Chapter 1016: Aguang Prepares to Return

While they were ashore, everyone on the boat took the chance to go back to the cabin and sleep.

The fishing boat was docked at the shore, the engine was off, and in this rare quiet, everyone cherished it, seizing every spare moment to rest. After all, the boat operated 24 hours a day, and the time each person could take turns sleeping was very limited, and none of them could rest well.

No one knew how long the two of them would be at the shipyard, so even after they had been off the boat for over an hour, nearly two hours, no one came down to urge them.

After they finished and came back aboard, the engine started up, and only then did someone groggily wake up, but then turned over and went back to sleep. After all, no work was needed on the return trip. Only Ye's father stubbornly got up and came out to take a look.

"Did you settle it? Did they say how much? How many meters?"

Ye Yaodong handed the draft paper in his hand to his father. "Length 34 meters, width 6.6 meters, 140 tons, the block…"

Ye's father had originally taken the draft paper and turned it around several times without understanding it. Hearing his words, his hands trembled and the draft paper flew away.

"Whoa—son, the paper, the paper…"

Ye Yaodong also anxiously stood up. Luckily the fishing boat was moving forward and the wind was blowing from one side; the paper had just flown up when the wind pressed it against the windshield in front.

Ye's father hurriedly grabbed the paper down again and held it in his hands. Ye Yaodong quickly snatched it away, complaining angrily.

"What are you doing? I hand it to you to look at, and you can't even hold it steady. It almost flew into the sea. There's all sorts of writing and drawing on it, a whole pile of specifications and supporting facilities. If you lost it, by then we'd have forgotten what supporting facilities we'd agreed on. When we get to the county shipyard later, we'd still have to go ask whether the price of the same supporting facilities can be haggled down a bit."

"No… Dongzi… this… this boat is this expensive?"

Ye's father had just been stunned by the price he quoted, so frightened that his hands shook and he couldn't hold the paper steady, which is why it flew away.

The boat had just set off, and he hadn't been woken clear-headed by the sea breeze, but was instead startled into alertness by the quoted price.

"Yes, it's that expensive."

"Why does it cost that much? 38,000 — that's more than double the price of our boat…"

"It's big."

"I've seen other people's fish-collecting boats, and none of them cost that much? That guy must be cheating us. Who can afford it? A fish-collecting boat doesn't fish, it just delivers supplies…"

"The storage space is big, Dad. Although it doesn't have equipment like net haulers or cranes, it has a cold storage room and an ice storage room. That technology isn't cheap to begin with, even more expensive than those machines. Also, the boat I got the quote from, he set it at around 34 meters for us, saying this size is enough. It can dock with five or six fishing boats at the same time without a problem, and it has a load-bearing capacity of 140 tons."

The load-bearing capacity on his current boat was already over ten tons, not counting the nearly ten thousand jin of cargo sold in the morning. It originally had over twenty tons — that was nearly three days' worth, including the miscellaneous goods that hadn't been dumped these past few days.

In the past two and a half days, the catch brought up, apart from crabs and useless debris like jellyfish and seaweed, had never been dumped back into the sea at all. It had all accumulated on the boat — over 10,000 jin a day, nearly 20,000 jin, and over two and a half days that was 50,000 to 60,000 jin.

The catch a single fishing boat accumulates over two days, with good luck, can reach 40,000 to 50,000 jin. That's equivalent to over twenty tons. If it docks with three fishing boats at the same time, that's over 70 tons.

Adding the boat's own weight, plus the weight of the equipment and storage on board — ice, fuel, fresh water, and so on — the weight has to be increased by another several tens of tons.

Without over a hundred tons, how would an ordinary fish-collecting boat dare to dock with that many boats at the same time? If they did, they'd have to rush back and forth collecting, and hand the cargo over to partners on shore to sell.

It's just that there's a lot of cargo now; when there's less later, it can dock with even more boats.

