Chapter 1748: Fishing Ban Policy

"Dad just got his driver's license, and he hasn't even been driving for two months. He definitely won't be willing to come back and retire now; he'll have to stay for at least another year or two."

"That's perfect. He's only just past 60, so working another two years is nothing. Besides, there isn't any heavy or tiring work for him to do anyway; he's the one who can't sit still and keeps finding work for himself."

Every time Ye Yaodong thinks about his father carrying a hoe every day to work on that patch of land in the corner, insisting on clearing it out to plant something, he wants to complain. He says he wants to plant more so he can bring it to the fresh-catch boats and save a bit on grocery money.

Anyway, the fishing boats in the deep sea are basically all owned by their own family now, except for two friends, so sending a few baskets of vegetables is no big deal.

If he tells his father to plant less, his father just scolds him with righteous indignation, saying everything can be put to use. If he doesn't want it, he can sell it to the canteen and still make some money.

At the beginning of the year, he was already muttering about planting more to sell to the canteen. When he returned from Shanghai a few days ago, he already saw a row of green sprouts in the corner.

His father even called to instruct him to remember to water them if it hadn't rained for many days.

The couple sat at the banquet, looking around and chatting.

Lin Xiuqing glanced around. "The bride's side has quite a few relatives too; looks like five or six tables. We seem to have eleven or twelve tables; that's really quite a lot."

"It's not that many. When our daughter gets married, our side will have ten tables... ah, pfft, she's only 10, that's a long way off."

She chuckled. "If she gets married at 20, that's only 10 years away. It'll go by fast. She was so tiny back then, and now she's grown so much."

Just then, someone at the children's table said something, and Ye Xiaoxi laughed until she was doubled over, laughing heartily, huddled together with Pei Yu.

"Crazy. She's only 20, what's the rush to get married? She's still just a child. Didn't you see Ye Chengjiang, a grown man, shouting every day that he's a child, and even shamelessly sitting at the children's table at noon?" Ye Yaodong said, lifting his chin to look at the children's table.

It was indeed quite conspicuous. There were their own two little ones, the three little ones from Huimei's family, plus the three daughters from the eldest and second brother's families, along with Ye Chengjiang and two children of relatives. Among them, Ye Chengjiang, the grown man, was the most conspicuous.

The children at that table couldn't eat much, and the table was already stacked two layers high with dishes. It looked like they hadn't touched much, only Ye Chengjiang and the few older ones kept using their chopsticks.

Lin Xiuqing also chuckled. "The second sister-in-law has been glaring at him for a long time."

"It's better to get married later, otherwise they won't have had enough fun. This isn't the old days where people just worked all day to scrape by. Now there are skating rinks, karaoke halls, video games, and they advocate for freedom of love. It's so much fun."

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him. "If your daughter were like Ye Chengjiang, dating everywhere and changing partners every day, let's see if you'd be anxious or not."

"How could that be? She's very well-behaved. Let me tell you, once she starts middle school, you need to keep a closer eye on her. You must arrange for someone to pick her up and drop her off every day; don't let her be alone."

Ye Yaodong looked at Ye Xiaoxi, his brow furrowed enough to crush a fly, then looked at the grinning, seemingly unreliable Ye Chengjiang next to her. A scene suddenly flashed in his mind, and he shot a glare at him.

Ye Chengjiang felt a chill down his spine. He felt like someone was glaring at him, but seeing it was his mother, he felt a bit more at ease and continued to tease his younger siblings.

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him, worrying unnecessarily. It would be three years before she started middle school, and besides, hadn't they already started having people pick them up?

She changed the subject, not wanting to argue with him about this. "Time flies. The little brats are all grown up and will soon be fathers themselves. Ye Chengjiang looks unreliable and hasn't settled on wanting to get married yet. I reckon the girls will be sooner."

"What's the rush? Girls need to look and choose carefully too, otherwise, it's easy to fall into a fire pit if you're not careful."

In their past lives, the people they married weren't very good; you could only say they barely managed to get by.

Ye Jingjing's husband followed a boss into smuggling and then went to jail for the boss. The wife and children were actually quite comfortable; they were rid of an eyesore of a husband and even got 2 million for free. Later, they heard that when he was released, he would give them another sum.

This time, they have to choose carefully.

Now that the eldest brother's family foundation is getting thicker and their family's reputation is widespread, the people they dated in their past lives wouldn't even have the qualifications to step through their door. But after things have changed, finding someone else might not necessarily be better.

