Chapter 32: Borrowing a Boat

In the scorching sun of the afternoon, Ye Yaodong tried to walk in the shade as much as possible. Thankfully, Ah Guang’s house was in the back hills, surrounded by trees, making it quite cool.

When he arrived, the others were still playing cards under the tree at the entrance, with only Ah Guang lying in a lounge chair, enjoying the breeze.

“Why are you lying there by yourself? Aren’t you going to join them?”

“My luck is so bad today; why play? It’s better to save some money. What’s up with you these days? Why aren’t you playing?”

“I’ve got no money. I’ve been asking my wife for cash all the time, and it’s embarrassing.”

“That’s true, but don’t you have a boat now? You could go out to sea with your dad and earn some money, so it wouldn’t feel like you’re begging your wife.”

He thought about it too, but the idea of being stranded in the middle of the sea and drowning made him anxious, causing his heart to race. He decided to take it slow.

“I’ve never been out to sea, so I’m scared of getting seasick. If I go out and end up feeling sick, my dad will have to bring me back, and that would be embarrassing. If only there were a small boat to explore the nearby islands first.”

“That’s easy! My uncle broke his hand a few days ago and can’t take the boat out right now. I’ll ask him to borrow it tomorrow; we can buy some diesel ourselves. I’ll take you out to sea and we can explore the nearby waters.”

Ye Yaodong’s eyes lit up. “That sounds great! We can also check out the islands and search for treasures!”

“Heh, you seem really into treasure hunting lately!” Ah Guang chuckled at him.

“Of course! I’ve had such good luck these past few days. I caught two blue crabs yesterday and found a tiger grouper and a nest of snow frogs today. I’ve struck gold, so I’ve got to strike while the iron is hot!”

“That’s right. If I had your luck, I’d go every day! It’s way better than working odd jobs at the fishing dock. You only make a little over a buck a day there.”

The fishing dock was a large dock in their seaside town, where big boats were anchored, and many people from their village worked odd jobs moving cargo.

Their town was situated close to the Taiwan Strait, and besides fishing boats, there were many transport ships, which meant there were also plenty of Taiwanese goods stores in town.

In those days, their town was even more famous than the county town, and it was busier. Many outsiders knew their town but not their county.

When their friends went out to play, they often went to the town and rarely visited the county.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against a tree trunk on one leg. “Treasure hunting is all about luck; you can’t do it every day. Ask if you can borrow that boat first.”

“I’ll ask in the morning. If I can borrow it, we’ll go buy some diesel and head out. It’s too hot now, and I don’t feel like moving. I want to drink tonight.”

“Alright, if you get the boat, let me know. Tomorrow is the big tide on the first day of the month. If it’s calm in the morning, we can go explore the islands.”

“Sure, I’ll tag along and see if I can get lucky too!”

Ye Yaodong laughed, “Maybe you should change your name for better luck. When will your dad be back?”

“No idea. He just left a month ago, and I’m not sure how many more months it’ll be.”

Although the “Regulations on the Protection of Fishery Resources” issued in February 1979 included a fishing ban period, it only applied to various fish species and specific fishing gear and did not affect the boats in their area.

There was no regular fishing patrol, so they went out to sea as usual.

It wasn’t until 1995 that the seasonal fishing ban was fully implemented, and they started adhering to the regulations.

The local fishing ban period was from May 1 to July 31, with fishing allowed again starting August 1.

However, with policies above, there were countermeasures below; the small boats in their area often sneaked out to fish. Even if they got caught by the fishery administration, they just dumped the seafood back into the sea, a loss they could afford since the patrols didn’t happen every day.

In this day and age, they could still fish freely in their waters, and large ships wouldn’t return for several months after going out to sea.

“Then you should wait for your dad to come back,” Ah Guang suggested.

“Ah, I’ll enjoy my freedom for a couple more days. Soon, I need to go to the fishing dock and look for some work. If I don’t start working, I’ll run out of money. You’re lucky; you’ve got a diligent wife. I can’t even find a wife.”

“If you have money, what’s stopping you from finding a wife? Just gamble a little less and work a bit harder. You can’t depend on your wife for a lifetime; that would be pathetic.”

Ah Guang rested his hands behind his head and chuckled, “You seem to have been more diligent these past few days.”

“Seeing my wife struggle to earn even a dollar a day has made me realize my responsibilities. Besides, now that we’ve built the house, we’re about to split up the family. I need to start providing for my own household. It used to be nice to rely on my parents, but that privilege won’t last forever.”

“That’s true. Once you split the family, if you don’t work hard, life will be tough. Do you want to join me at the dock to find work?”

He chewed on a piece of straw he had somehow found, “If I scare my family, they’ll probably run to hire a priest to ward me off.”

“That’s not too far from the truth! At least we’ve all had some odd jobs here and there; you’ve always been known as ‘the third young master of the Ye family.'”

“Stop mocking me. Got a cigarette? I haven’t smoked in two days, and my mouth is itching!”

“You’ve fallen to this level? Didn’t you sell a few cigarettes for over ten bucks in the last couple of days?”

“All handed over to my wife. I’m a good man!”

Ah Guang rolled his eyes, fully aware of the irony.

After taking a drag on the cigarette, Ye Yaodong felt a bit more relaxed. He had thought about quitting smoking these past couple of days but realized it was harder than he expected. After decades of smoking, he figured he shouldn’t be too hard on himself; after all, being a good man had nothing to do with whether he smoked or not.

“Hey, Ah Guang mentioned borrowing a boat tomorrow to take us out to sea for a bit. Do you guys want to come?”

The four playing cards turned to look at them.

“What’s there to see? Haven’t we seen enough of the sea growing up?”

“Didn’t get enough sun today? Do you want to go out and get sunburned on a boat?”

“Why would you want to borrow a boat and go out?”

The chubby guy wasn’t interested as usual, “I’d rather not. If I’m going to get sunburned, I’ll just stay here and drink and play cards!”

Ye Yaodong shot back, “Fine, just stay lazy. Tomorrow is the first day of the month, and there’s a tide. Let’s check out the uninhabited islands and see if we can find some good stuff. Those islands haven’t been touched for years; I can guarantee there are plenty of shells and possibly some seafood too.”

Ah Wei chimed in curiously, “How do you know if you’ve never been there?”

“Just trust me and let me know if you’re going or not!”

This was based on his experience; it was unlikely he was wrong. He wasn’t sure about seafood, but he knew there would be no shortage of shells and conchs.

“Whether we can borrow a boat is still a question for tomorrow. I’ll check it out, and if we can, we should all go together; at least we’ll have some company. Otherwise, in a few days, I might not have time,” Ah Guang said seriously.

“Alright then, let’s all go.”

The four playing cards, excluding the chubby guy, agreed, while Xiao Xiao and Ah Zheng were in. Ah Wei didn’t want to go, saying he hadn’t caught much yesterday and wasn’t interested in joining the hustle.