dkrc Chapter 5 Autumn Flood
Chapter 5 Autumn Flood
There's a saying among the fishermen of Moon Island: "Repair your boat in August, and fish in the autumn."
The first boat the repair shop received on August 16th belonged to Old Chen; the main engine was shaking. Old Fang disassembled it and found that the piston ring in cylinder two was broken, and the fragments had damaged the cylinder liner. Replacing the piston ring was simple, but the damaged cylinder was troublesome. Old Fang measured the cylinder liner's inner diameter with a micrometer; the wear exceeded 15 microns, requiring cylinder boring.
"You have to go to the factory to bore the cylinder," Lao Fang said. "There aren't any cylinder boring machines here."
Jiang Haiping thought for a moment. "Let's lift the main unit down and take it to the factory for boring. Old Chen will pay for the transportation, and we'll cover the boring cost."
"Shall we pay?"
"The first boat. Consider it an opening discount."
Old Fang glanced at him but didn't say anything more.
The day the main engine was hoisted down, Old Chen squatted by the raft, watching for the entire morning. He didn't say a word, just squatted there, watching Old Fang disassemble the main engine casing, watching the cylinder heads be removed one by one, watching the pistons and connecting rods be removed from the crankshaft. When he saw the scored cylinder liner being pulled out, he stood up and left. He came back in the afternoon and continued to squat and watch.
The cylinder boring took two days. The main unit was brought back, installed, and tested. Lao Fang pressed the start button, and the main unit roared to life, the speed rising from idle to 2000 RPM. The machine body ran steadily without a single vibration.
Old Chen squatted by the boat raft, not moving for a long time. Then he stood up, walked up to the old man, took out a crumpled pack of Hongmei cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and handed it to him.
"Master Fang, have a cigarette."
Old Fang took it and tucked it behind his ear.
Old Chen walked to the river and sea again and handed one to Jiang Haiping.
"Ping-ge'er, when can my boat be launched?"
"High tide tomorrow."
Old Chen nodded and left. After a few steps, he came back. "Can I pay for the boring machine in installments? We can settle it all after the autumn harvest."
Jiang Haiping agreed. Only then did Old Chen actually leave.
The second boat belongs to Ahai's family. The main engine is emitting black smoke, and the exhaust pipe has severe carbon buildup.
Old Fang immediately pointed out that the fuel injectors were not atomizing properly. After disassembling them and testing them on the test bench, it was found that two out of the four injectors had poor atomization, and one was dripping fuel. Poor atomization means the diesel fuel doesn't burn cleanly, resulting in black smoke, wasted fuel, and reduced power.
Replace the fuel injectors.
Ahai asked how much it cost.
"One is fifteen, two are thirty."
Ahai gritted his teeth. "Change."
The day the fuel injectors were replaced, Ahai squatted in the engine room watching Lao Fang install the engine. He suddenly blurted out, "Master Fang, do you think if I learned how to repair ships, I wouldn't have to wait in line anymore?"
Old Fang didn't even look up. "If you learn how to repair boats, you can repair your own. But for other people's boats, you'll have to wait in line."
Why?
"Because the ship repair shop isn't yours. It's first come, first served, that's the rule."
Ah Hai gave an "oh" and squatted down to continue watching. After that day, he came every day. Even if you didn't call him, he would come. He would squat down and watch, sometimes handing you a wrench, sometimes helping to carry things. Old Fang didn't chase him away, nor did he say he would take him on as an apprentice. But when he handed him a wrench, he would tell him what the wrench was called, what size it was, and what it was used for.
Ahai couldn't remember, so he took chalk and wrote on the rocks: adjustable wrench, open-end wrench, socket wrench. He finished writing, but the tide came in and washed it away. He wrote it again the next day.
The third boat was introduced by Lin's father. The boat owner's surname was Cai, and his nickname was Cai Big Head. The boat was a second-hand boat that he bought from someone else. The main engine broke down on the very first day he got it. When it was towed to the repair shop, the bottom of the boat was covered with barnacles, and the hull was rusted beyond recognition.
Qiu Changhai squatted down under the boat and looked around. "This boat hasn't been used for rafting for at least three years."
Cai Datou squatted down beside him. "I didn't know anything when I bought it. I just bought it because it was cheap."
"How much?"
"Twenty-eight thousand."
Qiu Changhai stood up and dusted off the rust on his hands. "Twenty-eight thousand for a hull. The main engine is stuck in the bearings, the gearbox is in unknown condition, the rudder is rusted to death, and the hull hasn't been cleaned of barnacles in three years. You've essentially bought a metal hull for twenty-eight thousand."