"You said the fish-collecting boat that docked with us a few days ago — that one was originally a trawler released from the fishing brigade and converted. The conversion fee must not have been cheap either, and the storage space had to be enlarged as well."

"Although that boat looks shabby, it has most of what it should have, with extras added. It's just that the outside looks a bit crude. But looking at its hardware equipment, it'll have to be phased out in a few years."

"If I'm ordering a boat, it definitely has to be good for decades. Think about it — if this trawler sells over 1,000 yuan worth of cargo to the fish-collecting boat every two days, not counting the deductions for supplies, just talking about the money from the sale, however much it sells for, the fish-collecting boat earns the equivalent."

"Originally, a fish-collecting boat buys at sea at about half to 60 percent of the wholesale price, collecting one boat's cargo every two days. Let's not say a lot — it earns 1,000, right? Three boats, isn't that 3,000? Subtract a few hundred for fuel back and forth, even adding labor, ice consumption, or other costs, counting generously, it can still make 2,000."

"Not to mention the miscellaneous goods collected along the way, which we can also bring home and put to use. That income is on top of everything else. Even if it uses a bit more fuel, it's worth it — it's just picked up along the way anyway."

"Go one trip, come back and dock to sell two days' worth of cargo, then go collect again. That also gives the fishing boats a two-day storage cycle. Making 2,000 yuan per trip — wouldn't that pay for itself in a few months? It's not that expensive."

"And, when the time comes, we can also charge a bit more for our miscellaneous goods to the Harvest, and the boat our three brothers are partners in doesn't have to dump them back into the sea. That counts as extra gain. They'd definitely be happy too — being able to make a bit more money. Which ordinary fish-collecting boat would want this junk?"

"This is also a kind of perk, and it saves us from having the Harvest keep the miscellaneous goods back for us now, taking advantage of this. Some people haven't said it out loud, but in their hearts they must have some thoughts about it."

For example, his Ye Ye Ersao had mentioned it before — this is the trouble with having too many shareholders. So with the fish-collecting boat, he only planned to run it himself, his own Yiyantang, do whatever he wants, without having to listen to others' nonsense.

"It shuts everyone up, and it lets the other boats earn a bit more hard-earned money. Although our buying price stays the same as other fish-collecting boats, this counts as extra income."

When the time comes, if several of their boats are all operating in the same sea area, the fish-collecting boat doesn't have to search the vast ocean — here finding one boat, there finding one — to collect cargo, saving a lot on fuel. The benefits to him are huge too; he can't let outsiders get that advantage.

Ye's father listened to his watertight calculations and actually felt it made quite a bit of sense. The fishing boats were already theirs, no need to pull strings everywhere to find them — getting one fish-collecting boat could directly dock with them.

Counting their own, they now had three boats, and Ah Dong held a sizable stake in all of them. Better to earn the money themselves than let other fish-collecting boats earn it — the profit here was huge.

The key was that once the miscellaneous goods brought home along the way were put to use, the two workshops at home could have work every day, no need to wait until the fishing boats docked, work for a few days, then stop again. The employment rate for the village women could be greatly increased, and it could also bring a bit of benefit to the fellow villagers.

Not a bit of waste, and the workshops could earn more money — multiple benefits in one.

"You calculate pretty well, but have you thought about putting out that much money all at once…"

"This is all upfront investment; it can pay for itself. Are you expecting to get something for nothing? The bigger you go, the bigger the investment, and of course the bigger the return."

Ye's father was left speechless by his calculations. If they really got a fish-collecting boat, it would indeed earn a lot — all their own fishing boats docking with it, very stable, no changes in the fishing boats. Looking at the daily catch, finding other fish-collecting boats wouldn't lose money either.

"Then we still have to ask around more, see if the price can be pushed down a bit more. We also have to ask at the county shipyard — our small area might be a bit cheaper…"

"Getting such a big boat all at once, you really have some nerve. The boats you buy are bigger and more expensive than the last."

