When he learned that Fang Zian was coming, Mr. Liu poked his head out of a window in the ship's hall and greeted Fang Zian loudly. Fang Zian quickly dismounted, climbed onto the ship along the gangplank, and came to the bow of the ship.

On the deck, Mr. Liu greeted him with a hint of blame on his face.

"Master Fang, didn't you say you would come back every three or two days? How many days has it been?"

Fang Zian hurriedly bowed his hands and said with a smile: "Sorry, sorry, something unexpected happened at home and had to be dealt with, so I was delayed. I said boss, what did I tell you? I told you not to work on the ship.

, why did you come to the boat? I can't afford it if something happens."

Mr. Liu raised his head and smiled and said in return: "Mr. Fang, couldn't you see that I lost my crutch?"

Only then did Fang Zian notice that the crutch that kept Liu's head in his hand was missing. When he first saw Liu Laobantou, he was trembling when walking with the cane, looking like he might fall down at any time. But now, Lao Baotou

Without the crutch, he stood steadily in front of him, his back was straighter, his face was rosy, and his voice was even louder.

"Oh, it's true. What's going on? Didn't you always say that half of your body is weak and you will fall down without crutches? Why don't you use crutches now?" Fang Zian asked in surprise.

The boss laughed loudly and said: "Not only do I not need crutches, I can walk steadily now. Don't you believe it? I'll show you."

As he spoke, the boss walked a few steps on the deck, and his steps were indeed steady. Although there was still a little disadvantage, compared to before, there was a huge difference.

"What's going on? Are you rejuvenated? Or have you taken some magic pill?" Fang Zian asked with wide eyes.

Mr. Liu proudly stroked his beard and laughed loudly. A young man standing nearby laughed and said: "Master Fang, after all, this is all due to you."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "My credit? I didn't feed your master any magic elixir."

The young man smiled and said: "You didn't give my master the panacea, but you got a boat, so that my master can start doing what he wants to do most. This is much better than the panacea.

Master has been getting better since he started repairing the boat. At first, he just stood down and ordered us to do things. Later, he got anxious and came up to do the work himself. After going back and forth, he lost his crutches, his energy improved, and his appetite increased.

.In the past, I only had a small bowl of rice and I still had no appetite, but now I can eat as much as we young people. All the brothers said that the master was not in good health before because he had no ships to repair and nothing to do.

.I have good skills but I can’t put them to use, so I feel depressed and my health naturally deteriorates. Now I am very motivated every day, and in some aspects we can’t compare.”

Fang Zian was surprised, but he also agreed. Some people's illness is indeed caused by mental depression. He always idled at home and waited for death, and was despised by others. Some of his former apprentices who learned shipbuilding and ship repair also turned their backs on him.

His thoughts became utilitarian, which of course made him feel unhappy. In addition, he was really old and his body was weak. In this way, how could he not be sick and weak? And he asked him to repair the ship so that he could find his own value again.

He can also take on apprentices and pass on his business, and he will naturally become cheerful and happy mentally. Not to mention that ship repairing is a physical job, and it can also exercise his body.

Unexpectedly, just to repair a ship, I was filled with the vitality of an old man.

"Hahaha, this is great. I am very happy to see that Lao Baotou is in good health. I can honestly say, I am more happy to see Lao Baotou getting better than to see the ship being repaired. Congratulations

Congratulations, boss, congratulations to you." Fang Zian laughed.

Mr. Liu shook his head and laughed and said, "Thank you very much."

You are the master. Old man, I originally thought that I was useless and could only wait to die. But now I feel that I am still of some use. My disciples also respected me, and I was in a good mood. Naturally, I threw away the crutch. This is all because of you.

It was given by Mr. Fang."

Fang Zian waved his hands repeatedly, saying he didn't dare.

"Boss, this ship has changed a lot in just eight or nine days. I looked at it from a distance just now, and I was a little afraid to recognize it. Has it been repaired?" Fang Zian pointed to the tall ship.

asked the mast and the sail above it.

"There is indeed some progress, but it is still far from being repaired. You haven't been here in the past few days, and I can't decide on some things that require your boss to make decisions. I am very anxious. Fortunately, you came today. Otherwise,

Old man, I don’t know how to proceed." The old leader said.

Fang Zian hurriedly asked what was going on, and the boss said: "Get off the boat, let's talk in detail while drinking tea. Anyway, the tide is high now, so many things can't be done."

At that moment, everyone got off the boat and went to the shore under the trees. The apprentice made a big bowl of hot tea and brought it to the table. Fang Zian and the old man sat face to face at the small wooden table and started talking.

"Master Fang, the current situation is like this. The repair of this ship is relatively smooth. The main part of the hull is not too damaged. It only needs to replace the ship plate and paint to prevent corrosion. After the mast is installed, the sail operation is adjusted.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. The main twin rudders are intact. When building this ship, your family must have spent a lot of money. So overall, after the ship is repaired, it will be a very good ship. Compared with

The newly built boats are not much different. Nowadays, the boats built for sailing are all nailed together with those square pegs. Although they are fast and cheap to build, they are not stable. When encountering big winds and waves, they may fall apart after a few hits.

It’s dangerous. But old man, I don’t use a single nail, I just do all the mortise and tenon work, so there will definitely be no problem.”

