Chapter 1735: Handover

Wherever their fleet passed, every small and large fishing boat in the near seas was shocked; they stopped fishing and hurriedly reeled in their nets to follow behind.

Those with communication equipment had already started exchanging information, while those without it used loudspeakers to shout at nearby fishing boats, all sharing information with one another.

No one wasn't curious: a fleet of ships had a Japanese vessel sandwiched in the middle, and people could even be seen on board—what was going on?

"Dongzi, so many boats are following us. What do we do?"

"Nothing. Let them follow. We'll dock in less than two hours anyway."

"Hehe, aren't we now what that phrase calls 'the moon surrounded by stars'?"

"You're overthinking it. Everyone is just following out of curiosity to watch the spectacle."

"With so many watching the spectacle, they aren't even fishing or earning money?"

"Money can be earned anytime, but this kind of spectacle might not be seen again for decades once it's over."

"Hahaha, absolutely right."

Their three boats ran ahead, towing one in the middle, with over a dozen boats surrounding them on the sides, and a tail of twenty or thirty boats of various sizes trailing behind; the closer they got to shore, the more fishing boats were attracted, making the tail even more spectacular.

Everyone didn't know how those boats of various sizes were communicating, but that didn't stop them from feeling secretly pleased.

This was while they were heading straight for the port instead of going to the fishing grounds, yet they still attracted so many fishing boats.

At the same time, they received a call on the public channel from the official naval forces; the authorities had almost lost sight of the continental shelf, heard the public channel boiling over, and immediately contacted him.

Ye Yaodong quickly reported his coordinates; he thought they were almost docking, but the authorities hadn't even set out yet. It turned out they had moved in the opposite direction based on the old coordinates given earlier.

Fortunately, they weren't too far away; they should arrive in a few hours, so he continued forward while waiting.

Ye Ye Yaopeng asked with concern, "Dongzi, what did the naval forces say?"

"Nothing much. I reported the coordinates, and they are already rushing over. They also took the opportunity to learn about the foreign vessel and the personnel on board."

"So when they arrive, do we hand over the ship and the people to them?"

"Of course. Otherwise, do you want to treat the entire boatful of people behind us to a meal?"

"How could that be? How would we ask them for money then?"

"Just state your case to our naval forces. Speak with high moral principles, put on a few high hats. Isn't international friendship encouraged now? We helped them so greatly, didn't leave them stranded at sea, actively assisted when they were in trouble, escorted them directly to shore, and even requested official support for them."

"Good, good, good. When the leaders arrive, we'll discuss it properly during the handover of the ship and the people."

"Of course. Everyone needs to cooperate and speak nicely then. Whether we can bite off a huge chunk of them depends on our performance later."

Ye Ye Yaohua said, "We do need the leaders to handle the negotiations. Should we slow down and wait?"

"No problem. We agreed on where to dock; waiting at the pier or port later is the same."

"The boats watching the spectacle behind us are getting more and more numerous."

"Don't worry about it. If they want to watch, let them watch."

As they got closer to shore, the procession behind them grew even larger, and after they slowed down, the front became blocked too, causing a sensation.

Near the coast, he could barely move; even trying to navigate into the channel for large ships was impossible.

Ye Yaodong quickly switched to the traffic channel; the shore-based duty officers had been shouting in the channel for a long time, and he finally connected.

He briefly explained the situation and mentioned that the naval vessel was right behind them, expected to arrive in two or three hours to make contact and take over the foreign fishing boat.

"... Comrade, that is the situation. So now we have to trouble you to maintain maritime traffic order. More and more boats are gathering, and we are completely stuck here, causing a traffic jam in the channel."

The VTS controller listened from start to finish with a shocked expression, and only when he heard the request to maintain traffic order did he quickly react, immediately dispatching port authority vessels to disperse the crowd at sea.

"Comrade, do not dock yet. If your ship docks now, it will be difficult to resolve the situation later."

Ye Yaodong thought it over and agreed; after all, the situation was too special. The foreign fishing boat could not come into contact with local fishing boats or others; it had to be handed over intact to the authorities.

