Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1847 Come again
Ye Yaodong followed the ship's shift schedule, spending his days monotonously sailing the ship and directing the setting and hauling in of the nets.

After Ah Zheng returned with the cargo ship, he was even more bored. Apart from chatting with the captain and the others about their work on the ship, there wasn't much else to talk about.

After all, he is the boss. At first, when everyone treated him as a junior, they spoke without any restraint. Now that they have worked for him for several years and received a lot of salary, they have long since trusted him and will naturally be more careful with their words.

He went through the motions of his work every day, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, and occasionally going up to the deck to inspect the catch and order a meal.

Aside from the noise of the machines making it hard to sleep, and the feeling of being adrift in the middle of the sea, lonely and isolated with no entertainment, day after day, there's nothing else that's bad.

The crew members are all experienced and trained, and have all spent time at sea, so none of them have experienced ocean voyage syndrome.

After all, drifting in the middle of the sea day after day, year after year, with no entertainment, no buildings in sight, and only the people on their boat to communicate with, it's easy for psychological problems to arise.

After the second fishing boat returned, they continued fishing for about three more days before everyone saw another boat sailing towards them on the horizon.

Ye Yaodong had already received the contact message from the fishing boat opposite, and announced over the station's loudspeaker, "Don't be nervous, this is a fishing boat returning. We'll receive and replenish our supplies later, depending on the situation."

Everyone immediately relaxed their guard.

On the high seas, people are much more vigilant than in DYD. After all, on DYD Island, you're mostly facing your own compatriots, so you can relax a bit. But here, you're facing fishing boats from other countries.

The fishing boat made a round trip, bringing with it a lot of supplies. It will come over to deliver supplies when everyone's fishing boats have finished hauling in their nets and have some free time.

By the way, bring the messages from their respective homes to the boatmen.

Besides guarding the gate, the gatekeeper at their factory also has another job: answering the phone. With over a thousand employees in the factory and on the fishing boats, the demand for telephones is quite high.

But he couldn't possibly provide a phone number to everyone, so the gatekeeper's job of sitting around all day was to add answering phones to his routine.

Family members who call only need to give their name, the workshop or fishing boat number, and leave a message, which will then be relayed to the appropriate person.

The factory employees can receive the message promptly and then go out to make a call to reply. The employees on the fishing boat can only be delayed, but they can still ensure that the crew members receive the message from their families.

It can be said that the crew members on the ship looked forward to each round trip of the seafood hauling ship, hoping to hear some news from the shore or from their families, and to see what delicious food they could get on this trip.

Ye Yaodong's daily newspaper was also delivered by the fresh seafood boat all at once, which was one of his few forms of entertainment.

“Boss, when we came out, Chenghu was on summer vacation. I saw him bring his girlfriend to work at the factory. The factory manager has arranged jobs for them.”

"Yes, I know. I've already told them. Is Yangyang on vacation?"

"Not yet, they said it would be a week later, but we've been out for so many days, we should be on holiday by now."

"Hmm, didn't we encounter another ship?"

"No, we were rushing back and forth and didn't know when the second cargo ship would return, nor did we make any special contact."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

After Ah Zheng left, almost a month passed, and he didn't see him again. He made two round trips with the fish-collecting boat, but no one followed him.

Only after asking did I find out that he had actually gone back to his hometown.

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but curse a couple of times, "Damn it, once we let him go, he won't come back."

He didn't see the person again until August...

I thought I would never come back to sea, but I didn't expect to be back.

As the two boats drew near, he saw a smiling face waving at him.

"Dongzi, I'm back again! Surprised? Unexpected?"

"Get out! You finally know how to come back? Why didn't you wait for me to get back before you came?"

"When you let me go back, you didn't tell me when I should come back. So, I'll just take care of things and then come back, won't I?"

Ah Zheng nimbly crawled over, then put his arm around his shoulder, saying, "I haven't forgotten you. I won't come back if I don't go back. I'm serious about being your brother."

"Yes, you didn't go back and then you didn't come back. You just came out with me for a few days at the beginning and end, and then disappeared in the middle. You've got a good plan."

Clocking in at work, clocking out at get off work, and going home to sleep in between – isn't that great?
"You can't wrong me about this. I originally planned to stay for a few days when I got back, and then come back with the next ship, but didn't I run into your wife and children?"

"Ok?"

“Your daughter wanted to go back to her hometown, saying she missed her great-grandmother and insisted on going back. Your father saw that I was free, so he asked me to take them there. So I sent your wife and children, and your sister’s children, back to their hometown together.”

"Qing went back too?"

"Yes, she was worried and went back to stay with me for two days. So I stayed in my hometown too. I'll bring your wife up with me when she's ready to leave."

"You have a whole bunch of reasons, but you must have taken the initiative to do it yourself, otherwise my dad wouldn't have delivered it himself, would he?"

"Well, I'm just idling around anyway. I've been away for almost half a year, so I should go home and visit. This is a good opportunity."

Ye Yaodong nudged him with his elbow, using various excuses, but the truth was that he wanted to go back to his hometown, and helping him bring his wife and children back was just a side benefit.

