Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

Warehouse No. 3 is located in the most remote corner of the dock.

Su Ming followed the old man inside, and a musty smell hit him.

The warehouse was filled with all sorts of old and discarded equipment—rusty iron chains, broken lifebuoys, scrapped engine parts…it looked like a junkyard.

Deep inside the warehouse, there was an iron-hulled ship.

The hull was rusted, the deck was piled with debris, the smokestack was crooked, and the whole ship looked like it could fall apart at any moment.

"This is the 'Wavebreaker'." The old man patted the hull. "It's 23 years old, displaces 800 tons, and has a top speed of 12 knots. It was just decommissioned last month and was originally going to be scrapped, but since you want it, I'll rent it to you."

Su Ming walked around the boat and knocked on the hull.

Two dull "thump" sounds.

"The hull is still fairly sturdy," Su Ming said, "but the engine is probably not working."

"You know about mechanics?" The old man was somewhat surprised.

"I know a little."

"Then take a look for yourself." The old man pointed to the cabin. "The tools are over there. If you need any parts, just tell Lao Hua, and he'll help you find them."

When you're done, turn around and leave.

Su Ming stood by the ship, remained silent for a few seconds, and then climbed onto the deck.

The deck was piled with miscellaneous items—old fishing nets, rusty iron buckets, broken wooden boxes… Su Ming cleared them out one by one and threw them ashore.

After an hour of work, the deck was finally cleared.

Su Ming wiped his sweat and went into the cabin.

The cabin was even more chaotic.

Oil stains and rust were everywhere, and the air was filled with a pungent diesel smell.

Su Ming turned on his phone's flashlight and walked along the narrow passage, quickly finding the engine compartment.

The hatch was rusted shut.

Su Ming took out a multi-tool pliers from his bag and pried open the hatch.

With a "click," the hatch opened.

Inside was an old-fashioned diesel engine, huge in size and covered with a thick layer of oil.

Su Ming squatted down and examined it carefully.

The pistons were severely worn, the oil passages were clogged, and the cooling system was essentially unusable...

"This engine needs at least a major overhaul," Su Ming muttered to himself.

He took out his phone, snapped a few photos, and sent them to Lao Hua.

"I need the following parts: 4 piston rings, 2 fuel filters, 1 coolant hose, and 1 oil pump. Also, please find me a set of woodworking tools and welding equipment."

Old Hua quickly replied, "Woodworking tools? What do you need them for?"

"Remodeling".

"...Okay, I'll bring it to you this afternoon."

Su Ming put away his phone and began disassembling the engine.

He moved with practiced ease, first removing the outer casing, then disassembling the piston, cleaning the oil passages... every step was precise and flawless, as if he had done it countless times.

Two hours later, the engine was disassembled into pieces, with the parts neatly laid out on the ground.

Su Ming picked up a piston and examined it carefully against the light.

"The irregular wear surface indicates that the previous lubrication was inadequate..." he muttered to himself, "It needs to be re-polished."

He took out a piece of fine sandpaper from his bag and began to manually sand the surface of the piston.

One, two, three...

The movements are mechanical, but the rhythm is steady.

Before we knew it, it had gotten dark.

"Knock knock—"

There was a knock on the warehouse door.

Old Hua carried in a large box: "I've brought you the things."

He put down the box, saw the parts scattered all over the floor, and froze: "You...you took the whole engine apart?"

"Hmm." Su Ming didn't even look up.

"Will you put it back?"

"meeting."

Old Hua swallowed hard, suddenly feeling that this young man was a bit strange.

"Um... the woodworking tools you wanted are here too." Old Hua pointed to the box. "But I want to ask, what do you need woodworking tools for?"

"Shock absorption." Su Ming put down the piston, walked over and opened the box.

Inside was a complete set of woodworking tools—saw, plane, chisel, hammer…and even a small electric planer.

Su Ming picked up a chisel and carefully examined the cutting edge.

"It's fairly sharp."

He turned and walked deep into the cabin, knocking on the bulkhead.

"The ship's shock absorption system is old. If it goes out to sea directly, the vibration of the engine will be transmitted to the entire hull, which will not only be noisy, but also easily detected by radar."

Old Hua was stunned: "So... you're going to use wood for shock absorption?"

"Yes." Su Ming nodded. "The grain of wood has a natural cushioning effect. As long as the cutting angle is appropriate, it can effectively absorb vibrations."

Old Hua opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

"Where...where did you learn this?"

"My grandfather taught me," Su Ming said casually. "He was a carpenter."

Old Hua was completely speechless.

For the next three days, Su Ming hardly left the warehouse.

He repairs engines during the day and modifies the hull at night.

He hand-polished the engine pistons until they were as smooth as a mirror, thoroughly cleaned the oil passages, and reassembled the cooling system...

He then replaced the ship's shock absorption system with carefully cut wooden planks.

The grain direction of the wood panels is precisely calculated to ensure maximum vibration absorption.

On the morning of the fourth day.

Su Ming stood in the cabin and pressed the start button.

"boom--"

The engine emitted a deep roar and then began to run smoothly.

The vibration is minimal, and the noise is at least half as low as before.

Su Ming walked onto the deck, looked at the smoothly running engine, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"good."

Old Hua stood on the shore, staring dumbfounded at the newly renovated dilapidated ship.

"This...this is still that 'Wavebreaker'?"

Although the hull was still rusty, the engine roar was noticeably different—deep and steady, like a sleeping beast.

On the deck, Su Ming was welding an iron frame.

Sparks flew as he moved with steady precision.

"Just who is this kid?" Old Hua muttered to himself.