Amid the chaos, Su Minguan pushed through the crowd and shouted: “Everyone, don’t panic! It’s nothing! There’s a problem with the docking procedures – Anqing dock thinks we’re a foreign ship, so they ordered us to stop in the river and will send patrol boats to take people into the city!”

The crew was well-trained. After the initial panic, they split up to stand by the ship’s rails and deck, blocking the ladders, ropes, and key exits, restraining passengers who were running wildly toward the pilot house.

Su Minguan: “Everyone, please remain calm and watch your luggage!”

This last sentence finally had some effect. Passengers quickly stood at attention, clutching their money bundles and packages, afraid someone would steal during the chaos.

The rumor that “the ship is broken” finally slowly died down.

The shipping company urgently sent representatives to negotiate with the dock authorities to dispatch patrol boats to pick up passengers.

This was also normal procedure, though somewhat troublesome.

Those foreign steamships prohibited from docking at treaty ports, when loading and unloading passengers, generally also anchored in the river and lowered ladders for passengers to carry their luggage down to the dock’s patrol boats.

Passengers inevitably had some complaints, but seeing they were about to reach port and eager to disembark, they could only accept this arrangement.

The crew spoke kindly, wearing smiling faces, helping travelers carry their heavy luggage as they went down the gangway one by one.

The engine room was ventilated. Su Minguan gathered the captain, first mate, and boatswain, leaning against the railing and looking down at the smoking machinery below, his expression grave.

Western machinery wasn’t one hundred percent reliable either.

Of course, machines will have failures. There had been Chinese merchants who obtained scrapped Western steam engine parts, thinking they’d thoroughly researched them, copying cats to draw tigers to make the same models, then ambitiously opening factories, trying to use homemade machinery to reduce costs, only to cause explosions that killed dozens.

Compared to those first-generation steamships, Luna’s performance was already quite outstanding. The driving experience along the way had been very smooth, earning praise even from the veteran captain who joined midway.

Now it was also breaking down.

Someone tentatively suggested: “Wait for Old Rail to recover and have him come back to try fixing it.”

Before Su Minguan could speak, the other crew members chimed in: “Old Rail is still unconscious in the medical clinic. We have to depart tomorrow. If we’re delayed, the passenger tickets all have insurance clauses – the compensation would kill us!”

Of course, it wouldn’t kill them, but everyone working for nothing this trip was an eight or nine out of ten certainty.

The door hinges creaked. Lin Yuchan pushed aside the “Authorized Personnel Only” sign and ran in frantically.

“Is there a problem?”

After several days of sailing, even Jiang Gaosheng, whose reflexes took a lap around the earth, could see that this “ordinary third-class passenger” held a special place in the boss’s heart.

Everyone made way.

Su Minguan nodded.

“The passengers are temporarily pacified.” His tone was still relatively relaxed. “Nothing collapsed or exploded – just needs some repairs.”

The other crew members looked grave. Seeing their boss remain calm in crisis, they also felt somewhat reassured and asked: “Old Rail is still being treated in the city. With just us assistant engineers, can we fix it?”

Su Minguan took down the German-English bilingual operation manual hanging on the wall, smiling as he beckoned: “A’Mei, come over, let’s improve together.”

Lin Yuchan was embarrassed. He spoke so righteously, with such revolutionary fervor, that besides her, no one caught the underlying meaning.

The others immediately cheered and encouraged, admiringly saying, “Right, Miss Lin also understands foreign languages! Everyone working together, we won’t worry about not figuring it out!”

Lin Yuchan looked pained as she took the manual.

This was beyond the syllabus, Comrade Xiao Bai!

The small, untranslated portions in this operation manual were like hieroglyphics to her. Originally just to pass the time, who knew he’d now come to check her homework?

However, she could barely keep up with most of the manual’s content. She openly pulled up a stool and gathered with the crew to begin troubleshooting step by step.

At dinnertime, passengers began complaining.

The weather was cold. Previously, relying on the steam boiler’s residual heat, the ship’s passengers could feel somewhat warm.

Today, the boiler was completely shut down, the cabins were icy cold, with metal plates transmitting the Yangtze River’s chill.

When it rains, it pours. Smith appeared from somewhere, bringing several foreigners and Chinese from first class, causing trouble at the pilot house door.

