1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

Chapter 7 Storms

On the third day after the fishing boat was repaired, the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau arrived.

There were two people, both wearing blue uniforms, riding a bicycle. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, surnamed Liu; the islanders called him Liu the Glasses. A young man sat on the back, carrying a black faux leather bag.

They got off the car at Moon Island pier, pushed their bicycles onto the rocky beach, and stood at the entrance of the boat repair shop, first looking at the wooden sign.

"Moon Island ship repair station," Liu the Glasses read aloud. "Who gave you permission to repair ships here?"

Old Fang was squatting in the engine room of the Fishery Administration 001 disassembling the piston when he heard the noise and poked his head out, his face covered in oil.

Who are you?

"From the Industry and Commerce Bureau." Liu, wearing glasses, pulled out his badge and flashed it. "Someone reported you for operating without a license. Do you have a business license?"

Old Fang climbed out of the cabin and wiped his hands with cotton gauze.

It's being processed.

"It's being processed, but it doesn't exist yet." Liu the Glasses took out his notebook and started taking notes. "Opening without a business license means you have to suspend operations for rectification and be fined 500 yuan according to regulations."

Jiang Haiping walked out of the stone house.

"Comrade Liu, our boat repair shop was recommended by Director Wang of the fishing company. These two boats belong to the fishing company and are currently under repair. The business license is being processed, and all the necessary documents have been submitted."

Liu, wearing glasses, pushed up his glasses.

"The materials have been submitted, but the license hasn't been issued yet, so we don't have a license. We can operate without a license, just follow the regulations."

He turned to a new page in the notebook.

"Name of the person in charge".

"Jiang Haiping".

"How long have you been in business?"

"More than a month."

"How many ships were repaired?"

"Six articles."

Liu, wearing glasses, wrote everything down meticulously. Old Fang threw the cotton yarn in his hand onto the ground.

"Liu the Glasses, Ding Fugui sent you, didn't he?"

Liu, wearing glasses, paused for a moment.

"What Ding Fugui? I'm investigating according to the law."

"According to the law." Old Fang chuckled. "Ding Fugui has been occupying public mudflats in Baishakou for three years, operating without a license and stealing electricity. Have you investigated him? We've been operating for a month, and the permits are being processed, and you show up. Is this law only for investigating good people?"

Liu, wearing glasses, frowned.

"Watch your words. I'm conducting a legal inspection now."

Old Fang was about to speak when Jiang Haiping stopped him.

"Comrade Liu, operating without a license was wrong. I accept the fine. But Ding Fugui's boat raft in Baishakou has occupied the mudflats for three years without a sea area use permit or a business license. He steals electricity from the fishing company's dedicated line. He doesn't issue invoices for boat repairs and evades taxes. Doesn't the Industry and Commerce Bureau handle these matters?"

Liu, wearing glasses, closed his notebook.

"We will investigate Ding Fugui's case if someone reports it."

"Then I'll report it now." Jiang Haiping looked at him.

The courtyard fell silent. Seawater gently lapped against the hull of the boat in the stone trough, and fishermen were hauling in their nets in the distance.

Liu, wearing glasses, stood for a while, then put the notebook back in his pocket.

"Get your business license processed as soon as possible. Until then, finish repairs on these two fishing company boats and don't accept any other boats."

After saying that, he turned and left. The young man followed him, carrying his bag.

Old Fang squatted down and picked up the cotton yarn from the ground.

"Just like that, you left?"

"I'm leaving," Jiang Haiping said.

The news of Liu the Glasses' departure spread throughout the island in less than an hour.

The messenger was Ah Hai. He was carrying fish baskets at the dock when he saw the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau heading towards the ship repair shop. He dropped the baskets and ran towards the repair shop. Halfway there, he met Lin Xiu'e, who was panting and said that the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau had gone to cause trouble for Brother Ping.

Lin Xiu'e shoved the basket into his hands and turned to run back.

When she arrived at the ship repair site, Liu the Glasses was already gone. Jiang Haiping was squatting on the rocks, and Lao Fang was squatting beside him smoking. There was nothing in front of either of them.

"Brother Ping!"

Jiang Haiping looked up. Lin Xiu'e stood at the courtyard gate, her chest heaving, her forehead covered in sweat.

