Chapter 1733: Gratitude Fee

Their dozen or so boats surrounded the one in the middle, and the decks were packed with people holding all kinds of weapons: sleek black gun barrels, sharpened bamboo poles, and even blades tied to sticks.

The Japanese on the opposite side went from stomping their feet in anger to silence, then to whispering among themselves.

People up there ran back and forth, perhaps exchanging communication signals.

Ye Yaodong couldn't wait two minutes; he grabbed the megaphone and shouted, "Opposite side, do you want to surrender? I'll count down 3, 2, 1, and if there's no response, we'll board by force."

"3... 2..."

"Wait a moment, Captain. We haven't had any conflict. We hope everyone can stay out of each other's way. Our rescue vessels are arriving soon..."

Someone spoke up with a megaphone in broken Chinese.

"I don't care. Who said we haven't had a conflict? You just had a conflict with a fishing boat from Taiwan Province. Do you know whose waters these are? You've crossed the line. You need to come with us, dock, and hand yourselves over to the government."

"As soon as our rescue vessels arrive, we'll leave immediately..."

"Who cares? I only know you've entered our territory. Do you want to surrender? If not, we're boarding. We have over 500 men. 3..."

The opposite side started whispering and murmuring to each other again.

When Ye Yaodong counted down to 1 and was about to order the fishing boats to move, the other side quickly raised their hands and said, "We are willing to dock with you first, but you must not harm us. Our patrol vessels are arriving soon too..."

"Who wants to harm you? Are we as cruel, shameless, and insane as some people? Although you crossed the line, we saw your fishing boat was damaged and worried about your safety, so we thought we'd take you with us. I'm putting aside past grievances and guaranteeing your safety! People must know how to be grateful and repay kindness!"

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he signaled the captain to cooperate, steering the fishing boat closer, while notifying the workers to swing their hooks, catch the other fishing boat, and then secure and tie it down.

Of course, the premise for all this was that several boats stood watchfully, holding weapons to intimidate them, making them dare not make a move.

Ye Yaodong arranged for the three largest boats, Pioneer No. 1, Pioneer No. 2, and Dongyu Hao, to tow that boat forward simultaneously.

Pioneer No. 1 and No. 2 had just set sail and hadn't received much cargo yet; their holds were empty, so they could run faster.

Dongyu Hao still had more than half its Load-bearing capacity available; it was far from full, so it could run too.

All three boats were larger than the Japanese fishing boat; pulling it forward together with combined strength would allow them to move faster.

As long as they entered the near-shore waters, official vessels would naturally come over.

"Dongzi, you're really awesome, you're such a good talker."

"Haha, isn't Dongzi always like that? He always turns black into white."

"Haha, once we drag them ashore, they'll still have to thank us. With so many of our boats, won't each one get a bit more compensation?"

"It's hard to move the cargo from their boat while we're at sea. Once we dock, it's all our spoils of war. We'll move everything off their boat."

Ye Yaodong scoffed, "What spoils of war? You pig-brained fools. That's clearly their gratitude fee, thanking us for putting aside past grievances, strictly observing international conventions, and escorting them ashore."

"So they'll gift us the cargo on their boat and let us take whatever we want, though that cargo certainly won't equal the debt of saving their lives."

"By then, our government will surely help us demand compensation from them. All 12 boats involved here will definitely each get a share."

"We haven't fished for a day; how huge is that loss? We gave up fishing to rescue them. Shouldn't they compensate us for our losses?"

Before the walkie-talkie responded, the captain nearby was already nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Exactly. One of our boats can catch several thousand yuan a day. They have to make that up..."

"Nonsense. One of our boats makes 20,000 yuan a day; two days is 40,000 yuan. My fresh-fish collection boat costs 300,000 yuan per trip; two boats make 600,000 yuan. They must compensate me at least 1 million yuan to cover my losses. I don't think they'd be so stingy to give just 1 million yuan in loss fees. Add some extra gratitude fee on top, double it to 2 million yuan, that's not too much, right? There's who-knows-how-much fish cargo on their boat; is that enough for fuel costs?"

Ye Yaodong rattled off a string of calculations, leaving everyone stunned, with only nodding as their reaction.

"This is just the gratitude fee they owe us for rescuing them. What about the compensation fee for them fishing in our waters and crossing the line? We shouldn't collect that; the government should. By then, they'll even have to publish an apology in the newspaper."

All the captains were now utterly awestruck.

"Dongzi, you're still the best. You still dare to ask."

"That's how it should be. We can't work for free. Dragging them to the shore, if they don't give a 2 million yuan gratitude fee, it just won't make sense."

"Extort a huge sum. I heard the economy over there with the little devils is developed; even a dishwasher can make several thousand yuan a month."

"Huh? Is 2 million yuan too little for them?"

"Should we ask for more?"

"Ask for more! Make it hurt them so badly they feel it in their bones!"

"Oh no, several boats haven't caught up yet..."

Ye Yaodong also pondered whether 2 million yuan was too little. For them, 2 million yuan was a lot; his crew's wages increased every year, and now they earned less than 300 yuan a month. The wages of crewmen over there with the little devils were probably more than 30 times his side's.

He turned to the captain and said, "Then later, let's figure out how to raise it a bit more. Add another 1 million yuan. By then, take out 500,000 yuan to distribute among everyone, divided by position and proportion. Notify the other fishing boats to hurry and follow; they'll get a share too!"

The captain's face lit up with joy. "Then I'll hurry and call the other fishing boats to follow. Also, should I notify the workers now about the money distribution?"

"Don't mention it now. The money isn't in hand yet, and we don't know how much there will be. I was just talking off the cuff. If we say it too early and there isn't that much later, won't they be discouraged? If there's money to share, it's never too late."

"Okay, then let's keep it tight for now."

While they were chatting over here, the ones in the walkie-talkie were also chattering away, all discussing how much money they would extort from them upon returning.

We definitely can't kill them, but we can extort money, making it hurt them badly. After all, we are standing on the side of righteousness.

Escorting them with so many boats shows them a high level of importance. Since everyone is so sincere, the other side naturally must reward us handsomely!

Detaining their boat for a trip back to shore could earn several times the value. This deal is extremely profitable; it can barely cover everyone's expenses for a month.

If we really manage to demand that much reward, it will belong to whoever's boat it is; naturally, his own boat's share is his.

However, he must definitely set aside some to reward the crew. With several hundred people, giving 1,000 yuan each would cost hundreds of thousands, so he must demand even more.

"Don't just keep talking. Crank up the engines and run. Run faster."

Their patrol vessels must be somewhere in the waters. We must run faster so they don't catch up.

However, even if they catch up, there's no fear. We have many boats and many people. If we don't stop, would they dare to attack?

Originally, he was acting out of goodwill. Seeing their boat in an accident, he specifically wanted to tow them back to shore for repairs. If they dare to attack, that would be repaying kindness with enmity, and they would be utterly despised.

"Tell the crewmen to stay alert on the decks too. Keep an eye on them, taking turns to watch."

PS: I've been interrogated. I don't know when this chapter will be released. There's another chapter coming up that I can only release after I wake up from sleep.