Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1012: A Guang is ready to return (7000 words)
Everyone on the boat took advantage of the time when they went ashore to go back to the cabin to sleep.

The fishing boat was moored at the shore and the engine was turned off. It was a rare quietness and everyone cherished it. They took a rest whenever they could. After all, the fishing boat operated 24 hours a day and everyone had limited time to sleep each day, and no one could get a good rest.

The two men didn't know how long they would have to stay in the shipyard, so after they got off the boat for more than an hour, almost two hours, no one came down to urge them.

After they finished their work and got on the boat, the engine started and some people woke up drowsily, but went back to sleep. They didn't need to work on the return trip anyway, so only Ye's father insisted on getting up and coming out to take a look.

"Have you agreed? Did you say how much? How much rice?"

Ye Yaodong showed the draft seal to his father, "34 meters long, 6.6 meters wide, 140 tons, 38000 yuan..."

Father Ye took the draft paper in his hand and turned it over several times without understanding it. When he heard his words, his hands shook and the draft paper flew away.

"Boom! List, list..."

Ye Yaodong also stood up anxiously. Fortunately, the fishing boat was moving forward and the wind was blowing. As soon as the list flew up, it was blown against the windshield in front.

Father Ye hurriedly took the list down again and held it in his hand. He quickly snatched it away and complained angrily.

"What are you doing? I showed it to you, but before you could hold it firmly, it almost flew into the sea. There were all these writings and drawings on it, and a bunch of regulations and supporting facilities. You messed it up, and then you forgot what the agreed supporting facilities were. When you get to the county shipyard later, you have to ask if the price of the same supporting facilities can be bargained down a bit."

"No... Dongzi... this... this boat is so expensive?"

Father Ye was also shocked by the price he quoted. He was so frightened that his hands were shaking and he couldn't hold the paper steadily, so it flew away.

I had just set sail, and instead of being sobered by the sea breeze, I was actually encouraged by his offer.

“Yeah, it’s that expensive.”

"Why is it so expensive? 38 is more than twice as expensive as our ship..."

“It’s big.”

"I don't think that seafood boat is worth that much. That person must be trying to rip us off. Who can afford 38000? The seafood boat doesn't fish, it only delivers goods and supplies..."

"The storage space is large, Dad. Although there are no net-lifting machines or other equipment, they have cold storage rooms and ice storage rooms. These technologies are not cheap, and are more expensive than those machines. Also, for the boat we inquired about, he set it at about 34 meters, saying that this size is enough, and it is not a problem to dock five or six fishing boats at the same time, and it can bear 140 tons of load."

The load-bearing capacity of his ship now is more than ten tons, not including the nearly ten thousand kilograms of goods sold in the morning. Originally, there were more than twenty tons, which was nearly three days' worth of goods, including the groceries that had not been thrown away in the past few days.

Over the past two and a half days, all the catch, except for crabs, useless jellyfish, weeds and other debris, has never been dumped into the sea. Instead, it has all been accumulated on the boat. The amount is more than 1 kilograms, nearly 2 kilograms a day, and to kilograms in two and a half days.

A fishing boat can catch about 3 to 70 kilograms of catch in two days if it is lucky, which is equivalent to more than tons here. If three fishing boats are docked at the same time, that would be more than tons.

Add to that the weight of the ship itself, as well as the weight of the equipment and storage on board, ice, oil, fresh water, etc., and the weight will be several dozen more tons.

Unless the cargo is more than 100 tons, ordinary freshwater vessels dare not dock with so many ships at the same time. If there are any, they will rush back and forth to collect the cargo and hand it over to partners to sell on shore.

There is a lot of cargo now, but there will be less cargo in the future, and more ships can be connected.

"You mentioned the freshwater boat that docked with us a few days ago. It was originally a trawler released by the fishing team. The cost of the renovation must be expensive, and the storage space must also be increased."

"Although the ship looks shabby, most of the necessary equipment has been added. It just looks a little shabby on the outside. However, judging from the hardware equipment on the ship, it will be eliminated in a few years."

"If I order a boat, it must be useful for decades. Just imagine, if this trawler sells more than 1000 yuan worth of goods to the freshwater ship in two days, not counting the deduction for supplies, the freshwater ship will also make as much as the sales money."

"Originally, receiving fresh goods at sea is equivalent to receiving goods at half to 6% of the wholesale price. If we receive one ship's goods every two days, we can make 1000 yuan, right? If we have three ships, we can make 3000 yuan, right? If we deduct a few hundred yuan for the round-trip fuel, even if we add labor, ice consumption or other factors, we can still make 2000 yuan."

