After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH49

Chapter 49

After Lu Ao won the fishing boat at auction, he still had to complete the transfer after paying the full amount and taxes.

Because it was a court-auctioned boat, handling the transfer with the original owner was somewhat inconvenient.

Lu Ao specially brought Xiao Du along.

Xiao Du did not hesitate either. He took the afternoon off and helped him make the trip.

With Xiao Du’s help, Lu Ao saved a great deal of energy and time. He had just finished bidding for the boat in the morning, and by the afternoon, the transfer was already complete.

From then on, the Qianming Fishing 0356 was under his name. He was now someone who owned a boat.

After the transfer, Lu Ao arranged to meet Xiao Wen’s father-in-law at the dock.

Xiao Wen was the person who had helped Lu Ao inspect the boat last time, the younger brother of Old Wen, the diver.

Xiao Wen’s father-in-law ran Qinyin Ship Repair Yard. Its reputation was quite good. Since Lu Ao’s boat needed to be refurbished, he simply chose this familiar shipyard.

Xiao Wen’s father-in-law was named Yu Hongshen. He was not yet fifty, with a sturdy build, and looked very capable.

The two met at the dock. As soon as Yu Hongshen arrived, he enthusiastically reached out to shake Lu Ao’s hand. “I’ve long heard of you.”

“Hello.” After Lu Ao shook hands with him, he brought him aboard. “I want to refurbish this boat I bought.”

“I heard about it from my son-in-law.” Yu Hongshen asked, “Which parts do you mainly want to refurbish?”

Standing on the deck, Lu Ao said, “I want a full refurbishment. The barnacles on the bottom, the rust on the boat, the damaged parts on the deck—all of them need to be repaired. The interior facilities also need to be inspected. Whether they need repair, repainting, or replacement with new parts, everything should be redone.”

“I understand. The goal is to make it as good as a new boat, right?”

“More or less. The most important thing is replacing the engine. The current engine on this boat has a total power of more than two hundred and eighty horsepower. I want to switch to a more powerful one.”

Yu Hongshen perked up at once. “Replacing the engine isn’t cheap. How much horsepower are you thinking?”

“Five or six hundred.”

Yu Hongshen said, “This boat is only seventy-seven tons. Among large fishing boats, it isn’t considered big. Over two hundred horsepower is a little low. If you want to replace it, four or five hundred should be about right. Any higher and it’ll burn too much fuel.”

“Five hundred-plus is fine too.”

“Do you have any engine in mind?”

“Xinchai or Huachai would both work.”

“Those two brands are good. Big names.” Yu Hongshen said, “If you specifically want those two brands, the Xinchai Marine 3427 marine diesel engine and the Huachai Marine 2422 marine diesel engine both meet your requirements. The former has five hundred and twenty-six horsepower, and the latter has five hundred and thirty-seven. Both can be obtained for around one hundred and fifty thousand.”

Lu Ao asked, “Which brand do you recommend more?”

“Either is fine. Their reputations are about the same. It depends on personal preference.” Yu Hongshen said, “But I’m more familiar with the Xinchai dealer. If you use Xinchai’s engine, we can probably get it for one hundred and forty-two or one hundred and forty-three thousand.”

“Then let’s use Xinchai. What should be done with the old engine?”

“Usually, it’s sold secondhand. A 2013 secondhand engine with more than two hundred and eighty horsepower is currently worth thirty to fifty thousand on the market. You can find an individual buyer or a specialized recycling company. Selling it to me works too. I’ll inspect it first and then name a price.”

“No problem. Once it’s removed, you can take a look and then tell me how much you’re willing to offer.”

“Okay.” Yu Hongshen looked around the boat and said, “I estimate the full refurbishment will cost around one hundred thousand. I’ll call my employees over to take a look first. Then I’ll give you a specific quote later, and you can see whether it works for you.”

“Okay, no problem.”

Yu Hongshen called his employees.

Before long, several young men arrived with forms and carefully inspected Lu Ao’s boat, recording everything.

There were no major problems with the boat. It was just rough and old, so the refurbishment workload would be fairly large.

Lu Ao accompanied them for the whole afternoon. They did not finish until after six.

Yu Hongshen was quite fair. The price he quoted was reasonable. For the entire boat refurbishment, including replacing the engine with a Xinchai Marine 3427 marine diesel engine, the total was one hundred and eighty thousand.

As for the old engine that would be replaced, they would discuss it separately when the time came.

Lu Ao carefully read through the contract clause by clause. After confirming that there were no problems, he signed on the spot.

He paid a thirty-thousand deposit first. After the engine was replaced, he would pay one hundred thousand. After the whole boat was refurbished and passed inspection, he would pay the remaining fifty thousand.

Lu Ao handed the key to Yu Hongshen.

Yu Hongshen said, “A typhoon is coming in the next two days. I’ll have someone sail the boat over to my place now.”

His boat had no faults. The people from Qinyin Ship Repair Yard could sail it straight to the area near the shipyard, then drive it onto the slipway when the tide rose.

Lu Ao had no objections. The two sides agreed that delivery would be in two months. During these two months, the boat would be under Yu Hongshen’s care.

Seeing how straightforward Lu Ao was, Yu Hongshen felt even happier. Since it was getting late, he said he would treat Lu Ao to dinner.

Lu Ao did not agree. He had already made plans with Xiao Du.

Yu Hongshen said, “I’m familiar with Officer Du too. Since you’ve made plans with him, let’s all go out for a meal together.”

“Let’s forget it this time. I finally came to Qianming and want to chat with him. Next time, I’ll treat you.”

