Chapter 58: Scramble

By the time they left, it was already past seven; fortunately, summer in the south stays light until late.

The jeep slammed on the gas and shot into the darkness, and within a few moments only its blurred taillights were visible.

At the hotel entrance, a balding, slightly stout man happened to witness the scene.

He squinted slightly, his mind filled with that army-green jeep.

That vehicle had been quite famous in E City lately; a little inquiry would reveal it belonged to a certain shipyard, which also possessed military trucks.

Wang Hu didn't know what he was thinking; a moment later, he opened the door of the red Santana.

……

Seven days later, at Dawan Port.

Through the efforts of everyone at the shipyard and within the port, a crude iron shed had finally been erected over the USS Hornet.

From a distance, the original berth looked like a large warehouse, except the floor was water.

The USS Hornet was now completely hidden, with virtually no risk of exposure remaining.

Meanwhile, the buildings within the port had undergone extensive camouflage; scaffolding and mesh fabric were laid over the walls, making them look as if construction were underway.

Tang Wen stood atop a small hill in Dawan; looking down from above, Dawan Port resembled a construction site halfway through building, and as long as one didn't go down, there were no obvious flaws.

Especially after all the lights were switched off, there was no longer any leisurely atmosphere that clashed with the surroundings.

Beside Tang Wen, Chen Yonggui gazed at the scene below and scratched his head.

A few days earlier, he had completed the procedures and qualification certificates for the fishing company and the resort, and incidentally registered two shell companies for Tang Wen.

One was Gaijin Power Technology Co., Ltd., with registered business covering diesel, gasoline, and electric power machinery; currently it had only one employee, General Manager Wu Lao Er, and was dedicated solely to selling diesel engines and gasoline motors.

The other was Gaijin Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., specializing in shipbuilding; Tang Wen served as General Manager, with one employee, Hu Li, as Finance Director; henceforth, all shipbuilding contracts would be accepted in the name of Gaijin Heavy Industry and then subcontracted to Gaijin Shipyard for execution.

As for the company operating the tourist resort, it was the Dawan Village Collective's Dawan Tourism and Culture Company; through collective election, Chen Yonggui was confirmed as General Manager and Tang Wen as Deputy General Manager; they signed a cooperation agreement with Gaijin Heavy Industry to jointly define development zones and equipment funding issues.

Dawan Fisheries was also a fully collective company; Tang Wen was a villager of Dawan Village but signed a cooperation agreement with Gaijin Heavy Industry to purchase, via loan, an ocean-going vessel exceeding 500 tons (hull), estimated at a value of 3 million yuan, with repayment agreed over two years.

Once preliminary allocations for various details were in place, the first thing Dawan Village did was immediately summon a construction team to prepare for road building.

Road construction was needed for tourism development, for the fishing company's cargo transport, and for improving villagers' living conditions; thus, this became a hastily launched project.

The construction team and various pieces of equipment were rumbling into the village today, and the workers who had arrived first were already erecting prefabricated housing.

At that moment, Tang Wen suddenly told Chen Yonggui that he had, through other channels, used prefabricated panels to carry out some preliminary infrastructure construction at the port in advance.

The latter followed him to the summit of Dawan Mountain and nearly thought he had gone to the wrong place.

Inside the original fjord, a fairly large port had appeared at some point; although iron sheet fences and scaffolding were still visible everywhere, it had already taken shape and could be used after just some finishing touches.

Hotels, shops, and roads were all present, but where had those coconut trees and shrubbery come from?!

Just like Gaijin Shipyard, it had mysteriously and suddenly built up a vast area.

Chen Yonggui looked at Tang Wen, a huge question mark in his eyes.

The latter calmly explained:

"This combines ship-based foundations with modern multi-dimensional lifting operations and prefabricated building modules in an organic integration, realizing a rapid construction model for unconventional areas; it incorporates a people-oriented core philosophy, implements the concept of green development, achieves a disruptive revolution over traditional construction techniques, seizes the industry's pain point of time cost, opens up a blue ocean in the construction sector, and ultimately… that's how it was built."

The village head didn't know whether he had heard any of it; finally, he opened his mouth and numbly said:

"Can this construction team build roads for us? I think the roads they build are quite good and quite fast."

"…They only work on coastal operations."

"Then what are those large tanks for?"

"Storing fuel. This port was built as a simulation; in the future, it can likewise serve our fishing boats, combining aesthetics and practicality."

Chen Yonggui extended his thumb and used parallax to gauge the size; those oil tanks were taller than buildings, capable of storing at least twenty to thirty thousand tons of oil—enough to be used up by hundreds of ships.

Words could no longer express his shock; building a Khrushchev-era apartment block might be achievable that quickly, but such a large port…

"Awesome."

The village head expressed his attitude simply and bluntly, then timidly asked:

"Just, next time before building, could you notify the village first? Suddenly launching such a huge project puts a lot of pressure on me."

