Liu Minjia's boat is more than 20 meters long and has a standard crew of 5.
However, it was the first month of the year and most of the sailors were too lazy to work overtime, so Gu Kun had no choice but to hire the two poorest ones from Liu Min.
In this way, plus the Gu brothers and sisters, there are four people in total. Considering that Gu Kun's incredible boating skills can match several people, it is enough.
These two crew members are a couple. The man is called Long Li and the woman is Chen Li. They are both in their mid-twenties. Their skin is rough and they look like they have been exposed to wind and sun.
The name Long Li is not very good, it sounds like a kind of fish, so people usually don't call him by his name. And because he is the fifth in the family, they simply call him Long Wu.
Liu Min was afraid that Gu Kun would be dissatisfied, so he also helped to put in good words: "Don't look at them, they are skinny and not lazy at work, especially Long Wu, who is full of energy and energy."
Gu Kun raised his hand to indicate that there was no need to say anything further: "Uncle Liu, can I still feel uneasy about the person you introduced? I don't trust people when I hire them. Thank you."
Because in the previous life, Gu Kun worked with Long Wu and Chen Li for two years, and they knew that they were still reliable. Gu Kun did not survive the previous storm, and after losing the boat, he went to work for Liu Min, so these people are all working with Liu Min.
He was a colleague.
Because of poverty, they and Gu Kun had some sympathy for each other in their previous life.
Gu Kun also knew that the couple would have a child two years later. The reason why they were working so hard now was to save some money first. After all, after Chen Li became pregnant, Long Wu would have to support the family alone.
After confirming that they could be hired, Long Wu and Chen Li quickly nodded and said hello. Chen Li asked bravely: "Boss Gu, I wonder how long it will take to go to sea this time? Can the wages be paid first?"
Large maritime companies all pay monthly wages on board the ship, and the final payment is made after arriving at the port.
But Gu Kun is the new ship owner. If he doesn't pay him first, the other party won't dare to do it with him, just in case he defaults on the debt and runs away.
Gu Kun also readily pointed out three thousand lings in person: "Okay, we agreed on 500 lings per person per month. Before sailing, you can wait for me at the bank branch at the port. After depositing the money, you can board the ship."
After hiring the crew, Liu Min took Gu Kun to inspect the ship's condition. When the group walked into the cockpit, Liu Min pointed at the fuel gauge and said:
"The last time I returned to Hong Kong, I still had half of the oil, about three tons. I can't take advantage of you, even if it's 1,800 lings. If you want to top it up, I still have a few barrels of oil in storage, and I'll add it to you. The food in the ship's kitchen
and seasonings, I’ll give them to you as a gift.”
However, Gu Kun politely declined: "No, this little oil is enough."
Liu Min was a little surprised because he had no intention of taking advantage of the oil price.
But since Gu Kun refused, he didn't bother to say more, otherwise it would appear that he had ulterior motives.
After Liu Min said goodbye and left, the group began to make preparations for sailing.
Encouraged by the advance salary, Long Wu and Chen Li worked very actively. Various supplies were quickly replenished, and Gu Kun spent nearly two thousand ling on purchases.
The group had lunch at the pier, rested for a while, and then Gu Kun gave the order to set sail.
Gu Kun steered the ship, and Long and Chen were responsible for pulling out the anchor and bringing in the cable.
Of course, Gu Pan had the easiest job, and was only responsible for keeping a lookout, just to divert water.
The 160-kilowatt main engine pushed the hull of more than 200 tons and opened a track on the turquoise sea, pointing directly to the north. The beach and coconut trees gradually moved away and disappeared on the sea level.
The other three people had no reaction to these scenery, but they looked at it with a sense of novelty, and enjoyed watching it from the observation position.
Half an hour after the boat sailed out, the work of steering the ship and hauling the cables was almost busy. Long Wu and Chen Li actively asked Gu Kun for instructions.
At sea, most of the time there is actually not much operation. It is very busy when entering and leaving the port and fishing operations. Usually sailors only need to pay attention to the sea conditions.
However, if the boss is a bit evil and doesn't want the sailors to be free, then there will be endless rust and paint that can't be patched up. Anyway, you can always find a job.
They obviously took the initiative to find work for the sake of the advance salary.
"Captain, I see that the water here is already 40 meters deep. Do you want to put a buoy first to detect fish?"
The buoy he is talking about is a fish detector, and its principle is just like a sonar, but its accuracy is much lower than that used by the military.
If it's less than four thousand lings, just give it a try.
An ordinary captain would be pleased to see his subordinates working so proactively, but Gu Kun was not in a hurry: "Don't worry, I need to find fish later, I will do it myself, and then you can help me steer the ship."
Chen Li looked a little embarrassed, while Long Wu on the side muttered in a low voice: "Captain, you can't believe my level? I've been doing fish listening for seven or eight years."
Gu Kun: "It's not that I can't believe it, but this time we have to go out to sea for a long time. In the first few days, there is no need to catch anything except very valuable fish. Anyway, the fish tank can be filled before we finally land."