“We all heard the ship broke down! Someone died! There’s a delay! We demand compensation! This is written in black and white in the insurance clauses – ten times the ticket price in compensation!”

The ordinary crew couldn’t persuade them. Su Minguan personally went out to handle it, introducing his identity.

He asked calmly: “Did you personally see the ship break down?”

Smith was startled, not expecting this young Chinese man who’d been at odds with him to be the Yixing boss. But since he was intent on compensation now, he wouldn’t settle old scores with Su Minguan.

Smith exchanged glances with his fellow foreigners beside him, saying coldly, “If the ship isn’t broken, why stop in the river? Why did the boiler go out? Hmph, we’re not those stupid Chinese people – we all understand science. Don’t think you can casually fool us! Who knows where you got this broken ship from? Since you’re gambling with people’s lives, don’t blame us for taking legal action! We’ll go to the consulate as soon as we get ashore! Don’t think you can get away without paying compensation!”x

Cold light flashed in Su Minguan’s eyes. Calling his Luna a “broken ship”?

He smiled slightly: “Gentlemen, please remain calm. Even if you want to find the consulate, you’ll have to wait until we reach Hankou. Daily ship maintenance is normal procedure – we’ll set sail on schedule tomorrow. If you have any food or miscellaneous items you want to buy on shore, quickly tell the tea boys to buy them. Once it gets late, there’ll be a curfew in the city.”

Seeing him being reasonable and speaking logically, everyone became somewhat uncertain, hesitantly nodding.

“Will you depart on time tomorrow?”

Su Minguan answered without any loopholes: “Unless we encounter official obstruction. In that case, we’d be helpless too.”

When passengers bought tickets, they’d already signed agreements – only delays caused by crew mistakes were compensable. If delays were caused by the Qing court’s inefficiency, they could only accept their bad luck.

Passengers were mentally prepared for these risks. They were all respectable first-class guests, just pulled along by Smith to join the excitement, and couldn’t argue until red-faced. So after saying a few polite words, they returned to their cabins one after another.

Su Minguan put away his smile, his mouth dry.

After pacifying the second and third classes, he had to pacify the first class. His silver tongue wasn’t enough.

For a moment, he petulantly thought he wouldn’t do passenger service next time. At least cargo wouldn’t follow the wind and kick him when he’s down.

But then again, it was precisely because he was a Chinese shipper that passengers dared to voice complaints and speak rudely to him. If it were a foreign shipping company, passengers would naturally be careful. Even if subjected to various unfair treatments, they wouldn’t dare argue with foreign ship owners.

Who told Chinese people to be easy to bully?

Su Minguan wasn’t discouraged. He was probably born to clean up messes.

Just as he was about to return to the engine room, another crew member intercepted him.

“Boss… those women and children who boarded midway in the crew quarters seem to be getting agitated, saying something about demon interference… many children are crying… if those cries reach upstairs, we can’t explain it! You’d better go look…”

Su Minguan’s head suddenly grew big as he asked sternly: “Didn’t I tell Hong Chunkui to watch them?”

Demon interference? How did these Taiping Army people, being so superstitious, survive years of continuous warfare?

The crew member also held his forehead: “Brother Chunkui is scared stiff himself – we’re comforting him.”

Su Minguan: “…”

Hong Chunkui, for all his bulk, had nothing above his neck but decoration. He should have beaten him a few more times back then to squeeze the water out of his brain.

Forget it – time to coax children.

Physically and mentally exhausted for half an hour, I finally managed to calm the entire steamship after whack-a-mole problems.

Faint night curtains shrouded the Yangtze River, reflecting points of starlight.

The atmosphere in the engine room was heavy.

Large and small repair tools were spread on the ground. Several iron doors were wide open, revealing densely packed pipes and components – the blood vessels and vital organs of the steam engine.

Everyone looked at each other, their expressions more dejected than the next.

“We’ve ruled out common failures. Boss, the brothers have done their best.”

Originally, none were professional talents. Some couldn’t even recognize two or three big characters. Even if they knew a little about steam engine operation, their knowledge was limited without a systematic study.

There’s specialization in every field. Western society embraces capitalist economic principles, further emphasizing division of labor and specialization.

Steamship construction is complex, updating every few years. Even the chief engineer “Old Rail” couldn’t pat his chest and claim to understand all its mysteries.

