sbdcsierra Chapter 1708 Encounter
Chapter 1708 Encounter
Chapter 1708 Encounter
The promised brief strong convection, lasting only 1.5 hours, has lasted for more than three hours, with rain pattering down and gusts of Force 8 sea winds blowing one after another.
At the most turbulent times, waves would surge four or five meters over the bow and crash onto the deck.
If this were offshore, let alone a Force 8 gale, even a Force 6 gale would have forced us to turn back.
Everyone cursed and swore as they watched the relentless wind and rain.
"Wasn't it supposed to take an hour and a half? It's been three hours already, are we going to watch it go on until dawn?"
"That's really unreliable."
Ye Yaodong reassured them, "Are all the ships alright?"
"It's alright, we've had big storms before, but we don't know when it will pass."
"Let's sail away from this area first. It should be much better once we're out of the cloud-covered zone."
"Yes, that's good. Let's get away from this place shrouded in dark clouds first."
Ye Yaodong glanced at the nautical chart and said, "Follow me and head northeast for a while to see what happens."
"Roger that!"
He sped up and the other fishing boats followed suit after receiving the notification.
After another forty minutes of sailing, perhaps having left the foggy and rainy area, the gusts of wind gradually weakened, and the rain also lessened.
"Oh, thankfully the wind and waves aren't so strong anymore, and the rain has lessened."
"We should have run further ahead, away from that dark cloud."
Ye Yaodong asked all the fishing boats to report that they were safe and sound. He was relieved to find that no one was injured, except for boat number 8 which lost two large baskets of sea bream. The other boats had no losses, and all the tools and equipment that could be collected had been collected in advance. Losing a little cargo was a minor matter.
He glanced behind him, wondering if the rain had subsided. Under the same sky, sometimes it might rain in front of you while it's sunny behind you.
"The wind and rain have subsided here. You can spread out and search for fish. Be vigilant and watch out for reefs and other obstacles. See if it's a good time to cast your nets."
"receive."
As the fishing boats scattered, Ye Yaodong found himself with nothing to do again.
He raised his wrist to check the time; it was only a little before midnight, so he could have a late-night snack to calm his nerves.
Since his boat wasn't going to sail anyway, he didn't need to worry about it for the time being. He went downstairs to the restaurant to take a look.
Good heavens, everyone else is sitting and eating late-night snacks, while he's the only one being treated like a beast of burden.
"Damn, you're all here. You guys seem pretty comfortable, huh?"
"Haha, you were on tenterhooks here just now too."
"I just started eating, haha. I was just about to go to the cockpit to ask you if you wanted a midnight snack."
"It's really freshly cooked. The waves were too big and the boat was too bumpy, so the chef couldn't work."
"Come on, have a bowl of seafood noodles first, eat something to calm your nerves."
Ye Yaodong just joked, then took an aluminum lunchbox, filled a bowl with seafood noodles, and ate it in the cockpit. It was too stuffy and crowded here; it was much more comfortable to sit in the cockpit.
At sea, everything is scarce except seafood. In a late-night snack, there is more seafood than noodles. By the time he finishes eating the crabs and mantis shrimp, there are twice as many noodles left.
He slowly finished eating and had just put down his lunchbox when he suddenly saw several moving green dots appear on the radar screen. Before he could get closer to take a closer look, the green dots turned into yellow dots.
This indicates that the echo has become stronger.
"what's that?"
Just as he was about to speak, the walkie-talkie crackled to life.
"I think I've detected a convoy of fishing boats ahead?"
"Yes, I detected it too. There are several yellow dots moving rapidly, getting closer to this side."
"Are they fishing boats? A whole fleet of them, could they be smuggling boats again?"
Ye Yaodong said, "I'll go to the public channel and make a public announcement to remind them."
He put the walkie-talkie aside and then pressed the public channel talk button.
"To the fishing boats ahead, our fishing vessel, Min Xianfeng, is operating in this area. Please do not approach and be careful to avoid getting entangled in the nets. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Received. Our fishing vessel, Minyu 88, is merely passing through and will follow its return route without causing any disturbance."
Ye Yaodong nodded, but suddenly felt that the name of the ship seemed familiar. His father seemed to have mentioned it during the New Year. His uncle's ship was named this.
"Minyu 88? Zhongnan Houcun?"
"what?"
"He Dawei?"
"Ah, an acquaintance? He's the second mate on the ship."
"He is my uncle-in-law."
"Coincidentally, he was on duty with me tonight, so I called him over."
Ye Yaodong was still a little surprised. How could he meet someone like this at sea? It had been years. He never expected to meet them today.
He wasn't very familiar with this uncle-in-law, who died young, only reaching his early 60s, and apparently didn't live past the year 2000.
I heard that he spends most of his time at sea and doesn't go home often. He's only home a few days a year, and sometimes he's not even home for Chinese New Year.
So perhaps he died young due to overwork.