"What's more, we can also bring back the groceries we collect and use them. The profit from this is another thing. Even if it consumes a little more gas, it's worth it. It's also a side job after all."

"We go once, come back to the shore to sell the goods for two days, and then go back to collect them. This gives the fishing boats two days to stock up. We can make 2000 yuan per trip, so wouldn't it be enough to pay back in a few months? 38000 is not too expensive."

"Besides, we can give more money to the Harvest and the boat that our three brothers have jointly built. They won't have to dump it back into the sea. This is a bonus. They will definitely be happy to make more money. Who would want these garbage on a normal freshwater ship?"

"This is also a welfare benefit. It also saves us from having to keep the groceries after the harvest and let us take advantage of it. Some people may not say it out loud, but they must have some thoughts in their hearts."

For example, his second sister-in-law had mentioned before that this was the trouble with having too many shareholders, so when it came to collecting the fresh boat, he just planned to be the one who had the final say and do whatever he wanted without having to listen to other people's nonsense.

"It not only shuts everyone up, but also allows other ships to earn more hard-earned money. Although our price for receiving goods is the same as that of other fresh-water ships, this can be considered as additional income."

If they have several ships operating in the same sea area at that time, the fresh-collecting ships will not have to sail in the vast ocean. They can just find a ship here and a ship there to collect the goods, which will save a lot of fuel money and will be of great benefit to them. They cannot let outsiders take advantage of it.

After hearing his logical calculations, Ye's father felt that it made sense. They already had the fishing boats and there was no need to use connections to look for them. They could just get a fish-collecting boat and connect directly.

The family now has three ships, and Adong owns a considerable share in them. It is better to make money himself than to let other fresh-collecting ships make money. The profit here is also huge.

The key is that after the groceries brought home are put to use, the two workshops at home can have work to do every day, without having to wait for the fishing boats to dock, start working for a few days and then stop. The employment rate of women in the village can be greatly improved, and it can also bring some benefits to the villagers.

There is no waste at all, and the workshop can make more money, killing two birds with one stone.

"You have calculated it quite well, but you don't want to think about taking out so much money at once..."

"These are all initial investments that can pay off. Do you still want to get something for nothing? The bigger the business, the greater the investment, and of course the greater the return."

The calculations made by Ye's father were beyond reproach. If he really set up a seafood collecting boat, he could earn a lot. They would all be connected with his own fishing boats, so it was very stable and there would be no changes in fishing boats. If he looked for other seafood collecting boats, he would not lose money based on the daily harvest.

"Then we have to ask more to see if we can get the price down a little bit. We also have to go to the county shipyard to ask. Maybe it's cheaper in our small place..."

"You are really cruel to buy such a big ship all at once. You buy bigger and more expensive ships one by one."

Ye Yaodong said sarcastically with a smile, "People should look forward. If you have money, shouldn't you want to be even richer? The money is right in front of you, and you can earn it. If you don't earn it, you're a bastard. People should also make some progress and have some pursuits."

"You've made more than a little progress. You've gotten bigger every year. The year before last you had just a small wooden boat, and the year before that you had a trawler. Last year you had several boats, and at the end of the year you delivered the Dongsheng. This year you're going to build a freshwater fishing boat. You're getting more and more capable..."

Ye Yaodong also laughed when his father told him this.

It’s true. Every year the ships we build are getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more jobs.

"So Dad, what kind of boat do you think I can make next year?"

Father Ye rolled his eyes at him and said, "Look at what you can do. Am I a fortune teller or a shaman? Can I tell you clearly what kind of boat you want to build next year?"

He touched his chin and said, "I think we might be able to get a steel fishing boat next year or the year after. I don't know if we will have one. In a few years, we might be able to get a speedboat, and later a yacht..."

"Stop dreaming. What are you talking about? You're dreaming in broad daylight."

He hasn't even mentioned the aircraft carrier yet, is he dreaming?
"Just wait for me to get rich, and then I'll take you to enjoy happiness."

"Yes~" Ye's father asked back in a bad mood, "The more work you do, the more tired I am. I have to work hard behind you and can't even retire. After you finish your work here, I have to work for your eldest brother and second brother, and then for you. I guess I won't be able to retire when I'm 80 years old. I still have to look after the workshop for you."

"That makes sense. From now on, the workshop will really have to rely on you to guard the gate."

