On the third day of September, it was a crisp autumn day. Fang Zian rode his horse out of the city from Houchaomen in Nancheng and embarked on a busy road. This was a road connecting Houchaomen and the Qiantang River. Cars and horses shuttled back and forth on the road, almost

It is comparable to a troubled street in the city. Day and night, carriages and horses travel continuously. Every day, thousands of carriages and horses shuttle on this short road of less than five miles, transporting countless goods in and out.

If the transportation north of Lin'an City mainly relies on the Grand Canal to connect various places, then the waterway south of Lin'an City is obviously the Qiantang River. Moreover, the Qiantang River connects to the sea and is the outlet of Lin'an. It is no exaggeration to say that in a certain

To some extent, the Grand Canal does not have the role of connecting both the sea and various water systems in the south as the Qiantang River does.

After Hangzhou was upgraded to the capital Lin'an, the already developed maritime transport became even more prosperous. With the strong support of the imperial court, the scale of the freight terminal on the Qiantang River expanded more than ten times. Goods from all over the south and goods from Lin'an Prefecture were transported on the water

On the way, we pass through the large wharf on the Qiantang River for collection and distribution. Of course, not to mention the trade goods going out to sea.

Fang Zian has been coming and going here frequently in the past few days, just to learn and collect some information about shipping trade. To make some practical measurements for his idea of ​​making big money, and to understand some formal shipping trade processes. But today,

He came here for another purpose.

He stood on the small slope on the north side of the pier and looked around. The dust was flying on the pier that stretched for several miles. Countless people, carriages and horses were squirming and busy on the pier like ants. On the pier by the river, there were more than a dozen people.

The ship was docked at the dock to load and unload cargo. The coolies, with their shiny arms sweating profusely, were carrying boxes and packages of goods up and down. They were either loading ships, warehousing, or loading trucks. They were extremely busy. Looking at this

The scene gives people a feeling of steaming heat and boiling life.

Not far away on the river, ships waiting to be loaded and unloaded were moored not far from the pier. The sails of the ships were shining with dazzling white light in the sun, like reflective mirrors. Looking at the Dongfang Pier, it was even more visible.

Seagulls are soaring, ship masts stand tall, and ships gather. It is a deep-water dock where large sea-going ships are moored.

Sea-going ships can sail out to sea in the winter monsoon every winter after October, and then return here during the southeast monsoon in May and June of the following year. In the intervening months, all sea-going ships need to be repaired, reinforced and resupplied or scrapped and dismantled.

. Only a repaired and reinforced ship can withstand the waves of the sea, and preparations must be made for the next trip to sea.

Fang Zian got off his horse at the Deep Water Pier. He had been here several times. The last few times he went to several shipping halls above the pier to inquire about things, and he went to the shipping company's office on the pier to inquire about the situation.

Although he received a lot of looks, he also gained a lot. But now Fang Zian did not go to these places. He went directly to the east, to the ship scrapping and dismantling place located at the easternmost part of the deep water dock. Many ships were destroyed after returning from the voyage.

They are riddled with holes, and ship owners do not dare to take too many risks for safety reasons. When repairs cannot ensure the safety of the ships, they are concentrated here for dismantling. Useful things will be reused, and useless things will be turned into fire hazards.

Even after being soaked in sea water, there is no possibility of exerting the final residual heat, so they can only be piled up in the wild land behind the dock to rot.

Fang Zian inspected every dilapidated ship until he saw a broken ship with a big hole in the bottom, a crooked keel, and a broken mast. He carefully climbed up and down for a long time, and then he was covered in dirt.

I got off the boat nervously.

The stewards of the ship-breaking shop responsible for dismantling the ship had long seen this young man crawling around on the ship. Just because it was a broken ship with nothing valuable inside, they didn't care at all and let him do whatever he wanted. Until this man

Walked in front of them.

"Hello everyone, you're polite." Fang Zian cupped his hands and said with a smile.

"Be polite." Several people from the ship-breaking shop lazily returned the courtesy with their hands, puzzled.

Looked at Fang Zian.

"Guys, I would like to ask, can you sell these things for money after you dismantle these broken ships? For example, rudders, masts, planks, etc." Fang Zian said with a smile.

"Aren't you talking nonsense? What will we eat if we don't sell them for money? This is what we do for a living. Shipyards throw broken boats to us that they don't want, and we collect the money, dismantle them and then sell them into useful items to earn some hard-earned money.

"A middle-aged man said.

"Yes, yes, who will do it if you don't sell it for money? I was confused. So, how much money can you make by dismantling a ship?" Fang Zian said with a smile.

"Who are you? What are you doing asking about this? Do you also want to come and eat this bowl of rice? I can tell you that our shipbreaking shop is the only one allowed to work on the Qiantang River dock. If you want to make a living, go to other docks. Here you can

You can't stand upright." The man glared.

Fang Zian hurriedly waved his hands and said: "That's not what I meant. Where can I make a living? I'm just asking. By the way, for example, that ship, how much money did you buy it for?"

Fang Zian pointed to the broken boat at the dock. The man said impatiently: "I bought it for two hundred taels of silver. What's going on?"

Fang Zian had an idea and said with a smile: "It's like this. I have a garden at home with water in the garden. I want to build a water boat pavilion. But it is very troublesome to build. Someone suggested that I just buy a broken boat.

Okay. I think that one looks good. It seems to be suitable for cleaning. It’s suitable for you, so I came to ask.”

Everyone was instantly in awe of Fang Zian. This man turned out to be a wealthy man with a garden at home. There was actually a pond in the garden that could hold the big boat, which showed that his family fortune was not small.

