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Luoling Island is quite famous in the waters near Panyu. It has always been a den of thieves. It was wiped out once by General Qiu, but thieves appeared again not long after, until it was occupied by the Red Flag Gang.
Ordinary people would not want to go to such a place. Even if they were just passing by, they would be very nervous, for fear of accidentally offending the bigwigs on the sea.
So when they arrived at Luoling Island by boat, Huangmao was so nervous that his hands were sweating and his whole body was stiff. He didn't dare to move at all.
He actually came to Luoling Island! Is this idea of Uncle reliable?
Although he was a boatman, Huangmao's background was very unusual. He was the nephew of Master Huang from the shipyard. Because he had slightly yellow hair when he was born, Master Huang gave him this name himself.
Although he is not Master Huang's biological son, Huangmao grew up in the shipyard and is very familiar with the shipbuilding skills. He will definitely be his cousin's assistant in the future.
Unexpectedly, after accepting the order from the Red Flag Gang, his uncle actually asked him to come to Luoling Island to take a look, saying that he could learn the craft from the shipbuilding master there.
How could such a good thing happen in the world? Huangmao even suspected that his uncle had been deceived. How to build a speedboat was a secret in their shipyard. If you were not a biological son or an adopted son, don't even think about it.
Even the speedboats used for fishing are like this, so how can one learn to make ships such as Kaibo boats and Wuchuan boats that are suitable for naval battles and transporting grain just because they want to?
However, the deposit given by the Red Flag Gang was right in front of them, and I also heard that many people went to Dongning and found jobs in their camp.
That’s not all. Afraid that he wouldn’t agree, his uncle also said that as long as he was willing to come, he would teach him the skills of building clipper boats in the future.
Just for this reason, Huangmao definitely can't miss it!
But having said that, when I really got there, I still felt a little scared. What if...
ah!
Huang Mao's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. After passing the bay, he saw a huge ship in front of him. It had four or five sails. It must be the legendary thousand-ton treasure ship! Uncle also said that in the future they could observe how to build a thousand-ton ship!
Huang Mao's mouth was almost watering as he stared at the big ship until someone yelled from behind, "What are you standing there for? Get off the boat!"
A scolding brought Huangmao back to his senses, and he realized that the boat had already docked. He hurried to the gangway in a panic, but accidentally tripped over the rope and almost fell into the sea.
"Where did this idiot come from?" The guide rolled his eyes and shouted at the yellow-haired man, "Hurry up and follow us, let's go to the dock!"
Huangmao didn't dare to be distracted at this moment, so he immediately followed with his tail between his legs. After walking for about quarter of an hour, he finally arrived at a flat bay sheltered from the wind, where he saw a rather large dock standing.
Ordinary small boats do not need a dock and can be pushed into the water by placing a few logs under them.
A shipyard is only needed to build large ships, and this small Luoling Island actually has two shipyards. One is currently laying the keel, and the other is moored with a complete three-masted ship, which seems to have just been repaired and is being painted.
This is a big ship that can easily cross the South China Sea! Huang Mao's saliva was about to come down, and he quickly swallowed it. Could it be that he could learn to build this ship? However, he didn't dare to ask more questions. He just looked at it reluctantly for a few times and followed it to the other side.
Seeing the newcomer, a manager came up and asked, "Have you learned shipbuilding? What can you build?"
Huang Mao quickly said: "I can build a sampan, and I can also make a black sailboat..."
Before he finished speaking, the other party nodded and said, "Okay, go and plane the board, be diligent!"
Huangmao didn't dare to delay and ran over immediately. Someone gave him tools and asked him to follow the wooden pattern.
These are the basic skills of shipbuilding. Huangmao picked it up quickly, and the atmosphere around him was very lively, which made him dare not relax.
He worked like this for most of the day before someone came to call him to take a break.
Huang Mao originally thought that this was the end of the day and that he would just come down to eat and rest, but unexpectedly, no one gave him food. Instead, an old man came and said with his hands behind his back, "I am the leader today. Look carefully when you get on the boat. Think carefully and don't be lazy for me!"
Several people immediately shouted, "Thank you, Master Li!"
Huang Mao was confused and quickly asked the people around him: "Brother, what's going on?"
The man said excitedly, "This is Master Li from the shipyard. He's quite skilled. It's a rare opportunity to meet him and show me a large ship today!"
"What does it mean to look at the big ship?" Huangmao was even more confused. He had only been here for half a day and had been working silently. What did he know?
"New here?" the other man chuckled, raising his chin. "See that boat over there? It's the same model as the big kaibo we're building. We workers here can take a look around every day and see the mechanics. Some of the craftsmen can even explain a few things. It's a great time to learn a trade!"
Huang Mao's eyes almost popped out of his head. It was only his first day here, how could he have gotten the chance to steal someone's skills? This Red Flag Gang was too unruly. This was a large Kaibo ship. If they learned how to build it, then it wouldn't be...
