[The first bullet on the third day of the Lunar New Year, ask for votes! ] 】

a crooked wooden house that seems to be going to fall over at any moment; There are doors and no windows, and the room is not dark, because the walls are full of gaps one or two fingers wide or even the size of a fist; The pillars of light of different thicknesses were filled with fine dust.

Although the house was small and dilapidated, it was well organized, and the bedding was neatly rolled on the "bed" made of wooden planks; On the wooden shelves against the wall, pots and pans are also placed in a row according to the order of size; The rice jar and pickle jar in the corner of the wall are also covered with wooden boards, and the chopping board is washed and hung on the wall.

"Master Ming, I didn't know that you were here today, if I had known, I would have gone to the street to buy a fish and get some wine...... This house is in tatters, and even people are embarrassed...... Sit anywhere, sit anywhere! ”

This is a middle-aged man in his forties, he doesn't need to look at his appearance with high cheekbones and deep eye sockets, just listening to his unique Cantonese official language, Chu Fan knows that he is from the Liangguang region.

"Ah Xiong, why are you here?" Ming Ye gave Chu Fan a seat first, and then couldn't wait to ask the middle-aged man.

Because it was to recruit people, after he led Chu Fan to the Tianjin shipyard, he plunged into the place where the shipwrights lived, and he never thought that he would meet an acquaintance before he walked a few steps - it was this Situ Xiong.

"I don't want to run so far, but I have to eat." Situ Xiong's swarthy face passed by with sadness, and he quickly regained a slight smile.

This is an optimistic and open-minded person, Chu Fan preliminarily judged Situ Xiong's character from this detail.

Then, in Situ Xiong's unique Cantonese official description and Ming Ye's supplement, Chu Fan knew them, and how Situ Xiong came to Tianjin had a rough outline.

Situ Xiong is a native of Guangzhou, and he worked in the shipyard at a very young age, and Ming Ye went south to learn the craft in the early years when he was in a dock with Situ Xiong, and the relationship between the two can be described as long-standing; Later, Ming Ye returned to Shandong, and Situ Xiong also came to Macau, helping in the shipyard of the Franc machine, because he not only worked very meticulously and precisely, but also learned and motivated, so it didn't take long to become the deputy dock head of the shipyard, that is, the deputy of the dock leader, said to be the deputy, in fact, the Franc dock head usually does not care, it is Situ who takes care of it.

Originally, this day was very good, but Situ Xiong had a problem, he liked to hook up with those married women and widows or something, but the boat farm was not big, and the Franc machine man was not as strict as the Ming people.

For the first few years, the shipowner did not realize it, until the Francose woman gave birth to a mulatto with a slumped nose and thick lips and yellowish skin, and the incident could no longer be hidden.

Fortunately, the woman told Situ in advance that Situ escaped the pursuit of the angry shipyard owner, but he was also penniless because of this—he fled too hastily, and he didn't bring out any of the savings he had saved for more than ten years.

What's worse is that the owner of this Franc machine ship yard has been in Macao for decades, and almost all the Franc machine merchants who travel to and from Macao and even Liangguang and Fujian are his friends, which makes Situ who is like a frightened bird dare not stay in Fujian and Guangzhou, so he has to go north to Yangzhou and hide in a shipyard that builds boats. Who knew that the boat was also in a recession in recent years, there was not much work, and eating was a problem, Situ Xiong had no choice, and he heard that Tianjin was building a warship because of the Tartars, so he gritted his teeth and followed a boat along the canal to Tianjin.

When I arrived in Tianjin, I realized that the warships here had already been built, and now there was only some repair and maintenance work left, how could I support thousands of shipwrights.

"Master Ming, even if you are trapped here, you can't go back to the south." After finishing speaking, Situ Xiong also exaggeratedly patted the empty air on his waist, saying this in his mouth, but his face still looked indifferent.

In the process of narrating between the two, Chu Fan noticed a detail, Ming Ye was more excited when he spoke, and he accidentally touched a bowl next to him, which messed up the order, and Situ Xiong quietly put the bowl back as it was.

Ho! is still an obsessive-compulsive patient-Chu Fan couldn't help but laugh secretly in his heart.

Laughing and laughing, Situ Xiong's experience made Chu Fan's eyes shine, in this era, the craftsmen who will benefit the ship, the ship, the craftsman, who has worked in the Franc engine yard, and has also been the dock, is not easy to find!

"This Uncle Situ is invited." Chu Fan arched his hand.

"It's good if the son is called the puppet Ah Xiong, but I don't dare to call the uncle." Situ Xiong hurriedly bowed deeply and thanked him, he had already known from Ming Ye that Chu Fan was a sea merchant or a famous sea meritor, how dare he slack off.

"Uncle Situ, you said that you worked in the shipyard of the Franco-Robot Man, so you must be familiar with all kinds of ships in the Taixi countries, right?" Chu Fan smiled slightly, he was polite and polite, and he still called Situ Xiong uncle.

"That's nature!" Speaking of his own business, Situ Xiong's eyes lit up and he replied, and a sense of pride arose, "What are those Galen ships, Spanish galleons, and Karak galleons...... Even if you know something, the dock was the largest in Macau at that time...... I even built a light Galen boat, and it took more than a year from the preparation of materials to the launch. ”

Good boy! Pick up the treasure!

Chu Fan couldn't help but be ecstatic in his heart, not to mention the work in the Franc engine yard, and also presided over the manufacture of the Galen ship, which will be put in the future generations, that is, the senior engineer of the shipyard!

Suppressing his excitement, Chu Fan chatted with Situ Xiong and Ming Ye about the differences between Chinese sailing ships and Western sailing ships, when Chu Fan described the shape of the streamlined bow and hydrofoils, Situ Xiong frowned and thought for a long time, nodded and said that he could make it, but his face was full of doubts, I don't know why Chu Fan made such two strange things.

"Ah Xiong, don't underestimate Young Master Chu!" Seeing Situ Xiong's look of disbelief, Ming Ye was a little excited, "I followed Gongzi Chu to change the boat...... Don't you see how beautiful those two spin-wings are, tsk, the boat swoops out as soon as it opens, it's so fast...... In the future, you will know that Chu Gongzi really has a seven-trick exquisite heart, and he can come up with any wonderful method. ”

While talking, it was already time for the sky to be dark, Chu Fan pulled Situ Xiong, who was suspicious, and called Doudou, who was on guard outside the door, to a restaurant with the highest grade and most expensive at the shipyard to eat.

He had a wide hand, Situ Xiong was in poverty again, and the Ming Ye on the side kept beating the side drum, Situ Xiong nodded and agreed after a little hesitation.

After picking up such a treasure, Chu Fan was in a good mood, and after staying in the local area for one night, he took Ming Ye to the shipyard steward the next day, and ordered two six-hundred-material ships of various colors of wood - this shipyard is owned by the Tianjin Sailor, and a lot of materials have been prepared.

The recruitment of ordinary shipwrights is also very smooth - most of them are in a similar situation to Situ Xiong, who have eaten the last meal but not the next, and some people naturally sign up enthusiastically.

After saying that he would soon come to pull the wood and load the people, Chu Fan took everyone Shi Shiran back to Dagukou, and he was stunned as soon as he entered the dock.