MMB Chapter 1722 Coming ashore
Chapter 1722 Coming ashore
Chapter 1722 Coming ashore
In the early June weather, the crew members, wearing only vests and with their dark arms bare, methodically adjusted the net positions by gripping thick hemp ropes, the nylon ropes hissing as they slid between the workers' rough palms.
When they came out, everyone was full of energy, chatting and laughing.
Suddenly, everyone gasped as a dark shadow rose from the sea not far away.
A humpback whale slowly rises to the surface, its spout of water turning into swirling mist in the morning light.
Its massive tail fin rose high, the barnacles attached to it clearly visible, before it slammed heavily onto the sea surface with a thunderous roar.
Ye Yaodong saw it clearly through the binoculars, "Good heavens..."
Even though people are used to seeing large fish suddenly emerge from the sea, they are still amazed by the appearance of humpback whales.
Fish this big aren't something you see every day, and they'll be even harder to find in the future. Right now, they're appearing quite frequently.
Ye Yaodong watched the fishing net sink. He knew the captain was adept at operating the boat, and as long as the detection was done properly, there wouldn't be any problems. Reassured, he went back to bed to sleep.
Otherwise, the next few hours of homework will just be spent staring blankly at the screen.
Working at sea is monotonous, with no unexpected situations and no entertainment, making each day exceptionally difficult.
Whenever he's bored, he misses the days when he had a cell phone.
Two years ago, he was thinking of buying a mobile phone, but the ones he bought in Shanghai could only be used in Shanghai and wouldn't work in other provinces, so they were too useless. After inquiring, he decided not to buy one.
I don't know if it's been upgraded yet. If it can be used across cities and long distances, I'll buy one.
No, we need to buy a few: one for my wife and one for my father.
It's alright since we have a landline at home.
He looked down on pagers; for someone who came from the age of smart technology, they were just as useless.
As time passed, the winch made a rhythmic creaking sound, and net after net of heavy, dripping seawater catch was slowly lifted off the sea by the steel cable and carried over the ship's side.
There were mackerel with a bluish-green sheen, their plump bodies twisting and squeezing against each other; palm-sized mackerel clustered together, their scales reflecting light almost blindingly; bright red polka dots huddled together; squid so transparent you could see their innards; mantis shrimp curled up—you name it, they had it…
This is when the workers are truly busy. They immediately gather around, moving steadily on the slippery deck, working non-stop, only able to rest during their shifts.
Ye Yaodong was arguably the most idle person on the entire ship, as everyone else had their own tasks. He planned to stay for about a month before returning to shore.
June marks the beginning of summer, and the weather becomes unpredictable. One moment it might be sunny and bright, and the next it could be pouring rain, turning the sky overcast in an instant. Noon can feel like five or six in the evening.
At that moment, the sea was in such a state. When the thunder roared overhead, everyone was busy putting on their raincoats. Suddenly, the sea churned and a large number of fish heads appeared on the surface.
Fish head?
Fish head!!!
When Ye Yaodong woke up and stood on the helm to look out, he was surprised to see a bunch of fish heads suddenly emerging from the sea like bamboo shoots after a rain.
If he had a phone in his hand, he would definitely zoom in to focus.
He then looked through the binoculars closer and saw the same thing.
"What's going on? They're sprouting up like bamboo shoots as soon as it rains?"
The captain asked, "What's going on?"
"Maybe it's because of the thunderstorm that the water is low in oxygen? The fish at the surface are all surfacing for air?"
And that is indeed the case now. They are huddled together in dense clusters, their little mouths opening and closing helplessly. Some of their round, bulging eyes seem to have lost their former liveliness underwater, just staring blankly, looking like they are about to die.
"Did they come up for some fresh air because they couldn't hold it in any longer?"
"He's probably dying soon."
The fish were packed together, their gill covers opening and closing with difficulty, and only their tails underwater occasionally thumped weakly.
Ye Yaodong said regretfully, "They don't look valuable at all. They're all small fish from the upper levels, no big fish at all."
