Chapter 1015: Talking About the Fresh-Fish Collector Boat

"Right, if we pass through the county town on the way back, we should pull in and ask—just to show some concern about how things are going. After all, you… no, I mean we were also witnesses; we watched the ship sink with our own eyes. Asking out of curiosity is perfectly fine."

Ye Fu had almost said it was he who reported it, then quickly stopped himself. Old Pei still didn't know they had already salvaged two crates that very night.

Father Pei cut in: "I think it's possible they figured salvaging a sunken ship was impossible, so they gave up. Or maybe they did dive down to look but found nothing—after all, in the dead of winter, going into the water once is no easy feat. With only a rough coordinate and no marker on the sea surface, finding a sunken ship on the seabed isn't that simple."

"No need to guess. We'll just go ask and that'll settle it."

Ye Yaodong couldn't be sure either, but anyway they'd be pulling in to shore tomorrow on the way back, so he'd ask then.

"It's already dark, past seven o'clock. Let's eat first, then drag one last net around here, and after that we'll head quickly toward the city? We need to get all the cargo on the ship to the wholesale market to sell before dawn."

Ye Fu took a look—the cargo was almost finished being moved and stacked—and quickly agreed. "Alright, alright, let's not waste time. One last net, then straight to the city."

"Then let's split up and cast the nets…"

"Oh right, Uncle, after we sell the cargo at the city, let's just head straight back on the boat. All those cheap fish goods on your boat, leave them for me as usual to take back and dry, alright?"

He happened to think of this matter, so he quickly gave them a heads-up in advance.

"Let's do the same as last time—later we'll go to the market and check the selling price of each type of goods, and we'll go by the market price. That way we won't have to haul a pile of cheap goods to the market to sell, which would take the dock tractors several trips, costing us several extra trips of freight fees for them to earn. It also saves us from having the market stall take three points from both buyer and seller."

Father Pei nodded in agreement. Hauling it to the market was selling, hauling it home for him to dry was also selling—no difference. The fuel burned was also less than the tractor freight fees and commission.

Besides, he had just received a favor from Ye Yaodong—how could he refuse? They were in-laws, after all.

"If you want to take it back to dry, isn't that just a word from you? Leave it all for you. The sundries were also collected two days in advance, all stacked on the deck for you. The cargo on the whole boat is almost packed full."

"A bountiful harvest! The name of this boat wasn't chosen wrong—Harvest brings a big haul every day."

"Hehe…"

Ye Yaodong laughed and said to the crew of both boats: "It's dark now. Once we dock and sell the cargo on the boat, I'll give each of you a big red envelope, and then we'll head home happy and joyful."

Everyone smiled and politely replied.

"No rush, no rush. We can talk about it after we get home."

"That's right, take your time. We're not in a hurry…"

"Let's talk about it when we get back. Right now, cast the nets quickly, then dock—that's the main thing. The red envelope can wait a bit…"

"Tomorrow, after we sell the cargo at the city, I'll get on the boat and give them to you." Ye Yaodong said one more firm sentence, then used a bamboo pole to push off the Harvest, separating the two boats by a little distance.

Ye Fu also went back to the wheelhouse to steer.

The two boats also began to move. The two points of light seen from afar on the sea surface gradually drew apart, then each sailed on its own, only echoing each other from afar, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

Ye Yaodong also went to check the boxes that had been moved over. Almost every box had been opened—probably Uncle Pei also wanted to confirm what was inside, whether every box was the same.

He also casually spot-checked three boxes. One box, as usual, only had 5 jars of caviar with slight differences in the labels.

He didn't know whether Uncle Pei had noticed or paid attention when he opened the boxes to check.

Probably not. If he had, he would have mentioned it during the chat just now—something like, why are a few jars different?

Anyway, whether he knows or not, when the time comes and all the boxes of cargo are packaged and handed to him for handling, I'll casually mention it and have him pick them out.

Same old saying: so many people on the boat, lots of eyes and mouths. Once back in the village, there will still be people who love to brag, saying they salvaged cargo from a sunken ship. He also casually mentioned the value of the caviar that night, so that will definitely be brought out to brag about too.

After finishing his spot-check, Ye Yaodong put the fish cans back, neatly arranged. There was no need to check the rest—he had long known in his heart they should all be the same; he was just confirming just now.

After finishing, he went to eat. The meals on the boat had long been prepared; he just hadn't had time to eat, so he let the others eat first.

Two people were also assigned to help cast the nets little by little, while the other two went to eat first, so they could take turns later.

Once Ye Yaodong finished eating, he swapped with his father.