Ye Yaodong grinned and quipped, "People have to look forward. Once you've got money, shouldn't you think about having even more? The money's right there in front of you to earn — if you don't earn it, you're Wang Ba. A person has to have some progress, some pursuit."

"This is more than just 'some progress.' You go bigger every year. The year before last it was just a small wooden boat, last year it was already a trawler. Last year you got several boats, and at the end of the year the Dongsheng was delivered. This year you want a fish-collecting boat. The stunts you're pulling are getting more and more impressive…"

Ye Yaodong was amused by what his father said.

It really was true — the boats got bigger every year, and the stunts kept multiplying.

"So Dad, what kind of boat do you think I can get next year?"

Ye's father rolled his eyes at him. "Look at you, all high and mighty. Am I a fortune teller or an exorcist? Can I calculate it clearly for you and tell you what boat you'll be getting next year?"

He rubbed his chin. "I think maybe next year or the year after I could get a steel fishing boat — if they have one. In a few more years I could get a speedboat, and later a yacht…"

"Stop dreaming. What are you talking about? It's broad daylight and you're already starting to daydream."

He hadn't even mentioned an aircraft carrier, and already he's dreaming?

"Just wait for me to get rich, and I'll bring you along to enjoy the good life."

"Yeah right~" Ye's father retorted irritably. "The more stunts you pull, the more tired I get. I have to work my tail off following behind you guys. I can't even retire. After I'm done with your side, I still have to work for your eldest brother and Ye Ye Erge, and then for you. I bet even at 80 I still won't be able to retire — I'll still have to watch over the workshop for you."

"Makes sense. In the future the workshop will really have to count on you to guard the gate."

"Just focus on driving your boat."

Before Ye's father left, he craned his neck to look at the paper Ye Yaodong had placed on the control panel, held down by a makeshift ashtray.

"I don't even know what you wrote, all that scribbling and drawing… can't tell which way is up, which way is down…

Ye Yaodong pretended he hadn't heard his father's muttering. Luckily he was literate, so everything written on the paper was clear to him, and besides, it had all been explained, written, and drawn right in front of him.

He had dawdled at the city shipyard for a while, and by the time he set off it was already noon. By the time he sailed back to the town's shipyard, it was already past three.

Figuring the county shipyard was right nearby, he decided to go straight there first to ask about prices. There probably wouldn't be time to see Director Chen today—he reckoned by the time he left the shipyard it would already be dark.

But he wasn't in any rush either. The crates on the boat could be carried home first and stacked in the yard; he could go find Director Chen tomorrow to ask around. No need to rush it all at once.

He also didn't know if Lin Ji had been home lately. He'd weighed five thousand catties of goods just a week ago, so he was probably out running around too.

This fellow was an even busier man than him—to find him you had to rely on luck.

Factory Manager Wu now greeted him with the brightest, warmest smile. Judging by spending power, he could count as a VIP big client.

Ye Yaodong got straight to the point and stated his purpose, then rattled off the whole pitch he'd worked out at the city shipyard, listing the requirements and asking for a quote.

Factory Manager Wu had originally goggled when he heard him say he wanted to order a 34-meter fish-collection boat, and only came back to himself after hearing the long string of requirements and specs for equipment come spilling out.

"So you've already been somewhere else asking about this? That's why you don't need me to explain and just went straight to setting down the equipment requirements?"

"Right. I was just coming back with the trawl net and passed through the city, and I already asked around at the city shipyard. But I figured, we're old acquaintances, you've built plenty of boats for me, we know each other better—of course I can't let the good money flow to outsiders. I had to come ask you too, see if the equipment package you arrange is reasonable, whether it can be optimized a bit, and then have you give me a quote so I can see who's more conscientious. Of course, the most important thing is the delivery date. After all, your shipyard is quite a bit smaller…"

"Easy to say, easy to say. I can have the workers pull day and night shifts. Once we've settled it, let's sit down and take our time. I'll have to write down what you've said, then list it out and put it together before I can give you a quote."