"Didn't they ask me even a few questions?"

"Yes, your wife asked you if things were going well at sea, when you'd be back, and how your catch was. Your son asked almost the same questions, but your daughter asked me if she could come to sea with me, all sweet and cloying, saying she missed you. It's disgusting~"

As Ah Zheng spoke, he shook his body, looking disgusted.

Ye Yaodong felt much better after hearing this. "Back home, how are my mother and grandmother doing?"

"Need I say more about your mother? She has a strong voice, so loud you can hear her from far away."

"The old lady looked quite healthy, but she was a bit confused. She didn't know who I was and kept asking me whose child I was."

“I’m almost 40, and they still ask me whose child I am. I feel like I’m only a teenager, haha. They also said that Dongzi wasn’t home and told me to come over when it was time to eat, saying that I would be back by then.”

"Being a little confused is actually quite nice. Sitting in the doorway basking in the sun every day gives me something to look forward to, and it feels like every day is a new day."

"Look, I'm bringing you information that comes directly from your family. No one else can get in touch with your family."

Ye Yaodong was satisfied.

"You've given so many reasons, why are you still coming back? It's already August, I still want to go back."

"Isn't it because I was worried about you still at sea? I can't break my promise. We agreed to stay for a few days and then come to sea, so of course I have to come, even if it's just to catch the tail end."

"cut."

"There were a few minor typhoons last month, did they have any impact?"

"Affect my ass. They're all heading towards the South China Sea. At most, the waves here are a little bigger. This ship can handle the wind and waves. Unless the typhoon moves this way, then we'll have to turn back immediately."

“Then let’s fish for a few more days. I’ve been watching the cargo ships go back and forth to transport the goods, and the fuel costs are really high. Each time we refuel, it costs at least 100,000. Although we also have to supply and deliver to your ships, that’s still expensive. It’s heartbreaking to see it all go down the drain like water.”

"You think it's all free?"

"That's all money you can't see, but fish is something you can harvest every day."

"Get to work." Ye Yaodong tossed him a pair of binoculars.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you've only just arrived and you're already being bossed around. But seeing how old you look, I'll forgive you."

Ye Yaodong turned his head and killed him with his eyes.

Ah Zheng touched his freshly cut hair and felt like a young man in high spirits. It was rare for him to look handsome in front of others, which was really a rare treat!

Seeing his actions, Ye Yaodong also reached out and rubbed his hair, which was almost covering his eyes, and then wiped his face with both hands.

"Let me put some oil on you to moisturize your skin; it's windy at sea."

"Aaaaaah... Holy crap, you son of a bitch..."

"I haven't washed my hair for days, so I'm giving you all the scalp oil I've accumulated."

After touching it, Ye Yaodong smiled and quickly climbed into the cockpit.

Ah Zheng stood there, looking utterly hopeless, wiping his face with disgust. He was almost sickened by the sight.

"Can't you be a little more hygienic? It's disgusting, and you even touched my face."

"Who told you to show off in front of me? You've been running away for two months, and I haven't even scolded you yet. Besides, I'm on a boat. How clean do you expect me to be? Am I supposed to wash my hair and shave every day for the birds or the fish to see? I'm lucky if I can wash my face and brush my teeth every day."

Ye Yaodong also disliked his hair, which looked like seaweed. He hadn't cut it for almost three months, and it was thick, coarse, and long. But where could he get it cut at sea? He could only endure it and wait until he got back to clean it up.

When are we going back?

"You just got here and you already want to go back?"

"Otherwise, who would like to stay at sea? I wanted to go back the very first day I boarded the ship. I only came because I was thinking of you."

"Stop being disgusting, get lost, it's time to log off."

"When are you going back?"

"When the weather forecast warns of a typhoon, if there's going to be an impact, we'll go back. Why go back if there's no impact? This trip isn't easy. We can only go back after we've made enough to cover our costs. The daily consumption of so many ships is enormous."

"So you're going back now. Will you come back after the typhoon passes?"

"If you want to come, I'll bring you."

"Damn it, get out of here."

Ye Yaodong smiled, then said seriously, "These two months are the peak season for typhoons, so it's not worth coming out. If we can't even stay for two days, we'll have to go back, and we won't even make up for the losses."

"Then let's wait until October?"

"Yes, I'll make another trip in October, and then go back before the Lunar New Year in February."

He might not stay that late; he could go out to sea for two or three months to fish, and then return a month earlier with the fish-collecting boat.

It's almost the end of the year, so I have to go back for social engagements. I also need to relax a bit. I'm almost 40, so I can't make myself so tired.

Once the fleet is up and running, he won't need to go to sea anymore. He estimates that he can manage it for one or two years.

By then, he will have a group of experienced crew members and old captains who can lead ships, with rich sailing and fishing experience, so he will naturally not be needed.

He had already planned ahead for the fishing schedule in the second half of the year and the next few years.

P.S.: The high seas storyline will continue; it won't end all at once.

(End of this chapter)