Chapter 358: Blueprints
Chapter 358: Chapter 358: Blueprints
Although Bai Suihe was not studying this major at the time, design has universal principles, and she had once practiced using ship design blueprints and visited related exhibitions.
Especially the treasure ship Zheng He used for his expeditions to the Western seas, she had seen its model. After visiting it, she even deliberately sketched the blueprint to consult with her teacher. Some unreasonable parts were pointed out by her teacher, and she still remembers them vividly.
(In reality, the treasure ship’s blueprint and documents have long been destroyed, allegedly by Qian Long. This is entirely fabricated by the author, hoping these treasures can be restored to glory.)
That treasure ship could accompany Lord Zheng He on seven voyages to the Western seas; dealing with these nearby seas should be easy.
Moreover, if possible, Bai Suihe dared not ask for anything else, but this time she was determined to change the ownership of the gold and silver mine on a certain island.
When she picked up the brush and put it down again, although she had achieved some success in calligraphy recently, the soft brush tip wasn’t suitable for drawing blueprints. Therefore, she asked Gu Kaiyuan to fetch some charcoal from the kitchen, carved them into sticks with a knife, which she could make do with.
Seeing Bai Suihe starting to do something else, Gu Kaiyuan let out a long sigh of relief, at last, the previous matters had passed.
Unbeknownst to him, Bai Suihe, busy drawing the blueprint, looked up with a sly smile as he went out, then quietly continued with her work.
☆
The news came faster than expected, on the fourth day, Zhou Gang received a letter with joy, but upon seeing its contents, he directly fainted.
His wife and children, of course, saw the letter too, and even neglected to rescue him.
When he woke up on the cold ground, he saw his wife and children crying with their heads in their hands.
Struggling to turn his head, wanting to remind himself this was all just a dream, but the scattered letter papers beside him told him that it was all real.
He had been abandoned by his family, and that damned stepmother was putting him to death, thinking that by driving him out, her two bastards could become the legitimate eldest son and grandson?
No, she dreamed on, Zhou Gang felt that the shame of his life was exacted at this moment.
Before, he only despised those two cheap brothers, now how could it be time for them to drive him out of the house?
Even when the family split before, he was still the legitimate eldest son of the Zhou Family; this house should not be decided by them.
"Pack up, I’m going back to the capital." Zhou Gang had originally planned to return when he left the Gu Family, his main aim was to contact Gu Baijiang to find the whereabouts of that sum of silver.
Who would have known, Gu Baijiang suddenly left on New Year’s Day, and by the time he got the news and rushed to the village entrance, he couldn’t even glimpse their shadows.
He was also waiting for news from the Prince; now he didn’t wish to wait any longer.
Mrs. Zhou snapped out of her sorrowful mood, right, they need to return to the capital, to reclaim everything that belongs to them, even if it means ousting the clan, it must be the stepmother’s branch that gets removed.
The family’s belongings were packed and all moved onto the ox cart because they had purchased many things along the way, filling up the cart completely, leaving them no space to sit.
Zhou Gang, "...take down some unnecessary things."
Mrs. Zhou was just about to start, then suddenly stopped her actions, looking at Zhou Gang with difficulty, "Old master, are we just returning like this?"
"If we don’t return like this, how else can we return? Are you waiting for someone to come and pick us up?" Zhou Gang’s mood was bad, and his tone was sharp.
"This journey is so perilous, just our family on the road?"
Zhou Gang had been focused on Gu Baijiang all these days, oblivious to the purpose of those who came to town, including Rong Ruiyuan. Naturally, he was unaware that this road was even safer than the way to the capital now.
"Then what? Shall I leave you at home while I go to town to see if there are escort agencies heading to the capital?"
Although he said that, his heart was desolate, with just the post-New Year period, even if there were escort agencies, they wouldn’t be traveling at this time.
Mrs. Zhou’s tears were unstoppable again, she also had cold feet, "The Clan Leader has already made such a decision, what can we change by returning?"
Zhou Gang clenched his teeth, "Even if we can’t change anything, we must return.
I just ask the Prince to intervene, I refuse to believe they can defy the Prince’s orders."
These words gave the others in the Zhou Family a lifeline, right, they had backing too.
Zhou Gang didn’t delay any further, he took off towards town, not that he didn’t want to use the ox cart, but it was packed full of goods, by the time they unloaded, it would already be dark.
There were no secrets in the village, especially with the Zhou Family’s coming and going, filling up the cart completely.
Thinking about Gu Baijiang and Chen Dafu who had already left, people were talking about Zhou Gang returning to the capital too.
Those with many thoughts in the village were already keenly watching.
Although Zhou Gang’s house wasn’t the best, such a big family leaving, it’s impossible to take everything with them. If they could first secure the location, even if they didn’t want the house later, the items inside would still hold value.
As for the house of Chen Dafu, the villagers had been inside before, and found it ominous, feeling so empty that even when they saw some scattered grains of rice in the kitchen, they didn’t plan to pick them up, leaving some hopes for the rats instead.
But with Zhou Gang’s family, it was different. The wealthy family was moving only the lightweight items onto the cart, leaving large pieces of furniture behind.
Zhou Gang returned to the village under the cover of darkness, his face particularly ugly.
Because he went to find the contact, only to discover that even the people left behind by the Prince had gone, leaving him only a letter instructing him to continue monitoring the other members of the Gu Family.
The remaining Gu Family members wouldn’t know any information otherwise they wouldn’t have been abandoned by Gu Baijiang here.
As for Xu Shuanghong, he had long realized she was unreliable; she was already united with Gu Baijiang, thus couldn’t be trusted.
But this time wasn’t entirely fruitless; he had heard some news that Rong Ruiyuan had already cleared away the bandits along the route, even having soldiers patrolling, meaning returning to the capital at this time posed no problem.
As for the task left by the Prince, that was inconsequential now. If he couldn’t resolve this matter, all the Prince’s promises would be nothing but empty words.
"Rest for the night, we’ll set off early tomorrow morning." Zhou Gang left these words and went to his room to lie down. He had to think carefully about how to handle matters once back in the capital.
☆
Gu Kaiyuan heard this and let it go, his eyes were fixed solely on the blueprint in front of him.
Having led troops, fought in wars, and been to sea, he naturally understood the value of this blueprint.
"Madam, are you really giving this to me?"
Gu Kaiyuan fully realized the value of the blueprint in Bai Suihe’s hands. If they truly built this ship, there were many things he could accomplish.
Bai Suihe, "It’s all in your hands now, but building a ship is very costly. Our family wealth seems rather insufficient."