The Crown Princess is busy fishing

The group sat inside for a while when they suddenly heard a commotion outside.

When they went outside, they saw Qiu Ming leading a dozen or so villagers, following behind Lin Fanghai.

Some villagers were carrying axes, while others had thick hemp ropes hanging from their bodies.

Upon seeing Lin Yuge, Wang Youcai immediately asked eagerly, "Miss Yuge, the village chief said you're going to the back mountain. Are you looking for the kind of tree I mentioned today?"

Lin Yuge nodded slightly, confirming, "Yes! Uncle Youcai, do you know where to find that kind of tree?"

Wang Youcai sounded quite confident when this was mentioned.

"Of course, my dad used to be the only hunter in our village."

“When I was young, I used to go up the mountain with him all the time. After the old man passed away, I went less often.”

"Alright, that's enough. Everyone knows you're familiar with the back mountain, and they're all waiting for you to give them directions! Hurry up!" Qiu Ming interrupted him with a laugh.

Then everyone walked together toward the back of the mountain.

Lu Ziheng and his servant silently followed Lin Qingzhou, saying they also wanted to go for a stroll on the mountain.

Walking along the road, Lin Yuge asked, "Uncle Qiu, why did everyone come along?"

While instructing his men to clear the way, Qiu Ming replied, "I heard from your father that you want to find a wood harder than camphor wood to make the keel."

"I thought the log must be very heavy, so I called more people so that we could all work together more easily."

At this point, he rubbed his hands together, a little embarrassed, "Yuge! Now that you've finished building this boat, could you help build one for the village as well? Just let me know if you need anything."

"As you can see, our entire village only has three boats."

Lin Yuge didn't rush to refuse. She asked with some curiosity, "Uncle Qiu, my father was just saying that casually. How come you believe so much that I can build a boat, and even brought everyone along?"

Qiu Ming sighed, "I have no choice. It's not cheap to build a ship at the dock these days."

“Before you came, the village relied on those three boats and couldn’t earn much money all year round.”

He looked at the group of people in front of him with some disdain and complained, "If it weren't for the abundance of local produce, this group of people probably wouldn't even have enough to eat."

Hearing this, Lin Yuge understood somewhat; the village was trying anything as a last resort.

It would be best if we could build our own ship, but it wouldn't matter much if we couldn't.

It will only take some manpower and resources. Anyway, it doesn't cost any money, so it's always good to give it a try.

After figuring it out, Lin Yuge stopped worrying about it.

He said frankly, "Alright, Uncle Qiu, once my ship is built, you can bring everyone to see it."

"If you think it's a good idea, I can help the village build another one. After all, you've helped me so much."

Qiu Ming was overjoyed and said loudly, "Good! Good! Uncle Qiu believes you can do it. If you need anything, just ask. We're a group of people, we have the strength."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Uncle Qiu!"

Behind them, Lu Ziheng, who had overheard the gist of the conversation, nudged Lin Qingzhou with his elbow.

He raised his chin and said in a low voice, "Your little sister doesn't look like you at all."

Lin Qingzhou immediately retorted loudly, as if his tail had been stepped on, "How is it not similar? It's obviously very similar!"

Lu Ziheng quickly covered his mouth and gave an awkward smile to the crowd who turned around to look at him.

Some gritted their teeth and said, "I mean your behavior. Look at you, thank goodness your little sister isn't like you, otherwise—"

He shook his head and said nothing more.

Lin Qingzhou was confused and muttered, "What's wrong with me? I'm perfectly fine."

By this time, the group had been trekking along the mountain path for a long time, and finally crossed the mountain in front of them, arriving at a river valley.

Wang Youcai led the group along the path beside the valley, and soon they stopped in a grove of trees.

"This is the kind of tree! Fisherwoman, do you think it will work?"

Before me stood more than twenty tall and straight trees, with thick trunks and lush foliage.

Lin Yuge, filled with anticipation, eagerly stepped forward to observe carefully.

Immediately, her eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

She discovered that this was the same type of wood they commonly used in modern times.

She was very familiar with the unique bark texture and trunk shape of the Gemu tree.

In modern times, due to over-logging and changes in its growing environment, the number of *Gynostemma pentaphyllum* trees has decreased dramatically, and it is now very difficult to find them in China.

Most of them are imported from abroad.

Moreover, modern society attaches great importance to the protection of Gemu wood, as it is a rare and strictly protected type of wood.

And at this moment, in this unfamiliar world, Gemu stands right before my eyes in such a real way.

No longer something to be protected from afar, but a resource that can be actually utilized.

Lin Yuge's fingers gently traced the bark of the Gemu tree, her thoughts swirling.

The people around Lin Yuge watched her silently, not understanding why she was so concerned about these trees.

In their eyes, it was just a common hardwood found in the valley.

Although it is hard and suitable for making tools or building materials, it is not particularly special.

Lu Ziheng was the first to break the silence. He stepped forward and asked with a puzzled expression, "Little Sister Lin, why are you looking at these trees with that expression?"

"Although this wood is hard, in my opinion it is nothing more than ordinary wood used to build houses or make farm tools."

"Brother Lu, do you know how many years it takes for this tree to grow to this size?"

Lin Yuge turned around, her eyes revealing a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"Such trees are extremely rare. Their growth cycle is incredibly long, often taking hundreds of years to grow to such a thick and robust size."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ziheng's eyes widened slightly, his face filled with surprise. "Hundreds of years? Several hundred years? How is that possible? Such a long period of time is almost impossible for a person to experience in several lifetimes."

Lin Yuge nodded gently and continued, "It is precisely because it grows so slowly, and because it will encounter many changes over the years, that its numbers will become fewer and fewer."

Hearing this, Lin Qingzhou panicked. "Little sister, what should we do? Will we run out of wood to use in the future?"

Lin Yuge smiled and shook his head: "As long as we cut down a tree and replant it, can't we maintain the total number of trees? That's called sustainable development."

Seeing that his daughter was starting to talk nonsense again, Lin Fanghai quickly changed the subject.

"Girl, is this the dragon bone wood you're looking for?"

Lin Yuge snapped out of her daze and carefully examined Ge Mu in front of her once more.

“Father, this Gemu is indeed a very good choice of keel wood.”

"Look at its trunk, it's thick and straight, and extremely hard. If used as a keel, it can definitely support the entire structure of the ship, making it indestructible."

Lin Fanghai stroked his chin and walked around Gemu.

He nodded and said, "Yes, this tree does look sturdy. But daughter, this wood is so hard, it might not be easy to cut it down."

"And how are we going to get it to the shipyard? The road from this valley to the sea is not easy to travel."