Nobu Uchida was also very familiar with Zhu Zhiyao. The two were already old acquaintances when they were in Shanghai. When Zhu Zhiyao founded the Qiuxin Shipyard in the 30th year of the Guangxu period, it was Nobu Uchida who helped him purchase low-priced equipment and machines in Japan. Although most of the machines were second-hand mobile phones, the most of them were German goods, and the quality was excellent. In addition, Nobu Uchida was actually considering Zhu Zhiyao that the price of the machine was the lowest, and he actively reduced the commission. Because of this, the two had formed a very deep friendship as early as that time.

This time, it was the first time that the two met after they parted three years ago, and their friends met again, so there were naturally endless things to say. Originally, Zhu Zhiyao wanted to entertain him at his home in Shanghai, but he had to come to Lianyungang and Tianwan Dock. Because of this, he felt that Nobuya Uchida's visit this time was probably not just a "reunion of old friends".

Almost as soon as Nobuya Uchida entered the house, a female employee brought a pot of tea. Zhu Zhiyao personally poured tea for Nobuya Uchida himself, while Nobuya Uchida put his hand next to him and responded respectfully. After Zhu Zhiyao poured the tea, he replied with a greeting.

‘Pang Dejun, old lady, are you in good health recently?”

The old lady refers to Zhu Zhiyao's mother. When he was in Shanghai in the past, he had been to Zhu's mansion many times. Even the Zhu family's Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival dinner for three consecutive years, he was also invited, and the old lady asked him to invite him. It was really difficult to say that he was alone in China. Perhaps it was this relationship that made him return to Japan later. After returning to Japan, Zeng Fengjie asked someone to give a gift to the old lady, handed the gift box to Zhu Zhiyao and said:

‘This time, I can’t go to Shanghai in person. I also ask Pang Dejun to make sure to tell the old lady that he thought about the old lady taking care of her, Uchida felt very guilty. This is my friend from the Governor of North Korea’s office. The good ginseng I brought was of the same level as the imperial gift given to the emperor, which was to be expressed in Uchida’s heart!’

When Zhu Zhiyao took the gift box, he quickly stood up and bowed to thank him:

‘Thank you, the old lady is in good health, but she often cares about Uchida. It’s enough to have this heart. You and me are in this relationship. Don’t do this in the future. The old lady has given instructions to not always let Uchida spend money.’

While the two of them were politely talking about the past and expressing their longing for each other, the only ones were left in the room. This made them much more comfortable. So Nobuyuki Uchida also sat near Zhu Zhiyao and said:

‘Pang Dejun, we have known each other for many years. This time, in addition to reunion with our old friends, Uchida has something to ask for!’

As he spoke, Uchida Nobuya stood up and bowed there. Zhu Zhiyao quickly pulled him down, then added another cup of tea to him and said:

‘Uchida, come and help me. As long as I can help you, I will definitely help you!”

"I……"

After taking a look at Zhu Zhiyao, Nobu Uchida also made his request.

"I want your dock to help me transform a boat!"

Renovating a ship?

It sounds simple, but Zhu Zhiyao did not laugh out loud. He even regretted that he had responded too early. Zhu Zhiyao, who understands Japan's shipbuilding industry, is very clear that although China's shipbuilding industry, which is mainly based on Yingyoumen, has developed rapidly in the past two years, Japan's shipbuilding industry has developed for decades, and its comprehensive technical capabilities are far better than China. Even the Eagyoumen Shipyard cannot compare with it. Although Japan's shipbuilding industry at this time may not be as large as China today, it can be transformed with a simple project such as merchant shipbuilding, so Uchida will not come to China to find himself!

I'm afraid this ship is not that easy to modify.

"A ship that can carry chemicals!"

When he heard about the chemical ship, Zhu Zhiyao fell silent. He held the teacup and couldn't speak for a long time.

After the outbreak of the European War, Japan's industry also achieved rapid development. For Japanese companies, in addition to using the war to obtain wealth, for many Japanese people, after the "Jiaoao Incident" ended with Japan's defeat, they were holding their breath from the government to the people. They were not convinced. When they saw that China's industry quickly surpassed Japan's overall position, they were even more dissatisfied. For various purposes, the government encouraged Japanese companies to challenge Chinese companies in various fields...

Everything that China owns, Japan must own, and everything that China leads, Japan must surpass. This challenge is of course beneficial to Japan's economy and development to a large extent. This sense of catching up due to self-esteem often wins the economic encouragement of the government. Just like the deeper reason why Chinese industrialists start businesses, unless they seek personal gain, is also to fight for a breath.

But many things are just ambition but not enough. Ambition is ambition and technology is technology. For example, after the "Jiaoao Incident", after suffering a great loss from aircraft, Japan encountered a series of problems from materials to engines to overall design and other issues when trying to develop the aircraft manufacturing industry. However, in the end, Japan chose to develop air defense weapons to deal with China's air superiority, which benefited the Japanese military factories. Especially after the widespread use of aircraft in Europe, the air defense machine gun frame and small-caliber air defense gun developed by Japan were welcomed by European colleagues.