It was only because Dawan as a whole was C-shaped and concave, and almost no villagers came to this area, that such a large port hadn't been discovered earlier.

"Next time, for sure."

Tang Wen vaguely brushed it off, then continued:

"Build a road along the port's coastline, circle around the mountain, and it will connect to the outside world.

I plan to open some shops and hotels here; later, when more tourists arrive, villagers can be hired to work or open their own stores.

Whether old or young, selling snacks and drinks is better than farming."

Chen Yonggui nodded vigorously; this was exactly what he wanted to say.

Thinking of the future when all villagers could earn money, he also turned his attention to planning how to properly develop the port.

Look at that C-shaped hotel; it looked more imposing than many hotels in the city!

While the two were pondering, the construction site not far away also began to grow lively.

Villagers from every household basically came out to gather around and watch the surveying work of the construction team that had arrived early.

Collective road building was no stranger to the villagers; for example, the cement road from the city to the town had been built back then by mobilizing the villagers together.

Each segment was specifically contracted to a village; without enough trucks and machinery, they relied on human labor to carry cement and compact the foundation by hand.

Now, building roads was not only for the village but also funded by themselves, so naturally they cared even more.

Before long, some villagers strolled over and saw the port, which had changed dramatically; soon, the small hill in the fjord was packed with people.

After some discussion, everyone looked toward where Tang Wen was standing, followed immediately by continuous cheers.

The establishment of the tourism project and the collective fishing company was a major event; the village held meetings every few days, and Tang Wen had appeared a few times.

Although he wasn't very skilled with words, seeing that the planned "tourist port" had been built even before the highway, everyone immediately knew Tang Wen wasn't playing games.

Since he was genuinely working for the village's welfare, Tang Wen's level of acceptance rose sharply.

With road construction and money-making both underway, Tang Wen walked through the village where peers of his age and older all had to call him "brother," and many elders would bring up their past friendship with Old Tang before launching into the death trap of matchmaking.

Just as Tang Wen was planning to slip back to the shipyard, his mobile phone suddenly rang.

Chen Yonggui beside him cast an envious glance; he had only bought a pager, and a mobile phone was truly beyond his hopes.

After Tang Wen picked up the call, hearing Tang Yi's voice left him quite astonished:

"What, clients are fighting over buying our boats?"

"Remember, under no circumstances expose our identity, understand?"

"Understood, Master."

"What Master? Call me Big Brother!"

Chen Ming touched the hair he had spent eighty yuan to perm, trying his best to make his expression look more unruly.

Now, he and rookie officer Song Haoxiang sat in an unmarked off-road vehicle of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau, setting off for Gaijin Shipyard.

Over ten days ago, they learned from smuggling suspect Li Chang that four speedboats remained at the shipyard, so they reported it to their superiors, planning to pay the balance to purchase the batch for confiscation and use as anti-smuggling vessels.

The Anti-Smuggling Bureau finally agreed but refused to purchase in an official capacity.

With Xiangjiang not yet returned, rashly contacting them in an official identity would easily cause unnecessary trouble.

Three hundred thousand yuan was not a large sum; the Anti-Smuggling Bureau simply let Chen Ming take Li Chang's receipt, pay the balance, and tow the boats away.

Before coming, Chen Ming had already arranged a truck in Echeng, so they could just load it up and take it back when the time came.

Now, he and the rookie officer only wanted to finish the mission quickly; every second on the mainland was filled with unknown fear.

Fortunately, the road to Dawan Village was not complicated, but the potholed surface still made Chen Ming drive with his heart in his throat, as there were no repair shops here if the vehicle broke down.

Just then, he saw a red Passat careening wildly in the rearview mirror.

Compared to the cautious hard-core off-road Prado, the Passat, clearly a sedan, sped incredibly fast, directly riding the curb to overtake them right beside.

Wet mud splatters immediately flew up after the rain, splashing into Chen Ming's face through the window.

The latter's eyes instantly turned red; he cursed "country bumpkin" and floored the accelerator, frantically flashing lights and honking the horn to chase the Passat.

However, the Passat drove so fast it was impossible to catch; Chen Ming gritted his teeth and could only barely keep up, finally discovering that the other party was also heading to Dawan Village.

Gaijin Shipyard.

The red Passat drifted to a stop, and four burly men jumped down with a swish.

"Brother Hu, that guy is like a woman; even an off-road vehicle can't catch us!"

Hearing the driver's subordinate's proud tone, Wang Hu, though unconcerned, still admonished:

"That's called a Prado; it costs as much as several Passats, and it bears a Hong Kong plate.

It's probably someone who made their fortune on the mainland; you need at least several million in assets to afford it."

"That must be seven or eight hundred thousand at least?"

The subordinate smacked his lips in admiration, but suddenly pointed behind him and said:

"They actually caught up; their guts are quite big."

