chaotic population flow and the interference of order by nobles and wealthy businessmen have made the port management of Coldwater Port a mess.
The situation is extremely chaotic. This is certainly a good thing for ambitious people who want to go overseas, but it is not a good thing for the development of the city.
"Oh? This idea is quite new, so what do you think Cold Water Port should do?"
Miss Prince asked again.
Shade shook his head:
"I'm just an ordinary person, and I don't have any opinions. I probably want to develop some other industries based on convenient transportation conditions, so that the transportation industry, fishery and finance, ahem, I mean the banking industry, maybe the Delrayon National University
Banks can take advantage of the seasonal nature of fishery and commodity trade, so I don’t have any ideas.”
He realized that he had said a bit too much and smiled sheepishly. Miss Princes also laughed, and her quiet smile without showing her teeth was very impressive:
"Mr. Watson, have you studied urban management before?"
"of course not."
"But you're great."
Miss Prince's voice was low.
After a short trip, the two got off the car at a stone-paved street adjacent to the pier. The lady who seemed familiar with this place took Shade into the "Seven Broomsticks Tavern" with a freshly bloody pig's head on the sign.
.
Indicating Shade not to talk too much, Miss Princes wrapped her relatively neutral black coat tightly and walked in front, passing through the noisy tavern where sailors and idlers were having fun, and came to the bar. She tapped the table with her finger and threw out a
A crimson coin that Shad had never seen before:
"I brought new friends."
The bartender twirled the coin spinning on the counter, looked at the gas lamp, and pushed the coin back to the woman who spoke:
"The entrance fee, for you, is 1 shilling. For him, the stranger, 5 shillings."
Miss Princes shook her head at Shade behind her. Shade consciously took out his wallet from his pocket, took out a banknote and put it on the table.