Chapter 13: Knowledge and Skills
Jason looked at the paper in his hand with a trace of surprise on his face.
It was a letter of appointment, and it said something about Jason…
We hereby employ Mr. Jason as our special adviser for a term of three months, from August 14, 1871, to November 14, 1871.
Rhode police station
Hr1871.8.14
The letter’s handwriting was neat and in the official format, with a red stamp at the end.
Undoubtedly, this letter of appointment had legal effect.
And this was the reason why Jason was surprised by this.
How could Bondy, a sheriff, have a say in the Rhode police station?
Although he was called a sheriff, what he did was pretty much the same as a police sergeant.But then, Jason thought of the fact that Bondy even knew about the night watchmen.
And this was not something that a sheriff could know.
Obviously, Bondy had a secret.
But Jason was not interested in revealing his secret.
Everyone had a secret.
Bondy had a secret.
Jason also had his own secret.
Considering their relationship, Jason believed that friendly cooperation was the best choice for the two of them.
"Peep at his life? The result will definitely turn out to be just the opposite of my wish.” This thought crossed Jason’s mind.
Jason looked at Bondy.
"What is this?” Jason asked.
Jason asked on purpose while knowing the answer.
"Although it has not been a long time since we met each other, I think you are good. I don’t think short-term employment is suitable for our current situation. Long-term cooperation is a win-win solution for us,” Bondy said.
"Of course, short-term employment fees will be settled immediately,” Bondy added.
"The long-term contract is 1.5 grams of gold per week, and you can stay here and use this room for free. You can also reimburse any additional expenses,” Bondy explained.
A newspaper was one copper dime. Four copper dimes were one gram of copper, 22 grams of copper was one gram of silver, and 16 grams of silver was one gram of gold.
That was to say, one gram of gold was equal to 1,408 copper dimes.
Although it was a cheap newspaper, it was equivalent to the total price of the mushrooms that Jason had just purchased.
Obviously, even a copper dime also had good purchasing power, let along a gram of gold.
Therefore, 1.5 grams of gold a week was enough to show Bundy’s sincerity.
Plus, free accommodation, and a kitchen for free use? It was a really nice offer.
Jason had no reason to reject this.
"Okay, I think this is good. But I’d like to get my first week’s fees now. And I need support in weaponry.” After a moment of silence, Jason put forward his additional requests.
According to the introduction of the so-called main task in the letter of appointment, Jason would only be asked to stay for seven days where he was now. After he left here, it would be hard for him to get paid on a weekly basis, so he thought that it was better to get paid in advance. That way, he could buy some necessary kitchenware and spices. He needed more kitchenware to cook food, and he was fed up with meals that only had pepper and salt in them.
At least, when he was making meat stew, he needed to have potatoes and radishes. This was not excessive.
As for weapons, Jason never thought that he had enough of them.
If he could, he would like to carry two RPGs at any time.
"No problem.” For what Jason asked, Bondy agreed without even thinking about it.
Because this offer was what he gave to repay Jason for saving his man. Of course, as he said, he thought that Jason was good.
There was a smile on the sheriff’s serious face. He held out his unhurt hand.
With a slight lift of his arm, Jason shook hands with Bondy.
Jason said,
“I believe we will have a good time working together.”
Then, Jason told Bondy what he had thought before.
"A three-day interval can make those monsters more powerful?” Bondy looked surprised after he listened to Jason.
All of a sudden, Bondy’s face grew more solemn than ever before.
As the sheriff who was responsible for the monster case, he really understood what would happen if the monsters became stronger.
"It’s just a guess. I’m not sure of it for the moment.” Jason told Bondy what he was thinking honestly.
"So it’s just your guess for now. I see. There should be more night watchmen!”
With that said, Bondy was going to leave. To him, even if it was only a guess, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
"Wait!” Jason stopped him in a hurry. When Bondy looked back in confusion, Jason continued to tell him his thoughts about what had happened.
“Although they are monsters, they obviously need food and rest just like most creatures.”
"Jason, you mean…” Bondy’s eyes lit up.
"Yes, just as you think. If you need to hide the monsters and want them not to be found by others, it has to be a secret place. So, it will be hard for us to find this place. But we should be able to figure out how they get the food. A large number of meat and vegetables being purchased is the most noteworthy clue, especially for those who have recently joined.” Jason nodded after he finished.
"I’ll deal with it!” With that said, Bondy went out.
There was an unprecedented excited look on his face.
He finally found a little breakthrough.
Or, to be more exact, in the initial stage, in the face of these monsters, he was always influenced by the biographies that he had read a long time ago, so he could not make his decision or even start at all.
And now?
He was finally able to get things into shape.
Jason turned back to his room after seeing the confident sheriff leave.
When the door was closed, he looked at the suitcase, which Bondy had given to him.
Jason was quite curious about this suitcase, which suddenly became his own suitcase.
Naturally, Jason saw this with alarm.
His alarm did not only rise because of the suitcase, but it also came from the message that the suitcase was carrying. He wondered whether this was just like flying a kite.
But at this stage, it seemed not like that.
What Bondy did and said to him suggested the opposite.
If this was just flying a kite, Jason would have known how to deal with it.
Fortunately, Jason thought more than that.
After he opened the suitcase, he confirmed that he was right before.
In the suitcase, there was the same suit, a pair of leather shoes, and a black hunting hat like Jason was just wearing.
In addition to these, Jason found a letter and a wallet in the pocket on the side of the suitcase.
After checking that there was nothing else in the suitcase, Jason opened the wallet first.
In the wallet, there was one gram of gold, four grams of silver, 11 grams of copper, and two copper dimes.
"I didn’t expect this,” Jason said to himself as he picked up the letter.
After checking the envelope, Jason opened the letter.
Dear Jason,
I haven’t seen you for a long time. I hope that you have successfully passed the
“Green Grass” trial of the night watchmen and that you will be able to have a good life. My life is pretty good.
You know, I’ve been doing nothing since I retired. Recently, I heard that Rhode has become a well-developed city. I’m here to have a look. If you want to learn some knowledge and skills that a real night watchman should know, you can come here to find me.
I’m staying at 17 Harlem Street for the time being.
Always love you,
Dan
Hr1871.7.10
…
"Dan? The knowledge and skills that a real night watchman should know?” Jason whispered, and his eyes lit up.