The captain nodded. "The sonar detection didn't detect any significant large echoes; the surrounding area mostly shows small ones."
"Pity."
"A large school of fish has already been caught in the nets below; the fish on the surface are all fine..."
Just as they were talking, another huge clap of thunder boomed, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the gloomy sea.
A short while later, after the thunder and lightning, large raindrops pounded on the sea surface, making a crackling sound like a handful of broken beads being scattered.
Ye Yaodong quickly returned to the cockpit, where the rain had blurred the windshield.
"That's how summer rain is; it's heavy and torrential, but it passes quickly too."
"Everyone's used to it, so it's fine."
"So many fish are floating to the surface, it's perfect for landing nets and boat fishing, it makes me really itch to try it."
"Haha, boss, these fish will probably only be good as animal feed once they're caught."
"It's not about how much money you can make, but watching people snag bargains one after another is incredibly satisfying."
"Ha ha……"
"I don't understand rich people. Aren't they just trying to make a quick buck?" the captain thought to himself with a smile.
"It would be great if another big fish undergoing tribulation came along."
"A giant fish undergoing tribulation? You mean that giant fish you caught a few years ago that was struck by lightning?"
The captain's eyes lit up. "I've heard everyone brag about this before. A few years ago, you caught a big fish that was struck by lightning. They said even the heavens couldn't stand it and sent down a bolt of lightning to kill it, just in case it became a spirit."
Becoming a sperm?
Ye Yaodong: "..."
"After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is forbidden to become a spirit, otherwise you might become a fish spirit. Eating fish meat will definitely make you strong and healthy, and living to 100 years old will be no problem!"
"Oh? Your grandmother is over 90, right? She's really healthy. Is it from eating so much fish and meat? It must be very nourishing!"
"I heard he's in great spirits now, he's probably really going to live to be a hundred!"
"If only there could be another one, then everyone could have a taste of the soup. Even if we don't live to 100, living to 90 would be good too."
The captain craned his neck, searching the sea, hoping for another stroke of luck.
"You're quite imaginative. I never even dared to think that, according to you, all of us who eat fish and meat could live to be 100 years old."
"You'll understand when you get old. How would you know now? But your old lady seems to be in pretty good spirits. She can answer a few words when people talk to her. She doesn't seem to be senile at all."
"No, she can swear, and she can hit my dad with her cane."
"You're in good health."
Ye Yaodong couldn't help but wonder if fish really could nourish the body. The old lady seemed to be in good health these past two years, and she rarely got sick, almost never.
The whole family rarely gets sick, which makes it hard for him not to believe it.
Anyway, it's already in my stomach.
Even the fish maw was stewed and shared with the three children on New Year's Eve, in the hope that they would grow strong and tall.
After the New Year, my child's feet grew, and the new shoes I bought before the New Year became a bit too tight after only a month of school, so I had to get new ones.
Everyone says that the longer your feet are, the taller you are. His dad wears size 40, and he wears size 43... I don't know if that's true.
Fortunately, the two brothers cleaned and stored away the shoes they had discarded, so that Ye Xiaoxi could wear them later, or they would be very popular if given away. Otherwise, it would be a waste to wear them for only two or three months.
He brought his thoughts back to the present, "Don't look at the sea, pay more attention to the display screen. Look, the waves are getting bigger now, they're higher than the bow of the boat."
"Hey, those fish heads all look dead, floating on the surface of the sea with their white bellies turned up."
"Yes, we should be extra careful during thunderstorms and have the other fishing boats report the situation."
"Ok."
Ye Yaodong looked at the gray sky outside. It was only one or two o'clock in the afternoon, but it felt like it was about to get dark. Encountering this kind of weather in the deep sea was a bit scary.
I'm really worried about this kind of natural weather; it's like a ticking time bomb.
The report was being relayed over the walkie-talkie, while a weather warning was being broadcast on the radio.
After hauling the net in, they didn't continue working. Instead, they planned to play it by ear. If the wind and rain were too strong, they would go back first. But if they continued to cast the net, it would be too cumbersome, and they wouldn't be able to escape even if they wanted to.
