The boat was empty. Apart from the basic tools, there was nothing else on it, no cargo and no one.
Obviously they are not out fishing.
"You didn't see anything, did you? There's nothing strange on the boat. You're so curious, just ignore them. Why do you keep wondering why they came to the island? We just need to avoid them."
"Aren't we planning to start fishing for squid soon? If they come to the island every day, how can we fish for squid? We will be making things easier for them and we will catch them all in one fell swoop."
"It really is..."
Father Ye also frowned and was troubled. He almost forgot about this.
"If we want to find another island, it's really hard to find. We can only go to a farther sea area."
There were only small wooden boats around the coast, so they could only look further out to sea. However, it was not easy to find a suitable isolated island further away.
Moreover, the squid season is unique to their area during that time period, just like the jellyfish season is in the border area between Fujian and Zhejiang, and the shrimp season is in Zhoushan area.
Some fishing boats just use trawl nets when they don't encounter suitable ones. However, direct trawl nets are rare, so if you look carefully, you will always find them. This is mainly because there are fewer trawl nets these days.
Ten years later, as the number of trawlers increased, squids gradually disappeared from the fishing season and could only be caught with trawl nets, not as easily as they are now.
"I just don't know how long they will stay on the island like this? If they leave in a few days, then we won't care about them."
"These pests are so annoying. I heard that a lot of people were arrested last year and many were shot. It was reported in the newspapers and broadcast on the radio. Why haven't they all been caught? This is a notorious island and no one is doing anything about it."
It is useless to talk about these things now. If it does not harm their own interests and has nothing to do with them, they would not bother to care. But now it feels like a thorn in the throat. He feels very uncomfortable if he does not find out the truth.
"Dad, how about I go to the island and take a look?"
Father Ye glared at him, "What are you thinking? If you see someone at night, you will know that there is more than one person on the island. If you are discovered, you will be beaten half to death. You are not allowed to go."
"Besides, we are quite familiar with this island. Except for the small beach in front that is exposed when the tide goes out, the rest is surrounded by high reefs. How can it be so easy to climb?"
"No, no, go back. They might not come in a few days."
"Let's go, stop looking, and go back early before it gets dark..."
Father Ye patted him on the shoulder and signaled him to hurry up and sail back.
"No, we can't just stand there and watch. They are blocking my way to wealth. Hey? While they haven't come down the mountain yet, the boat is left there, why don't we drive it away?"
Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up as he spoke, "Yes, drive their boats away. They are all ill-gotten gains anyway. Without boats, they won't come anymore."
Kill two birds with one stone!
"Ah? They took their boat away?" Father Ye was a little tempted, but he felt that the boat was too big and too expensive...
The more Ye Yaodong thought about it, the more he thought it was feasible. "Let's go, let's drive their boat away. This is a good opportunity to take advantage of the fact that they haven't come down the mountain yet. Let them cry out to the heavens and the earth for help. They aren't good people anyway, so let's just rob the rich and help the poor."
"But if such a big boat is sailed back to the village..."
"Let's stay on the sea for a while longer, and then go to the shore after dark. By then, the visibility will be blurry and no one will know what's going on. We can just stop on the beach, run it aground at night, and then paint off the signs on the ship overnight."
"When folks ask us during the day, we just say we bought it the day before. Isn't that enough? It's normal to repaint a newly bought boat."
"People in the surrounding area hate them so much that they wish they were all arrested and shot. Besides, Luzhou Island is not close to us. It takes an hour or two to ride a bicycle. Who would know? No one would guess that we would be so bold. We just think we are rich."
Anyway, everyone in the village knows that he is rich now. It is said that he has made a lot of money selling dried fish, so it is reasonable for him to tell others about it and buy a boat.
On the way back, they cleaned up the boat and threw everything that needed to be thrown into the sea to destroy all traces.
These people are pirates. They often rob others and plunder other people's ships openly. He has no psychological burden at all. As long as he moves quickly and drives the ship away, they won't notice.
Father Ye was a little hesitant. If they could just rob the small thing, they would just rob it. But he was a little afraid of such a big ship.
He has never done anything so bold. He is just an ordinary, honest fisherman. In the past, he would just take advantage of a little bit of money. This boat worth several thousand dollars...
