Chapter 403: The Whole Village Banned!!!

That night, Xiao Yu spread a cool bamboo mat on the bow deck and accompanied Lin Dongfan as they lay on the bow deck to watch the stars.

She also told Lin Dongfan many things on her mind.

She had barely been born when her mother died of illness. Last winter her father died in a maritime accident, his body lost in the deep sea. During those hard years of depending on her grandfather aboard the boat, she had several times thought of jumping into the sea to kill herself. But she worried that if she irresponsibly ended her own life, her grandfather's days would become even harder than they are now.

She dared not hope to own a large boat of her own.

Nor did she dare hope that one day she could buy a house and settle ashore.

She only wished for calm winds and waves when going out to fish, and to avoid being bullied when coming ashore. Although these were merely modest wishes, fate did not fulfill them for her.

Going out to fish, one lives at the mercy of the weather.

Not every trip out to sea yields a catch, but the sea‑god money must be paid each time they come ashore, without a single cent missing.

If she cannot pay the money, Zheng Sanshui will not let her off.

Only with Lin Dongfan's appearance did her fate undergo a complete change, making her feel that her salted‑fish‑like life could actually be so rich and colorful.

"Brother Fan, why do you like looking at the stars?"

"No reason."

"Oh."

Xiao Yu wanted to pull Lin Dongfan's arm over and use it as a pillow to watch the stars.

But she could not muster the courage.

Since she became sensible, this was the first time she had lain on the same bamboo mat with a man. Her little heart thumped wildly, and her mind was in a tumult.

She unconsciously squeezed toward the middle and finally came up against Lin Dongfan.

Seeing that Lin Dongfan said nothing,

Although her heart blossomed with joy, her ears felt a faint heat.

She shyly closed her eyes, gathered her courage, and asked Lin Dongfan, "Brother Fan, are you cold?"

"I'm not hungry."

Lin Dongfan placed his palms under his head, closed his eyes, as if entering a sage's mode; he could not even bear to look at the moon, and with a snort he flashed back into the cloud layer.

Silly Xiao Yu kept pondering his answer—"I'm not hungry!"

She puzzled over it, thinking, "Did I ask him if he was hungry?" The more she thought, the more confused she became, not knowing whether she had misheard or Brother Fan had, for no apparent reason.

On the dock, one or two camping‑specific tents had been pitched.

The olive‑green tent was occupied by Lao Ba.

The black tent beside it belonged to the brothers Liu Wei and Liu Wu; tonight they had a duty, needing to take turns standing watch, so only one of them could sleep.

Having quit his security job and intending to hang out with Xiao Yu, Chen Shaolong came over with a flashlight to report to Liu Wei the village's situation: "Brother Wei, the patrol is done; the village is safe."

"That's good."

Liu Wei handed Chen Shaolong a cigarette.

He further instructed him: "Zheng Sanshui suffered a setback today; if he sends people to torch the village, the consequences would be unthinkable. Please patrol a few more times, and if you see any suspicious person sneaking into the village at once, notify me immediately."

"Understood, I've already greeted the police station personnel; they'll also help keep watch." Chen Shaolong said.

Liu Wei cautiously asked: "You're sure the police station people aren't in league with Zheng Sanshui?"

"I don't know about others, but Chen Shaokang is definitely not on his side." Chen Shaolong said with a confident smile: "Chen Shaokang is my cousin."

"Then that's fine."

Liu Wei took a slow drag of his cigarette, and his tightly wound nerves also relaxed.

He lifted his head to look toward the ship, couldn't help but smile again, not knowing what Brother Fan and Xiao Yu were doing, as the boat swayed slightly.

The night passed peacefully.

The next morning after nine o'clock, Zheng Sanshui led a squad of law‑enforcement officers to the old dock; from their uniforms it was clear they were from the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau.

The team leader, a man in his thirties, was a section‑level cadre named Huang Tao.