The workers took turns offering incense to Mazu during their spare time, praying that the thunderstorm would stop soon.
Normally, only the key personnel on the ship would burn incense three times in the morning and evening to pray, but if anything happened, the whole ship would take turns to pray, afraid of missing the opportunity, and would first chant "Amitabha" a few more times.
You only realize how little wisdom you have when you need it.
The rain poured down all night, and everyone was on tenterhooks. The next day, the rain stopped and the sky cleared, and everyone was finally relieved.
Ye Yaodong went to burn incense before going to bed early in the morning. He saw that the incense burner was full of burnt incense sticks, and the incense ash was scattered all over the incense table. He wondered how many sticks of incense everyone had burned yesterday.
He used a small brush to clean the ash off the incense table, muttering to himself, "They're all pretty afraid of dying... This is nothing, it's just a small commotion..."
Once the incense in the incense burner has burned out, the incense sticks should be removed, and the ash inside the burner should be smoothed out. It shouldn't be so crowded and make the table dirty.
The ash on the incense table cannot be swept onto the ground casually; it must be collected and put back into the incense burner.
If there is too much incense ash in the incense burner, dig some out and respectfully take it home to continue worshipping it, or take it to a temple. Never step on it.
The incense sticks removed from the incense burner should not be thrown away carelessly. They should be collected and cremated, and the ashes should be placed together with the incense ash or in a clean place.
If you can handle things more perfectly, you must do them better. The more respect you have, the more blessings you will receive.
Ye Yaodong was quite superstitious about this. As long as he was on the ship, he was the one who took care of the incense burner. He would also give instructions to a few key personnel on the ship, mostly veterans.
The villagers themselves will definitely handle these matters well; he won't even need to say it.
The people on the ship preferred to believe it was true rather than not, and they took these matters very seriously.
After sweeping up the incense ash and putting it in the incense burner, and collecting the incense sticks and placing them aside, he lit three more incense sticks.
"May you be safe and sound, and may your catch be plentiful..."
Only after offering incense did he feel at ease enough to go to sleep.
After the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the fishing nets were quickly lowered, and other fishing boats had temporarily stopped fishing at night to cope with the wind and waves. Now that the rain has stopped and the sky is clear, they are all getting back to work.
He stayed up all night, but was able to go back to the ship and sleep peacefully.
After he woke up, he informed the captain that he would be returning with the next cargo ship that came to collect fresh seafood.
The captain had anticipated that he wouldn't be able to stay for long, but with him around, he was like a pillar of strength, and nothing could cause a commotion. Now that he was about to go back, he suddenly felt a little empty inside.
"Going back so soon?"
"I've been here for almost a month now. Anyway, you guys can discuss things yourselves. It doesn't matter whether I'm here or not."
"That's still different. With you here, everyone has a pillar of support, and they won't panic in the face of trouble."
"Not necessarily. Look at yesterday's thunderstorm, the waves were so big that everyone was in a panic and rushed to worship Mazu and offer incense to her. I've never seen them worship so often before."
"Hehe, the waves were indeed big yesterday; the waves even hit the deck at the bow."
"Anyway, you can discuss things together."
"alright."
Ye Yaodong spent a month on the ship and felt like he had aged 10 years, with a weathered look and stubble on his face.
I only felt alive again when I got back to shore.
When he returned to the factory after docking, it was already past midnight. Too lazy to climb up and down to get his clothes from the dormitory, he went straight to the bathhouse to shower, then went back to the dormitory to change, wearing only his underwear and carrying a bag of dirty clothes.
Everyone was resting, and he tiptoed back to his dormitory.
Once you lie down...
someone!
Lin Xiuqing sensed someone beside her and woke up with a start, exclaiming, "Who's there!"
Before Ye Yaodong could even figure out who was in the bed, he was kicked and fell to the ground. "I...I...I..."
The couple breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why are you back?"
What are you doing here?
Ye Yaodong replied, "I just got back. I should be asking you, why are you suddenly lying here?"
