Chapter 37: Unique "Treasure"
Sag wasn't a good person, he never was.
It's well known that good people have a hard time surviving on this sea. Even if they have a moment of fame, they're easily dragged down and killed by that fame in the end.
From Marine to pirate... it was never defined by good or bad.
Besides, Sag's dream was to become a landlord, he was naturally incapable of being that kind of overly kind person.
"Don't try to confuse me. While I'm still being reasonable, tell me the king's whereabouts. Otherwise..."
Sag pulled out his flintlock pistol and grinned menacingly. "Although I'm not interested in poor people, that doesn't mean I can be casually deceived. Understand?"
Marika didn't even look at the black muzzle pointing at her. She glanced at the people around her who were already showing indignant expressions, and smiled slightly, "Although we don't have gold or jewels, if you're talking about treasure, we do have some..."
She turned and walked behind her. The gathered people automatically parted with Marika's movement, revealing what was on this shallow beach that hadn't yet been submerged by the sea.
It was a pile of things made of stones and shells. There were stone water tanks, with the rainwater falling from the storm violently shaking the water surface.
Around the stone tanks, there was a huge skeleton of some unknown creature, used as a rain shelter. Under the bones, there was a fire pit, with a natural shell, like a pot, placed above it.
"Although Shallow Sand Kingdom is marked on the nautical chart, it is a barren place. Except for sand, we have nothing. The people here even rely on sand to live."
"But there isn't enough space, and there are no safe shelters, so we build settlements in the intertidal zone. But once the tide rises, we have to desperately seek refuge."
She walked into the bone frame, took out two fire-starters, struck them together in the fire pit, and ignited it.
The fire pit seemed to contain some kind of garbage. Sag had often seen it on the beach before. It was trash casually discarded by nearby merchant ships, seemingly collected.
Marika picked up the shell pot, extended it outside the bone frame, filled it with rainwater, and then put it back on the fire to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, she took out a shell knife and looked at the crowd.
"Marika-sama!"
A civilian holding a net came over and said, "This is today's catch!"
Several other fishermen also dragged up the nets they were holding. The nets were full of fish, shrimp, shells, and other seafood, making Sag's eyes twitch.
He had also done fishing. Although fishing and netting were different, there were similarities.
Fishing was about catching big fish, while netting was about catching everything.
After Sag failed on his way to becoming the Fishing King, he turned to try to become the Netting King. He failed, but he still knew some experience.
Of course, the rising and falling tides would bring these seafood, but to be able to use nets to catch so much during the tide, that wasn't skill, it was pure luck.
In terms of skill, Sag had reached the pinnacle!
In terms of luck, he had also reached the pinnacle... the pinnacle of bad luck.
If he cast a net, let alone fish, he wouldn't even catch edible shells!
These several nets full, Sag knew the gold content in them.
"But even in a place like this, we have a unique way of survival."
Marika took out a shell knife, opened a net, and almost as fast as lightning, the shell knife turned into an afterimage, peeling off the shells of the shrimp and crabs.
While peeling, her body turned like a flower, extending her hand outside the bone frame, using the rainwater from the storm to quickly wash the meat, and throwing it into the shell pot. Some of the shells were thrown into the fire pit, and some were thrown into the burning fire.
"The creatures in the sea have their own salinity, so there's no need to deliberately add salt. Shellfish are very delicious, and they don't need any seasoning. They can be cooked into a delicious soup. The roe from shrimp and crabs, used in moderation, can enhance the flavor even more. And the tenderness of the fish itself can also add to the flavor. And if you crush the fish bones, it can also add nutrients."
She picked up a fish, sliced it with the shell knife, scraped off the scales, and then placed it in front of a stone, using another stone to smash the fish to pieces. Her hands danced up and down in this smashed fish, taking the fish meat and fish bones and squeezing them into balls, forming a parabola and accurately falling into the shell pot.
The already boiling water, with the fish balls falling in, boiled even more.
She took out a shell of equal size to this shell pot and covered it, smiling at the crowd, "Please wait a moment..."
After about ten minutes, white smoke emerged from the gaps in the shell, emitting a tempting aroma. The throats of the surrounding people moved wildly, and some even drooled.
Even Lily, who had eaten not long ago, sniffed her nose and stared at the shell pot.
Until Marika lifted the shell lid, the water in the pot had completely turned milky white. Marika took out a small shell bowl, scooped a bowl from the pot, and handed it to Sag.
"This is our 'treasure', Jewel Crown Soup. Please taste it."
The soup in this shell bowl was white, like milk, contrasting with the colorful shell bowl. The fish balls inside were like dotted jewels, and the shells and crab shells were the structure of the crown. Overall, it really did look like a beautiful 'crown'.
Sag subconsciously took it, took a sip, raised his eyebrows, and instinctively exclaimed, "Hmm! Excellent!!"
It was indeed delicious, so fresh that he almost lost his eyebrows.
"Delicious!"
Lily, who received the second bowl, took only one sip, and her eyes lit up. She didn't care about whether there were chopsticks, and directly drank the soup in the shell, even crushing the shells.
"It's very warm!" Lily looked at Marika with completely changed eyes, and said solemnly, "You are very powerful!"
"Thank you for the compliment," Marika bowed with a smile, and then said to the others, "Everyone, please line up. There's enough soup in the pot for everyone to drink."
As soon as the words fell, the eager people took out their own shell bowls and quickly lined up, scooping out bowl after bowl. Just taking a sip, they showed expressions of happiness and satisfaction.
Even though the bone frame wasn't big enough to shelter so many people, and some people were in the wind and rain, but at this moment, drinking the soup, the expressions they showed made people subconsciously feel that they should be very warm.
Marika smiled gently and said, "On a rainy day, drinking a bowl of warm soup can soothe our cold bodies. Captain, please let your subordinates have a bowl too."
Sag narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Marika for a while, and waved to Gin.
Gin immediately understood, and led a dozen pirates to join the queue.
This fragrance, they were also craving it.
It's just that the captain hadn't spoken, and the chief combat officer was still staring here, so they didn't dare to move.
"Very impressive..."
Sag said淡淡ly, "How can someone like you be in this broken place?"
This was a good cooking skill, which could be said to turn the rotten into magic. Obviously, there were no seasonings, just relying on things from the sea, plus the water brought by the storm, to create a delicious soup.
Sag had also wanted to be a Chef King... but this time it wasn't bad luck, it was purely that he couldn't cook well. He could make simple things, but he couldn't do things like this, relying on simple conditions to make delicious food.
There were so many foods in the sea, but they couldn't be randomly matched. Once the proportion of a certain aspect was too high, the whole taste would change. At that time, let alone delicious, it might even smell bad.
Such a character, plus the worship and love of these civilians... She was indeed a king.
Marika looked at the people lining up and slowly said, "We are abandoned people. There is nowhere to go. We can only be trapped here, waiting for fate to come..."
"Marika-sama!"
A civilian who was drinking soup suddenly shouted, the shell in his hand falling involuntarily, staring blankly at the north side of the beach, where a group of figures appeared, approaching them.
"They're here!"
Marika clenched the shell knife in her hand, her expression becoming heavy. "Fate..."
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