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Chapter 166: Launching the New Ship
Chapter 166: Launching the New Ship
With ten minutes to go, Jiang Xia, after taking photos of the workers at their posts, said to Zhou Factory Director, "I'd like to take a group photo with all the masters who built this ship and the ship itself as a memento."
Zhou Factory Director thought it was a great idea and called everyone to gather for the photo.
He smiled and said, "I was also planning to bring a camera to take photos of you all, but since you have one, let's use yours."
Jiang Xia immediately replied, "Zhou Factory Director, you can use your camera to capture the moment when the ship is launched. Take plenty of detailed shots, and we'll bring them to the Guangzhou Fair to show foreign merchants our shipyard's capabilities and technology!"
Zhou Factory Director's eyes lit up. "Your head is always full of great ideas!"
He immediately instructed someone to take care of it, and Jiang Xia even taught him how to take the photos and which details to capture. Just as she finished and returned to the ship, a worker shouted, "One minute to eight o'clock!"
Everyone quickly took their positions and remained silent.
"Ten, nine, eight..."
The clock struck eight!
A worker held a hammer and struck a wrench, releasing the steel cable, while another worker cut the towing rope.
At this moment, the ship moved!
The red and blue-trimmed ship, supported by numerous air bags, slowly came to life and glided out of the slipway.
As the ship's body slid halfway, its center of gravity shifted forward, causing the stern to tilt and the speed to increase abruptly as it rushed towards the water's surface!
With a loud 'bang', the ship plunged into the sea, splashing countless droplets.
The ship's body continued to slide into the water.
In this moment, everyone's hearts were in their throats.
The biggest fear was that the ship might capsize during the launch.
They were also worried that the impact of the launch might be too strong, causing the ship to sit on the bottom and scrape its hull.
Fortunately, none of these things happened!
After the stern plunged into the water, the rest of the ship's body continued its slide, breaking through the waves.
When the entire ship settled into the water, creating two sprays of water, the hull shook violently a few times before stabilizing.
It came to a steady stop on the sea's surface!
At this moment, more than twenty people on and around the ship burst into applause!
Firecrackers went off simultaneously!
Zhou Factory Director shouted, "New ship launch, may it bring good fortune and smooth sailing!"
Everyone echoed his words, "New ship launch, may it bring good fortune and smooth sailing!"
Zhou Chenglei took control of the ship's rudder, and the ship chugged forward.
"When the engines roar, gold pours in!"
"Full throttle, and the catch will be plentiful!"
"Turn the ship's paddle, and 24 meters becomes 60 meters!"
"Circle the ocean, and the ship becomes a giant!"
...
One by one, lucky phrases poured out from everyone's mouths.
Zhou Fu shouted with a wide grin, "Great!"
The response was loud and clear!
Jiang Xia smiled and captured these moments on camera.
The vast ocean!
Here I come!
With the ship's launch, a new life begins.
From now on, it will roam the waters, either battling the vast ocean or sailing on rivers, lakes, and seas.
The larger the ship, the greater the weight it can carry.
This is true for ships, and for people as well.
The ship gradually sailed deeper into the ocean. After some distance, Zhou Chenglei handed the helm over to the shipyard workers and went to check if the machinery was functioning properly.
Zhou Factory Director and the other workers were also inspecting the equipment, checking for leaks in the hull, listening to the engine's sound, verifying the fish finder's operation, ensuring the freezing equipment was running, and examining the winch...
Jiang Xia didn't understand these technicalities and simply followed behind, listening and taking photos.
The fish finder installed on this ship was originally not there; it was a gift from Zhou Factory Director.
This imported device was expensive and featured the latest technology with positioning capabilities.
The reason it could be gifted was that the fish finder had initially been faulty and returned to the manufacturer for a replacement. When the new one was sent back, the manufacturer forgot to retrieve it, and the new one was included with the next batch of goods, creating an opportunity to acquire it.
Zhou Factory Director had just finished setting up the equipment and, to his surprise, it worked perfectly. He decided to install it on their boat, grateful for the help they had provided to the shipyard.
Jiang Xia touched the fish finder and felt relieved, believing that with this device, they wouldn't have to worry about not catching any fish at sea.
Jiang Xia gave it a quick tap and turned to leave, but the boatman who was about to start the engine couldn't help but glance at the fish finder, exclaiming with excitement, "There's a school of fish! A school of fish!"
Everyone rushed to take a look.
Zhou Fu, in particular, was thrilled. He had never seen such high-tech equipment before!
Could it be that schools of fish could now be detected anywhere?
Zhou Qi asked excitedly, "Is there really a school of fish? How can you tell?"
The boatman explained, "Yes, look at the echo here; that's the school of fish. Then, you can determine the fish's location from here and steer the boat towards it..."
As he spoke, he operated the fishing boat and headed in that direction.
Zhou Factory Director walked over, took a look, and smiled, saying, "You guys are really lucky. You encountered a large school of fish right after launching the boat. You can start trawling, and we can test the trawling and netting equipment early."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Fu immediately waved to Jiang Xia, "Xia Xia, you and Ah Lei start trawling."
As soon as Wang Cai's golden hand touched the net, it was clear that even a half-hour of testing would result in a full net.
The boatmen and Zhou Factory Director were all taken aback.
To be honest, the boatmen were already surprised to see Jiang Xia board the ship to participate in the launching ceremony.
After all, this wasn't a foreign country. In foreign countries, the launching of a new ship is led by a lady who performs a bottle-breaking ceremony. But things were different here, especially for fishing boats.
The fishermen here were more religious. Zhou Factory Director had never seen a woman on board during a new ship launch.
For them, only men participated in new ship launches, and few held bottle-breaking ceremonies. Most involved tying flowers and setting off firecrackers.
Everyone was already surprised to see Jiang Xia on board, and when Zhou Fu asked her to cast the first net, they were even more astonished.
However, everyone was well-mannered, and on such a joyous occasion, no one would utter a single inappropriate word. They all smiled, but secretly thought to themselves, 'This family sure knows how to respect their daughter-in-law!'
If Zhou Fu knew what they were thinking, he would surely say, 'What do you know?
For the first net of a new ship, of course, it's the daughter-in-law who brings luck and the youngest son who should cast the net!'
He had just witnessed Xia Xia touch the fish finder, turn around, and within a short time, the device had detected a school of fish.
With her golden touch, he wished she could touch every inch of the boat!
The fishing net was ready, covering the deck, leaving almost no room to stand. Zhou Chenglei instinctively held Jiang Xia's hand and led her to the stern.
Jiang Xia smiled, "Dad, big brother, you two come too. The boat is big enough; we can stand on both sides."
Zhou Fu was even happier, seeing how considerate his daughter-in-law was!
He smiled and said, "Sure! Let's go together, Ah Xin!"
With unity among the couple, father and son, and brothers, and love among the family, it was a sign of prosperity!
Jiang Xia handed the camera to Zhou Factory Director and asked him to take some photos.
Then, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia stood on one side, while Zhou Fu and Zhou Chengxin stood on the other, and the four of them released the fishing net together.
The ropes and nets on the deck quickly slid into the water from the stern, extending far into the distance.
Zhou Fu's eyes glistened with tears.
Who could understand?
For these fishermen, what they were releasing wasn't just a net, but hope and life itself!
(End of Chapter)
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