Chapter 1064: Little White No. 2
A few days later, on the deck of the Wanli Sunshine.
Zheng Sen was excitedly watching Zhoushan Dinghai Port grow closer ahead.
Though only twelve years old, Zheng Sen already possessed several years of seafaring experience. From a very young age, he had traveled on large ships, journeying from Japan to Fujian, crossing vast oceans. Because of this, he understood ship performance far better than most children.
The astonishing speed of the Wanli Sunshine filled him with deep admiration. Standing at the bow, feeling the sea wind rush by, was an experience impossible to find on those sluggish little sailing boats.
"Brother Lang!" Zheng Sen turned his head and asked, "This ship doesn't even have sails or oars, how does it run so incredibly fast?"
Shi Lang chuckled, "Divine power from the immortals."
Zheng Sen was speechless.
Jiang Cheng popped his head out from nearby, laughing, "Don't listen to his nonsense. The power this ship uses is actually electricity. It's just that this electricity is very strange; we mortals can't produce it. It's provided by a celestial treasure, something called a 'solar panel'."
Now Zheng Sen was even more confused.
Zheng Sen, "Is that the Naval Industrial Academy you were talking about?"
Shi Lang nodded. "Yes, it is. That's a school founded by the celestial immortals themselves! All the textbooks inside are Heavenly Books."
Zheng Sen exclaimed, "Oh?"
As the two spoke, the Wanli Sunshine had already sailed into Zhoushan Dinghai Port.
Suddenly, a strange ship rushed towards them from the front.
Its hull was made of wood, and its overall shape wasn't much different from a sailing ship, yet it had no sails or oars. Instead, on each side of its hull, there was a strange, large circular paddle wheel, and two peculiar large smokestacks rose from its deck, spewing black smoke.
The ship was moving rapidly, its two large paddle wheels on the sides making a curious "whirring" sound, seemingly churning the water, sending white spray flying around them.
Zheng Sen exclaimed in wonder, "Wow, another strange ship!"
Shi Lang, "Oh? Little White No. 2, has it finally launched? When we left port to suppress Liu Xiang, it wasn't even fully built. I didn't expect that after going out to fight a battle, we'd return to find it already on its maiden voyage."
Zheng Sen, "Little White No. 2? Is that really such a strange name for a ship?"
Shi Lang laughed, "You'll get used to it. Bai Gongzi calls himself an engineer type, and he says that's how engineer types name things."
Zheng Sen didn't understand. What was an "engineer type"?
However, he was about to meet this 'engineer type' himself.
The "Little White No. 2" sped to a halt not far from the Wanli Sunshine. Standing at its bow was a young man in white, none other than Bai Gongzi.
Shi Lang shouted to him, "Bai Gongzi, your Little White No. 2 has finally launched?"
Bai Gongzi laughed, "Indeed, it's her maiden voyage! Though I'm not entirely satisfied. I wanted to build an ironclad ship, but it ended up being too heavy and failed. For now, I can only make wooden ships to accommodate steam turbines."
It turned out that after Bai Gongzi arrived at Zhoushan Shipyard, the first ship he designed was a formidable iron vessel, named Little White No. 1. However, the iron ship was too heavy, and Little White No. 1 simply couldn't operate properly.
Bai Gongzi had no choice but to quickly redesign, creating the "Little White No. 2."
This Little White No. 2 still used steel for its keel, but its hull was completely planked with wood, ensuring its lightweight design. Only then did it finally manage to sail successfully.
"A shame, a real shame, that it's wood," Bai Gongzi remarked with considerable regret.
"What's wrong with wood?" Zheng Sen suddenly chimed in. "I think this wooden ship is amazing already! It can run so fast, without sails or oars."
Bai Gongzi, "Oh, so this young brother also understands ships?"
Zheng Sen, "Just a little."
Bai Gongzi said, "Wood, while light, isn't very resilient. One hit from a cannon, and there's a big hole."
Zheng Sen spread his hands. "Mr. Bai, you overestimate cannons too much. In this world, only *your* cannons fire far and accurately, and their shells explode. They're terrifying! Everyone else's cannons shoot short and crooked, and their shells don't even explode."
At this point, Zheng Sen continued, "Actually, your wooden ships are more than enough to handle anyone else. On the contrary, if others want to stand against you, *they'd* need to use ironclad ships."
Bai Gongzi, "Oh? Is that so?"
Shi Lang nodded. "For now, that seems to be the case."
Bai Gongzi was overjoyed. "If that's the case, then I can relax considerably, haha! Let's mass-produce these steam-turbine wooden ships first. I'll have to keep researching the issue of iron ships."
With a great weight lifted from his mind, Bai Gongzi's mood instantly brightened. He waved his hand forward and burst out laughing, "Little White No. 2, full speed ahead, let's go!"
At his command, the workers in the engine room quickly shoveled more coal into the furnace, adding more and more to increase power...
A plume of black smoke billowed from the large smokestack, followed by a loud "whoosh" of the steam whistle. Little White No. 2 reached full speed and vanished like a blur.
Seeing the ship reach such speed, Zheng Sen couldn't help but look on with awe. "How powerful! Is that a celestial ship too?"
"It's not a celestial ship," Shi Lang said. "That's a ship Bai Gongzi built himself, every single piece crafted by us mortals. Of course, it's still far inferior to a celestial ship."
Zheng Sen, "It's already very powerful! You can't compare everything to celestial artifacts."
There was certainly sense in his words.
Shi Lang actually understood this too: the Heavenly Lord could easily bestow celestial ships, yet he vigorously supported Bai Gongzi's research and trained numerous shipbuilding technicians. This was clearly to encourage them to become self-reliant, to build powerful ships using their own mortal strength.
There was no need to explain why! Everyone in Gao Family Village understood!
Immortals could look after you for a while, but never for a lifetime.
In a mortal's life, to receive the favor of immortals once or twice was already an immense stroke of celestial fortune. It was impossible to expect immortals to help with every single matter.
The same applied to shipbuilding.
Though celestial ships were excellent, they ultimately belonged to the immortals. Mortals had to learn to build their own worldly ships.
"Look over there, that's the shipyard," Shi Lang said, smiling. "I'll take you on a tour."
Zheng Sen, "Alright."
The two young men landed at the dock, where large numbers of workers were bustling about.
Goods transported from Luoyang were being desperately unloaded.
Zhoushan Island currently had no agriculture or various handicrafts. The workers on the island relied entirely on supplies from the mainland for their daily needs, so large quantities of goods were transported by ship every day.
On the dock, materials were piled up like small mountains.
Zheng Sen casually picked up a package of goods to examine it and was slightly startled: the quality of all these goods was top-notch, the kind only the wealthy could afford. Yet here, they were piled up like rubbish.
Workers casually carried them, and after someone recorded the details, distribution began immediately.
In other words, these were all for the ordinary workers.
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