1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

Chapter 16 May

May is the best time of year to visit Moon Island.

The sea breeze was neither too hot nor too cold, and the reeds on the rocky beach were beginning to turn green, with clumps of green sprouting from the crevices of the rocks. One of the loquat pits that Wang Cunzhi had mentioned last time had indeed sprouted, with two tender leaves peeking out from the cracks in the rocks. A-Guang took some broken seashells and circled the area around the pit, saying that no one should step on it.

Under the eaves of the ship repair shop, the dried ribbonfish had been put away and replaced with several strings of freshly dried mackerel. Ahai said, "Dried mackerel smells better than ribbonfish." Old Fang laughed at him, "Last year you said ribbonfish smelled better." Ahai said seriously, "This year, mackerel smells better."

The new boat on the west side was completed smoothly in a month. Old Chen's boat, which had been used to remove barnacles, went out to sea more than a dozen times, and the bottom of the boat was still smooth, with no more barnacles growing back. He told everyone he met, "Master Fang's skills are amazing; he removed every last barnacle, not even a single one left."

When this news reached the town on the other side, more people came by towing their boats over.

On the third day of the fifth lunar month, a boat from an outer island arrived. The boat owner's surname was Hong, and he was from Hongjia Island, about twenty miles by waterway from Moon Island. The boat had a wooden hull, weighed a little over twenty tons, and looked to be only a few years older than Qiu Changhai. The hull was covered with barnacles, there were several rotten spots on the hull, the main engine was emitting black smoke, and the gearbox was making a rattling noise when shifting gears.

Old Fang went aboard the boat, looked around, then came down and squatted on the rocks, smoking half a cigarette.

"How many years has it been since you last repaired your boat?"

Hong, the boat owner, squatted down beside him and said, "Three or four years, I can't remember exactly."

Old Fang flicked away the cigarette ash: "It'll take a whole day to clean the barnacles. At least four rotten hull plates need replacing. The main engine fuel injectors need replacing, and the gearbox needs to be disassembled; the bearings are probably badly worn. The total repair cost, including materials, will be 1,200."

Hong Chuandong squatted on the ground, hugging his knees. After a long while, he raised his head and said, "Xiu."

The ship was at the repair shop for seven days.

Old Fang led the way in disassembling the main unit and gearbox. Upon inspection, the gearbox bearings were indeed severely worn, with the ball bearings covered in pits. Old Fang removed the bearings and asked Ahai to find the same model from the used parts shelf. Ahai flipped through the register and found a pair of bearings salvaged from a scrapped gearbox last year; the wear wasn't severe. Old Fang cleaned them with kerosene, measured them with a micrometer, and confirmed they were still usable.

Three out of the four fuel injectors on the main unit were clogged. After soaking them in cleaning agent and reinstalling them, the smoke from the exhaust pipe changed from black to light gray.

Qiu Changhai led Lin Xiu'e to remove barnacles and replace the boat planks. A total of four rotten planks were replaced. Lin Xiu'e was already skilled at chiseling grooves; she would weave the chisel blade along the boundary between the rotten wood and the good plank, hammering away until the rotten wood cracked while the good plank remained still. The grooves were chiseled smooth, and the new planks fit in perfectly.

Ah Guang learned welding from Ding Haisheng. He practiced walking in a straight line for ten days and then practicing swinging for ten days. Now he started welding flat angle seams. Ding Haisheng took two scrap steel plates, aligned them at a right angle, and asked him to weld them.

Ah Guang squatted down, put on his mask, and checked his gloves and cuffs. Ding Haisheng glanced at him and nodded.

Ah Guang lit the arc and the welding rod moved along the weld. His hand was still a little shaky, and the weld was crooked, but it was much better than the first day.

"Turn the current down one notch. Flat-corner seams are prone to burning through, so the current can't be too high." Ding Haisheng squatted down and pointed to the weld. "There's undercut here; the electrode angle is too slanted. For flat-corner seams, the electrode angle should be 45 degrees, and even on both sides."