Fang Zian smiled and said: "It is precisely because the boss's craftsmanship is not good and he doesn't try to save trouble that I found him. When the boss said this, I was completely relieved. Because what I was most worried about was

The ship was severely damaged and could not withstand the storm."

The old man waved his hands and said: "Don't worry, the old man has piercing eyes, and he doesn't brag about anything he says. This ship is absolutely strong. If it encounters a storm, it will only capsize and not fall apart."

Fang Zian rolled his eyes and thought: Can you say something nice? What's the difference between falling apart and falling apart?

"In that case, what does the boss want to discuss with me? Is there not enough money?" Fang Zian asked.

Mr. Liu smiled and nodded slightly and said, "Master Fang is really a smart man, he can guess all this."

Fang Zixin said: Is it difficult to guess? You can handle the repair of the ship yourself, why do you need to ask for my opinion? You are waiting for me in a hurry, so it is naturally about money.

"The cost of repairing the ship of six hundred taels is indeed a bit tight. Boss, tell me, how much more money is needed to completely repair the ship?" Fang Zian said.

"Mr. Fang, please don't misunderstand. I didn't brag before, old man. According to the current situation, with six hundred taels of silver, the old man will definitely repair it beautifully for you. You don't need one more tael of silver, and the boat will be repaired properly."

Yes." The boss said hurriedly.

Fang Zian smiled and said, "You have confused me. What's going on?"

Mr. Liu raised his head and said, "Mr. Fang, tell me, after your boat is repaired, do you plan to go to sea?"

Fang Zian said: "Yes. Of course I want to go to sea. To be honest, I still want to go to other countries to do business."

Mr. Liu nodded and said: "That's it. I guessed that this ship was going to sea, that's why I said this. The danger of going to sea is very high. Every year, the big ships that go to sea in Song Dynasty always capsize.

Shen so many ships. Unlucky enough to encounter a storm

If there is a storm and a reef, you will lose all your money. The reef is better, but what you are most afraid of is the storm. When a ship encounters a storm, that is the most terrifying thing."

Fang Zian nodded and said: "I know all this. Going to sea is naturally risky."

Mr. Liu said: "To tell you the truth, I have been building ships all my life. What I want to solve most is how to keep the ship stable when encountering a storm and reduce the possibility of capsizing. I have thought about this all my life. I have encountered problems in the past.

Storms mostly depend on the experience and skills of the people on the ship, plus luck. But there is not enough improvement in the structure of the ship. In other words, no one considers these things at all. A few years ago, I came up with an idea that can greatly increase the number of ships.

The stability of the ship prevents the ship from rolling over. But because it costs more money and others don’t believe what I say, no one is willing to listen to me. But old man, I know that it is absolutely effective. Now that the young master wants to take this ship

The ship went out to sea, and the old man felt that it was necessary to talk to the young master about the matter. Could the young master be willing to spend an extra five hundred taels of silver to add more things to the ship based on the old man's suggestion?"

Fang Zian heard this and said hurriedly: "The boss wants to renovate this ship, right?"

Mr. Liu raised his head and said: "Yes. Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't want to. This big ship is still very safe when it goes to sea. The old man just doesn't want to encounter extreme situations. In situations like strong winds and waves, it is very dangerous. To put it bluntly,

The old man doesn't want the young master to be in danger. The young master and I are in love, and if I didn't want to see bad results, the old man would never talk too much. The old man knows that such talk will cost the young master hundreds of taels of silver, which is really a bit embarrassing.

reluctantly."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "The boss doesn't have to worry about this. Five hundred taels of silver is indeed not a small amount, but it's not that I can't get it. But what I want to know is, what is it? Is it worth it?"

Mr. Liu nodded and said: "Of course I have to make it clear to the young master. Young Master, come with me. Ah Liu, go to my house and bring over the two small wooden boats."

A young man agreed and rushed away. Mr. Liu led Fang Zian to a calm water surface in a corner of the river. Ah Liu arrived soon, holding two wooden models of wooden boats in his hands. Two wooden boats

The model was so detailed that Fang Zian felt that in later generations, Mr. Liu's craftsmanship in building ship models would be enough to make a lot of money.

"Master Fang, look at it, Ah Liu, put the boat in the water." Mr. Liu said with his head.

Two wooden boat models were placed on the water and floated, just like two real sailing boats. Ah Liu also pulled up a small sail.

Fang Zian watched with interest, and Mr. Liu raised his head and ordered: "Ah Liu, start the wave."

After hearing this, Ah Liu got into the water and began to use his arms to make waves under the water. The originally calm water surface suddenly surged into layers of waves. After layer upon layer, the waves became bigger and bigger, and they even made waves when they hit the soil on the shore.

A snapping sound.

I saw two small wooden boats drifting with the current at first, but as the waves got bigger and bigger, one wooden boat began to roll sideways, and then capsized in the water. Although the other boat did not capsize, it was also swaying on the water.

Up and down with the waves.

"Strengthen more. Haven't you eaten yet?" the old man shouted.

Hearing this, Ah Liu quickly waved his arms. The waves were even bigger, and were even more than twice as high as the wooden boat itself. However, the wooden boat still seemed to be about to overturn, but every time it slipped from the top of the waves, it still floated.

On the water, extremely tenacious.

Finally, when Ah Liu created bigger waves, the boat crashed and overturned in the water. But even a wooden basin wouldn't be able to withstand such waves, let alone a small one that was only about a foot long.

It's just a model of a wooden ship.
Chapter completed!