Titanic

Chapter 6

In order to see the original manuscript of "Rubaiji", Ruth made every step.She flattered Ismay, the owner of the "Titanic" and the owner of the White Star Steamship Company, but was rejected by the sophisticated Ismay who had insight into her true intentions; Ruth turned to chief designer Andrews for help, and in his cabin Saw the blueprints for the Titanic and found the way to the cargo hold where the manuscript is.

Unlike Jack on the Crow's Nest, Ruth on the deck is still thinking about the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat.Although she didn't meet the lookout Fleet, she accidentally saw Bruce Ismay, the owner of the White Star Company, smoking a cigar on the top sun deck.Ismay was standing at the front of the deck, looking down at her favorite work, the pride of the White Star Company - "Titanic".He is an arrogant and arrogant guy. In order to overwhelm his competitor Canard Company, he presided over the construction of three giant ships - "Olympic", "Titanic" and "Giant", to establish their own maritime supremacy.Now, he's a passenger on the ship, celebrating his victory on the Titanic's maiden voyage.

From Ismay's complacent expression, Ruth could tell what kind of person he was, and Ruth knew exactly what kind of person he was at the moment. "Perhaps, this supercilious big boss can tell me what I want to know." Ruth made up her mind, adjusted her state, changed a brand new expression, and walked towards Ismay.

"Mr. Ismay, please allow me to express my respect to you. It is a great miracle that you presided over the construction of this perfect cruise ship. I believe that it will be the pinnacle in the history of human navigation. You and this ship They will all be remembered in history." Ruth searched her guts to find words of praise to flatter the other party.

Ismay looked back and saw a young and beautiful lady. The man's unique vanity suddenly swelled, and a smile bloomed on his face, "What should I call you? Pretty lady."

Ruth: "Please forgive my presumptuousness. I am a second-class passenger, so you can call me Ruth."

Ismay: "Miss Ruth, I'm glad you're satisfied with the journey. If there's anything bad about the service on board, you can tell me." He really wanted to show his status and power in front of the young lady and let her know Who is the real owner of this ship.

Ruth had a clear understanding of his thoughts, and followed his mind and said: "This ship is beautiful and safe. Everything is new. What else can I fault? In my opinion, this is a solid and luxurious ship. In the palace on the sea, everyone will feel very comfortable and proud, and no one will feel dissatisfied. And you, of course, are the king here."

Ismay laughed triumphantly, and an obscene thought popped up in her heart.If I am the king in this magnificent palace, then young and beautiful ladies like Ruth should surround me, trying my best to please and serve me, isn't she doing this!The strange eyes flashed by, and Ismay still felt self-deprecating on the surface, "Miss Ruth, you are too flattering. It..." Bruce pointed to the "Titanic" under his feet, and said, "It is It is the king of the sea, and there is no other ship that can compare with it. There is no ship now, and there will be no ship in the next few years."

Ruth: "There must be a lot of dignitaries, wealthy businessmen and wealthy people on this ship. This giant ship is fully worthy of their status. Of course, they won't nest in the second class like me, they should be VIPs in the first class .”

Ismay: "You are too modest. I can guarantee that a smart and beautiful lady like you will be able to enter their circle one day. However, what you said is true. There are many distinguished guests on this ship, like billionaires The millionaire John? Jacob? Asder, as well as distinguished guests like the Countess Rossis. It is simply a gathering of dignitaries, this is the charm of the 'Titanic', no one can resist!"

Ruth felt that the circle was wide enough, and it was time to get down to business. "It seems that this ship is worth a lot!"

Ismay: "Of course, according to our estimates, the total value of the passenger's property is 2 million US dollars."

Ruth covered her mouth on purpose, showing an unimaginable astonishment, paused for a while, and then continued to ask: "I also heard that there is a priceless treasure on this ship - the original manuscript of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat. To tell you the truth, I am the most loyal reader of this collection of poems."

Ismay came to his senses, and said with a smile: "You are quite well informed! Yes, this precious cultural relic is on board. For safety reasons, we put it in the safe in the warehouse. Like Such valuables are guarded by special personnel." Ismay's tone seemed to be inoculating a person who was planning to do something wrong, so that he would retreat in the face of difficulties.

Ruth knew there was nothing else to do, so she begged, "Mr. Ismay, if you would do me a favor and let me see this manuscript, I would be very grateful."

Ismay shrugged and spread his hands, "Unfortunately, I also have no right to open the safe and take out the manuscript. Only its owner can do so."

Ruth: "Who does it belong to?"

Ismay: "I'm sorry, the owner's identity information is confidential, I can't tell you. Please forgive me!"