Since it was business, his attitude changed immediately. Soon someone brought a stool and a big bowl of tea, and asked Fang Zian to sit down.

After that, the communication became much smoother. Fang Zian not only negotiated the price of the broken ship with these people, but also bought the broken ship at a low price of four hundred taels of silver. He also learned many thoughts from their mouths.

The information he needed. For example, the names and addresses of some of the most experienced ship repair and shipbuilding masters in the area, the old boatmen with the most experience at sea, and some news that Fang Zian wanted to know. At noon, Fang Zian paid the deposit and put the ship on the ship.

After registering the structure and contents, we waved goodbye to the shipbreakers.

Instead of returning to the city, he went east. After passing the pier, he rode his horse for more than ten miles, asking people along the way, and found a small village called Wantou Village by the river. After asking, he learned that the man was

The small courtyard where the old ship repairman known as Liu Boutou lived.

But when he saw Liu Baotou, Fang Zian was a little disappointed. Liu Baotou was covered with white hair, walked tremblingly, and needed a cane. After working in ship repair and shipbuilding for a lifetime, he finally couldn't do it anymore, so he had to be idle.

Retire at home and wait to die.

For this young man who came from Lin'an, Liu Baotou maintained the inherent enthusiasm and politeness of ordinary people. Under the jujube tree in Liu Baotou's small courtyard, Fang Zian explained the purpose of his visit to Liu Baotou.

"I have made a special trip to visit Mr. Liu. I heard someone said that Mr. Liu is a well-known expert in shipbuilding and ship repair, so I came to see him."

"Don't take it for granted. The old man is just an old bone that is dying. His health is not good and he can no longer work, so he can only wait to die at home. Today's shipbuilding and ship repair skills are no longer what the old man used to be. We

At that time, when repairing and building ships, the whole ship did not use a single nail, but only mortise and tenon joints. Nowadays, shipbuilding is all done with square pegs. It is very fast, but it is really hard to see. In the past few years,

Some people asked me, old man, to take charge of the business, but now they don’t want people like us anymore. There is no skill left to speak of." When Liu talked about the current situation, he couldn't help but feel a little angry.

"That's right, people nowadays only care about convenience and don't talk about ingenuity, which is really not the case. I also feel the same about this matter. I came here to ask Liu Boss to come out and help me build a special boat. I am so impressed.

So I came to visit you." Fang Zian said.

"Ask me to build a ship? Hahaha, no, no, don't you see the old man's appearance? How can he do it? You can find someone else, I can't help you. There are many shipbuilding companies, and we have them in Lin'an Prefecture.

There are three houses, just find one." Liu said with a wave of his head.

Fang Zian smacked his lips and said: "If they could do it, would I still need to visit you, Mr. Liu? Let me tell you the truth, in fact, I want to repair a boat. The boat is very broken, and others say it is unusable.

They say it can't be put into the sea even after it's been repaired. I just don't believe it. Some people say that the ship can't be repaired unless you ask your boss to come out of the mountain. If so, I'm here to visit you."

Liu Bangtou smiled and said: "If the ship is broken, why bother to repair it? Just build a new one."

Fang Zian shook his head and said: "No, that ship means a lot to me. To be honest, that ship is the property left by my ancestors. My ancestors relied on that ship to venture out to sea and create a foundation. I

Before my father died, he told me that any ship can be destroyed and dismantled, but this one cannot be dismantled, cannot be destroyed, and it must be kept able to sail on the sea. Because it is the blood of my father and my grandfather.

The ship that Khan risked his life and sailed through the stormy waves is of special significance. I am unscrupulous. This year I sailed out to sea and accidentally hit a rock and damaged the ship. I also encountered a storm and broke the mast. But even so, the ship was still

It didn't sink, so I dragged it back. Many people advised me to just dismantle the ship, but I blamed myself very much, as if I wanted to ruin the hard work of my grandfather and father. I can dream about my grandfather and father being heartbroken.

So I will repair the ship no matter what, so that it can sail on the sea. This is my filial piety and respect for my ancestors."

Liu looked at the remorseful Fang Zian blankly, and was quite moved in his heart. The older a person gets, the more he can feel the coldness of the world and the warmth of human relationships. The more he feels that the world is declining and people's hearts are not as old as they used to be. The filial piety of the guest in front of him

The story he told impressed Mr. Liu and made him quite moved.

"Hey, that's all, I know it's not easy to do. It's not easy to repair an old ship that's about to sink into a ship that can sail on the sea. Even someone like Liu Bantou would have a hard time doing it. It seems that I am

It's just too whimsical. That's all, I won't embarrass you, old man. I will pay my respects to my grandfather and father in heaven and tell them that I tried my best and that the ship... was finally dismantled. The ship seemed to be old.

After all, it will return to dust one day, and forcing it to come back to life is probably too unrealistic. Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Liu, but I'll take my leave." Fang Zian sighed, stood up, and said goodbye with a sad face.

When Fang Zian slowly walked to the door of the courtyard, Liu Bantou's old voice came to his ears: "You stop, how about I give it a try, old man? It's rare for you to be filial, and this makes me very touched, old man." There are few people today who respect their ancestors as much as you do and care about their hard work back then. People in the younger generations think that everything they have is at ease, but they don’t know that their ancestors earned it through hard work and sweat and at great risk. That's why I should help you. Also, who said that a boat cannot be used when it is old? Boats are like people, even if they are old, they can still be used. If you want to repair the boat, the old man will help you realize your wish. Old man I also want to tell those young people who think that the old man is old and can't do anything. Even if the old man is old, he can't compare with them. The boat fights for a breath, and the old man fights for a breath."
Chapter completed!