Chapter 1665: Honor

"Wait for the photo; the flags haven't been planted yet."

"I need to find a good spot! This is the glorious symbol of our fishing boat!"

"Hahaha, after everyone plants the national flag, we can brag about it. This island was defended by us, and we planted flags on it. This is proof!"

A huge crowd was extremely excited, carrying flags and climbing all over the reef island without feeling tired, each trying to find a good spot to plant the national flag they were carrying!

"Damn it, standing here in the way, get lost~"

Someone passing by saw the Japanese lying on the ground, kicked him hard, and then stepped over him.

Anyone who wasn't one of their own got punched and kicked a few times.

The official boat was still negotiating with the other vessels, and the official boats following to handle the situation hadn't docked yet, so those Japanese were still on the island; some were tied up, some lay on the ground wailing, and some were hiding.

However, now they couldn't leave without their permission; that cargo ship had long been controlled by workers they sent.

Before, they wanted to drive them away but they wouldn't leave; now they want to leave, but they won't let them.

"You all find a spot to plant your flags first. Once they're planted, gather on the reef rocks by the seaside. When everyone is here, we'll take a group photo."

"Right away..."

"This flag needs to be planted higher so it can be seen from far away..."

Those who had finished planting flags, bored, dealt with those Japanese, tying them up in a bunch with ropes, waiting for the officials to arrive later to take them over directly.

Those Japanese, even while tied up, were mumbling a bunch of gibberish.

"Ah! Pfft pfft pfft! I don't understand what you're saying, and you don't understand what I'm saying, but I pfft pfft pfft, you definitely understand!"

"Ah pfft..."

"That's right, they can't understand the words, but they definitely understand spitting, hahaha..."

"Not much harm, but extremely insulting, hahaha..."

"It's fine; we fishermen are rough people, originally uncultured and uncivilized."

"Exactly, Laozi is uncivilized and uncultured; it's good we didn't kill them, what's spitting on them? Pfft..."

While waiting, everyone took the opportunity to bully those people for a while, then, as they finished planting flags one by one and came down, the officials also went ashore, allowing the officials to take a group photo for them.

There really were quite a lot of them.

Forty or fifty boats; each boat had at least twenty-something people. At such a glorious moment, no one didn't come to take photos.

"This best spot in front has to be for our Captain Ye; don't crowd, make way..."

"Haha, yes, yes, yes, this spot in front has to be for our Captain Ye; it was he who discovered the problem with this reef island, allowing us to stop those Japanese."

Ye Yaodong naturally didn't decline; that was the center position. He smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite. I have nine boats; let my captains stand closer too. Everyone has worked hard."

"What! Nine boats!"

"Nine boats?"

Everyone looked surprised.

"You have nine boats? All yours?"

"Wow, you actually have nine boats? How many boats does the fishing company have in this area?"

Everyone asked in a confused clamor, truly unheard of and unseen; an individual having so many boats was hard for everyone to believe.

The boatmen shouted on his behalf, "It's true; he is our boss!"

"Our boss has not just nine boats; he has dozens! Some are near the coast, others are returning with cargo."

"Our boss sold his small boats before; now they've all been replaced with big boats..."

"Our boss has so many boats..."

Ye Yaodong explained modestly, "In this area, seven boats are mine, and the other two belong to my eldest brother and Ye Ye Erge. The two boats in front that discovered the situation with this reef island are also mine."

Everyone was somewhat incredulous, but the facts were right there in front of them; those boat captains all walked over, and their accents were the same, leaving no room for disbelief.

At such a glorious moment, no one would admit they weren't the boss but just a worker.

Everyone kept praising him, full of admiration.

While speaking, about two hundred people stood or squatted in their respective spots on a large reef rock.

While they were taking photos, the officials took those Japanese away.

And after they finished taking photos, the officials asked for their contact information one by one, mainly recording the contact details of each fishing boat's captain and the names of the crew on board.

This had to be reported up, and then they would wait for the rewards distributed by the higher-ups; they had defended their own territory!

An officer in naval uniform saluted them solemnly, "Today, we truly thank you, fellow fishermen comrades. If not for everyone's timely discovery, our waters would have had a lighthouse secretly built by them, and future maps might even mark their country's name."

"No need to thank us; this is what every Huaguo citizen should do. If they really built a lighthouse on this reef island, that would be a humiliation."

"This is all we should do. Once their lighthouse is built, the rice is cooked, and we'll have nowhere to cry."

"Right, risking our boats and our lives; we can't let them steal our waters."

"These waters were originally ours. It's one thing for those foreign fishing boats to sneak over and steal fish, but the waters cannot be stolen!"

