375 A.D., August 27.

The sun is just right, and the breeze is not dry.

In the private port of Qingchu Shipyard, Lu Jing bent down, pressed the thumb of his right hand stained with red mud on the empty space in the lower right corner of the contract, and then signed his name.

The waves crash against the stone walls on both sides of the pier at your feet, making a "pur~" sound.

"Master Lu, money and goods, this ship is yours!"

The manager of the shipyard arched his hand and retreated contentedly, while Lu Jing's eyes had already fallen on his first ship.

The overall appearance of the 12-meter-long steam ship looks similar to the small and medium-sized ships Lu Jing saw in his previous life.

Bounded by the deck, it is divided into three floors, and the upper deck is the area where the wheelhouse, captain's quarters, and observation decks are located, which is no different from the ships of the previous life.

The middle floor is where the crew quarters, arsenals, galleys and other housekeeping rooms are located.

As for the ground floor, it completely acts as a warehouse, and there is also a special cold room, in which Lu Jing can put whatever he gains at sea in the future.

In addition to the above three layers, there are two separate places:

One of them is the power compartment at the stern, this part of Lu Jing has been handed over to Xu Xu, who is more knowledgeable in this area, and the steam power of this era has developed to an extremely mature point, and it is more than enough for one person to operate, and most of the time it doesn't even need to be watched.

The second is the power wheels mounted on both sides of the ship, which are two additional power units that are not normally used, and are only used when there is a problem with the propeller at the stern or when there is a need for emergency acceleration, and this place uses the unique whale oil power instead of steam power.

Don't underestimate this device, whale oil as a very popular new energy source, some people say that this energy is named whale oil, in fact, it is the general name of most of the energy obtained through the deep-sea monster, the volume is not large, but the actual price is not much different from the steam engine in the stern, and Lu Jing originally purchased this dhow, to a large extent, it is also because this emergency acceleration device can play a key role in some critical situations.

After all, this ship is a small and medium-sized civilian ship, and there is no place for the hull of the ship to carry offensive weapons such as cannons, and it has no ability to fight back if it encounters a pirate ship without special modifications.

Of course, the fact that the ship does not have the ability to fight back does not mean that Lu Jing, the captain, does not.

"Captain!"

Xu Chu stood in the middle of the deck and beckoned to this side, holding a book in his hand, and in front of him was a large number of things, including pots and pans, storage boxes, lamps and other daily necessities, as well as fishing gear, wooden boards, mechanical parts and other spare items.

There is no way, the shipyard will not give them all kinds of utensils for nothing just because Lu Jing bought the ship, not to mention that the 6 gold leaves are the result of bargaining.

Therefore, everything had to be purchased by Lu Jing himself.

Fortunately, the captain of the previous life for more than 20 years was not in vain, and with the help of Xu Chu, an old crew member who had also been at sea for many years, the two worked together, and most of the things were ready yesterday afternoon and this morning.

Two workers were sorting them out of the boat according to Xu Xi's instructions.

"What, what's wrong?"

Holding the contract in his hand, stepping on the sampan and boarding his boat in three or two steps, Lu Jing's face did not hide the joy in the slightest.

"Well, it's not these chores, it's something else, our ship is going to sea for the first time, do we need to have a ceremony? Generally speaking, we have to slaughter three animals, and then ...... Anyway, it's quite cumbersome. ”

Xu is about to go to sea, Xu Chu at this time and Lu Jing also changed greatly when he met him yesterday, not only the wine on his body was swept away, but the original feeling of laziness and depression was also gone.

The back of the crooked camel was straightened again, the curled hair of the whole head was also cut into short inches, and the square face with a scar on the right cheek was also a little calm after the vicissitudes of life.

Although his figure is completely out of shape due to long-term alcoholism and irregular life, he is thin and tight, but he is undoubtedly 108,000 miles better than the previous image of the drunk bad old man.

In fact, from the moment Lu Jing watched Xu Xi carry out more than 20 thick and very old nautical charts from his home, he realized that the value of this "fake old man" probably did not lie in his combat effectiveness.

