53 Chapter 53
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In a suburban area far from the main streets of Cocoyasi Village, there lies a modest, simple wooden house. This house, built by the former Marine Bellemere, is the home where Nami and her sister Nojiko live.
Creak.
Nami pushed open the wooden door and entered the house as if she owned the place.
"Nami? You're back?"
Bellemere, wearing a green plaid shirt, heard the noise and quickly came out of the kitchen, squatting down to hug Nami tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what I said earlier was too much; I didn't consider your feelings."
Her eyes moist, she buried her head deeply into Nami's small shoulder.
Nami, naturally stubborn, didn't want to back down, but hearing Bellemere's tired, sobbing voice, her little temper vanished completely.
She did want to wear pretty new clothes and eat lots of delicious food, but deep down, what she wanted most was for Bellemere to be happy and not so weary.
"Are you hungry, Nami? Come sit at the table and wait; I'll warm up some food for you."
Bellemere subtly wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, stood up with her hands on her knees, and turned to heat up the meal in the kitchen.
Due to the dry weather, the orange business wasn't doing well this year, so she'd rather eat some orange flesh to fill her belly, allowing the two children to have a full meal.
She wanted to save the money spared for emergencies.
"Wait, Bellemere."
Nami reached out to grab Bellemere's arm.
"Nami, can you not be so capricious? Bellemere has already done so much for us!"
Nojiko, with her blue short hair and wearing a similarly simple short-sleeved shirt, frowned slightly, thinking Nami was still throwing a tantrum.
Being two years older than Nami, she was obviously more mature and knew that Bellemere's claim that "eating orange peels can nourish the skin" was just a lie to make them eat properly.
"No, someone wants to buy our oranges!"
Nami pointed outside, and Bellemere and Nojiko then noticed there were quite a few people standing at their doorstep.
Besides the familiar guard Gen, the rest were strangers they had never seen in the village before.
"Bellemere, they've come from the open sea, hearing that our oranges are quite good and want to buy a batch."
Gen explained, smiling and waving to Nojiko as a greeting.
Hearing this, Bellemere and Nojiko took a closer look at Zyhark and his companions.
Having been a Marine, Bellemere's gaze sharpened, instantly realizing that Zyhark and his companions were no ordinary people.
Nojiko's reaction was similar to Nami's; she was scared by King's intimidating face but amazed by Aqua's beauty.
Zyhark was also observing Bellemere, a female Marine who bravely faced the entire Arlong Pirates to protect her two daughters.
Her tall stature combined with a short haircut gave her a bold, confident appearance.
"Hello, we run a maritime restaurant," Zyhark greeted casually.
"That's perfect then, you've come to the right person. The oranges I grow are big and sweet, top-quality goods!"
After a brief moment of astonishment, Bellemere regained her composure and warmly invited Zyhark and his companions inside.
"Nojiko, make some tea, and Nami, don't just stand there dumbly, come help too."
After delegating tasks to the two children, Bellemere sat on the living room sofa, naturally pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering one to Zyhark and his companions.
Zyhark, not much interested in cigarettes, was about to refuse but accepted out of respect upon seeing the cheap cigarette clutched in Bellemere's slender fingers.
Lighting up, he took a puff and exhaled a smoke ring.
Seeing this, Bellemere couldn't help but smile knowingly: this business deal was pretty much secured!
Achoo! Achoo!
Just as they were about to start bargaining, Aqua's severe coughing broke the silence.
The clueless goddess was seen holding a lit cigarette in one hand and rapidly patting her chest with the other, her tongue sticking out, her expression comedic, overwhelmed by the strong tobacco smell.
"If you're not used to smoking, it's okay to throw it away," Bellemere said, her eyes curling into crescents as she laughed softly.
"How could that be! How could a mere cigarette be too much for the great Water Goddess Aqua!"
Always ready to rise to a challenge, Aqua became indignant, puffing away before proudly exhaling a pure white smoke ring.
"How's that? This is the power of the great Water Goddess Aqua!"
Zyhark could tell immediately: she had purified all the cigarette's components...
"That's really impressive," Bellemere said, a bit dazed.
Although it felt rude to think this way about their guests, she couldn't help feeling that this beautiful girl might not be all there in the head?
Just then, Nojiko and Nami came over with the prepared tea.
Zyhark accepted a cup of tea from Nami, noting its somewhat bland color, then glanced at Bellemere's cup of pure water, deepening his understanding of the family's poverty.
No wonder they couldn't come up with two hundred thousand Berries when Arlong Pirates invaded.
After all, even running the most ordinary restaurant in Windmill Village, he made hundreds of thousands of Berries a year.
Let alone catching a pirate on the sea for a bounty worth millions!
"So, Mr. Zyhark, how many oranges do you need?"
Bellemere asked straightforwardly, holding a lit cigarette, "If you're taking everything, we have about five hundred kilograms available, priced at thirty thousand Berries. What do you think?"
"What? Thirty thousand Berries?" Zyhark was surprised.
The price was much lower than he had anticipated.
Whether out of love for the character Nami from the original story or respect for Bellemere's strength, he had hoped they would quote a higher price.
"Our oranges are of high quality; this is the lowest price. If you don't believe me, you can try some right now!" Bellemere thought he was bargaining.
"The oranges are indeed sweet," Aqua nonchalantly ate the two slices Nojiko had given her.
"They're much better than the oranges from the Hero Association's monthly gift box," King nodded in agreement.
How did you two end up eating them in the blink of an eye...
Zyhark was somewhat speechless, and right then, Nojiko handed him some peeled oranges.
Nojiko, two years older than Nami, was indeed more mature, knowing to use this method to promote their oranges.
"Thank you."
Zyhark tasted an orange slice, finding it juicy, sweet, and quite excellent.
"No problem, let's go with your price," he replied promptly.
Raising the price without reason could harm the other party's pride.
"Then, thank you very much for your patronage!" Bellemere smiled brightly.
Securing this large order meant their life would be secured for a long time to come.
(End Of Chapter)
