Chapter 611: Someone is Jealous

Load, aim, pull the trigger—all in one fluid motion.

"Puff, puff—"

Two muffled sounds, and blood bloomed on the chests of the two guys standing at the bow of the boat firing their guns.

The remaining two tried to hide in the cabin, but he knocked them down one after another.

He Yuzhu slowly approached, then with a thought, he collected the entire boat into his space.

Boats are in short supply everywhere these days, so having one extra is always good.

He stayed at sea for another day and began a frantic fishing spree.

Not until the water in the pond inside his space had reached a depth of two meters and was full of fish did he return home, feeling satisfied.

He didn't stay idle on the way back, filling the patrol boat's cabin to the brim.

As soon as the boat docked, Ershuan rushed over, rubbing his hands in anxiety: "Zhuzi! You finally returned! Why were you gone so long? We thought you'd fallen into the sea!"

He Yuzhu raised his leg and gave him a kick: "I've weathered great storms and high waves; do you think I'd capsize in a place like this?"

Ershuan peeked into the cabin, and his eyes nearly popped out—the cabin was full of fish, a shimmering white mass, at least thirty thousand jin!

"My dear mother!" He beamed with joy, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Shunzi! Little Horse! Hurry! Move the fish! Load up both trucks!"

Five people worked for the better part of the day, and the two refrigerated trucks were packed tight.

He Yuzhu wiped his sweat and instructed: "Shunzi, Little Horse, you two drive these two trucks of fish back to Beijing first, then come back."

Shunzi was stunned: "What about the fishing?"

"It's enough for me to take Ershuan and Xiaosun," He Yuzhu said, looking at the surging sea.

Once Shunzi and the other had driven off, Ershuan immediately leaned in, asking with bright eyes: "Zhuzi, when are we going out to sea to fish?"

He Yuzhu glanced at him, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said: "Ershuan, I'll tell you the truth, going out to sea to fish is quite dangerous. Last time I went out, I ran into a Korean patrol boat; they opened fire on me without a word. I really almost got killed on the boat."

Ershuan gasped in shock.

He Yuzhu continued: "I had originally thought about taking you all out to sea, but now I've changed my mind."

"Ah?" Ershuan was stunned, "Then what about the fish?"

He Yuzhu flicked the cigarette butt away and said: "Go organize the folks from the nearby villages. You all are responsible for processing the fish we bring back into dried fish and salted fish. Just hauling frozen fish to the Rolling Mill truck by truck won't solve the fundamental problem."

Ershuan scratched his head: "Zhuzi, if you go out to sea alone, how much can you catch? Is it worth all the trouble?"

He Yuzhu laughed: "Guess how long it took me to get these two trucks of fish?"

Ershuan shook his head.

"Half a day. It took longer last time mainly because I was looking for places with lots of fish. Now that I've pinpointed the locations, it's very fast!"

"That's great!" Ershuan slapped his thigh, "Then it's easy! We'll have Shunzi and the others haul fresh fish to Si Jiu Cheng, while we make dried fish on the shore—two legs to walk on!"

He Yuzhu patted his shoulder: "Remember, when you get the villagers from each village to make dried and salted fish, make sure to coordinate with the Village Chief and the Commune. Don't shortchange the folks; provide them with two good meals."

Ershuan slapped his chest with a loud thud: "Don't worry, Brother Zhuzi, I'll definitely get it done!"

In the days that followed, He Yuzhu completely entered a frantic cargo-hauling mode.

Every time, he would drive the boat dozens of nautical miles out, taking a shot at it whether there were fish or not, casting his nets a couple of times. Afterward, he would dump the fish from his space into the cabin and sail back swaggeringly. Even if someone saw him, they would think he had really caught the fish with nets.

He Yuzhu could haul back fifty tons of fish in a day, and sometimes even seventy or eighty tons.

As soon as the boat docked, the villagers who had been waiting by the seaside would swarm around.

Some unloaded, some cleaned, some salted, and some dried; the whole beach was as lively as a big market fair.

The news spread further and further, and before long, He Yuzhu had gathered over two thousand people under his command, all folks from nearby villages.

With more people came more trouble.

This day, the secretaries of several communes came in a group, clamoring and insisting on taking away the dried and salted fish that were being cured.

Leading them was the Dongshan Commune President, Xiao Gancheng. He wore a tattered straw hat, his face tanned dark by the sun, and as soon as he arrived, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Who's in charge here?"

He Yuzhu calmly took out his work ID: "I am the Factory Director of the Red Star Rolling Mill, and a member of the Anti-Drought and Anti-Disaster Group. Do you have business with me?"

Xiao Gancheng had been quite aggressive, but upon seeing the work ID and the introduction letter with the big red seal, his arrogance immediately deflated by half.

He sighed and put on a smiling face: "So it's Factory Director He, excuse my disrespect. We from several communes came over to discuss something with you. Look at this, you've employed over two thousand people here to make salted and dried fish; it's affecting production over on our side."

He Yuzhu knew he was making excuses, but he had to give him a way to save face. He called Ershuan over and asked with a stern face: "Ershuan, how are you handling this work? I told you to contact people; didn't you notify the communes?"

Ershuan was a sharp one; he understood immediately and quickly climbed down the ladder: "Oh, I am truly sorry! I only contacted the various production brigades. The brigade leaders said they would report this to the commune, so I don't know what happened specifically."

He Yuzhu understood at once—it must have been that the brigade leaders in the villages saw that most of those sent out were female commune members, and since the corn had been planted and there was no work in the fields, they wanted to earn some extra money privately and didn't want to pay the commune. Since the commune didn't get a cut, they came knocking.

Seeing this, Xiao Gancheng took the opportunity to step down: "Factory Director He, to be honest, our commune has also sent people out to fish, but we've never caught as much as you. Can you take us along?"

He Yuzhu laughed: "I won't lie to you, I use a fast boat to fish over by the peninsula, and it's very dangerous. I've been chased and run for my life several times. The commune can follow if they want, but I won't be responsible if something happens."

When the commune presidents heard this, they immediately shrank their necks, and no one dared to take him up on it. They were seaside people; how could they not understand these truths?

They huddled together and whispered for a long time before Xiao Gancheng spoke again: "Factory Director He, how about this? Sell us a portion of the fish you catch. We can take it out and trade it for some grain. This year has been nothing but droughts and locusts. Our commune is poor too!"

He Yuzhu nodded immediately: "That's no problem. I'll sell you ten thousand jin of fish a day, and I'll only charge for the diesel. You can discuss how to divide it yourselves."

The commune presidents discussed it for a while and left satisfied.

From then on, more and more people came to buy fish from He Yuzhu.

There were purchasing agents from various factories and stewards from hospitals; as long as they produced an introduction letter or work ID, He Yuzhu sold to them at a cheap price.

But if they were fishmongers, he wouldn't sell to them no matter how much money they offered.

Days passed, and more and more drying racks were built on the beach. The shimmering white dried fish reflected silver light under the sun, and when the sea breeze blew, the salty aroma drifted for miles.

The two thousand tons of fish in He Yuzhu's space were also running low. He calculated that it was time to make another trip to the deep sea.