sbdcsierra Chapter 1912 Two and a Half Months' Salary
Chapter 1912 Two and a Half Months' Salary
Chapter 1912 Two and a Half Months' Salary
The engine emitted a deep roar as the fishing boat slowly sailed toward the direction in which the seagulls were flying.
Some fishing boats hadn't spotted any seagulls when they got to their spots, so they had to wait, but at least there was still hope.
After several ships spotted the seagulls, they followed them.
Seagulls fly for a while, then land for a while, sometimes stopping on fishing boats to rest, or following behind the boats to hunt for food, before continuing their flight.
The ship follows them; when they fly, the ship sails; when they land, the ship slows down and waits.
I followed them like that for most of the day.
About four hours later, Ye Yaodong was standing in the cockpit when he suddenly noticed that the compass on the dashboard had stopped turning.
It steadily points in one direction—north!
He paused for a moment, stared at it for several seconds, and when he was sure it really had stopped spinning, he was overjoyed.
"Old Zhang! Look!"
The captain leaned closer, his eyes lighting up immediately: "It's done! The compass is ready!"
"The electronic compass is working normally now."
The geomagnetic anomaly disturbed the ionosphere, causing the GPS signal to frequently lose lock when penetrating, resulting in intermittent positioning and only noisy flickering on the screen.
The light spot started jumping again, and the coordinates reappeared.
"Everything has recovered, everything is normal!"
The two were overjoyed.
"You check the other equipment, and I'll notify the rest of the ship and other fishing boats."
After giving his instructions, Ye Yaodong excitedly pressed the station's public address system, "Comrades, the compasses and electronic compasses are back! The coordinates are back, and the GPS signal is normal. We can head back now!"
The crew members had been on tenterhooks these past few days, unable to eat or sleep properly, filled with worry. But as soon as they heard the broadcast, they cheered with excitement.
"Oh ho, no more interference!"
"Finally, we have directions!"
"Finally, I can go back. I don't have to drift aimlessly anymore."
"That's great, we can go back soon."
"Just say that we've turned misfortune into good fortune, so we have nothing to fear."
Ye Yaodong breathed a long sigh of relief; the fatigue and worries of the past few days vanished at that moment.
Just after the ship finished broadcasting, we heard Ah Zheng's excited shouts coming from the VHF radio.
"My compass is working properly, I have the coordinates, my GPS is working properly, and all the other devices are back to normal."
He quickly responded, "Mine is normal now. Could you please report your coordinates? Where are the others? Other fishing boats, please report your situation."
"That's great. If it's normal where you are, I guess it will be soon too. Right now, the compass is still jumping around randomly."
"I...I...I've fixed my compass! Ship number 3 is working normally now!"
"Then we should be close too..."
The channel, which had been quiet for a few days, suddenly exploded again.
Once the fishing boats received the signal, they successively reported their coordinates, and Ye Yaodong could also see the flashing dots on the radar screen.
These fishing boats with signal sources are all not far apart, no wonder they have all gradually returned to normal.
There are still two ships left that haven't arrived yet, so they have to wait, but they can meet up first.
After losing their bearings, the ships drifted with the current for four days, but they all followed his instructions and went with the wind and waves. They didn't dare to speed up or accelerate recklessly, and they didn't get separated. They didn't drift too far, with the farthest one being only about 20 nautical miles away from him.
After the fishing boats reported their coordinates one after another and they reunited, they prepared to start their return journey.
"Let's check all the fishing boats again and make sure there are no problems before we head back."
"receive."
"This trip was somewhat thrilling but ultimately safe."
"That was terrifying! We were suddenly caught in a volcanic eruption."
"We happily sat down to eat dumplings and glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice, but that very night a volcano erupted. We were really close."
"We don't know if any fishing boats are in the eye of the storm or the center of a volcano."
"I don't know. A couple of days ago I heard them chattering 'oh my god' on the channel, but there hasn't been any activity these past few days, just a few muttered words now and then."
"Who cares, we can't understand it anyway."
Ye Yaodong interrupted everyone's murmurs, "Has the fishing boat been inspected? Report it over, and we'll set off after you've reported it."
"Under investigation, awaiting response."
After more than half an hour, the fishing boats reported one after another that everything was in order, and then they started moving at full speed.
In the distance, the traces of the volcanic eruption have long since disappeared, and the sea has returned to its former calm, vast and blue.
It was almost dusk, and the ship had returned to its usual order, with those on duty taking their shifts and those resting taking their breaks.
Everyone's tense nerves relaxed at this moment of returning home.
At this point, no one was still thinking about watching the videotapes; everyone relaxed and returned to their rest cabins.
Not only him, but everyone has been lacking rest these past few days.
"Old Zhang, go eat something and get some sleep. You can come back to relieve me tonight."
"Row."
Ye Yaodong took out a cigarette, but didn't light it. He just held it in his hand and played with it, which was a sign that he was relaxed.
These past few days, he's needed two packs of cigarettes a day to calm his irritability. The more agitated he gets, the more he smokes, which also helps him stay alert. Now that he's relaxed, he just needs to play with it.
The next morning, the golden sunlight streamed through the clouds outside the window, making the sea surface shimmer.
The flock of seagulls was still there; some landed on the ship's side, while others flew behind it, occasionally swooping down to snatch a small fish.