As soon as Huang Tao arrived at the dock, he grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted:

"Everyone, get ashore and submit to investigation! Those who have not obtained a Fishing Harvest Permit, or whose permit has not undergone the required annual review, are banned from going out to fish effective today!"

This statement was like a deep‑water nuclear bomb, blowing up all the fishermen along the shore.

No fishing at sea!

Isn't this just cutting off their livelihood?

Many fishermen in the village lack a Fishing Harvest Permit; never mind that obtaining it costs several thousand silver dollars, the key point is that paying money does not guarantee one can get it.

In Haishan Shi, there are many conditions for obtaining this fishing permit.

First, practitioners must pass training and assessment to obtain a Mariner's Certificate; for offshore fishing they even need a higher‑grade Seaman's Certificate than the Mariner's Certificate.

Once the person is qualified, the next issue is the vessel.

The vessel needs an inspection certificate proving its seaworthiness, and also must complete registration formalities for its mooring, equivalent to giving the mooring an ID.

Only when both person and vessel are problem‑free can the Fishing Harvest Permit be obtained.

Looking at the dilapidated boats moored along the shore shows that most are old and neglected; if the auditing unit insists on finding faults, they can easily pick out a great many.

Therefore nobody bothered to apply for the permit; instead they chose to pay Zheng Sanshui the sea‑god money.

As long as everyone paid the sea‑god money, the Fisheries Bureau officials would turn a blind eye and usually not care whether anyone had obtained the Fishing Harvest Permit.

Today the Fisheries Bureau officials suddenly came to inspect the permits, and this left the fishermen unable to accept it.

Soon a large crowd of fishermen gathered on the dock.

"Sanshui, we've already paid the sea‑god money; aren't you going to handle this?"

"Damn your mother! Who has ever taken your sea‑god money?"

"How could they not have collected it? On the first and fifteenth of each month, your men block the dock to collect money, allowing no delay; a day's delay incurs interest!"

"Who would dare to delay? Last time Xiao Yu's grandfather had no money to pay, Scarface Qiang saw Xiao Yu was good‑looking and wanted to forcibly drag her into working as a servant, even trying to force an honest woman into prostitution."

Smack you, Ah Mu! Scarface Strong took your money, go find Scarface Strong! What does this have to do with me? Whoever spouts nonsense again, I'll chop him up and feed him to the fish!!!

Under Zheng Sanshui's warning, the fishermen on the scene fell silent like cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound for a while.

Just as everyone was at a loss, Lin Dongfan stepped down from the boat, followed by Xiao Yu, Lao Ba, Liu Wei, Liu Wu, and others.

Lin Dongfan walked straight up to Huang Tao and asked, "Who issued the order banning everyone from going out to sea to fish?"

You with the surname Fan, this is none of your business, stop meddling! Huang Tao put on an air of section-level authority, his expression stern and cold, utterly disregarding Lin Dongfan.

Lin Dongfan furrowed his brow slightly: "These fishermen in the village rely on going out to sea to fish for their livelihood; if you don't let them go out, what will they eat? What will they drink? Are you going to support them?"

"How they survive is their own business!" Huang Tao replied coldly: "I'm here to check their permits; that's my duty!"

"Their life or death has nothing to do with you?" Lin Dongfan stared at Huang Tao in disbelief: "With such little awareness, I think you should resign voluntarily and step down."

"You want me to step down? Who do you think you are?"

Huang Tao gave a cold smile and warned Lin Dongfan: "I'd like to remind you, you'd better step aside wisely; otherwise, I don't mind charging you with obstructing official duties."

"You're awesome!"

With a faint smile, Lin Dongfan pulled out his phone, preparing to call Han Zhang of the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau.

Zheng Sanshui suddenly chuckled: "You with the surname Fan, you couldn't be thinking of calling for reinforcements, could you? Don't be so naive. In Haishan City, as long as I, Zheng Sanshui, take a stand, who would dare step forward to back you up?"