Chapter 30: Qin Sets the Bait, Han Goes Fishing

"Why is it so expensive!"

Huang Dongfu asked subconsciously:

"We don't need 1500 horsepower, we don't even need 1000; 600 to 700 horsepower is enough."

As an old shipowner, Huang Dongfu naturally knew how much power a ship of a certain size should have; generally, a 500-ton fishing boat only needs 700 horsepower to reach a speed of 10 knots, which is already sufficient for use.

As for 3300 horsepower? What size ship would that require!

However, thinking "since I'm already here," he still asked:

"How much is 3300 horsepower?"

"3300 horsepower isn't expensive; you can have it for 500,000."

"..."

Huang Dongfu suspected he had heard wrong, so he asked again:

"I'm asking about the 3300 horsepower one."

Tang Yi: "I also said 500,000."

Huang Dongfu immediately became interested:

"Why is 3300 horsepower cheaper than 1500 horsepower? Is it second-hand?"

Tang Yi: "You can't even buy a second-hand 3300 horsepower diesel power unit for 500,000. It's cheap because our 3300 horsepower unit is a steam engine, but it is also brand new."

Steam engine?

Huang Dongfu was momentarily dazed for a split second; how many years had it been since he heard that word?

Even for trains, they have now basically switched to internal combustion locomotives.

Just thinking of steam engines made Huang Dongfu recall the days of his youth burning boilers at the steel mill.

Had he not seen a colleague scalded by steam leakage, he would not have gone to sea to become a sailor, and later founded his own fishing company.

But he also knew that the technical difficulty of steam engines was indeed much lower than that of diesel power units; generally, a 1000-horsepower power unit consists of two 500-horsepower diesel engines connected in parallel, which is about the same as engines on engineering machinery.

Steam engines are different; the most basic boiler room requires a separate compartment, and turbines, high-pressure and low-pressure pipelines, cooling circuits, etc., must be laid out, making the volume much larger by comparison.

But the advantage is that the horsepower of steam engines is indeed very easy to scale up, and as long as boiler pressure and heavy oil spraying are increased, power can be significantly boosted in a short time; this is the "forced draft" operating mode.

3300 horsepower is a small matter for a steam engine, especially since shipboard steam engines, unlike locomotives, do not have to be so particular about space, possessing a natural advantage.

But...

It is truly too backward, to the point that Huang Dongfu never even imagined anyone would still use such a thing on a ship.

Just thinking of the image of a fishing boat leaving port while billowing thick black smoke, Huang Dongfu couldn't bear to picture it.

The millennium is right around the corner; how can we go backward like this!

Huang Dongfu even felt this was a joke, so he replied:

"Steam engines take up too much space; if you install a boiler, is there any room left in the hold for fish?"

Tang Yi quickly perked up; finally, he had guided things to this point.

He never intended to sell diesel power units in the first place; those things consume too much experience, and he couldn't afford to research and develop them!

Even a new 500-ton hull isn't cheap; the experience cost for a shipyard's design is tied to tonnage, and the Commander's experience points had dwindled to a pitiful few dozen.

Throwing out a price to attract people, then vigorously promoting the 'Matsushima'-class was the ultimate goal.

"Mr. Huang, I must say your call is very timely."

Tang Yi cleared his throat twice and began to guide him gently:

"You are an expert, so the issues you mentioned are also clear to us; the 3300 horsepower power unit uses two boilers, which will inevitably encroach on the precious space at the bottom of the ship; this is a fact.

But steam engines also possess great advantages: their fuel is heavy oil, which is much cheaper than diesel; if necessary, ground anthracite coal can also be used, and the price is very low.

At the same time, as the first customer of our shipyard, we are currently developing a large deep-sea fishing boat with a light weight of 800 tons and a maximum full load of 1400 tons; after being fully stocked with supplies, it can still carry over 400 tons of catch.

If you decide to order this fully powered fishing boat, I can fight for a special discount for you; you can acquire this fishing boat under the model of joint research and development, and only need to pay the material cost of 4 million yuan."

"This ship is a prototype; consider it a joint research and development venture between both parties. You get a thousand-ton fishing boat, and we verify the technology and gain the reputation of building thousand-ton large fishing boats."

"How much did you say? 1400 tons?!"

Huang Donghai's heart began to pound, and blood rushed to his face.

A thousand-ton fishing boat! This isn't even deep-sea fishing; you could go to Hawaii to fish with it.

This one ship could wander the open sea for a month without any problems; it's enough to fish all the way from the South China Sea up to the East China Sea!

Moreover, a large platform can install larger cranes and trawls; saying a thousand-ton large ship is worth ten ordinary ones is not an exaggeration.

With this ship, he would dare to call himself the Ship King of E City!

A thousand-ton ship; he never dared to dream of such a thing in his life.

If he really bought one, it would cost at least 10 million; a price of 4 million is nearly half off. Tang Yi said it was pure material cost, and he truly believed it; the shipyard would actually be losing money.

Besides, what does "experimental nature" mean? Can steam engines have problems? A fishing boat isn't a warship; as long as it can run, that's enough.

He almost immediately wanted to agree, but reality immediately splashed a bucket of cold water on him.

Buying a large ship for 2 million was indeed a joke; his real expectation was to buy a used ship for 3 million.

Spreading the rumor of 2 million was just to drive the price down; in reality, if someone hadn't introduced him, he wouldn't have contacted the shipyard at all.

Even 3 million couldn't be paid all at once; according to local shipyard rules, a 30% down payment starts laying the keel, funds are urged as construction proceeds, the ship is launched when 80% of the payment is received, and the buyer takes it away after the final balance is settled.

Of course, if the relationship with the shipyard is better, generally paying 70% allows you to take the ship away first, and the rest can be repaid slowly.

To avoid affecting the normal operation of the company, Huang Dongfu could at most come up with 1.5 million at once.

If it were 4 million, he would have to squeeze out hundreds of thousands every month; how much profit does Fudong Aquatic Products have?

Relying on Gaijin Shipyard to advance funds was impossible; Huang Dongfu already considered 4 million to be a huge bargain on his part and felt too embarrassed to bring it up.

That left only bank loans; for the value of Fudong Aquatic Products, the problem wasn't too big, but it was still a heavy pressure.

But just thinking of a 1400-ton large fishing boat scooping up the seabed in one net, a voice in Huang Dongfu's heart kept shouting: Don't miss it; this is the only chance, a rare opportunity in a lifetime!

Huang Dongfu was conflicted, while Tang Yi at the other end covered the landline receiver and lightly high-fived Tang Wen.

They had already exchanged gestures during the call; 3.5 million was the bottom line, and now it seemed Huang Dongfu's stance had softened.

He had clearly proposed 2 million, but once Tang Yi brought up the 1,400-ton pie, even doubling the offer to 4 million failed to draw a rebuttal from Huang Dongfu.

Tang Wen recalled how his father, before the transmigration, went to a 4S dealership to buy a car; he had decided to pay the full 7.98 for a Qin Plus for daily commuting, but upon seeing the Han priced at 12.98, he couldn't move; in the end, full payment became a down payment, and the valiant old Qin became the restorer of the Han house.

Huang Dongfu was the same; a thousand-ton ship for 4 million was like stumbling upon a wormhole.

Both sides of the phone fell into an eerie silence until a voice devoid of emotion came through the receiver:

"When is Boss Tang available? Would it be convenient for us to come and inspect the Golden Shipyard?"