"Wait, wait a minute," Factory Manager Li called out, "Let's talk some more..."
Feng Ye was secretly delighted, but his face remained calm and expressionless.
He stopped what he was doing, exchanged a glance with Ah-Can, and both of them saw the joy of victory in each other's eyes.
He feigned surprise and asked, "Director Li, is there anything else?"
"I just recalculated the price, and you guys just disappeared..."
Factory Director Li's chest heaved as he gasped for breath.
At this moment, Feng Ye asked in surprise, "So, you agreed?"
"Come on, let's go back to the office and sit down so we can have a proper chat."
...
Two hours later, the Rising Sun slowly departed from the shipyard dock and headed towards White Stone Island.
Feng Ye and A Can were stuck in the driver's seat, their faces beaming with satisfaction.
After another round of bargaining, although they still couldn't get the price down by a single cent, they finally decided on the boat.
The contract has been filled out. After the deposit is paid and the contract is signed, production can be scheduled to begin.
"Damn it, this Factory Director Li is too difficult to deal with; he's stubbornly refusing to lower the price."
Ah-chan spat.
Feng Ye patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't be too greedy. The things he gave you are worth quite a bit of money."
"That's true. Just that trawl net alone costs several hundred dollars, plus a two-year extended warranty. Oh, and the lifeboat too."
Ah-Can asked curiously, "Brother Ye, why did you suddenly decide to want this thing?"
"Isn't Director Li stubbornly insisting on giving up on a few things? He's already sent us everything we could use. I had a sudden inspiration, so I tried bringing it up, and to my surprise, they actually agreed in the end."
Feng Ye explained with a smile, "When we go out to sea to fish, safety is always our top priority."
"With lifeboats, we'll have an extra layer of protection in case of any emergency. It's always better to be prepared."
"Have you forgotten what happened to Uncle Fusheng? If his boat had had a lifeboat, would he have needed to wait for us to rescue him?"
Ah Can nodded: "Brother Ye, you're right, safety is indeed the most important thing. With the lifeboat, we feel much safer going out to sea."
"Moreover, this lifeboat is useful in normal times, so we won't need to rely on the ferry to get ashore when we come back from sea in the future."
"Yes, how come I didn't think of that!"
Ah-Can's eyes lit up. "Big ships can't dock, and every time we come back or go out, we have to wait for a ferry, which is very troublesome. With our lifeboats, it will be much more convenient."
"Furthermore, this lifeboat can not only be used in emergencies, but also as a small boat for us to explore the surrounding waters."
"From this perspective, the lifeboats are the most practical and valuable among all the items that were given away."
"Um."
The lifeboat that Director Li promised to send was small, less than four meters long, and made of welded sheet metal.
Feng Ye wanted a bigger one, but Director Li absolutely refused.
Having no other option, he settled for second best, requiring that it must have mechanical power.
Unexpectedly, Director Li readily agreed to this.
Feng Ye was stunned. He immediately realized he had made a mistake, but the words were already out and there was no way to take them back.
Therefore, in his opinion, the lifeboat wasn't that valuable.
Otherwise, Director Li wouldn't have been so quick to give it away.
After all, the least valuable thing in a shipyard is sheet metal.
Perhaps, only the engine will be a bit more expensive.
Small wooden boats are expensive now because the market demand exceeds supply.
Furthermore, the price of wood has been rising steadily and remains high, making it much more valuable than sheet metal.
Modern shipyards wouldn't take on small jobs like welding small iron boats.
They can't even keep up with the production of large ships, they don't have the time for this.
...
The diesel engines on the Xuri roared all the way to the Dongtou Village dock.
It's completely dark now.
As soon as they landed, they headed straight for the workshop.
I don't know when it started, but we stopped cooking at home at night.
The workshop has stoves and pots, so dinner is cooked directly in the workshop, saving time by not having to run around.
The workshop was bustling with activity as always.
The yellowish light illuminated everyone's faces, and the air was filled with a strong fishy smell.
"Why are you so late? We were worried for a while. The people on Longtail Island are causing trouble again. I thought you had run into them."
Noticing them enter the workshop, Feng Jiaqing looked up, then continued with his work while asking in an annoyed tone.
He wasn't killing the fish; instead, he was cleaning the already killed fish and then putting them into a large pool to marinate.
Hearing his question, everyone else pricked up their ears to listen.
"Aren't they scared yet?"
Feng Ye couldn't help but frown.
Since the last reef incident, they haven't encountered any ships from Longtail Island.
"Yesterday, a boat from Lujia Village was robbed by people from Changwei Island. The boat, fishing nets, and all the seafood they caught were stolen. The people involved were also badly beaten."
"Luckily, we ran into another fishing boat and were towed back, otherwise we don't know how many more days we would have been adrift at sea."
"These bastards are incorrigible!"
Ah-Can got angry as soon as he heard that, clenched his fists, and said angrily.
Feng Ye was silent for a moment, then asked, "Doesn't Lujia Village react at all? Just letting themselves be bullied?"
"How could that be? I heard they were planning to attack Nagao Island today, but the police station got wind of it and stopped them, saying they would go and arrest people. I don't know what happened, or if they caught anyone."
"I doubt it. If they were caught so easily, they wouldn't have been able to commit crimes at sea for so long."
Feng Ye thought for a moment and continued, "Dad, when you and Uncle Ling deliver dried fish to the county, try to sail close to the shore and don't go too far away."
"You don't need to tell me, your Uncle Ling and I know what we're doing. I'm just worried that you might run into them when you go out to sea."
"We will be careful."
Feng Ye nodded, his eyes revealing a hint of seriousness.
Although the ocean is vast and the probability of encountering it is very small, it is not impossible.
You should know, this is the third time they've encountered this situation.
Fortunately, they were all resolved one by one, and those bastards suffered heavy losses.
Ideally, we should send them all in to solve the problem once and for all.
After all, you can only be a thief one day, how can you guard against thieves a thousand days in advance?
No matter how careful they are, they will be finished if they let their guard down even once.
The damage they caused to the people of Longtail Island was far more than just being robbed and beaten; they were probably drowned.
However, there's really no way to get people in there for now; we'll have to wait for the right opportunity.
When they went out to sea later, they had to be extra vigilant and stay away from any unfamiliar ships they encountered.
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