Chapter 1407: Finally Going Back

As everyone returned one after another, the construction site became more and more lively.

Ye Fu also told everyone to slow down today, wait until dawn to listen to the news, and since the sixth day has a date, tentatively set the departure for the early morning of that day to return.

Everyone had no objections.

The prayer beads gave a warning, and everyone now trusted Ye Yaodong even more, and they were even more determined to follow his footsteps. Naturally, whatever the father and son said was what would be done.

After Ye Fu finished speaking, everyone continued to discuss.

Ye Yaodong listened and listened, and it was all the same, nothing useful, so he went back to the room to lie down first.

It was noisy outside, and he actually couldn't sleep, just lying there, hands behind his head.

Until the sound outside became less and less, and it was almost dawn, and his father entered the room, only then did he turn off the light and sleep.

It was almost 5 o'clock; sleeping now, he could only squint for a while.

Ye Yaodong slept for a while, and only got up when there was noise outside again.

The space beside him was already empty. His father had long since gotten up, and the radio wasn't in the room either. He knew as soon as he thought about it that it had been taken out by his father to listen to.

He got dressed and went out. A bunch of people were sitting around the radio, but looking at it, there weren't many people, just a few dozen.

"What did the broadcast say?"

"It didn't say anything, still the same things discussed last night, but the broadcast is a bit more detailed than what was said on the pier."

"Is there a tsunami?"

"A little. The broadcast said that currently, the tsunami waves along the coast are all less than 10 centimeters, and the impact is negligible."

"Negligible?"

"Forgot how it was said, anyway, the meaning is... oh, the radio is playing, listen..."

The broadcast on the radio started playing on a loop again, and Ye Yaodong happened to hear it.

"... The tsunami waves along the Fujian-Zhejiang coast lasted for a period of time at night, and their intensity generally showed a weakening trend, without producing disastrous effects..."

"This morning, the sea conditions in the Taiwan Strait belonging to Fujian-Zhejiang are good, suitable for maritime operations, with maximum wind and waves not exceeding 1-1.6 meters, which is light to moderate waves..."

"... The impact of cold air is much greater than that of tsunami waves. Because cold air is about to arrive, there will be moderate to large waves along the Fujian-Zhejiang coast in the next few days..."

"What is the specific magnitude of the earthquake?"

"5.7 magnitude."

"Damn it, at first it was said to be 5, later it was 5-7, and now it has become 5.7."

Ye Yaodong was also speechless. In the end, one still had to listen to the official broadcast to be accurate.

"Did others go to make phone calls?"

Ye Fu replied, "Yes, some ran to the pier to listen to news, some went to make phone calls, and none have returned yet."

"I'll go make a phone call too."

"I heard that the queues for phone calls at the Post and Telecommunications Bureau and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative are very long, stretching from the beginning of the street to the end. Some people went to queue there after knowing the news at night, waiting for the door to open at dawn to call home. Everyone is probably still queuing at this time."

"So exaggerated, queuing in the middle of the night?"

"Isn't it? Some people went to make phone calls early in the morning and were shocked to see the long queue, so they came back. It would be most convenient if you could make phone calls at the Chamber of Commerce there."

"Hmm, it should be no problem."

"Then Dongzi, can we go with you to make phone calls?"

A bunch of people stood up immediately, all looking at him.

Ye Yaodong looked at the dozens of people and shook his head repeatedly, "Too many people. I can lead one or two people to make phone calls, but how can I lead so many people? It was said before that idlers cannot enter, only members can enter, to avoid trouble."

Ye Fu hurriedly said, "Then... then forget it if you can't all go. Everyone doesn't need to be anxious. It's the same if Dongzi makes a phone call back to ask about the situation at home. Anyway, it's fine as long as nothing happens in the village. We'll go back the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm, I'll go make a phone call to ask first. Anyway, it's the same whoever makes the phone call, as long as we know the situation."

Ye Fu also said, "Right, it can also save some phone bills. Let Dongzi make the call, and tell us when he comes back."

