MMB Chapter 50 Reimbursement
Chapter 50 Reimbursement
As Jiang Haiping folded the list of outstanding payments and put it back in the drawer, Lao Fang had already walked in from the workshop entrance.
He picked up the cigarette box paper IOU with his fingerprint on it from the table, looked at it in the light from the window, and said that the handwriting looked like a chicken claw scratching, but the fingerprint was definitely pressed firmly.
He returned the IOU to Jiang Haiping, saying that there were still a few debtors on the list that he hadn't been able to collect from, and that he would have Hong Xiaobing make another trip that afternoon to collect the debts while the iron was hot.
Jiang Haiping nodded, placed the IOU on top of the debt list, and then used a rubber band to re-bind the stack of banknotes that Ahai had collected, putting them into the tin box in the corner of the drawer.
The tin box was brought back from the factory by Lao Fang the year the service station opened. It was originally used to store diesel engine parts, and the Weifang Diesel Engine Factory logo was printed on the lid.
The service station always keeps spare cash and a few coins inside.
Occasionally, fishermen would slip a note into their banknotes when paying their debts, with a polite sentence or two written on it.
Old Fang glanced at the metal box again and said that when the service station has more money in its account, it should open a corporate account at the credit union instead of always locking the money in the drawer.
Old Fang left those words unsaid, and without waiting for a response, turned around and went back into the cabin.
He walked to the worktable, opened the register, found the pages that were circled on the list of outstanding payments, and used a ruler to mark the dates on the corresponding service records.
After about half a year, Old Chen finally drew a horizontal line in red pen on the remarks column of his brother-in-law's gearbox repair record.
The red ink was the last bit of ink in Xiu'e's brother's old pen refill. After drawing on it, he wrote the character "延" (Yan) next to it, followed by a string of dates.
Old Zhou's accounts for replacing the sampan have been cleared from the maintenance records and payment registers. He smoothed out the folded corners of the account pages, pressed them down with a ruler, and drew an extra horizontal line below the date of receipt.
Sunlight streamed obliquely through the large windows of the workshop, casting a shadow on the glass tabletop and revealing the group photo from the provincial competition hidden beneath it.
The sunlight made the gold lettering on the row of certificates next to the photo frame shine slightly.
In the courtyard outside the workshop, Qiu Changhai's chisel struck the hemp fibers one after another, the sound even and muffled.
Old Zhou's sampan was placed on the raft. The bottom of the sampan had already been cut into grooves, the rotten wood had been cleaned up, and the new planks were inserted and fit perfectly.
Lin Xiu'e squatted down beside Qiu Changhai, tearing the hemp fibers evenly and smoothing the tung oil putty, working side by side with him.
The two worked together without needing to speak; when the chisel stopped, she knew it was time to stuff the hemp fibers in.
Old Fang put the torque wrench back on the wall, leaned against the workshop door, lit a cigarette, watched the work in the yard for a while, put the cigarette in his mouth, and went back into the engine room.
Jiang Haiping closed the registration book and put it back in the drawer.
This morning, I wrote off the outstanding payments and filed several overdue accounts. The records in the register match the maintenance files.
The ribbonfish that Ahai brought back were already placed at the entrance of the kitchen. Lin Xiu'e said that she would stew ribbonfish for everyone at noon to add to the meal.
He put the pencil back in the drawer, stood up, and walked to the workshop door.
In the courtyard, Qiu Changhai had just finished suturing a crack and was straightening up, pounding his lower back with his fist.
Lin Xiu'e inspected the newly sewn seams, looked up and saw him standing at the door. She said that Ping'anhao was going to town to pick up spare parts in the afternoon, and asked if he wanted to go with her to the county fisheries bureau to submit the registration materials.
Jiang Haiping said the materials weren't ready yet, and they'd discuss it tomorrow. Lin Xiue nodded, then squatted down again to continue sewing the next seam.
From the dock, the distant, deep, and lingering sound of fishing boats returning to port drifted over.
The loquat tree in the service station courtyard gleamed a dark green in the sunlight, and the broken seashells surrounding it were bleached white and scorching hot from the sun.
Jiang Haiping leaned against the workshop door frame for a while, then went back to continue working.
Several more boats are scheduled for maintenance this afternoon, and Ah Hai's schedule is already packed.