After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

As the first leaves in Beijing turned yellow, the new ship arrived at Tianjin Port.

Jiang Xiaoqi took two rare days off and went to Tianjin Port with Qiu Cheng and a group of newly trained sailors.

This was his second time here; the last time he came secretly, but this time he came openly.

Standing on the dock of Tianjin Port, Jiang Xiaoqi looked at the brand-new seagoing vessel with excitement and anticipation.

Jiang Xiaoqi couldn't help but marvel at the superb skills of the craftsmen of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This ship was built exactly according to the blueprints he had given him.

It's not accurate to say it's exactly the same, but it's at least 99% accurate.

In later generations, without the aid of modern tools, it would be impossible to guarantee the creation of such a large-scale seagoing vessel hull in such a short time by hand alone.

Jiang Xiaoqi has been constantly refreshing his understanding of the views and perceptions of the ancients over the years.

"Lord Jiang, your decision to take leave to watch the ships set sail is very wise, unlike my son, who absolutely refuses to take leave."

"Tell me, what could a mere junior official like him possibly have to do? Besides, what could a place like the Ministry of War possibly have that would allow a greenhorn like him to get involved in?"

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Qiu Cheng seemed to be saying this only to Jiang Xiaoqi.

Jiang Xiaoqi pondered for a moment and immediately understood the true meaning behind Qiu Cheng's words.

Lord Qiu wasn't complaining about Qiu Feng refusing to take leave; he clearly wanted the Second Prince to value his son.

He emphasized that his son was now in the Ministry of War, and even if he couldn't be of much help for the time being, he was still in the Ministry of War.

Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry. For their son's future, even the usually straightforward Lord Qiu has developed some twisted thoughts.

"Lord Qiu, you should be content. Although it's not difficult to become a Shujishi (a junior official in the Hanlin Academy), it's not easy to get into the Ministry of War these days."

Minister Lin has a keen eye for talent. If Qiu Feng didn't have exceptional abilities, how could he have entered the Ministry of War so easily?

Jiang Xiaoqi was telling the truth. After all, based on his understanding of Minister Lin, he would personally oversee the recruitment of personnel to the Ministry of War and wouldn't let just anyone in.

Especially now, during this rather special period, after experiencing so many things in the past.

The traitors in the Ministry of War have been almost completely eliminated, and now it is basically all Minister Lin's own people, so being able to enter the Ministry of War now is still very prestigious.

At least one signal can be gleaned from this: Minister Lin was unaware that Qiu Feng's father, Qiu Cheng, was a man of the Second Prince.

It must be said that the Second Prince and Qiu Feng, this underground master and servant pair, did an excellent job of keeping their relationship secret.

If Minister Lin knew that Qiu Cheng and the Second Prince had been masters and servants for many years, he might have to reconsider Qiu Feng's future.

While Jiang Xiaoqi and Qiu Cheng were chatting on the shore, the crew had already finished preparing.

However, they haven't found a reliable captain yet, and Qiu Cheng is still in charge of issuing orders.

The crew members on board are basically well-equipped in other aspects, and even the logistical support is provided by a three-person team responsible for providing three meals a day for everyone on board.

The task of procuring these supplies and materials is still Wangchuan and Aniu's responsibility. After all, Lord Qiu is used to using these two and hasn't returned them to Liuxiang Pavilion yet.

Jiang Xiaoqi had asked the two men for their opinions on whether they wanted to stay on the ship as crew members or return to Liuxiang Pavilion as waiters.

The two of them unexpectedly chose to become crew members. There was nothing Jiang Xiaoqi could do; he had already said he respected their opinions. He could only apologize to Wenbin, the head manager of his Liuxiang Pavilion.

The person was fine when they were lent out, but now they're not coming back.

Manager Wenbin had no complaints about this, since his Liuxiang Pavilion was not short of manpower, and the former employees were all capable of handling things on their own.

Some are quick learners who are now adept at managing accounts and doing it well. Wenbin only needs to grasp the general direction, which makes things much easier for him than before.

As Jiang Xiaoqi's people, Wangchuan and Aniu weren't ungrateful; they just had a deep-seated obsession.

One is to regain their memories and find their family; the other is to travel around and see more of the world to find their two older brothers.

Jiang Xiaoqi has always supported the two's search for their relatives, so naturally she won't stop them now.

The two also refused to continue receiving the double monthly allowance from the Jiang family and Liuxiang Pavilion, since sailors also received wages, and they could not be greedy.

Having worked at Liuxiang Pavilion for so long, they hardly spent any of their wages, bonuses, or year-end red envelopes.

On the one hand, food and lodging are provided, and the food is very good, so it doesn't cost much money at all. On the other hand, the plan is to save money for future family reunions and to buy a house or land.

It's just that they don't have the nerve to shamelessly take the Jiang family's share and Liuxiang Pavilion's share as well.

I already feel very sorry for my master and Manager Wen.

On the shore, Qiu Cheng waved the colorful flag in his hand vigorously, giving orders to the people on the ship. He had just learned these flag signals in the last few days, afraid of showing his incompetence in the Tianjin port area.

After a set of flag signals was completed, Qiu Cheng saw Li Qiusheng on the boat waving colorful flags in response.

Lord Qiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he hadn't made a mistake, or he would have been utterly humiliated.

The ship officially weighed anchor and gradually sailed away from the dock.

"Ugh!"

"Why is Lord Qiu sighing? Everything has been going smoothly, hasn't it? We just need to wait for them to return in the next few days."

"Lord Jiang, we still need to find a reliable captain. The crew is basically all set, but why is it so hard to find a captain?"

You need to have seafaring experience, be able to manage crew members, and know how to train them. It would be even better if you also had some military combat skills.

It must be said that this is not greedy, after all, the ship is ultimately heading to Japan, and there will be not only crew members and sailors on board, but also a large number of soldiers.

As the captain of a ship, one has command and control over the entire ship. In this case, it is best if the captain is a general and the general is the captain.

Decentralized, separate, and separate management methods are not necessarily better than centralized authority.

But such all-rounders are too hard to find. Does the Great Zhou have such people? Of course they do, but such people are rarely found among the common people. They have long been taken in by the major aristocratic families.

Competing with established families for talent? Qiu Cheng knew he couldn't win.

Even if that "hidden gem" exists, there's no guarantee you'll be lucky enough to stumble upon it.

So recently, Lord Qiu is still very worried. He worries about shipbuilding, then about the crew, and then about the captain.

Lord Qiu's sorrow is like a great river flowing eastward, endless and without resolution.

Jiang Xiaoqi thought of Lin Feng, but he was a little reluctant to part with him.

Sigh, we've already lost two of our own people, do we have to keep losing more?