"Then fine, we'll wait for the message here."

Originally, they were also sitting here waiting for the message, waiting for someone to come back after making a phone call.

Ye Yaodong didn't eat, just washed up simply and pushed the bike out, then bought buns on the roadside, riding the bike with one hand and eating with the other.

When he arrived at the Chamber of Commerce, he didn't expect there to be quite a lot of people inside, twice as many as usual, mostly concentrated here.

After all, Wenzhou is also close to Taiwan, separated by the Taiwan Strait. Some people here are also from the seaside and would worry about whether there was any tremor at home yesterday and whether there was a tsunami on the shore.

"Morning, so many people?"

"Isn't it because there was an earthquake yesterday afternoon? I got up early this morning and rushed over to make a phone call home..."

"I heard the queue for phone calls outside has stretched for a whole street..."

"Fortunately, we can make phone calls here..."

Ye Yaodong was also very fortunate that he suggested Jin Laixi apply to the government for installation at that time. Isn't it convenient now?

"Have you all finished calling? If you're done, I'll call."

"You call, we all called early in the morning and are discussing it."

He asked while dialing, "How is it at home?"

"Not bad, just felt a tremor, the whole house shook, a few tiles fell off, everything else is fine..."

"Our house is about the same..."

After Ye Yaodong's call went through and was picked up, he couldn't care about talking to others and put his attention on the phone.

"Dongzi, there was an earthquake yesterday afternoon. Did you feel anything over there..."

Lin Xiuqing's voice also sounded immediately, "How are you over there? Fortunately you didn't return the day before yesterday. Yesterday afternoon, the whole house was shaking there..."

"Dongzi, are you all okay?"

"Dongzi, you all stayed at home yesterday, right?"

The voices on the phone rang out in turn, each scrambling to speak.

Ye Yaodong had to answer one by one, "I'm fine here, didn't feel anything. Last night I originally wanted to go out to sea and return, but just happened to hear the pier broadcast playing at night, saying that an earthquake occurred in the Taiwan Strait the day before, suggesting that fishing boats heading south should pause their departure."

"We didn't leave at that time, listened to the news for a while, and went back to rest. We only came out to make a phone call after dawn today."

Ye Mu grabbed the phone and said, "It's good that you're fine. Fortunately you haven't returned yet. Last night, the waves on the shore came in bursts, and the water wall sprayed up..."

"Tsunami?"

"Right, tsunami, one burst after another. Fortunately, after the earthquake yesterday afternoon, I let Aqing and your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law take the children to live back in the old house, just worried that there would be another tremor."

"It's good that people are fine..."

"It's fine, it's just that the waves hit the doorway at night, and some surged into the house. It was gone this morning. We did a big cleaning and just finished tidying up the house."

"What about the village?"

"The village is also fine, the houses are all okay. It's just that I heard people say the water wall hit by the waves at night was terrifyingly high, and it fell down with a 'slap'. Later it became weaker and weaker..."

Ye Mu chattered on, "What about your father? Why didn't he know to call back? We waited all morning and didn't wait for a phone call. There was no phone ringing at the village committee either. What are you all doing outside? You didn't know to call back. We sat here for half the morning before waiting for the phone call..."

"Everyone is queuing. You don't know how many people went to make phone calls today. Who isn't concerned about home? Give the phone to Aqing."

He had a headache talking to his mother, so he'd better talk to his wife.

The phone had just been grabbed by Ye Mu and held tightly. Lin Xiuqing couldn't grab it back.

Now that he had spoken, she finally got the phone.

"Are you okay over there?"

"I'm fine. Are the waves big at home? Are there still waves?"

"They're already gone, it's calm again. They said that after the tsunami passes, it will be fine. We didn't sleep here last night, so we didn't know what the commotion was. When we came over today, the whole yard was full of seafood. We picked up two big buckets, and even picked up a fish weighing more than ten jin..."

Lin Xiuqing said and was happy herself, "Some of them picked up three or four buckets, all washed up by the tsunami water wall. After the tide receded, the whole village rushed to the seaside. The whole beach was full, and the few children also ran there..."

