No good deed goes unpunished. Why did I open my mouth to try to make this island a better place? Why?! The only thing that I managed to get is more work and zero benefits.
Tell the bald guy to build ships, that will make the village food production to grow and give everybody a rise in the quality of life. What could go wrong? Apparently a lot, in my defense how could I know that the bald guy was so freaking greed?
All that the bastard had to do was build a couple of ships to bring the wood to the village. He would then use one of the ships as payment for the work and keep the rest of the wood to build his stupid “wood house”, easy right?
He would get his stupid wood house and the village would get a better quality ship that would make possible a raise in the quantity of available food. But he completed refused the possibility of paying for a service with “his” wood. So I thought of a solution without thinking about the consequences.
What about keeping the ownership of the ships and then renting the ships to the fishermen? Even then he refused to use “his” wood to build something like a ship. The fact that the wood was from a bloody ship didn’t pass his mind!
That moment I should have just shut up and gone enjoy the festival. But just like a gambler that doesn't know when to stop, I tried one last move. Blame Carlos for everything and see what can happen.
And the answer is a lot. The fact that his nemese was behind a evil plot to get “his” wood was a lot worst them giving the said wood to other people. By the Corgi Gods, that sounds like a line of a shitty porn.
Anyway, that put a fire on his ass - I need to rephrase better – he immediately went to the village and negotiate with the closest thing that the village has to a carpenter and Antonio. To my surprise they were more excited than the bald guy about the deal so I thought they must have gotten an amazing bargain.
But everything went wrong after that. When we went to see the ship and start the project. Even I who knew we were getting scam was surprised of how little wood was left. There was less the one third left and the worst parts at that.
Which immediately start a incredible scream war between the bald guy and Carlos about the division. It come to the point where I thought a fist fight was about begin, but thanks to Antonio who intervened and grunted his way to a truce and both parties were separated.
Neither side was happy but they somehow manage to split the wood. Then my brilliant plan suffered another blow, the carpenter Matias was completed out of his league. You could see by the way that he talked while cutting the beams. He was already making excuse for his future shit work, never a good signal.
When the wood was cut each party went to one side of the beach, Antonio, me, bald guy, Matias and the 3 fishermen in one side and Carlos, his son and 4 men in the other. It was clearly that was impossible to build something on the sand and yet took the rest of the day for Matias and the others to figure it out.
The Corgi Gods forbid them to hear a child opinion without beaten her, so I kept my mouth shut throughout the process. We slept in the sand and the next morning started to clear a part of the forest to use as a workshop.
Carlos and his party just repeated what we were doing, I didn’t understand why, since they didn`t have any tool to work the wood. The cutting of the wood was made by Matias and thanks to that we got a bigger share, that didn’t make Carlos happy.
After two day everybody realized that the job would take a lot of time, and with basically every fishermen here, the village would starve to death. So it was decided that Matias and I would stay behind and work in the boat and someone would bring food every few days.
When Carlos realized what we are doing he left his son “guarding” his share and went home. There was nothing to the kid to do besides sitting there the whole day doing nothing, luck bastard.
The bald guy leaving was a good thing. Matias was totally lost to the point that he was desperate enough to listen to a kid. I didn’t know shit about woodwork, but some common sense and experiment we manage to finished one ship in five weeks.
It was just a big version of the village current ones, but when I saw the expression of happiness of the fishermen, I realized that we must have done something right.
To my surprise not only the bald guy didn’t demand that Antonio immediately sail back with the rest of the wood but he asked Matias if was possible to build another one. It was, but would be left very little wood.
He passed some time considering and said to make one more. After doing some test with the ship close to the shore. I wasted hours to convince Matias that testing was necessary and took a him a long time to convince the clearly excited fishermen that they couldn’t just leave.
In the next day when they were preparing to leave by sea, I considered telling the bald guy not to risk his life and go back by land. But he would just yell that he wasn’t a coward or something like that.
The next few days were hard on Matias and me. We made a crappy ship and if that crappy ship were to kill the the most skill fishermen and the village only blacksmith I really don’t know what would happen to us.
But in 4 days the bald guy returns with food and looked very excited about the second ship. That moment I didn`t think to much and continued to work, I should have asked why he was so excited. Not that knowing would make a difference, but ignorance never is a bless in my opinion.
Nevertheless in my ignorance I finished building the second ship a lot faster and he was better then the first, not a lot but better. We even spent a day doing nothing and I went to talk with Carlos son, Ricardo. At first he was scary that I would try to steal from him.
But I convinced him that the last thing that I wanted was more wood. The poor bastard was here all alone doing nothing for months. Good thing that he didn’t become insane. We talked a little and he asked a lot of questions about my sister.
