Qin Kai was not idle at this time, he bought a few gifts and went to visit He Xing.

The scale of the He family was somewhat beyond his expectations, starting from the city gate in the west of the city, more than a dozen large mansions were owned by the He family, and the shops of the He family were in the best position at the city gate, and the merchants from the port of Fuzhou could see this huge shop as soon as they entered the city.

After finding the guy to report, He Xing soon appeared, and he didn't have the slightest surprise at Qin Kai's visit, but seeing his new appearance, it was a little unexpected for him, and he laughed and teased: "Brother Qin, you seem to have gained a lot!" It's a very good dress, come, sit ...... inside."

When he arrived at the shop, Qin Kai sighed, this He Xing was definitely from a wealthy family, but he couldn't see the squandering style of the rich and noble children at all, "Brother He, your He family's industry is really huge?" ”

"Haha, Brother Qin saw that more than a dozen people entered the mansion in the west of the city, our He family is also an old land in Fuzhou Mansion, and the ancestors of the family began to do business in the northwest, so they can be regarded as some benefits, but ......" He Xing shook his head, he is not the son of the He family, and he can also share a piece of family property in the future, but the impact on the family is very limited, so he immediately changed the topic and asked: "Brother Qin, what are your plans?" ”

"Oh...... I'm going to apply for an instructor at the Mawei Ship Master School, and I'm here to visit Brother He today, but it's also for this matter. ”

"Mawei Academy...... "He Xing, as a native of Fuzhou, naturally understands the scale of this school, this is the highest level of government-run paramilitary academy, and the instructors are all Westerners, he is really surprised by Qin Kai's idea.

Seeing He Xing's expression, Qin Kai naturally understood the reason, after all, he was a person with no background, and in just a few days, he wanted to enter the Mawei Ship Administration School with a strong background in the officialdom, and from the outside, it was indeed an unbelievable thing, so he hurriedly explained: "Brother He, I have already met Governor Ding today, and Master Sun in the yamen promised to help......

"Oh! Master Sun? Is it according to the judge's experience of Sun Fu? He Xing was even more surprised, Sun Fu naturally knew about it, and he was indeed the official in charge of this personnel recruitment in the governor's yamen.

Master Sun's name is Sun Fu, Qin Kai didn't know, he nodded ambiguously, and then asked: "Brother He, it's just that the younger brother doesn't have a familiar person in Fuzhou, you know, this is to enter the Ship Master Academy, that is to be guaranteed by someone......"

He Xing thought for a while, smiled slightly, and said, "Brother Qin, don't worry, this matter is not difficult, I will find an acquaintance in the yamen to help you do this when I go back." ”

For He Xing's generosity, Qin Kai was naturally very grateful, and he got up and gave another salute, and the two talked for half an hour, and then he said goodbye, but from the chat, he also learned some new information, He Xing is a junior in the family, although he is quite capable, with his own hard work, he has earned his current status, but in the huge He family, he actually does not have much right to speak.

For He Xing's very generous help, he naturally hoped to repay the favor, the most important thing is that through guò observation, He Xing is worth befriending, after returning to the inn, he woke up the light brain, and began to think about doing some industries in this era, and soon, several feasible projects entered his field of vision, of course, whether it is feasible or not, it still needs to be tested in practice.

In the evening, a servant came to the inn and brought news, saying that Master Sun would make him the governor of the yamen early tomorrow morning, Qin Kai was naturally quite surprised by Master Sun's efficiency, in his imagination, it was normal for such a provincial-level department to drag things out.

This matter is not only related to their own job problems, but also related to their future way out arrangements, in this era, although the imperial power has a tendency to be weakened, but without an officialdom background, it is very difficult to do anything in this land.

Early in the morning of the second day, Qin Kai once again walked into the governor's yamen, unlike yesterday, today it was Master Sun who personally led him in, and a group of officials at the door all looked at the situation with strange expressions.

"Old Wu, what is the origin of this kid surnamed Qin? Isn't it just a fellow of Mr. Huang...... Do you need Master Sun to greet you in person? A tall, lanky servant muttered.

"Tu Laosi, you are so stupid, you didn't see how closely Huang Jiang followed when he went out yesterday, and he was still muttering to this surnamed Qin for a long time, I see that this Qin Gongzi's background is deep!" ,

“……”

The team leader next to him watched coldly for a while, and then came out to make a concluding speech, "Let's do it, I heard the people in Master Sun's house say that this Qin Kai is a person with great ability, and he wants to enter the Ship Master Academy as an instructor, and the foreign teachers in the school are all majestic, and this countryman goes in to be a teacher, and that is the first one in our Fuzhou!" ”

At this time, in the inner hall, Qin Kai finally met this legendary governor in history face to face, but he was an old man of medium height, with prominent bags under his eyes, and his face did not look very good. In his early years, he became famous by casting cannons himself, and later generations were named under the name of Li Zhongtang, and most of the results of the Westernization Movement were handled by this person.

From the earliest Shanghai Gun Bureau to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, from the Kaiping Coal Mine to the China Merchants Steamship Bureau, to build railways and telegraph lines, and even when he was seriously ill, Li Hongzhang also asked him to serve as the most important governor -- the governor of Zhili.

For the pioneer who was groping in this dark age, Qin Kai bowed down very sincerely and gave a big salute, and Ding Richang, who was sitting on the top seat at this time, had also been observing this young man.

"Sit down!" Ding Richang looked at it for a long time and said lightly.

"Lord Xie", Qin Kai sat down next to him.

"Qin Kai, where is your ancestral home, and do you still have relatives?" Ding Richang asked.

"My lord, my ancestral home is Shanxi, and when I was young, I went overseas with my father to make a living, and I traveled to various countries to study."

