Most intellectuals in today’s Great Qing nation were trapped in classical texts, only reading books without observing nature. Yet even in such an atmosphere, there were still people who glimpsed fresh light from heaven. They sought neither fame nor fortune, alone and silently climbing the scientific tree that had been neglected for hundreds of years.

And scientific research today isn’t just about shaking test tubes in laboratories or running programs on computers. Getting injured or even dying in practice was unavoidable.

Lin Yuchan naturally felt too embarrassed to insist further, hastily saying: “No, no, you’d better not go out. Taking good care of yourself is what matters.”

Xu Shou smiled: “Going out isn’t scary, but in my current state, I’d have to hire a sedan chair with great fanfare, which people would see. That wouldn’t be good… after all, research funding depends entirely on allocations from above…”

However, he couldn’t bear to let the little girl return disappointed. After thinking, he pulled over her data sheets and studied them intently.

“Are all the parts original? No counterfeit components? Using Western steel?”

Lin Yuchan nodded. The steamship had been launched two years ago, originally purchased from America by Jardine Matheson & Co., so quality was definitely guaranteed.

“Hmm… has anyone unauthorized entered the engine room? For instance, passengers hiding inside to smoke or eat sunflower seeds?”

Lin Yuchan shook her head: “They all have ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ signs. The engine room has bad air, it’s all machine oil, and the noise is irritating – even if someone got lost, they wouldn’t go in.”

Xu Shou frowned.

Lin Yuchan suddenly had a thought, her scalp tightening: “You mean, if someone deliberately went down to throw cigarette butts or seed shells…”

Xu Shou took up his pen, sketching on the paper.

“If it were me going, I’d examine these positions in detail.” He spoke quickly. “The specific method…”

Lin Yuchan pleaded: “Wait! Speak slower. Let me take notes.”

In terms of scientific knowledge about steam engines, this 19th-century expert completely outclassed her.

She only had one chance for off-site assistance from this expert – she couldn’t afford any carelessness.

Xu Shou then slowed his speech and spoke a few more sentences. Suddenly, he stopped writing, looked up, and said, strangely, “Jianyin, why are you still here?”

When the little girl first arrived, he had casually told his son to go inside. After all, they were both unmarried young people – staying in the same room was a bit awkward.

Even if the girl wasn’t some sheltered lady, he couldn’t appear to be deliberately letting his son feast his eyes.

This was the basic conduct of traditional scholars.

But engineering youth Xu Jianyin had not left, listening blankly to his father chatting with this girl about steamships. Suddenly hearing his father call him, his face flushed red.

“I… I…”

“Go inside!” Xu Shou put down his pen, supporting himself on the chair to stand, quietly scolding his son: “Staring blankly at the girl – what kind of behavior is this! You’re not a child anymore!”

Xu Jianyin nervously rubbed his hands, saying quietly, “Dad, I’m also helping you build steamships. I think… I could help Miss Lin go take a look. It’s inconvenient for you to go out, but I can.”

Xu Shou was surprised: “You…?”

Lin Yuchan was overjoyed. Having experienced a year of hellish senior year prep, she felt she could directly tell from the boys’ faces who were science gods.

Though not always accurate, the moment Xu Jianyin spoke with that earnest energy, she immediately felt this was another future expert.

If born two centuries later, he’d casually win competition gold medals and get direct admission to Tsinghua.

“If your son could assist, that would be much better than me fumbling alone… By the way, two crew brothers are waiting outside. Four people would exactly fill one small sampan, and we’ll take good care of him!”

Xu Shou had been about to wave his hand in refusal, but hearing Lin Yuchan say there were two others outside, not a lone man and woman traveling at night, his expression softened somewhat.

“This… this…”

Xu Jianyin lowered his head, shy yet eager to try.

Though his mind was agile, having a more agile father meant that for these few years, he’d been overshadowed by his father’s brilliance, always just an assistant, a helper.

Today, a girl in urgent need of help had come, asking him to diagnose an original Western steamship…

Xu Jianyin rubbed his eyes, staring fixedly at the draft his father had written on paper. Familiar handwriting and thought processes.

Lin Yuchan’s eyes suddenly lit up as she asked Xu Jianyin with a smile: “Young Master Xu, didn’t you just tell your father you wanted to see a Western globe?”

