1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

Chapter 3 Opening

The buildings at the salt administration office were even more dilapidated than Qiu Changhai had described.

Three stone houses, a third of the roof tiles are missing, and half of the remaining two-thirds are broken. The whitewash on the walls has peeled away, revealing the yellowish-brown adobe bricks underneath. The thresholds are rounded by the sea wind, the door panels hang askew on the doorframe, and only one hinge remains.

The courtyard was quite large, about three-tenths of an acre, overgrown with knee-high bulrushes and reeds. A large gap had collapsed in the wall on the side facing the sea, through which one could see directly out to sea.

The rocky beach is right below the courtyard wall. The black rocks are smoothed by the sea, with large areas exposed at low tide and half submerged at high tide. Between the rocks is a natural stone trough, five or six meters wide and more than twenty meters long, with just enough water for a small fishing boat to enter and exit.

"This place used to be the dock where the salt bureau collected salt," Old Fang said, standing on the collapsed courtyard wall and pointing to the stone trough. "The salt boats docked here, the salt bags were unloaded, weighed in the courtyard, and then hauled away. The salt bureau was closed down in the 1960s, and the building has been abandoned ever since."

Jiang Haiping stood in the courtyard and walked around.

A plot of land. Three stone houses. A natural stone trough pier. Less than a mile from the fishing boat pier on Moon Island.

"Master Fang, is this place suitable?"

Old Fang didn't answer directly. He walked to the entrance of the courtyard wall, squatted down, and touched the surface of the reef.

"These rocks are granite, very hard. To build a boat raft here, the foundation doesn't need to be too deep; the rails can be anchored directly to the rocks. The trough is wide enough for a 20-ton fishing boat to enter, and the water depth is sufficient. Just be careful during high tide; at its highest, the water can reach the base of the courtyard wall."

He stood up and looked at the three stone houses again.

"The middle room is the biggest, it's used as a workshop. The room on the east side is for storing parts and tools. The room on the west side has a bed set up for people to sleep in when they're on night duty."

"The roof needs to be re-tiled. The walls don't need plastering anymore, just make sure they're sturdy. The floor needs to be paved with cement, otherwise the machines won't be stable. The electricity will be brought in from the town, about 800 meters away. We don't need to fetch water; we'll dig a well in the yard."

Jiang Haiping listened, took out a notebook from his pocket, and wrote things down one by one.

After Lao Fang finished speaking, he looked at him.

"I did the math, and the infrastructure alone will cost over two thousand. Of your three thousand, after deducting the one thousand that goes to the Lin family, you're left with two thousand. If you throw it all in, the money for the welding machine will be gone."

Jiang Haiping closed the notebook.

"We'll use the old welding machines that the factory is discarding for now. I've already talked to Uncle Gong about it; the factory is about to get rid of that old AC welding machine in the workshop for 300 yuan. It'll still work."

Old Fang raised an eyebrow.

"You even thought of that?"

"I asked that while I was working in the workshop yesterday."

Old Fang didn't say anything more.

Qiu Changhai, who had been squatting by the entrance of the courtyard wall smoking, suddenly spoke up.

"What should we do with the boat rafts?"

The boat raft is the core equipment at a boat repair site. To repair a boat, it must first be pulled out of the water and onto the shore using a boat raft. The boat raft consists of tracks and pulleys used to pull boats ashore.

The boats at the factory are electric. There's no electricity on Moon Island, so they can't afford to use it.

"We use a hand-operated hoist," Jiang Haiping said. "Two steel rails are laid in the water, and pulleys are installed on the trolleys. We use steel cables and hand-operated hoists to pull the boat up. It takes three people half a day to pull a twenty-ton boat up."

Qiu Changhai stubbed out his cigarette on the rocks.

"Did you poop here?"

"I watched people pull it in the factory."

"Watching and doing are two different things." Qiu Changhai stood up. "When using a hand-operated pulley to pull a boat, stability is key. If you pull too fast, the boat will sway and easily fall off the pulley. If you pull too slow, the tide will come in, and all your efforts will be wasted. There are specific techniques for how to connect the pulleys and how to tie the steel cables."

He patted the ash off his hands.

"I'll come. I worked as a boat puller on the island for over ten years."

