Chapter 295 The new purpose of the five-masted ship
Haiji went to see the ship but was in a dilemma. This five-masted ship had been parked at the dock for a while. It had been besieged by pirates at the beginning. When it ran aground, many sails and masts were damaged, and the hull was also damaged. It was towed back.
After Lingao, simple repairs were made to keep it afloat. Originally, the Navy planned to overhaul and renovate it and use it as an ocean-going ship. After the Maritime Court broke out, the ownership of the ship was not determined, so it was left there without anyone taking care of it.
In addition, there was another typhoon during the period, and the ship that appeared in front of Haiji was in a miserable state - only three masts were left, most of the sail ropes were damaged, and the cabins on the deck were also damaged.
Even if such a ship is sailed back, it will have to be overhauled before it can be sold, otherwise it will be the price of firewood. Besides, it is not easy to sail back from the dangerous Qiongzhou Strait. Haiji couldn't make up his mind for a while.
The Australian officer of Ma's family said that the Australians on this ship were interested in buying it, and he thought that this might be a solution. However, he didn't know what the owner of the family thought. He couldn't make the decision himself, so he might as well go back first before talking.
However, Hai Shuzu insisted on bringing the ship back. Haiji pointed out in vain that to bring the ship back, it would have to pay a lot of repair costs, hire a team of sailors, and finally risk crossing the strait - there was no guarantee that it would not happen again.
Encountered a pirate attack. Even if we returned to Shenying Port safely, it would still take time to sell such a large ship. In this case, it would be more cost-effective to sell it to Australians on the spot.
But Hai Shuzu insisted on bringing the boat back. Haiji had no choice but to bring the money back to Lingao to repair the boat. Although Haiji didn't know anything about boats or navigation, he knew from the appearance of the boat that it would cost a lot to repair.
He didn't know how many days it would take to complete the work. Finally, Hai Shuzu allowed him to "just repair it and drive it back."
Haiji's ship repair trip was warmly received by Li Di, the port director of Bopu, who expressed his willingness to contact the shipyard on his behalf and could repair the ship for free. The condition was that the five-masted ship would help transport a shipment of goods when it returned to Qiongshan. He was
Haiji, who was overwhelmed by Li Di's enthusiasm, was flattered and agreed immediately.
The shipyard immediately got into work. The five-masted ship was towed into the dry dock. Subsequently, the hull was carefully repaired, and the damaged mast and sails were also repaired. The shipyard took advantage of the lack of masts and only repaired it to a moderate extent.
Three masts were intact, and the other two were completely dismantled. Some strange changes were made to the inner cabin and deck of the ship. First, two large cargo hatches were opened on the deck, and second, additional masts were installed on both sides of the ship.
Iron boat davits. Finally, human winch booms are installed on the front and rear decks.
In fact, some basic modifications have been made internally to leave room for future modifications.
It is now very easy for shipyards to repair, repair and renovate wooden ships. They have dry docks, steam-driven cranes, and a shipyard with complete wood processing equipment - all the required ship materials can be processed and manufactured in a very short time.
Shipbuilding hardware was standardized. Coupled with modern process management, the shipyard started working 24 hours a day, and it took seven days to repair and refit the ship.
Subsequently, under the command of Li Di, batches of cargo were transported onto the large ship. There were so many cargoes that the waterline of the ship was pressed to the full load level. Finally, four flat-bottomed boats were "chugging" with white steam rising. A steam crane lifted them up, and a group of workers carefully hung them on the boat frame.
Haiji couldn't help but feel strange when he saw his boat looking like this. But he thought that the boat would be sold to Qiongshan anyway. As long as it could be driven back to Qiongshan, it would be fine, no matter how it was repaired. Anyway, the Australian named Li People said that as long as he helped transport the goods, there was no cost to repair the ship, and he didn't even need to spend money to hire sailors. He Haiji just had to return to Qiongshan with the ship.
The big ship set sail under the escort of the patrol boat. Three days later, Hai Shuzu's big ship finally returned to Shenying Port. When the five-masted ship flying the Haijia flag entered the port, the entire Qiongzhou capital was in shock- No one expected that the ship that had been lost to pirates for more than two months could actually come back. Many people were originally surprised that Hai Shuzu could suddenly pay back the money. But now they think about it, since his ship can come back, he must have made money later. Got a lot of votes,
Not only did they come back, the ship was even filled with cargo - no one knew what was in those finely crafted and identical large wooden boxes reinforced with iron sheets. Only Lin Baiguang knew that they contained equipment and equipment used for mining. Supplies, including the four flat-bottomed boats, are specially prepared for mining.
Because of the Haishuzu brand name and the proper management, the Qinglan Inspection Department's inspection of the cargo was just a false story. The ship did not unload the cargo after it docked, and Haiji went directly to Haishuzu to return his orders.
"What a strange thing!" Hai Shuzu looked at the box of silver in front of him, and his mood was so good that it was unimaginable. "I didn't expect that the Australians really kept their word and gave all the goods to Brother Yu in exchange for silver!"
"Let's deduct one-fifth." Lin Baiguang chuckled secretly.