"Then where are we going this time?" Long Wu couldn't help but ask.
Chen Li was more careful than her husband, and tugged on his sleeve: "Don't ask a few questions, the captain has his own arrangements."
Before going to sea, Gu Kun didn't explain anything and was a bit mysterious. But because he had advanced his salary, employees couldn't ask more questions.
Now that we are at sea, it doesn't matter.
Gu Kun was about to answer when the cockpit door opened. It turned out that Gu Pan was tired of looking at the sea view and came down from the observation deck to take shelter from the wind.
Gu Pan naturally interrupted the chat between the three of them carelessly: "Brother, I wanted to ask just before we went to sea, why didn't you let Uncle Liu fill up the gas for you?"
Gu Kun took advantage of the situation and answered his sister first: "We in Lanfang do not produce oil. All oil is imported from Sarawak or Brunei, so it is expensive. China's oil price was originally 20% more expensive than ours, but after the dual-track exchange rate system was abolished in January
, the RMB has depreciated by 40%, but the price of oil has not changed, so it is cheaper than us. So, we go to Guangdong to sell out the seafood, and fill up with cheap oil on the return trip."
After all, Gu Pan was only a freshman in high school, and he suddenly felt that his brother had too much life experience: "Then the oil price in China will also be adjusted in the future? After they increase the price, will we have to go back to China to refuel?"
Gu Kun glanced at the two people next to him with some concern, but still answered: "At that time, when we return, we will go around the sea and find a Brunei ship to refuel. 80% of Brunei's economy depends on oil.
, the oil there is 15 cheaper than us.”
Chen Li's heart trembled, knowing that the captain had answered the couple's questions smoothly.
Long Wu was more upright and directly advised him: "Captain, it turns out that you are going to China to sell seafood? This is really unexpected. The people there are very poor. They can't even afford tea eggs. How can you buy them?"
Expensive seafood? You’re not looking for a loss!"
Chen Li quickly grabbed her husband: "Why are you talking? Maybe the captain has a clever plan. What do you know?"
Long Wu: "No matter how clever you are, it can't hinder the facts. Have you forgotten that your parents usually tell us how poor China is?"
These words surprised Gu Kun.
When he worked with Long and Chen in his previous life, he never understood each other's stance, views, or family background.
Now it sounds like he is quite prejudiced against China's wealth and strength.
Gu Kun ordered coldly: "It seems that your father-in-law has some misunderstandings about China. We are all Han people. I didn't expect it. But you have already received your salary, so it is not your turn to worry about that. Just make sure what I say
, just do it.”
Chen Li saw that Gu Kun's expression was not good, so she quickly pulled Gu Pan aside in private and explained with a smile.
A few minutes later, on the stern deck of the ship, Chen Li accompanied Xin Xing and sat with Gu Pan watching the sea.
She took two freshly cooked shrimps, peeled off the shells, prepared spicy oil dipping sauce, and asked Gu Pan to eat them.
The Pipi shrimp was caught by Long Wu just now.
In the 1990s, the trend of eating Pipi shrimps had not yet become popular. Pipi shrimps were everywhere in the tropical waters of the South China Sea.
Chen Li explained in a low voice:
"Miss Gu, we didn't mean to contradict the captain just now. You have the chance to help explain. We really didn't mean anything malicious. We were just worried that the captain would go all the way to a poor country and the seafood would not be sold at a high price and we would lose our money."
"It's okay, I know you don't have so many evil intentions." Gu Pan was short-tongued, so he agreed and twirled his fingers after eating.
It is really boring when there is no fishing at sea. Gu Pan also hopes to chat more with his seniors and gain more experience.
Chen Li saw that Gu Pan was easy to talk to, so she started chatting:
"I'm a native of Lanfang. I actually don't have any prejudices. I heard that mainland China has become more and more open and wealthy in recent years. My husband's family mainly likes to listen to Wanwan's propaganda. As you know, those media are all caught.
Let’s talk about the bad examples from mainland China.”
Gu Pan asked curiously: "Why do they listen and believe?"
Chen Li sighed: "They are new immigrants. Before liberation, my father-in-law was a soldier under the commander Xiao Zhugebai. In 1950, after the army was disbanded in western Guangxi, he fled to Vietnam. He was disarmed by the French army and sent to Fuguo Island in Saigon.
My husband was born in Saigon. When the US military retreated from Saigon in 1975, they fled to Lan Fang on a black ship, so his family actually escaped twice. Although they are indeed Han by blood, they are inevitably a bit prejudiced against northerners.
."
"So that's it." Gu Pan was only in his first year of high school and didn't care about politics or history, so he just listened to the story and prepared to persuade his brother later.
We are all Chinese, and it is okay to listen to and believe things for a while. If you know your mistakes and can correct them, you can still save them.
While they were chatting here, it was about two hours before they went to sea, when Gu Kun's shouts suddenly came from the loudspeaker, interrupting them.