Chapter 552: Walking in the Night in Brocade

The people on the shuttle boat waved signal flags in a crisscross pattern, and the strong martial artists pushed the long poles, slowly pushing the large ship away from the shore.

Liang Qu walked on the deck.

Every wooden plank was tightly fitted, without any looseness or strange noises.

The new ship was nearly twice as large as the old one; looking out at the river, the view was wide and refreshing.

Big is good!

"Steward Fu's craftsmanship is getting more and more refined."

"The master craftsman at the shipyard taught well."

Liu Quanfu showed a happy face and led the way personally, taking Liang Qu to check the cabins one by one.

Da-da-da.

The otter opened its four claws, leading the small river otters to dash past, taking the lead in reviewing and familiarizing themselves with their new ship.

Passing the steering room.

Two small river otters stopped their steps, quietly running to the corner to want to pee and mark it, but were hissed at by the otter's wife, who grabbed them by the back of the neck and dragged them away.

"The entire Fu ship is seven zhang and three chi long, two zhang and three chi wide, with a total of... the bottom layer all uses watertight compartments, so even if one place is damaged, it will not affect the voyage."

"How many people can it carry?"

"If you sleep in more bunk beds, twenty-odd watermen plus sixty soldiers is no problem, meaning a total of over eighty people. Lord, you should have seen the fishing boats when you went out to catch treasure fish in July; it's just like that."

"What if everyone sleeps in single rooms?"

"Around twenty."

"Not quite enough."

Liang Qu calculated the number of cabins.

Master and Mistress specifically asked to bring a few servants to accompany them, at least two or three, at most five or six.

Not counting the Dragon People brothers working at the River-Lake Office, there were five people on his side.

Helian Nianci and Guan Congjian definitely had to bring servants, at least five rooms should be left, plus the other senior brothers...

"Lord, don't you have an old Fu ship? Why not connect the boats with iron chains? It's just a matter of two boards; two boats, thirty-odd cabins, more than enough."

"That's true."

With fish pulling the boats, the speed wouldn't be slow, so there was no need to cram everyone onto one treasure ship; splitting them into two boats would also be much more comfortable.

"Master, cabins one, two, and three are no problem! Sealed well!"

"Four, five, and six are too!"

Liu Quanfu's apprentices stepped forward one by one to summarize the inspection situation.

The otter squeezed past two big men, followed them out, barking and yelling, and the watermen around were used to it.

Liu Quanfu said: "As you can see, Lord, the trial voyage is no problem. If we let it soak in the river for one more night today and there are still no signs of water seepage in the cabins, you can use it with peace of mind."

"Good! Thank you all, come and get your red envelopes!"

Happy to have a new ship, Liang Qu was in a great mood and immediately made the decision to let the otter distribute the lucky money to everyone.

Liu Quanfu received five taels alone, and the remaining apprentices lined up in a long queue, one tael each, receiving the broken silver from the river otter's claws one by one, feeling extremely happy.

This wasn't wages, but an extra red envelope!

Their hands grabbing the ropes became even more energetic.

The sails were bulging.

The swaying shadows fell on everyone.

As a treasure ship, the green wood ship had almost no water resistance, like a fallen leaf spinning in the wind, crossing heavy water waves, floating away like it was flying.

After circling the marsh surface once, the trial voyage was successful, and the large ship returned to the shore, slowly dropping anchor and docking.

Liang Qu stepped down the wooden ladder.

The young man built a ladder platform on the bow, holding a brush and three-color paint buckets, and stood at the front.

"Lord Liang, should the dragon eyes face down or forward?"

"Down, I suppose."

"Alright!"

After calculating the distance on both sides, the young man used soapstone to make marks, dipped the brush in paint, and painted two large circles, one on the left and one on the right, looking just like two big eyeballs on the ship.

This is called "Dragon Eyes," and there are requirements for the size and shape.

For every zhang of the keel, four cun of dragon eye length is matched.

Fishing boat eyes look down, intending to find schools of fish; merchant boat eyes look forward, intending to recognize the path.

Liang Qu kept his identity as a fisherman firmly in mind.

Catch more fish.

Catch good fish.

"We plan to set off for Huangzhou the day after tomorrow. I will leave the supplies entirely to Steward Fu, including the supplies in the cabins, the ice platform, and buy two more maps, marking the points where it is convenient to dock and resupply in between. We will settle the money all at once then."

