Chapter 1277: Fleet (Monthly Tickets +2)

Ye Yaodong ignored his father, walked over to a nearby stool, sat down, and crossed his legs. Hearing the sound of stir-frying still coming from inside the house, the meal wasn't ready yet, so he could only sit outside to cool off while waiting to eat.

Ye's father hopped on one foot to retrieve his shoes, put them on, and asked, "What did you go to the shipyard to see? Didn't we say a few days ago that there were no ready-made machine parts? Everything has to be ordered, so work can't start. You just went there two days ago; going again now is useless."

"Have you ever heard that having connections in the court makes things easier? Two days ago, while drinking, I met a sister. She helped me cut the line through the back door, arranging for existing parts and machines to be assigned to my ship first. By the time it comes, I might not have to wait too long."

"Who is it? Don't go messing around. A woman who can go drinking with a bunch of men like you definitely isn't a good woman. I only have one daughter-in-law—no, three daughters-in-law. I won't acknowledge any more than that."

"Where did your mind go? She is just the sister of a friend of a commoner, and I happened to take her along for fun. She returned from studying abroad, so her thinking is more open; there's nothing wrong with her drinking with men."

"That still won't do. We are going back. You can't learn from others and set up a home here too."

"No, where did you get that idea? I just happened to meet her at the factory. She spoke to her father for me, and it's been put on the schedule. What kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day? Don't tell me you want to set up a home yourself?"

Ye Yaodong looked at his father with suspicion.

Indeed, some forty or fifty-year-old boat captains had remarried widows here and had more children.

Moreover, Uncle Pei had another son two months ago and was in high spirits, making this large group of middle-aged and elderly men extremely envious.

Ye's father angrily kicked him, "What nonsense are you spouting? I still have my dignity."

"That's good. If you have any ideas, I'll leave you here and go back to tell my mother myself."

"I'll break your dog legs..."

"Time to eat, time to eat..."

When the people inside the house shouted that it was time to eat, the father and son finally broke off this topic.

Having successfully turned the tables, Ye Yaodong immediately stood up to go eat.

At night, a light rain began to drip-drip, and suddenly the temperature felt like it had dropped several degrees.

One autumn rain brings one chill.

Everyone had been wearing tank tops the day before, but the next day they had to put on long sleeves.

Once the solar term of the Autumn Equinox passed, the temperature dropped as soon as it was mentioned, especially after the rain.

After it rained continuously for three days, the surface temperature felt like it had dropped directly by 10 degrees. The key was that the old house was leaking wind and water, so everyone could only pray for the sun to come out quickly.

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but give a thumbs-up to his own wise decision. After this typhoon passed, people going to buy cotton clothes and quilts would probably have to queue up and wait for prices to rise.

The other villagers in their village had just happened to make reservations on the first day of the typhoon returning to Huigang, so they probably wouldn't have to wait too long either.

Early in the morning, when everyone got up and gathered together to eat breakfast, they were all shivering there.

"Luckily we still have autumn underwear, otherwise we'd freeze to death..."

"The temperature dropped as soon as it was mentioned; it's only the end of September, not even October yet."

"Mainly because of the typhoon; the wind was strong and it was raining. One autumn rain brings one chill, accelerating the cooling. I haven't even brought long sleeves yet."

"Just wait and see. After the typhoon passes, the sun will come out and the temperature will rise again. What a perverted weather."

Ye Yaodong had always been wearing long sleeves and long pants unless he wasn't working, so he wasn't cold at all.

"I've already gone to reserve winter cotton clothes for you all. I can't tailor-make them for every single person, but everyone's sizes are roughly the same anyway. Wearing them a bit loose in winter doesn't matter. I'll pay for this and give everyone two sets each."

"I've also reserved quilts, but for sweaters, base layers, and other clothes, you'll have to arrange those yourselves. Take advantage of the cooling weather to go buy some wool yarn early and ask the old landlady or nearby women to knit some sweaters for you."

"Prepare in advance so that when it gets cold, you'll have clothes to wear and won't freeze."

"If you're out of money, you can ask me for an advance. Also, spend sparingly. When you go home for the New Year, you'll definitely need to save up a sum to have a fat year."

Everyone nodded.

Once the typhoon passed and October arrived, and the weather cleared up, everyone took advantage of the fact that the waves hadn't settled yet to go out shopping individually, buying whatever fabrics or wool yarn they needed.

Once the sun came out, the temperature rose again, but no matter how much it rebounded, it couldn't go back to pre-typhoon levels, after all, it was autumn.

And when everyone went out to sea, they honestly put on long sleeves, no longer just baring their chests or wearing tank tops.

The temperature dropped as soon as it was mentioned, especially on the sea where the waves were big, making the surface sensation even more intense.

The temperature rebound couldn't last more than a few days; it was sunny for two days before raining and cooling down again. Fortunately, the aftereffects of the typhoon had passed, and the waves had become smaller.

Ye Yaodong and his crew only went out to sea after it completely cleared up, although light rain actually didn't affect going out to fish.

But now that the fishing boat facilities were limited, for safety's sake, if it rained, everyone waited for a sunny day to go out to sea.

After all, no one knew when the rain would stop or when the waves would get bigger, to avoid losing more than they gained.

