Everyone says that survival in the physical manufacturing industry is difficult, but the shipbuilding industry is definitely the hardest of them all.
Any large ship that requires even a little technology and scale has a construction cycle starting at half a year, with initial investments often reaching tens of millions. The entire payment cycle is very long, requiring a large input of personnel. If the shipyard cannot withstand the huge demand for cash flow, it will be finished.
A long cycle also means great variability. Examples of shipowners going bankrupt halfway through construction and being unable to pay the Final Payment are everywhere. A single Oil price fluctuation can have a huge Affect on the Global shipbuilding industry.
Shipbuilding is also a high-Risk industry. Ship components often weigh tens or hundreds of tons, or even thousands of tons for sections, reaching heights of dozens of meters. Any Accident results in major Danger.
High risk, high Investment, high Danger, long cycle, and unremarkable Profit are all things shipyards must bear.
The reason the Island Nation's and Bangzi's shipbuilding industries grew rapidly after the 1970s was that after Old America's financial interest rate hike, the shipbuilding industry was the first to flee. It was better to put money in the Bank to earn Interest than to invest in domestic shipbuilding, as the latter carried no Risk.
But after personally witnessing the Magic Shipbuilding Miracle, Tang Wen saw something different.
Building ships out of thin air, with an extremely short cycle, requiring no Workers, and the Steel used for shipbuilding being cheaper than buying it—even selling the finished product as Scrap Steel was Profitable.
The mighty power of magic is terrifyingly great.
However, this kind of thing must never be seen by others. If building ships out of thin air were to spread, I would probably be finely minced into meat paste.
Once "Duty-Free No. 1" is completed, the first thing to do is weld a sealed Warehouse to enclose the Shipyard.
After ordering the Speedboat construction, Tang Wen began testing the Shipyard's Research and Development function.
Gasoline V8 Motors are too high-end and too Expensive, but simpler ones would certainly be much cheaper.
Tang Wen thought of the small Single Cylinder Diesel Engines typically used on Fishing Boats, usually only fifteen Horsepower, and immediately planned to Research and Development a test unit.
【Research and Development Ship Motor: 15 HP conventional Single Cylinder Diesel Engine （Compact ）, meets simple Waterproof, Smoke Screen, and Corrosion resistance 】
【Design Quote Failure 】
【Dry dock Occupancy: 100%, you do not have surplus Resources to perform operations 】
Seeing the System's error prompt, Tang Wen Realized that the Gaijin Shipyard was too rudimentary; even a small Production Mission required full capacity Operation, leaving no spare capacity.
He still needed to figure out a way to Upgrade.
After fiddling around for a day, Tang Wen finally felt hunger in his stomach.
A major drawback of transmigration showed itself again: Big Bay Village had no takeout, and Tang Wen couldn't cook, relying entirely on the randomly prepared plain noodles for survival.
Due to the Shipyard's Secret, the next Three Days would likely be spent guarding it here.
……
Three Days later.
In the Open Space in the center of the shed, the completed "Duty-Free No. 1" lay quietly.
With a width of 3.5 meters and a length of 12 meters, the Hull was about the size of a Truck's Train Car. Although small for a ship, it was quite exaggerated compared to a person.
The Light Screen had disappeared. Tang Wen, who had eaten plain noodles for Three Days, squatted on the ground, stroking the Hull's Hull.
The Appearance was that of a common streamlined enclosed Bow design for a Speedboat, but what shocked Tang Wen was the craftsmanship of the System's Shipbuilding.
For a small Speedboat like this, the Technology level wasn't high; only the simplest welding and anti-rust treatment were needed to ensure Quality. Shoddy work wouldn't affect its use.
But the anti-rust paint on the surface of Duty-Free No. 1 before him was bright and even; when touched by hand, roughness could hardly be felt most of the time.
This level of Quality was comparable to integrated casting and machining, something generally impossible to find on a ship.
Observing the weld seams on the bottom of the Hull, they were almost uniformly even fish-scale welds from end to end, indicating excellent workmanship even to an amateur.
However, the Hull itself was very simple; the front of the Speedboat was empty, with only the stern area left large enough to fit two or three people for operation.
But on the side of the Hull, four large characters, "Duty-Free No. 1," were painted in white over the blue primer.
For this type of Speedboat, there was no need to mention an Electrical system, control system, or wiring. The Motor was installed directly at the stern and connected via a rigid rod; the person at the stern could change the Course simply by adjusting the Motor's direction.
