1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

Chapter 8 Inspection

The inspection is scheduled for the ninth day of the tenth lunar month.

Wang Cunzhi sent a message a day in advance, saying that the county had arranged a major inspection at the end of the year and that the ship repair shop should prepare. He didn't specify what preparations were needed, and Jiang Haiping didn't ask. Everything that needed to be prepared had already been prepared.

On the ninth day, Jiang Haiping arrived at the ship repair site before dawn.

Old Fang was even earlier than him. The stone house floor had been swept, and the wrenches on the tool wall were neatly hung up by size from smallest to largest. Parts awaiting repair were placed on the wooden shelf on the left, and repaired parts on the right. Even the pebbles on the rocky beach had been raked again and laid flat.

Qiu Changhai squatted in the engine room of the Fisheries Administration 002, wiping the gearbox casing with cotton yarn. Actually, it didn't need wiping; it had already been wiped the day it was installed. He wiped it again.

Ahai squatted by the raft, writing on the rocks with chalk. It was the ship repair process. Old Fang dictated, and he wrote it down; the characters were crooked and uneven, but each stroke was deliberate. Waves washed away half of it, and he rewrote it.

Lin Xiue also arrived. She didn't go into the courtyard, but squatted on the rocks outside the courtyard wall, with a basket of cleaned ribbonfish in front of her. She said she would leave when the inspection team arrived, so as not to cause any trouble.

When the sun was as high as the mast, Wang Cunzhi arrived.

He was leading three people. One was from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, whom Jiang Haiping recognized as Liu the Glasses who had visited last time. Another was from the Tax Bureau, carrying a black imitation leather bag; Wang Cunzhi called him Old Zhou. The third was from the town, surnamed Zhao; Wang Cunzhi called him Old Zhao.

"It's a year-end inspection, arranged by the county," Wang Cunzhi said, standing at the gate of the courtyard. "The finance, taxation, and industry and commerce departments all need to send people. I reported Moon Island to them, and after the inspection, they'll issue a proper permit, making it easier to take on government jobs in the future."

The group walked around the yard. The business owner checked the business license, the tax officer asked for invoices, and Old Zhao from the town looked at the site and equipment.

Jiang Haiping took out the license from the stone house. The original was a piece of cardboard larger than a textbook, with the words "Business License" printed at the top, followed by the handwritten "Moon Island Ship Repair Shop" and the scope of business, stamped with the red seal of the county's Bureau of Industry and Commerce. He pressed the license under the glass tabletop next to the tool wall, flattening the four corners.

Liu, wearing glasses, glanced at the license, then at the welder's certificate pressed under the glass. It belonged to Ding Haisheng. He reached out and tapped the glass.

"Who is this person?"

"The new welder. He's certified."

Liu the Glasses didn't ask any more questions.

Old Zhou flipped through the ship repair shop's ledger. Jiang Haiping had kept the ledger himself, meticulously recording which ship was repaired, how much was collected, how much was spent on materials, and how much labor was paid. Old Zhou turned a few pages.

"Where's the invoice? Where did you get it from?"

"I haven't received it yet," Jiang Haiping said.

"Hurry up and go to the tax office to pick it up. We'll need invoices for ship repairs from now on." Old Zhou put down the ledger and took out a registration form from his faux leather bag. "Fill this out. Shop name, person in charge, business scope, opening date. We'll start filing taxes monthly from next month. Report whatever your turnover is."

Jiang Haiping took the watch. Old Zhao squatted down in the yard, looked at the steel rails of the boat row, and then at the four boats leaning against the stone trough.

"Where did you get these steel rails?"

"Found in the shipyard's scrap heap."

Is it sturdy?

"Anchored on the reef, it can easily tow a 20-ton ship."

Old Zhao stood up and patted the rust off his hands.

"I've seen Ding Fugui's rafts. The rails and sleepers were all rotten, and the rail joints were just tied together with wire. It creaked and groaned when he pulled the boats."

Wang Cunzhi handed a cigarette to Lao Zhao.

"This boat repair shop has repaired six fishing boats in just over a month. Two fishing boats belonging to the fishing company were also repaired here, at less than half the price of those at the factory."

Old Zhao took the cigarette and nodded. The group stood there for a while longer. Liu, wearing glasses, made a few notes in his notebook, while Old Zhou put the registration form into his imitation leather bag.

"Let's go. To Baishakou," Wang Cunzhi said.

