sbdcsierra Chapter 1909 Winter Solstice
Chapter 1909 Winter Solstice
Chapter 1909 Winter Solstice
After they finished packing, Lin Xiuqing specially drove them there, otherwise it would have been difficult to carry all that luggage.
After Ye Huimei set the date for the dinner party, she asked her father to invite relatives to Shanghai. She already had several rented rooms and a place to stay.
Her housewarming was very simple; she moved in herself and just invited people over for a meal to celebrate.
No one stayed long. People from Shanghai had all come before. After the banquet, they stayed an extra day before returning to Zhoushan, planning to go back to their hometowns as soon as possible.
After being away for so many days, everyone has a lot to do at home. At first, going out was exciting, but after a while, everyone is eager to go home.
Lin Xiuqing breathed a sigh of relief, exhausted. They were all relatives, and her family had a car, so naturally she had to drive around for a while.
Ye Chenghu was also conscripted to serve as a driver, but his relatives praised him highly for his success.
After everyone was put on the boat, everyone felt relieved.
"Phew~ Mom, you don't need to call me for these good things anymore. I took two days off, thinking it was a banquet, but I didn't expect to be a driver."
Lin Xiuqing playfully slapped him, "You're an adult now, shouldn't you help us take care of our own relatives?"
"I'm not an adult yet, I'm still in school."
"You're the face of your family, and a college student, so naturally you should help greet the guests," Ye Huimei teased him with a smile.
"Stop joking, Auntie. I'm leaving now. You guys take my mom's car back. I still have to go to school."
After finishing his sentence, Ye Chenghu quickly slipped away. He had heard so many compliments these past two days that he was extremely embarrassed, and his smile had become stiff.
After he left, Lin Xiuqing also drove back.
Ye Yaodong returned to Zhoushan with his father and the others. He had been staying in Shanghai for quite a few days, and the delivery of the two ships, Dongyu No. 5 and No. 6, from the shipyard would still take a few days.
He needs to go to the boat market first to handle some matters and arrange manpower, and then he will come back to set sail after the goods are delivered.
Knowing that the two ships were due for delivery two weeks in advance, he had already called ahead to arrange manpower.
Now, all we need to do when we get back is confirm the manpower and roster, as well as the arrangements for supplies when we go to sea.
As for Ye's father and his group returning home, Ye's father could arrange it himself. He only needed to go to the dock to see them off when they set off.
By mid-November, the shipyard had delivered the two Dongyu No. 5 and No. 6 vessels, and he placed an order for two more.
Now that he has the boat, he can immediately arrange for it to go to sea.
However, Ah Guang refused to go to sea with him, thinking that Ah Zheng would blow it up, but it was none of his business!
At this time, we can only fish at sea for a few months, about two months, and then we have to come back to rest for the New Year. But that's fine too, we can treat it as a test of the new ship.
Sure enough, when he was about to reach the high seas fishing grounds, he was able to get in touch with him. Ah Zheng immediately greeted him and then asked Ah Guang about him.
"Damn it, he said he'd come back after going back to a wedding banquet, but it's been over a month since then."
"Didn't you see that I just sent two new ships over? These are the two new ships I just delivered, and I've been waiting for them."
"Did you have the captain check it carefully? Don't rush to deliver the goods."
"Do you think I'm like you?"
"Tch, it's been so long since I've seen you guys come back to sea. I thought you weren't coming back."
"That's right, I came alone, A-Guang didn't come."
"Huh? Holy crap!"
The sound was almost distorted in the very high frequencies.
"You're just going to die and go back like this, and never come back? Didn't we agree to go back for the New Year?"
"That's what you think. He didn't agree, and neither did I. You're just talking to yourself. Luckily, I still have some conscience, so I came along."
Ah Zheng said irritably, "Isn't it because we're sending out a new ship?"
"That's part of the reason."
"He's having a great time, getting ashore while I'm still stuck on the boat."
He said he was lucky he was smart; he only had a small share in the ship, so whoever had the larger share would control it.
Ah Zheng cursed and swore, "If the boat hadn't been lost last year, I could have been just as carefree as him."
"You should work hard and earn more money. You can even buy an apartment in Shanghai by the end of the year."
"If he wants to buy a house, he has to work hard. He has a house and a boat, so he can go ashore and live comfortably."
When the topic of housing came up, A-Zheng admitted that he didn't own a house in Shanghai and that he had to work harder, since he still had an extra source of income.
"I don't know when I'll be able to sell the land I bought in Shanghai. At least I can get some money back. Land is valuable now."
"Just wait, it will be developed gradually."
"If you just give me a few houses as compensation, that would be great. I wouldn't need to buy a house anymore, and I could finally get out of debt."
