Rebirth 77: From Beachcombing to Becoming a Tycoon and Spoiling My Wife

The evening passed smoothly.

When Yang Bai woke up in the morning, the nets below had already been collected.

He patted Ma Yongkang on the shoulder and noticed that something was wrong with his expression.

"Where's Lao Liu? Is he still sleeping?"

Ma Yongkang nodded slightly, and he relaxed.

He said apologetically, "Captain Yang, I'm sorry, I neglected my duty last night and fell asleep when the storm came."

Another young crew member came over and bowed in apology.

"Captain Yang, I have let you down. I am not worthy to work on a sixty-ton ship. Please send me down to work on a wooden ship."

Working on a 60-ton ship is an opportunity that many young people in the village would love but could never have.

Being sent down to the wooden boat meant losing a large amount of wages.

And the opportunity to hone one's skills and learn on a large ship.

Yang Bai had a vague idea that something serious must have happened last night, but it seemed that things had been salvaged.

"Tell me, what happened?"

Yang Bai sat in the driver's seat and poured a handful of rock tea into his cup.

Ma Yongkang confessed everything that had happened in the early hours of the morning.

Yang Bai placed the teacup on the countertop, tapping it lightly to make a sound.

"Fortunately, Lao Liu was there; otherwise, the propeller would have definitely gotten tangled in the netting if things had been more serious."

The boat is stationary during the fishing process, so even if it gets tangled up, it won't cause any serious accidents.

However, this will inevitably result in the loss of a large number of mackerel, and the fishing will be forced to stop, resulting in a loss of at least two thousand dollars. Moreover, it will require the engine room crew to spend a lot of time going down to repair the fish.

"The best thing you did was show me your attitude. Otherwise, Old Liu would have told me, 'One of you go back to the village, and I wouldn't mind replacing the other!'"

No matter how good a personal relationship is, Yang Bai will treat everyone equally if they do something wrong.

"Seeing that you have shown remorse, Ma Yongkang and Wu Weiguo will receive a warning within the team."

Ma Yongkang was fined 1,000 yuan, and Wu Weiguo was demoted to a wooden boat. He will be considered for reassignment to a 60-ton vessel after a satisfactory evaluation. In the meantime, he will be replaced by a crew member who performed well on the wooden boat.

Do you accept this punishment, or do you object to it?

Both of them shook their heads to indicate that they had no objection.

Yang Bai nodded.

"Okay, now you can go back and catch up on your sleep."

Liu Dade happened to wake up at this moment and saw the two men, covered in dust, going back to sleep. He knew that Yang Bai had already taken care of everything.

"Did they speak up on their own initiative?"

Yang Bai pursed his lips, started the ship, and said, "Yes, at least they still have some conscience. Hopefully, this punishment will make them realize their mistakes."

The ship slowly returned and docked steadily in the harbor. Hou Sanli was already waiting on the shore. When he saw Yang Bai's ship return, he paced back and forth anxiously, his eyes fixed on the ship, waiting for Yang Bai to disembark.

"Yang Bai!"

Hou Sanli's face instantly lit up with joy, and he waved and called out loudly.

"Manager Hou." Yang Bai stepped forward, shook his hand, and seeing his beaming face, casually asked, "What's wrong? You look so happy, is something good happening?"

Hou Sanli beamed from ear to ear, his tone exceptionally excited: "Absolutely! This is fantastic news! Our county's aquatic products company has been selected!"

Yang Bai felt a slight doubt, a hint of confusion in his eyes, and asked, "Chosen for what?"

He pondered to himself that although the fleet's production had been stable recently, he had not heard of any relevant selection notices and was at a loss for what to do.

Hou Sanli clapped his hands excitedly and quickly explained.

"You don't know yet, do you? A delegation from Japan is coming to our area soon, bringing with them a large order for seafood. Provincial leaders have learned that our Fuhai area has recently seen a surge in seafood production and that the quality is excellent, so they specifically named us to participate in the bidding."

"We're also competing with teams from the Quanzhou region. Even if we lose the bid, we can still secure 30% of the order share – a guaranteed profit!"

Japan has very high standards for seafood and often sends delegations to Fujian for discussions and negotiations.

They were shipped back to China for sale.

They were also a key recipient of the provincial government's reception.

It can generate a lot of foreign exchange; who wouldn't want a piece of that meat?

Quanzhou used to be the region with the largest meat consumption, but in recent years the quality has been declining.

This year, we invited people from the Fuhai area to compete and improve the quality of our products internally.

Yang Bai's lips curled up slightly. How could he possibly let go of such a good opportunity to make money?

"So, why did you call me?"

Hou Sanli turned his head and smiled, patting Yang Bai's chest.

"Nonsense, you've been in the newspapers. Commissioner Chen specifically asked me to go to the provincial capital with you."

"Take the train or...?"

"Of course, it's the train."

"When?"

"We're leaving tomorrow. Oh, and bring that suit with you; we might get a meeting with the director of the provincial fisheries bureau this time."

"The bureau chief?"

Yang Bai was startled.

The reception given by the director of the Provincial Fisheries Bureau was considered a high-level reception.

In 1977, it was usually civilian inspection teams that came, and they were usually received by the deputy director.

Two years later, as official contact gradually increases, official delegations at the vice-ministerial level will be formed.

This suggests that trade this year will likely be higher than in previous years.

"Yes, Yang Bai, now you know how important this is. Quanzhou is eyeing us covetously. Their quality has dropped drastically these past few days. We're not without a chance. If we can secure this order, you can have a prosperous New Year."

Hou Sanli was incredibly excited.

If he gets this deal, his position as Party Secretary is practically guaranteed, and no one can take it from him.

What kind of seafood do they mainly need this time?

Yang Bai asked.

Hou Sanli shook his head at this point.

"How would I know? You'll only know once you've been there."

Yang Bai calmed himself down and said.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go arrange the crew."

Yang Bai gathered all the crew members together.

"Captain Yang, shall we set sail directly today?"

Ma Yongkang has recovered. This was indeed his mistake, and he deserves to be punished as a warning to the fleet.

Yang Bai shook his head.

"Everyone, would you like to go out to sea today?"

The crew members looked at each other, puzzled; Yang Bai had never asked them such a question before.

Of course, they still want to go out to sea and make more money; they've only worked for two days since their last holiday.

Everyone nodded in unison.

Yang Bai smiled slightly.

"I'm going to Quanzhou for two days to negotiate an order from Japan. If we get this order, our fleet can make a lot of money. So in the coming days, I will designate an area for you to fish. I hope that you can make no mistakes in the coming days, just like when I was here."

The fleet was extremely shocked when they heard the news.

"Negotiate with the Japanese? How big would that order have to be?!"

Yang Jun's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately turned to the group of crew members around him and started excitedly talking about it, his face full of amazement.

This has never happened in their region before.

"I remember that Quanzhou Port usually takes over, is it our turn this time?"

Ma Yongkang found it hard to believe; he received far more information in this line of work than the fishermen in Yang Jun's village.

Quanzhou has a great advantage, and he felt that Yang Bai was at most just a supporting player this time.