"Hey! According to the people who came back, if they hadn't come to the rescue, Brother Yu would have lost both the boat and the cargo. How could he have more than a thousand taels of silver and a boat!" Hai Shuzu didn't seem to have suffered a loss. , as if he had made a fortune, and his face was filled with happiness.
"I have to thank my dear brother for this!" Hai Shuzu said and bowed to him, "Without my dear brother's intervention, this matter would never have been done so smoothly."
"That's ridiculous. This was originally done according to Australian rules. I just sent someone to lead the way. It's nothing."
"Valuing credit and respecting benevolence and righteousness! Even though he is from overseas, he is no less a Chinese figure than me!" Hai Shuzu almost blew the Australians to the sky. As he spoke, he opened the judgment document that Haiji brought to him. It was uniquely bound and white. The crisp paper first caught his attention. After opening it and reading a few pages, his expression gradually became serious.
Lin Baiguang thought that there were not more than twenty people in the Transmigration Group who could understand this legal document. Can Hai Shuzu understand this article full of terms and simplified Chinese characters?
After a long while, Hai Shuzu put down the document, but said nothing. Lin Baiguang wondered how much he understood. He couldn't help but want to ask. Hai Shuzu said it himself:
"Australians are really smart."
"oh?"
"Although Brother Yu doesn't understand the content of this document, he understands about seventy-eight points of its meaning." Hai Shu said to his ancestors, "Brother Yu has never heard of such careful thoughts and rigorous actions."
Hai Shuzu was still lamenting, but Hai Ji was anxious - he was focused on being the master, because when he arrived, the man surnamed Li said that if the ship wanted to be sold, he was willing to buy it. Now the ship has arrived in Haikou, and the appearance is also considered.
After showing off, it was better to sell the boat quickly and get over it. He said:
"Sir, the Australians in Lingao are willing to buy big ships. Do you think it is——"
"Okay, let's sell it to them." Hai Shuzu's impression of the Australians was now extremely good. The son of the aristocratic family lost his temper and answered simply, "Just sell it for five hundred taels of silver -"
"Master, this, this, this..." Haiji was anxious. This ship cost almost two thousand taels of silver when it was originally built. Although it is damaged now and two masts are missing, it has been repaired now.
It should be sold for a thousand taels.
Lin Baiguang smiled and said: "Five hundred taels is too cheap. Mr. Hai went all the way to get it back, so he wouldn't just sell it for such a low price."
In the end, it was decided to sell it for one thousand taels. The person who came with the boat immediately paid the money. The boat became the property of Chuangchuan Group. The Ministry of Maritime Power planned to use this boat to undertake the task of transporting coal between Qiongshan and Lingao. Here
There was an unexpected benefit: although the ship had changed owners, everyone still thought it belonged to the Hai family.
Hai Shuzu was very satisfied with the deal, but Haiji felt that the deal was really not worth it - since he wanted to sell the boat, he might as well just sell it in Lingao and bring the boat back. He had wasted a lot of time and money on his own.
I even ran back and forth twice. I thought to myself that this is what the so-called master is trying to save face and suffer the consequences.
However, Haiji was still satisfied with his trip to Lingao - it was an eye-opener in Lingao. Not only did he see the legendary large iron ship, but he also saw many new things. After returning, he had endless things to talk about.
I passed the time chatting with my family members.
Preparations for the coal mine were in full swing. Lin Baiguang found that he had become the director of the coal mine preparation committee again. The newly renovated house was filled with exploration and design personnel from Lingao. This was really wrong - Gao Di bought it
The house is located in the business district of Qiongshan, and people come and go everywhere. Such a group of strange-looking people even in Ming Dynasty clothes gather here, and they have to go in and out every day. Even if there is a sedan chair, the secret will be revealed sooner or later.
It is still necessary to arrange them into the mine as soon as possible. The remote exploration team has identified a number of coal mining sites. Haikou's coal resources are mainly small-scale mines, and the economic value of mining is not great by modern standards. The mining discovered by the remote exploration team
At that time, the Planning Commission finally chose Jiazi Mine, located on the bank of the Nandu River.
This mine is not the best among the candidate mineral sites in terms of conditions, and its reserves are very small, but its biggest advantage is the convenient water transportation conditions. Ten kilometers east from the mining site is the Nandu River. From here, small flat-bottomed boats can go directly
The Nandu River outlet makes it easy to transport the materials and equipment required for mining and the mined ore. It eliminates the difficult work of building roads in mountainous areas.
Hai Shuzu came forward to buy the mountain where the Jiazi Mine is located. Lin Baiguang suggested buying other mining sites, but Ma Qianzhu thought it was unnecessary - in the future, this would be considered a state-owned asset and could be requisitioned directly.
No need to put in the effort.
Lin Baiguang has bought a piece of land in a desolate area of the harbor through Hai Shuzu, built a warehouse and a trestle, and has a dedicated wharf. In the future, the flat-bottomed boats that transport coal will go directly to the Nandu River terminal and be loaded into the warehouse, waiting for barges by large ships.