Ye Fu felt sorry for him having gone into the water several times during the day without proper rest, afraid his body couldn't take it and he wouldn't last through the night, having to dock and sell cargo again at dawn. After the meal, he went to take over again, letting him go back to the cabin to rest.

He didn't put on airs. Going ashore to sell the cargo still required him to go to the wholesale market. Once at the market selling goods, it wouldn't be sold that quickly before dawn. He wasn't made of iron either—he had to rest when it was time.

A few days ago, after returning from sea, he hadn't brought the blankets home to sun. Later, A-Qing nagged him to go to the boat the next day to bring them back, but he was too lazy to go to the boat to move them, so he left them there.

Well, these past few days the blankets have had a damp, briny smell, and he's gotten a bit disgusted with them.

After returning to the village tomorrow, he reminded himself to remember to bring all the blankets from the bunks back to sun.

Washing them was out of the question—the workers weren't that particular, nor that fond of being clean. Being able to sun them was already good enough.

In the dead of winter, there was no washing machine at home, and he felt for his wife. Their own blankets, as long as they weren't peed on by the kids, might not get washed even once in a whole winter—and he was supposed to wash blankets for the other crew members every few days? Dream on.

After returning, if these goods really end up being offloaded through Lin Ji, he could go to his place to pick up a washing machine—perfect.

As he thought about this, hearing the sounds of the two crew members next to him coming back to sleep, he closed his eyes.

This sleep was half-awake, half-asleep; he only slept a little over five hours. Hearing the sounds of the other two getting up—yawning and farting—he woke up too. In truth, he hadn't been sound asleep at all.

After the two got up and woke him on the way, he sat up and rubbed his temples.

The roar of the machines, except for the moment he went into the water during the day and when he was dealing with the fresh-fish collector boat, hadn't stopped these past few days.

He couldn't help but sigh again—being a hardworking person is hard too. Being a slacker is more comfortable, but it's hard on the people around you.

He felt for the flashlight placed on the inner side of the boat, turned it on, and checked his watch—it was already 1 o'clock. No wonder they woke him; they must be almost at the dock.

After getting dressed in the blankets and going out, he urinated while looking at the brightly lit, busy dock in the distance. The timing was just right—he had woken up at the perfect moment.

Not many fishing boats docked at this hour. After all, boats like his were limited in number in the city, and they didn't all happen to dock together. But there were quite a few boats busy preparing to go out to trawl at night and return during the day.

He saw a bustling, noisy scene with quite a few people coming and going—some pushing carts, some carrying baskets and buckets back and forth onto boats, and some carts refueling and adding ice to the fishing boats.

After their fishing boat docked, they were just worrying about not seeing any tractors, debating whether to temporarily hire a few carts to transport the goods. But the distance wasn't close, and a cart could only carry a very limited amount per trip—just a few hundred jin.

Their boat had several dozen tons of cargo. Although they were leaving more than half of the sundries to take back and dry, it still wasn't something a cart could finish in one or two trips.

He and Uncle Pei walked onto the dock, chatting as they went, thinking about whether to ask the local fishermen on the dock about tractors, when they heard the sound of a tractor approaching from afar. In a short while, it appeared on the dock.

They also breathed a sigh of relief. A tractor might not be able to finish it in one trip, let alone those tiny carts.

But one tractor alone wasn't enough. The moment they saw the tractor appear, they hurried over to talk, and after asking, they learned that several more tractors would arrive soon.

"We just delivered a few loads of goods to the wholesale market. Before you, there was a fishing boat that had just docked. Our four tractors took the whole boat's cargo in one trip to the wholesale market. We just got back to the dock."

"I was just saying, why didn't I see any tractors on the dock today? Turns out they were all delivering goods to the market."

"Fishing boats have been docking on and off from the early hours every day. Of course I can't miss this business—I'm basically always here, unless I'm delivering goods, but I always come back quickly…"

While Ye Yaodong was negotiating the price with him, the sound of tractors gradually rang out one after another—they had all returned. Now there was no worry about not being able to haul all the cargo.

After agreeing on a price with them, each of the two boats was assigned two tractors for hauling cargo. Per trip, each tractor counted as one yuan, equivalent to a fuel cost of fifty cents, so the tractor driver netted fifty cents.

His cargo, accumulated over three days at over twenty tons, had over ten tons worth selling. Two tractors definitely couldn't finish it in four or five trips. Fortunately, most of it was being kept to take home; the remaining, more valuable cargo only needed two tractor trips.