Ah Guang removed the welding rod end, clamped on a new one, adjusted the current, and straightened the angle. He welded another layer. This time it was much better; the weld was even and there was no undercut.

Ding Haisheng used a welding slag hammer to knock off the flux coating and examined it: "Okay. Let's continue practicing this afternoon."

Trial voyage on the afternoon of the seventh day.

Hong Chuandong stood at the helm and pushed the throttle up. The engine sounded even, and the exhaust smoke was so faint it was almost invisible. He shifted gears, and the gearbox went smoothly, the rattling noise gone. He turned the rudder left or right, and the steering wheel turned as lightly as a small sampan.

He steered the boat a short distance, then turned back and docked. He jumped off the boat, squatted on the pier, and covered his face with his hands. His shoulders were shaking.

Old Fang squatted down beside him, smoking. After he finished shaking, he handed him a cigarette. Hong Chuandong took it, lit it, and took a puff.

"Master Fang. This boat was left to me by my father. He sailed it for twenty years, and I sailed it for fifteen. In recent years, the boat has become unusable, leaking everywhere, so we dare not go out to sea and can only try our luck in the near sea. Our family of seven, young and old, all depend on this boat."

He finished his cigarette, stood up, and said, "It's fixed. We can go out to sea again."

He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket—ten-yuan notes, five-yuan notes, and two-yuan notes—and counted it three times. It was exactly one thousand two hundred.

Hong Chuandong sailed away. Old Fang squatted on the reef, watching the boat sail away into the distance, pale blue smoke billowing from its exhaust pipe.

"Hongjia Island is twenty li from Moon Island. He towed the boat over here because of what Old Chen said."

On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, Lin Xiu'e's younger brother boarded the boat.

Lin Xiu'e hadn't slept well the night before, and arrived at the ship repair shop early the next morning. Not to work, but to sit. She sat on the rocks at the edge of the courtyard wall, looking towards the dock.

Jiang Haiping squatted down beside her. The Ping An was being prepared for sea at the dock. Lin's father was checking the main engine in the engine room, while Lin Xiu'e's younger brother was winding up the mooring lines at the bow. The thirteen-year-old boy, barely reaching his father's shoulder, was already working quite skillfully. He coiled the mooring lines neatly, tucking the ends underneath.

"He told me last night, 'Don't worry, sister, I'll definitely do a good job.'" Lin Xiu'e looked at the dock, "His eyes were shining when he said that."

Jiang Haiping said, "He did it willingly."

"He was willing. But he was only thirteen. I stopped going to school at thirteen to take care of my younger sister because my family had no other choice. He went on the ship at thirteen, also because he had no other choice."

The Ping An sounded its horn. The bow left the dock and slowly sailed out of the stone trough. Lin Xiu'e's younger brother stood at the stern and waved to the shore. Lin Xiu'e waved back.

The Ping An has sailed away. Lin Xiu'e stood up from the reef: "I'm going to mix the tung oil putty. I need to mix three basins today."

At noon, Guo Dayong's wife came again.

This time, instead of clothes, they delivered dumplings. Shepherd's purse and pork dumplings, packed in an aluminum lunchbox wrapped in a towel. They were still steaming when Guo Dayong opened the lunchbox.

He squatted on the rocks to eat, and after two bites, he looked up and noticed that Lao Fang and A Hai were both watching him. He pushed his lunchbox forward. Lao Fang picked up one, A Hai picked up one, and A Guang picked up one too.

"The dumplings my sister-in-law made are delicious," Ah Hai said, stuffing his mouth with food.

Guo Dayong's wife stood beside him and smiled, "It's delicious, make more next time."

She didn't leave immediately, but strolled around the boat repair site: looking at the boats in the stone troughs, the newly laid boat rafts on the west side, the dried mackerel drying under the eaves, and the loquat seedlings sprouting from the crevices of the rocks. She squatted down to look at the two tender leaves.

"Is this a loquat?"

Ah Guang said the loquats were given to him by Director Wang, and that they grew in the crevices of the rocks.

Guo Dayong's wife stood up: "There's a loquat tree in our old family home, planted by my father. Every May it bears a full load of fruit, and we share what we can't eat with the neighbors."

