Chapter 905: Going Out to Sea to Fish

Hong Hong Wenle thought for a moment and also felt that Ye Yaodong made sense.

"Fine then, you come with me; I'll have someone arrange a boat."

"A fishing boat or a speedboat?"

"Of course a fishing boat; aren't we going to catch fish? A speedboat isn't much fun."

Sigh, as expected of a young master; even a speedboat isn't much fun. In his two lifetimes combined, he hadn't ridden one more than a handful of times.

"Then just experience it. Otherwise, why wait for a good day when today is already here? I'm free today; we can go out for the afternoon and return? After tomorrow, I won't be free; my own family needs to go out to sea to fish."

"That doesn't make sense. If that's the case, why am I looking for you? I'll have someone find a boat and bring along the boat captain to take me fishing; what do I need you for?"

Ye Yaodong felt he was right; he wasn't indispensable after all.

But Laozi has good luck!

If I don't take him, how will I earn a fishing rod?

Although I can afford to buy one myself, buying one back would mean getting beaten and scolded. A rod costs one or two hundred yuan; bringing back something useless to his family would have his skin peeled off, and everyone would gang up to beat him.

He might not even be allowed on the bed.

If he earns it cheaply on his own, no one would object.

Suddenly, he slapped the table. "Got it! Laozi has remoras; Laozi can take you and try catching fish using remoras!"

"What remoras?"

Hong Hong Wenle's attention shifted to his remora-fishing idea, and he didn't mind Laozi calling himself that in front of him.

"Didn't I say we encountered a group of whale sharks? Remoras love attaching themselves to these big fish to hitch a ride. The head of a remora looks like a shoe sole print; put it in the sea, and it will find big fish on its own. You can use it to fish."

"Really? You can use fish to catch fish? Is that true or fake?" Hong Hong Wenle's eyes sparkled as he listened.

"I don't know; I just heard about it."

"Damn, you made it sound so real; I thought you had tried it."

"I just happened to get a few remoras the day before yesterday; they're still being kept at someone's collection point. I was planning to try them out these past couple of days anyway. Do you want to try?"

"You can't miss this chance; remoras aren't easy to catch. Let me tell you, I encountered a whale shark last year. Oh my, its whole skin was spotted like the stars in the sky; it was so beautiful. But I didn't have a camera then, so I couldn't take a picture. Otherwise, I would have shown it off to you again."

"Also, at that time, I pulled a few remoras off its body. I originally wanted to try catching fish with them, but I put them at the collection point to keep. The next day, wind, rain, thunder, and a power outage happened, and by the second day, they were dead."

"It was such a pity. This time, I managed to catch a few after great effort. Once this village is gone, there's no shop left. Are you sure you don't want to try?"

Ye Yaodong spoke eloquently, coaxing him gently. He felt this young master was actually a potential new fishing enthusiast!

Seeing his face full of wonder and longing while listening to the story, and seeing that he seemed to have a special fondness for big fish, he should make an effort to coax him.

Encourage him to develop further in the direction of a fishing enthusiast?

Although he felt this hobby suited older people better.

"Yes! I haven't seen what remoras look like; I can see how to use fish to catch fish." Hong Hong Wenle was indeed tempted by what he said and immediately agreed.

"Then this afternoon? After eating?"

"That would be too sunny, wouldn't it? At noon, you'd get heatstroke. The sun is strongest from 12 to 2 in the day. How about going in the evening instead?"

"Evening is too late, and I have to go out to sea at night anyway. Otherwise, let's set off at 3 PM. Once we're at sea, it won't be hot; the sea breeze is so cool. Besides, there should be black woven sunshade nets on top of the fishing boat, so it won't be hot."

The young master reluctantly agreed.

"Fine then. Remember to come at three o'clock; a little later is okay."

That wouldn't do; going early and returning early would let him earn the fishing rod sooner!

"Alright, then please take care of me, Young Master Hong. I will definitely arrive on time this afternoon. Can I bring one or two more people?"

"Sure, you decide."

"Good, then I'll leave first. See you this afternoon."

Hong Hong Wenle nodded.

Ye Yaodong walked out cheerfully holding the camera, got on his bicycle, and thought that after getting a sidecar tricycle today, he had also gotten four guns, and now he could get another fishing rod!

Good things keep coming!

When people meet happy events, their spirits lift. He pedaled faster and faster, wanting to rush back and share the news with his wife.

However, Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't think getting a fishing rod for free was anything to be happy about.

"It's just a fishing rod, isn't it? Can't you just make one easily with bamboo? Isn't it all the same? They're all used for fishing; what's the difference?"