This money was easy to earn too—basically, as long as one fishing boat docked, a tractor could earn about two or three yuan. (The cargo he kept to take home for drying didn't count.)

If five or six fishing boats docked in a day, one could earn about ten yuan a day, which would be three or four hundred a month, and three or four thousand a year.

No other work needed—just waiting at the dock every day for fishing boats to dock and hauling cargo to the wholesale market. That alone was enough for the tractor to earn its keep. Picking up a few odd jobs on the side, one tractor would pay for itself within a year.

The money was easy and respectable to earn; the only catch was having to buy a tractor, which was a bigger upfront investment. But the returns were big too—mainly, it was steady work for the next twenty years, a sure thing with no risk of loss.

In this era, opportunities really were everywhere. As long as one was willing to work, anything could make money, far better than farming.

Only farming couldn't make money; everything else could. Small money was easy to earn; big money depended on fate, on luck.

Still, being able to earn small money now and slowly accumulating capital meant things would surely be fine in the future. Just don't be short-sighted and think that knowing how to drive a tractor means one can steadily earn a living for life, enough to retire on.

Ye Yaodong watched the workers hauling cargo while he smoked on the side. With nothing to do, he even calculated a rough account for the tractor driver.

After seeing a truck fully loaded, he called a man over, had him sit up front with him, and they rode along with the cargo to the market.

Once they reached the market, they unloaded the cargo inside, then sent someone with the tractor driver back to the dock to continue hauling, while he stayed behind in the market to sell.

Last trip, there were more tractors at the dock, and both boats' cargo was hauled in one trip. Today, the boats must have docked earlier, and some drivers hadn't arrived at the dock for work yet.

After Ye Yaodong entered the market, he sold goods inside and didn't have time to step out to the shop to greet his father-in-law. It wasn't until after dawn that the goods were sold off batch by batch. The Harvest had a bit more cargo this time and didn't sell as fast as his.

He greeted them briefly, then took his own boatmen out first, asking Lin Fu to find him outside the shop after he finished selling the goods.

Inside the market the lights were blazing bright; outside, the sky was already light, though there was no sun. The wind outside was fierce again, the surroundings open with no buildings to block it. The moment he stepped out, the cold wind made him shiver.

"Oh~ It's already March, and the wind blowing over is still cold. Freezing to death."

"Heh, it hasn't started raining yet recently, so it hasn't warmed up. One spring rain brings one bout of warmth—shouldn't be many days now, it'll warm up soon enough. It's mid-month now, Qingming is almost here; once Qingming passes, it'll get warm."

"Ah, pfft, pfft, pfft… rain? No way, don't let it rain. Better stay cold, let the cold wind blow a few more days."

Ye Yaodong immediately changed his tune upon hearing that. He still had to haul two boatloads of cargo home to dry into fish when he got back—if it rained, what was he supposed to do? Still, after this batch was dried, he couldn't keep drying for a while; he'd have to pause, just in case the spring rains really did come in a stretch.

Other times he didn't know, but around Qingming it always rained—otherwise, how would there be a poem that goes "During Qingming, drizzling rain falls endlessly"?

He'd forgotten about that. Otherwise, this batch of cargo shouldn't have been kept to take home for drying; it should have been sold off directly at the market. Just keep the sundries for drying.

A miscalculation!

Hopefully Old Man Heaven would bless them with four or five more sunny days.

He pressed his palms together and bowed twice toward the sky, muttering a couple of lines—careless words, don't take offense, don't take offense—then quickly put his hands away and slipped them into his pockets.

The boatman chuckled. "It shouldn't rain these next few days. The Spring Equinox isn't until next week; after the Spring Equinox, the weather warms up, and then the rain will increase too."

"Uncle, you're quite something? You've got the solar terms down so precisely?"

"I'm old, no other skills. But the solar terms through the year—what to do on what day, how things will be—those are all firmly lodged in my heart. Just right, we're heading back today. These next couple of days, whatever can be turned over in the fields should be turned over; whatever needs sowing should be planted while there's time. Once the rain comes and moistens things, they'll sprout faster."

Ye Yaodong nodded. Spring rain is as precious as oil—he knew that.

"Let's go, grab an early breakfast, then head to my shop. Uncle Pei probably won't be done that fast."

As usual, he packed up thirty buns to eat and take away—but this time, he paid for them.

Seeing the couple's expressions, both weary and joyful, he knew they were suffering and happy at once. Where has making money ever not been hard? As long as hard work earns money, anyone would gladly bear it.

What was most feared was working hard and still not making money.