He's been reborn for ten years, and he's probably only seen his aunt two or three times. He's barely run into her, only seeing her when there's a happy occasion in the family. It's because he's mostly away from home, at sea, and has been here for the last few years.
I only heard from A-Qing that his aunt would come to see the old lady from time to time, and would bring things during festivals, but she would not stay for a meal, and would leave after sitting for a while, and they could not keep her there.
Many people still retain the old habits. Because of food shortages, they don't stay at other people's homes for meals and leave as soon as it's almost mealtime.
Fortunately, before the reform and opening up, everyone could only stay in the village. After the reform and opening up, people gradually started to spend more time at sea. Otherwise, it would be strange if young wives didn't have affairs.
Now that I'm old, nothing matters anymore, I just want to take the money home!
A moment later, his uncle's voice came through the small channel.
"Hey, is this Dongzi?"
"Yes, I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. How come you're in this area? I always thought you were running ships near the Taiwan Strait."
"You changed jobs this year, and started doing something different after the New Year. Have you been here the whole time?"
"Yes, I've been mostly at the DYD fishing grounds for the past two years. The fishing boats from a few years ago that were in Zhoushan are still there."
"Oh, I heard you've been doing really well these past few years, your fishing boats are getting bigger and bigger. It's rare for you to come home for a holiday, and the whole town is talking about you. It's a pity that every time I come home I hear you're not here."
"Yes, I've been too busy. I've been away from home for the past five or six years."
……
Ye Yaodong chatted with him for a while, but the other fishing boat did not stop and continued to sail at high speed, passing through their waters.
They live close by, so communication isn't affected.
They chatted for about half an hour, and then the person who was supposed to be driving the boat went to rest, leaving the boat in the care of his uncle.
At this point, his uncle told him, "There are other people ahead, so it's not convenient to tell you. We went to the Japanese to poach coral and made a big score, so we're in a hurry to get back. In this rush, if we encounter any unfamiliar fishing boats, we'll probably just drive right through them."
"!!!" Ye Yaodong was shocked.
"Our plan is to dock in Zhoushan first to resupply, then sell some of the cargo on board to the big boss, and then dock in Shanghai to sell it off. We should stay in the port for a few more days during this period. After this trip, I should have a two-week vacation."
"Wow, they've got guts! How many boats are there? They just charged straight towards our side?"
“There are more than a dozen boats, all from the area around our town. Everyone knows each other. In the past two years, everyone has been getting bigger boats, so we thought we'd go all out and clear up our debts.”
"Bring a whole ship of them back, that would be a huge profit, more than just clearing out the debts."
"It was all a matter of luck. I was terrified. When we were poaching at night, we were spotted by their patrol boat. We barely had time to run away."
"So you guys were kicked out?" he joked, speaking casually.
"Pretty much. I got caught after doing two or three scams, so I had to run away. Luckily I escaped. I'll have to behave myself from now on."
"Then your boss has made enough money too."
"That's true."
"Have you ever considered working for me? You won't need to be a second mate; I'll promote you directly to captain and you'll get a share of the profits. The captain's share is much higher than that of a second mate."
He Dawei hesitated, "Let's wait and see. I'm a good boat captain, and we're all from the same village. It's not easy to just quit right away."
"What's the big deal? Water flows downhill, and people strive for higher positions. We'll go to whoever offers the highest price."
"Sigh, I signed a 10-year contract, and it still has five or six years left before it expires."
"Ten years! I've only managed to sign people for five years, and that was only the year before last."
The purpose was to send people for training, so it was done formally with a contract. Otherwise, if he trained them and they jumped ship to work elsewhere or went solo, wouldn't he suffer a huge loss?
No wonder all the relatives know that he now owns a bunch of boats, has made a lot of money, and has become very wealthy, but his uncle, who runs a boat, hasn't come to pay his respects.
It turns out that there was no point in coming closer; she had already sold herself long ago.
“A few years ago, I thought that I was almost 50, so signing a 10-year contract wouldn’t be a problem. It would give me a stable income, and I wouldn’t have to worry about not having work. It would also be perfect that after 10 years, I wouldn’t be able to work anymore and could go home to retire.”
"Alright, why don't you dock at the boat market in a couple of days? My seafood collection boat will also dock and head back in a couple of days. I'll contact you then. Do you have a phone number? Or should I leave it with you?"
"Give me your number. I'm just a temporary port of call, where would I get a phone number? Give me one, I'll call you in a couple of days."
"Okay, could you also take a look and see if there's any good quality coral on the ship that you could save for me? I'd like to keep it in my office as a decorative piece to bring good fortune."
"Sure, no problem, I'll send you one later."
Ye Yaodong thanked him politely and then hung it up.
He said that his aunt's family had so much coral, more than anyone else, and they gave it away everywhere without feeling bad about throwing it away. It turned out that it was all brought back by his uncle who worked on boats.