"Where are the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau?"

"I'm gone."

"Did they give you a hard time?"

"no."

Lin Xiu'e walked in and squatted down next to Jiang Haiping.

"I heard it from Ah Hai. It was Ding Fugui who reported it, right?"

Jiang Haiping nodded.

Lin Xiu'e didn't speak. She lowered her head, looking at the patterns etched into the rocks by the waves. After a while, she stood up.

"I'm going to find Ding Fugui."

"stop."

Jiang Haiping's voice wasn't loud, but Lin Xiue stopped in her tracks.

"Why are you going to see him? To argue with him? Or to beg him to show mercy?"

Lin Xiu'e bit her lip.

"I……"

"Your visit is exactly what he wanted. He was just worried about not having a chance to prove that this ship repair shop had nothing to do with the fishermen on Moon Island. Now that you've gone, he can tell the people on the island, 'Look, Old Lin's daughter came to me to plead for the factory manager's son.'"

Lin Xiu'e's eyes reddened.

"What should we do? Just let him bully us like this?"

Jiang Haiping stood up and patted the rust off his knees.

"It's not that he bullied us. He's just scared."

Lin Xiu'e looked at him.

"His raft had been running for three years without anyone interfering. We've only been operating for a month, and he's already gotten restless. Why? Because fishermen aren't stupid anymore. They can tell the difference between well-maintained and poorly maintained areas." Jiang Haiping looked at the sea. "He's not here to bully us. He's here to beg for mercy."

Lin Xiu'e couldn't understand.

Old Fang stubbed out his cigarette.

"Xiao Jiang is right. Ding Fugui reported us because he couldn't compete with us in the boat repair business. His boat repair skills are poor, and he doesn't have a price advantage. His only skill is occupying mudflats and stealing electricity. Once someone investigates these things, he's finished."

He stood up.

"So he's not trying to kill us. He wants to bring us to his level, and then use the rotten connections he's built up over the past three years on the island to wear us down. He wants us to wear us down until we can't keep up and leave on our own."

Lin Xiu'e understood.

"So what do we do?"

Old Fang glanced at Jiang Haiping. Jiang Haiping said, "Let's not waste time with him. Let's repair our boat."

In the afternoon, Wang Cunzhi arrived.

He didn't come alone. Behind him was a woman in her forties, wearing a gray suit, with short hair, and carrying a black faux leather bag.

"Xiao Jiang, this is Section Chief Sun from the County Administration for Industry and Commerce."

Section Chief Sun nodded, walked around the yard, looking at the boat rafts, the stone troughs, and the neatly arranged tool wall inside the stone house.

"I've reviewed the application materials for the business license. The lease agreement, equipment list, and personnel qualifications are all in order. I'll pick up the license from the county bureau in three days."

She took a form out of her briefcase.

"Fill this out. Write 'ship repair' for the scope of business."

Jiang Haiping took the form, placed it on his knees, and filled it out. He handed it back after finishing. Section Chief Sun glanced at it and put it in his briefcase.

After she left, Wang Cunzhi took out a cigarette and lit it.

"I heard about Liu the Glasses' matter. Old Sun is my wife, and I told her. Your procedures were almost completed anyway, so it wasn't a case of using connections."

Jiang Haiping said thank you. Wang Cunzhi waved his hand.

"Ding Fugui reported you because he panicked. But don't be careless. The kind of person he is, if he can't do it openly, he'll do it secretly. The ship repair shop needs to have someone on duty at night."

"It's already been reserved. Old Chen is on night duty tonight."

Wang Cunzhi nodded.

"There's one more thing. Get those two fishing company boats repaired as soon as possible. Once the licenses are issued, there will be ten more to go."

After Wang Cunzhi left, Lao Fang squatted on the reef and smoked for a long time.

"This person is someone I can get along with."

Jiang Haiping squatted down next to him.

"Master Fang, will Ding Fugui try anything else to trip us up?"

"Yes." Old Fang flicked his cigarette ash. "The kind of person he is, he won't give up until he's driven to the Yellow River. If the Industry and Commerce Bureau can't investigate us, he'll come up with other tricks. He'll hire people to steal tools in the middle of the night, splash paint on the boats, and smash a dent in the hull when no one's around. He'll do all sorts of despicable things."

