Chapter 1274: Eating a Setback

Ye Yaodong hadn't yet figured out how to arrange the ship he'd just gotten his hands on.

Yesterday morning he finished selling the goods and found Zhang Rensu, yesterday afternoon he immediately paid the deposit, last night he drank too much and saw the man off, told Aguang about the money situation, went back and crashed, no time left for him to think.

Sitting in the wheelhouse now, with the ship already out on the water, he finally felt it for real — this ship already belonged to him.

In his previous life he'd only been a deckhand on this kind of ship; in this life, in just a few years, he already owned one.

Just thinking about it, gazing out at the distant sea, he felt his heart surge.

"Dongzi, your ship has to be refitted all at once over here. How could the ships back home compare to the ones at the fishing grounds? The shipyards here are definitely better than ours back home."

"I see a bunch of repairmen coming and going at the dock every day. A ship this big, after all, runs the deep sea — the shipyard facilities here should be more complete, right?"

Ye Yaodong shook his head. "Don't know. I've only heard the rough locations of a few shipyards, never went to look. Let's circle around once and head back to shore, then talk. I've only got 2,000 yuan left on me right now."

"In a couple of days, go out and collect a batch of goods, sell them and you'll have money. Oh right, like I said, just convert this one straight into a fresh-fish collector boat — makes more money."

"Then where do I find fishing boats? A collector boat needs fishing boats to pair up with to make money. If I don't have any, where am I supposed to find them out on the vast deep sea?"

It's relatively easy for fishing boats to find collector boats — just ask around at the big mooring docks; collector boats dock every few days without fail.

One collector boat can pair up with many fishing boats. For the collector boat, of course, the more the merrier — no one's pushing them away.

These days it's the fishing boats begging the collector boats to take their goods, since there's just too much cargo. Later on, it'll be the collector boats begging the fishing boats for goods.

Aguang listened and thought he had a point.

Dongzi's collector boat brings in a big sum every couple of days because it's paired with several boats, all of them his own people, and he has a share too.

Suddenly a boat this big pops up wanting to be turned into a collector boat — who is he going to pair up with?

"Then you'd have to convert it into a large trawler?"

"Pretty much."

He figured once he got back, he'd ask his dad's friend Lin Lin Jingye — Lin Shu — and check. His very first boat had been swapped out through Lin Shu's friend.

Lin Shu's friend was planning to partner up with someone to run a 30-plus-meter fishing boat; going to the outer seas, he'd definitely need a collector boat to take the catch. With an introduction from someone familiar, it'd be more reliable.

If they could head out together, it'd be a bit safer too.

He figured the ship he'd gotten was probably made in Hong Kong or Taiwan, or rather, all those fine machines were imported.

Most of it was probably used for running cargo on the high seas.

Going to the deep sea, safety has a basic guarantee, but having familiar fishing boats along makes it even more secure — after all, the weather is unpredictable.

"If this ship goes to the yard for refitting, I bet even a month or two won't get it done."

"Definitely. Probably have to queue up too, and some machine parts and accessories might not even be in stock — probably have to be ordered. Anyway, I'm broke now and not in a rush. As long as I can sail it back before New Year, that's fine."

"Three-odd months should be about right."

"Mm, get it properly fixed up before sailing back, then work out the specific sea plans after New Year."

After all, by the time he got back it'd be around January, not long before New Year.

Arranging the crew wasn't a small matter either. Although he could teach some of the technical work, this kind of ship, once it goes out, stays at sea for long stretches — without big storms it generally doesn't dock easily, relying entirely on the collector boat to take the catch and resupply. Some people might not be able to handle it.

The specific crew definitely had to be screened — most of them needed to be experienced.

He was also planning to repaint the ship and give it a new look — that would be a real makeover. By then, even if it really did have an owner, they wouldn't recognize it.

These days, big ships — apart from those fishing companies that specialize in catching, with a dedicated one-stop service — most big ships are people taking a risk running cargo on the high seas for fast money.

