Chapter 246: Launching

Bopu Harbor. Colorful flags fluttering.

On the temporarily erected shipyard viewing platform, the high officials of the Transmigration Regime were all dressed in their finest clothes—all committee members had changed into more presentable attire found in their luggage. Though they still looked bizarre to the common people, at least the colors were brighter and the fabrics finer than their usual workwear.

Regarding the issue of official uniforms for transmigrators, some bored individuals had already issued a proposal on the internal BBS a few days ago. Currently, preliminary discussions were underway. According to Wen Desi's experience, such discussions would not produce results for two or three weeks.

"Ship Zero" stood silently in the dry dock. The scaffolding on all sides had been removed, and hull construction was fully completed—only deck facilities like masts and sails remained uninstalled. The dock's steam engine was driving the water pump to fill the dock. As chief designer, Wen Desi harbored mixed feelings about actually guiding construction of a real seagoing vessel: both proud and uneasy.

Fortunately, shipwright Zhang Jiqi was there. Wen Desi glanced at Zhang Jiqi, who couldn't stop smiling. As the shipyard's Master Shipwright, he sat side by side with the Lin clan head on the viewing platform. Compared to the latter, he was simply riding the crest of success—Ship Zero's completion meant his status in the Short-hairs' eyes had risen greatly, and he had even received a bonus.

The transmigrators' technical personnel, led by Wen Desi, had originally lacked confidence in shipbuilding. Though they knew much theory, many practical engineering problems encountered during construction were actually solved by the shipwrights using traditional methods. The transmigrators mainly contributed overall concepts and modern management methods, resulting in a great integration of ancient and modern technologies.

Days before launch, after dismantling the scaffolding, shipbuilders conducted general cleaning of the cabins, clearing wood scraps and scattered tools to ensure no superfluous objects remained inside. Thick hawsers then connected dock walls to hull to prevent shaking after water injection.

To reduce weight and facilitate floating during high tide, most facilities remained uninstalled—masts, cannons, and all ballast would wait until after launch.

As the water pump poured more water into the dock, wood scraps floated up, and the ship began to sway slightly. Because it was moored by hawsers, the amplitude remained small. The ship had completely floated up. The transmigrators watching around burst into cheers—the first large ship self-built by the Transmigration Regime had finally launched. The native craftsmen didn't know why this group of Short-hairs was so happy, but laughed along too.

"Cast off port line number one!"

"Cast off starboard line number two!"

...

"Cast off stern line number ten!"

Following Li Di's commands through the loudspeaker, nine of the ten hawsers were untied in sequence, leaving only number zero at the bow, tied to the bollard beneath the viewing platform—waiting to be cut for launch.

The dock gate slowly opened, and rising seawater began pouring in. The ship floated further, reaching designed draft depth.

Accompanied by drums and music din, Mund, the Maritime Department representative, arrived at the ceremony platform with incomparable excitement. He was wearing a borrowed snow-white British Royal Navy summer dress uniform, complete with golden sash, and even hung a Victoria Cross—a high-quality replica borrowed from a medal enthusiast.

Mund began reading the ship naming certificate with trembling voice:

"Warship Zhenhai. Construction started February 1, 1629. Completed today. Hereby named, April 9, 1629. People's Commissar of Maritime Power, Chen Haiyang."

The naming of this first self-built warship had caused small-scale discussion. Many hoped to name it following the "Four Great Yuan" style (Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, etc.). But the Navy internally disapproved: the Four Great Yuan ships themselves had no victories—only a history of humiliation involving defeat, sinking, surrender, or capture. Selecting them merely for being "tragic and heroic" would make the future fleet nothing but tragedy.

Besides this debate, most people didn't know that Li Mei had specifically sought out the Executive Committee, hoping to name the ship "Women's Cooperative"—with the Cooperative covering the ship's sailors' food expenses for three years. She further suggested that future ship naming could be done through bidding, allowing merchants to purchase naming rights for one year.

This proposal made the Executive Committee laugh and cry. Chen Haiyang jokingly said:

"Then the Navy would be in mess. Changing names every year, who could keep it clear?"

"Doesn't matter—just keep the hull number unchanged. No. 111 will always be No. 111. Government departments register by hull number; the name is just a label, change it as you please." Li Mei's train of thought was indeed not just a spur-of-the-moment idea—she had even thought out details, worthy of being a market veteran.