Who knows, they might escape one fire pit only to jump into another, so they still need to keep their eyes peeled and look carefully.

Besides, nothing is absolute. In the past life, one was a free-love relationship, one was a middle school classmate, and one was introduced by someone; it's very easy to walk the same old path.

"For us ordinary families living our lives, there aren't that many fire pits to jump into. You're thinking too much. Besides, the eldest brother and sister-in-law will definitely keep a check on things."

"Who says ordinary families don't have fire pits? Are you afraid of domestic violence? Getting drunk and beating you to death—is that a fire pit? Are you afraid of gambling, getting into a mountain of debt for no reason, and being forced to borrow money to keep gambling—is that a fire pit? A whole family of terrible people treating you like a slave, thinking you're trash, and opening their mouths only to beat and scold you, not giving you a penny, torturing you both physically and mentally—are you afraid of that? Are there few such cases in our countryside?"

Lin Xiuqing was left speechless by his retort.

There are too many such things in the countryside; they exist right around them.

"The two brothers and sisters-in-law will keep a check on things."

"I'm just afraid they're young and naive, getting coaxed by others. By the time the parents appear, it'll be too late, like trying to break up a pair of mandarin ducks."

"Then what can be done? They can only manage their own daughters; we just need to keep a tighter watch on our own children."

"Exactly, that's why I'm telling you to keep a tighter watch on the children. Don't think that just because she's young, it's not a big deal. You just said there aren't that many fire pits for ordinary families—there are plenty!"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll listen to you."

"You two, don't just talk, eat quickly. Eat, Dongzi, eat quickly. It's rare to have such good food. Eat more; you're going on a long journey to make money tomorrow, so you need to eat more today."

The old lady stood up, wanting to move the dishes, to move the good food in front of him, but looking at the table full of dishes, she didn't know where to start.

"I know, don't go to the trouble, just sit down and eat your own..."

It was clearly his eldest brother who was happy to have a grandson, but in the end, the brothers and his father all got drunk together.

The relatives and friends were too enthusiastic. The old ones all sought out his father to drink, and the young ones all poured drinks for the three brothers.

So much so that by the time everyone had finished eating and dispersed, and other tables had been cleared, there were still two large tables in the middle, still there playing finger-guessing games.

It wasn't until the sun hid behind the clouds, around three or four in the afternoon, that everyone was helped back to sleep with unsteady steps.

Ye Yaodong was the same; he was helped back and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Fortunately, they were helped back to sleep at three or four in the afternoon. It was because they slept early that they could wake up early the next day and still be in some sort of state.

If they had been taken back to sleep at night, they wouldn't have needed to set off the next day.

As soon as Ye Yaodong was woken up, he felt a splitting headache. A large cup of tea was handed to him, and he gulped it down immediately, only then feeling his mouth and head feel much more comfortable.

"How is it already the next day? Did I sleep for that long?"

"You don't remember anything?"

"Hm? What am I supposed to remember?"

He lifted the quilt, preparing to get out of bed and get dressed. "Holy crap, did you take advantage of me being drunk to strip me naked and rape me?"

"Get lost. You got drunk yourself, opened the bedroom door, and peed right at the doorway. I heard the sound wasn't right, so I got up to take a look. Later, after returning to the room, you stripped naked, shamelessly huddled up to me, said a bunch of incomprehensible, slurred words, stripped me naked too, and then just lay on top of me without moving."

"Ah? Really or fake?"

"What do you think?"

"I think it's fake. You must have taken advantage of me being drunk, watched me pee, and then, driven by animal instinct, stripped me naked."

Lin Xiuqing fiercely slapped his bare arm. "Your skin is so thick that even a bullet couldn't pierce it. Get up and get dressed quickly. It'll be dawn soon, and it's time to set off."

"Oh."

Ye Yaodong touched his shoulder, which already had five finger marks, and it hurt like hell. "Now I believe it was me who stripped you naked in the middle of the night and lay on top of you without moving."

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him.

He continued in a low voice: "... Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to use so much strength. It looks like you were unsatisfied..."

Lin Xiuqing raised her hand, wanting to slap him again, but he quickly wrapped his shoulder tightly with the quilt and moved inward.

"Aren't we in a hurry? Why are you still hitting me?"

"I'm going to call the two children. You hurry up."

"Oh, did I really pee right at the bedroom door? Wouldn't that have peed into the main hall?"

