RBCT Chapter 19 Peace
Chapter 19 Peace
Hong Chuandong arrived on July 16th.
He didn't come by boat, he came by ferry. The ferry runs once a day from Hongjia Island to Moon Island, departing at 6:00 AM and returning at 4:00 PM. He took the earliest ferry, arriving at the Moon Island pier just as dawn was breaking.
The people at the ship repair shop were eating breakfast. Old Fang squatted on the rocks, drinking porridge, while Ah Hai squatted beside him, peeling salted duck eggs. Master Song sat at the entrance of the shed, holding his own bowl. Lin Xiu'e hadn't arrived yet; her mother's back had gotten better these past few days, so she was told to sleep a little longer. Jiang Haiping squatted at the entrance of the courtyard wall, holding his bowl, and saw someone getting off the dock in the distance, walking along the seawall towards them. The person wasn't walking fast, head down, hands in pockets.
Only when he got closer did I recognize him as Hung, the boat owner.
Old Fang put down his bowl of porridge. "Old Hong? What brings you here? Is the boat broken again?"
Hong, the shipowner, stood at the gate of the yard without coming in. He was thinner than when he last repaired the ship; his eyes were sunken, and his cheekbones were prominent. His lips were dry, cracked, and peeling, just like Lin Xiu'e had looked when she squatted at the shipyard gate that day.
"Master Fang," he said, his voice dry as sandpaper. "The boat is gone."
The courtyard fell silent. The salted duck egg in Ah Hai's hand fell onto the rocks, rolled twice, and came to rest in a crevice.
Old Fang stood up. "What happened?"
Hong, the boatman, squatted down, hugging his knees with both hands. The posture was exactly the same as when he was counting money at the dock that day. Last time it was counting money, this time there was nothing.
"We went out to sea the day before yesterday. When we returned in the afternoon, the cabin took on water."
"Water in? Where did the water come from?"
"The stern shaft seal was broken. Water leaked in through the stern shaft sleeve, and by the time I discovered it, the engine room was already half full of water. We tried to scoop it out with buckets, but we couldn't keep up. The main engine was submerged and shut down, so the boat had no power and was adrift at sea. After dark, the wind picked up, the waves came in, and the boat capsized."
Old Fang's face tightened. "Where is he?"
"We're alright. A fishing boat from the other side passed by and rescued us," said Hong, squatting on the ground, his voice muffled. "The boat sank. It sank less than five miles north of Moon Island."
Old Fang didn't say anything. He squatted down, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and handed one to Hong Chuandong. Hong Chuandong took it, his hand trembling. Old Fang struck a match and lit it for him.
"I checked the stern shaft seal on that ship. I didn't find anything wrong with it at the time."
"It wasn't the problem from that repair." Hong, the boatman, shook his head vigorously. "When you repaired it, Master Fang, you replaced the seal with a new one. I replaced the oil seal myself later. I bought a used part in town; it was cheap. I didn't install it properly."
He took a drag of his cigarette, coughing from the smoke. "I was trying to save money. The whole boat was repaired, but I couldn't bear to buy a new oil seal. Now the boat is gone."
He crouched on the ground, his shoulders hunched together. He wasn't crying. His eyes were dry, staring at the loquat seedling growing in the crevice of the rocks.
Jiang Haiping squatted down. "Old Hong, the boat's sunk, what are you planning to do?"
Hong Chuandong remained silent for a long time.
"I don't know. The boat was bought with a loan, and we still owe the credit union 60,000 yuan. There are seven people in my family, young and old. My father is bedridden, and my wife left last year. I'm the only one in the family who can earn money." He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out on the rocks. "I thought about going to the south to work. But my father is paralyzed and can't go."
Ah Hai had been squatting to the side without saying a word. Suddenly, he stood up, ran into the stone house, took out an old document register from a drawer, flipped to a page, ran back, and handed it to Lao Fang.
Old Fang glanced at it. The page mentioned a tail shaft sealing assembly, which had been salvaged from next to a scrapped gearbox last year and was still usable.
Old Fang closed the notebook. "Old Hong. I have an old tail shaft seal here. It's free."