She stood there for a while, then turned and walked back. Guo Dayong caught up with her and handed her the empty lunchbox. She took it, put it in her bicycle basket, got on her bike, and rode away.

In mid-May, the ship repair shop received an extra sum of money in its account.

Master Zhou from the seafood company arrived on his motorcycle. It was a red Jialing 70, sputtering and belching blue smoke. He parked at the gate and took a black faux leather bag from the back seat. Inside was the boat repair fee—12,000 yuan for the seafood company's four boats in the first half of the year.

Old Fang took the money and counted it. Material costs accounted for a little over 40%. He gave three bills to Qiu Changhai, three to Ding Haisheng, and two to Guo Dayong. Ahai and Aguang didn't receive any, but at noon Lin Xiu'e brought over a pot of braised mackerel, saying it was an extra meal for everyone. The mackerel was from the Ping'an ship; Lin's father had asked her to bring it.

Master Zhou squatted on the rocks and ate two pieces of mackerel, saying that four more boats would be coming over in September. Jiang Haiping said, "Okay."

Master Zhou rode away on his motorcycle. Blue smoke dissipated in the sea breeze.

On May 20th, Lin Xiu'e's mother came to the boat repair shop.

Her back was better, and she could walk, but she couldn't stand for long periods or bend over. She slowly walked over carrying a pot of seafood porridge, and Lin Xiu'e quickly went to meet her and took it from her.

The porridge was made with swimming crabs, shrimp, clams, and rice, and it was thick and fragrant. Lin's mother said, "Xiu'e has been cooking for me lately, and I haven't cooked in a long time. I'll give it a try today."

Old Fang squatted on the rocks and drank a bowl of porridge. After taking a sip, he said, "Sister-in-law, this porridge is so good, the rice is even oily." Lin's mother smiled but didn't say anything. She sat on the rocks at the entrance of the courtyard wall, watching the ship repair site.

Three boats awaiting repair were leaning against the rocky trough. One was propped up on the western side. Ding Haisheng was squatting under the boat, welding hull plates, the arc light casting flickering shadows on the rocky beach. A-Guang squatted beside him, watching, holding a scrap welding rod and gesturing on the ground.

Qiu Changhai and Lin Xiu'e were sewing on the sampan, the two squatting side by side, the chisels striking the hemp fibers with even, consistent sounds. Lao Fang and Guo Dayong were dismantling an old 6135 that they had brought from the factory. Lao Fang would dismantle it halfway and then have Guo Dayong put it back together, then dismantle it again, then put it back together.

After watching for a while, Lin's mother stood up and slowly walked to Lin Xiu'e's side, looking down at the seams she had made. The hemp fibers were packed tightly, and the tung oil putty was applied evenly. They were placed side by side with the seams made by Qiu Changhai, and it was impossible to tell them apart without careful observation.

"Did you make this seam?"

Lin Xiu'e said, "Mm."

Lin's mother didn't say anything more. After watching for a while, she turned and slowly walked back. Lin Xiu'e watched her mother's back. Her back was still a little hunched, and she walked slowly, but each step was steady. As she reached the seawall, her figure grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared around the bend.

Lin Xiu'e squatted down and continued sewing. The chisel struck the hemp fibers, one strike after another, the sound a little softer than before.

After finishing work in the evening, Jiang Haiping sat at the entrance of the courtyard wall and did his accounts.

Eleven boats were repaired in May, with a gross profit of 2,800. The total amount in the boat repair shop's accounts exceeded 10,000.

The moon rose above the sea. The steel rails on the western ship rafts gleamed in the moonlight. Two tender leaves of the loquat seedlings swayed gently in the night breeze. The circle of broken seashells that Ah Hai had made was still there.

Lin Xiu'e ran over from the dock, carrying two mackerel in her hands.

"Ping-ge! My dad said they caught a lot of mackerel today, so these two will be extra for tomorrow!"

Jiang Haiping took it. The mackerel flicked its tail in his hand, its scales shimmering in the moonlight.