This may be a successful example, but in fact, there are countless examples of failure. At this time, rayon was one of the most technologically-based consumer goods industrial projects. Originally, only the UK, Germany and Italy in the world had industrial production capabilities. After the outbreak of the European War, rayon factories switched to producing smokeless gunpowder, and the international rayon price rose sharply. The Chinese rayon company, which was founded before the war, made huge profits.

When seeing Chinese rayon companies make huge profits, the Japanese consortium immediately developed the rayon industry that belongs to "high-end" technology. After barely solving the rayon production problem, after its factory was built, it unexpectedly faced another dilemma - chemical raw materials. Perhaps, Japanese chemical experts tried their best to solve the rayon production problem, but they were unable to solve the large-scale production of chemical raw materials in the short term. Before the war, not only Japan, but also the vast majority of chemical raw materials in the United States came from Germany or the United Kingdom. Now, China is almost the only supplier of chemical raw materials.

According to the Japanese's original intention, the establishment of rayon factories was, on the one hand, to make huge profits, and on the other hand, to challenge China, saying that it also owns the rayon industry. However, if there are no crucial chemical raw materials, the rayon factories that have been built will become a pile of scrap iron. Perhaps the quality of Japanese rayon is low. However, the market demand is still very large. In the end, facing reality, Japanese rayon companies had to choose to import chemical raw materials from China to solve the production problem. At this time, they encountered another problem - transportation.

Most chemical industrial products have corrosive properties, which determines that their transportation is different from ordinary liquid raw materials. In the past, transporting liquid chemicals were loaded and transported using anti-collision-treated porcelain barrels. Not only was they heavy, but they were also limited in transportation. However, last year, Yingyoumen Shipyard launched a special chemical ship, which was transformed from an old ship, thus reducing the cost of chemical liquid transportation by more than 60%.

This transformation does not seem to be complicated. It is nothing more than changing the merchant ship cabin into a sealed cabin, and then using a special deep well pump. It is laid with flexible internal management to solve the problem of chemical loading. In short, this technology is not complicated. In order to develop the country's rayon industry, some Japanese ships do the same.

However, in the end, those Japanese ship dealers still had to face an inevitable problem - corrosion, chemical liquid seriously corrodes the steel plates of the cabins and severely shortens the life of the merchant ship. Those Japanese ship owners who tried to "make a fortune" had to change the transport ship to a merchant ship again, and transported it in small barrels like in the past, but some people didn't believe this. And this person was Nobuya Uchida.

There are only three chemical liquid transport ships in the world, and they are all Chinese ships, which makes it impossible for them to rent a ship. Moreover, in terms of chemical liquid transportation, Chinese shipping companies have internal priority, that is, they can first meet the US market, followed by Europe, and then count Japan. The shortage of chemical raw materials has led to Japanese rayon companies having to rely on ordinary merchant ships to transport liquefied products. As a ship owner, Nobuna Uchida, cannot watch the huge profits of transporting chemical liquids. Because of this, he needs a special chemical ship...

Seeing that Zhu Zhiyao was silent, Uchida Nobuki knew that he was afraid that the ship would be "not easy to change". If it were easy to change, Yingyoumen would not reject the Japanese ship dealer's transformation request, or even refuse to accept orders. The Chinese shipping industry wants to monopolize the transportation of chemicals.

"Pang Dejun, now you are the only one who can help me with this matter!"

Zhu Zhiyao, who had agreed before, seemed extremely embarrassed. He had never changed the dock and didn't know how to change it. How did he step down?

"Uchida, it's not that I don't want to help, but this matter is really too difficult. My dock is not as good as your Japanese shipyard in terms of technology. Otherwise, I would have built a ship long ago, so why should I guard the ship repair?"

Zhu Zhiyao said this sentence half the truth and half the lies. Now he is not focused on repairing ships. In order to improve the technical capabilities of the shipyard and prepare for the future shipbuilding, he sent hundreds of workers to Yingyoumen to study, and also sent several engineers.

The reason why he was unwilling was just because he knew that Yingyoumen had rejected the Japanese. Even if he had the ability, he would accept the order. How would the company see him?

"Uchida, I am the most loyal in my life, but this is really different. I am not very embarrassed, but I am really willing but not capable enough!'

After hearing what he said, Uchida Nobuya was pretending or really good, he was really crying. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his tears, and said at the same time:

'I know, you have always had a disgust towards the Japanese because of "Jiaoao". But, Pang Dejun, you know me, and I personally don't agree with that kind of thing first. I am a businessman and just want to do business. Although the government supports me, I have always felt good in China for more than ten years, especially the friendship with Chinese friends is something I cherish very much. In my opinion, there is nothing that is stronger and more happy than China..."

When Nobu Uchida said this, Zhu Zhiyao nodded in agreement. After the success of the Shanghai Uprising, Nobu Uchida was even more excited than him, a Chinese. In his opinion, it was not just the Han people who won freedom, but the first step in Asia's liberation. When the two were drinking together, Uchida even imagined the scene of China and Japan fighting back the Westerners together. Even during the Jiaoao Incident, Uchida wrote to him, one to express his apology, and the other to express his position. He opposed the government's dispatch of troops.

