There is a table in the open space in front of the boat. On the table is a large fish over one meter long, with a red cloth tied to the big fish.
There is an incense burner in front of the big fish, and three incense burners are lit on it.
This is a ceremony before the launch of a big ship, to pray to the Dragon King to bless the new ship smoothly.
The cheers just now should be the cheers of the boatmen during the ceremony, and their meaning is similar to the cheers during the lion dance in the Central Plains area.
Jin Feng now needs to take a guard with him when he goes out. So many people entered the dock, which attracted the attention of many boatmen and turned their heads to look over.
Mancang and Hong Taoping, who were standing side by side in front of the desk, also turned their heads.
Seeing Jin Feng, the two of them rushed to greet him.
"Sir, the steam engine building ship has been built!"
Because of Hong Er's incident, Hong Taoping's mood has not been very high recently, but now his lips were trembling with excitement.
Assembling a building ship this time completely subverted his understanding of shipbuilding.
In the past, shipbuilding in shipyards often took several months, sometimes even one or two years to build a large ship.
But the parts of the building ship in front of us have been prepared in advance. After arriving at the dock, all we have to do is use a gantry crane to lift the various parts and then put them together.
From start to finish, a large building ship dozens of meters long was built in just a few days.
And it’s a large building ship powered by a steam engine!
This is a speed that Hong Taoping never dared to think of even if he was beaten to death before!
Hong Taoping believes that this batch of large-scale ships will definitely usher in a new era of shipbuilding and will definitely leave a mark in the history of shipbuilding and even official history.
As a participant and witness of history, Hong Taoping is honored!
Mancang was involved in too many similar things, and his behavior was much calmer than that of Hong Taoping. He first bowed to Jin Feng in a polite manner, and then said: "Sir, I made the decision without permission and did not notify you to attend the ceremony. Please forgive me, sir!"
"
"It's okay," Jin Feng waved his hand and said, "The drying yard is busy. Even if you informed me, I wouldn't have time to come over."
In fact, this is also the reason why Mancang did not notify Jin Feng.
Having worked with Jin Feng for so long, Mancang already knew Jin Feng very well. He knew that he was not interested in such a meaningless ceremony and even thought it was redundant, so he wisely did not inform him.
"When can this boat be launched?" Jin Feng asked, looking up at the building boat.
"The parts that should be inspected have been inspected repeatedly and can be launched into the water at any time."
Mancang replied: "I was just going to ask sir for instructions."
He knew that Jin Feng was not interested in the previous ritual of sacrificing the Dragon King, but he would definitely be interested in going into the water.
"If you are ready, go into the water."
Jin Feng said: "Now Maolang Island, Jiangnan, and Sichuan and Shu are all in a hurry to use ships."
"Yes!" Mancang nodded: "I will arrange for someone to check it one last time. If it is confirmed that there is no problem, you can go into the water today."
"Okay," Jin Feng said, "I'll go to the dock next door to see how the other one is doing. After checking it, go over and call me!"
This dock is newly built. There is also a building ship being assembled at the old Hong's dock. However, the site there is not as big as the new dock, the facilities are not as complete as the new dock, and the assembly speed is not as fast as here. It has not been completed yet.
"Shall I go with sir?" Mancang asked.
"No, I'll just go by myself. Just stay here and keep an eye on it. This is the first mass-produced steam ship, so don't let anything go wrong."
Jin Feng waved his hand casually, and then led the people to leave through the side door and went to the old dock.
Hong Taoping looked at Jin Feng's casual look and suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself.
Jin Feng acted too calmly, as if it was a trivial matter not worth mentioning, but he was so excited that he wanted to jump up.
"It seems that I still have a lot to learn from sir!"
Hong Taoping sighed in his heart, and his excitement gradually calmed down. He returned to the boat and helped Mancang do the final inspection.
Their speed was very fast. Jin Feng stayed at the old dock until mid-afternoon, and then came over to inform him that the last inspection was over and the ship could be launched.
"Then go into the water, I won't go in, just look over here."
Although the size of the building ship is not as big as Zhenyuan No. 2 and No. 3, it is not much different. When you go to the new dock, you can only see the butt of the boat. On the contrary, at the entrance of the old dock, you can see the entire launching process.
Mancang also knew this, and seeing that Jin Feng was unwilling to go there, he turned back on his own.
Jin Feng took Iron Hammer and other personal guards to the east gate of the old dock, found a high platform, and waited for the ship to be launched.
As a result, instead of waiting for the building boat, Tang Xiaobei arrived first.
"Ms. sir, why did you hide here? You made me look for you all over the place."
Tang Xiaobei complained and sat on the stool next to Jin Feng.
"Aren't you busy loading the goods? Why are you looking for me?" Jin Feng asked.
"The goods have been loaded. I just want to ask you whether we should leave today or tomorrow." Tang Xiaobei asked.
"Have Zhenyuan No. 2 and No. 3 installed?" Jin Feng was a little surprised: "Is it so fast?"
Zhenyuan No. 2 and No. 3 can still hold things very well. When transporting grain in Jiangnan, Zhenyuan No. 2 alone would take a whole day to fill.
Jin Feng thought it would be dark at the earliest before he could put all the kelp in.
"There are many workers in the drying yard, and the kelp is light in weight and easy to stack in bundles. Plus my husband ordered the rails to be built, so it can be installed quickly."
Tang Xiaobei took Jin Feng's arm and flattered him: "Sir, why are you so smart?"
In the past, when loading grain to Zhenyuan No. 2, a crane was used to lift the grain to the deck of Zhenyuan No. 2, and then workers carried it into the cabin one by one.
Later, Jin Feng felt that the efficiency of shipping in this way was too low and the workers were too tired, so he had two rails laid on the floor of the deck and cabin, and then asked Mancang to build some trolleys according to the gaps between the rails.
Workers who could only carry one bag of grain at a time in the past can now transport more than a dozen bags at a time with small carts, and the loading speed has increased several times.
For this reason, rails are also standard equipment on new ships.
"As long as it's installed," Jin Feng ignored Tang Xiaobei's flattery and asked, "Have all the kelp in the warehouse been installed?"
"It's finished loading," Tang Xiaobei said: "The deck of Zhenyuan No. 3 is not even full."
Although there are over a hundred fishing boats of all sizes transporting kelp, most of them are small fishing boats a few meters long, and the amount of kelp they can haul is limited.
Moreover, after the kelp is dried, the weight and volume will be greatly reduced, and Zhenyuan No. 2 and No. 3 can be finished in one trip.
"As long as the installation is finished," Jin Feng nodded: "Now that it's installed, let's set off. Going back early will reassure everyone."
"Okay," Tang Xiaobei asked his assistant to pass on the message, while he stayed, leaning his head on Jin Feng's shoulder and asked, "Mr. sir, what are you doing sitting here?"