He didn't know how this ship had met with disaster. When he had it inspected yesterday, he asked, and the coast guard said they couldn't figure it out either. There were no signs of fighting on board; they just perfunctorily said it might have been a natural disaster.

Ye Yaodong, though, figured it might just as well have been man-made — there are plenty of anti-smuggling patrol boats at sea these days, and they target the high seas.

As for how it avoided being towed back, he had no idea — if he wanted to guess, he could come up with several possibilities.

Anyway, as long as the ship was a good one, the rest didn't matter.

He drove the ship around the sea surface, studied the functions of the various instruments in the wheelhouse, and only headed back once he'd figured them out.

Aguang also ran off to tour every corner of the ship, then came back to his side, chattering away in endless admiration.

Ye Yaodong found him annoying, spread his five fingers, and shoved his head aside.

"Go drop the anchor and stop the ship. Cut the chatter."

"When your dad gets back, his mouth will be grinning from ear to ear."

"He knows — it's because he was going to replace me that I came back to buy a ship."

"You're lucky — two days later and it would've been gone."

"What's there to that? A ship this big — ordinary people would have to think and think again, hold several family meetings or clan meetings. They'd have to figure out how to raise the money. You think just anyone can pull out 100,000 yuan?"

"Yeah, you were decisive — came back yesterday, bought it yesterday."

"Go drop the anchor already, stop yapping here."

Aguang hurried off.

After going ashore, the two had nothing to do, so they asked some of the fishermen at the dock about shipyards and got several leads.

After lunch, they took advantage of their free time, pedaled their bicycles, and visited each shipyard one by one — it was nearly dark by the time they got home.

Ye Yaodong only had 2,000 yuan in his pocket, figuring even the deposit wouldn't be enough. After getting the full picture, he went back, planning to wait a couple of days, collect another batch of goods, sell them, and then bring the ship over for refitting.

"You've gotten such a big ship — shouldn't you treat us to a few tables?"

"Sure."

"When are you going to call home and tell them? Let the family be happy too?"

"Uh… I'll wait till I go back for New Year, then they'll find out. No need to say anything now."

"Heh heh, what do you think Third Sister-in-law's reaction will be when she finds out you bought a 100,000-yuan ship?"

Aguang added, "How about I tell her for you?"

Ye Yaodong: "…"

He lifted his foot, ready to kick him. "Go back and eat your own food, stop freeloading at my place — I don't have extra food here."

The deckhands watched the two of them, grinning.

During meals they kept flattering him too. Ever since last night when they kept Zhang Rensu around for dinner, everyone knew he'd bought that big ship, and the news had been bubbling all night, and even after talking about it all day today they still hadn't had enough.

"Stop blowing your own horn. If you're so happy, how about giving mine a couple of sucks? And stop just wrecking the horn."

"Hahahaha, our mouths are stinky, do you want it?"

"Hehe, Adong has been out too long, he's all pent up…"

"Boss, something this happy deserves celebrating. How about taking the brothers out for some fun tonight?"

"I've become a broke loser, and you want me to take you out for fun? Tomorrow we won't even be able to afford meat, we'll have to tighten our belts. To buy that ship I scraped together money from everywhere and already owe tens of thousands in debt. I'm counting on you all to help me earn a bit more to pay it back."

"Oh come on, you've already bought the ship back, making money is just a matter of a few moves, isn't it?"

"Hehe, you already have so many ships."

Ye Yaodong waved his hand. "If you want to go, go yourselves. I'm not going. I'm exhausted, running around all day long, where would I get the energy?"

"That's exactly why you need to relax…"

"I think you guys are plenty relaxed all day long. Tomorrow I'll go buy some fishing line, you all weave me a big net."

"Huh?"

"If you're that free, do more work. Only when you're tired can you go out and relax."

"Hehe, is Adong planning to weave a big net directly for that cargo ship? Wanting to convert it into a trawler?"