"It's good that the village is fine. What about the fishing boats in the nearby sea area? Have you heard anything?" Ye Yaodong asked.

"I heard that there are so many reefs and island arcs on the periphery, which will offset part of the energy, so the fishing boats at sea seem to have no impact. But many small boats docked at the shore capsized, and the large boats docked also seem to have been affected."

A tsunami will not cause disaster on the deep sea and ocean. Ships sailing at sea may even find it difficult to perceive this fluctuation.

When a tsunami occurs, the further out to sea, the safer it is.

Once a tsunami enters the continental shelf, due to the sharp shallowing of the depth, the wave height increases sharply, reaching 20 to 30 meters. This kind of giant wave can bring devastating disasters.

But the earthquake occurred on the continental shelf, where the seawater is relatively shallow, and the tsunami waves generated were also relatively small. This can be considered fortunate.

"We sat at the doorway all morning waiting for the phone call, worried about you, so we didn't go out to listen to what others said about the situation outside."

"After hanging up the phone later, I'll go out and ask. Everyone kept talking about why you hadn't called back yet."

"Are there waves over there? I heard that after the tsunami passes, it will be fine. It looks like the impact here isn't big. When do you plan to return?"

Ye Yaodong felt much more relieved after listening. It was good that there was no impact at home.

"I didn't go to the pier to see. On the way out just now, I heard that there was no impact here either, just that the waves were a bit bigger at dawn. We also discussed, waiting for the..."

The broadcast earlier also said that it was suitable for maritime operations today, with maximum wind and waves not exceeding 1-1.6 meters, which is light to moderate waves.

After a few days when the cold air comes, the impact might be even greater.

"It's fine, then we're relieved. We didn't wait for the phone call all morning today. I also left a message on your phone last time, but there was no reply. Everyone was scared to death. People in the village also ran to our house from time to time to ask if your phone call had come back."

"Hmm, then tell the people in the village that we are all fine here, and we will set off to return on the sixth day. I don't dare to say when we will arrive."

"Good... by the way, the kelp seedlings in the village were just harvested a few days ago. Now I don't know what the impact is like. No one dares to go out to sea at this time."

"It's fine at this time. If there is a loss, we can still seize the time to replenish a batch."

"That's good."

The old lady finally found an opportunity to speak, "Dongzi, you must pay more attention to safety. If the wind and waves are big and it's not convenient to return, then don't return for the time being. Safety first..."

Lin Xiuqing held the phone to the old lady's ear, and the old lady held the phone tightly, chattering on.

"Dongzi, next time you come back, I'll bring you the long string of prayer beads. Fortunately, I took the prayer beads away for you last time. I heard that quite a few people died this time, and they were all close to the shore. Even knowing how to swim was useless..."

"I picked up a few of the broken prayer beads. You can string them again next time. It's too long, and I can't hang it on my neck, so a bracelet is fine."

"Good, good, good, then I'll go to the temple to pray for a few more prayer beads, offer them, and string them for you when you come back. You can stay a few more days then, and I'll chant more scriptures."

"Hmm, alright, I've reported safety, so I'm hanging up. I still have to go back and tell everyone, others are still waiting for my news."

"Hey, good, then will you call again before setting off tomorrow?"

"See tomorrow, not necessarily free. If the time changes again, I will call to say so."

"Good, good..."

After Ye Yaodong hung up the phone, everyone in the hall was still sitting there discussing.

Some also said that their relatives' boats were capsized by the tsunami when they were about to dock at night. After a night passed, the people hadn't been found.

Others said that many small boats on the shore capsized, and the losses were heavy...

Still others said that their relatives on large deep-sea boats had no impact at all, and they didn't know there was an earthquake until they heard the broadcast. Then, because they were worried there would be another earthquake, they returned immediately.

Only after returning did they know there was a tsunami on the shore, and the tsunami had a very serious impact on the shore of the continental shelf.