"Then you disperse the fishing boats. I will drift at sea and wait for the naval forces to arrive for the handover."

"Arrangements have been made. Please wait a moment."

All available port authority vessels at the harbor received the notice and were dispatched to come and disperse the crowd.

All vessels at sea were concentrated in one area, blocking everything completely; such a situation was rarely encountered.

Usually, congestion only happened after a typhoon ended when ships were leaving the port. When had returning to shore ever been this crowded?

After communicating, Ye Yaodong waited for the port authority vessels to arrive and clear the way.

Then he switched from the traffic channel to the public channel, which was in an uproar, sounding like boiling water. Their own people were already bragging in the public channel, making the captains of all large vessels who could access the channel envious and jealous.

The small boats nearby were purely watching the spectacle, then obtaining some useful information through the surrounding large ships before continuing to spread it.

He ignored the commotion in the channel, took out the camera he had specially brought, and went to the deck to take photos.

Yesterday during the daytime voyage, he had already taken photos at sea; now, closer to the coast with even more fishing boats, the scene was even more spectacular.

After taking the photos, he would develop several copies to bring back, place them in the ancestral hall, and even burn some for the ancestors.

The captain, beaming with joy, approached and said, "Dongzi, now Dongsheng Fisheries is in the spotlight. Everyone at the entire dock and even the whole city knows we detained an invading Japanese fishing boat at sea and dragged them back, people and ship included. That's awesome."

"We are in the spotlight, but so many fishing boats are surrounding us, blocking everything completely, and we can't move."

"The port authority vessels have already come to disperse the crowd on the periphery. Do you want to take a few more photos? They will definitely be in the newspapers, and they will definitely ask us for more photos later."

"I've already taken several; that's enough. Reporters will definitely come to take photos later, and we can just ask them for a few from different angles."

"Good, good, good. Develop a few more copies and give me one to hang on the wall at home."

"Once the fishing boats are dispersed a bit, let the other boats dock first to unload their cargo, and also notify the factory to come and receive the goods."

"Understood. I'll go notify them right away."

Ye Yaodong estimated the naval vessel would take at least two hours to arrive. Dispersing the fishing boats here wouldn't be fast either, so there was nothing he could do now but stay put and wait.

It was more than two hours later before the port authority at the dock dispersed all the fishing boats, and then they slowly moved out of the channel one by one.

With so many boats, moving in and out was not easy. By the time they returned to the middle of the sea, the naval forces had arrived.

Everyone was excited. Originally, Ye Yaodong had planned to arrange for them to unload the cargo first, but now no one was willing to leave.

They cleared a channel to let the naval vessel approach first, and the port authority vessels naturally didn't miss the opportunity, following close behind to get the first-hand news.

Ye Yaodong came down from the wheelhouse, watching as the naval leader approached their fishing boat first.

"So you're the boss of Dongsheng Fisheries? You're so young!"

"Yes, it's me. Hello..."

The other man smiled and shook his hand. "My name is Qiu Zhuoqun. The leaders have mentioned you. You're impressive. Last time, you saw through the Japanese devils' treacherous plot and helped us destroy their lighthouse project on Reef Island. Today, you've done something big again."

"Oh, come on. Isn't that what should be done? When faced with it, one naturally cannot sit idly by."

"I've heard a lot, and it's not just this one thing. I heard the leaders arranged for many retired soldiers to be sent to your factory. Not bad, young man. Your political awareness is very high. You can even help solve the employment problem for retired soldiers."

Ye Yaodong smiled modestly. "Oh, come on. I was just thinking of sharing the leaders' burdens. Originally, my own nephew felt sorry for his comrades' difficult family situations and wanted me to arrange a few positions for them. I didn't expect it to attract the leaders' attention, and later, more and more were arranged."

"You have helped solve a major difficulty and made a significant contribution."

Qiu Zhuoqun glanced around at the sailors standing on the deck and said with a smile, "It seems they have all come aboard."

Those retired soldiers who had served in the army straightened their bodies and saluted with a military salute!

"Work hard. Don't bring shame to our Naval Vessel Squadron."

The retired soldiers responded loudly.