With several creaking sounds, the sampan stopped steady, the rope ladder set against Luna’s hull.

Xu Jianyin was beaming, still talking enthusiastically: “…physics, music theory, mineralogy – I’ve studied a bit of everything. Whatever books I find, I read. It’s just that I can’t learn English well, so I have to read translations… Fortunately, father is learned, making a dojo in a snail shell, able to teach everything. I remember once when I was small, he folded a little paper figure, then used a silk scarf to rub a glass rod, and could command the paper figure to dance! Do you know? That’s called generating electricity through friction…”

When first boarding the boat, Xu Jianyin had been quite shy, keeping far from this bright and strange little girl, as if afraid she’d transform into a water demon and eat people.

After all, having grown up seeing few girls besides his mother and sisters, he’d read about many talented ladies and refined beauties in books, but none quite like her.

She was truly modern – unafraid of strangers, running everywhere, speaking to his father without blushing, even forgetting to walk behind men.

She also didn’t bind her chest or feet – modern upon modern, almost like she’d entered the twentieth century early.

Just after leaving shore, Xu Jianyin regretted it, touching his head, feeling like a scholar from Strange Tales who’d encountered a female demon – how had he gotten confused and followed her?

The four-lane water route would take some time. Lin Yuchan kindly broke the ice, recalling those models in Xu Shou’s study and tentatively asking him about some simple physics and chemistry knowledge.

Ten minutes later, Xu Jianyin seemed like a different person, enthusiastically discussing everything under heaven. The other three couldn’t get a word in.

“…Another time, when father was building the Huanghu, there was one step he couldn’t figure out. I secretly calculated for three days and explained it to him. Father said it’s a pity the Great Qing isn’t like foreign countries with royal academies of science; otherwise, I’d have great prospects too! But it’s fine – my elder brother is studying for the xiucai examination. Having one in the family is enough…”

Amid that soft, sweet scientific lecture, Lin Yuchan jumped onto the hull, waving with a grin: “I’m back!”

“So long.” Su Minguan had been waiting there, a long coat draped over his arm, deliberately stern-faced as he asked: “Who’s on the boat?”

“An expert from Anqing Inner Arsenal.”

As Lin Yuchan spoke, she turned back to extend her hand, planning to help Xu Jianyin, who was still struggling on the rope ladder.

Both the person on the ladder and the one on deck looked rather displeased.

She remembered to follow local customs, nonchalantly withdrawing her hand and waiting for several crew members to haul Xu Jianyin up with all hands.

Su Minguan was somewhat surprised to see the visitor’s age.

“…Expert?”

Lin Yuchan seriously reminded him: “Judging by appearance will lead to trouble.”

Su Minguan should deeply understand this. How many people had underestimated Boss Su because of his age, only to be ruthlessly trapped by him.

Su Minguan shook his head. His little girl had a natural constitution for attracting oddballs – he was long used to it.

He casually shook out the coat from his arm, gently wrapping it around the girl’s narrow shoulders, buttoning it while mildly scolding: “Didn’t even dress warmer.”

Lin Yuchan tensed all over. This was in full view of everyone…

But he just stopped appropriately. Deftly buttoning her up, smoothing it out, smiling slightly, then turning to greet Xu Jianyin with polite small talk.

“Young Master Xu’s righteous assistance is truly beyond thanks. Please come in.”

Xu Jianyin’s mouth hung slightly open, quickly glancing at the coat on Miss Lin, Su Minguan’s pile of courtesies going in one ear and out the other, only managing to nod blankly.

He felt like he’d mistakenly entered a demon cave again…

Even with his sister, he wouldn’t dare do this in public.

…Never at home either.

Su Minguan waved at him friendly: “The engine room is this way. Want some late-night snacks first?”

Xu Jianyin shook his head vigorously, reining in his runaway worldview and hurrying to follow.

He first went to the pilot house, checking instruments and maps, asking the crew a few questions about the situation.

Suddenly, Xu Jianyin’s gaze fixed on a beautifully crafted hardwood globe on a wooden stand in the corner.

He was overjoyed, distracted as he went to fiddle with it, his eyes almost showing hearts: “Miss Lin, you have a globe here! Such a big one!”

Lin Yuchan quickly shushed him, telling him to speak quietly. The passengers were all sleeping – they couldn’t let them discover Luna having midnight surgery.

