On the third day of the ninth lunar month, it was a crisp autumn day. Fang Zi'an rode out of the city from the Hou Chao Gate in Nancheng and stepped onto a busy avenue. This is a road connecting Houchaomen and the Qiantang River, and the road is full of cars and horses, almost comparable to the troublesome streets in the city. Day and night, the carriages and horses traveled endlessly, and thousands of carriages and horses shuttled through this short section of road less than five miles every day, transporting countless goods in and out.

If the transportation north of Lin'an City is mainly connected by the Grand Canal, then the waterway channel to the south of Lin'an City is obviously the Qiantang River. Moreover, the Qiantang River connects to the sea, and it is the outlet of Lin'an. It is no exaggeration to say that, to some extent, the Grand Canal does not have the same role as the Qiantang River in connecting both the sea and the southern water systems.

After Hangzhou was upgraded to the capital city of Lin'an, the already developed maritime transportation became more vigorous. With the strong support of the imperial court, the cargo terminal along the Qiantang River expanded more than tenfold. The goods from all over the south and the goods in Lin'an Mansion are collected and distributed through the large wharf by the Qiantang River on the waterway. Not to mention, of course, trade goods that go to sea.

Fang Zi'an has been coming and going here frequently these days in order to understand and collect some information about the maritime trade. To make some practical measurements for the idea of making a lot of money in his mind, to understand some of the formal processes of maritime trade. But today, he came here for another purpose.

Standing on the small slope on the north side of the wharf, the wharf stretched for miles was dusty, and countless people, chariots and horses were wriggling and busy on the wharf like ants. On the wharf by the river, more than a dozen ships are docked next to the wharf to load and unload goods, and coolies are sweating and sweating on their bare shoulders to carry boxes of goods up and down. Or loading, or warehousing, or loading, very busy. Looking at such a scene, people have a feeling of steaming and boiling life.

Not far off the river, ships waiting to be loaded and unloaded are moored not far from the pier, their sails shining in the sun like reflective mirrors. Looking at the Wangdong Wharf, you can see the scene of seagulls soaring, ship masts and ships gathering. There is a deep-water pier with large sea vessels.

Ships can sail out on the winter monsoon after October each year, and then return here during the southeast monsoon in May and June of the following year, during which time all ships need to be repaired, reinforced, resupplied or scrapped and dismantled. A new, well-fortified ship can withstand the storms of the sea, and these things must be prepared for the next voyage.

Fang Zi'an dismounted at the deep-water dock, where he had already been here several times. The last few times I went to the halls of several shipping houses located above the wharf to ask questions, and went to the public house set up by the city shipping company on the wharf to inquire about the situation. But now Fang Zi'an didn't go to these places, he went east, to the place where the ship was scrapped and dismantled at the easternmost part of the deep-water dock. Many of the ships were so badly damaged after returning from the voyage that the owners of the ships did not dare to take too much risk for the sake of safety, and when repairs could not guarantee the safety of the ships, they were dismantled here. Useful things will be reused, and useless things will all be turned into ignitions, and even after being soaked in seawater, there is no possibility of exerting the last residual heat, so they can only be piled up in the field behind the dock to rot.

Fang Zi'an inspected every tattered ship, until he saw a broken ship with a large hole in the bottom, a crooked keel, and a broken mast. He climbed up and down carefully for a long time, and then got off the boat dirty.

The steward of the shipbreaking company, who was in charge of dismantling the boat, had already seen the young man crawling around on the boat. It's just that because it's a broken ship, and there's nothing of value in it, they don't care at all, they let it do. Until the man walked in front of them.

"Hello everyone, polite." Fang Zi'an arched his hand and smiled.

"Be courteous and courteous." Several ship-breaking people lazily returned the salute and looked at Fang Zi'an puzzled.

"Guys, I want to ask, can you sell these things for money after dismantling these broken ships? For example, what rudder, mast, plank or something. Fang Zi'an said with a smile.

"Don't you talk nonsense? What do we eat if we don't sell for money? That's what we do. We took the silver, dismantled it, and sold it to make some hard-earned money. A middle-aged man said.

"Yes, yes, who does not sell money. It's me who is confused. So, how much silver can you make when a ship is dismantled? Fang Zi'an said with a smile.

"Who are you? What do you do? Do you want to come and eat this bowl of rice too? I can tell you, only our shipbreaking company is allowed to work on the Qiantang River wharf. You want to do this for a living, go to the docks somewhere else. You can't stand up here. The man glared.

Fang Zi'an hurriedly waved his hand and said, "I didn't mean that, where do I want to make this business, I just asked casually." By the way, like that ship, how much silver did you buy? ”

Fang Zi'an pointed to the broken ship by the dock. The man said impatiently, "What happened to the two hundred taels of silver?" ”

Fang Zi'an had a number in his heart, and said with a smile: "That's the case, I have a garden at home, there is water in the garden, and I want to build a water boat pavilion." But it was a hassle to build, and I was advised to buy a broken ship. I saw that it was good, and it seemed to be suitable for cleaning up, and the size was suitable, so I came to ask. ”

Everyone instantly respected Fang Zi'an, this person turned out to be a rich man, and his family had a garden, and there was a pond in the garden that could put down the big boat, which showed that the family business was not small.

Since the business is on the door, the attitude naturally changes. Soon, someone brought a stool, made a large bowl of tea, and asked Fang Zi'an to sit down.

After that, the communication was much smoother, Fang Zi'an not only negotiated the price of the broken ship with these people, and won the broken ship at a low price of four hundred taels of silver, but also learned a lot of information from their mouths. For example, the names and addresses of some of the most experienced shipbuilders in this area, the most experienced old shipwrights at sea, and some news that Fang Zi'an wants to know. At noon, Fang Zi'an paid the deposit, registered the structure and items on the ship, and waved goodbye to the shipbreakers.