The boat moved steadily forward, but the seagulls gradually fell behind.
Ye Yaodong stood at the ship's side, watching them grow smaller and smaller until they became a few black dots and disappeared from sight.
On the way back, the sky became clearer and the sea became calmer.
Occasionally, they would encounter other fishing boats, exchange greetings over the VHF radio, and ask about each other's experiences over the past few days.
It turns out that not many ships were affected in that area, and the fishing boats that encountered it had no idea that a volcano had erupted in the sea the day after the winter solstice.
After all, the vast ocean is boundless and it is international waters, so most of the fishing boats you encounter are international fishing boats, and domestic fishing boats are very rare.
A week later, as they were about to reach the shore, everyone was overjoyed to see the coastline becoming clearer and clearer.
This trip back is like taking a break for the New Year; I won't be going out to sea again. Today is already the 3rd after New Year's Day, which is practically 1997.
With only about a month left until the Lunar New Year, some people who want to return to their hometowns earlier can buy tickets in advance.
Ye Yaodong also said with a smile over the ship's loudspeaker: "We're ashore now. Those of you who want to go home can buy train or boat tickets. There's still a month until the New Year. Consider this early holiday a relief. It's a paid leave of one and a half months."
"Once we get ashore, we can go to the finance department to collect our entire month's salary in advance, plus the year-end bonus—the 13th month's salary."
"Take home a sum of money so you can have a good New Year, eat and drink well, and then come back to work on the fifteenth of the first lunar month."
The crew on deck cheered, some throwing down their hats, some their scarves, and some their gloves.
After working for several years, this year's leave is the longest I've ever had. In previous years, I would work until the middle of the month, but this year, due to the volcanic eruption, I had to come back half a month early.
Ye Yaodong also notified the other fishing boats, asking their captains to make an announcement over the loudspeaker.
At this time, the fishing boats were still queuing up to enter the port, and the boats were very close to each other. The crew members of several boats were cheering there. The crowd of several hundred people was quite large, which attracted the attention of the fishing boats queuing up to enter the port.
As they entered the port one after another and disembarked at the berth, people asked them questions out of curiosity.
"Did you strike it rich this time? You seemed so happy just now. How much did you sell it for?"
"No, we took an early break for the New Year. The boss gave all of us crew members a paid leave of one and a half months, and then we received an extra month's year-end bonus."
Someone added, "Haha, that's like getting two and a half months' salary for free! We can collect it as soon as we get back and go home for the New Year!"
Crew members from other shipping companies were shocked. "Huh? Dong Sheng Fisheries has such good benefits? They're already taking a break for the New Year?"
"Wow, we all have to work shifts during the Chinese New Year. Some people get a break, but others still have to go out to sea."
"No way, bro, you guys are on vacation now and you're going to get two and a half months' salary for nothing? Are you kidding me?"
The crew member from Dongsheng laughed and said, "I'm not kidding you. We're on holiday today and will come back to work on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. We'll get paid for two and a half months during that time."
"Haha, this is awesome! I worked two months as a white-collar worker this year, and I earned half a month's worth of extra money."
The crew members from other companies were shocked!
"Damn! Your benefits are even better than those of fishing companies!"
"Really? Damn, does your company need any more people? Can I come work here after the New Year? Are you hiring? I have a sailor's certificate, is that okay?"
"You'd have to ask our boss, usually they don't want it..."
Ye Yaodong and A Zheng walked at the front, listening to the workers behind them bragging.
Ah Zheng cursed, "Damn it, I didn't make much money on this trip. Who's unlucky, you or me? We still managed to run into a volcanic eruption."
"Damn it, it must be your bad luck. In all these years, when have I ever encountered such a big problem? Just look at these past few years, my fishing boat has been sailing smoothly. Tell me, did it start happening as soon as you got your fishing boat?"
"So I'm just unlucky?"
"Of course, I'm all because of you. You should go back and pray more, and ask a Taoist priest to perform some rituals."
Ah Zheng was skeptical, feeling that he was indeed quite unlucky. He had been hoping to make a fortune before the New Year, but he had already lost everything and had to take an early break for the New Year.
Ye Yaodong added, "If A-Guang were here, we could shift the blame onto him, since he didn't go out to sea this time."
"Damn it, so it seems like I haven't had much luck these past two years. I lost a boat last year, and the new boat I just got this year broke down. Now I've lost my fishing nets too. I've been working for half a year and I'm still losing money. Now that the New Year is approaching, I can't go out to sea, and I still have to pay out a lot of wages."
"Indeed, it was only because I ran into them that they escaped danger and were saved from disaster."
"Tell me why you're so generous, giving out year-end bonuses, 13 months' salary, and now you're taking a month and a half off, not going back to work until the Lantern Festival, giving away two and a half months' salary for nothing, damn it."
"You don't have to refer to my treatment. After all, we are all veterans here. We need to improve our benefits to show our leaders and help the development of my company."
"We're all going out to sea together, how could I not compare myself to you?"
“What’s there to compare? You’ve only just started out at sea and haven’t made any money yet. I’ve been working here for years, and I’m already lucky to get an early vacation.”
"Sigh, I've lost a fortune..."
"We'll make a fortune next year and recoup all our losses."
(End of this chapter)