"Huangzhou is a good place. I heard that not far to the south is Peng Ze, and there is also Mount Lushan. Don't worry, Lord! We definitely won't delay things!"

The Qingjiang Shipyard is not only responsible for shipbuilding, but also for maintenance and resupply after the ship goes out. And except for the River-Lake Office, other merchant ships spending silver can enjoy the service.

In a word.

If you have money, you don't have to worry about anything.

Three days passed in a flash.

The sun was scorching, and the river surface was dazzlingly bright.

The green wood ship was fully supplied, and the otter held the booklet, checking the rice, grain, melons, fruits, and ice cellar one by one.

The river otters borrowed from the scarred-faced family stood straight, accepting on-the-job training for watermen.

Liang Residence.

"Old Bei, keep a close eye on the pond, don't let the old toad and the old turtle mess around."

"Uncle Chen, I'm going on a long trip, please help me keep an eye on the house."

"Small matter."

Yang's Martial Arts Hall.

Several flatbed carts were parked at the entrance, and the horses flicked their tails.

Hu Qi and Xiang Zhangsong carried large and small bags, looked at Li Libo, Chen Jiechang, and Lin Songbao, and patiently instructed them.

"Everything in the martial arts hall is left to you. Don't let them cause trouble. After finishing this batch, we won't take any more disciples for the time being. Wait until we come back."

"Don't worry, Cao Shixiong."

After repeated instructions, the two got on the flatbed cart and rattled their way to Shangrao Port.

The other senior brothers had no major matters and arrived early, already starting to tidy up their respective rooms.

Liang Qu jumped off the bow to help and looked back: "Where are the Fourth and Sixth Senior Brothers? Why didn't they come together?"

"Oh, the two of them went to the Langyun Tower headquarters to invite Master Jia. They went in the morning and should be here soon." Xiang Zhangsong carried his change of clothes on his back.

Liang Qu was puzzled: "Master Jia? What Master Jia?"

"A master of white-case, specializing in pastries and noodles. He is the best in our Pingyang Prefecture, he is this!" Xiang Zhangsong gave a thumbs up, "Junior Brother, you should remember, last year when you held the crab banquet, the crab roe soup dumplings were made by Master Jia."

Liang Qu had an impression, but still didn't understand: "We are going to Huangzhou for at least two months, why think of inviting a pastry chef?"

Hu Qi explained: "Mistress's father likes snacks and noodles. Our Jianghuai white-case, especially the small white-case, is famous for its pastries. We thought about buying some finished products to take with us, but Master didn't know why, he insisted on paying a high price to invite the master from Langyun Tower to go with us and make them fresh."

"Do you think Master is a bit strange?"

Xiang Zhangsong's tone was strange, and he looked at Liang Qu and Hu Qi.

Hu Qi said: "Wealthy and noble not returning to their hometown."

Liang Qu said: "Like walking in the night in brocade!"

Xiang Zhangsong said: "Who knows it!"

"Hahaha!"

The three laughed.

"Why aren't you getting on the boat, what are you laughing at?" Mistress Xu leaned out of the railing, wiping the hot sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.

"Nothing, just playing around."

"If there's nothing, come up and help quickly! There are still a lot of things that haven't been moved!"

"Coming, coming! Mistress, you rest!"

"Master!"

At the end of the bluestone street, Guan Congjian waved.

Liang Qu looked up: "Master, Master Helian is here!"

Yang Dongxiong came out upon hearing the sound.

"Brother Yang!"

"Brother Helian!"

"Didn't come late, did I?"

"Not late, we are one after the other."

Liang Qu counted the heads.

Helian Nianci, Guan Congjian, Guan Congjian's "girlfriend" Zong Lichan, plus two servants, one man and one woman.

Not many, not few, exactly five.

"There are many men, live on the large boat in front; there are few women, live on the small boat in the back. If you have anything, look for the otter!"

Guan Congjian put his arm around Zong Lichan's waist: "Can't we live in the same room?"

"Get lost!"

"Master!"

There was another shout on the bluestone street.

Xiang Zhangsong squinted.

"Fourth Cao Shixiong, Sixth Cao Shixiong are here!"

"Everyone is here, everyone is here!"

"Let's go!" ===== CHAPTER 553 =====