Wandering aimlessly through the streets of the county town, Feng Ye looked around.
Before he knew it, he had reached the edge of the county town, where a rusty iron gate appeared before him.
"This location... is the county's shipyard."
Feng Ye stood at the door, gazing at the iron gate weathered by time, a strange emotion welling up inside him.
The ship he built in his previous life was produced in this shipyard.
Of course, the shipyards back then weren't as dilapidated as they are now.
Right now, the shipyard looks dilapidated.
Even the sign hanging by the door was blurred by the wind and rain, and only the words "shipbuilding" could be vaguely made out.
This is the only shipyard in their county.
It's fair to say that most of the boats in the county come from here.
Others are produced in other places, such as neighboring counties or shipyards in the city.
"Why don't we go in and take a look?"
Feng Ye had long wanted to buy a large boat to fish in the deep sea, but he was short of money.
This idea only grew stronger after seeing schools of fish several times during my trip to the South China Sea.
"Let me take a look and learn more; I don't necessarily have to buy it right now."
"Besides, there can't be any ships on hand; they'll definitely have to be custom-made. All you need to do is pay a deposit first."
Thinking of this, his feet involuntarily stepped towards the iron gate.
The iron gate was open, and there were no guards; people could come and go as they pleased.
However, people don't usually come here for no reason; they must have a purpose.
Inside the shipyard, the scene was vastly different from what Feng Ye remembered.
On the open ground, several semi-finished fishing boats were quietly moored, along with various steel materials, steel plates, and other machinery.
On both sides of the open space, there were simple tin sheds, and inside were several boats still under construction.
The workers were busy with their own tasks: some were welding, some were hammering, and some were moving materials...
Before Feng Ye had taken more than a few steps, a middle-aged man covered in grease pointed at him and shouted, "What are you doing here?"
Feng Ye looked around, pointed to his own nose, and said, "Are you talking about me?"
"Yes, I'm talking about you."
"Uh, I'm interested in buying a fishing boat, so I've come to learn more about it."
"Wait a minute, I'll call the factory manager out."
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he turned around and shouted, "Xiao Li, get out here right now, we have a customer."
"They're here, they're here."
A response immediately came from a two-story red brick building next door.
A short while later, a man who looked to be in his thirties ran out.
"Who? Who wants to buy a boat?"
The middle-aged man pointed at Feng Ye and said, "This young man."
Li Changzi strode towards Feng Ye, his eyes filled with curiosity.
After approaching, he looked Feng Ye up and down before saying, "I am the director of this shipyard, my surname is Li."
"Director Li, hello. My surname is Feng, and my name is Feng Ye."
Feng Ye greeted him.
He had no recollection of this person; he hadn't seen him when he bought the boat in his previous life.
"Mr. Feng, is that right? You're truly a promising young man!"
Factory Director Li then added, "You look unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"
Feng Ye smiled and nodded, replying, "Yes, it is indeed my first time here."
"How big of a boat do you want to book? We have everything here, from small fishing boats of a dozen meters to deep-sea fishing vessels of thirty or forty meters."
"Take a look and learn more before making a decision."
"Okay, how about we take a look around first, or come to my office and chat over tea?"
Feng Ye smiled and said, "Can't we chat while we walk around?"
"Of course, please."
Factory Director Li gestured for me to ask, "Please feel free to ask me any questions. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."
"Mr. Li, the factory looks pretty busy. You must have a lot of orders, right?"
"Indeed, quite a lot. In the past two years, many fishermen have had some money and want to get a better boat so they can catch more fish at sea."
"If I order a ship, when will it be delivered?"
This is the issue that Feng Ye cares about most.
If the time is too short, he won't have enough money; if the time is too long, it's too difficult to wait.
It's really quite contradictory.
Factory Director Li thought for a moment and said, "It will probably be around the end of next year or the beginning of the year after. It may be earlier or later, the exact time is uncertain."
"It'll take this long?"
Feng Ye thought it would take at most a year and a half, but he didn't expect it to take almost a year and a half.
This efficiency is terrible!
His ideal delivery timeframe is six months.
In this way, he can raise the money without having to wait too long.
"There's nothing we can do about it. There are just too many orders, and we have to process them in order. We're only able to do this fast because we've increased our manpower; otherwise, the line might have stretched to the end of next year."
"In the past two years, more and more people have been buying or replacing boats. So far this year, the number of orders we have received is almost double that of last year."
"I estimate that I will still receive a lot of orders by the end of this year. Therefore, if I want to deliver faster, I need to make a decision as soon as possible."
Factory Director Li patiently explained the current situation.
"If I were to place an order now for a deep-sea fishing boat that is over 30 meters long, how much would it cost?"
"That's hard to say."
Factory Director Li shook his head. "First, you need to determine the specific size."
"Thirty-one meters is more than thirty meters, and so is thirty-nine meters, so the price difference is huge."
"Secondly, we need to determine the machinery and equipment required on board."
"There are also the layout of the cabins, the requirements for the hull, the fishing boat's operating methods, whether it is a simple trawler or a fishing boat, etc."
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