Cai Da Tou's face turned pale.
"Master Qiu, can it still be repaired?"
"It can be repaired. The main engine needs to be disassembled for a major overhaul, the gearbox needs to be disassembled for inspection, the rudder system needs to be removed for rust removal and straightening, and the hull needs to be scraped of barnacles and painted. The total cost for all repairs and materials is 1,200."
Cai Datou squatted on the ground, his hands covering his head. He remained squatting there for a long time.
"build."
The main engine was hoisted out and disassembled; the crankshaft bearing was seized, and the journal was damaged. Lao Fang took the crankshaft to the factory to grind it down by 20 microns and replaced it with a larger bearing. The gearbox was disassembled; the oil seal was old and leaking oil, and the bearing clearance was too large. Qiu Changhai removed the rudder system; the rudder stock was rusted so badly it was almost broken, so he spun a new one.
The ship was repaired for ten days. On the eleventh day, it was tested at sea. The main engine started immediately, the gearbox shifted smoothly, and the rudder wheel turned as lightly as a small sampan.
Cai Datou stood on the boat and pushed the throttle up. The boat started moving. He stood at the helm, then suddenly squatted down, covered his face, and cried. A grown man, squatting in front of the helm, his shoulders shaking. No one laughed at him.
The 28,000 yuan he spent on the boat was borrowed. While the boat was being built, his wife went back to her parents' home, and his mother-in-law called him a spendthrift. He hadn't slept well for half a month.
When the boat docked, Cai Datou pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. Ten-yuan notes, five-yuan notes, one-yuan notes, fifty-cent notes, and a bunch of coins. He counted them: six hundred and seventy.
"Five hundred and thirty is still owed. It will be paid after the autumn flood season is over."
Jiang Haiping received 670 yuan and made a note of it in his notebook.
Cai Datou sailed away. Pale blue smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe at the stern, evenly and steadily. Old Fang squatted on the reef, watching the boat disappear into the distance. "This boat, I overpaid for it. But the repairs were worth it." He stubbed out his cigarette. "As long as it was worth it."
The autumn floods arrived earlier than in previous years.
In early September of the lunar calendar, the first batch of ribbonfish arrived. The fishermen of Moon Island, as if hearing a starting gun, set sail with their repaired boats, those not yet repaired, and those only half-repaired. Those boats not yet repaired had to wait for the next fishing season.
The ship repair shop suddenly became deserted. Three boats awaiting repair were laid out on the raft; the ship owners had gone out to sea and wouldn't return until the autumn fishing season was over. Old Fang had returned to the factory, and Qiu Changhai had also gone home.
Jiang Haiping sat alone in the courtyard of the ship repair shop. The rocky beach was empty, with only the gentle lapping of waves in the stone troughs.
Lin Xiu'e arrived. She carried a basket containing sweet potato porridge and salted fish.
"My dad asked me to bring this. He said you definitely haven't eaten."
Jiang Haiping took the basket. The two of them sat on the rocks at the entrance of the courtyard wall, eating while facing the sea.
The sea was densely packed with fishing boats. Some came from Moon Island, some from the town opposite, and even some from other counties. Flags of various colors fluttered in the autumn wind from their masts. They went out to sea during the day and returned at night. Fishmongers at the dock were there from morning till night, weighing fish, keeping accounts, and paying. Basket after basket of ribbonfish, pomfret, small yellow croaker, and cuttlefish were carried ashore.
Lin's father's "Ping An" was among them.
On the first day of the autumn fishing season, the Ping'an fishing boat caught 800 jin of ribbonfish. On the second day, it caught 1,200 jin. On the third day, it caught 1,500 jin.
Every evening, Lin Xiu'e would come to the boat repair shop. Sometimes she brought food, sometimes a few fish, and sometimes nothing at all. She would just sit on the rocks and talk to Jiang Haiping. Her father's leg was almost healed; he still walked with a slight limp, but it didn't affect him at all when he stood on the boat. The boats belonging to the Chen and Ma families were also repaired, and the three families went out to sea together again. On the boat, Old Chen told Lin's father that he would definitely pay back the money for the boat repair shop after the autumn fishing season.
"My mom said she'd invite you to our house for dinner after the autumn floods are over," Lin Xiu'e said, her head bowed.
"it is good."
