Some of the accessories of the new building ship designed by Jin Feng need to be molded in one piece. Only the new steel plant in Jinchuan in Dakang has this capability.
The building ship parts previously produced by the steel plant have all been assembled into building ships, and the next batch of parts will not be delivered until one or two months at the earliest.
A Zhenyuan No. 3 was launched some time ago, and seven more floor ships have been assembled recently. The overall transportation capacity has increased several times compared to a few months ago.
Although it is still somewhat insufficient, it is not as urgent anymore.
Since the construction of Zhenyuan No. 3, the shipyard has been working overtime from top to bottom for several months. Jin Feng had long promised the workers that they could take three days of paid rest after the launch of this batch of building ships.
Hong Taoping has been living and eating at the dock recently, and Jin Feng has seen it. He knew that the last building boat was launched today, and originally thought that Hong Taoping would rest at home for a few days, but he did not expect that he would come to see him so soon.
Looking at Hong Taoping's hair that was not yet dry, Jin Feng knew that he must have come out of the dock and took a shower.
If Hong Taoping is a scheming person, he should not take a shower at this time, but should come to see Jin Feng as soon as he comes out of the dock.
At that time, he was covered in mud and oil, and his hair was messy. It was just the right time to express his recent hard work to Jin Feng.
But Hong Taoping didn't. He came after washing himself thoroughly.
"It's still early. If you go to bed now, you won't be able to sleep at night."
Hong Taoping answered Jin Feng's question casually, and then asked expectantly: "Mr. Jin, the first batch of floor ships have been built. Should we build iron ships next?"
This batch of floor ships was improved by Jin Feng based on Dakang's previous floor ships, adding a steam engine as the driving machine, and replacing some of the main stress-bearing components from wood with stronger and more durable I-shaped steel.
However, the overall structure of the building boat is not very different from the building boat that was popular before Dakang.
Hong Taoping has been exposed to and learned the most about shipbuilding since he was a child. After a while, he got used to it.
What he is most looking forward to is the armored warship that Jin Feng once mentioned.
Because this is a new type of ship that has never appeared in the history of Dakang.
"It is indeed time to build iron ships," Jin Feng nodded slightly, his eyes full of expectations.
Only when iron ships were built could the expedition team have the capital to sail to America.
"Then when should we start?" Hong Taoping asked impatiently.
Although he has not left the dock, recently, when Zhenyuan No. 2 and No. 3 and the building ship returned from Sichuan, they brought various steel plates and other steel accessories every time.
Mancang told Hong Taoping that those steel plates and steel accessories were prepared for armored warships.
In fact, Jin Feng is also very anxious and can't wait to start work now.
But seeing the bloodshot eyes at the corner of Hong Taoping's eyes, he smiled and waved his hand and said, "You should rest for a few days first."
"I don't need to rest," Hong Taoping quickly waved his hand: "If you don't believe me, sir, I can continue working tonight!"
"I believe it, I believe it!" Jin Feng spread his hands: "But the workers in the shipyard are on holiday, how can we build a ship?"
"This..." Hong Taoping was stunned.
Yes, all the shipyard workers were on holiday, and he wanted to build ships without any manpower.
"Sir, how about I call all the workers back?" Hong Taoping asked.
"Farewell, everyone has been tired for such a long time. We are all looking forward to taking a vacation. If you call people back now, aren't you going to get scolded?"
"I'm not afraid. As long as they are willing to come back and build ships, it's okay to scold me in person!" Hong Taoping said, "Besides, if you let them build ships, it's not like you won't pay them wages. What's there to scold?"
"This is not a matter of wages and whether to scold or not, but to force everyone back to work now. Everyone will definitely feel uncomfortable and will not work as hard as they can. The gain outweighs the loss."
Jin Feng patted Hong Taoping on the shoulder: "If you really can't sit still, come and see me tomorrow. Let's go over the drawings again and build another ship model to verify."
"Okay," Hong Taoping finally stopped insisting when he saw Jin Feng say this.
The two chatted for a while, and then Jin Feng drove Hong Taoping back to rest.
Early the next morning, Hong Taoping came again and learned that Jin Feng was still sleeping, so he had to go back.
Hong Taoping came to visit several times throughout the morning, and it was at noon that Jin Feng finally got up.
In the next few days, Jin Feng and Hong Taoping plunged into the small dark room of the dock.
The iron-clad ship not only undertakes the mission of searching for good seeds in America, but also affects the lives of hundreds of escorts and sailors, so Jin Feng is extremely serious.
The two people checked and calculated the drawings two or three times, and then made a hull model strictly according to the scale. After confirming that there were no problems, they came out of the small dark room.
On the sixth day, the boatmen started working, and the dock immediately became lively.
At this time, the picking, drying and transportation of kelp were on track. Jin Feng hardly needed to worry about it anymore. Jin Feng devoted all his attention to the dock.
Once you devote yourself to work, time flies quickly. Before you know it, more than a month has passed.
When Jin Feng was called out of the dock again by Tang Xiaobei, spring was over.
Tang Xiaobei felt heartbroken when he looked at Jin Feng, who was unkempt and his face was covered with dust.
Wiping off the dust on Jin Feng's face with his sleeve, he said angrily: "Mr., no matter how important the armored ship is, you can't work so hard, right? Look at you, you were already thin, and now you have lost a lot of weight. When you return to Sichuan,
Shu, you asked me, Runniang and Feifei, how do you explain to your sister?"
"If you lose weight, you will lose weight. If you eat two good meals, you will gain weight." Jin Feng waved his hand nonchalantly: "By the way, how is the kelp picking situation?"
"Half of the kelp on Maolang Island has been harvested. Feifei has gathered thousands of large and small fishing boats and thousands of refugees from Jiangnan and coastal areas and sent them to Maolang Island. She has also built two new kelp in Qujiawan and Baishatan area.
A drying place!"
Tang Xiaobei replied: "General Zheng said that if there are no accidents, the kelp picking work on Maolang Island will be completed before August!"
"Where are the picked kelp transported?" Jin Feng asked.
"According to your explanation, most of it was transported to the vacant grain depots in the south of the Yangtze River, and the fine kelp and a small part of third- and fourth-class products were transported to Sichuan and Sichuan for sale." Tang Xiaobei replied.
"What is the situation in Jiangnan and the Central Plains?" Jin Feng asked.
"As you expected, the situation is getting worse and worse." Tang Xiaobei said: "More and more refugees have come to the East China Sea recently. The number of refugees fed by the picking fields, drying fields and packing fields alone has exceeded
There are 17,000 people lingering near Yuxi Town, and there are even more refugees who make a living by giving soup and working as temporary workers. Da Qiang said there are at least more than 20,000 people!"
"So many people?" Jin Feng frowned and asked, "How are food and accommodation arranged?"