"I am facing every customer. No matter when, I treat you and other business partners equally. It's good to be friends with you, at least better than Westerners. Whether in Japan or China, they are Easterners who have deeply rooted in Confucian education. Why do we have conflicts? But now, the misunderstandings between countries have affected our friendship with each other...'

Speaking of this, Uchida Nobuya actually started crying like a child. It seemed to be extremely painful for all this.

The old friend's reaction exceeded Zhu Zhiyao's expectations. Looking at the old friend who was crying, thinking about the 30th year of Guangxu, he accompanied him to a factory in Japan, a factory, and a factory, talking, finding the best and cheapest machines. Even at night, he thought that he was too tired, so he found him a good hotel to rest, and arranged a prostitute to relieve his fatigue. He accused himself of wasting his time. Zhu Zhiyao was moved, and he patted his old friend's shoulder and said:

‘Mr. Uchida, I can’t agree to you in one go. Let’s find a way to go and eat first, and I will arrange for the people in the dock to ask...’

It was supposed to be the time for dinner, but at this time, more than a dozen Chinese and foreign technicians from the shipyard in Tiantianwan Dock did not go to the cafeteria. At that moment, their boss frowned at a loss. Their boss threw a problem for them.

"Chemical ship!"...

This is a problem left behind by their big boss. To be precise, it is a problem left behind by their Japanese friends.

"Liquid chemical ships are mostly double bottoms and double side sides. The cargo hold is divided and equipped with special cargo pumps and pipe systems. The inner walls and pipe systems of the cargo hold are made of 301 steel, while the cargo hold uses corrosion-resistant coatings. These technologies are patents that the company cannot output. Without these two patents, it would be impossible for us to build a liquid chemical ship..."

When Hydenail, a shipbuilding expert hired by Zhu Zhiyao from the United States, said this, everyone else nodded, because of the exchange learning reasons, they knew more or less. The two most fundamental points of Yingyoumen Shipyard's advanced technology are the leading raw materials and the advanced equipment. Shipbuilding technology is only ranked third and fourth, but they have become the largest shipyard in Asia with their technological leadership. Some technologies are impossible for the company to output in the short term. That is their flagship product, and it is no reason to export, let alone the Japanese.

"Think of a way, think of a way!"

The boss there still had to think about it and solve this problem when he saw them.

"The most critical problem is the corrosion of chemical liquids on the cabin. The ability of Yingyoumen to build such a ship solves this problem. As for the 301 steel conveying pipeline, it is completely unnecessary. Do factories use 301 steel? Even if we are here, Germany and the United Kingdom, this is true?"

"That's cast iron pipes, and the corrosion state of chemical liquids is uniform, local, stressed and grain boundaries, unlike steel..."

"Will you just add another layer of cast iron into the hull?"

"Tonnage, tonnage, if you add that layer of cast iron plate, the ship will probably not need to load things, so it's better to use a barrel!"

"Cast iron plates can be thinner..."

"In those few months, it is not cost-effective and unrealistic to remove the board..."

"If it really doesn't work, just add a layer of enamel to the entire cabin! Enamel is corrosion-resistant..."

It almost made the people in the house laugh out loud, as if it was a fantasy.

"Then, we have to change the dock to an oven first..."

"What should I do? Spread glass plates or ceramic tiles in the cabin,..."

"It's not yet arrived in Japan, it's all broken..."

"If the calculation is done well and the margin is left, it probably won't..."

One so-called "methods" after another kept spitting out in their mouths. At this moment, it was really a "suggestion" to solve technical problems through this big discussion. However, when they were all there, a young man who seemed to be only in his twenties took the initiative to leave the office and no longer participate in this big discussion. He walked to the balcony, held the railing, and smoked himself.

"What? Not interested?"

Looking at this one year since I came to the dock, but in fact it was just a young man who had just graduated from Dehua University. Heidenell did not participate in the discussion either. In his opinion, those discussions were not realistic and feasible.

"No of those methods can solve the problem. Even the most realistic ones they think are used for enamel iron plates are not realistic. Not to mention how to repair the joints of those enamel iron plates and how to seal them, the natural stress of metal during navigation may squeeze out the porcelain. Once the porcelain is removed, the corrosion will naturally begin. Even after each voyage, it can be inspected, but what should we do? Change piece by piece? The feasibility is too poor. We can think of these methods, but the Japanese cannot think of these methods? Really, find a way, what should we think of? Unless we can also get paint, we can only find another way, but the way is not so vague."

After a blunt speech, Heidenell nodded constantly. He personally liked the graduates of Dehua University. They were never afraid of any authority. If anyone could solve the problem, he would rather believe that the young man in front of him might have the most hope.

"Shi, what would you do if you were asked to solve this problem?"

"I……"

Shi Gangqiang opened his eyes slightly and shrugged again.

"I am a shipbuilding engineer, not a chemist. Such things can only be left to chemists to solve. Professional things are left to professionals to solve. This is the fundamental reason for solving the problem!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
Chapter completed!