Moreover, building a fishing boat isn't as simple as just fitting an engine to the hull; the composition is quite complicated.
Proper fishing boats going out to sea must be equipped with sonar for detecting fish schools, fish finders, trawl nets, hauling winches, satellite communication equipment, and for preservation, they also need refrigeration equipment, fish washing machines, and so on.
A small shipyard in the township can be considered a very good, high-quality enterprise, equivalent to a small machinery factory, capable of creating value and providing many necessities.
He had no idea that Tang Wen was doing all this just to cover up the shipyard's upgrade; by selling diesel engines, he had already earned over sixty thousand yuan, topped up a thousand Silver Coins, and could reach LV1 with just one thought.
As for hiring workers...
Security guards are definitely needed, but let's delay the rest as much as possible; if people saw Void Shipbuilding, they'd probably be scared to death.
Director Yang praised him for a while, then asked a crucial question:
"Xiao Tang, how much are you planning to invest in this shipyard?"
This stumped Tang Wen. How much money did opening a shipyard cost? He hadn't researched this question.
Tang Wen was not sufficiently aware of current prices, especially in an era where industry was not yet developed; many prices were severely unbalanced and certainly vastly different from twenty years later.
However, since it was a shipyard after all, he thought for a moment and held up one finger.
"One hundred thousand? That's really not very..."
As soon as Yang Tai finished speaking, Tang Wen immediately reacted and added:
"One hundred thousand for the first phase! I've already received several large orders, so I'll expand while producing. The estimated total investment... is two hundred thousand!"
"That's more like it."
Two hundred thousand for a small shipyard was still tight, but considering Tang Wen wasn't starting from scratch and could make money selling diesel engines, it was barely enough.
"Xiao Tang, then the township approves this matter for you. I trust Yonggui, so just go ahead and handle it."
As Director Yang finished speaking and Tang Wen was still dazed, Chen Yonggui sharply poked him, slowly rubbing his rough fingers under the table.
Tang Wen quickly reacted and casually slipped over a green one-hundred-yuan note.
The Village Chief felt the texture, then quickly shouted toward Guo Panpan, who was watching the fun from behind the counter:
"Nier, bring out a pack of Yuxi, and two bottles of Daqu."
Guo Panpan had already glimpsed the silent transaction under the table and quickly ran to the Warehouse to find the cigarettes.
Tang Wen felt his leg being pushed again before he heard the Village Chief say loudly:
"Director Yang, is Uncle Yang doing well? My father always mentions him; I'll go check on him today on his behalf."
Yang Tai saw what just happened and quickly said:
"You can eat at my place, but don't bring anything over."
"How can that be? Old Uncle Yang took me out to sea back then; it's only right to show him some filial piety.
Xiao Tang, don't you have things to do? Drive my little four-wheeled vehicle back."
Tang Wen immediately understood and was about to get up and leave, but the Village Chief pulled him back:
"What name are you giving your shipyard? I'll process the paperwork here tomorrow."
"The name... let's call it Gaijin Shipyard."
"Done, hurry up and go."
By this time, Guo Panpan had brought out the cigarettes. Tang Wen picked up the book from the counter, said goodbye, and got back onto the 'four-unlike' vehicle.
He really wanted a Motorcycle, or even a Bicycle would be nice.
However, Big Bay Town was just a small town; he could only buy them in a larger town or the city.
Furthermore, inquiring about the prices was terrifying: the cheapest Domestic bicycles cost over two hundred yuan, while "better ones" were six or seven hundred.
As for Motorcycles, setting aside the 50CC 'iron rooster,' they started at least at six or seven thousand, and those were the ones that sounded terrible just hearing about them.
If he wanted stable quality and decent Power, he would have to buy Imported goods. The Honda CG125, which Tang Wen was slightly familiar with, was valued at nearly twenty thousand, which made his vision go black just hearing the price.
Even so, Motorcycles were still in short supply, basically whatever the shop had was what you bought.
Purely from a practical standpoint, it was better to buy a Tractor or a 'four-unlike' vehicle; they could handle bad roads, carry cargo, weren't easily stolen, and could even be fitted with a Diesel Engine swap.
It was just that Tang Wen's entire focus right now was on upgrading the Shipyard; he wanted to see if he could build a means of transportation using the Shipyard after the upgrade.
LV0 Shipyards could only construct items related to shipbuilding, but the definition of 'related' was not clearly demarcated.
...
The next day, Chen Yonggui returned to the village and brought Tang Wen Good news.
Thanks to the generous gesture of a pack of Yuxi, the Director agreed to give the entire coastal area of Big Bay Village to Gaijin Shipyard, with a special discount—five thousand yuan to acquire it.
This price was almost equivalent to being given away, but it was also because the coastal land was too poor—uneven and not near a road—it was considered remote even within Big Bay Village. This area, including the Gaijin Shipyard, covered perhaps over two hundred mu.
If Tang Wen were building a larger Shipyard, he could have swapped for better land, or even gotten it for free, but the Director worried that a small Shipyard wouldn't be profitable enough and insisted on the five thousand yuan.
The Village Chief took it upon himself to agree on Tang Wen's behalf, and the latter had no objections.
People were already handling the various Procedures, and they should be ready in a few days.
After seeing the Village Chief off, since no one was likely to arrive by dusk, Tang Wen clicked open the Panel to prepare for the Upgrade.
【Upgrade Shipyard to LV.1】
【Silver Coin -1000】
【Please select placement point】
As the Silver Coins were deducted, an overhead view of Big Bay Village appeared in Tang Wen's mind, along with a semi-transparent rectangular phantom—the LV1 Shipyard awaiting its Landing.
The new Shipyard wasn't large either, rectangular in shape, about 150 meters by 100 meters. Judging by the outline, it could just accommodate one Dry dock, making it a size larger than the current Small Workshop.
The phantom showed discernible buildings, a Gantry crane, walls, and the Dry dock. Although the scale was small, it was, after all, a layout resembling a proper Shipyard.
The entire Shipyard basically operated around one Dry dock; the layout was immediately clear to see.
Seeing this scene, Tang Wen breathed a sigh of relief. At least it looked like a legitimate Shipyard; if it were just a single Dry dock and pure Void Shipbuilding, that would have been terrible.
The location and orientation of the new Shipyard could both be adjusted. The territory the Village Chief secured was large; the upgraded footprint didn't even take up one-tenth of it.
The original location of the Shipyard was already quite secluded. Tang Wen adjusted it slightly to include the entire current footprint, with the main gate area basically overlapping.
As for the Dry dock, it faced the sea directly for easy Seawater intake.
【Confirm Placement】
【Please select construction】
The moment he confirmed in his mind, Tang Wen's Field of View felt as if it were yanked upward, shooting straight through the roof to an altitude of hundreds of meters.
Looking down at the ground, the terrain in the selected area visibly flattened at a speed visible to the Naked eye, and all structures within it were razed to the ground.
First came the leveled soil layer, then several large and small trenches cracked open. Dense Rebar grew out of the trenches, and viscous Concrete climbed up along the Rebar, finally forming a solid Foundation.
At the same time, Concrete appeared on the ground, its color visibly changing as it rapidly solidified.
Finally came the various buildings, including the Dry dock; their walls were constructed in the same manner, forming from the bottom up.
After an unknown amount of time, when even the tallest Gantry crane was fully revealed, Tang Wen's Field of View rapidly descended, passing through layer after layer of flooring, finally landing him squarely back in the solid wood Chair.