And that's how it was settled.

For the next three days, Jiang Haiping spun around like a top.

I set off from home at five in the morning and rode my bike to Moon Island. Lao Fang and Qiu Changhai were already waiting for me in the courtyard of the Salt Bureau.

The first day was spent cleaning the yard. Qiu Changhai called three young men from the island to help cut reeds, uproot clumps, and clear away pebbles. The soil in the yard was saline-alkali, with a layer of white salt frost on the surface, making a crunching sound when the shovel was used.

Old Fang said this kind of soil couldn't be used for a cement floor; a layer of crushed stone had to be laid first, and then concrete poured. Jiang Haiping rode his bike to town to buy crushed stone.

The gravel was sold by the truckload, fifteen yuan per tractor. He bought three truckloads.

One of the three young men was unloading the gravel in the yard.

Later, after learning his name was Ahai and that he was Qiu Changhai's nephew, he asked Jiang Haiping, "Brother Ping, can this place really repair ships?"

"able."

How much does it cost to repair a boat?

"Half the price of what it is at the factory."

Ahai's eyes lit up.

"Then my family's boat will be repaired in a while."

The next day, they laid the steel rails. The rails were salvaged from the shipyard's scrap heap; they were old, but not completely rusted. Qiu Changhai used a spirit level to level them section by section, ensuring the error was no more than the thickness of a coin. Old Fang squatted nearby, smoking, occasionally gesturing with his hand.

"This section is too high. Add a shim."

"This section is crooked. Move it two centimeters to the left."

Jiang Haiping squatted down beside them and handed wrenches to the two old men.

The steel rails were laid from the entrance of the courtyard wall all the way to the water in the stone trough. After they were laid, Qiu Changhai measured them three times from beginning to end with a level before nodding in approval.

On the third day, the pulley was installed. The pulley was borrowed by Lao Fang from the factory. To say it was borrowed was a bit of a stretch; it was actually dug out from a pile of old parts. The bearings were rusted, but after disassembling, cleaning, and oiling, it was usable again.

When threading the steel cable through the pulley system, Lao Fang did it himself. His hands were very steady, and the steel cable wound and twisted between the pulleys, finally emerging from the five pulleys as neatly as threading a needle.

"Pulley systems are labor-saving," Lao Fang said as he put on his clothes. "Five pulleys, theoretically, can save five times the force. In reality, due to friction, it saves about three or four times. A 20-ton boat would require about five or six tons of force to pull. Three people can't pull it; they need to use a crowbar for assistance. So you should buy a three-ton chain hoist; it's slower, but it can still pull."

Jiang Haiping bought the chain hoist from a hardware store in town. It was a three-ton machine, made in Shanghai, and cost 120 yuan. It was the most expensive thing he had ever bought in his life.

On the fourth day, the ship repair site was starting to take shape.

The steel rails are laid. The pulleys are installed. The chain hoist is hung on the pulley hook. The yard is paved with gravel and compacted. The roof of the stone house hasn't been repaired yet; the tiles are piled up in the corner, to be laid in a few days.

Old Fang stood at the entrance of the courtyard wall, looking at the stone trough and the sea in the distance.

"One thing is still missing."

"What?"

"The first boat."

The first boat was the sunken ship belonging to Lin Xiu'e's family.

The day the sunken ship was towed to the repair site, the entire Moon Island was in an uproar.

The tugboat used was Jiang Haiping's grandfather's old tugboat.

Old Wu's boat was towed from the shipyard dock to Moon Island, a journey that took more than two hours.

The starboard side of the sunken ship was blasted open with a hole the size of a washbasin, and the hull plates were turned inside out, like a ripped-open tin can.

The main engine got wet, the gearbox shaft broke, and the rudder was also knocked askew.

Qiu Changhai directed the loading of the sunken ship onto the raft. The hand-operated hoists rattled, the steel cables were taut, and the sunken ship rose inch by inch from the water. Many people on the island came to watch the spectacle, squatting on the rocks at the entrance of the courtyard wall, watching and discussing.

"The sunken ship of the Lin family."

"Is this the ship repair shop run by the factory manager's son?"

"I heard that repairing a boat costs half the price of repairing it at the factory."

"What's the use of being cheap? Can it even be repaired properly?"