Ye Yaodong and Aguang went into the office with him as well.

The three of them inside chatted for a long while, writing and drawing just the same, until the sky was growing dark. Only then did he once again take a piece of draft paper covered in scribbles and drawings, fold it up, and tuck it into his pocket.

"I'll go back and think it over. The thing is, your delivery date won't do."

"Can't be helped. The yard is only so big. All our people are already running three shifts back to back—they've never stopped. We've been hiring more and more over the past two years, and efficiency has actually gone up quite a bit."

"Hey, my eldest nephew is fifteen now too. My father's always had it on his mind to have him learn a trade early. After all, he's the eldest grandson, and the old man has always felt that with a trade in hand you'll never starve. He's in his second year of junior high now, and he doesn't really look like the studious type. Could you take him on as an apprentice here, let him learn for a few years?"

"Huh?"

"Aren't you short on hands? I'm sending one over to you. Didn't you say you were planning to start hiring again?"

Factory Manager Wu thought it over and didn't shut the idea down completely. "I can consider it."

Generally, when old master craftsmen take on apprentices they take their own relatives. Craftsmen live by their craft—how could they casually pass it on to outsiders? Their big factory was of course even harder to get into. Officially it's an apprenticeship, but there's a wage attached too, which is far better than being an apprentice to some random master.

They all say teaching an apprentice starves the master. Being an apprentice to someone isn't easy if you actually want to learn anything. But going into a big factory, you really can learn properly, and once you finish your training you can stay on at the factory directly. That's no different from an iron rice bowl.

"Alright, I'll go back and think it over too."

"Come by again tomorrow. We'll go over the details then. One trip definitely isn't enough to get the full picture. If there are any details or anything else you're not clear on, come by tomorrow and we'll talk it through. Today was too rushed—I can only give you a quote based on the plan I can put together. Who knows, we might be able to optimize it a bit more and bring the price down a bit more too."

"Sure, sure, sure, of course. A thirty-something-meter boat can't be decided rashly. Talking through the plan a few more times is normal. Think about my eldest nephew coming to work here too—see what you can do for me…"

Ye Ye Chenghai the kid does look a bit unruly now, but once he's grown up he'll be plenty hard-working and enduring. He's not cut out for school anyway. If he can find work, better to get him into the factory early than have him run off to grow seaweed later.

But he's already in his second year of junior high now. If he doesn't read one more year and doesn't get his junior high diploma, that'd be a shame.

Or when he comes by again tomorrow, he could bring it up—have the kid come in every weekend to learn and help out, no wages needed, and then officially join the factory after graduating junior high.

Then later, when there's another chance to study, get him a high school diploma. After a few more years, use his skills to get into a special technical college and get a university degree. By then he'd be a proper technical talent.

Ye Yaodong saw it was already dark outside and didn't linger. He agreed to come back tomorrow, then got straight on the boat and left first.

Ye Fu, as always, came over at the first opportunity. It wasn't that he didn't want to get off the boat—he had to watch the boat. He didn't feel comfortable handing it over to the other deckhands.

"How'd it go? Any cheaper?"

"Cheaper, yes, but his delivery date can't match the city's. The city one can deliver by the end of this year; his would only be scheduled for after the middle of next year."

"That's way too late. If it's scheduled for the middle of next year, wouldn't we lose over half a year unable to earn? The loss over that half year is huge too."

"That's true, but the boat the three of us brothers are going in on together also won't be ready until the middle of next year. If the fish-collection boat arrives earlier, even just running two boats, we'll still earn a bit less."

"That's still earning."

Ye Yaodong nodded. "Let's talk about it when we get back. Let's sail home first. It's pitch dark now and we don't have time to go into detail. We'll come back tomorrow and talk it over."

"See if some of the equipment, or other bits and pieces, can be optimized. See if anything needs changing. You can't just open your mouth and decide on the spot."