Hong Chuandong raised his head.
"But a seal alone is useless. Your ship has sunk."
Jiang Haiping stood up. "Where did it sink?"
"North of Moon Island, less than five miles from the shore. The water is about ten meters deep."
Is the ship still intact?
"The boat capsized with its hull facing up. The waves raged all night, and I don't know what it's like now."
Jiang Haiping looked at Lao Fang. "Master Fang, the water's about ten meters deep, is it possible to retrieve it?"
Old Fang stubbed out his cigarette. "It can be salvaged. Fishermen on Moon Island have salvaged sunken ships before. Two years ago, a wooden-hulled boat sank on the mudflats three meters deep, and Old Sun and his crew salvaged it using ropes and buoys. Ten meters is deeper than three meters, but steel-hulled boats are sturdier than wooden ones. A capsized steel-hulled boat, with its bottom facing up, has air in the hold, so it won't sink to the bottom. The salvage method is the same."
He looked at Hong, the shipowner. "Your ship's main engine is flooded and will definitely need major repairs. I don't know if the hull was damaged when it capsized; if it was, the planks will need to be replaced. The cost of salvaging the ship and the cost of major repairs will add up to a considerable sum."
Hong, the shipowner, squatted on the ground. "I can't come up with any money."
Old Fang remained silent for a while. Qiu Changhai came out of the stone house, holding a chisel in his hand.
"Rescue. The repair shop will retrieve the buoys and cables. Any idle laborers on the island will come if they're provided with meals. The main engine will undergo a major overhaul; we'll disassemble it to inspect it, repairing what can be repaired and replacing the old parts with the rest. We'll weld the hull ourselves if it's damaged. As for the money, we'll pay it back slowly by going out to sea to fish after it's repaired."
He looked at Hong Chuandong. "The boat is the fisherman's life. His life cannot sink."
The salvage operation is scheduled for three days later.
Over the next three days, Lao Fang went to the shipyard to borrow four pontoons from Lao Wu. The pontoons were cylindrical iron barrels, taller than a person, which, when inflated and tied to the sunken ship, could lift it. Lao Wu said these four pontoons were used in the 1960s when salvaging caissons at the dock; they hadn't been used for over twenty years, and their airtightness needed to be checked. Lao Fang applied soapy water to the weld seams; one pontoon's weld seam was leaking, and Ding Haisheng had to weld it twice to stop the leak.
The cable was borrowed from the fishing company and delivered personally by Wang Cunzhi. It was two hundred meters of steel cable, as thick as a thumb. He unloaded the cable on the dock, squatted down at the ship repair point, and smoked a cigarette.
"That boat from Hongjia Island?"
"Um."
"Can it be repaired after being fished out?"
"It can be repaired," Old Fang said. "The main engine was soaked in water, so we disassembled and cleaned it. We checked the cylinder liners and pistons, and replaced what needed replacing. Several plates were damaged when the ship capsized, so we welded new ones on. The gearbox seals were all replaced. Once it's repaired, it'll be as good as new."
Wang Cunzhi finished his cigarette and stood up. "The fishing company has an old boat that's been scrapped, but the engine is still usable. If its engine gets damaged by water and can't be repaired, let me know."
He got on his bike and rode away.
When the fishermen from Moon Island heard about the boat salvage project, they came to the repair shop one after another. Old Chen was the first to arrive, saying he'd be counted in. Old Ma said he'd be counted in too. Old Sun said he was too old to do the heavy lifting, but he'd cook. Cai Datou said he'd cook too. Lin's father, having finished a cigarette while squatting on the rocks, stood up. "The Ping An will be your tugboat. After it's salvaged, I'll tow it back to the repair shop."
Three days later, seven fishing boats gathered on the sea north of Moon Island.
The Ping An was at the very front, with a red flag tied to its mast, sewn on the spot by Lin Xiu'e from red cloth. Old Chen, Old Ma, Uncle Ahai, and two fishing boats from the town across the river lined up on either side. Four buoys were tied to the stern of the Ping An, with steel cables coiled on the deck.