"You know nothing!"

"Then don't say anything!"

This left him depressed. He had wanted to come back and share the news, only to be shut down.

"Do you know how much that fishing rod costs? One or two hundred yuan!"

Lin Lin Xiuqing widened her eyes. "Huh? Are you crazy? Crazy for money, or do rich people have a sickness? A broken fishing rod costs over 100, and people actually buy it? I wouldn't even use it to beat my kids; it's not even good for that."

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. "Who told you to use it to beat your kids? You don't understand the world of rich people."

"You understand."

"I understand better than you."

"Whatever. If you want to go, go. Anyway, it doesn't cost money to buy. If you want one, go earn it yourself."

"That's exactly how it is. I didn't ask you to pay; I was just sharing with you, and you're pouring cold water on me."

"When did I pour cold water? I just think it's ridiculous that the fishing rod is so expensive. Really, rich people are just too rich; they have money to burn and spend it on this."

"You mind your own business. Anyway, I can still get a bargain."

Ye Yaodong stopped talking to her to avoid her pouring cold water again. Something that should have been happy became less happy after she spoke.

Spoilsport!

After putting away the camera, he walked toward the courtyard, where his father and Zhou Shu were still repairing the motorcycle.

Fortunately, a black woven mesh had been strung across the top of his courtyard, providing shade so he wouldn't get sunburned.

But even so, both of them were drenched in sweat. Beside them sat a bucket of tea water, for them to drink whenever they got thirsty during the repairs.

However, after tinkering for the better part of a day, they had only managed to bang out the simple dents and force them roughly back into place, but the surface was still just as uneven as before, looking terribly ugly.

The other parts had made no progress at all. He said he didn't understand the principle, and wasn't sure whether it could be fixed — he'd have to think it over and do some research before saying more. If he could send it to some repair shop, that would be best; Zhou Shu was also afraid he'd only make the vehicle worse.

Ye Yaodong could only tell him to take his time and study it first. In his heart he was also thinking: this afternoon, he'd find another chance to ask and see where the other party had bought his motorcycle.

Get a contact for him, and he'd send it straight to a factory in the province to be repaired — that way it might be a bit safer. What if it really got worse the more they fixed it?

He was still rather looking forward to cruising around in style!

After tossing the repair work to Zhou Shu and his father, he rode his bicycle off again to find Wang Wang Guangliang, and told him to call the little stutterer along too — they'd be at his place at two.

His friends had all gone out to sea. His older brother and second brother had only managed to sleep for two hours after getting back last night, yet had diligently gone back out to sea again — terrifyingly hardworking. With no one to call, he could only bring two younger brothers along.

The two had been out of work for several days, and were very eager when Brother Dong called. Ye Yaodong had only just gotten home, and before half an hour was up, the two of them came scampering over.

The moment they saw the sidecar motorcycle in the yard, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. They didn't bother going inside to report, but squatted right beside it to have a look.

Lin Lin Xiuqing saw them utterly absorbed, so she didn't go inside to call Ye Yaodong, letting him nap a while first.

He had only gone to sleep a little after midnight, nearly one, and was up at six in the morning. He still had to go earn money on fishing rods in the afternoon — he needed to nap a bit to have the energy.

She didn't even realize she kept the same schedule herself, and was utterly absorbed watching TV in the main room.

When Ye Yaodong woke up and came out of the room, he saw her eyes glued to the screen. He couldn't help shaking his head — the one who objected was her, and the one watching most fiercely was also her.

"Is there anything to eat? I'll head out after I eat."

"There's mung bean soup on the table, and a bowl of tomatoes. You can take a few to eat on the road, or on the boat. A-Liang and Chen Shi came while you were sleeping — call them in to have some on your way."

Lin Lin Xiuqing turned her head to say that, then went back to watching her TV. Anyway, everything was already set out on the table — they could sit down and eat right away, no need for her to do anything.

The two at the door had been crouching there for over an hour and still hadn't had their fill. It took Ye Yaodong calling them twice before they came inside.

"Brother Dong, you're amazing — another motorcycle! So cool!"

"D-D-Dong-ge…"

"Shut up! I'll speak for you," Wang Wang Guangliang yelled at him in disgust, then turned back to Ye Yaodong with a grin. "Brother Dong, if this motorcycle gets fixed, every young man for ten miles around will have to listen to you!"

Ye Yaodong glanced at them. "Listen to me for what? Listen to me so they all go catch fish for me and earn money for me?"