"So what do we do?"

"Be careful." Old Fang stood up. "Starting today, the ship repair shop will have someone stay at night. You and I, one day each."

"No need. I'm young, I'll do it."

Old Fang glanced at him.

"You can't do it alone. If something happens, there won't even be anyone to tell you. Here's what we'll do: we'll take turns. One day each."

As they were talking, Qiu Changhai crawled out of the cabin of the Fisheries Administration 002.

"I'll take my turn for a day too."

Jiang Haiping turned to look at him. Qiu Changhai held a wrench, his face expressionless.

"I'm getting old and need less sleep. Night shifts are just right."

In the evening, Lin Xiu'e brought dinner again.

Today I brought seaweed buns and a can of fish ball soup. The fish balls were handmade by Lin's mother, made with mackerel meat, egg white, and starch; they were bouncy and sweet.

The three people were squatting on the rocks eating. Lin Xiu'e was squatting beside them, watching them eat.

"Brother Ping."

"Um."

"When that person from the Industry and Commerce Bureau came this afternoon, the news spread all over the island again. They said our boat repair shop would get its license in a few days, and that it would be legitimate now."

Jiang Haiping took a bite of the steamed bun.

"It was legitimate from the start."

"My dad said he'll also be on night duty."

Jiang Haiping put down his chopsticks.

"Uncle Lin's leg isn't fully healed yet, why is he working the night shift?"

"He said it. People from the island will come in turns. One family per night." Lin Xiu'e looked at him. "The Chen family, the Ma family, Ahai's family, and Cai Datou's family all said they would come."

Jiang Haiping remained silent.

Old Fang put the bowl down.

"See? What did I tell you? Repairing a boat benefits one family. How many families do you have now?"

Jiang Haiping lowered his head and drank the soup. The fish ball soup was so delicious that it made his eyes feel hot.

That night, for the first time, the ship repair site kept people on duty.

It was Old Chen who arrived. He was carrying a quilt and a lantern, and he arrived at eight o'clock. Jiang Haiping said there was no need to come so early. Old Chen said it wasn't early, he had nothing to do after dinner, so he might as well come over.

He spread the quilt on the iron-framed bed in the stone house, and hung the kerosene lamp under the wooden sign at the courtyard gate. The lamp wick was turned down low, just enough to illuminate the small area around the gate.

"Ping-ge'er, go back to sleep. I'll take care of things here."

Jiang Haiping didn't leave. He sat on the rocks at the entrance of the courtyard wall, looking at the sea.

The moon had not yet risen. The sea was dark, with only the distant fishing lights and the stars in the sky. In the stone trough, Fishery Administration 001 and Fishery Administration 002 floated side by side, their hulls swaying gently in the dim light.

Old Chen sat down next to him, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Jiang Haiping. Jiang Haiping took it. Old Chen struck a match, lit the cigarette for him first, and then lit one for himself.

The two men smoked and looked at the sea.

"Ping-ge'er. The problem with my boat's main engine shaking hasn't recurred since it was fixed. We caught 3,000 jin of ribbonfish in the autumn fishing season, double the amount from last year."

"That's good."

"I told my wife that we'd like to invite Master Fang, Master Qiu, and you to our house for Chinese New Year this year. She agreed."

Jiang Haiping agreed.

Old Chen finished his cigarette and stomped it out.

"Ping-ge'er, don't be afraid of Ding Fugui's matter. He's been on the island for three years and hasn't made a single friend. You've only been here a month, and everyone on the island already recognizes you. Why?"

He answered it himself.

"Because you genuinely care about repairing ships. You don't cheat people."

The waves gently lapped against the rocks. In the distance, the low, lingering whistles of fishing boats returning to port could be heard.

Old Chen stood up.

"I'm going to sleep. You can relieve me in the second half of the night."

Jiang Haiping agreed.

The moon rose from the sea, round and bright. It shone on the rocky beach, on the two boats in the stone trough, and on the wooden sign at the gate of the courtyard.

The large red characters on the wooden sign were clearly visible in the moonlight.

Moon Island Ship Repair Department.