Today, everyone hugged the newly translated operation manual for last-minute preparation, groping based on simple common sense and intuition, finding no obvious flaws.

Many people had crawled through maintenance passages into narrow pipe spaces, their clothes covered in oil stains, faces smudged colorfully like Dou Erdun, lying exhausted and helpless.

“Thank you all.” Su Minguan nodded, pressing his earlier irritation back into his heart, his voice steady: “There’s still one night. No one panic. At worst, we’ll be delayed a few days. As for compensation – we’re not clay dolls either. If those foreigners want to squeeze money from us, let them shed some skin too.”

Everyone knew their boss had methods. Hearing his confident words, they felt reassured again.

Su Minguan surveyed the pitch-black machinery, bending to take out an oilcloth coverall from a box.

He’d do it himself.

Doing business in the Great Qing nation, who wasn’t a jack-of-all-trades?

Just as he was about to put on the coverall, he suddenly stopped, scanning around.

“Where’s Miss Lin? Back in her cabin?”

Everyone suddenly went quiet, looking at each other. Finally they selected a representative who said meekly: “The brothers are useless – probably can’t fix this ship by tomorrow. Miss Lin was anxious and had us arrange a sampan to go to Anqing City.”

Su Minguan’s head grew big again: “What’s a girl going to do there…”

Everyone quickly finished the second half: “She took two brothers as escorts – absolutely no mishaps, don’t worry. She probably went to the medical clinic to check on Old Rail’s condition. She left word asking you to maintain overall control of the ship while she goes to think of a solution. If there’s no way, she’ll return before midnight.”

“Miss, have some tea. Don’t mind – we don’t have good tea here, just to moisten your throat.”

In the Anqing Yixing Tea Shop storefront, the duty clerk courteously brought out a teapot and cups, placing them on the table while secretly observing this suddenly appearing pretty girl.

Anqing Yixing Tea Shop had been a prominent outpost of the Heaven and Earth Society’s Huguang branch decades ago. In recent years, neighboring cities have opened ports one after another, causing the tea shop to lose many business opportunities, leading to poor management, abandoned association affairs, and near bankruptcy. Fortunately, at the beginning of the year, they met a financial backer – Jin Lanhe from Guangdong came by steamship to inspect and invested eight hundred taels of silver, bringing this tea shop back to life.

The tea shop had already closed today when this girl suddenly arrived, running all along the sandy street, wind and dust covering her face. Behind her followed two men dressed like sailors, moving so quickly they nearly couldn’t keep up with her.

Then she knocked, opening with Heaven and Earth Society code words. The tea shop clerk hesitated briefly before opening the door to let them in.

Lin Yuchan caught her breath, exchanged pleasantries with the tea shop clerk, then asked directly: “Excuse me, is there something like an armory or arsenal in Anqing City?”

While speaking, she observed the tea shop’s interior.

A few sparse sample teas, not many, but arranged pleasingly. Labels carefully marked basic information like variety and origin.

It seemed the shop’s clerk was not only careful but also idle.

Hearing her question, the clerk was startled, then slapped his leg: “Miss means the Anqing Inner Arsenal, right? Two years ago when the Governor-General of Liangjiang was stationed in our city, he recruited many advisors and assistants, gathering them in one place to experiment with new military equipment, buying many things from foreigners…”

Lin Yuchan said happily: “Yes, yes, that’s the place!”

Rong Hong’s memory was quite accurate.

When Rong Hong escaped prison and returned to Shanghai, recounting his narrow escape to the Boya clerks, he had mentioned meeting Zeng Guofan at some “arsenal” in Zeng’s headquarters.

Rong Hong didn’t know the specific location, but later, Su Minguan received intelligence from Anqing Yixing Tea Shop confirming that Rong Hong had been taken to Anqing. At that time, Zeng Guofan was indeed stationed in Anqing.

Under Zeng Guofan’s command were many advisors, including many of Rong Hong’s Western learning friends, who had successively gathered in Anqing to contribute ideas for the nascent Self-Strengthening Movement.

At the time, Lin Yuchan had only sighed that having more friends meant more paths. If Rong Hong hadn’t happened to have friends working under Zeng Guofan, he wouldn’t have been recommended to Zeng Guofan and wouldn’t have had his later experiences.