Qiu Changhai squatted beside the sunken ship and tapped the hull plates with a hand hammer. Clang, clang, clang. The dull sounds indicated that the plates were rusted or cracked inside. He tapped from bow to stern, drawing seven white circles on the hull.

"These seven plates need to be replaced. The one that hit the metal should be cut off, and a new one should be laid out and welded on."

Old Fang squatted at the cabin door, shining a flashlight inside.

"The engine needs to be lifted out and disassembled for cleaning. Water has entered the cylinder liner, and there's definitely rust between the piston and the cylinder wall. If it's not disassembled and cleaned, it will seize up as soon as it's started."

He straightened up and looked at Jiang Haiping.

"The gearbox's second shaft is broken and needs to be replaced. I checked, and Hangzhou Qianjin gearboxes have spare parts for the second shaft. The old one is still usable; I'll go find it."

"Take the rudder blades off and adjust them. They're bent out of shape; if you don't adjust them, the right rudder will be even heavier."

The two of them took turns listing all the problems with the sunken ship from top to bottom.

The fishermen who had been squatting on the rocks watching the commotion quieted down.

They understood. These two old men really knew their ships.

Qiu Changhai stood up and said to Ahai, "Go and bring the gas cutter over. Cut that broken board first."

Ah Hai responded and ran into the stone house. A little while later, he came out pushing a set of gas cutting equipment. The oxygen cylinders and acetylene cylinders were rented by Jiang Haiping from the town, charged by the day.

Qiu Changhai put on sunglasses and lit the cutting torch. Blue flames shot out from the nozzle with a shriek. He aimed the flame at the white ring on the hull, and the steel plate quickly turned red-hot and melted, dripping molten iron and splashing tiny sparks on the reef.

The cut steel plate fell onto the reef with a clang.

The first ship is under repair.

The days of repairing the ship passed quickly.

Jiang Haiping goes to the ship repair site every morning and goes back at night. Sometimes it gets too late, so he sleeps in the stone house, sharing a bunk bed with Lao Fang and Qiu Changhai.

Old Fang snores in his sleep. Qiu Changhai grinds his teeth in his sleep. Jiang Haiping is sandwiched between the two old men, listening with his eyes open to the alternating sounds of snoring and teeth grinding, like listening to a strange symphony.

The two old men often bickered while working during the day.

Lao Fang said that Qiu Changhai's method of cutting steel plates was incorrect and was wasting oxygen.

Qiu Changhai said that Lao Fang didn't sort the screws properly when he disassembled the host, so he would definitely put them in the wrong place when he reassembled it.

After they finished arguing, they turned back to their work. A little while later, Lao Fang handed Qiu Changhai a cigarette, which he took and lit, and that meant they had made up.

Jiang Haiping watched from the side and learned a lot.

Learn how to judge the quality of steel plates.

Good steel plates produce a crisp sound when tapped, while bad steel plates produce a dull sound.

Learn how to mix tung oil putty.

The ratio of tung oil to lime depends on the weather; use less tung oil in hot weather and more in cool weather.

Learn how to determine if a ship's main engine has any hidden defects.

Observe the color of the exhaust pipe: blue smoke indicates oil burning, black smoke indicates incomplete combustion, and white smoke indicates water entering the cylinder liner.

These are things you can never learn in a school classroom.

Lin Xiu'e comes every day.

She brought food.

Sometimes it's sweet potato porridge, sometimes it's mixed fish with cornmeal pancakes, and sometimes it's seaweed buns.

The dumpling wrappers are made from a mixture of sweet potato flour and wheat flour, and the filling is seaweed and dried shrimp. One bite and you'll experience a savory, hot flavor.

The three men squatted on the rocks at the entrance of the courtyard wall, eating their meal. The sea breeze carried the smells of diesel fuel and rust, mingling with the aroma of the food.

Lin Xiu'e squatted down beside them, listening intently as Lao Fang and Qiu Changhai talked about the boat. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she listened very carefully.

One day after dinner, she suddenly asked, "Master Fang, after this boat is repaired, will it be able to go out to sea?"

"Yes," Old Fang said. "It's even sturdier than a new ship."

"Then... can I learn ship repair?"

