The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.
Ron, contemplating the possibility of reselling gold, left in silence.
But even if he planned to resell the gold, he would have to wait until his next trip to check the gold price, as well as learn about the sales channels and related procedures.
He had never considered this before. But since the old farmer hadn't considered reselling it either, there might be some issues with the process or something like that.
If it would bring any unnecessary trouble, it would be more prudent to honestly continue exporting ingredients.
Thinking this, Ron gathered the materials for the boat repair and found Robin, who was putting the finishing touches on the house.
"Ron?" Robin looked down, glanced at Ron, and after putting her tools back into her tool belt, came down from the ladder. "Did you need something?"
"Yes, I wanted to ask you to fix Willy's boat." Ron showed Robin the materials in his arms.
"The boat?" Robin thought for a good while before remembering. "Ah, that thing. Willy has been saying he wanted to fix it for a long time but never gathered enough materials— so he dumped the task on you."
She then laughed, turned to point at the house, and said, "Wait a moment, I'll have them come take a look at the house. If there are no changes to be made, I'll go to the beach with you— ah, but even if we fix it now, I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to set off, the harbor is completely jammed."
"Alright, I'll wait for you." Ron nodded. Robin then strode to the barn and called Team Rocket, who were working diligently inside, out.
"Is this our new home, meow?" Meowth tilted his head, staring at the house.
Although the one they were staying in temporarily wasn't bad, it was originally prepared for brewing wine, so it had no windows, and the house was slightly different from a normal residence.
"Mm, if you plan to expand it in the future, just come to me anytime. I can build a dedicated small room for you then," Robin said, handing a price list to them.
"The expansion cost is the same as for Ron's cabin," Robin said. "Come find me anytime if you need it."
After confirming that the three had no suggestions for improvement, Ron and Robin set off for the beach.
"Ginger Island, ah, I haven't been there in so long," Robin said, rubbing her hands together. She took a pair of gloves out of her bag and put them on. "In the past, everyone in Pelican Town loved to go to Ginger Island for vacation during the winter. I don't know what it's like over there after so many years."
As if recalling something, Robin took on a nostalgic look. She glanced at the crowded ships on the coast and walked a few steps onto the pier.
Willy was at the harbor at this moment, talking with the submarine captain. Sailor was also there, looking very much like he was part of a captains' meeting.
Although he couldn't interject at all into their conversation and couldn't join them in puffing on their pipes, Sailor still put on the tone a captain should have, nodding and constantly saying "Ratta-ratta" from time to time as the two reminisced about their time at sea.
"Ah, Ron, Robin, what are you two doing here?" Willy took a puff from his pipe and suddenly noticed the two walking towards him.
Since he had only given Ron the list a couple of days ago, he never expected Ron to have gathered the necessary materials so quickly and hadn't thought about it at all.
"Isn't it a bit early to be visiting the Night Market?" Willy said, shaking his pipe and pointing at the boat nearby. "It won't even start until after dark, at the earliest."
Robin let out a chuckle. She then patted Willy on the shoulder and tugged at her own tool belt. "Still can't guess what we're doing today?"
"—" Willy's hand, which was shaking his pipe, froze. He then slowly widened his eyes. "Repairing the boat?!"
Seeing Robin nod, Willy's gaze shifted to Ron's face.
He then put his pipe away and led the two of them into the fish shop.
"Ratta?"
Sailor tilted his head back, looked at the door to the fish shop, and called out in confusion.
"They're repairing the boat," the captain said, taking a drag from his cigarette and looking down at Sailor. "That ship is an old veteran. If it can be fixed, I bet Willy would wake up laughing even in his dreams."
"Ratta?"
The boat?
Sailor froze, then turned and ducked into the fish shop.
The moment he stepped inside, he heard Ron's voice coming from within. Seeing the door was ajar, he trotted over.
A boat, several times larger than the ones outside, was docked there.
To be honest, the ship wasn't exactly magnificent. Although it was quite a bit larger than the boats outside, it was far from being majestic or awe-inspiring.
But Sailor still stood frozen in place. Even though he had never sailed on this ship, he felt he could see the image of this ship riding the wind and breaking the waves on the sea from the faint traces on it.
Noticing Sailor's expression, Willy slowly crouched down. "If you have time later, would you like to go sea fishing with me?"
Even though Sailor said nothing, and Willy wouldn't have understood if he did, Willy knew what Sailor was thinking. He patted Sailor's back, then straightened his hat. "Let's go on a real sea fishing trip, to a place even farther than last time—"
"Ratta!"
Although Sailor had unilaterally decided to skip work, since the income from the crab pots was now a small part of the farm's overall earnings, Ron didn't raise any objections. He just stood quietly to the side, watching Robin repair the old boat.
Willy also went up to lend a hand.
By the time the boat was fixed, it was already evening.
This kind of speed was normal for Robin. Willy looked at the completely renewed boat with high spirits and, with an excited wave of his hand, decided to treat Ron and Robin to a meal at the Saloon.
The three of them made their way to the Saloon.
Because of the Night Market, Gus's Saloon was extremely quiet today.
Even Gus was thinking about just closing the Saloon, or perhaps setting up a small stall at the Night Market.
If it weren't for the cold, he would have been there already.
"Good evening."
Seeing the three of them enter, Gus quickly greeted them. "What brings you here? What can I get for you?"
Willy passed the menu to Robin and Ron. "You two order, don't be polite with me!"
"You're treating?" Gus looked at Willy in surprise.
So Willy proudly told him that his boat had been fixed.
"The boat? You mean, we can go to Ginger Island?" Gus was stunned for a moment, then instantly realized what it meant. He then laughed, "That's great! If the resort over there is still there— then I'm going to Ginger Island for the winter."
"The resort, huh— it's probably long since fallen into disrepair," Willy thought for a moment and said. "Come to think of it, that resort was also built by that old fellow."
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