Su Heng looked at Fang Zian helplessly, feeling that this person was a bit too stubborn. But in his heart, he actually admired Fang Zian. He returned to the city all night last night and came here this morning. Not to mention running back and forth, there must be no one here this night. His eyes were closed. His face was sweaty and tired at the moment, and he must be very anxious. But he obviously had no intention of giving up, and his willpower was so strong.

"Do you think what we did there was wrong?" Su Heng braced himself and asked.

Fang Zian shook his head slowly and said: "I don't know either. I can only find out through constant testing. Maybe the grease is too thin, or the gap is too large and not smooth enough. I think ours is more refined. Wooden The gap between the shaft and the shaft cylinder should be smaller, and a few more layers of leather gasket and oil seal should be added."

As Fang Zian spoke, he started to work. Some people around him came forward to help, but Fang Zian refused. He wanted to polish every detail himself. After half an hour, he added three layers of gaskets and leather oil seals, and polished them more finely. The wooden shaft and the sleeve with a larger space were chosen to fit tightly together. Everyone watched eagerly as Fang Zian sank the device into the barrel into the water, and everyone stared at the water and waited.

The frustrating situation appeared again, but this time it was half an hour later. It took several times longer than the last time, but the result was not as expected.

"It's really over this time." Everyone thought so in their hearts. Tiredness and depression came over, and everyone gave up hope. They walked to the shade and sat or lay in a daze. Suddenly, they discovered , everything I did before is meaningless, all the hard work from the day before yesterday has been in vain. I don’t know what to do next.

Fang Zian stood in the scorching sun and stared at the oily device in a daze. The sweat on his body oozed out and he was soaked to the skin.

"Young Master, go and have a drink of water. Don't torture yourself too much. Just think of something later." Shen Ling'er looked a little distressed and stepped forward to persuade in a low voice.

Fang Zian did not comment, but said to himself: "It shouldn't be, why is it still leaking? Why?"

He reached out and stirred in the bucket full of oil and water, not caring that his hands were covered with oil. Suddenly, Fang Zian said loudly: "I understand, I understand, it must be like this. The oil is too thin. The weather is hot, and it becomes even thinner after being heated. It still needs to be simmered, and the thicker it is, the better."

Everyone stared at him, and Fang Zian said loudly: "Bring the iron pot and continue cooking."

Soon, someone brought a large iron pot and set it up in the open space. After lighting the fire, Fang Zian poured the remaining half of the bucket of thick fat into the pot and started stirring with a wooden stick in his hand. Most of the pot was thick and sticky. The grease was continuously refined again, and the water and oil vapor inside were evaporated and compressed again. In the end, there was a black and extremely viscous semi-solid like tanned black dough left in the pot. Grease. Fang Zian's wooden stick could no longer be stirred, and the whole ball of black oil slipped out with the wooden stick wrapped around it.

"Try again!" Fang Zian became busy again.

The wooden barrel test device sank into the deep water of the river bend for the third time. Once again, everyone stood waiting eagerly by the river, with their hearts in their throats. Half an hour passed, an hour passed, an hour and a half passed, and the water surface was no longer there. Nothing unusual. Two hours later, Fang Zian had someone pull up the device. After opening the barrel, it was empty and not a drop of water leaked. The entire sealing device was intact and firmly fixed. The experiment was a great success. .

"Awesome, it really is a problem with grease. But... this thing seems to be solidified and sticky. Although it is not leaking, it seems that the axis cannot even rotate." The old man discovered the problem.

Fang Zian smiled and said: "It won't stick to death, it just hardens. This kind of grease will quickly become lubricated as long as the shaft rotates. It will become soft when heated. With such a little adhesive force, how can it block the

The tremendous power of my steam engine. Everyone, I can say that we succeeded."

Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, and the gloom in their hearts was swept away. With Fang Zian's unremitting efforts, good results were finally achieved. Although it is still unknown how it will actually work, but at least there is a greater possibility and hope.

"You need to prepare this kind of grease. Maybe you can replenish the grease in time during sailing. Even if it leaks, you are not afraid. I suddenly had an idea. Make a small hole on the side of the sleeve shaft. You can add it from above the sleeve shaft to supplement the leakage. Grease. Just plug it tightly with a stopper. What do you think?" Su Heng was indeed a master of manufacturing, and he quickly thought of a further improvement plan.

"What a good idea! You can replace and refill the grease, just use a bamboo tube to squeeze it in or pump it out. It's simple and feasible. Maintain it at any time." Fang Zian immediately understood what he meant and loudly agreed.

In the evening of the next day, the intense assembly work came to an end. The entire steam engine was assembled and fixed on a solid log base. The lifting of the propeller began. The wooden crane hoisted the large fan-like propeller, and everyone used sling pulleys to carefully lift it. It was guided over and finally embedded on the main shaft. At the first watch, Su Heng hammered the last horizontal pin fixed with fine iron into the shaft hole, and after the propeller was completely fixed, everyone burst into applause and felt extremely happy.

But everyone knows that this is just the beginning, and the real test is yet to come. Whether the steam engine can be started, whether it can push the ship, whether it is easy to control, and whether the sealing device is effective. All the difficult problems are still waiting for the actual test. The test. In fact, everyone has no idea, including Fang Zian. But Fang Zian understands that the steam engine he spent a lot of money and manpower to build must work, and this thing must succeed.

