After finishing with the sheep and cattle, Fang Er's gaze fell upon the missile destroyer in the warehouse.
This thing would eventually need to be brought out for the artisans to study.
Although he would forge his own path, having some reference was always good.
The next day, he flew to Panjin.
The weather was cold, and fishing had not yet begun. The fishing boats had been docked in the harbor since their return from the south, with Li Shun and his men diligently studying them day in and day out.
New ships were appearing frequently, yet he couldn't even secure a shipbuilding order. This fueled Li Shun's determination to figure out how these ships were built.
He could use the equipment on the fishing boats, but he didn't understand it.
However, he had come to grips with the structure of the fishing boats during these days, meticulously recording the dimensions of every steel plate.
This was all in preparation for the day Fang Er would entrust him with the task of building these massive steel ships.
Upon hearing of Fang Er's arrival, he quickly led the artisans off the boat to greet him.
"My Lord, is there something you need?"
Fang Er rarely came without a reason, so it was no wonder he asked.
But this time, Fang Er shook his head and smiled, "Nothing in particular, I'm going on a long journey and just came to see you all."
As he spoke, he pointed to the notebook in Li Shun's arms and asked, "What is this?"
"Heh heh, with the cold weather, we're not fishing, so I've brought the artisans to study how these ships are built."
After Li Shun finished speaking, he handed the notebook to Fang Er.
Flipping through a few pages, Fang Er nodded in satisfaction, "Good, this is the attitude a great artisan should have!"
"If you are confident, go find Zhao Gang and have him approve materials for you to try building one yourself.
If you can't build a large one, start with a smaller one. If you can build a ship like this, the title of Great Artisan will be yours!"
Li Shun was overjoyed; he had longed for the title of Great Artisan for far too long.
"My Lord, rest assured, I will do my best!"
Fang Er nodded, then pointed to the yacht in the distance, "Do you have fuel?"
"Replying to My Lord, it's always full. Are you going out to sea? I'll pilot the boat for you!"
As he spoke, Li Shun was about to head towards the pier but was stopped by Fang Er.
"No need, I'll go myself. I won't be going too far."
It was February, and there was no strong wind. Fang Er boarded the yacht and headed south.
After about twenty minutes, he was sufficiently far from shore.
He stood on the top deck of the yacht, smiling slightly as he watched the undulating sea surface.
With a wave of his hand in the air, a colossal object appeared out of nowhere on the sea.
The suddenly displaced seawater nearly capsized the yacht. Wiping the spray from his face, Fang Er smiled at the behemoth before him.
A missile destroyer!
This single ship alone would take Li Shun and his men years to study, wouldn't it?
As per usual, after releasing the ship, Fang Er sailed the yacht back to the Panjin dock and waved Li Shun over, saying to him.
"Have someone sail the fishing boats south. I've sent a new ship over for you."
"The new ship is a bit large. Bring all your fishing boats, otherwise, I fear you won't be able to tow it back."
Li Shun felt his heart being struck by a heavy hammer!
Fishing boats over fifty meters long were considered small boats in the eyes of My Lord. Now, to have it specifically called a large ship, just how big must this ship be?
When he followed Fang Er's instructions, piloting eighteen fishing boats south, he nearly fainted with excitement upon seeing the Iowa-class missile destroyer.
"Mother of God!"
"Is this a ship that humans can build??"
The fifty-meter-long fishing boats, when docked beside the destroyer, were like grandchildren.
The Iowa-class missile destroyer was 163.5 meters long, equivalent to three fishing boats tied end to end. No wonder he was shocked.
It wasn't just him; all the crew members and artisans were stunned.
"Old, old, boss, this, this is a ship??"
Lu Fei stood beside Li Shun, pointing at the destroyer.
"Slap!"
Li Shun slapped him across the head, "If My Lord says it's a ship, then it's a ship!"
"Throw down the ladders! Go up and find the anchor, and drag this behemoth back together!"
"Be careful, don't touch anything carelessly. If you break something, I'll sell you all to compensate!"
After finding the anchor on the destroyer, they connected it to the anchors on the fishing boats.
Since the anchor was at the bow of the ship, the fishing boats could only move backward to tow it.
By the time they returned to the dock, Fang Er had already left.
He had to go out for two months, and to another world at that. He needed to make arrangements at home first.
Shenyang, the Duke of An’s mansion, the backyard.
Fang Er was playing with the little girl, Xiao Ya, while Fang Xin crawled from the cotton quilt to his feet, babbling incessantly.
"Dad~ Daddy~"
Suddenly, a childish voice made everyone in the courtyard freeze, and in the next moment, they all turned their gaze to Fang Xin.
The little one was holding onto Fang Er's trouser leg, seemingly trying to climb up.
Fang Er handed Xiao Ya to Xing'er, and looked expectantly at Fang Xin, "Come on, say it again~"
"Dad, Dada~~"
"Xin'er can talk! Xin'er can call out 'Dad'!"
Upon hearing Fang Xin call out "Dad" again, Chai Yue's eyes instantly welled up.
Eleven months!
Fang Xin would be a full year old in half a month. During these days, the couple had longed for Fang Xin to call them "Dad" and "Mom"!
Parents would never be able to understand this kind of anticipation.
Fang Er scooped Fang Xin up from the ground, held him, and looked into his eyes, laughing, "Come on, say it again~~"
Fang Xin's eyes rolled, his face suddenly turned red, and then—
*Squelch~~~*
A stream of clear liquid directly splashed onto Fang Er's face!
"Hahahaha~~~"
Chai Yue, Xiao Qing, Xing'er, and the few maids couldn't stand up straight from laughing.
Fang Er had been opening his mouth, and he was directly hit by a stream of urine—
The smell was overpowering!
It wasn't until Fang Xin finished peeing that Fang Er put him down.
"Well, Li Shimin said that you shouldn't startle a child when they pee, or they'll develop a problem with bedwetting later on."
"Master, please rinse your mouth quickly~"
Xiao Huan placed the tea by Fang Er's hand and then stepped aside, continuing to laugh.
Fang Er wiped the child's urine from his face and chuckled himself.
"What are you laughing at? The little fellow knew I was going out, so he's warding off evil spirits for me!"
Seeing everyone laughing, Fang Xin on the ground also giggled, although he didn't understand what had happened.
After rinsing his mouth, Fang Er took out a lollipop, peeled off the wrapper, and put it into Fang Xin's mouth.
"If this trip of mine goes smoothly, I'll have to thank my son's urine for it~~"
Just now, everyone had been too busy laughing and hadn't noticed him mention going out.
Upon hearing his words, Chai Yue's face showed reluctance, "My lord is going out again?"
Fang Er nodded, "Yes, I'm going on a long trip with the Emperor. It will probably take two months to return."
Hearing that it would be two months, Chai Yue became even more reluctant.
"Do you really have to go? Xin'er is still so young, and Xiao Ya just passed her full month. My dear cousin, can't someone else do whatever it is?"
This wasn't Chai Yue being ignorant, but rather as a wife, she naturally didn't want her husband to be away for too long; it was only human nature.
Fang Er said with a wry smile, "Actually, someone else really can't do this! But we have to wait for the Emperor to recover from his injuries before leaving, which should be in about two or three days."
Seeing him say that, Chai Yue didn't press further. She got up and walked towards the house.