"Oh...... Listening to Mr. Sun, is it true that you are proficient in arithmetic, physics and mechanics? ”

"My lord, I don't dare to say that I am proficient, now in the West, these disciplines are also changing with each passing day, only by advancing with the times, can we catch up with the West."

The word "...... keep pace with the times" is quite meaningful, Ding Richang showed a thoughtful expression on his face, obviously had some feelings about this term, thought about it, and said: "The machine tool drawings you presented yesterday, you explain the key design of this, the old man understood some yesterday, but there are still some doubts!" ”

Qin Kai admired this old man's persistence very much, this age, and such a strong desire to learn, his drawings were drawn according to the holograms of later generations, dense, if he couldn't view the holograms, otherwise he would be very dizzy when he saw it. So he pointed to several key parts of the machine tool such as card slots, crankshafts, and flywheels to explain.

The old man listened very carefully, nodded his head, and then asked, "Qin Kai, are you sure to make it?" ”

"If there's a suitable lathe, I'm 100% sure!" Now is not the time to retreat, Qin Kai naturally understands this truth.

"Good!" Old man Ding, who had been speaking very low, suddenly his voice was an octave higher, and as soon as he slapped the table, Old Man Ding stood up, thought about it, and said, "Qin Kai, I now grant you the post of Captain of the Ship Master, and I will do my best to supervise the manufacture of this mechanical grinder...... Mawei Shipyard can listen to your call! How long do you think it will take? ”

I didn't expect things to go so smoothly, Qin Kai's respect for this cannon governor was a little higher, if the officials of this era had such a consciousness...... However, in this dark era of imperial power, it is a pity for the struggle of these pioneers, he respectfully saluted again: "Lord Xie, but at this time, I will not be sure until I go to the factory to see the machine tools and workers!" ”

Ding Richang naturally understood the reason, but he had a little more expectation for Qin Kai's calmness, nodded with satisfaction, and immediately asked Master Sun to draft a farewell, handed it to him with a seal, and said: "With this confession, you can freely enter and exit the shipyard and the shipyard master's school, and I will ask Master Sun to take you to meet the superintendent of the school and the ambassadors of each factory...... In addition, if this matter can be accomplished, Qin Kai, I will guarantee you to enter the Mawei Ship Master Academy as an instructor! ”

Qin Kai bowed down again and said lightly: "Thank you, Lord for your support!" Then, under the leadership of Master Sun, he said goodbye and left.

Ding Richang thought about this for a while, and really felt excited, if the artillery is mechanically polished to the inner chamber, this error will be reduced to the minimum, and the processing speed can be increased by ten times or even a hundred times, which is a sign of revolutionary changes in artillery manufacturing, he immediately put pen to paper, and wrote a secret letter to Zuo Zongtang in Xinjiang and Li Hongzhang in Beijing.

Although Master Sun's official position is five or six levels higher than Qin Kai, he is very polite to Qin Kai today, and Master Sun is naturally very satisfied with his appearance today, Governor Lord Ding is obviously very optimistic about this young man, and what he has to do now is to fully support him to make this mechanical grinder, and what Lord Ding promised will definitely be fulfilled. ,

Out of the gate, Qin Kai thought about it again and again and quietly inquired with Master Sun, "Lord Sun, how many rank officials am I, the ambassador?" ”

Master Sun's thin face smiled, "Qin Kai, if you talk about official positions, you should be regarded as a nine-rank false position, this is a rare trust from the governor, do a good job......"

When Qin Kai and Master Sun came to the Ship Master School, they didn't see Huang Dang on duty, and along the way, Master Sun had already introduced him to the officials of the Mawei Ship Master School, including the fat man who made things difficult for him last time. The fat man's full name is Jin Wu, and he is the brother-in-law of the favorite concubine of Wenshan, the governor of Fujian.

The biggest official of the Mawei Ship Master School is naturally the governor and Fujian Ship Master Ding Richang, but the real manager is Shen Songhe, the ambassador of the Political Division, and the school consists of the former school and the back school, and the teachers are mostly Western teachers recruited by the French Japanese and Italian appointed by Zuo Dashuai, and Master Sun also reminded that this day is also an important figure in the school.

The interior of the Harbour Master School is very huge, and the carriage walked on the smooth stone road for more than a quarter of an hour before arriving at a French-style western-style building area near the sea. He turned around and winked at Qin Kai again.

Qin Kai was stunned for a moment, and also figured it out, it turned out that this guy must have gotten the news, and hurried to join in the fun, under the leadership of Huang Dang, they soon found a large ocean building in the middle, pushed the door in, and in the huge Western-style living room, there were more than a dozen people sitting, and he saw at a glance the golden fat man who was still sleepy sitting in the corner.

One of the round-faced officials in official robes stood up and said with a smile: "Brother Sun, that gust of wind has blown you here!" ”

Master Sun whispered to Qin Kai, this is Shen Songhe, and then said with a smile on his face: "Brother Shen, I haven't come to talk about your ponytail seafood for a while, so I came here to try it today!" ”

"You still need to come in person for this little thing, I'll be the east later, and you will accompany Master Sun together!" Shen Songhe is obviously a veteran of officialdom, this fart is extremely skilled, he and Sun Fu have the same official positions, so there is no barrier between superiors and subordinates when talking.

Master Sun motioned for Qin Kai and Huang Dang to sit down, then turned his head and handed over the document and said, "Brother Shen, this is Lord Ding's paperwork, you take a look at it first!" ”

Shen Songhe put down the teacup in his hand, took the proclamation and looked at it carefully, the look on his face was a little more solemn, he walked over to Master Sun's side, and whispered in his ear, "Brother Sun, you are the one who took the lead in this matter?" However, as you know, the new blast furnace at the shipyard is very unstable, and the supply of steel has always been a problem, and the machine tools are also good and bad......"

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