Then she wondered: “I thought you people who study natural philosophy all had one each.”

“How could we?” Xu Jianyin smiled helplessly. “Marshal Zeng has one in his residence, but he won’t easily show it to people. In the entire Inner Arsenal, dozens of uncles studying natural philosophy all long to have such a thing to broaden their knowledge. Everyone pooled money to have someone buy one in Shanghai – the smallest, shoddiest one cost fifty silver dollars from the foreign firm. The middleman wanted a fifty percent commission, too. It fell apart within days of bringing it back, so everyone gave up hope… Though father has a set of ‘Records of the World’ with copied world maps inside. Though crude, they’re still viewable…”

While speaking, Xu Jianyin went down the gangway toward the engine room, still reluctantly looking back.

The first generation of modern Chinese scientists worked in such research conditions. Wanting to open their eyes to see the world, they couldn’t even get a globe.

After all, modern globe-making relied on the most advanced surveying technology, all monopolized by Western nations. With material limitations and the inability to print, requiring Western craftsmen to hand-paint stroke by stroke, the cost was extraordinarily high.

Su Minguan had obtained this globe purely by chance. If ordinary people wanted to buy one, they’d have to order through foreign firms. Whether they got good or bad depended entirely on luck – they couldn’t exactly cross oceans to apply for refunds.

Lin Yuchan felt a small impulse, quietly glancing at Su Minguan beside her, saying softly, “Too bad this globe was a gift from someone. Otherwise, I could give it to you.”

Xu Jianyin hastily declined: “No, no, too precious – Miss Lin is joking. Since someone gave it to you, you should keep it well. It’ll be a family heirloom someday! It’s just a toy – doesn’t matter… I don’t care about it, haha…”

Lin Yuchan stopped, thinking for a moment.

She felt a bit embarrassed, moving close to Su Minguan, pointing at the globe and asking: “How much did it cost?”

Don’t look at how the young master usually calculated carefully – sometimes, when his wastrel addiction kicked in, he’d do some foolishly extravagant things. Not to mention the Derringer pistol – life-saving items had to be equipped regardless of cost. Just that Pond’s face cream he’d given her last time – Lin Yuchan had secretly inquired about the market price afterward and immediately couldn’t bear to smear it on her face anymore, using just a tiny bit each day very frugally, turning good face cream into eye cream.

Su Minguan: “I already told you – the foreign firm sent it to offset payment. You can’t even buy it in the Great Qing. If you went to Europe to buy it… not counting shipping, it would cost at least one hundred silver dollars.”

After speaking, as if seeing through her heart, he gave her a warning glance.

Lin Yuchan hastily declared loyalty: “No, no, I won’t give it away.”

After a pause, she added very money-grubbing: “Unless someone offers double the price.”

Su Minguan was very satisfied with this answer, his eyes crinkling as he followed to the engine room.

All tools were ready, valves properly closed and opened, and boiler fuel was cleared out for safe maintenance.

Xu Jianyin was seeing such a large steam engine for the first time. While marveling, he took a hammer to tap it twice, queue coiled on his head, sleeves rolled up, climbing up with hunting enthusiasm.

While climbing, he directed the mechanics present, having them turn this valve, rotate that piston, quickly conducting various tests.

Su Minguan called all crew members who understood anything from their beds to observe and learn.

He also removed his coat, put on an oilcloth coverall, rolled up his sleeves, and personally climbed to the upper pipeline level to hand Xu Jianyin tools like wrenches, pliers, and pressure gauges.

He was skilled at chatting with people, especially with engineering introverts like Xu Jianyin. Soon they were talking and laughing.

Xu Jianyin: “…No, no, thank you for the generous offer… the salary is very high, but I must help father build steamships for the Great Qing. I’m sorry…”

Su Minguan laughed and sighed, expressing regret.

“A’Mei,” he turned to instruct, “don’t come over here. It’s dirty, all machine oil.”

Many crew members were seeing the inside of a huge steam engine for the first time, staring in awe, some chanting “Amitabha.”

For a while, the clanging of metal strikes, scraping of pipe cleaning, rumbling of gear rotation, tinkling of screw removal…

Composed a lively drama.

Xu Jianyin took a towel to wipe his sweat. Five black fingerprints immediately appeared on the towel.

“Brother Su,” he said shyly after hesitating, “I think I know what’s wrong with this machine.”