Seeing that she was struggling with her words but still getting nothing, Ruth immediately lost her interest, bid farewell to Ismay, and returned to the promenade deck below. ﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡Staying on the observation deck, Jack felt very bored. From above, he could peek at the people walking around on the deck, especially those young and beautiful girls.In the crowd, Jack found a familiar figure, it was his enemy-Ruth.Ruth lingered at the front of the deck, walking slowly and seemingly preoccupied.Jack felt a little strange, but he didn't bother to think about it.Although the two were tit for tat, Jack had to admit that Ruth was a girl who attracted men's attention. If it wasn't for yesterday's unhappiness, he would even take the initiative to strike up a conversation with this girl.It's a great way to pass the time on a long road trip.

Ruth was concentrating on conceiving the next action plan, completely unaware that someone above her head was watching her.Her curiosity is magnified together with the resistance she encounters. The more impossible the goal is, the more she wants to achieve it.Now, seeing the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat was not Ruth's only purpose. The whole thing was like an exciting, twists and turns game, and she wanted to play it, enjoy this process full of challenges, twists and turns, and endless fun.

"Go to the warehouse to have a look tonight, find out the situation, and then make plans for the next step." Ruth clarified the next action step, and her mood improved again, full of confidence. "This little thing doesn't bother me. I have to get what I want."

A white-feathered seabird flitted over the side of the ship, making a clear chirping sound. Ruth waved excitedly to the seabird and watched it fly higher and higher.At this time, Ruth noticed that there was a person in the crow's nest above her head, who seemed to be looking at herself.Jack also noticed that Ruth was looking up, worried that she would recognize him, so he turned his head quickly, looking up at the sky, following the seabirds circling overhead.

"If she recognizes her, I will inevitably be scolded again. I can't get away with spying on her. If this kind of shrew yells and scolds in public on the deck, I will be ashamed!" Jack said in his heart. Thinking about it, he shivered involuntarily. To be honest, after the two confrontations yesterday, he had already learned how powerful Ruth was, and he was really scared of her.

Unlucky things cannot be avoided, and even the unknown seabird is helping Ruth.When it passed over the crow's nest, it lost no time to sprinkle a few bird droppings, and every drop fell on Jack's face.Jack wiped it with his hand, and the expression on his face suddenly became dumbfounded, and he cursed "shit" fiercely.He waved his fist to demonstrate to the seabird. The seabird called twice as a response, and flapped its wings and flew away.

Ruth, who was standing on the deck below, still didn't recognize Jack, but she understood what was going on from his unlucky look, and let out a "giggle" laugh, like a newly laid egg. Happy little hen.Jack felt angry, "This woman is really my nemesis. I will be unlucky if I meet her. I must find a chance to make her look ugly, otherwise this bad breath will suffocate people to death."

Ruth was about to turn around and leave when Chief Designer Andrews walked up to him, with a roll of drawings under his arm and a notebook in his hand.Ruth greeted her, "Mr. Andrews, you are such a busy man."

Andrews: "Miss Ruth, haha, I'm not here for vacation, there are a lot of things to do."

Ruth: "What are these things? Can you open my eyes?"

Andrews showed a slightly shy expression, "It's all trivial, if you are interested, you might as well come to my cabin and keep your eyes open."

"Okay!" Ruth exclaimed excitedly.

Entering Andrews' cabin, Ruth was taken aback for a moment, awe-struck. Standing in front of her was a real shipbuilding expert with rich experience and hard work.Andrews' cabin is full of blueprints everywhere, and notebooks are stacked on the table, which shows how much effort he has spent on this ship.He really didn't come here to enjoy leisure time, but he had a lot of work to do and a full schedule.It is conceivable that when such a behemoth as the "Titanic" set sail for the first time, there would be many problems of various kinds, all of which had to be observed and recorded by the industrious chief designer, and suggestions for improvement should be put forward.

Ruth: "I didn't expect that you would have to do such a heavy workload while traveling."

Andrews: "Actually, I don't think it's hard work. This is the joy of my life. Do you know? I regard this ship as my own child. I created it by myself and watched it transform from drawing to drawing. Little by little, it becomes a real and incomparable giant ship. How many twists and turns are there in the middle, and those who have not experienced it cannot understand. In order to make it more perfect, I am willing to do anything, and this work is nothing at all.”

Ruth was infected by Andrews' affectionate confession, and her cheeks were a little hot. "I think you must be very familiar with this ship, even its every plank and every screw, just as the knight is familiar with his horse."

Andrews' eyes lit up, "Yes, you are absolutely right. Come on, let me show you what I have done!" He opened his notebook and handed it to Ruth.It recorded the problems he found during today's inspection and the solutions to them one by one.

The heating cupboard in the kitchen is out of order;

The promenade deck is darker in color;
Too many screws on the first class hat rack;
Part of the reading room should be converted to first class... Ruth, who likes to read, noticed the suggestion and asked, "Why? Is the reading room too big? Don't people like to read?"