A 500L fuel tank was lowered at the stern, but relative to the four fuel-guzzling engines, it was just barely enough.
Ship Motors' Gasoline Engines are different from those in Cars; a 200 Horsepower ship Motor's Fuel Consumption can easily exceed 80 liters or more. Four engines running at full power could burn through the fuel tank in an hour.
However, such high-intensity use would certainly damage the Motor. Usually, duty-free transport ships only engaged full power during the final sprint. After one trip, they had to be disassembled for major maintenance, otherwise, the Expensive cost could not be borne by ordinary trading companies.
Seeing that the Quality of Duty-Free No. 1 far exceeded his expectations, Tang Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up, preparing to go to the Town restaurant to treat himself.
After carefully locking the door, he easily caught a ride on a Tractor going to Town from the Village.
This is also a characteristic of the two Guang regions; even decades later, Tractors are seen everywhere. The Tractors here are not walk-behind types but "four-unlike" models resembling small Trucks.
The Tractor he hitched a ride on today belonged to the Village Head Chen Yonggui; the old Village Head's son had settled in Town, and he was going to his son's house for dinner.
Seeing Tang Wen climb into the back of the Tractor, Chen Yonggui couldn't help but ask:
"Where are you running off to Town so late? I won't be back tonight."
"Uncle, I'm going to a classmate's house in Town."
Chen Yonggui then Nodded and started the Tractor. As the Village Head, if anything happened to a villager, he would be gossiped about.
Big Bay Village wasn't far from Town; after about ten minutes, they reached the Town entrance.
Chen Yonggui hadn't forgotten Tang Wen's current financial situation. He called out to Tang Wen, who had jumped off the vehicle, and asked:
"Are you still planning to run your father's shop? If not, sell it off and go work outside. Young people earn money by going out now.
If you want to go, Uncle has relatives in the city who can Help you."
Tang Wen thought that was exactly his Idea. The 1990s were turbulent, and Big Bay Village, based on its location, was not a place with much potential.
However, with the Magic Shipyard in place, he was confident he could pull off something big for the World.
"No, Uncle. I want to stay in the village for now. I also have repair skills."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Wen saw Chen Yonggui's Suspicious gaze.
He almost forgot: the "Tang Wen" he was inhabiting was an unemployed person who hadn't even graduated from Secondary Vocational School, and apparently never wanted to learn skills from Tang Wu, always loafing around.
Seeing this, Tang Wen could only reluctantly make up an excuse:
"Old man... my dad taught me too. I picked it up right away."
Chen Yonggui didn't believe it. In his impression, Tang Wen was lazy and gluttonous; learning a skill required diligence.
He simply pointed to the Tractor's Nose:
"Then my Tractor has been making a strange noise lately. Tell me what the Problem is."
Repair a Tractor?
Tang Wen looked at the sputtering Tractor and couldn't detect any obvious fault. After thinking for a moment, he gently placed his hand on the Tractor's Hull.
【Discovered Steel: 890 kilograms （Recycle Rate 87% ）, Recycle? 】
【Discovered Engine:
Low-speed Single Cylinder Four-stroke Diesel Engine （Poor Condition ）
Fuel Supply Method: Vortex Injector Nozzle
Start Method: Hand Crank
RPM: 2200 RPM
Power: 7.36KW （10 Horsepower ）
Main Materials: Steel, Aluminum
Weight: 65kg 】
【Can consume 50 Experience / 100 Silver Coin for Imitation, Imitate? 】
Since the Dry dock was idle, Tang Wen decisively chose to Imitate.
He had already topped up the Shipyard with one hundred Silver Coins, spending over four thousand, so he could definitely try it out.
【Imitation Complete, Silver Coin -100 】
【Required Manufacturing:
1. Direct Manufacturing: 6 Silver Coin / unit （3 hours ）
2. Processing with Provided Materials: Steel 45 kilograms, Aluminum 12 kilograms, Petroleum 0.5 kilograms, 4 Silver Coin / unit （1.5 hours ）】
“……”
Tang Wen rubbed his eyes, confirming he hadn't missed two zeros.
Six Silver Coins?
Less than three hundred yuan?!
Tang Wen seriously Suspected the System calculated the Manufacturing Cost based on Horsepower, otherwise, this price was truly terrifying.
A Diesel Engine for a Tractor nowadays costs at least two thousand yuan; you couldn't even buy a scrap one for three hundred yuan.
"Well, can you fix it?"
Seeing Tang Wen staring blankly at the Tractor without speaking for a long time, Chen Yonggui grew somewhat Impatient waiting.