This time, I may have found a treasure!

"No, this ship is just a substitute for the time being, and we don't have the energy right now. ”

There is a deposit in hand, but Lu Jing does not plan to spend it here, and the subsequent modification and all aspects will have to use money, although the sense of ceremony is important, but it is somewhat nondescript to do so many bells and whistles for a dhow.

"Okay, one more thing, you haven't said where we're going at our first stop yet. ”

"I forgot to tell you that our big goal is to go to Shuoyue Island. ”

In the past two days, I have been busy with various things, but I forgot to say the most important thing, since I want to go to sea, I naturally have to have a clear goal.

"The capital of the Shuoming Dynasty?"

Xu Xi's reaction was extremely fast.

"That's right, the ship under our feet now is not what I really want, since I want to see this world, of course I have to have a powerful enough ship, and the shipyard on Shuoyue Island can satisfy me!"

"Shuoyue Island...... Known as Shuoming's No. 1 shipyard, where do you want to buy a ship?"

Looking at Lu Jing in surprise, realizing his bold idea, Xu Jing couldn't help but ask.

You must know that the ships of the Shocking Sea Shipyard are not available to anyone, as the signboard of the Shuoming Dynasty in the Divine Court Alliance, I don't know how many fleets place orders with them every year.

"Of course, if you want to buy it, you have to buy the best, so before we go to Shuoyue Island, we need to make enough money first, and then recruit a group of trustworthy crew members, so the first stop is naturally the island on the treasure map of the living point, Treasure Beast Island...... What, scared?"

Lu Jing patted Xu Ju's shoulder, saw his stunned expression, raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"What are you kidding, you paying captain are not afraid, and I am even more afraid. ”

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xu Xi closed the book, his eyes flashed, compared to those guys who were full of treasure hunting as soon as they went to sea, Lu Jing obviously had more appetite for him, paused, and continued,

"When this is finished, I'll check the situation on Rare Beast Island and arrange the next route...... Hey, don't put those things on the deck, put them in the bottom warehouse, and those foods, don't put them with fruits and medicines, put them in the kitchen on the second floor, come with me!"

Looking at Xu Zu, who looked like a housekeeper, Lu Jing grinned, quite glad that he had found a suitable crew member before going to sea, originally he had to do all these tasks himself, but now, it is estimated that even if he wants to do it, he will be rejected by Xu Chu, who obviously enjoys this kind of preparation before going to sea.

The feeling of striving for a clear goal or dream is the most intoxicating.

So as the captain, Lu Jing could only take out a fishing rod from the side of the deck and walk to the bow of the boat to start his "arduous" fishing career.

He secretly wants to become the king of fishing in the boundless sea, and he is also working silently today!

......

It wasn't until the sunset turned the sky and the ocean red that everything on board was finally arranged.

The refreshing sea breeze in the evening combined with the beautiful sunset in the distance is very refreshing.

Lu Jing leaned on the mast, with a switch on his left arm, and a green apple in his right hand, eating a mouth full of sweet and sour juices, and in the wooden barrel filled with half water at his feet, several colorful sea fish were churning and swimming in it.

"I checked the situation of Zhenbeast Island, there are reefs nearby, which is more excessive than the situation around Shipwreck Island, not to mention that there are a lot of fierce beasts and troublesome mosquitoes on the island, so I recommend going to Huashu Island near Zhenbeast Island to replenish first, there is a shipyard on that island that specializes in manufacturing small speedboats, which are easier to use and cheaper than Qingchu Island, and all kinds of insect repellent drugs can also be purchased. ”

Xu Xi came out of the wheelhouse with the chart in his hand, and worked hard all afternoon, he looked a little tired, but his eyes were still bright.

"Listen to you, the first stop is Flower Tree Island. ”

Breaking off the mechanism with one hand, the sail on the mast suddenly fell, Lu Jing took a deep breath, glanced at Xu Chu beside him, looked around the deck, and suddenly let go of his voice and shouted,

"Tide, sail, set sail !!"

The name of the first ship was something that Lu Jing had already thought of.

No one will persuade him to change!