"Just focus on sailing your boat."

Before leaving, Ye's father stretched his neck to take a look at the list he had placed on the operating table, weighed down by a simple ashtray.

"I don't know what's written, it's all scribbled and drawn... I don't know which is up and which is down...

Ye Yaodong pretended not to hear his father's muttering. Fortunately, he could read and could understand what was written on the paper. Moreover, the man was explaining, writing and drawing right in front of him.

After spending some time at the city shipyard, it was already noon. By the time he sailed back to the county shipyard, it was already past 3 o'clock.

Thinking that the shipyard in the county town was nearby, he simply went directly to the shipyard to inquire about the price. It would probably be too late to get to Director Chen today, and it would probably be dark by the time he came out of the shipyard.

But he was not in a hurry. He could move the boxes on the ship back home and pile them in the yard first. He would go to Director Chen to inquire tomorrow. There was no need to rush.

I don’t know if Lin Ji has been at home recently. He just weighed 5,000 kilograms of goods a week ago, so he must have been out.

This is a busier person than him, so you have to rely on luck if you want to find him.

Whenever Director Wu saw him, he would smile brightly and enthusiastically. Judging from his spending power, he could be considered a VIP customer.

Ye Yaodong went straight to the point and stated the purpose of his visit. He then presented him with a set of requirements that had already been negotiated at the city's shipyard and asked him to quote a price.

When Director Wu first heard him say that he wanted to order a 34-meter seafood collection vessel, his eyes widened in shock. Then he came to his senses after hearing him rattle off a long list of requirements and the specifications and equipment that would be needed.

"Where did you ask this? So you don't need me to explain it to you, and you just decide on the equipment requirements?"

"Yes, I just came back from trawling and passed by the city. I have already asked a lot of questions in the shipyard in the city, but I think we are old acquaintances. Many ships are built by you. We are more familiar with each other. Of course, we can't let outsiders take advantage of us. I have to ask you to see if the supporting equipment you arranged is reasonable? Can it be optimized a little bit? Then, let you give me a quote and see who is more conscientious. Of course, the most important thing is the delivery time. After all, your shipyard is much smaller..."

"Okay, okay. I can have the workers work day and night. As long as it can be settled, let's sit down and talk slowly. I have to write down what you said, and then make a list and organize it before I can give you a quote."

Ye Yaodong and A Guang also followed him into the office.

The three of them chatted for a long time, writing and drawing, until it was getting dark. Then he took another piece of draft paper, folded it and put it in his pocket.

"I'll go back and think about it, but your delivery date is not acceptable."

"We can't help it. The factory is so small, and all our staff work in three shifts. We have never stopped. We have recruited quite a few people in the past two years, and our efficiency has actually increased a lot."

"Hey, my eldest nephew is 15 years old now. My father has always wanted him to learn a craft as early as possible. After all, he is the eldest grandson, and the old man has always believed that a skill will keep him from starving. He is now in the third grade of junior high school, and he doesn't look like a good student. Can he be an apprentice here and learn for a few years?"

"what?"

"Aren't you short of staff? I'll send one to you. Didn't you also say that you were going to start recruiting again?"

Director Wu thought about it and didn't say anything final. "You can consider it."

Generally, the master craftsmen would only recruit their own relatives as apprentices. Craftsmen rely on their skills to make a living, so how could they just teach it to outsiders? Of course, it is more difficult to enter a large factory like theirs. Although it is called an apprentice, there is still a salary, which is much better than being an apprentice to an ordinary master.

It is said that teaching an apprentice will starve the master. It is not easy to learn anything as an apprentice, but you can really learn something in a large factory, and after completing your apprenticeship, you can stay in the factory directly, which is no less than a stable job.

"Okay, I'll go back and think about it."

"Come back tomorrow and we'll talk about it in detail. We can't understand everything in one visit. If there are any details or other things you don't understand, come back tomorrow and we'll talk about it in detail. Today we're in a hurry, and I can only give you a quote for the plan I provide. Maybe we can optimize it a little bit and get a better price."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. We can't be careless with a ship of more than 30 meters. It's normal to discuss the plan a few more times. You should also consider my nephew coming to work here. If you can, please make some concessions..."

Ye Chenghai may look a little naughty now, but he will be quite hardworking when he grows up. He is not a good student anyway, so it would be better for him to find a job and go to the factory as soon as possible, which is better than growing seaweed in the future.

