Chen Yonggui called out several times before Tang Wen snapped back to attention.
Two million startled Tang Wen; in reality, he didn't know how fiercely the price and supply-demand relationship for fishing boats was changing in this era.
Before the 1980s, a small boat of a few dozen tons could haul ten thousand catties of fish in a single trawl. Going to sea was truly highly profitable back then, and after the initial boom, civilian fisheries developed rapidly like bamboo shoots.
But when a large amount of civilian capital flooded into the fishery industry, excessive fishing followed.
From ten thousand catties per net haul, it dropped to a few thousand catties, and by 1995, a single nearshore trawl yielded only about a thousand catties.
In order to maximize their catch as much as possible, fishing nets were made larger and larger, naturally requiring fishing boats to increase their Tonnage accordingly.
After the inevitable depletion of nearshore fishery resources, Fishery Companies could only turn their attention to the Deep sea.
This further increased the demand for large Tonnage fishing boats; a starting point of four or five hundred tons was needed just to sustain the crew's consumption during long voyages and to withstand the storms of the Deep sea.
In the original history, after the New Century, the Tonnage of our country's Fishermen's Fishing Boats would rapidly Upgrade, and their catching range would grow larger and larger, eventually leading to frequent "accidental" fishing in the waters of the Island Nation, Luzon, Annan, and South Korea. Large Tonnage fishing boats also proved useful when resolving misunderstandings.
Sometimes they wouldn't be at a disadvantage even when facing foreign Maritime Patrol Boats, with daring captains occasionally ramming them outright.
At the current point in time, the Value of small Tonnage fishing boats is rapidly declining due to the depletion of nearshore Fishery Resources, while the demand for large Tonnage fishing boats is sharply increasing.
Therefore, Fishery Companies urgently need large Tonnage Ocean-going Fishing Boats for expansion; otherwise, relying on any number of nearshore Fishing Boats won't generate Profit, and they might even lose money on every trip to sea.
Ten years from now, even a dilapidated, second-hand fishing boat with an Empty Load of six hundred tons and a Full Load of one thousand tons would cost fifteen million.
It can only be said that the RMB has not yet begun its massive devaluation, which is why the price is only a few million now.
For an ordinary Shipyard, building a fishing boat over five hundred tons for two million is truly asking too much; it probably only covers the Material Cost.
But Tang Wen's mind was racing quickly. Although developing new ships requires Experience, there were ready-made Hulls!
The System Shipyard's built-in Level 1 ship Data includes thirteen classes, meaning thirteen Gunboats of about a thousand tons.
A Gunboat and a Fishing Boat—the difference shouldn't be that big, right?
If a World War II Civilian Ship can be converted into an Aircraft Carrier, why can't a Warship be converted into a Fishing Boat?
Besides, two million RMB is over forty thousand Silver Coins, while a "Hashitate"-class, including materials, only costs 22,500 Silver!
He almost agreed immediately but managed to suppress his excitement and said to the Village Chief:
"Village Chief, two million is a bit low, but you are right; we can take this contract without making a Profit just to build our reputation.
Which Company is it? I will find a way to contact them right away!"
Chen Yonggui, however, looked a bit embarrassed:
"Actually, it might be better if you don't take it. The Shipyard is just starting up and doesn't have much money in the bank, so maybe forget it..."
"Don't say that!"
Tang Wen nearly knelt down to hug the Village Chief's leg:
"Uncle! Old Man Chen, let our Shipyard use this to practice our skills. We can really take it!"
"This..."
Although he didn't know why Tang Wen was so excited, Chen Yonggui still Nodded:
"I'll ask my son to help me inquire further. I'll call you when I have news. Has your Shipyard installed a Telephone yet?"
"That's the second thing, along with getting electricity connected."
"..."
It was only after the reminder from Tang Wen that he remembered he still needed to install a Telephone. Installing phone lines now would even allow for Internet access in a few years.
The 56K modem should also be appearing soon; this ancient term from memory is now the latest Technology of the era.
...
After seeing the Village Chief off, Tang Wen immediately summoned the chief Ship building Designer, Tang Yi, to discuss the feasibility of converting a Warship into a Fishing Boat.