The couple were extremely busy; people coming to buy buns never stopped. Both wished they could grow eight hands. Ye Yaodong didn't disturb them—after buying the buns, he left. Seeing how busy they were, there was no time for small talk.

The dried fish shop, by contrast, wasn't as bustling as the breakfast stall. The few people inside weren't surprised to see him arrive.

A Guang had come to the city a few days earlier and mentioned it to Lin Fu and Lin Mu. The day after he left, the whole boat would head out to sea, so around this time they should be back from sea to sell their catch.

Lin Fu, as usual, pulled him aside to settle accounts.

"This setup is quite convenient now. Every time you come back from sea, you dock at the city, sell the catch, and settle the accounts at the same time. Saves me from holding too much cash on hand—it's not safe."

"Mm, yeah, this is pretty convenient. Settle the accounts and take the money straight back."

Still, he had to stop by the shipyard later to ask about the cost of building a fresh-catch boat.

After settling accounts with his father-in-law, Ye Yaodong also started chatting with A Guang, who happened to be planning to head back with them.

"I see this isn't just convenient for me, it's convenient for you too. Whenever we dock at the city, we can give you a ride back as well."

"Just happens to be on the way, so I'll go back and check on the kids. Can't just leave them unattended. Besides, Ye Ye Huimei is still far from giving birth, so I don't need to be by her side the whole time."

"What month is she due?"

"She said herself it's probably late June, early July."

"The solar calendar? Or the lunar calendar?"

"Solar calendar. Lunar calendar would be mid-to-late May."

"That's still fine, then—five more months to go. Go back and tell my mother, so she has an idea in mind early."

A Guang nodded too. "The timing works out just right—around when we set out to catch jellyfish. Hopefully she goes into labor early after full term, so it doesn't hold things up."

"Besides, the child is the most important thing, no matter what."

"That's for sure."

"Didn't the villagers get suspicious?"

"No. Early last year, your father-in-law's whole family came over, then your brother-in-law came to open the bun shop. This year, we came over under the banner of helping our daughter and son-in-law, which is perfectly normal—no one in the village suspected a thing. Plus, we all come over to help just as dawn breaks and head back to sleep when it's nearly dark. We're basically never in the village. Even if someone came to check, they wouldn't run into us."

"That's good then…"

The two squatted at the doorway chatting for a while, then Lin Fu arrived. They hopped on the tractor together and headed for the dock.

However, upon learning that he still needed to go to the city's shipyard, Lin Fu planned to drive the Harvest back first, one step ahead.

After all, once they reached the county town, the Dongsheng would have to dock there again, and he didn't have the leisure to keep waiting around.

Going back a step earlier meant resting sooner, unloading sooner, and letting the workshop start work ahead of time—avoiding the chaos of both boats docking at once with too much cargo. A large batch of cargo on the Harvest still needed to be weighed.

A Guang, however, stayed behind to keep him company, planning to take his boat back a bit later.

He said he also wanted to stop by the city's shipyard to check on the status of the few boats he'd previously ordered—when could the first one be delivered?

He placed the order almost half a year ago and still hadn't gone to look at it.

Although they were both in the city, he had only come to the city after the New Year and hadn't been settled for long, so he hadn't run around everywhere.

Having a companion, Ye Yaodong was of course happy too, saving him from going alone without even someone to back him up and help speak for him.

The two stood by the ship's rail looking at the sea, chatting idly as the cold wind blew.

"You just ordered a whole pile of boats and haven't even started delivery yet, and now you want to order another fresh-fish collection boat. Did our parents voice any opinion?"

"My mother doesn't know, and we didn't ask them to put up the money, so what opinion would they voice? Am I a three-year-old child who has to let him make all the decisions and get their approval for everything? As long as my wife and I discuss it between ourselves, that's enough. They're old and don't understand this stuff, they only think about stability, so we don't need to bother with them."

"Third Sister-in-law is pretty easy to talk to though."

"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog; sling a carrying pole and walk on. I'm the head of the household, so of course she has to listen to me. The whole family's money is earned by me too. What I say goes."

A Guang laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.

"You've got guts? Then go back and say that in front of Third Sister-in-law."

"Hmph, wait till we get back and I'll show you my standing in the family."

"When the time comes, before Third Sister-in-law even says anything, my mother-in-law will spray saliva everywhere and give you a good scolding first."

"Jealous, are you? That's still your mother. I can let you take the scolding first."

"I'm the son-in-law. A mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law only grows more pleased the longer she looks. Honestly though, do you think that fresh-fish collection boat has potential?"

"Of course, but it also depends on how many fishing boats there are to connect with, and on your connections. Ask around first before deciding. Anyway, we haven't decided yet."

