1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 97 The Birth of the "Zi Qiang"
Although it is called a "shipyard", it is actually more like a harbor than a factory.

There are mountains and shallow beaches in front of us. The wide plain between the mountains and the beaches is filled with various ships that are about to be completed or have already been built.

Looking around, there are all kinds of ships, probably one or two hundred in number, numerous but not messy, as if they are about to go out to war, maintaining a sense of neatness like a square formation.

There are wooden boats about the same size as the gondola under your feet, as well as larger iron boats.

The wooden boats were concentrated in one area, the larger iron boats were in another area, and there were a few even larger ships, which were placed in yet another area.

Of course, Liang Ziqiang still did not find a truly large ship of the giant type at the scene. It is not known whether the "Fengshou Shipyard" does not have such a ship or it is not at this location.

He only knew that the state-owned Fengshou Shipyard was relatively large and not only served the fishermen in the county, but also supplied goods to surrounding counties.

The gondola of the father and son could not go directly to the beach where the boat was built, but to the pier nearby, where there was a place for customers to park their boats.

The two men moored the boat, and after Liang's father got off the boat, he greeted the shipyard workers at the dock.

He had been there several times before, and the shipyard workers recognized him immediately.

At first, the employee thought that there was something wrong with the newly bought gondola and came to negotiate with them. When he heard that they were here to buy another boat, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

After saying hello, Liang's father took Liang Ziqiang to a building.

The building is not high, but it covers a large area. The old outer wall is painted with ship images. Although it looks rustic, it has some characteristics.

The gate of the building is a rusty arched iron frame with the words "Fengshou Shipyard, Pengao County, Yanghai City" written on it.

Father Liang went to the first floor of the building and looked for an employee he had dealt with last time.

The man was also stunned for a moment. After he realized that he was not here to cause trouble but to buy a new boat, he asked Liang's father:
"Are you here to help the villagers?"

"My son, he wants to buy a bigger wooden boat."

The man's expression had just recovered, and he was surprised again. But he didn't ask any more questions, and immediately took them to see the boat.

Walking out of the old building from the door on the other side, the direction you headed was naturally the open plain full of ships that Liang Ziqiang had seen on the sea.

As he walked, he looked around and found that the location of the shipyard was quite scenic.

Since he already knew the type of boats they wanted to buy, employee Lao Xu did not take them to see other boats, but went straight to the large area of ​​wooden boats.

When walking on the road with Lao Xu, you can hear the seagulls crying on one side and the chirping of tits on the other side.

But once you enter the boat parking area, you can no longer hear any birds singing. Instead, there is only the clanging sound of people assembling boats.

The ship's exterior equipment and painting are usually carried out outside the dock, because the outdoor environment can better handle the exterior of the hull. Of course, the hull painting and the addition of detailed components can only be started when the weather is good.

Walking along the way, I saw some new boats that had not yet been painted, and they all had the light color of the original wood.

Old Xu led them to several wooden boats that had been completely built, pointed at three of them and said:
"These three are the kind you want, 8.2-meter wooden boats. I told you the price before, 700 yuan."

Liang Ziqiang walked around the three boats, turning around once for each one, looking forward, backward, left and right.

There is not much difference between the three boats. They have all been painted with several layers of primer after being repaired. However, two of them have even been painted with the final coat of paint, while the other one has not yet been painted. The buyer can paint the outer layer differently according to his own ideas.

Liang Ziqiang didn't pay attention to the appearance at first, but went into the interior of several ships and carefully inspected the cabins. He looked carefully at the diesel engines and steering wheels on the ships.

"Can we try it out today?" he asked Lao Xu.

"No problem! Except for the one that still needs a coat of paint, you can take the other two away today. Maybe you can even catch a few big fish at sea!" Old Xu said half-jokingly.

Liang Ziqiang decided to take the boat that needed a coat of paint. It already had several coats of primer, so it was okay to try it out in the shallow sea nearby.

When Old Xu came, he specially brought diesel, and now he added it to the new boat. Several employees nearby came over to help and pushed the boat into the waterway nearby.

There were special waterways every few meters on the flat ground. The boat was pushed into the waterway, and Liang Ziqiang, Liang's father, Lao Xu and another employee all got on the boat.

Of course, if it is a large ship, sometimes special machinery is used to move it directly. The ship entered the sea from the waterway, and Liang Ziqiang drove it himself, cruising back and forth on the sea for a while to test all its performance.

After the test drive, it was not put back to its original position but parked on the beach.

"Do you have any requirements for exterior paint?" Old Xu asked Liang Ziqiang.

Liang Ziqiang didn't have any complicated ideas about this. All he wanted was a lotus pattern like the gondola at home. Simple, but with a good meaning.

This is also the reason why he did not directly choose the other two ships. Those two ships had already been painted and neither had lotus patterns.

"A lotus pattern! But there's no need to draw anything on the stern. There's no need to draw two phoenix tails!"

The reason for not drawing a phoenix tail is mainly for the sake of appearance, so that it can be somewhat different from the one at home.

"The lotus pattern is great! What words should we use for the ship number? Two words are best!" Old Xu asked again.

This time Liang Ziqiang hardly thought about it:

"Just use my name, Ziqiang!"

The custom in their Pomwang Village is to use the owner's name as the boat name, such as "Yongrui", "Jinsheng" and "Defu".

Unless the name of the host family is really not presentable, like "Lai Yu", "Da Lang", "Tie Qian", "Duan Gen", "Ga Zi"...

Liang Ziqiang felt that his name was a little too casual, but it was okay on the boat. Self-reliance, perhaps, was also a blessing.

This is how the ship was named.

Standing on the beach and looking towards the area with the iron ship, Liang Ziqiang couldn't help but ask Lao Xu if he could take him to see the trawler over there.

Old Xu naturally agreed, and the three of them walked towards the iron boat.

In this area, the clanging sound was even louder. Amid the noise, we arrived in front of several trawlers.

Looking at the taller and more slender ship in front of him, and the assembled net plate hangers, net casting pulleys, winches, and traction machines, Liang Ziqiang was actually distracted for a moment.

The feeling of being enchanted and unable to take your eyes off it is probably the same as when a car lover sees a nice car or a beauty lover sees a pretty girl! Well, he loves beautiful women too.

I imagine a day when a long trawler will have the two characters "Self-Strengthening" written on its bow...

No, just thinking about it makes me feel addicted. It's too fascinating.

After asking about the price, Lao Xu revealed that these iron boats with trawl nets cost between six or seven thousand and more than ten thousand.

Feeling a little bit of unrequited love and itching to get it, I returned to the old building.

He paid 500 yuan first, and the remaining balance would be paid on the day the ship was delivered. Old Xu carefully registered Liang Ziqiang's name and address.

When paying the money, Liang's father specifically told Liang Ziqiang that he would give him another 100 yuan later to support him in buying a new boat. Liang Ziqiang told his father not to think about it all the time.

In fact, the outer layer of paint is easy to dry, and it is fine to pick it up two days later. However, if you want to pick up the boat on an auspicious day, you still have to wait two more days. September 9th or the 26th day of the eighth lunar month is the best time to pick it up.

On the way home, Liang Ziqiang's excitement did not diminish at all.

This will be the first ship to bear his name.

With this boat, he can do more.

Maybe one day, your name will really appear on a trawler?

Dreams still need to exist...

(End of this chapter)