At the same time, they also had lingering fear, thinking they shouldn't have returned. When returning to the shore, the fishing grounds also suffered fluctuations, and it was only because the fishing boats were large that they didn't capsize.

Ye Yaodong said, "When a tsunami occurs, it's safer to sail to the deep sea in the middle of the sea, and it's even more dangerous to go to the shore."

"Yes, but I didn't think so much at first. I didn't expect there would be a tsunami. At sea, if you are in the center of the earthquake, it is also very dangerous..."

"That's also true. In the face of natural disasters, humans are very small."

"This earthquake happened at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and most fishing boats were at sea. I don't know how many fishing boats met with disaster. It should be fine if they weren't in the center, but there was a tsunami in the evening, and the boats that happened to dock were miserable."

"I have to go and worship..."

Everyone was discussing, and Ye Yaodong didn't have time to stay here and chat and discuss with them. After paying the phone bill, he left first.

When he returned home, the yard was full of people. Seeing him return on a bicycle, they all surrounded him.

"Dongzi..."

"Adong..."

"Dong Ge..."

A bunch of people asked in a jumble.

Ye Yaodong blocked his ears with both hands. After a while, everyone quieted down, and only then did he explain the situation at home.

Everyone heard that there was nothing wrong at home, at most some small boats on the shore capsized or drifted away, or were broken. The women could even carry buckets to the beach to pick up fish, so they all relaxed and laughed.

"Every time there's a typhoon, we can pick up fish all over the beach. I didn't expect we could pick them up after a tsunami too..."

"Fortunately, our fishing boats were all opened out. There were only some small boats in the village. If we talk about losses, we can still bear them."

"Then we will return as usual tomorrow night?"

Ye Yaodong asked, "It didn't look like there were so many people in the morning. Have you all finished calling?"

"Where? The queue for phone calls didn't see any decrease at all, and the queue was even longer. We couldn't queue, so we came back."

"Yes, that queue was scarily long. It's estimated it will take a day to digest."

He asked again, "Then there's nothing wrong on the shore, right? No tsunami? Any waves?"

"No, the waves were a bit bigger at dawn, and it was calm later. The broadcast also said small to moderate waves, suitable for going out to sea."

"Then we will set off tomorrow night as planned. By then, we don't need to stop in Wenzhou for a night, but go straight home, because it seems like cold air will come in the next few days, and the waves will be big then."

Aguang said, "I plan to let the boats rented out at home not open back. Let the people on those few boats sit on the 'Fengshou' (Harvest) boat. It saves trouble and oil money, so we don't need to stop on the way, and it's convenient to go straight home."

Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up, "That's possible! Then we don't need to consider the small boats, and we can sail a bit faster. It just so happens I have three large boats. The people on the dozen or so boats I rented out can directly board these three large boats and be pulled back."

"Right, that's what I thought. Everyone wear more clothes. If the cabin can't hold them, stay on the deck, or bring a quilt to wrap up."

Ye Fu also echoed, "That's also possible. Small boats don't need to be opened back, and the speed of returning can be a bit faster."

"Then let's discuss how to bring them."

The captains of the small trawlers also gladly accepted. Not having to open the boats themselves could save a lot of oil money, and boarding the large boats was also a bit safer.

Anyway, they were always going to follow Ye Yaodong. Whether they opened the boats back themselves wasn't important, and they could arrive home a bit faster.

They would always have to follow up later anyway, so it could be quite convenient.

Everyone discussed for a whole morning before establishing the rules on which small boat people belonged to which large boat.

Ye Yaodong's own 17 boats were enough for him to digest, so he also saved trouble and didn't need to participate in the discussion.

His eldest brother and second brother had to bring the cousins from his eldest uncle's and second uncle's side, as well as the brothers and relatives from his wife's side.

Anyway, everyone distributed it themselves.

Taking advantage of the time everyone was discussing, he also went outside the pier to take a look. The fishing boats that were full and docked at the pier at night were now more than half empty.

Everything had returned to normal. Those who should go out to sea had gone out. Anyway, the earthquake didn't appear around them, and there was no impact nearby.

