Chapter 58: Setting Sail
He unwrapped the tattered cotton quilts from the engine layer by layer, exposing the motor locked within a steel cage. Using the key Zhao Weiguo had given him, he undid the lock. The only motorboat in all of Dragon King Pond was now fully revealed.
It was a size larger than an ordinary fishing boat, having been outfitted with equipment like a steering wheel, a diesel engine, and a propeller.
Zhao Wendong carefully inspected all the components. Once he confirmed nothing was frozen and everything was in working order, he had Zhao Wenwu pull over the diesel drum. Zhao Wendong stuck a hose into the drum and, mimicking Third Master, gave the other end a hard suck to start siphoning fuel into the diesel engine. He pulled a little too hard and almost got a mouthful.
Zhao Weiguo, the villager most experienced with this machine, held half a bottle of kerosene. He occasionally added a splash to the fuel tank to act as an antifreeze. The ratio was very difficult to master; adding even a little too much would affect the engine’s performance. Only Zhao Weiguo had the knack for it.
Once everything was ready, the first light of dawn began to touch the horizon. Zhao Wendong and the other three boarded the boat and waved goodbye to everyone on the shore.
"Go, Zhao Wendong!"
Li Juan shouted. Zhao Xiaoyan’s brow furrowed, and she shot a cold sneer at Li Juan. Not to be outdone, she immediately followed suit.
"Brother San, you’re the best! I’ll be waiting for you to come back!"
For some reason, an unpleasant feeling welled up inside Lin Zhiyin, as if a favorite toy had been snatched away from her.
She bit her lip and said nothing, looking up at the production team’s motorboat. Her eyes met Zhao Wendong’s burning gaze.
"Lin Zhiyin, wait for me to come back!"
When Zhao Wendong saw Lin Zhiyin looking his way, he waved wildly at her. Instantly, the expressions on Li Juan’s and Zhao Xiaoyan’s faces turned sour.
Lin Zhiyin couldn’t help but laugh, her smile dazzlingly brilliant. For a moment, even the dirt she’d deliberately smeared on her face couldn’t hide her radiance.
CHUG CHUG CHUG!
Propelled by the diesel engine, the fishing boat quickly sped into the distance. The people on shore shrank into tiny dots and then vanished, until nothing was left but the sea.
"Did you guys see that? Did you see it?"
Zhao Wendong asked his brothers again and again, his face lit with excitement as he savored the memory.
"See what?"
Zhao Wenjun looked at his younger brother, confused.
"Did you see Lin Zhiyin smile at me? Wasn’t she gorgeous? So, so beautiful!"
Zhao Wenjun: ...
With his hands habitually tucked into the front of his pants, Zhao Wenwu watched Zhao Wendong’s ecstatic expression, then turned his head to whisper to Zhao Ergou.
"Doesn’t our number three look like a complete idiot?"
Zhao Ergou glanced at him. ...
Before the crowd on the shore dispersed, Zhao Weiguo announced that Zhao Wendong had traded forty liters of diesel for this chance to use the production team’s boat. He added that if anyone else wanted to use it, they could also pay with diesel. This prompted many to laugh at Zhao Wendong for being such a spendthrift, remarking that much fuel would be enough to keep torches lit for an entire winter.
Their village had plenty of kerosene lamps; almost every household owned one. It was just that kerosene, like diesel, was too precious, so no one was willing to use it. Thanks to large military units passing back and forth over the nearby bridge in years past, the surrounding Communes had managed to acquire not only diesel lamps but also a good number of pots, pans, and bowls. Most of these items had been bartered for during that time.
"I’m telling you, that Dongzi has really learned how to make things happen. He even managed to get his hands on diesel fuel—a whole barrel of it!"
"Bah, I heard one of the leaders at the Commune gave it to him. He supposedly made a do-or-die pledge—if he doesn’t catch anything and can’t cover the cost of the fuel, he has to marry into their family as a live-in son-in-law."
"What’s to become of this village? Letting a street punk like him run wild all day long."
"Go on, get out of here! Go wag your tongues somewhere else. Even a share of diesel isn’t enough to shut your mouths! Keep spouting nonsense and none of you will get any!"
At Third Master Zhao’s booming voice, the women who’d been spouting nonsense immediately fell silent. Knowing that was just their way, Third Master Zhao didn’t bother with them further and simply lowered his head to continue smoking his large pipe.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to talk Zhao Wendong out of it. If he’d saved that barrel of diesel for a summer trip, even with the worst luck, he could have brought back dozens of pounds of fish and not taken too much of a loss. But it was winter. Most sea creatures were either hibernating or had moved to deeper waters. Even if they could travel farther out, there was hardly anything to catch.
