"Alright, theory is no use. Let's go to the new workshop and we'll explain anything we don't understand on the spot."
Leaving Kamisui City, they followed a river towards the mountains. After passing two layers of guard posts, the naval academy students finally arrived at the legendary shipyard.
Since Qin Mo started the shipbuilding program at breakneck speed, the amount of dry timber that Da Yuan had accumulated over the years was simply not enough; and the huge profits from maritime trade spurred Lin Bo and others to finish building the ship as soon as possible.
Traditional timber processing typically takes six to ten years, and even in urgent situations, it takes at least two years. Qin Mo's uncles and aunts have almost turned completely white-haired because of financial worries.
Qin Mo had no choice but to grope his way through designing a steam jet desorption production line. After countless adjustments and wasting a lot of timber, he finally solved the bottleneck in shipbuilding.
"Here, the temperature is raised to redistribute the moisture in the wood, then it is ventilated and dried before finally entering the board-cutting workshop."
Upon arriving at the shipyard, experienced craftsmen led the trainees on a tour, showing them the complete set of hydraulic machinery, from drying timber to sawing it into planks, leaving the trainees in awe.
The water-powered long saw moved back and forth, easily cutting logs as thick as a person's embrace into regular planks. The sturdy wood was then heated by fire and bent into the shape of ship ribs.
"This is a new single-masted schooner, which will be your new training ship. From nothing to something... less than ten, this was just a dream before."
The old craftsman was explaining to the trainees while patting a beautiful new ship. He still had some things to say. With the extensive use of machinery designed by Qin Mo in shipbuilding, even the construction period for large sailing ships was surprisingly short.
"Uncle, what's that place over there with all that construction going on?" a student asked, pointing to a cluster of buildings in the distance.
"I don't know either. Although that place belongs to the shipbuilding factory, it doesn't belong to the carpentry factory. No one can enter without the prince's order."
Looking in the direction the student pointed, the old craftsman said with lingering fear, "A few days ago, an old neighbor accidentally wandered in and was interrogated several times. They even found out about my father's visits to brothels before they stopped."
"Hiss!" A group of trainees gasped, their faces showing longing, because Qin Mo had said: "Anyone suspected of spying on our top officials' secrets must be thoroughly investigated."
Clearly, that area was where the high-ranking official's secrets were located.
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