Chapter 389: Test Driving the New Ship
Li Daoxuan was amused by his explanation. This time, the ship wasn't made of plastic, but of iron, covered with a layer of composite pressing plates for sun protection. For aesthetic reasons, it needed a fresh coat of paint.
Cai Xinzhi, in her effort to make the ship model appear ancient and beautiful, had used wood-grain paint. Once finished, it looked remarkably like an ancient multi-decked vessel.
Who would have thought that such a normal color would be considered abnormal in the eyes of the little people?
"On board! To the captain's cabin!"
Li Daoxuan displayed a large sheet of paper.
Bai Yuan quickly dismissed his jumbled thoughts and led the group towards the ship.
Although it was a riverboat and didn't have the towering freeboard of an ocean-going vessel, its sides were still quite high for the little people. Boarding required an ungraceful scramble.
Bai Yuan, a master of dignified posturing, was certainly not adept at undignified maneuvers, and he froze at the ship's rail.
A house guard beside him called out, "Master, there's a ladder here!"
Now Bai Yuan could board. He climbed onto the ship with a flourish, then swiftly made his way to the captain's cabin. His eyes immediately fell upon the round helm. Without even thinking, he knew it controlled direction. Next to the helm, he spotted a familiar switch, identical to the ones on the small trains.
"Isn't it obvious how to steer this thing?" Bai Yuan chuckled. "You just press this switch here, and the ship will move forward. Then you turn the helm to control direction, and when you want to stop, just press the switch again."
Elder Zhang was greatly surprised. "It's that simple to operate? No sails or oars needed?"
Bai Yuan scoffed, "Heh heh, everything the Heavenly Lord bestows is like this! It uses divine power; how could mere mortals understand it?"
Elder Zhang dared not question him on this, but having grown up by the Yellow River, he understood a thing or two about operating boats. "Even if it runs on divine power and needs no sails or oars, a ship this large would still be difficult to maneuver when turning or docking. Brother Bai, please don't just randomly press the switches."
Bai Yuan's hand was already on the switch, but hearing Elder Zhang, he grew cautious and pulled it back. "You're right. I'm not particularly skilled at piloting boats; after all, that doesn't fall under the gentlemanly arts."
A house guard behind him stepped forward. "Master, I have some humble knowledge of rowing boats."
It turned out that Bai Family Fortress was situated right beside Horseshoe Lake. Most of Bai's house guards had grown up by the lake, were skilled swimmers, and nearly all could handle a small boat.
However, none of them had ever piloted a vessel of this size. At best, they could attempt to operate it, but none dared claim immediate mastery.
Bai Yuan's spirits lifted. "Excellent! All house guards who know how to row, prepare yourselves. We shall try to operate this great ship. Brother Zhang, your Heyang County must have many fishermen who have spent their lives on the Yellow River, correct? Call them aboard; let them all try to master this grand vessel. If we can get this ship working, what river bandits would we have to fear?"
Elder Zhang was overjoyed. "Brother Bai speaks wisely!"
He quickly shouted towards the fishermen on the boats at the Qichuan Ferry, "Those who are good swimmers and skilled at handling boats, come aboard this great ship and offer your advice to Master Bai!"
The fishermen had long yearned to explore the great ship. Hearing this, there was no reason for them not to be eager. A dozen or so fishermen surged onto the vessel, scurrying back and forth across the deck, touching everything in wonder, utterly fascinated.
Li Daoxuan also watched the ship cautiously, his hand poised over the "North, South, East, West" buttons outside the box.
The Yellow River was too wide, monopolizing his entire field of view within the box.
The box was five meters wide. If the ship sailed into the middle, Li Daoxuan wouldn't be able to reach it. If the vessel capsized, he might not have enough time to rescue the little people in the water. Therefore, he needed to keep his hand on the "North, South, East, West" buttons, constantly adjusting his field of view to keep the ship along the edge of his box, only then could he reach down to help.
Both those inside and outside the box felt a ripple of tension.
In this atmosphere of anticipation, Bai Yuan sharply pressed the electric switch.
The small motor spun the propeller, and immediately, white spray churned up at the stern. A fisherman standing at the back cried out, "There's something spinning at the ship's rear, pushing us along!"
"There's such a ship?"
"That's why it's a divine ship!"
"Whoa, quick, turn left! Turn left sooner, or the Yellow River current will push us past that reef, and we won't be able to turn around!" an old boatman, familiar with the river's currents, yelled.
Bai Yuan concentrated intently, gripping the helm. At first, he was so nervous he broke into a sweat, but after a few minutes, he calmed down. The helm spun swiftly in his hands as he burst into laughter. "This thing is even simpler to operate than I imagined, ha ha ha! And it's freer than driving a small train. The small train can only follow tracks, but this divine ship can travel anywhere on the Yellow River!"
A fisherman on the deck cheered, "This ship is much better than our small fishing boats! It's smooth, stable, and fast. If I cast a big net from this ship, catching fish would be far easier than from a small boat!"
"A lifetime of poverty, and you're still thinking about fishing even with a ship this grand?" another scoffed. "If we used a large ship like this to transport a full load of grain to northern Shaanxi, where a *dou* of rice costs a thousand coins, wouldn't we get rich? Wouldn't that be faster than fishing?"
"Hmph, is that a place for the likes of us? You'd earn the money, but never live to spend it. River bandits would cut you down halfway there."
"Before, we were weak, so we feared bandits. But with a ship this grand, we are strong! What river bandits should we fear now? Where can't we go to do business?"
"Even the government's naval forces, I won't fear them either!"
"Whoa, you shouldn't say such things! That's no different from plotting rebellion!"
The fishermen burst into hearty laughter.
After a round of test piloting, Bai Yuan docked the large ship back at Qichuan Ferry. A fisherman threw a long rope down, coiling it around a wooden post on the dock. However, looking at the massive vessel and then at the small wooden post normally used for fishing boats, he cried out, "This great ship can't be held by a single rope! What if it's swept away by the current in the middle of the night?"
"An anchor! We need an anchor!" an old fisherman bellowed. "The government's large ships all use four-fluked iron anchors. This ship of ours must have one too; quick, look for it!"
Soon, they found a massive anchor, supported by a specialized davit at the stern. With a press of the mechanism, the anchor splashed into the water, securing the great ship in place.
The fishermen immediately erupted in cheers. "It's done! It's done! We know how to use this ship now!"
Comments