"Then you can wait patiently. When you have the money, buy one for yourself first. You won't lose money anyway. Even if you can't live there yourself, your wife, kids, and family can live there too."
"Um, when are you arriving? How many more nautical miles are left?"
"I reckon it should arrive in another day."
"If you don't go to sea next year, I'll be all alone."
“How can you say you’re the only one left? Your ship is full of crew, and there are still six of my ships at sea, plus other cargo ships.”
"I'll be lonely without you guys. At least I can chat nonsense when I'm bored."
"It's okay. Next year, we'll encourage Xiaoxiao to get another boat to accompany you at sea."
"This is good!"
The two chatted occasionally, and Ye Yaodong arrived at the target sea area and gave the order to prepare for fishing.
We set sail at the end of November, and after a few days of sailing, it's now the beginning of December.
It wasn't snowing at sea, but the sea breeze was biting, so he put on a heavy cotton coat, hat, mask, and gloves, fully armed.
Especially when you step out of the cockpit, the sea breeze is howling, comparable to a category 10 typhoon.
He had finished logging off the internet and handing over his night shift, and was preparing to go to the restaurant to find something to eat and watch a videotape before going to sleep.
Standing on the deck, the sea, which was originally undulating with the wind, now seemed to be violently stirred by an invisible giant hand, churning up huge white waves.
He frowned, his expression serious, and looked warily at the sea.
About fifty meters from the ship, the sea suddenly split open, and a huge, dark gray creature, more than ten meters long, burst out of the water, leaping up with seawater, before crashing back into the sea with a deafening roar.
Water splashed everywhere, then fell back down, some droplets even hitting his face.
"Humpback whale..." Ye Yaodong murmured, wiping the water droplets from his face.
The boatswain on deck craned his neck. "What kind of fish is that big?"
"Humpback whale."
As soon as Ye Yaodong finished speaking, several more explosions occurred on the sea surface.
One after another, whales surfaced, their spouts turning into white mist in the rising sun.
Further out, even more dark shadows surged, as if the entire sea had come alive.
"So many... there must be..." The boatswain couldn't count them all.
"There should be about twenty or thirty of them." After saying that, Ye Yaodong went up to the wheelhouse to get a telescope, which is now standard equipment on every ship.
The captain was also looking out at the sea through binoculars. The VHF radio was filled with the noise of other captains talking. When the captain saw him, he offered him the binoculars.
"There are dozens of humpback whales!"
"Yes, I saw it, so I came up to get the binoculars."
Twenty or thirty enormous creatures floated not far away, each estimated to weigh twenty or thirty tons, their massive bodies appearing and disappearing in the deep blue sea.
Ye Yaodong picked up his binoculars to look, and at that moment a humpback whale leaped up again, its pectoral fins spread out, and the barnacles on its back were clearly visible in the sunlight.
As it fell, another whale crashed head-on into it.
The two colossal beasts, each weighing twenty or thirty tons, collided with a deafening roar, not the sound of an ordinary impact, but a deep, penetrating thunderclap.
Their massive tail fins slammed heavily into the sea, creating waves several meters high.
The larger one gained the upper hand, knocking its opponent over so that its white belly rolled up for a few seconds before it rolled back up and sank into the water, never to resurface.
The victorious humpback whale surfaced and let out a long cry.
Another humpback whale swam toward the source of the sound, and then both humpback whales disappeared.
But then there were more reports of humpback whales crashing or leaping, leaving people wondering what they were doing.
The captain continued navigating the ship as usual, but he kept an eye on the situation and wondered, "What are these whales doing?"
"Could it be courtship mating?"
Ye Yaodong was just guessing; who knows what these marine creatures were doing?
But he guessed they were probably courting, and the collisions were to gain mating rights.
Humpback whales breed between October and March of the following year, and it should be around December now.
That's probably why they kept bumping into each other.
I never imagined that while humans are procreating and bumping into each other, whales are mating and bumping into each other too.
Ye Yaodong found it fascinating, and only after the humpback whales had finished crashing and left did he hang the binoculars back on the bulkhead.
The captain chuckled, "How strange! I never imagined that humpback whales mate and reproduce in this way."
"You've broadened your horizons, haven't you? I've broadened my horizons too."
Males also need to display themselves and compete for mates.
This can be considered a natural process of primitive reproduction and competition.
The seawater is cold, but life is burning hot.
The work on the ship doesn't stop just because whales are mating; everyone continues to do their jobs as usual.
After Ye Yaodong finished reading, he went to the restaurant. The aroma of meat buns wafted from the kitchen, mixed with the steam of thick fish soup, which was especially tempting on this cold day.