Only some large cargo ships didn't dare to leave.

There were also many local women carrying buckets and running to the surrounding beaches to pick up goods. He saw people on the road carrying them back in high spirits, one load after another.

By the second night, when they walked to the pier, the cargo ships around were also empty.

Large boats had their own exclusive docking points. The area around where his 44-meter boat was docked was basically all large deep-sea boats or large cargo ships.

The surroundings were empty, which meant the boats had all gone out, and he was also relieved.

This time there were no sudden situations, and everyone boarded their own boats.

However, when everyone boarded the boat, they still ran over worriedly to ask Ye Yaodong if he was okay and if they could board the boat.

Ye Yaodong was also made to feel both amused and annoyed by everyone.

He wasn't a Bodhisattva; they still had to ask him first.

He said it was fine, but would it really be smooth sailing?

However, this time, they could finally return smoothly.

Ye Yaodong wasn't worried about handing the boat to others to open, so he steered the boat himself while on board.

After sincerely worshipping Mazu and letting everyone be in their places to prepare to leave the port, he entered the cockpit and played the broadcast first to listen.

At this time, the broadcast was also playing the ships and number of people who met with disaster in the earthquake and tsunami two days ago, as well as how many corpses had been salvaged, and the severity of the damage to the coastal villages.

It might also be because their village was all stone houses, which were stronger than the old and broken houses in other places, so their village didn't suffer any loss, and everyone stayed away from the beach at night and went to live in the village.

The broadcast was playing that the Fujian-Zhejiang coastal area had indeed suffered from some damage, but it was just saying that the degree of damage wasn't that great.

Listening to it, I didn't know if it was true or false. Anyway, this kind of disaster is always spoken of as small, otherwise the officials would be in trouble. This is also a convention.

After listening, he tuned the channel to the small channel of their few boats.

"Have you left the shore? I'm already queuing to leave the port..."

"Listened to the broadcast. The broadcast said that the wind tonight is 2-3, which is fine. There is cold air the day after tomorrow. We return today, and it's just right to arrive home on the morning of the eighth day."

"Already queuing..."

Ye Yaodong was also saying, "Just preparing to leave the port..."

A few boats queued up in an orderly manner to leave the port. After gathering in the middle of the sea, they reported the number, and once they were all there, they accelerated in unison.

Ye Yaodong thought to himself, this arrangement is also good.

Without the burden of small boats, it's convenient for their few boats to communicate, and they don't need to worry about the small boats.

They don't need to have a few boats in front, behind, left, and right, protecting the small boats in the middle, and they have to pay extra attention to these boats all the way.

"This way we can return to the village before the cold air arrives."

"Right, if there's any other situation, we don't need to return."

"We don't need to stop tomorrow night, then can we arrive the morning after tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"I heard that the fishing boats that went out to sea yesterday caught a lot of goods, twice as much as usual, and they made a fortune."

"Yes, everyone is laughing like a flower. The tsunami pushed the deep-sea goods in, and some small boats can catch a lot of deep-sea goods around the shore."

"It's a pity we have to return, otherwise we could earn a lot in this wave."

"No need to pity. We can earn anytime. We can make a big profit in a week when we come up again."

"I'm counting on earning the money for a boat in these two months, first earn back the money for the final payment of the fishing boat, and then I can open the boat back when the New Year comes."

Ye Yaodong listened to their exchange and also thought of the three friends who each took out a loan at the beginning of the year and ordered a boat.

He himself still had 4+1 boats.

Then when the next year comes, their fleet will have expanded its scale again.

It's also fortunate that his 40-meter fresh-receiving boat can also be delivered on New Year's Day, otherwise, just the 30-plus-meter fresh-receiving boat in his hand wouldn't be enough to cope with so many boats.

When everyone has more boats, the money he can earn will naturally be more.

Now, the speed of wealth accumulation makes him feel terrifyingly fast. As long as he goes out to sea, he can have a base income of 10,000 yuan every day. ===== CHAPTER 1408 =====