“The kids are on summer vacation. I brought them here, didn’t I? They’ve only been here for two or three days. I was thinking of going back to Shanghai in a couple of days, so I left them here.”
"It was the middle of the night, and it startled me. I thought some shameless person had climbed into my bed."
"You scared me awake. I was sleeping in the middle of the night when someone suddenly climbed into my bed."
"I got kicked as soon as I got back. You scared me awake. Suddenly someone appeared on my bed."
"You didn't even know there was someone in your bed?"
"I know nothing! Don't you even look at the time? It's 3 a.m.! I've been at sea for a month, I'm exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open when I get back, how could I possibly care if someone's in bed? I wouldn't even know if a zombie was lying there."
Lin Xiuqing suddenly felt sorry for him, "Come and lie down to sleep right away, did you fall anywhere?"
Ye Yaodong quickly lay down and took off his pants, saying, "Your butt is broken, feel it for me."
Lin Xiuqing believed her and reached out to rub his skin. "Do you want me to put some tea oil on it? Is it bruised? Does it hurt?"
"It hurts, it's bruised and swollen. Rub the front for me."
"Where is that ahead? Did I just kick it?"
Ye Yaodong grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, and she instantly realized she had been tricked.
"Go to sleep. You were just saying you were so sleepy you couldn't keep your eyes open, and you were exhausted. Aren't you afraid of dying suddenly?"
"Death under the peonies, even being a ghost is romantic."
"Let's go to sleep first and get some rest."
"No! I've been holding it in for a month! I just finished taking a shower..."
……
He'd rather work himself to death than be bored and restless.
The next day, he woke up naturally, feeling refreshed and relaxed. He gave himself a quick clean-up and a shave, instantly feeling like he had regained his former glory and looked at least ten years younger.
I feel like I used yin-yang balancing techniques last night!
He looked in the mirror and said narcissistically, "You're the most handsome!"
A head peeked in through the door. "I'm the best!"
Ye Yaodong looked down and asked, "What?"
"Dad, you're so shameless! You say you're the most handsome!"
"I'm just encouraging myself! Giving myself confidence! What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you! Mom said you were back. I missed you, so I came to secretly see if you were awake yet, and then I heard you say you were the most handsome!"
"Am I the most handsome?"
Ye Xiaoxi held out her palm, "Give me one yuan, and you'll be the most handsome!"
"So cheap?"
"Because I'm telling the truth! It's the lies that cost more!"
Ye Yaodong was amused by her!
"Haha, you little brat, you're quite the smooth talker. Here, take 10 yuan as a reward!"
Ye Xiaoxi jumped up happily. One yuan was already her allowance for two days, and 10 yuan was enough for 20 days!
"Ah, thank you, Dad! You're so kind! I love you! My dad is the most handsome! Super incredibly handsome!"
Ye Xiaoxi took the money and ran off happily.
Ye Yaodong locked the door in a good mood, took out the key and hung it on his waist, then went downstairs for lunch.
Just then, Ye Xiaoxi turned around and ran back, "I forgot to mention, Mom asked me to come up and check if you're awake yet, and to call you for dinner!"
"What kind of memory do you have? You've been here for ages, haven't said a word, just asked for money, and then ran away."
"Hehe, I'm so happy, let's go quickly."
The family had already gotten their meal at the cafeteria.
Ye Chenghu said impatiently, "Dad, you're finally back! We've been at the factory for three days. If you hadn't come back, I would have gone out to sea with the seafood collection boat to look for you tomorrow."
Lin Xiuqing added, "If I hadn't stopped him, he would have gone with the seafood collection boat a few days ago."
"Without my permission, who would dare take him out to sea?"
"So I've been waiting for you to come back. I'm so glad you came back last night. Is the fish-collecting boat going out to sea today? Can I go with it?"
"Go ahead and join if you want. Just like before, listen to everyone. Do what we tell you to do, and if we don't tell you to do something, just watch. You also have to go back and forth with the fish collection boat. You can't jump to other boats."
