America 1982

"Is this the result of your four-hour part-time job every day? If I were the owner of this fishing boat, I wouldn't pay you a penny." Melonie covered her nose with one hand and waved her other hand to disperse the small fishing boat. The fishy smell on the fishing boat.

Tommy Hawke stuck a clamp on his nose to block his nostrils, and skillfully checked various equipment on the fishing boat, including circuits, generators, coolants, sails, rigging, fish hoists, water pipes, and batteries. , spare fuel, spare battery, after hearing Melonie's words, she said: "Mr. Rocco Wadman originally promised to lend me another fishing boat that I had cleaned up by myself to go out for a ride, but he went back on his word temporarily and drove that boat himself. A clean boat went out to sea, this is another fishing boat of his, I haven’t had time to clean it, which is what I should do today.”

"There are two policemen looking over at the pier, Tommy." Melonie looked around and suddenly said, "Do you know what we are going to do?"

Tommy looked up and saw that there were indeed two young patrolmen on bicycles stopping to blow the wind on the pier. He looked back and continued to straighten out the rigging: "Why don't you just ask them yourself?"

"Me? Ask them?" Melonie didn't respond.

"Officer, good afternoon." Tommy straightened up, waved directly to the two mounted policemen, and shouted loudly, imitating the teasing tone of the fishermen: "How are you, are you interested in taking a ride on the boat? I’m going to smuggle some American goods and sell them to Cuba, and bring back two hot Cuban girls to make a lot of money!”

"Earn more, boy. I hope I can see you return home from Cuba with a full load in my lifetime." The policeman on the shore waved his hand and laughed: "Also, before going out to sea for smuggling, I suggest you clean up the junk ship. I I need to remind you that if this ship sails to Cuba, it will be too embarrassing for Americans. In addition, Cuban women also have aesthetics. They are not blind, and they will not board any bad ship."

When Tommy Hawke took the initiative to tell the police that he was going to smuggle, Melonie was so frightened that she stood still until the police responded: "Are you crazy, Tommy? What if? The police suspect you..."

"Aunt, if the police believe me, he is crazy." Tommy Hawke walked into the cockpit, skillfully started the fishing boat and sailed towards the black and blue ocean: "If the smuggler does not want to hurt himself, he will definitely not We would use this old-fashioned fishing boat to smuggle the whole process by hand. It would take us six or seven hours to get the goods. Dennis’s mother, Mrs. Herbs, who weighed nearly two hundred pounds, would have mastered riding a bicycle on the sea. With the skill of walking, he might even arrive faster than us."

"How do smugglers get their goods?"

“For real smugglers, time is money. Their speedboat only takes two to two and a half hours to reach the processing ship from the port, and then another two and a half hours to sail back to the land with at least 400 cartons of cigarettes. After three round trips, they can earn back the cost of buying a speedboat, and the money earned in three days can buy a mansion in Boston." After Tommy Hawk adjusted the course, he took out a cigarette and lit one, and looked at Merlot next to him Ni:

"After listening to this, do you think you are worthy of the title of smuggler? I have said many times that we are just poor people selling cheap cigarettes, and we do not deserve the title of smuggler."

Melonie was still a little nervous when she first went out to sea, but as Warwick disappeared on the horizon behind her, the surroundings were just like Tommy Hawke said. The various vulgar jokes or off-key songs of the fishermen were far less desolate and lonely than she had imagined, which made her gradually relax.

It was not until night fell, the searchlights on the ship were turned on, and Tommy Hawke began to join the public channel to continuously report his location that Melonie, who was almost suffocated, understood why the police did not believe that they were going to Cuba for smuggling. The speed was too fast. Slow down, maybe Castro has already died of old age, Cuba has completed its revolution, and their ship has not yet reached Cuba.

"Sit tight, we're here." Tommy Hawke said after ending the call on the radio again.

Melonie, who was dozing off in cotton-padded clothes, raised her head and looked around. This time, without Tommy Hawke’s prompting, she saw a mountain-like freighter in front of her, with a huge Marlboro cigarette brand printed on its body. , the lights on the ship were brightly lit, and figures and machines could be seen constantly moving around and running on the ship.

There were many transfer barges parked around the freighter with bright searchlights on. The freighters continued to deliver goods to the barges, and then the barges were assembled for the ships that came to pick up the goods. I saw a few speedboats roaring in the dark after assembling the goods next to the barges. White waves rose up in the inky sea water and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

Melonie witnessed with her own eyes a speedboat passing by not far from her fishing boat, mooring to the barge, quickly loading the goods, completing the delivery and then disappearing from her sight.

What shocked her even more was that all the speedboats on the other side had disappeared. The fishing boat she was on, the one Tommy had told the police about going to Cuba for smuggling, was still moving at a slow speed and failed to get close to the nearest barge.

"I now understand why you said that Mrs. Herbers can ride a bicycle faster than us, and why the police don't believe us in your words." Melonie said dumbfounded: "We don't deserve it."

Finally, we slowly docked on a barge. On the barge, several employees wearing Philip Morris uniforms came over with searchlights on their heads and shouted at the fishing boat:

"Man, this is a tobacco processing ship, not a fish transfer ship. This is already the second fishing boat tonight. Has your fishing company changed its business?"

They thought Tommy Hawke's fishing boat had docked at the wrong place. Tommy walked out of the fishing boat wearing a heavy raincoat to protect him from the wind and waves: "Carlo Leon, I called before. Mr. Will from Miami introduced of."

"Carlo Leon?" When the other employee heard Tommy's words, he lowered his head and flipped through the reservation information in his hand under the overhead light: "It shows that you need two hundred boxes."

"It's me," Tommy said, nodding.

After checking the order, the employee looked up and said to Tommy: "Then you have to pay me $40,000."

Tommy Hawke handed the other party the 40,000 yuan that Melonie had mortgaged. After the employee counted it, he handed it to the companion who was responsible for collection. He gave a few instructions on the intercom, and soon two hundred cartons of cigarettes were put on the barge. The crane was transferred and loaded into the cargo hold of the fishing boat. No manual operation was required throughout the process. Tommy Hawke couldn't help but sigh once again for the capitalist's considerate service.

"Man, remember to increase the horsepower of your boat when you come next time. It takes me enough time to fill up three speedboats in one transaction of yours." When watching Tommy Hawke leave, the tobacco company employees on the barge said: I couldn't help but laugh at this old looking fishing boat.

The fishing boat left the barge, adjusted its course, and began to sail slowly north toward the Gulf of Maine. Melonie finished looking at the cigarettes excitedly, turned around and walked back to the cockpit, and found that Tommy who was driving the boat seemed to have a strange face, like What are you thinking about:

"What's wrong?" Melonie asked.

Tommy said: "The employees on the processing vessel said I was the second fishing vessel to come up tonight."

"So? Is there anything strange?" Melonie asked in confusion.

Tommy took a sip of whiskey to ward off the cold: "In other words, there is probably another poor guy who is as desperate as me."

Sorry, it's too late. I'll just finish coding the two chapters and release them together. I'm sorry.