The father-daughter pair, Zhao Weiguo and Zhao Xiaoyan, were also talking about Zhao Wendong.
"Daughter, I thought you didn’t care for Dongzi? What was all that shouting on the shore about just now?"
"Oh, it was nothing! Don’t worry about it!"
Zhao Xiaoyan turned her head and walked off. Zhao Weiguo was left standing there, stunned. ’Why do I have a bad feeling about this?’
’He used to think Zhao Wendong was great in every way, but now he was starting to think otherwise. The boy had so many faults, his roguish nature hadn’t improved much, and most importantly, the kid had terrible judgment. His own daughter was so beautiful, yet he was blind to her, choosing instead to fawn over that dirty "capitalist miss."’
Back in the Educated Youth dormitory, the young women who had returned to their room were also chattering away about Zhao Wendong.
"Have you guys noticed? Zhao Wendong is actually kind of handsome!"
Li Juan’s voice was full of excitement, but the glances she kept shooting Lin Zhiyin were filled with jealousy and rage. ’On the shore, I cheered for Zhao Wendong, but he didn’t even spare me a glance. His eyes were only for that "capitalist miss," Lin Zhiyin. Aren’t country boys supposed to like girls with big butts? My butt is way bigger than hers, I’m prettier than her, and I’m a thousand times cleaner and neater!’
The other young women chimed in.
"Mhm, now that you mention it, the way he acted so confidently on the shore... it was really masculine."
"He has that bad-boy charm, too. And remember when he got angry with us last time? Other than kicking our door, he didn’t actually do anything too drastic."
"Right? I know! Who would’ve thought you’d find such a great guy way out here in the sticks..."
For some reason, as Lin Zhiyin listened to them talk about Zhao Wendong, ripples spread through her usually calm heart. After a moment’s thought, she stood up and walked out of the dormitory.
Faint voices drifted from the men’s dormitory next door, and she could occasionally make out Zhao Wendong’s name. Lin Zhiyin took a deep breath, and her feet seemed to carry her toward the shore of their own accord.
"Third Brother! Stop grinning like an idiot! Which way are we supposed to be heading?!"
Zhao Wenjun looked at Zhao Wendong’s dazed, lovesick expression and felt an urge to kick him into the sea to wash that nonsense out of his head.
His eldest brother’s shout snapped Zhao Wendong back to reality. ’I got a little carried away,’ he thought. But he could clearly feel it—Lin Zhiyin was getting closer and closer to him!
Business before pleasure. Zhao Wendong began scanning the horizon, searching for seabirds. A school of fish was sure to attract birds looking for a meal. By now, the sun was peeking over the horizon, casting a golden glow across the sparkling waves. The sight was magnificent.
After a long wait, just as Zhao Wenjun was starting to get anxious, Zhao Wendong’s eyes lit up. Far in the distance, he spotted a Silver Gull flying in a specific direction and heard its thoughts.
’Time to eat some bighead carp! I’m gonna eat a lot today. They’ll be long gone by tomorrow.’
"That way!"
He pointed excitedly in the direction the Silver Gull was flying, his voice certain.
Zhao Wenjun immediately changed course and opened the throttle. The fishing boat began to cut through the waves, splitting the golden surface of the sea as it sped in the direction Zhao Wendong had indicated.
The boat traveled for another two hours, by which time the sun had fully risen. Suddenly, Zhao Wendong raised a hand and shouted excitedly, "Look over there!"
Everyone on board followed his pointing finger, their faces instantly breaking into expressions of pure ecstasy.
A dense, dark flock of seabirds swarmed in the sky off in the distance, circling ceaselessly over a single patch of sea, almost blotting out the sun. Having all grown up by the coast, the four of them knew exactly what that meant.
"A school of fish! There’s a school of fish over there!"
Zhao Ergou leaped to his feet, pointing and shouting, his face flushed red with excitement.
Zhao Wenjun’s hands began to tremble on the steering wheel. He’d been skeptical that they would catch anything on this trip, but he swore to himself that from this moment on, if his third brother told him the earth was square, he would believe it without a single shred of doubt.
"Eldest Brother, head over there! Come on, everyone, get the nets ready! We’re going to follow this school—wherever they go, we go!"
"Alright!"
The four men roared in unison. Zhao Wenwu pulled his hands from the front of his pants and began preparing his cast net. He had done this work before, and he was as good at it as anyone.
As the boat drew closer, an even more thrilling sight unfolded before their eyes.