"Nonsense, in the middle of the night, I heard the sound of water and knew something wasn't right."

"Then did you clean it up?"

"The old lady heard me scolding you in the middle of the night, got up to take a look, and then said you were just drunk, told me not to scold you, and to hurry up and help you back to sleep. She came to clean the floor."

Lin Xiuqing said while fiercely glaring at him. "You're no better than your father, six of one, half a dozen of the other. When you get old, I see you'll be just like him, unable to walk when you see alcohol."

"Cough, they were just pouring drinks for me. I thought I was leaving today, so drinking a bit more was fine."

"Get up quickly."

Ye Yaodong touched his aching shoulder and quickly got up.

Now he believed it too; a drunk man can't do anything. If someone can be driven by animal instinct, it means they weren't drunk.

He didn't even know what he had done yesterday; his memory stopped at being helped back. He didn't remember anything in the middle of the night; he had completely blacked out.

It was also fortunate that he didn't have any wandering thoughts; otherwise, if he got this drunk, who knows if he would have blurted everything out or been trapped, and then there would be no peace in the house.

At this moment, he was just complaining about stripping her naked, but nothing happened. Cough, good thing.

Seeing him get up, the old lady also handed him a cup of tea. "You drank too much yesterday. Drink more tea to sober up and make your mouth feel more comfortable. You can't drink this much next time. When you're away from home, there's no one to take care of you if you drink too much. You need to restrain yourself..."

"I know, I know..."

"I've already served the porridge and let it cool. You drank so much alcohol yesterday, so eating some porridge today is good for your stomach."

"Okay."

Yesterday, there were quite a few dishes left at the children's table. They all brought them back, and each family shared some. However, Ye Yaodong had no appetite looking at those greasy dishes. He only needed a bowl of pickled vegetables and a plate of radishes to go with the porridge.

Lin Xiuqing was debating whether to put the luggage on a handcart and push it to the pier, or carry it by hand, or carry it on a shoulder pole.

"Adong, how are we getting our luggage to the pier? There are quite a few bags. Should we each carry one later?"

"Put it on the motorcycle. Later, I'll ride the motorcycle and take you and the two children, and we'll be at the pier in an instant. It'll save us from walking and save us from carrying the luggage."

"Ah? Then the motorcycle will just be left at the pier?"

"Just leave instructions for Dad to go to the pier and drive it back when he wakes up. It's not a big deal."

"Oh right, Dad isn't coming along this time; he has to stay for two more days to move into the new house."

"I'll do it. You go check if the two children are ready, okay? I see a lot of flashlights outside; don't let so many people wait."

"I'll go urge them."

Ye Xiaoxi was really brushing her teeth with her eyes closed; she only opened her eyes and woke up after washing her face.

"Are we leaving so soon? It feels like we just got back."

"If you don't want to leave, then you can stay here alone!"

"No," she hummed lightly and quickly went to eat.

Seeing the two children dawdling, and Ye Huimei's family already ready, with the children running over, stretching their necks to ask them to leave together, he simply sent their family to the pier first.

Then he would come back to pick up his own family, which would be just right.

Ye Chenghe, next door, stood at his doorway, looking at the child in Ye Dasao's arms, pressing his face against it again and again.

"Son, wait for your dad to make a fortune and come back to pick you up, okay!"

"The child isn't asleep in the middle of the night?" Lin Xiuqing said, just about to climb onto the vehicle.

"He just had milk earlier, and he's wide awake right now. I'm holding him to burp him."

Ye Yaodong urged, "You hurry up, people at the pier have almost all arrived."

"Leaving now."

Ye Chenghe took his bag of luggage and threw it over his shoulder, then followed behind their vehicle at a jog.

Ye Chengyang looked back and then shouted with a smile, "Go! Go!"

Ye Xiaoxi also turned her head curiously. "Brother Chenghe is racing with the dogs? Go, go!"

Ye Chenghe was speechless when he heard that. He accelerated and quickly rushed past their vehicle, the dogs barking and running fast too.

"Dad, overtake him, overtake him!"

"Dad, go! Go!"

Seeing the two of them shouting so enthusiastically, Ye Yaodong also stepped on the gas and instantly overtook Ye Chenghe again.

"Holy crap, damn it, one vehicle with 4 people bullying me alone! And your family's dogs too!"

"Hahaha..."

Ye Chenghe simply stopped running; if he kept running, it would really be a joke.