"Of course we have to be careful. This isn't some small boat—the whole village together might not be able to build one. Only a fishing company could afford it."

"You're wrong, Dad. My first trawler was the one Uncle Lin Jingye introduced me to—bought it from his friend. He'd just retired the boat and was pooling funds to build a thirty-something-meter one."

"That's different. That guy probably had a whole bunch of people going in on a boat together. Otherwise, who could come up with tens of thousands of yuan on their own? You're the exception—you're doing it solo."

Aguang, listening from the side, said in surprise, "Dongzi's going to do it solo? Not bringing anyone in as a partner?"

Ye Yaodong also realized he didn't seem to have told Aguang he was planning to go it alone.

He quickly said, "Yeah, I'm planning to do it solo. I've got enough capital, so I don't need to find partners."

"It's not a question of capital—it's a question of risk. Bringing in more people to partner up spreads the risk. You wouldn't have to put in so much or shoulder so much risk on your own."

"I think it's fine. More people, more opinions. I've already gone in on several fishing boats with partners, and settling the accounts every month is a real pain. If I add a fish-collection boat to the mix, that's another set of accounts to settle—too much hassle."

"I don't want every single boat I run to have a pile of shareholders, and then have to settle a pile of accounts. That gives me a headache. If I do it solo, whatever I earn, I just bring it home and hand it to Ah Qing, let her do the books, and I don't have to worry about it. Otherwise, every boat I'd have to go settle accounts for myself—by month's end I'd be dead busy."

Aguang thought it over and felt he had a point.

"You've got quite a few boats…"

"Right? I still have to go out to sea to fish, and at home there are two workshops, plus a shop. Just settling accounts is enough to give me a splitting headache."

"You could hire a bookkeeper."

"It's not at that point yet. Letting Ah Qing handle it is fine. Women are best at keeping accounts."

……

Ye Fu saw the two of them chatting and hurried back to the wheelhouse to sail home. It was already pitch dark, and by the time they got back it would probably be eight o'clock.

Ye Yaodong also wanted to quickly tell Aguang he was going solo, so Aguang wouldn't listen through the whole thing and decide to buy in for a share.

He really did feel that going into partnership was too much hassle. If he really had to pull a few people into every boat, he wouldn't have to do anything all year long—just sit there settling accounts.

The two of them stood on the deck continuing to chat in the breeze. The other deckhands had stayed in the wheelhouse sleeping and hadn't come out.

There was no work to do anyway, and they'd be home in a bit. They weren't planning to cook on the boat.

"What's all this stuff piled up on your deck, these few dozen crates? I've been wanting to ask since you came back from the city during the day, but you were hiding in the wheelhouse, and Dad went back to the cabin to lie down. I had no one to ask."

"Did your dad ever tell you about last time we went out to sea—we ran into two fishing boats that had hit a reef and piled on top of each other, and one sank?"

"You jumped into the sea to salvage a sunken ship?" Aguang looked at him in disbelief. "In weather this cold, you went into the water?"

"Yes, I'm a hero."

Ye Yaodong briefly told him about the salvage process.

"Ah, then my dad took a quarter of it from you? That was just a small favor, I'll go back and tell him to return it when I get home. How could he be so shameless? We're in-laws after all…"

"Hey, don't… We already agreed on the split, no one had any objections. What is there to return? Your dad and the others put in work too."

"What work did he put in? It was the boatmen who did the actual salvaging. He just gave an order and then followed along in the boat. You could have just given him a small red envelope as a token of thanks. Weren't you planning to give the other boatmen red envelopes too? Just slip him one as well, no need to split off a few crates of cargo. Didn't you say one crate is worth about a hundred-something yuan? That's several hundred yuan…"

"It's settled, let's not talk about it anymore."