He did not return to the city, but went east, and after crossing the wharf, he rode his horse for more than ten miles, asking people all the way, and found a small village called Wantou Village by the river. After inquiring, I learned that the ship repair master who was called Liu Jiaotou lived in the small courtyard.

But when he saw Liu's head, Fang Zi'an was slightly disappointed. That Liu had gray hair on his head, walked tremblingly, and needed to use crutches. After a lifetime of ship repair and shipbuilding, he finally couldn't do it anymore, so he had to retire at home and wait for death.

For this young man from Lin'an, Liu kept the enthusiasm and politeness inherent in the common people. Under the jujube tree in the small courtyard of Liu Jiangtou, Fang Zi'an explained his intention to Liu Jiangtou.

"I made a special trip to visit Liu Jiangtou, and I heard that Liu Jiangtou is a well-known expert in shipbuilding and repair, so I came to meet him."

"Don't dare to be, the old man is just an old bone to die of. If you can't do anything, you can't work, so you can only wait at home to die. Nowadays, the craftsmanship of shipbuilding and ship repair is no longer what the old man looked like back then. At that time, we repaired and built ships, and the whole ship did not use a single nail, it was all mortise and tenon. Today's shipbuilding is all made of square nails, which is very fast, but it is really unsightly. A few years ago, someone asked me to take charge of the old man, but now people don't want us anymore. There's not much craftsmanship to speak of now. Liu talked about the current situation, and he couldn't help but be a little angry.

"It's just that people nowadays only want convenience, not ingenuity, which really shouldn't be. I feel the same way. I want to ask Liu to go out of the mountain and help me build a special ship. Admired, so come to visit. Fang Zi'an said.

"Please allow me to build a ship? Hahaha, no, don't you see the old man's appearance? How else can you move? You look for someone else, I can't help you. There are many shipbuilding businesses, and there are three of them in Lin'an Mansion, just find one. Liu shook his head and waved his hand repeatedly.

Fang Zi'an smacked his lips and said, "If they can do it, do I still need to visit you Liu Jiaotou?" I'll tell you the truth, I'm actually going to build a boat. The ship was very broken, and others said that the ship was unusable, and that it could not go to sea even if it was repaired. I don't believe it. Some people say that unless you ask Liu to go out of the mountain, you can repair the ship. No, I'm here to visit you. ”

Liu shook his head and said with a smile: "If it is a broken ship, why bother to repair it?" Rebuild one. ”

Fang Zi'an shook his head and said, "No, that ship means a lot to me." To tell you the truth, that ship is the inheritance left by my ancestors, and it was on that ship that my ancestors went to sea to adventure and created a foundation. My father told me on his deathbed that any ship could be destroyed and dismantled, but this one could not be dismantled or destroyed, and that it had to be kept sailing on the sea. Because it was my father and my grandfather, who were bloody, sweating, risking their lives to brave the stormy seas, and it had a special meaning. In the middle of the day, when the ship went to sea this year, it accidentally hit the reef and damaged the ship, and also encountered a storm and broke the mast. But even so, the ship did not sink and was towed back by me. Many people persuaded me to dismantle the ship, but I blamed myself very much, as if I was going to ruin the hard work of my grandfather and father. I can dream of my grandfather and my father in agony. That's why I said I was going to fix the ship so that he could sail on the sea. This is my filial piety and my respect for my ancestors. ”

Liu looked at Fang Zi'an, who was extremely remorseful, and was quite moved in his heart. The older a person gets, the more he can feel the coldness of the world and the warmth of people. The more I feel that the world is getting worse and the rest of the people are not ancient. The filial piety of the guest in front of him and the story he told touched Liu Jiangtou. He was quite moved.

"Well, I know it's not easy to do. It is not easy to build an old ship that is about to sink into a ship capable of sailing on the seas, even for someone like Liu Jiangtou. It seems that I am whimsical. Well, I don't embarrass your old man. I went back and worshiped my grandfather and my father's spirit in heaven, and told them that I did my best, the ship...... After all, it's better to dismantle it. The ship is like a man who is old, and will eventually return to dust one day, and it is too unrealistic to forcibly bring it back to life. Liu turned his head, bothered, and said goodbye. Fang Zi'an sighed and stood up, and said goodbye with a sad face.

When Fang Zi'an slowly walked to the gate of the courtyard, the voice of Liu Jiaotou came from his ears: "You stand still, or I'll give it a try, old man?" It's rare for you to be filial, which makes me very touched by the old man. Nowadays, there are few people who respect their ancestors as much as you do, and remember their hard work in the past. The younger generations think that everything they have is in peace, but they don't know that their ancestors have earned it through hard sweat and great risks, and for this alone, I should help you. Also, who said that the ship is too old to be used? Boats, like people, are still usable even when they are old. You want to repair the ship, and the old man will help you make it happen. The old man also wants to tell those descendants who think that the old man is old and can't do things, even if the old man is old, they can't compare. The boat fights for a breath, and the old man also fights for a breath. ”

Fang Zi'an turned his head happily and bowed to the ground. Although he felt a little guilty in his heart for making up a lie to deceive Liu Jiaotou, when he learned about the situation of Liu Jiaotou from the shipbreakers before, Fang Zi'an decided to use this method to persuade him to help. Because this Liu Jiaotou was disgusted by others, he couldn't keep up with the trend of today's shipbuilding, and he couldn't get used to the convenient shipbuilding process, so he left angrily. But in terms of shipbuilding technology, he is indeed famous, but now shipbuilding and ship repair do not need ingenuity, and no one values the craftsmanship no matter how good it is. Fang Zi'an's main game is to respect the ancestors, and Liu Jiaotou really agreed.