"That's the idea, but there's no rush. No money. We don't even know where the conversion fee will come from. We need to have money first before we can plan."

The conversation gradually turned serious again.

Ye Fu had waited two or three days before Ye Yaodong finally came.

Only then did he learn that the moment Ye Yaodong got back he had bought that cargo ship, and it had actually cost a hundred thousand yuan. His mouth opened wide enough to stuff a duck egg in.

"How could it cost that much? I figured if the ship was being disposed of, sixty or seventy thousand would be about right. Don't they always discount the price?"

"That one isn't an old ship. It's a fairly new one from the last couple of years. The fittings in the wheelhouse aren't even domestic. Who's going to give it to you for sixty or seventy thousand? Selling this kind as a new ship would be more than fair."

After all, the fine instruments are all imported, and it's all steel. There's no way it could depreciate. It'll be good for decades. At sixty or seventy thousand wouldn't people go crazy fighting over it?

He figured a hundred thousand was still only cost price, at most with a tiny markup.

Put it three or four decades later and it would only multiply thirty times secondhand, and even a new ship would multiply more than thirty times.

"So you emptied your pockets all at once?"

"I'm in debt too. If I earn a bit more this month it'll be about enough to cover the cost."

"You really don't hold back. A hundred thousand yuan and you didn't even blink, just spent it. That very day, you didn't even think it over. A hundred thousand would have been enough for you to spend a whole lifetime, and you wouldn't have had to do a thing."

"You're overthinking it. It's worth it. No need to think too much. First to act wins, last to act suffers."

Ye Fu frowned. "Don't call home about it yet. When the ship sails back, the family will find out on its own."

"Probably can't keep it under wraps anyway. The boatmen at home all know."

"Then… then let's not call home for now…"

"Why? I'm the one getting scolded."

A hundred thousand yuan really is an astronomical figure for an ordinary person.

But he figured Ah Qing was still reasonable. If he broke it down for her she could take it in. The main thing was they had money on hand right now.

Even after spending a hundred thousand, they still had three or four hundred thousand left. Thinking of it that way, the anxiety immediately dropped.

"You get scolded or I get scolded?" Ye Fu said irritably.

And he mimicked the old lady's tone: "How old is he? You're already at that age, and you didn't even try to stop him. What use are you…"

Ye Yaodong couldn't help laughing, then said: "That's true. My mother would also scold: What? A hundred thousand? A hundred thousand could buy the whole village. The whole village combined isn't worth a hundred thousand. You spendthrift brat. The young one squanders, and the old one is just as unreliable. Not a single one of them is worry-free…"

"Go go go, don't call home for now. The money's spent anyway."

"Mm, let's wait until we've paid back the borrowed money before calling. Give them time to digest it too."

"Let's swap. You stay on the sea, I'll go back and see what that cargo ship of yours looks like, and where a hundred thousand went."

"There are several multifunction instruments in the wheelhouse. You don't understand them so don't touch them randomly, and don't turn them on. I won't give you the key. When I get back I'll teach you. If you want a tour, go aboard and look around, that's fine."

"Mm, when I get back I'll take a look first and see the structure inside."

Father and son swapped again, and Ye Yaodong returned to the sea.

In a few days when they put in to shore, the diverted money could roughly be made up.

It was still early September now. If he worked hard, by early October he should barely be able to pay back Ah Guang's money.

Then after saving up for another three months, he'd have another sum to bring home for the New Year, and by then he could shut their mouths too.

With money and a big ship, he'd be the talk of the town. Who would have anything to say?

He'd already earned several hundred thousand. So what if he spent a hundred thousand on a big ship? It was a tool for production, and he could use this big ship to earn even more money, putting it to repeated use.

The boatmen on board were each busy with their sorting work and didn't hear the father and son talking. When Ye Yaodong climbed back over, they all started chattering away asking about the situation. They all knew he'd gone back because of that cargo ship.