Otherwise Uncle Pei might think he was reluctant to share those few crates of cargo, muttering in front of Aguang, and then Aguang would go back and make a fuss, insisting on returning the cargo. How awkward would that be? They'd still have to see each other day in and day out.

Uncle Pei was a shrewd one.

"My dad is used to being the head of the household… This can't be handled that way. I'll go back and talk to him. You can be generous, but we can't be that shameless."

"There's no shameless or not shameless about it. Without the Harvest's help salvaging together, a lot of it would have drifted away. It's a win-win."

Aguang shook his head and said solemnly, "It's different. We can't be so money-grubbing. Have you forgotten last year when we went to Zhejiang Province to catch jellyfish? The idea of acting as middleman was yours, and since you didn't have time to stay on shore, you let me handle it."

"At first we weren't sure if we could pull it off, or how much money we'd make. We never sat down to negotiate a split. Since we didn't discuss it at the start, it stayed vague afterward. The only thing we did was waive your middleman fee, and at the end we gave you a 2,000-yuan red envelope, which you didn't even take—you sent it back."

"You let me make the big money without arguing, yet my dad is fussing over such a small favor. That's not right at all."

Ye Yaodong felt warmed to the core. He hadn't misjudged him—Aguang was a clear-headed sort.

Since his rebirth, among his friends, he really did get along best with Aguang.

He patted Aguang on the shoulder. "Don't fuss too much. Last year you were the one on shore making contacts, running around, and dealing with those thugs was dangerous too—Chen Jianian even got beaten up and spent several days in bed. All I did was come up with an idea…"

"My dad just told people to help haul up some cargo. That was just a small effort, mutual help. The most dangerous and crucial work was you going into the water, slowly probing the way, finding and finishing the job."

"If it were some other fishing boat, this split would be perfectly fine. But we're not outsiders—we've already taken more than enough advantage from you."

"You don't need to say more. When I get back and argue it out with my dad, he'll understand."

"Really, there's no need…" Ye Yaodong felt a bit embarrassed. A few hundred yuan was something he could easily afford to give.

"Don't worry about it. My dad has a thick skin. At his age, he won't feel awkward. When the time comes, just sell off all the cargo and give him a red envelope as thanks—that'll be enough."

"We're all brothers, and in-laws too, not outsiders. I'm not short of those few crates of cargo—didn't you see I've got several dozen crates piled up here? That little bit doesn't matter. The cargo on the boat is enough for me to make money. You don't need to say anything, or Uncle Pei will lose face."

He still wanted to set up a fresh-fish collection boat to specifically buy the Harvest's catch and make money off that boat. Better not be too calculating, or it would leave a thorn in people's hearts.

He had said this out loud, but Aguang didn't take it to heart.

"One thing at a time. My dad is reasonable too. Our family isn't short of those few crates of cargo, or that few hundred yuan."

"If you act like this, it makes things awkward for me. How am I supposed to make money off the Harvest in the future?"

"Let's handle things as they should be handled and let the facts speak for themselves."

Ye Yaodong shook his head and said no more. He'd see again later.

Anyway, he'd said what needed to be said. If Aguang really insisted on returning the cargo, there was nothing he could do.

Just as he'd said, neither family was short of a few hundred yuan, and helping each other out was only right.

If he did return the cargo, he'd just pack a 200-yuan red envelope and have him take it back.

The boatmen's red envelopes hadn't been handed out yet either. After selling the cargo and getting back on board, the Harvest immediately set sail and left first. The other boatmen had all gone back to the cabin to sleep and hadn't come out since.

Thinking of this, he planned to head back to the cabin first to prepare the red envelopes, and before disembarking later, he'd hand out the red envelopes to the boatmen on his own boat first.

The Harvest's boatmen were all from their village too, except for the one arranged by Chen Chen Qishui and Uncle Zheng. He'd have his mother deliver them to everyone later.

For country folk like them, red paper had all kinds of uses. He had some folded red paper in his suitcase—these days, red envelopes were all wrapped in red paper.