Everyone slept deeply that night, but Fang Zian couldn't fall asleep because of his anxious mood. The stars were twinkling in the sky, the night breeze was cool and pleasant, people were snoring around, summer insects were chirping, and the water was rippled. All this made sitting on the pier Looking at the dark ship standing on the tire frame, Fang Zian's mind was filled with thoughts and it was difficult to calm down. At times like this, at nights like this, Fang Zian always had a sense of illusion. He emerged from the passage of time and space. Come on, in this era, sometimes I feel that all this is a dream, and it seems that I will be knocked back to my original shape in the next moment, but sometimes it feels extremely real.

Look at everything in front of you, the people who are working hard together, look at Shen Ling'er sitting beside him, Qin Xiqing in Lin'an City, and Chuni who is pregnant at home. It is unjustifiable to say that this is false. . All this is real and can no longer be real.

It is this change of illusory and real emotions that sometimes keeps Fang Zian awake at night. He is not a sentimental person, but he often feels that life is like a dream.

I don't know how long it took, but Fang Zian fell into Shen Ling'er's warm and fragrant arms and fell into a deep sleep.

In the early morning of the next day, everyone got up early, had breakfast, and gathered next to the pier. Mr. Liu put his head and watched the tide level closely, calculating the highest position of the tide. Because the tire frame had to be removed at the highest position of the tide to allow the Dream to enter the water as a whole, Carry out final inspection.

The tide would not reach its highest level until midnight. During this time, everyone was waiting anxiously. At half past midnight, the sound of carriages and horses came from the banks of the Qiantang River. Seven or eight large carts came from the city. It was Qian Kang's yesterday. The convoy returning to the city to transport charcoal arrived in the evening.

Shen Ling'er had sharp eyes. The moment she saw the motorcade approaching, she cried out in surprise: "Master, isn't that the girl's carriage?"

Fang Zian was originally focused on the boat and the tide. He only glanced at the convoy and didn't pay attention. After hearing what Shen Ling'er said, he turned around and looked around. Sure enough, he saw a black velvet luxury carriage with floral curtains and a carriage. Just Qin Xiqing's carriage with red silk ribbons floating on the corners will do.

Driving at the back of the team, Fang Zian was overjoyed and hurried up to greet him.

"Xiqing, why are you here?" Fang Zian shouted happily from the window of the carriage.

The car curtain opened, and Qin Xiqing's pretty face as beautiful as a fairy appeared in front of Fang Zian. With a gentle smile on her face, she said: "Come and see the excitement. I heard Mr. Qian said that something big is going to happen today, how can Xiqing... Did you miss this fun?"

Fang Zian laughed and said: "I see, I thought Xi Qing missed me, so she came here to see me. It seems that I am being sentimental."

Qin Xiqing rolled her eyes and said with a smile: "You are so beautiful. Who misses you? But it's okay to come and see you. How come Fang Lang hasn't seen you for a few days and you have become like this?"

Fang Zian asked: "What's wrong?"

Qin Xiqing smiled and said, "Didn't you look in the mirror? You're a lot darker, and why are you so dirty? Did you roll in the mud? Where's Ling'er? You don't take good care of Zian either."

Shen Ling'er smiled and said, "Do you think this is a city? They climb up and down every day and work day and night. Isn't that what it's like?"

Qin Xiqing glared at her, got out of the car, came to Fang Zian, looked up at Fang Zian's face carefully, and sighed: "Don't work too hard, be careful."

Fang Zian held her hand and smiled: "Don't worry, I'm fine. Don't blame Ling'er, she takes good care of me."

Qin Xiqing glanced at Shen Ling'er with a thoughtful expression. Just when she was about to speak, a shout came from the pier: "Mr. Fang, the tide is almost here, we are ready to start."

Fang Zian took Qin Xiqing's hand and smiled: "Come on, the critical moment has arrived."

The tide was raging, rushing in along the entrance of the river bend, lapping on the shore, causing waves to splash. The tide was at its highest at this time, and the water level was also the highest at this time. It was just right to remove the tire frame and let the big ship fall into the water.

Dozens of men, under the command of the boss, started to remove the tire frame one by one. The Dream soon floated completely on the water. Under the cabin, from the moment the hull fell into the water, Fang Zi Ansu Henglao Qian Kang and others gathered in the cabin, holding their breath and staring at the position where the tail main shaft passed through, nervously observing whether there was any sign of leakage. A dozen men were already waiting beside them with wooden barrels and basins. It can be used as a temporary emergency treatment in case there are signs of water leakage. But in fact, everyone knows that these methods are ineffective. If there is a water leakage, water will gush in and there will be no time to rescue. The only way is to quickly jack up the tire. stand and reposition the boat on the tire stand.

The air seemed to have solidified. People standing in the stern cabin seemed to be able to hear the gurgling sound of water around the hull and feel some subtle sounds after the hull was subjected to water pressure. But the most worrying situation did not happen, and the tail shaft was safe and sound. , nothing happened. The seal was watertight and impregnable.

"Successful!" Su Heng murmured.

Fang Zian laughed and said, "God bless you."

Su Hengdao: "Don't be too happy. We don't know what will happen when the shaft starts to rotate. We don't know how long it can last."

Fang Zian chuckled and said, "Then let's try it. How will we know if we don't try?"

Mr. Liu laughed loudly, raised his head and shouted to the deck above: "Measure the water line and balance with weights."

The people who had been waiting on the deck loudly agreed, and the people on both sides of the ship's side and in the water began to measure the inclination of the ship's hull with a hammer line, and directed the people on the shore to lift the sandbags on the ship and carry out the counterweight balancing. Everyone, Got busy.
Chapter completed!