He ladled out a bowl of fish soup, took two freshly steamed meat buns, and sat down in front of the video camera, where a martial arts star was demonstrating his moves.
The room was full of early-rising crew members, watching videotapes and eating breakfast. They seemed quite relaxed; if you didn't know better, you'd think you were in a factory canteen.
With entertainment, life becomes easier.
After finishing the meat buns with the fish soup, Ye Yaodong wiped his mouth and went up to the deck for a walk.
The wind was less intense than at night, and the waves were calmer, which was a good sign.
He gave the captain a few instructions and went back to his cabin to catch up on sleep.
When I woke up again it was already afternoon. I opened the door and the sea breeze blew in, carrying a salty and cool feeling.
After several days of continuous fishing, the sun was rarely seen; most of the time the sky was overcast with low-hanging clouds, making it look like the weather was about to change.
"Boss, the weather forecast says there might be a cold front coming down tonight," the captain said, pointing to the sky outside the window as he saw him come out. "The waves might reach four meters high tomorrow and the day after."
Ye Yaodong nodded, "4 meters is alright, we can continue fishing."
He flipped through the calendar hanging on the wall again. What day was it that another cold front was coming?
I was surprised to find out that the winter solstice is approaching.
He was stunned, drifting at sea, living his life in a daze.
Often, after casting the net once and casting it up again, it gets dark; after another nap, it gets light again.
They have no concept of days of the week or holidays; they only observe the tides, the weather, and the schools of fish.
"It's already the winter solstice."
"Yes, tomorrow is the winter solstice. We spend all our time at sea without really understanding what it's like, so we just set out and haul in our nets."
"Tell the kitchen to cook glutinous rice balls and dumplings tomorrow morning, and make the dishes more plentiful, since it's a holiday after all."
"Hehehe, after the winter solstice, it will be New Year's Day soon. After New Year's Day, it won't be long before the twelfth lunar month, and I will be able to go home soon."
Ye Yaodong said with a smile, "If you calculate it that way, time really flies."
"It's good that time flies by, because if it flies by, we can go home sooner. When do we plan to return?"
He flipped through the calendar. "Based on previous years, it should be in the first half of the twelfth lunar month. That way, I can get home around the time of the Lunar New Year."
"That didn't take long."
"Well, about another month."
"Can we talk to the other fishing boats?"
"You captains can discuss this among yourselves, but let's not notify the crew yet. We'll see how things go if there are any changes."
"Row."
Ye Yaodong went to the kitchen first to give instructions: tomorrow morning, cook dumplings and glutinous rice balls. Those who like sweet can eat glutinous rice balls, and those who like savory can eat dumplings.
Customs differ between the North and South, so prepare both and choose according to your personal taste.
After giving instructions about the kitchen, Ye Yaodong went up to the cockpit and took a look around.
The captain was staring at the nautical chart when he saw him come aboard, and pointed to the sky outside the window.
"Boss, the wind hasn't picked up much, but the clouds look a bit odd; it looks like it's going to rain."
Ye Yaodong glanced outside and said, "Rain is fine, as long as the wind isn't too strong."
Sure enough, it started to rain that night. It wasn't a downpour, but a fine drizzle, blown by the sea breeze, pattering obliquely against the cabin windows, making a soft rustling sound. It just so happened that he was on duty.
Visibility was poor due to the rain, and it was nighttime, so he picked up his thermos, took a sip of strong tea, and tried to perk himself up.
"Dongzi, it's raining. It's past midnight. Today is the Winter Solstice. Happy Winter Solstice! What's good to eat on your boat?"
"I cook dumplings and glutinous rice balls in the morning, and add some vegetables in the evening. What about where you are?"
"I've also cooked dumplings here, with cabbage and pork filling. Damn, after taking a couple of bites, I thought of the dumplings my mom used to make, and it made me feel really uneasy."
Ah Zheng's voice was tinged with emotion, "You know, we're adrift at sea, only able to go home a few times a year. Today, on the Winter Solstice, they must be thinking of me."
He has four older sisters and is the only son in the family. Although the family was not well-off, he was always pampered and never did any dirty or hard work or suffered any hardship.
He felt he had endured a lifetime of hardship during his years at sea, and thinking about today's winter solstice, he couldn't help but feel homesick.
"Are you getting all sentimental late at night?"
"Isn't this what we're thinking about for the holiday? Since we started living here, we haven't spent the Winter Solstice at home once."
Ye Yaodong joked, "Wouldn't you call this the vulnerability of a middle-aged man?"
"You're crazy! I'm not talking to you anymore. I don't believe you don't miss home!"
Ye Yaodong chuckled.
I still want to go home, but I'll be going home soon anyway.
(End of this chapter)