He held up a kerosene lamp, illuminating a pitch-black abyss deep in the pipeline.

“Metal foreign objects, gear misalignment, plus high-temperature reactions… anyway, something must have fallen in and needs to be removed first. Otherwise, oiling won’t help.”

After hearing his explanation, Su Minguan’s brow tightened as he gave this young craftsman a careful look.

The ship’s chief engineer, also called the chief mechanic, known as “Old Rail,” was the person most familiar with the ship’s mechanical components.

Yet Xu Jianyin, with no maritime experience whatsoever, faced the steam engine with zero errors, instantly getting the hang of it – completely an excellent “Little Rail.”

The intricate machinery was like a maze. To precisely locate the root cause deep in the maze based on the ship’s surface “symptoms” required skilled application of knowledge.

There’s always someone better. At least Su Minguan couldn’t do it himself.

He asked: “Need to disassemble?”

Xu Jianyin hesitantly nodded: “Of course. According to the operation manual procedures, complete machine disassembly is needed. At least these steel plates have to be removed. If you trust me…”

The gaps between components were narrow. Xu Jianyin didn’t dare probe too deeply, fearing getting his head or shoulders caught. He only relied on a deep theoretical foundation to determine that there was a problem there.

The only solution seemed to be completely dismantling this part of the machinery.

But that would be extremely noisy and time-consuming, taking at least until dawn. Moreover, none of the presenters had ever dismantled original Western machinery – if they took it apart and couldn’t reassemble it, that would be the end.

So most crew members showed hesitant expressions, not quite trusting this “Little Rail” who’d parachuted in halfway.

Seeing everyone’s gazes, Xu Jianyin immediately lost confidence, lowering his head and saying quietly: “Of course, we could also wait for your Old Rail to recover and wake up, then confirm…”

“Or let me try.” Someone suddenly interrupted him, laughing easily. “I might be able to squeeze in.”

Xu Jianyin looked up blankly to see a delicate, smiling face.

Indeed, against the backdrop of a room full of big, rough crew brothers, both Xu Jianyin and Su Minguan were quite slender. Yet even they were slightly short of squeezing through that pipeline gap.

Lin Yuchan quickly compared the gap, feeling she probably wouldn’t get stuck.

“Without dismantling the machine,” she confirmed again, “if I can crawl to the bottom, I can still repair it, right?”

Xu Jianyin immediately broke into a cold sweat, frantically waving his hands, speaking incoherently: “No, no, this isn’t work for a girl to do. It’s dirty inside, pitch black, very scary, and the parts are complex, oil everywhere, it’ll stain your skirt, tear your clothes…”

While speaking, he looked at Su Minguan as if seeking help.

This uniquely strange girl was one of a kind in the world. If they got her dirty or scared, left her disheveled and disgraced, he couldn’t bear the responsibility.

But unexpectedly, Su Minguan raised an eyebrow, a flash of delight in his eyes as he looked at Lin Yuchan.

“Really?”

Only then did the crew react, chattering advice to curry favor with the boss:

“Miss Lin can’t go down – it’s very dirty!”

“Girls can’t do this work!”

“Boss, I learned acrobatics as a child and still remember some bone-shrinking skills. Why don’t I…”

Lin Yuchan wouldn’t wait for others to make decisions for her. She found an oilcloth raincoat overall in the cabinet, efficiently putting it on and slipping imported rubber shoe covers over her feet.

Su Minguan controlled the laughter in his eyes.

“A’Mei, come here.”

He fastened her belt, the raincoat sleeves covering her sleeves, rolling them twice.

The more people around clicked their tongues, the more comfortable he felt. This little demon could go anywhere, having done harder and more bitter work than this. Look at that group making such a fuss.

Just one machine – it wouldn’t eat people. If she wanted to play, let her play. If she gets dirty, just throw her in a tub to wash.

Of course, if she got covered in oil, he’d feel bad too. So he removed his scarf, wrapping it twice around her head to protect her hair.

“Watch your step. Come back if you can’t get through.” He said softly in her ear. “Help me this once. From now on, all Yixing tickets are free for you. Pick any first-class cabin.”

Lin Yuchan’s head felt warm as she smiled back: “Master Xu didn’t guarantee the fault is right there.”

Her accent had been influenced by Master Xu too, that last soft “ya” making Su Minguan feel delighted as he laughingly patted her shoulder.