If he works for another five or six years and then comes back, he won't live much longer. It's kind of pitiful to think about.
After struggling for most of my life, I finally have time to enjoy my old age, but I can't.
What's the point of working your whole life?
His wife and children lived a happy life in their later years, but he died young.
Ye Yaodong was thinking that after they docked, he would talk to the people more and maybe he could ask them to get a physical examination when they docked in Shanghai again.
If going to sea isn't suitable, then stop and go home to retire early. That way, you might live a few more years.
Otherwise, if you work hard your whole life and never enjoy any happiness, only suffering, that's a truly tragic life.
Meeting his uncle was a minor incident during the night. While they were chatting, other boats whispered among themselves on the walkie-talkie, but he ignored them and let them decide what to do.
The rain gradually stopped in the latter half of the night, but the next day there was still no sun. Even when it was light, it still felt gray and gloomy, with only the morning star visible.
Autumn and winter are mostly characterized by this kind of gray and gloomy weather, and even now, which is the end of winter and the beginning of spring, the weather is still like this.
A spring rain brings warmth, but he hasn't felt the warmth yet; he'll probably only feel it after he gets ashore.
Ye Yaodong and his crew drifted at sea for three days before they began to arrange for the harvesting and transport of fish. Most of the fishing boats were already seven or eight tenths full, with both good and bad catches.
He had to collect them one by one, and with the waiting time in line, it would probably take a whole day, so he started working early in the morning.
"All ships, please report on the fullness of your holds. I need to prepare to receive the cargo."
"My cargo hold is 70% full, I just finished receiving the goods, and I can ship over directly..."
"The Ocean No. 2 is also about 7% full. This shipment has just been launched and we have to wait until this afternoon to receive the goods."
……
Based on the intermittent reports from the fishing boats, he scheduled three separate meetings.
"They're coming closer, bow to bow, keep your distance!"
"Roger that!"
Once the order was given, the two fishing boats successfully connected, and the fish pump started instantly, emitting a unique and powerful "buzzing" sound, as if a giant beast was beginning to swallow.
They start with groceries, which are transported directly to the fermentation tanks in the lower deck for further processing.
During the brief lulls in this efficient mechanical operation, the violent currents stirred up by the fish pumps and the strong fishy smell they emitted attracted many fish of all sizes to linger around their fishing boats.
A few bold albatrosses took advantage of the moment when the fish current surged, swooped down, and accurately snatched away the small fish that were stunned by the current.
Some seagulls boldly landed directly on the railings of the fishing boat.
Several dolphins surfaced on the sea, curiously watching why they were anchored and motionless.
Standing on the wheelhouse, Ye Yaodong looked down at the dolphins and felt that they were quite human-like, just like the crowd watching the drama unfold, always coming up to see what was going on.
Watching all this, a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips. He picked up the walkie-talkie, his voice steady and penetrating the roar of the machines.
"Once this one is done, the next one will take over immediately. Get the next ship ready in advance! Hurry up and get back as soon as you're done."
"receive."
Fishing boats were emptied of their cargo one after another, and then a new round of exploration and fishing began.
Some fishing boats need to wait while the cargo is being collected, and sometimes, by the time they've finished collecting all the cargo, it's already dark.
The fish pump stopped roaring. The buzzing sound that had lasted for most of the day, like the heartbeat of a giant beast, suddenly disappeared, and a brief calm appeared on the sea. Everyone was suddenly a little unaccustomed to it.
The crew chatted as they skillfully retracted the thick fish pipe and sealed the fish inlet on the side.
On the deck, the workers worked together, using high-pressure water jets to wash away the dirt and sea odor. The water flowed into streams on the deck, carrying some shimmering fish scales and debris, before returning to the sea.
Ye Yaodong also pressed the walkie-talkie, "I originally planned to have the cargo ship return directly and I would stay at sea and continue to supervise whichever ship I was on. But I have some things to take care of back on shore, so I'll go back with the cargo ship for now and come out again in a few days."
"receive."
"Dongzi, you can go ashore. If anything happens, you can come out and tell us. That way, we'll get firsthand information."
"Haha, I think you're just eager to know when the reward will be sent out and you want to receive the news as soon as possible."
"That's right, it's a lot of money, I can't work for nothing."
Ye Yaodong cleared his throat. "Ahem, according to the agreed time, the next boat to collect fresh seafood should have already set sail from the shore this morning. I'll head back as soon as possible, since that boat will arrive in a couple of days anyway."
"receive."
"Stop the pumps, close the hatches, and prepare to return to base!"
"receive."
He was relatively at ease. They had been fishing in this area for almost a year, and with experienced fishermen mentoring newcomers, there wouldn't be any problems. They could discuss things together and resolve any issues.
After giving a few brief instructions, Ye Yaodong entered the route, and the propeller at the stern stirred up rolling waves, ready to set sail.
……
P.S.: This is the perfect ending, but I don't have enough words, so I'll have to add another page.