Feng Ye's guess was correct. Less than ten minutes into the voyage, they spotted a floating burlap sack on the sea.
Once the clothes were pulled aboard the boat, and the ropes were untied, they turned out to be women's clothes.
A whole sack of dresses.
With this discovery, both of them were full of confidence and hoped to make more discoveries.
Over the next three hours, they found two more sacks of fabric.
Although it took them quite a while to find two burlap sacks, they were content.
Three hours is enough to do homework, but that's only enough time to do one net.
Moreover, the outcome is still unknown, but it can be predicted that it will likely not be very good.
In comparison, the two sacks of fabric are more valuable.
They wanted to continue the search, but time was running out; it was already past four o'clock.
It will take more than two hours to get back, and we won't be able to reach the shore until dark.
The two had no choice but to give up and turn back.
They were all immersed in joy throughout the journey...
Suddenly, Ah-Can asked in confusion, "Brother Ye, is there something wrong with that boat over there? It seems to be stuck there, not moving at all."
Feng Ye looked over and couldn't help but frown.
They had spotted that ship long ago.
However, encountering other ships at sea is quite normal, so they didn't pay much attention to it.
Now that Ah-Can has said this, he also senses that something is wrong.
It was simply because the distance between us and that ship was rapidly closing.
But he thought it was unlikely that the ship had malfunctioned.
After all, this is the first time to go to sea at the beginning of the year. Almost all ships undergo maintenance and repairs before or after the New Year, so it is unlikely that they would break down so soon.
So Feng Ye shook his head: "Perhaps it's a ship going out to sea that just happens to be sailing in the opposite direction from us."
"Maybe."
Ah-chan also felt that this was possible, so he stopped paying attention and focused on sailing the boat.
After a while, Feng Ye suddenly said, "Forget it, let's go over and take a look. If there's really a problem, we can lend a hand."
Although he felt it was impossible, one can never be too careful.
Perhaps some people really are that unlucky.
It won't take much time anyway; you just need to deviate from the course slightly.
"Uh... okay."
Ah Can glanced at Feng Ye with some surprise, not expecting him to contradict himself so quickly.
He slightly adjusted his course and headed toward the ships in the distance.
As they got closer, they saw what appeared to be something waving on the ship.
"Holy crap, is something really wrong?"
Feng Ye was surprised.
If I'm not mistaken, that's clearly a distress signal.
"It looks like the machine is malfunctioning."
"Who is this guy, so unlucky? Didn't he get his boat maintained?"
...
Guo Changling and his wife were extremely anxious, like ants on a hot pan.
I was only halfway home when the machine malfunctioned.
The ship stopped moving forward and could only drift on the sea.
More than an hour has passed, but we haven't encountered any other boats, so we can't call for help.
That was truly a desperate situation, with no one to turn to for help.
The later it gets, the lower the chance of encountering a ship.
Based on past years' experience, fishing boats that go out to sea for the first time after the new year usually return home relatively early.
They had this same mindset, which is why they started their return journey so early.
Unexpectedly, the machine broke down halfway there.
Just when they were at their wits' end and thought they would have to spend the night at sea, they spotted a ship on the surface of the ocean.
They were almost moved to tears, and quickly took a piece of clothing out of the sack and waved it vigorously.
...
As the distance between the two boats gradually decreased, Feng Ye and A Can were able to see the people on the other boat clearly.
"It's Uncle Guo."
"How could it be him?"
Both of them were greatly surprised.
I thought it would be a stranger's boat, but it turned out to be someone I knew.
Once they got close to the moored boat, Feng Ye asked, "Uncle Guo, what's wrong with the boat?"
"Oh, what bad luck! The propeller broke off and fell into the sea."
"What?"
Both of them were stunned.
Didn't you have your boat inspected and maintained during the Chinese New Year period?
"Yes, I have."
"Then how come the propeller broke off?"
"How would I know? I don't understand these things."
Ah-Can poked his head out of the driver's seat: "Tsk tsk, Uncle Guo, you should be glad. If we hadn't gone back yet, you and your aunt would be in big trouble."
"Who can argue with that? We've been drifting for over an hour and haven't seen a single boat."
As Guo Changling spoke, he threw the cable onto the Rising Sun, saying, "Thank you for your help."
"Why are you saying that? Even if we were strangers, we would still lend a hand, let alone how close we are."
By the time Feng Ye had tied the rope to the stern, it was getting dark.
Ah-chan put on his headlamp and slowly drove the Rising Sun.
Towing a boat will naturally slow you down considerably.
Fortunately, there's only half the journey left, so it's okay to go slower.
What should have been an hour's drive took an extra half hour.
By the time we arrived at the village dock, it was already past seven o'clock.
There was no one at the dock, not even Feng Jiafa was in his shop; he had gone home.
It was too late and too cold to stand in the cold wind at the dock.
As soon as the boat docked, Feng Ye jumped off and ran home to push a cart.
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