The shipyard at Baishakou is larger than the ship repair point at Moon Island. Two steel rails are laid side by side on the mudflats, enough to support two boats at the same time. The rails are badly rusted, and some of the sleepers, soaked in seawater, have rotted. A tin shed stands on the rocky beach, filled with gas cutting equipment, welding machines, and old diesel engine parts; the ground is covered in oil and rust.

A man was squatting at the entrance of the tin shed. When he saw Wang Cunzhi leading his men over, the man stood up.

Ding Fugui wasn't wearing his floral shirt today; he'd changed into a gray work uniform, and he'd taken off his gold chain. He had a smile on his face as he pulled out cigarettes from his pocket and offered them out one by one. Old Zhao accepted, Liu the Glasses waved his hand, and Old Zhou didn't take any.

"Distinguished leaders, please have a seat inside." Ding Fugui pushed open the door of the tin shed.

The tin shed reeked of diesel fuel. A half-empty bottle of liquor sat atop an oil drum in the corner, and peanut shells littered the ground. Old Zhou frowned.

Wang Cunzhi squatted down and picked something up from the pile of scrap next to the tin shed. It was a broken rudder post, half of the break fresh and half rusty.

"Ding Fugui, what's wrong with this rudder stick?"

Ding Fugui's smile faltered for a moment.

"Scrap materials. Used parts that have been replaced."

"Used parts?" Wang Cunzhi raised the rudder stick. "The break is half new and half old, which means it cracked a long time ago. You repair ships for others, and instead of replacing the cracked parts, you just pile on welding rods, grind it smooth, paint it, and sell it as new. Is that what you call used parts?"

Ding Fugui's expression changed.

"Director Wang, you can't say things like that. I didn't repair this rudder post; someone else just left it here."

"Who are the others?"

Ding Fugui couldn't answer.

Jiang Haiping emptied the pile of scrap metal from the burlap sack. Gear fragments, bearing balls, and half a rudder stick clattered and jingled all over the ground.

"This is what Master Fang picked up from you last month. The rudder stock is broken, half new and half rusty. This rudder stock has been cracked for a long time. If you don't replace it, just pile up a layer of welding rods, grind it smooth, and paint it. What happens when a ship goes out to sea and the rudder stock breaks?"

Old Zhao squatted down, picked up the section of the rudder stick, and examined it.

"This break is indeed an old wound."

Sweat dripped down Ding Fugui's face.

Old Zhou emerged from the tin shed, holding a stack of papers. It was the boat raft's ledger. He flipped through a few pages; the repair costs recorded on it all lacked invoice numbers. He turned a few more pages and stopped.

"Where does your boat get its electricity from?"

Ding Fugui said he picked him up from the town.

Old Zhou walked behind the tin shed. An electric wire ran down from a utility pole, and a meter hung on the back wall of the shed. He looked at the meter, then at the number on the utility pole.

"This utility pole is a dedicated line for the fishing company. Did you apply to the fishing company before connecting to the power?"

Ding Fugui remained silent.

Wang Cunzhi took a drag of his cigarette.

"He connected the fishing company's dedicated line three years ago when it was being set up. He hasn't paid a single penny in electricity bills."

Old Zhou closed the ledger. Liu, wearing glasses, squatted at the entrance of the tin shed and tapped the steel rails with a hammer. Clang, clang, clang. The sound was muffled.

"These rails are rusted through. The sleepers are rotten too. Aren't you worried about accidents when pulling boats?"

Ding Fugui stood at the entrance of the tin shed, his floral shirt soaked with sweat. Old Zhao stood up and threw the steering wheel back into the scrap heap.

"Ding Fugui, the land where your boat raft is located is public tidal flats. To occupy tidal flats, you need a sea area use permit. Where is your permit?"

Ding Fugui opened his mouth. No.

Old Zhao didn't say anything more. The group walked out of the tin shed and stood on the rocky beach. The sea breeze carried the smell of diesel fuel and rust. Wang Cunzhi stubbed out his cigarette.

"Ding Fugui. Your boat raft is suspended for rectification starting today. The power is off, the equipment is sealed off, and the two boats awaiting repair are towed to Moon Island. We'll notify you of the fine later."

Ding Fugui took two steps forward.

"Director Wang, I can reissue it. I'll accept whatever the fine is."

Wang Cunzhi glanced at him.

"Your problem can't be solved with a fine. Just wait and see."

Less than an hour after the inspection team left, the news spread throughout Moon Island.

Ding Fugui's boat was shut down. The power was cut off, the equipment was sealed off, and the door of the tin shed was bolted shut with wire. The two fishing boats that needed repair were towed away to the Moon Island boat repair shop.