"Let's get back to the matter at hand. This fishing boat had a conflict with a Taiwanese fishing boat, and then the propeller was sabotaged by the Taiwanese fishing boat, tangled with fishing nets, and couldn't move, right?"

"Yes, that's right. They were still fishing in our waters. We put aside past grievances and, seeing their fishing boat couldn't move, extended a helping hand to help tow them back. Now, we must hand them over to you for processing."

Qiu Zhuoqun nodded. "DYD is ours; the surrounding waters and fishing grounds are naturally ours too."

"There's another thing. We kindly towed their boat back for processing, having already entered our own territorial waters, but their patrol ship also appeared there. This is an invasion. I even took photos of it."

"There's such a thing? Then you must develop the film and hand it over to us for processing."

"Definitely."

"Then we'll take this boat and the people first. Wait for the leaders to negotiate. You have maintained the order of our waters and helped international friends. The state will not forget you."

Ye Yaodong nodded, then said with a smile, "Then can we state our own demands?"

"Go ahead."

"This trip, we had more than ten boats escorting that Japanese fishing boat to shore, spending three days and two nights. It was quite a delay, delaying our fishing. We acted according to international conventions and extended a helping hand, so the other party should also give us corresponding compensation and make up for our losses, right?"

Qiu Zhuoqun nodded, fully agreeing. "You're right. It's only right. They should compensate you for the remuneration and losses. Register your fishing boats and personnel. I'll report back and discuss your demands with the leaders. You've made such a huge contribution and helped international friends; you deserve a reward."

A-Zheng, who didn't know when he had run over from the side, interjected, "Can we ask for more? Our daily catch is worth twenty thousand. This trip was delayed for them for three days and two nights. Dongzi's fresh-fish collection boat can easily collect goods worth 300,000 in one trip."

Xiao Xiao chimed in, "Yeah, I heard their economy is very good. The wages for workers going to sea are ten or twenty thousand each, compared to our three hundred. That's a difference of dozens of times. If we catch goods worth ten or twenty thousand, to them, it's probably equivalent to hundreds of thousands."

A-Guang said, "Their prices are different from ours; they must be dozens of times higher! They come to our waters to fish, then sell at high prices in their own country. They've made all the money; we must make them pay a heavy price."

Captain Old Zhang also shouted, "Not just that. They arrogantly drove their patrol ship into our territorial waters, almost reaching the near-shore area. Now we have evidence, photos, and their boat is in our hands. We must make them pay heavily."

Everyone spoke in a jumble; the general meaning was to make them suffer heavy losses and pay a huge sum.

Qiu Zhuoqun listened with a smile. "I have noted everyone's demands and the amount of compensation and remuneration you want from the other party. I will report everything upon returning."

After speaking, he asked the assistant beside him, "Have you noted the list of fishing boats and the amounts they are demanding?"

"Yes, I've noted them. I've also noted how many people are on each boat."

"Alright, then you've worked hard on this trip. We'll take that boat away first, so it won't delay your fishing anymore."

Ye Yaodong politely said, "The leaders will also work hard handling the subsequent troubles. If there is any news, please call the several numbers left above. Any of them can be called; they are all my factory's phone numbers."

"Definitely."

After finishing their recording, they quickly returned to their own vessel and then mobilized personnel to arrange for the Japanese fishing boat.

Earlier, while they were communicating, the Navy had already sent translators to negotiate with the other party, so the handover went smoothly now.

There were many fishing boats around watching the spectacle, but none dared to get too close. There were port authority ships nearby, not allowing these fishing boats to approach easily.

Everyone could only stretch their necks, watching the people on the several huge ships communicate, and then guessing.

After handing over the hot potato, Ye Yaodong breathed a sigh of relief and said to everyone with a smile, "Perfectly resolved. As for any progress later, I'll notify you once I get the news. It will probably take half a month or a month anyway, so there's no rush."

"Alright, then we'll go back to our own boats. We need to dock quickly to unload the cargo, and then go back to sea after unloading."

"Go ahead."