“Hahaha, sure. Then it’s settled. We’ll eat together next time.”

They said goodbye.

Lu Ao took a taxi to the food stall near the Maritime Navigation Public Security Bureau and called Xiao Du out for dinner.

Xiao Du had specially saved his stomach for him. When he arrived at the food stall and saw the table Lu Ao had ordered, packed full of dishes, he could not help saying, “You really have a deep love for this food stall.”

“The food here is good.” Lu Ao ladled him some sandworm soup. “Why do you guys have to work overtime every day?”

At the mention of this, Xiao Du was full of bitter tears. “Don’t even bring it up. Isn’t a typhoon about to make landfall? Tonight, everyone definitely has to be put on duty in case anything happens.”

“Do fishermen still go out to sea during typhoons?”

“Yes. Every year, during big and small typhoons, there are fishermen who go out to sea. For major typhoons above level eight, it’s a little better. Everyone knows they’re dangerous, so fewer people go out. But small typhoons are hard to say. Many fishermen think their boats are big and don’t take it seriously. They go out as usual. Some even think fewer people go out during typhoon weather, so if they seize the chance when the typhoon isn’t too strong, they can catch more fish.”

Lu Ao thought about it and felt that this was indeed the logic.

Once Xiao Du started talking, he poured out a bellyful of complaints to Lu Ao.

He had only passed the exam and joined the bureau the year before. He was young and single, so a lot of work fell on him and the people who had joined around the same time. For things like night shifts, they were definitely the first to be chosen.

Lu Ao had thought civil servants had it relatively easy. Hearing this, he could not help showing a sympathetic look and used the serving chopsticks to give him a piece of pork trotter.

Xiao Du quickly caught it with his bowl and sighed. “Actually, overtime isn’t much. At least the overtime allowance is generous. If the sea is calm and nothing happens, you sleep in the duty room for a night, and it passes quickly. What I’m most afraid of is fishermen not listening and something really happening. Then we have to go rescue people in wind and rain. Seeing that is hard on us too.”

Lu Ao expressed his understanding.

After Xiao Du finished dinner and supper, he went back to duty.

Lu Ao found a hotel to rest in.

Songzhou was still busy. Lu Ao had messaged him today, and Songzhou had only reported that he was safe and said he would return tomorrow.

Lu Ao did not want to disturb him. He also could not be bothered to go back overnight, so he simply stayed for the night.

After running around all day, Lu Ao’s sleep quality was still decent.

Only, in the middle of the night, he suddenly sensed something and woke with a start.

He opened his eyes. The air conditioner in the hotel room was set to twenty-four degrees Celsius. Before sleeping, that temperature had been fine. Now that he had woken up, it felt a little cold.

The night was very quiet. Outside, the wind howled. Whether because of the Venturi effect or something else, the wind was loud, carrying a feeling almost like resentment and longing, like weeping and lamenting.

Lu Ao turned off the air conditioner and got out of bed to open the window.

As soon as the window opened, wind mixed with damp water vapor rushed toward him, very cool and refreshing.

After being blown by this wind, Lu Ao lost all sleepiness.

He opened his phone and found several messages. The Provincial Emergency Management Department and the Provincial Meteorological Bureau had sent a yellow typhoon warning, stating that under the influence of a tropical cyclone, Qianyong City was being directly affected by a typhoon. The average wind force was level eight to nine, with possible gusts of level nine to ten that might continue. Citizens were advised to take precautions, and vessels and workers at sea were reminded to return to harbor in time to take shelter.

For some reason, Lu Ao thought of what Xiao Du had said that evening.

Worried, he sent Xiao Du a message to ask.

After quite a while, Xiao Du replied: Busy right now. A boat has sunk about sixteen nautical miles northeast of Qianming Port. Twenty-five fishermen on board fell into the water.

—That serious?

Xiao Du: Yeah. The provincial Party secretary, the governor, and the deputy governors have all issued instructions. Now the maritime search and rescue center, the emergency management department, and our Qianyong Maritime Navigation Public Security Bureau are all organizing forces to rescue people. If we can’t save them, we’ll definitely be held accountable. Not to mention there are a large number of reporters outside waiting for news.

—Are you at sea now?

Xiao Du: Yes. We’re on our way to the incident site. The wind and waves are still pretty strong, and it’s dark. We’ve been searching for more than an hour and only found two people. I won’t talk to you now. I need to work.

—Okay. Be careful too.

Xiao Du did not reply.

Lu Ao checked WeChat again. In the volunteer group Xiang Xingchang had pulled him into, they had also forwarded the news.

Everyone was asking around about the current situation.

Lu Ao scrolled through the message history.

A group member was giving live updates: It’s too dark now, and the wind is still blowing. Our boat has searched around, but we haven’t found anyone.

—Are the waves big on your side?

—Not too bad. About one to two meters. We’re using a big fishing boat, so it’s relatively safe.

—They’re already conducting a parallel search around the incident location. The helicopter is circling overhead too, but still no one has been found.

—Too hard in this weather.

—Yeah, everyone’s anxious. They’re afraid that if the people in the water drift too long and run out of strength, something will happen.

—Sigh. Right now, it’s basically like looking for a needle in the sea. Trying to rescue people in this weather—how easy could it be?

Lu Ao: I’m in Qianyong City. Are there any boats still heading out for search and rescue? Count me in.

—Lu Ao, you’re in the city?

—Wait. Our boat is about to leave. Where are you?

Lu Ao: Near the Maritime Public Security Bureau. Wait a moment. I’ll take a taxi to the dock.

—It’s hard to get a taxi at this hour. Which hotel are you at? I’ll come pick you up.

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