Maybe the poor bastard went insane? Does he really believe that the bald guy would be fine with his nemesis son marrying his daughter?
The same group that took the first ship returned and took the second one, they looked angry but I just considered that they were upset about the hike. They said that was room for us in the ship, but both Matias and I refused and returned by land, we really didn’t trust our work.
After returning I was sure that I would lazy around for few days before retuning to sweep the floor and caring stuff around. Maybe not a few days but at least a few hours. And when I got home, I realized how much more efficient the new fishing boats were.
I mean in a different order of magnitude. I lived in the extreme of the village far from any house – don’t ask me why – and around the house where was supposed to be nothing and was now full of fishes drying in the open ar.
The bald guy was already in the house and on the moment that he saw me he immediately put me to work helping with the fish along Natali and Rita.
If that was the problem, more fish I would be less angry. But there was a lot of fish, so much that was impossible to correct dry everything without spoiling a part. And the spoiling food was driving the bald guy insane.
He kept yelling at us because it was his family fault for not working hard enough, but the Corgi Gods forbid him to help us. The situation only got worst when the crew for the second boat started to work.
If the problem was just a lot of more fish we would eventually get around and enter a routine. But the bald guy was doing his best to alienated the fishermen. The deal he made with Antonio was that they would get a fair share of the fishes.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
A fair share! Who makes a deal with this kind of generic terms? You are basically asking for having problems! Because both parts will disagree a lot about what is fair.
Especially when one of the parts is a miser like the bald guy, he didn’t said anything about the situation, but you just need to listen to Natali to see how he is destroying a good thing by being the usual idiot.
Goddamnit, it’s just a matter of time for the exploited proletarian to rise and seize the means of production when the bald guy is doing his best to alienated every one in the village. And to be honest I will probably lead the crowd, more than two moons building the ships and he acts like I was in a vacation and not doing real work.
The question now is, do I try do fix the situation that may or may not be my fault or I just give up and see the circus burn? The last one is probably the right answer, no need to put myself in the line when the only result will be the bald guy yelling at me.
He created this mess with his greed, let him suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, a war between the only blacksmith and all the fishermen will be terrible for the village and most important of all, it may result in less food for me.
Even if I want to intervene, what could I possible do? The Carlos has a evil plan card can be used, and I’m 100% sure that will work.
Should I tell him that Carlos is planning to seize the ships with promises of better pay for the fishermen? I think he can buy that, just need to say that João told me. The boy can’t shut up, he will believe that he told tell me a secret that he overheard.
But during building the ship and working preserving fish I have been think about this strategy. First of all, it’s never a good thing to always use the same trick, eventually he will see that is a lie and will never trust me again. It may be a short term solution but in the long term it's to dangerous.
Second, let’s say that he will never doubt my word and keeping distrusting Carlos. It`s useful to play the card of evil Carlos trying to steal stuff to make him do what I want, but how long can I stay playing this card until he breaks down and try something violent?
They clearly hate each other for years, in some point one of them may try something radical if he believes that he got his back in the wall. Since this is my second life, I sometimes forget that to this people this is everything they will ever know.
To me they may look poor and their life style may seem primitive, but for them this is normal. This is how life is supposed to be. I`m the weird one with unrealistic expectations.
If a try to keep making the bald guy mistrust Carlos it could lead to civil war in the island, maybe not a civil war but this place is already living in a thin marge. Any interruption of the normal life may give a mortal blow to this community.
But what is my other option? Tell him the truth? He will never pay attention for what I have to say. Could I ask Natali to say something? But he doesn’t pay attention to her either and I don`t think I could convince her in the first place.
I have a very bad hand to begin, should I even try? I just decided to try to make here a better place, can’t give up just after a few problems, I can, but I won’t.
My brilliant plan is already causing trouble, I can’t continue to blame Carlos for everything. I will go to the bald guy and try to explain that his greed is destroying a good thing.
When telling the truth fails, I will just use Carlos has evil plan strategy in a few days and will try to fix the fallout later. Not the best of plans but it’s what I got. First I will try to do the right thing and explain what’s going on, and after getting my ass kicked for doing the right thing. I will just lie until a I get what I want.
I stop putting the fish to dry and go back to the house, Natali looks at me and before she says anything I answer the question on her face.
-“Going to tell the bald guy he is being a idiot and needs to change or we are going to make everone our enemy”.
Rita laughs and say:
- "He'll just hit you and say you need to get back to work."
-“I know, but I need to try something.”
At least I know they think my odds are low, but let's see what’s going to happing. I enter and see the bald guy working in the in the forge, I see a small stool made from the wood that the second ship brought back and sit.