Hong, the boat owner, stood at the bow of the Ping An. Lao Fang told him not to come, but he said he had to take care of his own boat.
Old Fang gave the order. First, lower the cable. Ah Hai and Ding Haisheng tied one end of the steel cable to the winch of the Ping An, and the other end to an iron hook. Old Fang hung the iron hook around his waist, took a deep breath, and jumped down.
The sea was quiet for about two minutes. The winch on the Ping An slowly turned, and the steel cable tightened. Old Fang emerged from the water and wiped his face.
"The hook is caught. The hull is upside down, and the bow is facing north. The hull has been damaged in two places, both on the starboard side. The buoys are attached to the bow and stern. Inflate them to turn the boat over."
The four pontoons sank one after another. Ding Haisheng connected an air hose to the air inlet of the pontoons, and the air compressor that Lao Wu had borrowed from the factory sputtered to life. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, bubbles began to rise to the surface. The bubbles grew denser and denser, then with a muffled thud, the pontoons rose to the surface. Next came the bow, and the dark brown hull emerged from the water, covered in barnacles. The hull slowly turned, first the bow, then the sides, and finally the entire boat floated on the surface.
Hong Chuandong stood at the bow of the Ping'an, his hands gripping the gunwale, his knuckles white. The moment the boat surfaced, he crouched down, covering his face with his hands. His shoulders trembled. Old Chen pulled him up. "Don't cry. The boat's been salvaged, let's go home."
The Ping An towed the boat from Hongjia Island slowly toward the ship repair site. Seven fishing boats followed behind, their red flags fluttering in the sea breeze.
On the afternoon the boat was towed to the repair shop, Jiang Haiping squatted by the stone trough and watched it for a long time.
This ship is much worse than the last time we came. There are two dents on the starboard side, a large section of the hull plating is dented inwards, and a weld has cracked. The engine room is full of signs of seawater damage, and the main engine is covered in a layer of white salt frost. The gearbox oil seals are old and cracked; this little thing is what ruined the ship.
Old Fang squatted down beside him. "The main engine needs to be completely disassembled and cleaned. Cylinder liners, pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft need to be checked one by one. They've been soaked in seawater and are badly rusted. The gearbox needs to be disassembled; the bearings and gears are probably rusted too. The two damaged sections of the hull need to be replaced with new plates. The stern shaft seal needs to be replaced as well."
He stood up and rubbed his back. "It will take at least a month to repair this boat."
Hong, the boatman, squatted by the edge of the raft. He had been squatting there ever since the boat was pulled aboard, just watching without saying a word.
Jiang Haiping walked over and squatted down next to him. "Old Hong, you can pay me back the money for repairing the boat slowly after you go out to sea and catch fish."
Hong Chuandong remained silent.
"Master Fang said the main engine can be repaired. Director Wang also said that the fishing company has a scrapped ship whose main engine is still usable. In the worst case scenario, they can replace the main engine, but they can still fix it well."
Hong buried his face in his knees. "I owe you something I could never repay in my next life."
"No need for the next life." Jiang Haiping stood up. "I'll repay that by fishing in this life."
In the evening, Lin Xiu'e brought dinner. She brought a pot of seafood porridge and a basket of seaweed buns. The ship repair site was crowded today; Old Chen, Old Ma, and Cai Datou were all there. Several people were squatting on the rocks eating, with Hong Chuandong squatting at the very edge, holding his bowl.
Lin Xiu'e ladled out a bowl of porridge and placed it beside him. Hong Chuandong picked it up and took a sip. The porridge was very hot, so hot that tears welled up in his eyes. Or perhaps there was another reason.
After finishing his meal, Old Chen stood up and patted his pants. "I'll start repairing it tomorrow. I'll put my boat aside for now and get Old Hong's boat fixed first."
Old Ma said he'd count him in too. Cai Datou said he couldn't help with the welding, but he'd provide meals.
As the moon rose, the repair shop was still lit. Old Fang squatted in the engine room, shining a flashlight on the main engine, noting down each part that needed repair. Ah Hai squatted beside him, taking notes in his notebook, turning to a new page in his plastic-covered notebook, writing down the overhaul list for the main engine of the Hongjiadao fishing boat. Ding Haisheng used a slate pencil to draw the plates that needed replacing where the hull was damaged, drawing two of them.