Before he could think clearly, the crowd started moving, and Huangmao hurriedly caught up, refusing to fall behind even a step.
A group of people filed onto the new ship and started looking from the lower cabin.
It might be difficult to understand the structure of this repaired ship just by looking at it, but there was a new ship on the opposite side whose keel was being laid. Master Li talked about it as he walked, which made Huangmao, who had some knowledge of the ship, fascinated.
After walking through the first floor, Master Li suddenly stopped and asked, "Why do we need to build bulkheads on the bottom of the ship?"
This immediately attracted a lot of responses.
“It’s for stock!”
"Isn't this the rule passed down by our ancestors?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? This will make the hull stronger..."
Huangmao was stunned after hearing these words. When he was learning his skills, he just followed whatever his uncle taught him and had never thought about these principles.
But soon, he opened his mouth...
“It’s anti-sinking!”
"It hit a reef and took on water. It's easier to repair with a compartment!"
Several loud voices came before Huangmao, making his heart warm. He also thought so. This compartment was for a safer sailing at sea, and everything else was incidental.
Old Man Li snorted, "Remember, when our ancestors built ships, they knew the purpose of every piece of wood. Remember this when you're learning the craft: you're not learning the rules of our ancestors, you're learning the craft of shipbuilding! Understand why it's built this way, and then the ship won't go wrong!"
The people below responded "yes" in unison, some nonchalantly, some inexplicably excited. Huangmao's heart was also churning, and the "yes" was especially loud.
This wasn't the same as his uncle's teaching method, but he liked it this way! This was real shipbuilding. He needed to stay longer and learn some skills!
…
"Oil coconuts were discovered on Wuyuan Island? What do they look like?" Cheng Xi asked curiously to the person sent by Lin Hu.
The man quickly handed over a few long leaves. "The oil palms haven't grown yet. I heard from the captives that the fruits aren't big and will grow in clusters. They don't look like coconut trees, but more like palm trees, very tall. I brought a few leaves with me, please take a look."
Taking the typical palm leaf, Cheng Xi squeezed it, as if remembering something: "Could it be an oil palm? How many are there on Wuyuan Island?"
Oil palm is a major cash crop in Southeast Asia, known for its high oil yield. However, it doesn't seem to be native to Southeast Asia. It's now found on islands. Is it left behind by passing ships or carried by seabirds? But the origin of the tree isn't important; the key is the tree itself.
If we can really squeeze out the oil, it will have a higher oil content than peanuts, and then we can make a lot of things.
"It's just a forest with about a hundred trees." The man answered immediately.
"Send someone to guard it and don't cut down the trees. Wait until the fruits are ripe and pick some and send them over immediately." Cheng Xi ordered.
She sent people to investigate the species on the island, but she was actually hoping for a lucky break.
After all, the Age of Discovery has arrived, and who knows when foreign cash crops will appear on some island.
As a result, we didn't find pepper trees, tobacco, or rubber trees, but we did find oil palm trees first, which was a pleasant surprise.
After thinking for a moment, she continued, "Has abaca been found on Wuyuan Island?"
The man shook his head: "I haven't found it yet."
What a pity. She was quite excited when she discovered abaca on Luoling Island. If she remembered correctly, this thing is an excellent material for cable ropes. As long as enough is cultivated, it can be used in large quantities on ships.
It has not been found on Wuyuan Island yet, so it is probably a special case. It can only be found more on Luoling Island.
After giving the man a few more instructions, asking Lin Hu to pay attention to the scale of land reclamation and not to cut down trees indiscriminately and destroy the vegetation on the island, Cheng Xi asked his men to retreat.
This is not the end, the construction of the new factory will also be arranged later.
In addition to the originally planned cement factory and glass factory, Cheng Xi also plans to build a canvas factory and a hemp rope factory.
Now that the shipyard is on the right track and has begun trial-producing three-masted ships, the demand for sails and cables will not be low in the future.
More importantly, Cheng Xi wanted more than just a large rigid sailing ship. Compared with this type of Chinese ship that is suitable for cruising in the near sea, the Western soft sailing ship is more outstanding in ocean maneuverability and can carry more naval guns.
In the future, when thermal weapons warfare becomes commonplace, it will be an era of naval gun battles. How can we fight a war without giant ships with two rows of guns?
However, to build such a boat, technology is one thing, and a large amount of ropes and canvas made of strong materials are also essential.
If you want technological innovation, research and development are as important as new materials. Simply put, it means spending money.
Fortunately, with the support of the Tanka people, labor-intensive factories can still be opened first.
These people may not be as disciplined as the honest farmers, but they are undoubtedly hardworking and perhaps they will become a group of workers who can change their jobs in the future.
However, these three tricks of mine really have a bit of the flavor of a capitalist sweatshop.
Shaking her head, Cheng Xi picked up the pen and started writing the letter. These things had to be arranged before she left.
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