When Ahai ran back to report the news, Lao Fang was squatting next to the Fisheries Administration 001, drinking porridge. After listening, he put down his bowl of porridge.

"Both of them were brought here?"

"Both boats have been towed here. They were towed by a tugboat from the fishing company. Director Wang said that these two boats were originally being repaired by Ding Fugui, and they were only half-finished. He told us to take a look, and if they could be repaired, we would continue to repair them; if not, we would dismantle them and use them as spare parts."

Old Fang stood up and wiped his hands with cotton gauze.

"Let's go. Let's take a look."

Two boats were moored in the stone trough. The paint on the hulls was fresh, but the welds were crooked and uneven, like earthworms crawling across the surface. Old Fang tapped the plank next to the weld with a hammer; the sound was dull.

"They welded it on without removing the rust inside. It looks new on the outside, but it's already rusted through inside. This ship will rot within six months of going to sea."

Qiu Changhai squatted at the engine room opening of another ship. The main engine was half dismantled, pistons and connecting rods were scattered in the engine room, two cylinder head bolts were loosened crookedly, and the threads were stripped. The bolt holes were stuffed with cotton yarn.

"He took this computer apart and had no intention of putting it back together."

Jiang Haiping stood by the stone trough, looking at the two boats.

"Can it be repaired?"

Old Fang thought about it.

"The first hull had to be cut open again, the rust removed, and then welded back on. The second main engine had to be completely disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled. Stripped bolts had to be re-taped and replaced with new ones. It's more troublesome than repairing our own ships, but it can be repaired."

"build."

In the evening, Lin Xiu'e brought dinner. Today she brought a pot of seafood porridge. Swimming crabs, shrimp, clams, and rice were cooked together until it was thick and fragrant. She squatted on the rocks serving porridge to several people, and when she was serving the fourth bowl, she paused for a moment.

A person was standing at the entrance of the courtyard.

It was Lin's father. He stood at the gate of the courtyard, leaning on his bamboo pole, looking at the two boats that had appeared in the stone trough.

"Has Ding Fugui's boat arrived?"

Lin Xiu'e said yes.

Lin's father walked in and squatted down by the stone trough, watching it for a long time.

"I recognize this boat. It belongs to Old Cai's uncle. It was repaired by Ding Fugui last year for eight hundred yuan. After it was repaired and went out to sea, the main engine buckled on the first day. When we towed it back to him, he said it was Old Cai's uncle's fault for improper operation. Old Cai's uncle was so angry that he almost jumped into the sea."

Old Fang put down the bowl of porridge.

"Now this ship is our responsibility to repair."

Lin's father nodded.

"Fix it."

He stood up, leaned on his bamboo cane, walked to the courtyard gate, and then turned back.

"Ping-ge'er. The people on the island asked me to pass on a message. If Ding Fugui dares to come again, you don't need to show your face. The fishermen of Moon Island will drown him with their spittle."

At night, the ship repair crew lit up their lights.

Four boats are now moored in the stone trough: Fishery Administration 001 and Fishery Administration 002, plus two more towed from Baishakou. Old Chen is on night duty tonight. He has spread his quilt in the stone house and hung a kerosene lamp at the gate of the courtyard. He squats on the reef, watching the four boats in the stone trough.

"Ping-ge'er, how many boats do you think our ship repair shop will be able to repair in the future?"

Jiang Haiping sat next to him.

"have no idea."

"I've thought about it. Next spring, I'll pay off the loan on that boat and save some money. I'll send my eldest son to a technical school in the county to learn ship repair. After he graduates, he can come back and work for you."

Jiang Haiping looked at him.

"Three years at a vocational school. Is your son willing to go?"

"He's willing. He told me that. He said that the way Ping repairs the boat is like a captain."

The waves gently lapped against the rocks. In the distance, fishing lights twinkled on the sea. Jiang Haiping stood up and walked to the entrance of the courtyard wall.

The moon rose high overhead, bathing the rocky beach in a silvery light. Four boats floated side by side in the rocky trough, their welds gleaming silver in the moonlight. Two of the boats had neat, even welds, like fish scales. The welds on the other two were crooked and twisted, like earthworms.

A ship repairman, once he's finished repairing one ship, he should start thinking about the next one.

This is what Lao Fang said.

There are now four boats in the stone trough. Two have been repaired, and two are waiting to be repaired.

Tomorrow, when the sun rises, let's keep working.