After waiting for the naval fleet to tow the Japanese fishing boat away, they drove their boats to the corresponding cargo docks to unload, but they kept muttering in the walkie-talkies.

"We spoke pretty well just now, right? They should respect our demands, right?"

"They should, right? From an international perspective, we weren't wrong; we did a good deed! From the perspective of our own national righteousness, we basically captured them. Who told them to come to our waters to steal fish! We had to tow them back to warn them."

"Then asking for 50,000 per boat isn't too much, right?"

"Definitely not too much!"

"What is 50,000 to them? The monthly wages for the workers on their boats are over 10,000, let alone the fact that they stole our fish to sell, consuming our resources. Now we're just making them spit out a little bit."

"Wait for the notice and see what they say. Anyway, they can't get away with it."

"Dongzi, how long did it take to notify you to collect the award two years ago?"

Ye Yaodong said, "About a month. Their process isn't that fast, especially since it involves the international situation; there will probably be some wrangling."

Ye Ye Yaopeng nodded. "Then anyway, they won't renege. We just need to wait patiently."

He urged again, "Now that the matter is settled, hurry up and unload the cargo. After unloading, we'll continue fishing. Don't delay the main business. One day without fishing means a loss of twenty or thirty thousand."

"Ah, isn't it a few thousand?"

"Didn't the prices go up earlier? Then it's a matter of twenty or thirty thousand."

"Then hurry up and unload."

When Ye Yaodong's boat went out this time, nothing had been done yet; it had only sucked up a cargo hold full of miscellaneous fish. Now that the fishing boats were back, it could continue to suck up miscellaneous fish from other boats, so it wouldn't be idle.

"Old Zhang, just take advantage of the fishing boats queuing up to unload ahead. Arrange it so the queuing fishing boats come over first to suck up the trash fish and put it in the bottom hold to process into fish meal. Do both sides simultaneously to save some time."

"Received."

"I'm going off the boat to the factory for a bit. I'll leave the cargo handover here to you to arrange. When the other boats finish unloading and are preparing to return to sea, notify me too. I have arrangements for then; Pioneer No. 1 and No. 2 will be staggered. This trip, the two boats won't go together; keep them spaced out."

"Understood, received. You just go back to the factory. If there's anything or any problems, I'll call to notify you."

"Mm, okay."

Their fishing boats had dispersed, yet the vessels on the sea surface were still gathered there discussing, and the news had long since been relayed back to the shore.

The shore had been packed with people since the moment of their handover; even now, with not a shadow of the foreign fishing boats in sight, the crowd had not yet departed.

When Ye Yaodong secretly went ashore, he could still hear everyone chattering with great enthusiasm.

"... Dongsheng Fisheries is truly awesome; they even detained the Japanese ships and dragged them back, crew and all."

"Yes, who would deny it? The naval forces just mobilized and handed over the people and the ships."

"Truly impressive! I heard they had dozens of boats, which is why they could easily detain the people directly without firing a single shot."

"Oh, I heard they phrased it very nicely; they didn't call it detention, but rather 'assisting them to dock'."

"Tch~ That's just what they say to outsiders."

"Those people truly deserve to die; coming here to steal fish, so shameless, coming so far to steal."

"We should send fishing boats to steal from their waters too."

"Pah! We can't even catch enough of our own fish; who would want theirs?"

"I heard their seas have lots of coral; we could go there and steal the coral. I heard a boat snuck over, and that blood-red coral is incredibly valuable; an eye for an eye."

As Ye Yaodong walked along, he heard all sorts of talk; hearing about stealing coral from their waters made his mind stir.

In his past life, he had worked for a boat owner! He knew where they were plentiful!

Bringing back just one boatload casually would be worth several million; a single trip could make him instantly rich, a massive fortune.

PS: Thank you to the readers for your support; this book will reach Four-Star Glory tomorrow. Only forty-plus books in Qidian's twenty years have achieved this. Confetti~

Tomorrow morning, the Qidian official will award 2,000 monthly passes. Usually, this is expected between 9:00 and 10:00, but since tomorrow is the National Day holiday, it might be at 12:00; everyone can keep an eye out. (This paragraph is free.)