"My dad said that the market for ribbonfish is good this year, and it can sell for 1.2 yuan per kilogram. At this rate, we can pay off half of the loan after the autumn fishing season."
"That's good."
Lin Xiu'e looked up at him. "Brother Ping, if it weren't for you, I don't know what our family would be like now."
Jiang Haiping looked at the sea. "If it weren't for your father, I would have drowned when I was thirteen."
Lin Xiu'e was taken aback. Then she suddenly laughed. "So you two are even now?"
"It's not even," Jiang Haiping said. "One life for one boat. I owe your father a long way from that."
Lin Xiu'e didn't speak. She lowered her head, drawing something on the rocks with her finger. When she finished, she stood up and patted her skirt. "I'm going back now. I'll bring you food again tomorrow."
She took a few steps, then turned back.
"Brother Ping, what you owed my dad, he said he paid it all back a long time ago. That Ping An ship is even better than the original one. He also said that in all these decades, Moon Island has never produced anyone like you."
She ran away as soon as she finished speaking. Her braid swung back and forth behind her.
On the fifteenth day of the autumn flood season, disaster struck.
It wasn't the Ping An that sank. It was Ahai's boat.
Ahai's boat engine was emitting black smoke again. It had just been repaired half a month ago, the fuel injectors had been replaced, and now they were clogged again. Ahai's father drove the boat back to the repair shop, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Old Fang rushed over from the factory. Upon disassembling the fuel injector, he found a layer of hard carbon buildup on the nozzle head. It wasn't the injector's fault; it was the diesel fuel. The diesel was of poor quality, with many impurities and a high gum content, making it incompletely burned.
"Where did you get this oil from?"
Ah Hai's father stammered. He finally admitted that he filled up his car at a private gas station on the other side of the strait, which was two cents cheaper per liter than at a regular gas station.
"Two cents cheaper, but you ruined four of my fuel injectors." Old Fang threw the fuel injectors on the table. "One is fifteen, four are sixty. You saved a little money on fuel, but you've lost it all."
Ah Hai's father squatted on the ground, not saying a word.
Jiang Haiping walked over and squatted down next to him.
"Uncle, next time you need gas, go to the gas station in town. It's a bit more expensive, but the gas is cleaner."
Ah Hai's father muttered "I understand."
Ah Hai stood to the side, his face flushed red. After his father left, he squatted on the rocks, took a piece of chalk and wrote the character for "oil" on the stone, then drew an X. The rising tide washed it away.
The autumn flood season ended at the end of September.
Lin's father came to the boat repair shop to settle his bill. He took out a cloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a wad of money. Ten-yuan notes and five-yuan notes, neatly arranged and tied with a rubber band.
"Repair fee: 1200."
Jiang Haiping accepted it. He counted it once; it was 1200. He took out 200 and handed it back.
"You painted the Ping An yourself. You also helped with the rudder adjustment. You'll get two hundred yuan deducted from your wages."
Lin's father refused to answer. "You bought the paint, and Master Qiu corrected the rudder. I just lent a hand; it's not worth two hundred."
"Uncle Lin, take this. The autumn harvest has just finished, and we have many expenses at home."
Lin's father stood there for a while, then took the money.
"Ping-ge'er, the fishermen of Moon Island owe you a favor."
He took a few steps, then turned back. "Your ship repair shop has a good name. Peace. Boatmen just want peace."
That evening, Jiang Haiping sat in the courtyard of the ship repair shop doing accounts.
Six boats were repaired. Old Chen did the cylinder boring, Ahai did the fuel injector repair, Cai Datou did the major overhaul, and three others needed minor repairs. The total revenue was 3,400 yuan, materials cost 1,800 yuan, Old Fang and Qiu Changhai's wages were 400 yuan each, and the site rental was 300 yuan. That left 500 yuan. This was the profit of the boat repair shop in its first month of operation.
Five hundred yuan. Not much. But the ship repair shop survived.
In the stone trough, the seawater gently lapped against the rocks. In the distance, fishing lights twinkled on the sea. The Ping An was moored at the dock, the three large white characters on its bow gleaming faintly in the moonlight.
Lin Xiu'e didn't bring lunch today. Her mother had prepared a table full of dishes at home, waiting for Jiang Haiping to eat. He hadn't gone yet. He closed the account book and locked it in a drawer in the stone house.
When the moon was high in the sky, he locked the gate and rode his bicycle home.
There were no lights on the coastal highway. Only moonlight illuminated the road, and the sound of waves crashing on the shore could be heard.