"Oh, the Chinese New Year has just passed, and all the goods ordered from the previous year have been taken away. The new order has just been placed, and it hasn't been shipped out yet. You and one other company are the only ones left with the goods from the previous year, and that company seems to be less anxious."

Shopkeeper Meng was very candid in his talk.

"Haha, I might not need it for the time being." Chen Tianhua nodded.

The eldest cousin Chaoyuan said that he personally supervised the construction of these boats, and there were still boatmen working on them on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month two years ago.

Release the cable, then lift the anchor, and the boat will slowly hook up to the oars and start rocking. Everyone took turns and tried it in the river, and it was very good.

The whole feeling is good, the deck of the boat is very solid, the wooden boards are very thick, and there are almost no gaps in the boat.

"Let's go to the shore to have dinner and then go home." Chen Tianhua took out his pocket watch and took a look. It was almost eleven o'clock.

"It doesn't matter if it's late. We have five men. Are we afraid that others will come to snatch us?" Ah Hua said excitedly.

"It's too late. You can't see the surface of the lake. It would be bad if you hit the shore rocks. After all, it's not peaceful outside. Go to the shore and eat!" Naturally, Chen Tianhua felt that it was better to be careful.

The boat docked and the ropes were tied, and everyone entered the restaurant inside the shipyard next to the living room.

Shopkeeper Meng had arranged a table of wine and food in advance and had been waiting there for a long time.

"How was the test?" Shopkeeper Meng asked casually.

"Well, it looks good now," Chen Tianhua nodded.

"It's fine if Shopkeeper Chen says it's good. You can rest assured. Your eldest cousin built this boat himself, and he selected all the materials. If something goes wrong again, you'll be damned."

Seeing what Shopkeeper Meng said, Xue Chaoyuan was embarrassed, as if he was doing private work.

"Tugen, don't worry, the boat is 100% fine." He helped the shopkeeper and said to Chen Tianhua.

"Look what my eldest cousin said, when did I say I wasn't worried? This is all you and Shopkeeper Meng talking and asking." Chen Tianhua said angrily.

"Then I'm worrying too much, haha..."

Everyone took their seats one by one with a smile, and then poured wine into bowls.

This is considered qualified.

"Shopkeeper Meng, it's like this. We'll have to rush back later. I'm afraid it will be bad if the oarsmen drink too much wine. We can only eat three bowls of this old wine each, and we won't eat any more, okay?" Chen Tianhua hurriedly said

Explain the reason.

"Okay! Why not? You, shopkeeper Chen, will take care of everything, haha...ha..."

"Shopkeeper Xie Meng is reasonable." Chen Tianhua bowed his hands in salute.

"Please take a seat, everyone, please take a seat." Shopkeeper Meng signaled the banquet to begin. He picked up the wine bowl and said loudly with a smile on his face:

"Thank you to Shopkeeper Chen and his team from Shuangqi Town, Shaoxing for their trust and support in our shipyard. Today, both parties successfully handed over the ship. I hereby guarantee that we will do a good job in after-sales service, act in accordance with the contract, and provide detailed maintenance and repairs."

Master Xue is in charge. Come on...please carry the bowl, I wish our cooperation a success, let's do it!"

"Done..."

"..."

Afterwards, everyone toasted to each other and chatted happily.

After Chen Tianhua and the others drank three bowls of old wine, they removed the bowls and started eating.

…

After the meal, Chen Tianhua paid the remaining balance to Shopkeeper Meng with banknotes and cash.

The shipyard's finance office issued undocking certificates for the six ships, as well as payment receipts, warranty certificates and other related procedures.

After everything was done, Chen Tianhua and the others were ready to return.

They put a big wooden boat with three oars in front, followed by five sculls, and the one they brought was dragged behind the big wooden boat, like a dragon's long tail.

After a busy period of tethering, Chen Tianhua looked at his pocket watch and saw that the hand was almost one o'clock in the afternoon.

"ready to go!"

"Um."

The three Lin Gen brothers rowed the big wooden boat in front, while Chen Tianhua and Ahua watched from the small rowing boat at the end to prevent the boat from being lost.

Chen Tianhua waved goodbye to Shopkeeper Meng, Xue Chaoyuan and others, and led the fleet to set sail.

The shipyard is located on the outskirts of Hangzhou and has to pass through the inner river before entering the official road of the Grand Canal.

As soon as the boat entered the city's river channel and was about to turn into the official Grand Canal road, it saw a row of armed soldiers on a pier out of the city in front, inspecting passing ships.

"Stop the ship and dock for inspection!"

"..."

A signal soldier of the Qing army on the dock on the river bank waved a red flag and shouted orders.

"Lingen, let's dock slowly!"

Chen Tianhua saw several boats coming ashore for inspection. It should be a routine inspection.

Thinking that my boat was empty and there were no prohibited items, I didn't feel nervous.

The three Lin Gen brothers lowered the big and small oars and put them on the boat. They used poles to slowly move the boat to the river and docked. They went to the dock and tied it with ropes.

Everyone was busy, six or seven of them wore turbans on their heads and single-beam cloth shoes. On the front and back of their blue military uniforms, there was a round white uniform with the word "Huaiyong" on it.

Huai Yong was a soldier from Anhui. Why did he show off his power in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province?

Chen Tianhua didn't know whether this was a patrol camp of the Qing army, a regiment training, or a new army. Chen Tianhua couldn't figure it out for a while.

Anyway, in his impression, the Qing army was the most complicated.

First it was the Eight Banners Army, then the Green Camp, Tuan Lian, the Hunan Army, and the Huai Army all showed up.

Now new troops, patrol battalions, etc. have been created.

Looking at this posture, these Qing soldiers may be new troops, because the Zhejiang garrison belongs to the Huai army.

The Huai Army is the housekeeping force of Li Hongzhang and Li Zhongtang, the Li Family Army.

The uniforms of the Qing army were the ugliest in the world, and with a big braid on the back of their heads, they couldn't be more ugly.

I saw these Qing soldiers coming forward with their necks open and their spears slung across their shoulders surrounding them.

Chen Tianhua has a sharp eye and is very familiar with firearms. At a glance, he saw that the long rifles carried on the shoulders of these soldiers were all Mauser rifles, but the styles were somewhat different.

One is the authentic German Mauser m1871 standard rifle, and the other is the Type 88 Mauser rifle imitated by Hanyang Arsenal.

"What do you do? Where do you come from? Where are you going?" A slightly older guy with buck teeth asked first.

He was probably a monitor.

"Several bosses, we have just picked up the booked ship from the shipyard and are preparing to return to Shuangqi Township, Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture. You see, these are new empty ships. Here are our ship booking contracts, docking certificates, etc.

,Please take a look."

With a smile on his face, Chen Tianhua took out the shipping contract and showed it to the soldier.

"Damn you! I can't understand the shipping contract, it's certified by a bird, and...it doesn't matter what happens to me. I only recognize the three characters 'Certificate for Leaving the City' and the red official seal of the city defense yamen."

"You... If you have this 'Pass', I will... let you go immediately. If not... then you will... he will take it, hehe."

The old soldier stammered and scolded.

He blocked the contract and dedocking certificate handed over by Chen Tianhua and almost knocked them to the ground.

Chen Tianhua quickly picked up the contract and other items, but when Bao Ya said this, he was stunned. In broad daylight, he had never heard of a city exit permit?

It's not a war period now, and besides, there are very few wars in Jiangnan, so why did things like city exit permits and passes suddenly come up.
Chapter completed!