The people at the pier were all gathered. It was basically just the workers on Ye Yaopeng's fishing boat, plus their own family members who had come back to drink.

As soon as the children got on the boat, they wilted again. This trip back to Shanghai by boat was for school, and there was nothing to look forward to.

Ye Yaodong was thinking about after returning, he would send his wife and children to Shanghai, and by the way, check the progress of the Dongyu No. 2; it was almost time to deliver the boat.

If the boat was also delivered, he would have to rearrange the personnel on the boat, and he would have to lead the boat and the people himself when the time came.

If this boat were launched, it would be for fishing directly, unlike the Pioneer No. 2, which was used as a fresh-catch boat; the technical operation wasn't that complicated.

Fortunately, it was already past April, and it would probably be the end of April when they went out to sea. If they stayed for seven or eight months on this trip, it would only be a matter of three or four months, so it wouldn't be too hard to endure.

It was just that when they arrived at Zhoushan, they heard some bad news.

"Starting to implement the summer fishing ban at fixed points? Starting from the East China Sea fishing grounds?"

Manager Qi said helplessly, "Yes, the document released by the higher-ups was just received yesterday, and it stipulates the minimum mesh size for the codend to prevent the fishing of juvenile fish."

"Damn it, is it that early?"

"It's not that early. It says it will be implemented in June and July, prohibiting fishing, and the sea will be opened again in August."

Ye Yaodong's face didn't look good. The "so early" he mentioned referred to this year, not that it was now. He had always thought the fishing ban wouldn't start until 1995.

No wonder his friend had heard rumors two months ago about some new policy, saying something about prohibiting out-of-town fishing boats from fishing locally.

"What does the document say? Let me take a look."

"Here!"

Manager Qi handed it over and added, "... The core purpose is to protect resources during the most critical period of fish reproduction and growth by prohibiting fishing, to achieve sustainable development."

"It should be because of overfishing in recent years, plus the fishing nets have small meshes, catching both large and small fish in one net, so a new regulation has been issued."

"In order to release juvenile fish, let them escape from the mesh, continue to grow and reproduce, thereby protecting fishery resources, and also complying with sustainable development."

Ye Yaodong glanced at the document roughly. It was about the same as what Manager Qi said. The main focus was on the eight characters "governing fishing according to law, comprehensive management."

"Damn it, I was thinking that after this trip, I'd have the Dongyu No. 2 in hand and could really show what I can do, but suddenly this happens. I thought this policy wouldn't come out for a few years."

"Yes, the boss mentioned before that this policy might come out in a few years. I didn't expect it to come out now. Although your news is indeed very reliable, this is too fast."

Ye Yaodong sat in the chair, not knowing what to do for a moment, feeling a bit dazed.

He hadn't thought it would be this fast, and suddenly he was caught off guard.

If the fishing ban starts for two months, do all the fishing boats have to be recalled to rest for two months?

That would delay so much work and lose so much money!

The main thing is that their fishing boats have been recalled, and the sea areas have been cleared, but foreign fishing boats still come over to fish wantonly, all benefiting outsiders. Damn it!

"What should we do, boss? There's still a month and a half. When the document was issued yesterday, the pier exploded."

"Did everyone protest?"

"Protest is protest, but who knows if it's effective. Now that the document has been issued to us fishery units, we must definitely cooperate with the implementation."

"Damn, they can't do anything to the small boats, so they let us large fishing boat units cooperate first."

"That's about what it means. The fishery company has also issued a document, and it seems they will also hold a meeting to discuss it in the next two days."

"A bit later, let me think about it. I just got back, and my butt hasn't even warmed up yet."

"I'm also anxious. As soon as I heard you were back, I rushed over to report."

"Does this mean that during the two months of the fishing ban, fishing is prohibited in both near-shore and deep-sea areas?"

"It didn't explicitly say."

Their country's control over the deep sea is so weak now, and they still rely on the spontaneous resistance of fishermen's boats to defend against foreign enemies. At this time, they shouldn't recall all the deep-sea fishing boats and prohibit fishing, right?

Ye Yaodong thought about it. The document didn't write near-shore or deep-sea. He guessed it referred to near-shore fishing grounds, right?

This fixed-point test should also have a scope. At the beginning, it shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all approach; it must be a circled area.

Choosing Zhoushan, it must be because of the fishing grounds here. ===== CHAPTER 1749 =====