Tang Yi's expression upon hearing the request was as if he had eaten something foul, but he still thought seriously. After a while, he replied:
"Strictly speaking, the difference between a Gunboat like the 'Hashitate'-class and a Fishing Boat of the same class isn't huge. A Level 1 Warship has almost no Armor; dismantling the Turret and all the weapons could reduce the weight by at least one hundred tons, and adding a Trawl Net wouldn't be a big Problem.
Although the 'Hashitate' was designed as a river Gunboat with a flat bottom, to navigate to the Main Island, it adopted a raised forecastle design, capable of both Maritime and river Navigation. Modifying the Hull shape slightly would also be easy.
Apart from being narrower than a normal Fishing Boat, from the perspective of minimizing modifications to save Research experience, the 'Hashitate'-class could be converted into a large Ocean-going Fishing Boat with a Standard displacement of 800 tons and a Full Load of 1,400 tons.
However..."
Tang Wen nodded repeatedly, extremely excited by the first half of Tang Yi's explanation, and subconsciously asked:
"However what? Those should all be minor Problems, right?"
Tang Yi: "Have you considered the Power? The Hashitate uses a 3,300 Horsepower Steam Turbine that burns Heavy oil.
Converted to a Fishing Boat, the speed could be reduced to 14 knots, but it would still require at least 2,500 Horsepower, preferably using a Diesel Engine Unit. We don't have such a Power Group; it requires brand new Research and Development."
Tang Wen: "Can't we use the Steam Turbine that burns Heavy oil?"
"Of course we can, and Heavy oil is cheaper than Diesel, but the Fishery Company might struggle to find Crew Members capable of maintaining a Steam Turbine. Its Safety and convenience are also far inferior to a Diesel Engine Unit.
Even for a thousand-ton Gunboat, it takes over half an hour to build up pressure in the Boiler before it can take Action at sea."
In fact, after World War II, most thousand-ton class warships also began using Diesel Engine Units, as their overall performance was much better, and Civilian Ships had largely abandoned the Steam Engine.
If we were to develop a 2,500 Horsepower Diesel Engine Unit, it would violate Tang Wen's original intention of saving Research experience.
A Diesel Engine Unit of this scale would require at least four Diesel Engines in parallel, meaning a single Diesel Engine of over 600 Horsepower, which is not a small technical challenge.
But making the Fishery Company use a Steam Turbine... doesn't that feel like taking a step backward historically?
Tang Yi couldn't think of a good solution for this Problem, so Tang Wen could only give up for the time being.
However, considering that this would be a fishing boat over a thousand tons, if the price were low enough, it should still have considerable competitiveness.
It's just that the Village Chief hasn't contacted the other Company yet, so for now, it's just wishful thinking.
On the other hand, the Village Chief's words today opened up Tang Wen's perspective: fishing boats are more Profitable than he imagined, and if the need for Research experience is ignored, this could become the Shipyard's main source of Economy in the future.
Just as he was contemplating how to get into the fishing boat business, Wu Lao Er, who had been gone for over a week, finally returned to the Shipyard.
Upon meeting, Wu Lao Er frantically pulled out money, as if something bad was about to happen if he delayed any longer.
"Brother Tang, here is all the Final Payment; I brought back every last bit!"
Tang Wen didn't count the money but instead looked at Wu Lao Er's flustered appearance and asked him what happened. The latter immediately looked bitter and shook his head repeatedly.
Tang Shi Ba, who was following behind him, spoke up:
"We encountered robbers, but we weren't robbed."
"That's good news, and everyone is safe."
Tang Wen was momentarily stunned, yet it was somewhat as expected; perhaps Wu Lao Er had been scared senseless.
Who knew that the former stammered out:
"Brother Tang, well... actually, the Transportation wasn't that Dangerous. Next time, I'll find a way to transport it myself."
Hearing this reply, Tang Wen assumed Tang Shi Ba and Tang Shi Jiu weren't cooperating and subconsciously questioned the latter, but Wu Lao Er gave an unexpected answer:
"My younger brother, although the local customs here are a bit fierce, you don't need to bring out a machine gun!"