Ye Yaodong only said that when they got back he'd take them aboard the big ship for a tour and shock everyone, and once again they piled on the wild praise.

"Back to work, get ready to cast the net. The feeling of owing money isn't pleasant, sigh…"

"Keep acting. Such a big ship in hand, isn't borrowing a bit of money perfectly normal?"

He shook his head, not serious at all. "Got to be diligent and work harder, otherwise I won't even be able to pay wages."

"Hehe, come on, hurry up and work…"

After he climbed up to the wheelhouse and gazed out at the endless sea, he finally grinned broadly, overjoyed.

Right now he could still see several ships in the surrounding waters. Once that ship went to the deep sea, probably not many ships would be visible.

He stayed on the sea for another three days before his father came over again.

This time his dad was much happier than him, kept saying that ship was a good buy.

"If we had the money, we could buy three or four more ships like that. Then get another one for collecting fresh catch. Then we wouldn't have to let outsiders earn the money."

Ye Yaodong looked helpless. Just a few days ago his dad had been startled hearing about a hundred thousand, and now he was already daring to dream.

"First of all, those instruments are probably all imported; second, with a little modification, the cost would be over a hundred thousand; third, are you planning to sponsor me?"

Ye Fu glared at him, "You'd better figure out that boat first."

"Isn't this what you said—learn from these few boats, earn the money yourself, no need to let outsiders earn it."

"Just wait, there'll be a time for you to do the work."

Ye Fu said nothing more, couldn't win the argument.

Ye Yaodong figured that once this trip's hold was full again, he'd head straight back, so he didn't swap shifts with his father.

He only asked how much was earned last time, and estimated in his mind how much this trip could make.

The less he owed, the better—he still had to make up the cargo payments first.

He'd rather deliver the cargo ship to the shipyard a few days late, he had to first make up the cargo payments for the few boats, after all he hadn't given them advance notice.

Every time before, they would dock, sell the cargo, and settle accounts.

What he owed Aguang wasn't that urgent—Aguang probably wished the money could just stay with him, to reduce risk.

Anyway, he definitely wouldn't welch on the debt.

By the time he settled everyone's cargo payments, saved up eight thousand, and delivered the cargo ship to the shipyard, it was already past Mid-Autumn.

And the modification prepayment alone was 8,000—in an instant he was a broke bum again.

He couldn't help sighing—before, he had so much money he couldn't find a place to hide it, every day worrying about where to stash the piles of cash.

Now look, the family coffers were emptied, he'd taken on outside debts, and any money in hand had to be poured back in.

"When does the Fishing season for hairtail come? Laozi's going crazy poor here."

Ye Yaodong had just handed over the money, and the moment he got back to the rented room he couldn't help lamenting.

It was just the second day after Mid-Autumn, they hadn't gone out to sea yet, the crew was all gathered together, and everyone had opened several tables for cards.

Hearing his lamenting words, the cards in their hands paused, they turned to glance at him, shook their heads, and continued playing.

Over the past half month, he'd whined about going crazy poor several times already.

Nobody believed he was really going crazy poor.

The boats were right there in plain sight—he was clearly showing off. If he was going crazy poor, then they'd all have to go beg.

Capitalists don't deserve sympathy.

Everyone tacitly kept playing their own cards, letting him moan without illness.

Ye Fu said, "Once the weather turns cold, the quantity should slowly increase—didn't they say it could last three months? It should be about that time."

"Let's see, once the hairtail quantity picks up, it'll be easier then—we can haul it all to the factory, won't have to sell at the dock for long. With such a large quantity, selling isn't easy."

Those fishermen were all begging the fishmongers to take their catch—every day massive amounts of cargo came ashore, who would buy day-old fish?

What couldn't be sold, some could only bring back to salt and dry themselves. Most of the fishermen fishing here had stockpiled a large batch of dried and salted goods.