"Definitely! If you really give the word, tell them to do anything and they'll do anything — obediently too. Every single one of them would fight to do it, and wouldn't even want wages."

Chen Shi nodded along too.

"So many people don't even know how envious we are — we get to work for you…"

"Cut it out. I can't even afford to keep the two of you — every day scraping by, doing a little, getting a little. Let alone anyone else. Hurry up, each of you eat a bowl and let's go."

"It's fine even without paying us, Brother Dong. We're just idle anyway."

Chen Shi nodded in agreement. "Right, right…"

Ye Yaodong quietly ate his mung bean soup without a word.

How could he take it for granted and ask people to work for him? Actually, he wanted to pay them a fixed monthly wage too, but — there were too many of them. If he gave each one just 30 yuan, six people would already cost him a hundred and eighty.

Not to mention his older cousin and Brother Brother Asheng — altogether it would come to 300 yuan. And then his father, his mother, his father-in-law, his mother-in-law — he'd have to give them all something too…

Oh god, just thinking about it — even if he didn't eat or drink for a whole month, he'd still have to spend five hundred yuan! Shocking!!!

The sense of urgency in his heart instantly intensified. Didn't he have to work hard and earn more money?

It turned out the wages he had to pay every month actually came to 500 yuan!

Thinking of this, he set down his spoon in alarm and sat in a daze for a moment. But after a while, he came back to his senses and breathed a sigh of relief.

Bah — that 180 for those few was just a hypothetical. He hadn't actually been paying them regularly. His real monthly wage expenditure was just over 300 yuan, but that was still a lot — many people only earned that much in a whole year.

"Brother Dong, are we going out to sea this afternoon? Then are you still going tonight?"

"Going. Stop talking nonsense."

Ye Yaodong felt pressure at the thought of spending so much money supporting people every month. But then he thought of all the savings at home, and all the boats, shops, and workshops that could earn money — when he thought about it, it wasn't so bad.

Later he'd have to get Ah-Qing to calculate roughly how much they could earn each month, to ease his anxiety a bit.

Wang Wang Guangliang immediately shut his mouth and quickly finished his mung bean soup.

Ye Yaodong planned to take the boat straight to the town's dock, saving himself from riding his bicycle under the midday sun all the way to town. Those two didn't have bicycles either — walking alone, who knew how long it would take.

He went to Ah-Cai's place to pick up the few remoras he'd left there to keep two days before, topped up the fuel along the way, then brought those two aboard.

Those two were still in a daze, not even knowing what they were going out to sea for.

Ye Yaodong had called them at noon, and they'd scampered right over without asking, not even afraid of getting their kidneys harvested.

"Brother Dong, are we dragging nets this time when we go out to sea? Or are we going to rake the seabed?"

"Follow me to make money."

"Really?" The two were overjoyed.

But when they found out what he meant by "making money," they were instantly disappointed. They'd thought they were going to pull off some big score or something — they hadn't expected it was just bringing the young master along to fish for fun…

The afternoon sea surface shimmered, sunlight dancing on the water like countless sparkling diamonds. Fishing boats shuttled across the sea, leaving long trails of water behind, while the young men on board stood in twos and threes smoking.

"Pretty comfortable — the wind blowing over doesn't even feel hot."

"I told you it wouldn't be hot. There's even a sunshade up top."

"That fish of yours really looks like its head got stomped flat by a shoe sole — it looks so weird."

"That's why it's called a remora."

"How do you use this to fish? Tell us." A young man Hong Hong Wenle had brought along asked.

He even kicked the water bucket twice, and seeing the fish move a couple of times, was relieved to know they were alive.

"First, poke a small hole in its dorsal fin, then take a stiff nylon cord — tie one end to the remora, and firmly tie the other end to the boat. The line should be prepared a bit longer; it's best to go farther out, that way you should be able to catch more fish."

Ye Yaodong had already prepared the nylon cord beforehand and brought it aboard. When they reached a suitable spot, they could give it a try. He handed them the few nylon cords rolled up to have a look.

They took them and rubbed them in their hands. "That's it?"

"Yep, that's all there is to it. Tie the line to it, let it swim around looking for a target, and when you feel a different sensation through the line, reel it in and have a look."

"Then let's try it now? Where should we head?" Hong Hong Wenle was already getting impatient.

Ye Yaodong glanced at the surrounding waters—it wasn't an area he was familiar with. The fishing boat Hong Hong Wenle had hired came with its own helmsman, so wherever the group went, they'd have to wait and see where the boatman decided to stop.

He checked his watch; they'd been out for almost an hour now, so he figured they were about to stop.