Ye Chenghu nodded happily, "I know that, I understand, I have experience, I'm not inexperienced."
"Ah."
"Father, now that I have experience and am a qualified boatman, can my salary be the same as everyone else's?"
"All you care about is your salary. Whatever I have will eventually belong to you three siblings."
"Oh, don't say that. I've heard my grandpa say that since I was a kid, my ears are practically calloused. You haven't even gotten his yet, and I'm waiting for yours, how long am I supposed to wait?"
Ye Yaodong: "..."
Lin Xiuqing scolded, "You brat, do you want a beating?"
Ye Chenghu kept quiet.
That's how adults are; when they can't win an argument, they resort to threats.
A good man does not suffer immediate losses.
Ye Yaodong glared at him and then looked at the other two, "You guys work at the factory too?"
Ye Chengyang chimed in, "Yes, Mom was worried that we'd be running around in this heat, so she made us go to work in the logistics department packing the next day."
Ye Xiaoxi added, "And my younger sister, but we don't know how much our salary is. We asked my cousin in finance, and she said we'll have to ask you when you get back."
"Then child laborers will get a 8% discount."
Ye Chenghu quickly asked, "Then am I also entitled to a 8% discount as a crew member?"
"Okay, we'll do it your way."
Before Ye Chenghu could even feel happy for two seconds, he heard him say again, "I was thinking that since you have experience and aren't a novice, and such a grown man could be a great help, I was going to give you the same treatment as the workers..."
"Oh what... I want it! I want the same treatment as the workers, if the workers get 300, I'll get 300 too!"
"You just asked for a 8% discount, so you only have 240."
"Father...I'm an old man! You can't break an old man's heart!"
"You old man, eat your food."
Ye Chenghu was unwilling to give up and kept muttering to himself during the meal until Ye Yaodong told him that if he kept nagging, he would get a 5% discount, at which point he finally shut up.
But after the meal, he still followed closely behind, chattering away, continuing to advocate for himself.
Ye Yaodong found him annoying and threatened to quit working for him, so he hurriedly went to find the boat captain.
As Lin Xiuqing walked alongside him, she said, "You should call home, right?"
"Yes, did you call home for me?"
"I'll save it for you to call. The meaning of me calling and you calling is definitely different. You should call back and say hello yourself. You've been at sea for a month, so you probably haven't called home for a month."
"Okay, Ah Hai's wife hasn't given birth yet?"
"Not yet, it's still a long way off. I just called a couple of days ago and they said it's two months from now, expected to be in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, about five months younger than Chenghe's child."
"Oh, when I came back, my brother kept saying that I should ask around. He thought that since there was no news, the baby probably hadn't been born yet. Otherwise, the cargo ship would definitely have gone out to sea to report it."
"If she has another baby, Ajiang will be in deep trouble again."
Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "It does seem quite stressful. I'll keep an eye out in a couple of days and see if any of my clients have daughters."
Lin Xiuqing laughed and said, "Are you going to switch careers and become a matchmaker?"
"I'm just asking around. It would be great if there were any girls, but if not, that's fine too. Otherwise, with him delivering goods all day long, where would he meet any girls?"
"That's hard to say. He'll coordinate with the warehouse manager when delivering goods, and he might even know some finance people from other factories."
"Who the hell works the finance department until the wee hours of the morning? If you really made the finance department work until the wee hours of the morning, they'd be yelling at the boss."
"Uh...that's true."
"It's not good for your physical and mental health to stay single forever. And your two nephews, the three of them hang out together all the time, three big bachelors."
Lin Xiuqing got angry as soon as she heard this. "That's why they say birds of a feather flock together. Those two are just like Ajiang. Their families introduced them to several potential partners during the New Year, but they didn't even look at them. They just ignored them and let it go in one ear and out the other."
"Plus, there's the oldest bachelor, Lin Guangyuan and Lin Dongxue. Not to mention my brother and sister-in-law, even my parents are going crazy with worry."
"These guys are all so old, and not one of them wants to get married. They're starting to suspect that the feng shui in their homes is bad for their marriage prospects..."