Might as well relax a little before getting a taste of his fist. It take a while but he turns his back and sees me siting. Just the sight of me doing nothing makes a vein in his head to be close to burst. Never a good signal, but better get this shit done before he starts yelling.
-“You know that the family is tired from you yelling at us for not doing the impossible and you are also making the whole village our enemy by been a idiot with the boats.”
I said what I need to say and now is time to get my “reward”. First he look at me with hate in the eye and his fists are clenched and shaking, good thing about him is that he never hits my face, I wonder if he worries about the villagers saying something if they see me with a black eye.
I straight my back and prepare for my beating, when he just sighs and and sits in another stool, for someone who hates lazy people he sure was a lot of places to sit. He just sits and look to the floor without saying nothing.
I consider saying something, but better not to try my luck. I will just wait and see. After what looks like a eternity he finally start to speak but refuses to look in my eye.
-“For you to confront me the situation must be bad, did you mother put you on this? She probably thinks that if a hear from a second person I will change my mind.”
Was Natali already trying to convince him? I underestimated her, point for her.
-“No, we didn’t talk about this.”
-“Trying to protect her? Perhaps some of my beatings did some good after all. I`m a lot of things boy, but I’m no wife beater. Besides there is no point in beating a grow woman, beatings only work with children.
I don’t know what to say, for the first time since meeting the Corgi Gods I’m speechless. Is he woke for this society? Or he just as terrible as he sounds? I’m very confuse here.
-“And what is your brilliant plan to make everything better?”
Now I few like a dog who keeps going for his tail and finally gets her and dosen’t know what to do. I do have a few plans, but would he even consider then? Might well try and see.
-“The biggest problem are the fishermen, they think you are cheating them and keeping all the fishes.”
I can tell by his body language is that he wants to start screaming but he stay quiet, so far so good.
-“We don’t need to pay them a lot more to shut them up. We need to make they fight each other and not us. Make a captain for each ship and make him responsible for delivery our payment and paying the crew.”
He finally stop looking to the floor and now is looking at me with a confused expression. This situation must really be eating he alive, he would normally be calling me a moron by now, better continue and explain the whole thing.
-“People always complain about the person that actually divides and make the payments. Even if that person only receives a bit more than they do. They will be to busy fighting each other to realized that you are keeping the most from the deal.”
Divide and conquer, by him doing the payment the fishermen are united against a common enemy. By given one of them a middle management position, you divide them and make they fight against each other for the crumbs from the table, instead of trying to get the meal.
“- The person that was made captain will have a opportunity to have a bigger share while doing the same job, he will screw the others for a little bit more. While doing his best to curry favor with you, since he knows that his position is thanks to you and can be taken away at any moment. The other fishermen will hate him and complete forget about you.”
-“And how do I prevent him and the others from stealing from me? If I stop checking every time them enter the village?”
I can hear the bitterness in his voice, but he is asking a good questions here so a I should try to answer.
-“ You already have a idea of how much they fish right? If there is a decline of production, all you need to do is change the captain and say that since they are earning less is obvious that is his fault and the boat need a new leader.”
I can see the engines in his head working and his expression getting less upset, not by a lot, but it’s a improvement.
-“They will make sure you receive at least the same, they may try hid something. But you just need to say to the others that by telling when the captain is stealing your share, you can make them the captain. They will make sure that you get what is yours. And if the captain is stealing from the crew share? That is not your problem.”
By the Corgi Gods, I feel horrible for saying this, but after thinking for a while I realized that this is the only solution. The bald guy maybe be felling fragile and be receptive to my opinion now. But he will only act if he is getting the better of the deal, I need to screw the rest of the village a little for that.
Hopeful things won't get to bad due to the fact that we are close community and social pressure will keep things to an acceptable level.
Bald guy is in deep though, it’s probably a good think or at I hope it’s.
- “I don’t think that will work, people would see some plot like this. But even if worked we would still have to give more to the ungrateful bastards.”
- “We receive a lot of small fishes, most are not worth keeping. You could just use the small fishes as payment and maybe a few large one as reward for the captains. And we also need to build more places to preserve and storage the food, we could always use preserved fish to pay for the labor”.
- “So, you are just going to give away everything that I have for FREE!”
And the yelling started, I’m actually astonished how long he controlled himself.
-“We are not given anything. We are losing a lot of fish because it’s impossible for just three people to do all the work and we need somewhere to put in. The house can barely fit anymore, by using a little now we can save a lot in the long term. And by hiring the people in the village we can gain a lot of goodwill.”
The veins in his head as very close to buster, but I already told everything that I needed. Let’s hope that he understands enough to fix or at least stabilize the situation. Nevertheless, before he starts screaming and using his fist on me I decided to leave and spend the rest of the day very far from him.