Andrews smiled and replied, "Not every lady is as book-bound as you are," pointing to the book tucked under Ruth's arm. "Our original intention in designing the reading room was to provide a place for women who did not want to mingle with cigar-smoking and chattering men after dinner. However, it now appears that our idea is not practical, or It's outdated. Ladies are very active, and they want to participate in lively entertainment, rather than rest quietly in the reading room. Therefore, I propose to reduce the size of the reading room, and the original space can be converted into two first-class cabin."

Ruth smiled slightly, "I think the White Star Company will definitely welcome your suggestion, so that they can sell two more first-class tickets."

Andrews responded with some helplessness: "I am just making reasonable suggestions based on what I know. As for economic issues, they are not within my scope of consideration."

Ruth: "Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean that you got into the money's eyes, it's just a joke, don't take it seriously."

Just then, someone knocked on the door outside.Andrews opened the hatch, and a crew member stood outside.It can be seen from the uniform that this is an officer.His attitude towards Andrews is very respectful, it is a kind of respect from the heart, not just respect based on rank.

Andrews: "Mr. Murdoch, what's the matter?"

Murdoch glanced into the cabin and found that there were outsiders present, and his face showed embarrassment.Andrews understood, and introduced: "This is Miss Ruth, and this is Mr. Murdoch, the first officer on board. Miss Ruth, please wait a moment, I have something to talk to Mr. Murdoch."

Andrews walked out of the cabin, closed the hatch, and whispered to Murdoch outside.Ruth was not interested in what they were talking about, and taking this opportunity, she walked to the table, on which a structural drawing of the "Titanic" was spread out.

Ruth was looking for the location of the cargo warehouse on the map. The cargo warehouse was on the G deck near the bottom of the ship, two floors lower than the E deck that Ruth reached when she visited the main staircase of the first-class cabin.She carefully identified the path leading to the cargo hold, but the structural drawing full of densely packed figures and symbols made her dazed, and she could only remember the decks from top to bottom.

"S Deck - Sun Deck; A Deck - Promenade Deck; B Deck - Promenade Deck with Glass Windows; C Deck - Upper Deck; D Deck - Passenger Deck; E Deck - Main Deck; F Deck - - Middle Deck; G Deck - Lower Deck..." Ruth muttered in a low voice, silently remembering the names of these decks in her heart.

Andrews and Murdoch walked in at some point, and Ruth concentrated all her energy on the structural diagram, not even noticing that they were already standing beside her. "This is the H deck parallel to the waterline..." Andrews pointed to a deck below the G deck.

Ruth looked up in amazement, like a man caught stealing.Andrews smiled, and did not pay attention to Ruth's strange expression, but continued to explain the structure diagram. "Miss Ruth, look, here is the double bottom of the ship. And this place is the two sides of the A deck, where the lifeboats are placed..."

Murdoch: "It seems that Miss Ruth is very interested in 'Titanic'."

Andrews: "She is a curious lady. However, I would like to introduce anyone who is interested in this ship."

Ruth said mischievously: "It's like a father proudly introducing his child to others."

Andrews laughed happily, turned to Murdoch and said, "Please send Miss Ruth out! I'm sorry, I can't accompany you anymore, and I have to start working."

Ruth and Murdoch walk side by side on the promenade deck.

Ruth: "Mr. Murdoch, I feel that you respect Mr. Andrews, is that so?"

Murdoch: "Yes, it's not just because he's above me, he's a real gentleman, approachable and fair. It's not just my personal opinion, it's the same for everyone who works on this ship If we have any problems, we will consult him. Even if it is a very difficult problem, as long as he can help, he will never refuse. You know, he is the judge of our ship! If the crew If there is a dispute between them, Mr. Andrews must be invited to arbitrate, and the solutions he proposed are always unanimously accepted by everyone.”

Ruth: "Then what can you do with Mr. Andrews?"

Murdoch looked troubled.Ruth quickly explained: "Please forgive my excessive curiosity. I shouldn't ask about the private affairs between you, and you don't have to answer my question at all."

Murdoch smiled relievedly and said: "It's nothing, it's just a common problem at work. I have some disagreements with First Officer Wilder, and now I'm worried that he will fire me. So, I came to Mr. Andrews help."

Ruth: "What advice did Mr. Andrews give you?"

Murdoch: "He suggested that I talk to Wilder. In fact, it's not a big deal, it's just trivial things at work. Mr. Andrews believes that as long as one party can take the initiative to put down the airs in this situation, Talk openly and honestly with the other person, and the problem can be solved. He will also communicate with Wilder if necessary."

Ruth: "Good luck, I think Mr. Andrews will be able to help you solve your troubles, don't worry."

(End of this chapter)