Finally, the Executive Committee selected Zhenhai (Sea Suppressor), a very ordinary traditional name, mainly to correspond to "Fubo" (Wave Suppressor). Though one was Chinese style and the other Western, and their structures vastly different, their operational positioning was similar: limited armament, balancing transport.

Next, a ceramic vase flew towards the bow. The person throwing was Li Mei. After her paid naming plan was rejected, she pestered until securing the bottle-smashing job. Of course, she provided partial sponsorship—meals for all ceremony personnel were provided by the Women's Cooperative's asset, the most luxurious restaurant in East Gate Market, "Half the Sky." The Women's Cooperative and Half the Sky banners were almost pulled onto the viewing platform. Even Ms. Du Wen, who usually appreciated everything the Women's Cooperative did, couldn't stand it—how could such corrupt commercial habits be used on such a solemn occasion?

As the vase smashed to pieces, Wen Desi gave the order to flood. Under flooding director Li Di's whistle, workers immediately cut the last mooring rope. The Bopu coastal battery fired a salute, then a motorboat acting as tugboat carefully towed the ship slowly out of the dock. The launch ceremony was completed.

The newly launched Zhenhai had no ballast yet and was carefully towed alongside a self-propelled flatbed barge. This barge would serve as a floating pier for fitting out. Its broad deck was piled with equipment and materials, derricks set up to hoist large equipment like masts and cannons.

Before the salute smoke dispersed, craftsmen swarmed onto the new ship to begin fitting-out work—the Executive Committee was pressing hard, and the ship was urgently needed for exploration. To shorten the cycle, the concept of sheathing the hull bottom with copper sheets was also cancelled. They had copper sheets, but Wen Desi didn't know how to sheath them properly, so this time-consuming craft was abandoned.

"Fitting out can be completed within a week, then sea trials. What the hell is this?" Wen Desi watched the bustling scene and felt a sharp porcelain shard from his hat. "Too dangerous. Where is Li Huamei?"

"In the Commercial Hall. People from Foreign Affairs Ministry, Trade Company, and General Security Bureau are talking to her," Ran Yao reported.

"How are the sailors on her ship?"

"Ten people total. Except for taking turns watching the ship, they spend free time drinking, shopping, and whoring in East Gate Market. No special circumstances."

"Hmph, doesn't she have a maid or something by her side? A lone woman at sea with this group for months..."

"It seems this woman is very tough. Fit and agile. Ordinary sailors probably wouldn't be her match," Ran Yao stated.

"Those Navy guys—were they drugged? I don't think this woman looks that great, yet they're all bewitched."

"In my opinion, this woman fits their imagination very well. A female pirate sharing a name with Li Huamei from Uncharted Waters. A bit of romanticism. Also, her appearance and words are very modern, fitting everyone's taste quite well."

Wen Desi nodded. "That makes sense. How was her visit to the Fengcheng yesterday?"

"Could tell she was shocked, but—"

"But what?"

Ran Yao recalled yesterday's scene accompanying Li Huamei on the ship. Considering inevitable questions after boarding, they had specially hypothesized potential questions and unified answers. The navy crowd closest to Li Huamei were called one by one for individual talks and safety awareness education. Everyone was told that even if they couldn't remember standard answers, saying "I don't know" certainly wouldn't be wrong.

Li Huamei's performance after boarding gave no cause for suspicion: running around on deck, touching the huge anchor chain, asking what the constantly rotating thing atop the mast was, and finally insisting on climbing the mast to look—though she gave up after being persuaded it was dangerous. She was very interested in the two fully enclosed lifeboats and crawled inside to look. Naturally, she wanted to know why such a huge iron ship floated instead of sinking, and what propelled it forward.

In general, Li Huamei fit all expected behaviors of an ordinary contemporary observer: curiosity, shock, envy, and delight. In Ran Yao's view, her performance couldn't be more normal—it was so normal that no fault could be picked.

"But she showed no special interest."

"What do you mean?"

"What Li Huamei is interested in is the ship itself, not other things. Many questions she raised were quite professional—she knows a lot about navigation."

"That's right, she's a captain. If she didn't know, she wouldn't have been able to sail the ship here."

"Is her purpose in coming to Bopu for trade?"

"Yes, the Navy report specifically mentioned this point. She is very interested in our products."

(End of Chapter)