Old Fang was stunned for a moment. Qiu Changhai was also stunned for a moment.

"Why would a girl like you want to learn ship repair?" Qiu Changhai asked.

"If I learn it, I can help my dad," Lin Xiu'e said. "My dad has bad legs. If there's any minor problem on the ship in the future, I can fix it."

Qiu Changhai didn't speak. Lao Fang glanced at Jiang Haiping.

Jiang Haiping said, "If you want to learn, then learn. Start by recognizing the tools."

That afternoon, Jiang Haiping laid out his tools one by one on the rocks: adjustable wrench, open-end wrench, socket wrench, pipe wrench, wire cutters, needle-nose pliers, snap ring pliers, hammer, copper rod, punch, scraper, file, tap, and die.

He picked up an item, said its name, and explained its purpose. Lin Xiu'e repeated it aloud, then wrote it down in a notebook she had brought from home. The notebook was her younger brother's old workbook; the back was blank, so she used it from the inside.

She writes her characters very large, each stroke deliberate and forceful. For characters she doesn't know how to write, she uses pinyin.

"Adjustable wrench. Used for tightening screws."

"A deadbolt. It's also used for tightening screws, but it tightens more firmly than an adjustable wrench."

"Socket wrench. Used to remove screws from those hard-to-reach corners."

Old Fang squatted under the boat, listening to the sounds coming from this side, and the corner of his mouth twitched. It was hard to tell whether it was a smile or something else.

On the tenth day, the second gearbox shaft arrived.

It was found by Lao Fang from the factory's used parts warehouse. It's an original part from Hangzhou Qianjin Gearbox, about 80% new, priced at fifty yuan.

Old Fang removed the old shaft and installed the new one. When it came time to assemble the gearbox, he asked Jiang Haiping to do it.

"Watch. I'll only do it once."

He first installed the bearing into the housing, then gently tapped it with a copper rod, rotating it round and round to ensure even force distribution. Next, he fitted the gear onto the shaft and adjusted the meshing clearance. Too small a clearance would cause the teeth to grind, while too large a clearance would result in low transmission efficiency. He measured it three times with a feeler gauge, adjusting it to twelve micrometers.

"Twelve strands. Got it?"

"I've got it."

Old Fang closed the gearbox housing and tightened the bolts diagonally.

"The gearbox is the heart of the ship. The main engine outputs power, and the gearbox transmits that power. If the two shafts break, the power cannot be transmitted to the propeller, and even the most powerful main engine will just spin aimlessly. Therefore, the bearing clearance and gear meshing of the two shafts cannot be taken lightly."

Jiang Haiping nodded.

That night, Lao Fang went home. Jiang Haiping sat alone in the stone house, writing down the entire gearbox assembly process in his notebook. He wrote five pages.

On the fifteenth day, the main unit was hoisted back.

Qiu Changhai directed the use of a chain hoist to hoist the main engine into the nacelle. Aligning the main engine was delicate work; even a slight misalignment would cause the shaft system to vibrate. Old Fang lay inside the nacelle, meticulously calibrating it with a dial indicator. He spent the entire afternoon doing so.

After checking the last anchor bolt, he climbed out of the cabin, covered in sweat and with several streaks of engine oil on his face.

"Alright."

Two words, spoken lightly.

That evening, Lin Xiu'e brought a bag of crabs. Her father had asked her to bring them.

Old Fang and Qiu Changhai squatted on the rocks, each eating a crab dipped in soy sauce. The sea was dyed orange-red by the sunset, and in the distance, fishing boats were hauling in their nets.

Old Fang, munching on a crab leg, suddenly asked, "This boat is repaired. What's its name?"

Qiu Changhai thought for a moment: "What was it called before?"

"Moon Island 003".

"Then let's keep the name. Changing the ship's name is bad luck."

Old Fang nodded.

Jiang Haiping looked at the fishing boat anchored on the raft. The wrecked planks had been replaced with new ones, and the welds were as neat as fish scales. The main engine had been reinstalled, the gearbox had been replaced with a second shaft, and the rudder blades were straightened. The hull had been thoroughly cleaned and coated with two coats of anti-rust paint and one coat of bottom paint.

Two weeks ago, it was a sunken ship that had been sentenced to death.

Now, it's waiting to be launched.