As for the “arsenal” Rong Hong mentioned, she hadn’t paid much attention then and didn’t remember it clearly.

So today, after disembarking at Anqing dock, she went straight to Yixing Tea Shop to inquire clearly.

In a few words, the tea shop clerk told Lin Yuchan the location of Anqing’s Inner Arsenal.

“Daobashi Street at Mawang Slope by the west gate – that painted mansion used to be the Taiping Army’s Prince Ying’s palace, now it’s the Inner Arsenal. Miss, be careful – there are many strange people and events there, frequent explosions. Walk slowly!”

A quarter hour later, Lin Yuchan stood at the painted mansion’s entrance.

Behind her, someone was panting heavily. The two Yixing crew brothers had just caught up, stammering despairingly: “Miss Lin, we haven’t rebelled for ten years – our stamina is rusty. Please be considerate…”

Lin Yuchan’s blood raced rapidly throughout her body, arm hair standing on end. Like previous crises, she again fell into that inexplicable, stress-induced excitement.

Luna’s breakdown wasn’t scary, but the breakdown coinciding with the chief engineer’s injury and unconsciousness, preventing quick repairs – this was when it rains it pours, very serious.

If Luna couldn’t depart on schedule tomorrow, Yixing faced enormous compensation claims.

Her itinerary would be completely disrupted. She had calculated precisely, only managing to spare one month to visit cotton markets. If she couldn’t return to Shanghai on schedule, not only would she miss the customs tea bidding announcement, but Boya’s old clerks would probably go crazy, thinking they had a second Rong Hong situation.

Thank heaven, the steamship was anchored near Anqing. If lucky, there should be important figures in Anqing’s Inner Arsenal who could help solve this urgent problem.

After all, China’s first steamship, “Huanghu,” was built here.

Winter sunlight was precious; it would be dark soon. No time to wait for Su Minguan to return for consultation – she decided to try her luck first.

The painted gate was tightly closed with two slovenly soldiers guarding it.

Lin Yuchan glanced at the society brothers behind her, feeling confident. She arranged a harmless smile and approached to probe.

“Guard, sir…”

Unsurprisingly, she got four eye rolls and four words: “Who are you?”

As Lin Yuchan was about to try harder, the two brothers behind her caught their breath and came over to help, putting on merchant smiles and coordinating to chat up the soldiers.

Men’s networking was still more effective. This time, the soldiers had better attitudes: “Who are you looking for? The gentlemen here are all the marshal’s associates – they’re all busy. They won’t easily come out to see people without serious business.”

Lin Yuchan thought, then tentatively asked: “Is Mr. Xuecun – Xu Shou here? Or Mr. Hua Hengfang…”

The soldiers had thought these out-of-towners were small vendors trying to sneak in. They didn’t expect this girl to precisely name several Western learning assistants in the arsenal, surprising them greatly.

“Mr. Xu is here. But let me warn you, little girl – he’s busy and can only say a few words to you at most. If you delay the serious business of developing military equipment, hmph, we won’t be polite.”

The two crew brothers were also greatly surprised. They hadn’t expected Miss Lin to so easily open the government office doors. They still had a belly full of slick social tricks unused.

They quickly followed.

The arsenal was full of tall sheds everywhere, with bricks, firewood and such piled outside – workshops during the day, worker dormitories at night. Now everyone had finished work, with sounds of card games and laughter coming from inside.

This was where Zeng Guofan had received Rong Hong. No luxurious halls, no gardens and flowing water – just a large construction site filled with smoke and fire.

Around two brick walls, among weeds was an extremely inconspicuous small courtyard, probably just servants’ quarters from the former Prince Ying’s palace, now the dormitory of one of China’s greatest modern scientists.

A deaf and dim-eyed old servant came to answer the door. He probably couldn’t even tell if Lin Yuchan was male or female, directly waving them in.

The Yixing brothers consciously felt they couldn’t talk to scientists, waiting outside.

The study had dim lighting with an entire wall of shelves holding various physics and chemistry models.

Lin Yuchan quietly looked around, seeing Xu Shou wrapped in a big cotton coat, wearing gloves, concentrating on grinding a square column.

Beside him stood a lanky teenager holding a lamp, changing angles to provide lighting for Xu Shou.