The officer added, "Thank you very much. It's good it was discovered in time; if we waited until it was built to respond, we would be very passive."

"I have recorded everyone's contact information. This is a major merit; the higher-ups will definitely hold a commendation ceremony and award everyone certificates of honor. We will contact everyone in advance then."

"Hehe, that's great. Laozi... no, I, have never been this glorious in my life."

"Haha, bringing back a certificate of honor is enough to make this life worthwhile."

The officials had many follow-up matters to handle; after registering everyone's contact information, they thanked them solemnly again, then went back on board first.

Some fishing boats arrived late, only after it was over, feeling regretful, slapping their thighs in despair, wondering why they didn't run faster or react quicker to get here sooner.

A few individual fishing boats managed to catch the tail end, making up the numbers, making up the headcount.

Everyone still staying in place, if interested, exchanged names and contact information with each other, with the main focus being asking the captain of the Ping'an Fishing Boat for photos.

The captain of the Ping'an Fishing Boat was also extremely excited, feeling he was too wise; he had brought a camera on board, and now everyone was surrounding him, being extremely polite.

However, to reduce trouble, he only said he would develop the photos when he returned and bring them when going to collect the honor; everyone could collect their own then. For those who didn't come, he would also store them at the award collection point.

Everyone had no objections; after all, they were all fishermen going out to sea, usually drifting on the ocean, so meeting up with everyone was not easy, and mailing was both costly and troublesome, especially since so many addresses had to be recorded.

Ye Yaodong also kept the contact information of the captain of the Ping'an fishing boat, as well as captains of several other fishing boats.

Today's cooperation was pleasant, united against the outside, and everyone had developed a bit of revolutionary comradeship; if anything happened in the future, everyone would certainly consider today's revolutionary friendship, and everything would be easy to discuss and negotiate; it was also a network of connections.

Moreover, after today's incident, since everyone was fishing in the same sea area, they could look out for one another, the sense of strangeness had diminished, and they had gone from being strangers to being one's own people.

Security in this sea area had increased again.

"Then let's leave it at that for now; the sun is almost setting, and everyone has been busy from early morning until now, so everyone is exhausted."

"Yes, I didn't even have time to eat all day; I rushed over eagerly."

"The nine of us on our boats didn't even eat breakfast; when we discovered it early in the morning, everyone started dealing with them."

"Then you worked harder; thank you so much today, Captain Ye..."

Ye Yaodong said politely, "What is there to thank? Let's not be so polite; after all, this is our own people's territory."

"In the future, if we encounter foreign fishing boats in this sea area, everyone should shout on the public channel, and we will drive them out together; in the future, we won't even let them steal fish!"

"Yes, this sea area is ours!"

"Then we'll take our leave for now; if anything happens in the future, everyone should just shout, as I am also fishing in this sea area."

"Me too..."

Everyone bid farewell to each other, then gradually returned to their respective boats; as for the national flags, they were all planted on this reef island as a memento to assert sovereignty.

As for the half-built lighthouse here, officials would naturally handle it.

The official vessel nearby and the ghost ship involved were still anchored nearby for negotiations; they had left, but these two parties had not yet departed.

Fortunately, several official warships had also arrived successively, surrounding the other side.

Lao Biao was still excited and energetic now. "Dongzi, it was all thanks to you pulling us to the front to take photos; we can be said to have glory added to our bodies."

"It's a pity we couldn't kill them; when we surrounded the ghost ship, I really wanted to impulsively charge at them."

The others were also chattering excitedly; they had never thought they could have such a high-light moment.

"Boss, everyone should have a certificate of glory, right?"

"It should be; didn't that officer just say so? Everyone contributed, so everyone gets a share."

"Hehe, that's good..."

Ye Yaodong added, "We've delayed for a day; everyone should return to their boats. I'm starving; everyone should get something to eat first, then do whatever needs to be done."

Just then, Dongyu No. 1 finally arrived late, and several other boats also arrived at this time.

Seeing the large group gradually returning to their respective boats, the latecomers were stunned.

"It's over? So quickly?"

The Dongyu vessel was also at a loss, wanting to cry but having no tears.

One by one, everyone disembarked, and those who had not yet arrived instantly lost contact with everyone.

Even the captain of Dongyu No. 1 held the walkie-talkie and called out for a long time, but no one responded.

It was only after returning to the boat that someone answered him.

"You came late; we've already finished the fight, registered, and are waiting to receive our certificates of glory!"

The late-arriving fishing boats were so regretful they could have slapped their thighs until they broke.

PS: Sleeping; will make up a chapter tomorrow.