1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

Chapter 71 The Tide Never Recedes

The notice for the special inspection was locked in the drawer for several days. Samples of the new nameplates had already been ordered, but the people on Hongjia Island who were making metal nameplates had not stopped.

In the past few days, fishermen at the dock have been mentioning one after another that the refurbished water pumps on Hongjia Island are becoming increasingly common.

Some nameplates don't even use sheet metal; they just paint a few crooked words on the pump casing and call it a day.

Jiang Haiping instructed A Guang to write down these messages one by one on the back of the register's title page.

With each new entry added to the register, his pen tip would leave an indentation on the paper.

After finishing work that evening, Hong Xiaobing closed the windows of the old parts warehouse and tucked them tightly with plastic sheeting.

Ding Haifeng closed the registration book, locked the drawer, and walked alone to the loquat tree by the stone trough.

The setting sun dyed the rocky beach a dark red, the fishing boats in the stone trough rocked gently, and the small flags on the masts fluttered in the evening breeze.

Hong Xiaobing took a coat and came out of the shed, then walked over and stood next to him.

I saw that Ding Haifeng was holding something in his hand, a piece of scrap metal with the words "Moon Island Renovation" crookedly typed on it, and it was covered in green rust.

"Is this what your father used to use in Baishakou?" Hong Xiaobing asked.

Ding Haifeng turned the sheet metal over, and the rust was even more pronounced on the back.

The rust seeped outwards along the dents from the typing, and scraping it with a fingernail would cause iron filings to fall off.

"My dad found it under the bed when he was renting a place in the county town. He was too scared to come by himself, so he asked me to bring it."

He looked up at the sea, where the last few rays of sunset were slowly sinking. "He said the service station wouldn't take him in, so he showed this to you. If you keep me, it means the service station doesn't accept him. You can do whatever you want with this piece of metal."

Hong Xiaobing took the sheet of iron and weighed it in his hand. It was a thin piece with a rolled edge, and it could be cut open with a touch of a finger.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll leave it for now. I'll show it to Brother Ping tomorrow."

Ding Haifeng agreed and turned back to the shed.

The next morning, Jiang Haiping squatted at the workshop entrance and looked at the metal nameplate.

Old Fang squatted down beside him, finished a cigarette, and stubbed it out on the sole of his shoe. "Keep this. When the provincial inspection team came, they put it together with the registration book."

From now on, if anyone counterfeits the service station's nameplate, just show this to the fishermen; they'll be able to tell at a glance which one is real and which one is fake.

Jiang Haiping picked up the metal nameplate and examined it closely in the morning light. A fingernail scratch remained on the edge of the green, mottled lettering.

He stood up, locked the sheet metal into the bottom file of the registration book, then went back to the yard, called Lao Fang, A Hai, and Ding Haisheng to the workshop door, and repeated exactly what Hong Chuandong had said yesterday.

The few private boats that have recently appeared on Hongjia Island.

Several of the shops were using the old signboard that Ding Fugui used to have in Baishakou; one of them had illegally built a boat raft on the mudflats of Hongjia Island, specializing in collecting scrapped water pumps. After refurbishing them, they would remove the metal nameplate of the service station, leaving the warranty period section completely blank, just like the water pump that the old fisherman brought to the dock yesterday.

He paused, then said that relying solely on the service station's self-inspection was insufficient; they needed to apply to Director Sun.

The county's joint inspection team should conduct a thorough investigation of the private boats and rafts on Hongjia Island. Fishermen can't distinguish between genuine and fake boats, and if this isn't addressed, more people will be deceived.

Old Fang stepped out of the cabin and stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe.

Looking up at the direction of the dock, he said that he went to town a couple of days ago to buy welding rods and met Old Chen's brother-in-law who said that there were people on Hongjia Island soliciting fishermen at the dock, using the name of refurbished parts from Moon Island to attract business. Many fishermen went there because of the cheap price. After the water pump was replaced, it stopped working after running for a few days. When they went to find a repair shop, they found that the shop did not even have a sign, only an address in a tin shed on the mudflat.

"This group of people is tearing down the pier that we've been working on for years. They're going to ruin the reputation of our service station."

Old Fang threw the cigarette butt into the stone trough.

Jiang Haiping pushed the registration book half an inch further onto the table: "The metal nameplate and registration book are right here. Who's counterfeiting, who's using this as a front to scam people—these things are the evidence."

Ding Haisheng squatted in the welding area, adjusting the new welding machine. He pushed his mask up to his forehead and stood at the workshop door listening. After a moment of silence, he said, "I know a few of those people."

He repaired boats with my uncle, but he didn't learn all the skills; however, he was quite daring. "I can identify people."

Jiang Haiping looked at him, and Ding Haisheng had already turned around and pulled his mask down again, relit the welding rod, and pressed the fish scale pattern even denser than usual.

In the evening, Jiang Haiping sat on the stone bench at the workshop entrance and flipped through the registration book from beginning to end again.

The signature field for the verifier on the new nameplate is still empty. He plans to have Lao Fang or Qiu Changhai sign it first.

Lin Xiu'e placed a bowl of fish ball soup on the stone stool next to him. The soft clatter of the bowl and the rhythm of chopping ginger in the kitchen echoed in the courtyard.

She sat down next to him, glanced at the "Verifier Signature" column in the register, and said, "Old Fang will sign for the first machine, and Master Qiu will sign for the second. With the names of these two experienced masters on the register, anyone who wants to get a metal nameplate made will have to outdo these two."

Jiang Haiping picked up the bowl, took a sip, and placed the empty bowl on the stone stool.