But I'm already in the second year of junior high school now. It would be a pity not to study for one more year and get my junior high school diploma.

Or when you come again tomorrow, we can discuss it again. You can come here every weekend to learn to be a helper. You don’t need to be paid, and then you can officially join the factory after you graduate from junior high school.

Then, when you have the opportunity to study again in the future, get a high school diploma. After a few years, go to a special university based on your skills and get a university diploma. By then, you will be a technical talent.

Ye Yaodong saw that it was already dark outside, so he didn't linger for long. After agreeing to come back tomorrow, he got on the boat and left.

As usual, Ye's father came over first. It was not that he didn't want to get off the boat, but he had to watch the boat and he was not confident leaving it to other boatmen.

"What do you mean? Is it cheaper?"

"It is a little cheaper, but his delivery time is not as good as that of the city. The city can deliver by the end of this year, but he has to wait until the middle of next year."

"That's too late. If we have to wait until the middle of next year, wouldn't we have to waste half a year and not be able to make money? The loss in this half year is also huge."

"That's what we said, but the ship that the three brothers are jointly building won't be delivered until the middle of next year. If we get the freshwater ship earlier, we'll make less money just by docking two ships."

“That’s also earning money.”

Ye Yaodong nodded, "Let's talk about it when we get back. Let's sail back first. It's already dark now, and we don't have time to talk in detail. Let's come back tomorrow and talk about it again."

"See if some equipment or other things can be optimized, see if there are any changes that need to be made. It's not something that can be decided immediately after just saying it."

"Of course we have to be careful. This is not a small boat. The whole village may not be able to build one. Only a fishing company can afford to build one."

"You're wrong, Dad. I bought my first trawler from the friend that Uncle Jingye introduced. He just retired his fishing boat and raised funds to buy a 30-meter-long boat."

"That's different. They might have a bunch of people working together to build a boat. Otherwise, who could have built one with tens of thousands of dollars? You are an exception. You are building it by yourself."

Ah Guang was surprised when he heard this and said, "Dongzi wants to do it alone? He doesn't want to find a partner?"

Ye Yaodong also reacted, and he didn't seem to tell A Guang that he wanted to do it alone.

He quickly said, "Yes, I plan to do it myself. Anyway, I have enough funds and don't need to find others to partner with me."

"This is not a matter of funds, it's a matter of risk. Finding a few more partners can help share the risk so that you don't have to invest too much and take too much risk."

"I think it's OK. The more people there are, the more opinions there are. I have already partnered with several fishing boats. It's very troublesome to settle the accounts every month. If I set up another freshwater fishing boat, I will have to settle the accounts separately. It's too troublesome."

"I don't want to do it myself. Every ship has a lot of shareholders, and I have to do a lot of accounting. This is very troublesome. If I do it alone, I can just bring back the money I make and give it to Ah Qing to do the accounting. I don't have to worry about it. Otherwise, I have to go to each ship to do the accounting myself, and I will be very busy at the end of the month."

A Guang thought about it and felt that what he said made sense.

"You have too many ships..."

"Right, I still have to go fishing, and I have two workshops at home, and I also have a store. Just the accounting alone is giving me a headache."

"We can hire an accountant now."

"That's not the case yet. Just let Ah Qing settle the accounts. Women are the best at settling accounts."

……

When Ye's father saw that the two were chatting, he hurried back to the cockpit and drove the boat back. It was already dark, and it would probably be 8 o'clock by the time they got back.

Ye Yaodong also wanted to quickly tell Ah Guang that he wanted to work alone, lest Ah Guang follow him throughout and also plan to join in.

He really felt that partnership was too troublesome. If he really wanted to get a few people to form partnerships on every boat, then he wouldn't have to do anything all year round and would just have to count the accounts.

The two men stood on the deck, continuing to enjoy the wind and chat. The other sailors stayed in the cockpit and fell asleep, and did not come out.

There was no work to do anyway, and I would be home soon, so I didn’t plan to cook on the boat.

"What are these dozens of boxes of goods piled on your deck? I wanted to ask you when I came back from the city during the day, but you hid in the cockpit and Dad went back to the cabin to lie down, so I had no one to ask."

"Did your father tell you that the last time we went out to sea, we encountered two fishing boats that ran aground on the reef and piled up on top of each other, and one of them sank?"

"You jumped into the sea to salvage the sunken ship?" A Guang looked at him in disbelief. "You went into the water in such a cold day?"

"Yes, I am a hero."

Ye Yaodong briefly explained the salvage process to him.