Some could be sold, some couldn't, so the lack of a proper trading market was also fatal.

He was thinking, when he went back for New Year, he'd haul a few boatloads of ready stock back then—easier.

Ye Yaodong went back inside and got out a ledger to flip through, then flipped through the recent cargo lists.

"The hairtail quantity really has increased, it'll probably keep increasing."

"In winter when it's cold, haul it straight to the factory, I can suffer less too."

"It's already turning cool now, it's not appropriate for everyone to sleep on mats on the floor every day. While there's no work this afternoon, let's go out and buy some cotton quilts—wonder if there are any ready-made."

Ye Fu nodded, "We really do need to buy them in advance. We've got a lot of people here—if we wait until it's fully cold, we might not be able to get any."

"Then let's go browse this afternoon."

There were lots of out-of-towners here, and supporting services were available. Even the general stores here were densely packed, and there were plenty of restaurants too, all specifically serving these out-of-town fishermen.

But it wasn't fully cold yet, and he hadn't seen anyone selling cotton quilts. They'd probably have to order in advance—order early and get them early. They also needed to prepare some winter cotton clothes.

Everyone had originally planned to head back around National Day, so they hadn't brought thick clothes, let alone cotton quilts—just a rolled-up straw mat and out the door.

He felt this was all because he'd changed plans on the spur of the moment, and everyone hadn't prepared anything. It was nothing for him to provide these.

Consider it a reward for everyone's hard work during this period—two sets of winter clothes each.

But the cotton quilts still belonged to the group; he could use them later when moving to the big cargo ship, or in the factory in the city.

When going out to browse, Ye Yaodong also took the chance to stock up on some daily necessities—lots of people meant high consumption.

This port area basically didn't need tickets, all kinds of goods were dazzlingly displayed, you could buy anything with money, whatever you wanted was available, and they were brazenly displayed everywhere, with dedicated markets too.

Where there are people, there's consumption—let alone the fishermen who came here to earn money. Earning money was really fast, and wages were really high.

To earn money from these out-of-town fishermen, there was even a dedicated street near the dock, all hung with red lanterns.

From one end of the street to the other, brazen and ungoverned.

Not just at night—even during the day, when Ye Yaodong passed by, he could still see women lined up along the street.

Many fishermen would be away from home for months, and the moment they docked they'd rush here. Apart from occasionally gambling a bit, they basically spent all their money on this—after all, they were all young adults with needs.

When Ye Fu passed by, he couldn't help but sneak several glances, seeing people beside him laughing and joking with arms around each other's shoulders, chatting about women, saying they'd have a good time later.

He muttered, "This… they're still filthy, and already rushing here in such a hurry…"

"Dying of restraint."

"They don't earn enough to spend on women. Good thing you didn't pay them all their wages—otherwise they'd have a hard time accounting for it when they got back."

"Last month when a month's wages were paid, some had already spent it all and started getting advances."

Ye Fu shook his head and said nothing.

Ye Yaodong didn't have the nerve to crack dirty jokes with his father either, planning to look around more for what else they needed to buy.

"What are you looking at here?"

Ye Yaodong turned his head, "Why are you here? Didn't you say you were heading out a while ago?"

Zhang Rensu smiled and said, "I was supposed to head out a couple days ago, but it happened to be Mid-Autumn, so I waited until after the holiday to leave. Today I'm out buying some things, leaving tomorrow."

He glanced once more at the street where the father and son stood, giving them a meaningful look.

"This place isn't good; it's unclean. We could change locations."

"Ah?"

Ye's father instinctively replied, "Change to where?"

"Shall I lead you there?"

"No need, no need!" Ye Yaodong was extremely embarrassed. What kind of situation was this?

"We are also out buying things; we just happened to pass by."

"I understand. Being away from home for several months is just like that..."

Ye's father's old face flushed red. He felt he had responded too quickly and hurried to explain, "We just passed by and curiously took a few glances."

"Hehe..."