Lin Yuchan estimated this teenager was about seventeen or eighteen, around her age, just starting to grow a beard with green, messy fuzz on his lips.

One old, one young – two engineering homebodies with somewhat similar facial features.

While helping, the teenager said in a muffled voice: “Dad, you’re grinding an iron pestle into a needle – it’s not working! It’s just a prism. We could ask someone to buy it in Shanghai. Don’t tire yourself out.”

The teenager spoke with a Wuxi accent, ending every sentence with “ya,” soft and cute.

Xu Shou didn’t stop his hands, laughing: “Don’t I know there are prisms in Shanghai? But foreigners charge astronomical prices – your dad doesn’t have enough money! Look at this crystal seal, two foreign dollars. Grind it a bit, and I can still use it to observe spectra! Jianyin, conditions are harsh here, making you suffer. But Marshal Zeng’s kindness in recognizing talent – we must repay it. Didn’t you always want to see a Western globe? When we save enough money, Dad will buy you one.”

Lin Yuchan felt deeply moved. Scientists not only lived in poverty themselves but also brought their sons to share the poverty.

Perhaps it was precisely this spirit of not being moved by poverty and humble circumstances that allowed the Chinese land to maintain its eternal flame and rise from the ashes despite being ravaged by the late Qing government for so long.

She knocked lightly and quickly introduced herself.

“…Mr. Xu, you met me early this year. At the Chinese merchant steamship at Shanghai Hongkou dock…”

Xu Shou was puzzled for a minute, then recognized this girl who fell from the sky, smiling until his face wrinkled.

“Right, right, the Chanjuan. You’re that young ship owner’s… um, friend. Haha. The one who came down from the watchtower.”

Scientists knew how to hit the key points – three humiliating strikes in one sentence. Lin Yuchan’s face heated up on the spot as she quickly averted her gaze, staring at the half-finished prism in Xu Shou’s hands.

Xu Shou: “Thanks to your kind words letting me in to learn! Haha, tomorrow I’ll show you the steamship we Chinese built ourselves…”

Lin Yuchan quickly declined politely, stating her purpose – the steamship you observed earlier is now anchored four li outside the port, everyone’s at their wit’s end, unable to repair it.

“Here’s some data I recorded.” Lin Yuchan drew a stack of papers from her sleeve, respectfully placing them on the table. “Twenty-something rough mechanics on the ship mostly suspect it’s the governor drive pulley – I don’t know how to say it in Chinese – somewhere around there is stuck and won’t turn, but oiling and cleaning doesn’t work…”

Listening, Xu Shou gradually opened his mouth wide, forgetting the crystal seal in his hands, saying softly: “Jianyin, go inside first.”

When he first met this girl, her “long admiration” for Western learning scholars like them had impressed Xu Shou deeply. He thought her family also had Western learning enthusiasts, which cultivated her different values.

Therefore, though seeing her somewhat unclear relationship with that young Yixing ship owner and rather improper behavior, Xu Shou still had a good impression of her. After all, in this era, which of the few people devoted to practical learning hadn’t been pointed at and called “improper”?

But Xu Shou’s impression of her was limited to this, finding her “enlightened” and “trendy.”

Seeing her again today, this girl opened with steamship terminology – Xu Shou’s worldview continued to refresh.

He had thought this girl only had “slight exposure” to Western learning!

He didn’t know where she learned these things?

He urgently wanted to ask. Lin Yuchan quickly acted modestly: “It’s all last-minute cramming from operation manuals. I originally studied literature… oh no, I originally only knew some Chinese and foreign scripts. I only have a superficial understanding of steam engine principles. Fortunately, you’re here – if you could provide guidance, it would be like sending charcoal in snowy weather. Yixing Shipping would also provide compensation…”

Xu Shou listened with interest for a long time, then regretfully bowed to her with difficulty on his face.

“I’m sorry – the Huanghu steamship still has many defects. I’m working on improvements and am very busy lately…”

Lin Yuchan couldn’t help twitching her eyebrows. Then what were you planning to do with that prism you spent all evening grinding from an iron pestle into a needle – put it on the steamship?

Xu Shou smiled bitterly, lifting his cotton coat hem to reveal an excessively thick bandaged leg.

“To tell you the truth, I injured my leg in an experiment a few days ago.”

Lin Yuchan’s heart sank.