"I can use corrosion-resistant alloy as the circuit substrate..."
"The cost will quadruple. Have you even calculated that?"
Their argument grew louder and louder. Su Li passed by the workshop door and paused.
He listened for about thirty seconds, then understood where they disagreed.
"First, make sure the ship doesn't conk out at sea."
Both of them turned to look at him.
Su Li leaned against the doorframe, still gripping an iron nail in his hand. "We'll talk about modifications after the ship is launched and has made three runs. For the first version, use the Empire's original design. Stability comes first. Once we've figured out the sea conditions and salt-corrosion data, we can make targeted changes."
Talia's pen paused, and she crossed out the rebuttal she had only half written.
Elonore opened her mouth, swallowed the words already on her lips, and nodded obediently.
"Then I'll prepare a modification proposal and keep it on file," she said softly. "Once the data comes in, we can compare it directly."
"Fine." Su Li slipped the nail into his pocket and turned to leave.
At dinner, Saina brought a basin of freshly stewed marrow bone soup to the table. She sat across from Su Li and ladled him a bowl as she asked, "Exactly how big is the kitchen on the ship?"
Su Li thought for a moment. "The plans the engineer sent last time marked it as three paces by four."
Saina's spoon stopped. "How many stoves can that fit?"
"One large stove, one small stove, and an oven."
Saina frowned. "That won't do. One stove for soup, one for stir-frying, and another for steaming rice. We need at least three large stoves."
Without even looking up, Elena flipped through the list. "If you want three large stoves, the kitchen will