"Ah, then my father also took a quarter of your share? This is just a favor. I'll go back and ask him to give it back. How can this be so embarrassing? We are still relatives..."

"Hey, don't... We have already agreed on the distribution, and no one has any objections. What else is there? Your father and the others have also contributed."

"Why did he do anything? It was the boatmen who helped with the salvage. He just gave instructions and followed in his boat. You can just give him a red envelope as a token of your appreciation. Aren't you going to give red envelopes to other boatmen as well? Just give him a random red envelope to thank him. Why bother with a few boxes of goods? Didn't you say that each box would cost a hundred yuan? That's several hundred yuan..."

"Let's not talk about it anymore."

Otherwise Uncle Pei would think that he was reluctant to share those boxes of goods, and would grumble in front of A Guang, and then A Guang would go back and make a fuss and demand that the goods be returned. That would be so embarrassing for him, and he would have to see him again and again in the future.

Uncle Pei is a very shrewd person.

"My father is used to being the head of the family... We can't do this. I'll go back and talk to him. You can be generous, but we can't be so unkind."

"It's not really a matter of fact or not. Without the help of the Harvest, many of the objects would have floated away. This is a win-win situation."

Ah Guang shook his head and said seriously, "It's different. You can't be so blinded by money. Have you forgotten that when we went to Zhejiang Province to catch jellyfish last year, it was you who suggested that I be the intermediary. Then, you didn't have time to stay on the shore, so you let me do it."

"At the beginning, I wasn't sure if it would work or how much money I could make. We didn't discuss the distribution method. We didn't discuss it at the beginning and it was always vague afterwards. I only waived the agency fee for you and gave you 2000 yuan in the end, but you didn't want it and returned it to me."

"You let me earn this huge sum of money and didn't bother me, but my father is bothered by this small favor. It's really wrong."

Ye Yaodong felt very relieved after hearing this. He was not wrong about the person. A Guang was quite clear-headed.

After his rebirth, he indeed gets along best with A Guang among his friends.

He patted A Guang on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry too much. Last year, you were the one who made the contact on the shore. It was quite dangerous to run around facing those hooligans. Chen Jianian was beaten up and had to lie down for several days. I just came up with an idea..."

"My father only asked people to help fish out the goods. It was just a simple task, just helping each other. The most dangerous and critical things were done by you going into the water and slowly exploring the way and searching."

"If it were any other fishing boat, there would be nothing wrong with this distribution, but we are not outsiders, and we have already taken enough advantage of you."

"You don't have to say more. When I go back and talk to my father, he will understand."

"Really, there's no need..." Ye Yaodong felt a little embarrassed. He could afford a few hundred dollars.

"Don't worry about it. My father is thick-skinned and he won't feel uncomfortable even at his age. When you sell all the goods, you can give him a red envelope to thank him."

"We are all brothers and relatives, not outsiders. I don't need these boxes of goods. Don't you see that I have dozens of boxes piled up here? I don't need that much. The goods on the ship are enough for me to earn. You don't need to say anything, lest Uncle Pei lose face."

He also wants to set up a fresh-food ship to collect the goods from the Harvest. It is better not to be too calculative about the money he makes from that ship, so as not to leave any resentment in others' hearts.

He said this, but A Guang didn't take it seriously.

"Let's put it this way. My father is reasonable. We don't need these few boxes of goods or these few hundred dollars."

"I'm embarrassed if you do this. How can I earn money from the Harvest in the future?"

"Let's do what we have to do. Let's talk about the facts."

Ye Yaodong shook his head and said nothing more. Let’s wait and see later.

Anyway, he has said everything he needs to say. If A Guang really wants to return the goods, there is nothing he can do.

Just like he said, neither family is short of a few hundred dollars, so they should help each other.

If he returns the goods, I will give him 200 yuan in a red envelope to take back.

The red envelopes for the boatmen had not been given yet. After the goods were sold and loaded onto the ship, the Harvest immediately sailed away. The other boatmen also returned to the cabin to sleep and have not come out since then.

Thinking of this, he decided to go back to the cabin to prepare red envelopes, and then distribute the red envelopes to the boatmen on his own boat before getting off the boat.

The boatmen of the Harvest are all from their village, except for the one arranged by Chen Qishui and Uncle Zheng, who can be sent to everyone later by his mother.

For those country people, red paper is very useful. There are also folded red paper in his suitcase. These days, red envelopes are all wrapped in red paper.

(End of this chapter)