Hong, the boat owner, was still squatting by the raft. Master Song walked over, squatted down next to him, and took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him.
"My dad's paralyzed too. I'm also an only child." He lit a cigarette for himself. "A boat can be salvaged, a broken engine can be repaired. As long as people are alive, that's enough."
Hong, the boatman, took the cigarette and lit it. The two men squatted by the boat raft and finished their cigarettes.
The repair work on the boat to Hongjia Island officially began early the next morning.
The main engine was hoisted out and disassembled. The cylinder head, pistons, connecting rods, crankshaft, and cylinder liners were laid out one by one on the workbench. Old Fang measured each one with a micrometer. The cylinder liners were rusted and had to be replaced; all the piston rings were replaced; and the connecting rod bearings and crankshaft bearings were severely rusted and had to be replaced as well. The gearbox was disassembled; three sets of bearings were rusted, but the gears were in good condition. The tail shaft seal was replaced with a new one, taken from the used parts rack, and Ahai noted it down in his register.
Ding Haisheng cut off the damaged hull plating. The cut plating was thrown onto the rocks with a clang. New plating was laid out and cut, with A-Guang squatting beside him handing over welding rods. He was now welding the angled seams quite well; Ding Haisheng had him weld two non-load-bearing plates. After he finished, he knocked off the flux residue, inspected the work, and nodded. A-Guang took off his mask; his forehead was covered in sweat.
Master Song guided Lin Xiu'e through the seam repair. The hemp fibers between the hull and deck had loosened after being soaked in seawater, so they were removed, replaced with new hemp fibers, and then coated with tung oil putty. Lin Xiu'e's technique for chiseling was much more skillful now; she used the chisel at an angle, controlling the force perfectly, removing only what was rotten. Master Song squatted beside her, watching her chisel a line.
"Okay. That'll do it."
Lin Xiu'e didn't look up, but the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.
Qiu Changhai squatted at the stern repairing the rudder system. The rudder stock was rusted, so he took it off, sanded it down, and revealed the iron-gray underneath. The rudder blade was bent at one corner, so he heated it with an oxyacetylene torch until it was red-hot, hammered it straight, and then quenched it again.
The boat repair shop had never been this busy. Six boats were moored in the stone trough, and two more were being supported on the boat racks. The boat from Hongjia Island was on the western rack, and Old Chen's boat was on the eastern rack. Old Chen said that his boat wasn't in a hurry to be repaired, and that Old Hong's boat should be repaired first. Old Fang said that since his boat was already in the rack, he might as well fix the minor problems while he was at it.
Ah Hai's skill in managing old parts came in handy. Usable parts from the main engine were registered and put into storage, while unusable parts were simply piled up to be sold as scrap metal. Two sets of gearbox bearings with minor wear were found on the old parts shelf, cleaned with kerosene, oiled, and reinstalled. The settlement slips delivered by Wang Cunzhi were kept separately from the repair shop's ledgers, one for each of the public fishing boats.
Besides sewing, Lin Xiu'e also took care of delivering meals to Hong, the boat owner. Every morning she would bring an extra portion of porridge and steamed buns, noon an extra portion of rice and vegetables, and evening an extra portion of soup. Hong, the boat owner, stayed at the repair shop for three days, and on the fourth day he started helping out. He shoveled barnacles, moved parts, handed over wrenches, and did all sorts of work. Whatever Lao Fang asked him to do, he did it, and after finishing, he would squat back down by the raft to watch over his boat.
At the end of July, Ahai and his team returned from training in the county.
As soon as Ahai entered the courtyard, he pulled out a plastic-covered notebook. It wasn't the old one; it was new, with the words "Fisherman's Skills Training Completion Certificate" printed on the cover. He opened it to show Lao Fang; inside were notes from his marine engineering principles class. Diesel engine working cycles, injection advance angles, turbocharger structures—the notebook was almost half full of dense writing.
