Chapter 14: Transport, Escort?

"Wuhu!"

Four outboard diesel motors unleashed 100 horsepower, driving a three-blade propeller that pushed the speedboat past 20 knots in a very short distance, sending it barreting straight toward an abandoned fishing boat on the shore.

The all-steel, integrally welded hull was extremely sturdy; the sharp bow sliced through the rotten planks with ease, instantly turning the original boat into a pile of splinters.

Tang Wen, hit by the tremendous impact, gripped the handrail for dear life and nearly flew out, but what followed was a system prompt in his mind:

【Hull breached below the waterline; enemy vessel is sinking!】

【Sunk one enemy warship: Silver Coins +5, Experience +10】

【Obtained title "Phoenix (own ship not sunk after ramming an enemy vessel)"】

【Current Experience: 63】

Just as Tang Yi had said, a commander's mission is combat, and combat is far more interesting than shipbuilding.

Winning a real-life naval battle rewarded Silver Coins and Experience, and let you rack up all sorts of achievements.

Although doing it this way now looked like farming points, the system still handed out the Silver Coins and title for real.

The only pity was that Experience and Silver Coins depended on the level and number of warships on both sides; a steel ship ramming a wooden boat was such a crushing match that the gains were pitifully low—Tang Wen estimated ramming all ten of the villagers' rotten boats would only net about a hundred Experience.

Still… bumper boats really are a blast!

Tang Wen reversed the boat and prepared to start on the next target, only to spot the village chief and Wu Lao Er appearing on the shore, so he paused and pulled in to greet them.

"Xiao Tang, what is this…"

Before the village chief could finish, Tang Wen explained first:

"Village chief, I bought the equipment of a bankrupt shipyard from outside, welded a boat with new techniques—people say it's especially sturdy, so I came to test its strength."

After saying that he put on a 'believe it or not, that's what happened' look, making Chen Yonggui open his mouth and give up on asking further; his attention shifted to the boat itself.

"You bought equipment—are you starting a shipyard?"

"Right, but there's a small shipyard over in South Bay that couldn't keep going, so I bought their equipment outright. I'm expanding now, and it's busy inside."

"What about my diesel engines?"

Wu Lao Er, pricking up his ears on the side, hurriedly asked:

"No problem with the diesel engine supply, right? I've brought a big deal this time."

"How big?"

"I want twenty units!"

"Hiss."

Tang Wen sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes immediately lighting up.

At the supply price with Wu Lao Er, 20 units came to 120,000—weren't the Silver Coins coming right now!

"Yes, absolutely yes."

Tang Wen nearly slapped his chest in assurance, and pointed at the speedboat by the water:

"Take a look—per your requirements the motors are built too, already being tested, they work great!"

Only then did Wu Lao Er and Chen Yonggui notice the full four outboard motors, and their eyes went wide as well.

It was just a ten-meter skiff, yet it carried four motors—outrageously lavish to the point of frightening; for ordinary fishing a single 10-horsepower motor was already decent.

"Goodness, four motors—won't this thing fly?"

"A hundred horsepower on four shafts, she must hit thirty knots running!"

The motors packed tightly at the stern looked powerfully muscular; the two men, who had dealt with boats half their lives, had never seen power stacked like this, and crowded over curiously to see what it was all about.

In their eyes such power was already quite exaggerated, but Tang Wen knew the power setup for the tax-free commissioner was eight times this—that was what truly flying looked like.

After the shipyard upgrade there were some good things too; with manufacturing capability improved, the Research Points needed for different products were greatly reduced compared to Level 0.

For example, the 250-horsepower gasoline V8 motor—because the shipyard's R&D center encompassed all the design data for Level 1 warships, it naturally included high-horsepower gasoline engines, giving them decent prerequisite technology.

Developing the V8 motor now only required 50 Experience, one-tenth of what it took at Level 0.

Of course this V8 motor was also 1940s technology level; whether in materials or design it was far inferior to modern standards, but at least it could meet the specs.

It's just that this kind of motor definitely wouldn't sell as well as the 25-horsepower diesel; for fishermen, gasoline engines stalled easily if water got in, and the fuel consumption was too high—not as practical as diesel.

250 horsepower was also overkill; no fishing boat would install such a thing.

The village chief was very interested in the overpowered tax-free speedboat, took Wu Lao Er aboard for two laps, and whooped and hollered as they sped up and slowed down on the water.

After finally getting their fill, Wu Lao Er hopped off the boat and excitedly pointed at the stern motors, saying:

"Fit me two of these to take and push sales—they're great, don't look cobbled together at all!"

"Twenty diesel engines, two motors? That's 134,000 yuan total."

Tang Wen held out his hand; this time Wu Lao Er was a bit embarrassed:

"I've only got 50,000 on me right now—take it as a deposit, would that work?"

"How could that be right, Wu Lao Er, that's conscienceless!"

Chen Yonggui pointed straight at him and scolded:

"The supply contract we signed requires cash on delivery—if you run off with the money, what then? This is over a hundred thousand!"

"How could I be that kind of person! But right now who can pull out over a hundred thousand? Even if I ship it over it'll take several days, and getting the balance and coming back takes even longer—who knows, the other side might change their mind too.

Village chief, if you're not at ease, just have Xiao Tang or someone come with me. To be honest, hauling this much stuff, I'm scared too."

Wu Lao Er had his own difficulties; this kind of flip-business demanded speed, and he wanted to get the money quickly—if delivery dragged on too long it would hurt him too.

And in this era, whether shipping twenty diesel engines or carrying tens of thousands in cash, neither was a light matter; no one knew where trouble might pop up.

Especially along the coastal areas of Goose City, where the local customs were fierce, and on dirt roads where villages were nowhere in sight front or back, there was an extremely high chance of highway bandits randomly spawning—escaping with your life was lucky.

Now countless broke villagers counted on robbing travelers to improve their lives, and these honest, simple country folk didn't hold back at all when they struck.

This line of work had no threshold—lose your head and you could do it—and at one point it was so rampant they even dared to rob government vehicles.

The slogan "Robbing police cars is illegal!" was born in this era, enough to show how bad the situation was.

When Wu Lao Er laid out the problem, Chen Yonggui also fell into thought—clearly he too knew the danger of leaving town.

Inside the town he wasn't afraid, but once you left the town, who would know you? Even if they did, they'd rob you all the same.

"Uncle Wu, how about I send a truck and men to escort you?"

Tang Wen suddenly spoke up, surprising both of them.

"You're sending a truck?"

Tang Wen nodded—the shipyard had trucks used for transporting raw materials, and plenty of manpower for escorting; there were no production tasks for the time being anyway.

"Also bought from the bankrupt shipyard. Did their workers come over too? The two of them plus Uncle Wu would fill the seats just right."

Chen Yonggui nodded, but still hesitated:

"Three people probably still won't be enough. How about this—I'll take two guns for you to carry, that way it's a bit safer."