As he spoke, the Prado drove straight toward them, only making an emergency stop just before getting close.

Fuming with anger, Chen Ming touched the leather bag at his waist, then pushed the door open, jumped out, and faced the four without the slightest fear.

"@#*%&..."

Chen Ming's Cantonese-style curses were fast and heavily accented, but the driver's subordinate still heard key phrases like "puk gaai zai" and "diu lei lou mui," immediately narrowing his eyes to counterattack.

Wang Hu's side, three subordinates immediately stepped forward; rookie Song Haoxiang also hurried forward to support his master, and both sides immediately began a war of words.

Chen Ming was relatively restrained, thinking two curses and an apology from the other side would suffice, but how were these three subordinates the type to suffer a loss? They didn't apologize as he imagined but kept advancing with signs of violence.

This is bad; they are triad members!

The two anti-smuggling agents immediately grew tense; although they had weapons, they were smuggled in secretly, and once violence broke out, things would become complicated.

Fortunately, the shipyard's security team arrived just in time.

"What are you doing!"

Two or three security team members rushed over; the guard had suddenly reported seeing Zheng Hai's red Passat and immediately sought the security team's help.

Fearing a repeat of the previous incident, the security team members all carried steel pipes.

The truck mounted with a Type 92 was already positioned in the warehouse, ready to charge out and support at any moment.

Seeing the shipyard people, Chen Ming, as if seeing a savior, quickly stepped back and shouted in Cantonese-accented Mandarin:

"I am here to buy boats; we are your clients; these people are causing trouble."

"Nonsense!"

Wang Hu, who had been watching from the sidelines waiting for his subordinates to bully him, suddenly spoke up and then proudly declared:

"We are also clients; how does that make us causing trouble?"

"You are clearly a gang!"

"Who said gangs can't buy boats?"

Chen Ming was momentarily silenced, and just then Tang Yi also rushed over, looking nervously at the red Passat.

But upon discovering no unfamiliar faces, he relaxed his vigilance slightly; after all, he had seen two or three red Passats in Echeng already, and people buying this color were not few.

Hearing the conversation between the two groups, he realized they were both clients coming to buy boats.

Adhering to the principle of customer first, Tang Yi quickly invited both parties to the reception room before calling Tang Wen.

Hearing that clients were fighting, Tang Wen was also somewhat puzzled and rushed back with Chen Yonggui.

"I am truly sorry to have kept everyone waiting."

Since they were clients, Tang Wen's attitude remained very warm; he greeted all six people on both sides first.

Seeing the young Tang Wen, Chen Ming finally felt some sense of familiarity and quickly said:

"You must be Boss Tang, right? I am here to pay the balance. Is your ship finished?"

Chen Ming did not want to stay in this place of barren mountains and evil waters for even a moment; he only wanted to finish the task quickly and return to Xiangjiang.

"The balance?"

Tang Wen was momentarily stunned; he was certain he did not know the other party and could not recall taking any order.

"The receipt is here, and we have brought the money too."

Taking the crumpled receipt, Tang Wen saw at a glance that it was from his own shipyard.

Previously, even for simple small boat transactions, there were no contracts; receipts were used for confirmation.

However, when he looked closely at the contents, he immediately frowned.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Wen looked at Chen Ming and said seriously:

"This receipt is real, but the owner of the goods is Mr. Li Chang. Where did you get it from?"

Hearing the name Li Chang, Tang Yi and Tang Feng, who had been watching the spectacle at the door, immediately perked up their ears, their faces showing the same solemnity.

Li Chang was one of Zheng Hai's men; the ship he came to order then, how could it suddenly be in someone else's hands?

The two instantly raised their guard; after a glance at each other, Tang Feng stayed behind to protect Tang Wen and slowly walked into the house, while Tang Yi retreated outside to prepare to summon the factory guard team.

Chen Yonggui, who did not understand what was happening, was also pulled away by Tang Yi; ignoring the resistance, he walked into the reception room to understand the situation, looking around the people in the room with caution.

Seeing Tang Feng and Chen Yonggui suddenly burst in with unfriendly expressions, Chen Ming secretly thought things were going badly.

He had only come to buy a ship and pay the money; why did it feel like they intended to keep him?

Do mainland shipyards do business like this? Do they like to force sales and purchases?

Just as he was at a loss and preparing to explain, Wang Hu suddenly spoke from the side:

"Li Chang? Is it the four ships Zheng Hai bought?"

Tang Wen immediately turned his head, sizing up Wang Hu, who was full of martial atmosphere; silently retreating behind Tang Feng, he then reached his hand inside his coat.

Since being hijacked, he had been looking for a way to protect himself; finally, he discovered that the pilot's emergency backpack in the Big Horn aircraft still contained a compact M1911.

Whether it was him or Tang Feng, both now carried one on their person at all times, ready for any unforeseen event.