Old Fang flipped through a few pages. "How's it going with your studies?"
"Exams come first."
Old Fang returned the notebook to him. "Okay. It wasn't a wasted trip."
A-Guang also pulled out his certificate. It was from a welding training program, and he passed both flat and vertical welding. Ding Haisheng took it and looked at it, saying that they would practice overhead welding next time.
Guo Dayong was the last to take out his certificate. He put it back in his pocket and squatted down next to the engine room to continue disassembling the main unit. Old Fang squatted down beside him. "You've learned a lot?"
"I've learned something. Fishing boat diesel engines are indeed different from tractor engines. Seawater cooling systems, wet cylinder liners, and reversible clutches—I've never seen these before."
"Now that I've seen it, I'll gradually get the hang of it."
Guo Dayong loosened the cylinder head bolts diagonally and removed them one by one. "Master Fang, the cylinder liners on the main engine of this ship at Hongjiadao are rusted and need replacing. Are the cylinder liners on the old parts rack the right size?"
Old Fang glanced at him. "You've already measured it?"
"I measured it this morning. The inner diameter is 135, which is a good match for the pistons on this ship."
Old Fang nodded. "Okay. You'll come with me to change the cylinder liners tomorrow."
Guo Dayong placed the disassembled cylinder head on the workbench. "Okay."
In early August, the boat on Hongjia Island was repaired.
The day the engine was reinstalled, everyone at the repair shop gathered around the boat. Old Fang pressed the start button, the preheating indicator light flashed for a few seconds and then went out. He turned the key. The engine coughed once, but didn't start. He turned it again, and with a roar, it came to life. The exhaust pipe emitted its first puff of smoke, pale gray, which quickly turned into an almost transparent pale blue. The tachometer needle steadily rose to idle speed, and the engine vibrated slightly, evenly and smoothly.
Hong, the boat owner, squatted by the raft, his hands gripping his knees. The engine revved from idle to 1200, 1500, and 1800, its roar transforming into a soaring chorus. Old Fang slowly pushed the throttle up to 2000 RPM and held it steady. A thin line of pale blue smoke stretched from the exhaust pipe.
"Test run proceeded smoothly. Sea trial to be held tomorrow."
Hong Chuandong remained squatting on the ground.
The second day was the sea trial. The Ping An towed the boat from Hongjia Island out of the rocky trough and into open water, where the mooring lines were untied. Hong Chuandong stood at the helm, his hands on the helm. His hands, worn down by the sea wind and mooring lines for half his life, had large knuckles and cracked backs. He gripped the helm very gently.
Start-up. The main engine roared to life. Gear shifted, the gearbox whirring smoothly. Left and right rudders, the steering wheel turning as lightly as new. He slowly pushed down the throttle, the bow cleaving through the sea, carving a white wake.
Old Fang stood on the rocks at the ship repair site, watching the boat sail away. Pale blue smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe at the stern.
"The ship is alive again."
Jiang Haiping stood beside him. "He's alive."
As evening fell, the fishing boats returned to port. Hong, the boatman, moored the boat and jumped off. He walked up to Lao Fang, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to him. Lao Fang took it and tucked it behind his ear.
He then walked up to Jiang Haiping and handed him one. He walked up to Qiu Changhai and handed him one. He walked up to Ding Haisheng, Master Song, Guo Dayong, Ahai, and Aguang, and handed them one each. Finally, he walked up to Lin Xiue and stopped.
"Girl, you've been bringing me meals for a month. I don't know how to thank you."
Lin Xiu'e said, "You're welcome."
Hong, the shipowner, put the remaining cigarette back in his pocket and squatted on the dock, looking at his boat. The newly painted bow gleamed in the setting sun, the welds were neat and tidy, and the name of the ship, Hongjia Island 001, was newly drawn. He stared at it for a long time.
As the moon rose, the ship repair crew squatted on the rocks to eat. Hong Chuandong, holding a bowl, squatted at the very edge; the bowl contained fish ball soup served by Lin Xiu'e. He took a sip, and the scalding heat brought tears to his eyes. This time, no one looked at him.