……

The shipyard was also built along the sea area. When Ye Fu was driving the boat, he had already asked the old fishermen on shore how to get to the shipyard and how to steer the fishing boat there.

Then, following other people's directions, he slowly made his way along the edge of the coastline, and found it in just over ten minutes.

The two got off the boat and headed straight for the shipyard to speak with the person in charge. The person in charge at the big factory certainly knew A Guang — he was the young fellow who had ordered four boats in one go, of course that left an impression.

Ye Yaodong's thick skin and smooth tongue also left a bit of an impression. Although he hadn't ordered a boat, he had come here several times.

He got straight to the point and directly said he wanted to order his first fresh-fish collection boat, asking the factory to give him a quote. The boat outside was still waiting there, waiting to take him home; he had no time to dawdle here.

"A fresh-fish collection boat doesn't need the equipment of a trawler, but it's not much cheaper than a trawler either. After all, it needs more storage space. And stronger lighting equipment needs to be installed at the top of the wheelhouse and on the mast and such, to facilitate nighttime purchasing operations."

"The crew's living quarters are concentrated in the stern and superstructure, and there needs to be a certain number of spare berths — there's no difference there. But the fish hold needs good insulation all around; when used for fresh-fish collection, the hold temperature must be kept at 0°C ± 2°C."

"There also needs to be an ice storage room, a freshwater tank, a diesel storage compartment, and so on. Basically, it's just swapping the trawling equipment for what a fresh-fish collection boat needs."

Ye Yaodong nodded in agreement. "I know, I understand all that, so just give me a quote, for my reference."

A Guang also chimed in: "Quote us a lower price, huh? We'll ask around at several shipyards to see which one has the lowest price and fastest delivery. And we're all old acquaintances here — I've already ordered several boats from you, and I even brought a friend over specially. You've got to give us a real price."

"We all know that. We do everything by the rules; this isn't our private factory. You still haven't said how big you want to build it?"

"Over 30 meters is fine. Help me figure out what length would be more cost-effective, and help me design the storage space inside too, calculate it out for me, will you?"

"Alright, let's go to the office then. I'll calculate it for you first, and we'll chat in detail about your personal requirements and the price limit you can handle."

"Sure, but make it quick — we're in a hurry to get back."

"Well, since you want to order a boat, we definitely need to communicate in detail before we can have a quote for reference. If you went to someone else to order a boat, you couldn't rush it either — you have to spell out the requirements in detail before they can quote you."

Ye Yaodong gave a couple of perfunctory responses.

"Young people nowadays are getting harder and harder to read, one more impressive than the next. To think they don't even need an elder to bring them — they can come ask for quotes all on their own. That's really impressive."

"Am I young?" Ye Yaodong stroked his beard, which he hadn't shaved for a week. With his stubbly, weathered face, how could anyone tell he was young?

"Heh, just didn't shave. Who's that particular on a boat? Looking at you, all fair and tender, and the way you talk, you can't be that old."

The person in charge smiled and led them into the office. "Sit down, let's have a couple cups of tea and chat in detail."

They really knew how to enjoy themselves — the office even had tea sets prepared, for boiling and brewing tea.

People from Min Province just can't do without tea.

"My only requirement is that all the storage spaces be a bit bigger. There's nothing else. It's a fresh-fish collection boat, so of course it's about capacity. And then there's the fuel consumption ratio — you've got to calculate that for me. How many meters, what's the load-bearing capacity? I need to have a number in my head."

"Then let me first tell you about the fresh-fish collection boats we've built here, what lengths they are, and give you an introduction."

"Okay."

The three sat in the office and talked for over an hour, scribbling all over a sheet of paper like ghost drawings with a fountain pen, filling it with all kinds of requirements and quotes, as well as information on other fresh-fish collection boats. One sheet of paper was written and drawn on, packed full.

Ye Yaodong and A Guang looked it over again and again. "We'll take this draft back and think it over, and also discuss it with my dad. In a few days, if we come to the city, we'll get back to you."

"Alright, that's as it should be. A big purchase like a boat certainly needs the elders at home to agree too. Once there's no objection, then we can finalize it."

"Thanks a lot for taking up so much of your time."

"This kind of preliminary consultation work is necessary too — it's not a bother. If you're in a hurry to get back, then go back first and discuss it, then come back. As for delivery, the earliest would still be the end of the year. Not many people order this kind of big boat — the most popular ones are still those trawlers of about ten-plus meters. Oh right, the ones your friend over there ordered several of."

The two nodded.

"Then we'll be off first."

…………