"The brave will die of overeating, while the timid will die of starvation. What are you afraid of? Let's go over and have a look. It's still early before dark. If the signs are not right, we should give up."
"Put on the sun hat that Ah Qing made for you. It will just expose your eyes. If you are discovered, no one will recognize you. Since we are in trouble, we can just run away in the boat."
Without waiting for his father to speak, Ye Yaodong drove the boat over first. It just so happened that he had been at the helm, not his father, otherwise it would have been a long time before he would have waited for his father's consent.
Seeing that the boat had quickly passed by, Ye's father felt a little uneasy, but also very excited. He couldn't say anything to stop it, so he had to keep his acquiescence.
Watch first, and when you get close, try to see if you can drive the boat away. If you can...
Just thinking about it made his heart pound...
It’s so exciting. I’ve never done anything so exciting in my life.
He didn't find it as exciting as this time when he fought with others on the sea. After all, the ship was the biggest of all big things.
Dongzi is too bold.
As the fishing boat gradually approached the island, Ye's father's heartbeat became faster and faster, like the sound of a drum.
"Dong... Dongzi..."
"Well, Dad, I think they are still on the mountain and haven't come down yet. There is no one on the boat. Wait until I bring the two boats closer. Climb over and you get ready. If I start their boat, you also quickly drive our boat away."
"Oh, okay... okay..."
Seeing that the two boats were about to come together, Father Ye could only stammer in response.
The people of Luzhou Island certainly never imagined that after hunting geese all day long, one day they would have their eyes pecked by a goose.
Ye Yaodong was also very nervous. He had never done such a thing before, but he just thought about it and felt that he could not let these people come to the island every day. He had to find a way to stop them.
Blocking his path to wealth is one thing, but what if they really discover a gold mine or something
I don’t know what they are looking for on the island. After so many days of rain, they can’t wait to go to the island again when it clears up. There must be something good there…
Seeing the two boats close together, he didn't have time to think about it.
"Dad, just watch me while I crawl over."
"Hey, okay, then...then you...you should be careful..."
Father Ye had never done such a thing before. He could not speak clearly, his palms were sweating from nervousness, and he kept looking towards the mountain, fearing that someone would appear.
Ye Yaodong's heartbeat also started to speed up, but the arrow was already on the string, so he didn't care.
After climbing onto the other party's boat, he first walked around the boat and opened the cabin to take a look. After finding that there was no one and nothing wrong, he felt relieved.
Then the anchor was pulled up, a long bamboo pole was used to distance the fishing boat from the reef, the boat was started, and then the bow was turned.
Father Ye's heart was beating out of his throat. He had been watching the wind from the top of his head, his eyes almost poking a hole in the mountain. When he saw him turn the bow of the boat smoothly, he immediately followed suit.
The two boats sailed one after the other towards the center of the distant sea, and the people on the boats kept turning their heads and looking behind them from time to time.
When they found that there was calm and no one behind them, both the father and son breathed a sigh of relief.
But they did not dare to relax, nor did they dare to stop. They continued to drive quickly into the distance, the farther the better.
Ye Yaodong didn't stop until he felt he had run almost enough.
Only then did he realize that his palms and back were sweaty, even though the sea breeze was so strong.
"Oh my god, I'm so nervous. This is so exciting. I've never done anything so outrageous before."
While speaking, he also took off the hat on his head, grabbed the cloth covering his face, and wiped his face and forehead hard.
Then he turned to the side and followed the boat that was slowing down and approaching.
"Dad..."
"Oh, you, I was so scared. I must not do this again next time. I was so nervous that my heart almost jumped out of my throat and I was sweating profusely."
Ye's father did the same thing as him, he took off the sun hat on his head, wiped his face hard with the cloth on it, then threw the hat into the corner, speaking with his chest heaving.
He is not used to this. It is so uncomfortable to hide his face.
"It's okay. There shouldn't be many ships on the sea. They're probably all on their way back. I'll sort out the things on the ship and throw away everything that's marked."
"Okay, okay, you pack up first, and we'll float in the middle of the sea and drive back after dark." Father Ye was so nervous that he still couldn't catch his breath.
Ye Yaodong gathered all the things on the boat together and threw away what should be thrown away, even the buckets and bamboo baskets were thrown into the sea. There were marks on them, and he didn't think it was a pity.