If it were raining lightly at sea and the waves were bearable, they certainly wouldn't rush back specifically; they would definitely continue operations as usual.

The situation was different.

And after the temperature dropped, the quantity of hairtail they caught at sea increased greatly. Relatively, other fish catches decreased; for example, cuttlefish and the like weren't what you'd expect in the autumn and winter seasons, so they had all swum back to the deep sea to spend the winter.

Just as they were finishing hauling in a net, Ye Yaodong stood on the wheelhouse looking down, and his peripheral vision unintentionally caught sight of many ships far away on the sea surface, seemingly rushing towards them.

He quickly picked up the telescope and looked out at the distant sea surface.

Blue fishing boats one after another, with red flags fluttering on top, looked like there were ten, twenty, or so of them.

Just as he was wondering if these fishing boats were a gang, he saw those fishing boats heading towards their side, and as they approached, they slowly slowed down.

"Boss, are we casting the net?" The people below, seeing he made no move, looked up and shouted at him, and after speaking, they also looked in the direction he was facing.

"Wait a moment, you sort first."

Ye Yaodong looked through the telescope for a short while and saw a fishing boat heading directly towards the Fengshou Hao ahead, while waving a flag.

However, the Fengshou Hao seemed to be working, constantly making circular movements, and didn't pay any attention.

That boat then headed towards their side again, probably seeing his fishing boat stopped and motionless on the sea.

Ye Yaodong walked onto the deck and watched cautiously. He wasn't casting the net because he was worried that so many fishing boats slowing down might come towards them; he wanted to observe first, just in case.

However, he really didn't expect that boat to come directly to their side, and the ten or so boats behind it followed along together.

He felt this plot was a bit familiar?

Wasn't it like on the way they came, a large group of fishing boats followed together, all from the same gang?

After sailing to a certain distance, those boats stopped on the sea surface, and his cautious heart was temporarily put at ease.

If they were pirates on the sea, they would usually charge straight over; they wouldn't stop at an appropriate distance.

On the road they had come, asking for directions was the same; they kept hitting dead ends. Even when someone was truly kind-hearted, it took a lot of effort to communicate for quite a while before anyone would point the way.

He wondered if these people were also asking for directions. Thinking of his own experience, he became more tolerant.

Just then, he heard someone on the opposite deck holding a megaphone, "Comrades on the opposite side... Comrades on the opposite side... Asking for directions, asking for directions..."

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment, then picked up his megaphone and shouted, "Do not come over. Communicate using VHF... Channel XXX..."

After shouting, he repeated it to ensure the other party heard, then climbed back up to the wheelhouse.

The other ship looked to be about 30 meters long; those following behind were mostly around 20 to 30 meters, with some over 30 meters. Such ships definitely had VHF.

Maritime radio is also called VHF radio; it allows nearby fishing boats to converse and provides short-distance communication services.

This radio equipment is widely used for communication between ships, between ships and shore stations, and for sending distress signals in emergencies.

In VHF channels, certain channels are reserved for specific purposes.

For example: Channel 16 (156.8MHz) is usually used as the international distress and safety communication channel.

Other channels can be used for routine ship-to-ship communication or ship-to-shore communication.

When two fishing boats want to talk to each other, they can choose a non-dedicated channel and ensure both are tuned to the same channel, allowing direct communication via VHF radio equipment.

The effective communication range of VHF radio depends on factors such as antenna height, transmission power, and atmospheric conditions. Generally, in open seas, its effective range is about 20 to 60 nautical miles.

It should be noted that using VHF radio requires compliance with relevant international and local regulations, such as not interfering with other important communications, including but not limited to emergency calls.

The four boats Ye Yaodong and his crew had were connected to a non-dedicated channel.

The other party had such large ships, and there were so many of them; he did not dare let them come close and felt some worry. Getting them to connect on the same channel and answer their questions was already good enough.

The other party understood; within a short while, they all simultaneously connected to the new channel.

"Comrade, hello, hello, sorry to disturb. Are we almost at Shenjia Sect Fishing Port?"

"Yes. At your fishing boat's sailing speed, if you take care of the fishing boats behind you, it should take about three hours. If it's just your fishing boat, then a little over two hours."

"Thank you. Your fishing net looks a bit strange; what does it catch?"

"Hairtail, though other fish also get caught." Ye Yaodong asked curiously, "Are the fishing boats behind you with you? A fleet?"

"Yes, we are fishing boats from Wenzhou City, here specifically to catch winter shrimp paste."

"Shrimp paste! That makes sense; the fishing grounds here have shrimp paste during the Fishing season in winter. Is this your first time coming?"

"Most of us are here for the first time; relatives and friends brought us. Thank you. We'll head to the port now."

"Wait, leave a contact method. If you need a fresh catch collection boat, you can find me."

"Fresh catch collection boat?"

"Yes."

The other party hesitated and said, "We don't know our landing spot yet. Let's temporarily remember this channel and look for a chance in a few days."

"Okay."

This was relatively safe.

Ye Yaodong recognized their accent; they were indeed from Wenzhou City. He had stayed there for a few years and could tell.

Moreover, in his previous life, there were truly many fleets coming from there to these fishing grounds to catch shrimp paste.

The moment he heard them, he knew they were telling the truth, not lying.

These groups were just like when they had first arrived in Zhoushan City two months ago.