Several people brought kerosene lamps, surrounding her in a circle to provide maximum illumination.

Su Minguan watched Lin Yuchan’s back without blinking as she nimbly slipped into the gap that originally couldn’t accommodate people.

Xu Jianyin stood stunned for a long time, watching that little demon shuttle through the steel jungle. Suddenly, his consciousness returned as he constructed various spatial angles in his mind, grabbed a lamp, and crawled to the platform above her head.

“There… there should be a chain – do you see it… Then there’s an axle… oh, there are two? Let me think, the small one… don’t grab randomly, be careful of sharp metal shavings inside… turn gently, it should be able to rotate… smell if there’s any strange odor behind…”

He was still chattering when suddenly a pale hand emerged from the dark gear gap.

It was clutching something.

Xu Jianyin paused. Beside him, Su Minguan had already calmly taken it. Opening his hand to look, two copper coins.

Already twisted by the gears, the characters “Xianfeng Tongbao” were cracked and blackened.

He was startled.

“There’s more,” Lin Yuchan’s voice came from inside. “Keep catching.”

More broken copper coin pieces were handed out by her one by one.

Su Minguan carefully pieced them together. When all fragments were complete, there were ten copper coins total.

Case solved. As they say, a thousand-li dike is destroyed by ant holes. These thin coins had jammed the mechanical gears, been ground up, created sparks, burned along the machine oil to the cylinder interior – this was what caused the entire steam engine to shut down.

Fortunately, the machine was well-built. Several steel plates contained the malfunction locally, preventing a major disaster.

All crew members erupted in fury, cursing: “Which blind fool threw money into the machine?”

“Throwing money” was a major superstitious practice among Chinese people. No need to chant sutras or kowtow – spending a penny or two could bring fortune, longevity, and happiness. It was truly low-cost, high-benefit, convenient and quick, deeply loved by the masses.

Previously, they threw them into wells, pools, tree roots, and caves. When steamships appeared at treaty ports, people also threw money at ships, praying for safe journeys.

But that was usually thrown into water or onto decks, at most into ventilation openings – safe and harmless. During Luna’s maiden passenger voyage, the crew had also swept up hundreds of dollars from various parts of the ship, buying snacks and seeds.

But who was so full they had nothing better to do than sneak into the engine room and aim precisely at the steam engine’s most critical part to scatter money??

Crew members cursed furiously. Xu Jianyin also shook his head secretly.

Superstition harmed people.

The learning he and his father had devoted years to researching was simply summarized by many people with two crude words: “sorcery.”

Only Su Minguan frowned slightly, quickly casting his anger aside, approaching the pipeline gap and calling softly.

“A’Mei, still not coming out?”

“The gears are slightly deformed.” The soft female voice echoed in the metal components, buzzing and deep. “Give me a hammer.”

He passed the hammer through. The hammer head was heavy – she could barely hold it with one hand, her arm sinking several inches when she received it.

But she still seriously focused on repairs until confident the malfunction was restored to its original condition, then slowly moved to the exit.

From rows of pipeline gears emerged a grimy little figure. The surrounding crew collectively froze for several seconds.

They’d never seen a girl with trouser legs bound, head wrapped, gripping a hammer, sweat dripping from a metallic face, only her eyes sparkling with familiar sincerity and intelligence.

After a good while, everyone remembered to blow rainbow farts.

“Miss Lin is truly a heroine among women!”

“Damn, such a small gap – I wouldn’t dare crawl through. Too scary!”

“Without Miss Lin, our ship would’ve been anchored for days more – even day lilies would’ve wilted!”

“Miss Lin worked hard! Quickly change out of these dirty clothes and go rest.”

Xu Jianyin ran to start the auxiliary boiler. Moments later, a familiar humming noise filled the engine room.

Not daring to startle the upper-level passengers, the crew kept their voices low while clapping and cheering.

Lin Yuchan held the big hammer, looking down at her oil-stained overalls, steadying her breathing, carefully examining the spirited girl’s reflection in the light on the metal plates.

Like those hardcore “Working Women Are Most Glorious” poster images! With the background of huge gears and machinery, a steampunk retro vibe – so cool!

Xu Jianyin poked his head out from behind the boiler, his bright eyes staring fixedly at her, as if seeing an unreachable future.