Ye Yaodong changed the subject. "Where are you going on this long trip? Still heading to our area?"

"I'm roughly heading to the provincial capital area, then onward to Ganzhou. There are several routes, and I should pass through your city as well."

"Then, would it be convenient for you to bring back a few photos for me?"

"Photos?"

"Yes. The family misses them a bit. Recently, I've developed some photos taken intermittently. If it's convenient for you, please just take the photos back for me."

"Alright, no problem. If I don't go there, I'll return them to you later."

"That works too."

"Since you're resting today and not going out to sea, shall we go out and have some fun tonight?"

"Drinking?"

"Yes."

"That works too. Where and what time?"

"Charm Karaoke, 7 PM. Do you know where it is?"

Ye Yaodong nodded. "Yes, I know. There are only a few of them, so I know where they are."

It was just that they went out to sea day after day with no energy; unless it rained, they wouldn't rest for a few extra days. Besides, they couldn't gather enough people, and there was nothing fun to do with the boatmen. Otherwise, their group of friends would have already gone in there long ago.

He himself wasn't very interested; the current karaoke places were too crude.

It was only because Zhang Rinsu invited him that he thought about going, to draw the relationship closer a bit, and perhaps meet a few more friends.

"Alright. I'll introduce a few friends to you then. I'll leave now so I don't disturb your shopping."

"Okay."

After the person left, Ye Yaodong said to his father: "I finally know who Ye Chenghe resembles."

Ye's father looked a bit confused. Why bring this up?

"Isn't he like your eldest brother?"

"He's like you. It's a skipped-generation inheritance; both are a bit dull and foolish."

"How are you speaking?"

"Ye Ye Erge is the same; sometimes he has a simple-minded foolishness."

"Unbecoming!" Ye's father scowled and walked forward quickly.

He hurried to catch up. "Ye Chenghu is the same too; it seems he has a skipped-generation inheritance as well. One per family. Dad, your genes are truly powerful. Even with me and A-Qing being so excellent, we can't turn it around. I don't know if they'll be a bit smarter when they grow up."

Ye's father lifted his foot, wanting to take off his liberation shoe and hit him.

"Dad, this is on the street, on the street, on the street!"

Ye's father, furious, held the shoe in his hand, staring blankly, then could only struggle to put it back on. As a result, he couldn't stand steadily, hopping and swaying on one foot.

Ye Yaodong laughed heartily.

He had wanted to complain about this for a long time and finally said it openly.

"Dad, was it awkward just now?"

"Stop bothering me. Let's go back quickly. What time is it? Still wandering around blindly here. We've already bought the things, yet you want to wander around everywhere."

"Are you angry out of shame?"

Ye Yaodong looked down at his father. When his father reached out to hit him, he quickly stepped back.

Ye's father strode forward, ignoring him.

"Wait a minute. Buy a few pairs of socks. I have no socks left. They disappear while I'm washing them; they must have been secretly stolen and worn by those Wang Ba..."

"Dad, why are you so angry? Otherwise, I'll take you with me tonight? Don't be angry."

Ye's father turned and glared at him, cursing a round in the local dialect.

Ye Yaodong followed along with a basket in hand, smiling. "Don't go. I have no money. If you won't buy me socks and won't go with me tonight, then give me the money."

Ye's father got angry again. "Oh, so all you said was to get money from me."

"Otherwise what? I have no money."

"You debt-collecting ghost. He invited you to drink, and you still want him to pay?"

"Well, I wouldn't feel right just freeloading. If he treats me to drinks, I can appropriately buy one or two cases."

"Earning, earning, earning. Where have you been earning?" Ye's father walked forward on his own.

Ye Yaodong followed behind. "A while ago, you even told me to buy a whole fleet. When I get back, I'll tell them you told me to buy it. You even asked if I wanted to buy a small car."

"You..."

Ye's father cursed a round and casually grabbed a handful of money from his pocket and stuffed it into him.