The reinforcement of doors and windows and the waterproof of the roof were very basic decorations. They didn’t need to be gorgeous, just durable. Zhang Zian had planned to go to the roadside to find some decoration guerrillas to do it, but with welder Zhao’s self-recommendation, it saved him a lot of trouble. Although welder Zhao was not very reliable, his handiwork was great. Zhang Zian had seen the fish tank he made by hand and some of the furniture in the house with his own eyes. They were stable and strong.
Electrician Wu continued,”we are retired factory workers, and each of us is specialized in one craft. If you need anything, you don’t have to be so polite. Just let us know. Our products don’t look good, but we guarantee that they will last.”
Zhang Zian believed electrician Wu’s words. Anyone who could work in the difficult and dangerous environment of the old factory for decades and come out of it unscathed must have a few brushes.
Therefore, he did not decline and agreed to thank her.
“Brother Zhang, I see that you’re quite free. Why don’t you come with us to go fishing? There’s quite a number of people here, it’s really exciting!” Welder Zhao rolled his eyes and invited him with great hospitality.
Welder Zhao thought that Zhang Zian had a lot of knowledge and knew a lot of marine creatures. If he caught some rare creatures that no one knew and threw them back into the water, wouldn’t that be a hundred million Yuan? It would save a lot of trouble if Zhang Zian was there to help with the identification.
He heard from his co-workers, who had also heard from other fishing buddies, that there had been some strange and rare fish in the open sea of Binhai city in the past few months. Occasionally, they could catch one or two strange fish, which made them famous in the circle of fishing buddies. It was said that one of his fishing buddies caught a fish that was too strange, and he was even interviewed by a local TV reporter.
He thought that the rare fish in Zhang Zian’s shop probably came from this. It was simply a business with no cost but great profit.
“Forget it, you guys go ahead. I don’t know how to fish, and I don’t have a fishing rod.” Zhang Zian declined. He really didn’t know how to fish. Fishing required patience, and he often sat there for half a day. He wasn’t that free.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re just fishing blindly. Let’s go and play together!” Once welder Zhao decided to take advantage of the situation, he would stick to it like a plaster and wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.
“Little Zhang, if you don’t have anything to do, you can come and play with us. Those old guys won’t mind having one more person at the last minute. If you don’t have a fishing rod, you can use mine.” Electrician Wu also tried to persuade him.
Zhang Zian really didn’t have much to do today. The staff had already dealt with the general customers. He would at most have a short lunch break when he returned to the store. Not to mention that Sihwa had returned to Binhai city, and he still had to go to the beach every day to play the recording of her song. He hadn’t gone today, so he had to go to the beach in the afternoon anyway. So, he nodded and said,””Alright, but forget about fishing. I’m going to the beach to relax, so I’ll send you guys there. I’ll just watch you guys fish.”
Welder Zhao’s mind was that as long as Zhang Zian agreed to go to the beach, everything else was fine.
Zhang Zian had a car. He asked for the meeting place and let the two go first, because they were both riding bicycles or electric cars, and they couldn’t all be stuffed into the Wuling Hong Guang MPV.
He drove to the beach, one step ahead of the two of them. After the three met up, they soon found the place where the fishing Team was going. Because the activities organized by these retired workers had a strong sense of old cadre style, they could see from afar that they were holding a banner with the words “the fifth fishing activity of a certain team”.
The workers ‘boat was a modified fishing boat, which could be second-hand or rented daily. Now that there were fewer and fewer fish in the coastal waters, small fishing boats like these were gradually becoming useless. It was not expensive to rent or sell by fishermen, and it could be considered recycling.
Welder Zhao introduced Zhang Zian to a few other middle-aged and elderly people, then asked him to board the boat with him. He declined because he had his own assault boat, and he had other business to do.
His colleagues urged welder Zhao to get on the boat as they were just waiting for the two of them. Welder Zhao had no choice but to get on the boat and go out to sea with his colleagues.
Most of these co-workers were new to sea fishing. After fishing with others a few times, they learned the general process and felt that it was more interesting to play with their brothers, so they formed a co-worker sea fishing Team.
Their small boat didn’t dare to sail too far away from the shore. They stopped at a distance where they could vaguely see the reefs on the shore and dropped the anchor. The excited workmates took out their fishing rods, sat on the folding chairs, hung the bait, and cast the hook.
Electrician Wu was still okay. He would learn humbly if he didn’t understand something, but welder Zhao felt that it was very simple after a few glances. There was nothing to learn, so he just imitated how others fished.
Zhang Zian also pumped up his own assault boat and pushed it into the sea to play Sihwa’s song. He didn’t dare to get too close to the small fishing boat of his co-workers, because his assault boat was rubber-inflated, and many fish in the sea had thorns. These fish usually didn’t take the initiative to attack the assault boat, but it was hard to say if they were hurt by the hooks of his co-workers.
He kept a certain distance from the fishing boat, and from time to time, he could hear the hearty laughter or shouts of his colleagues in the direction of the fishing boat. It seemed that fishing was indeed a very suitable outdoor activity for retired middle-aged men to play with.
He watched them fishing from a distance for a while. The safety and protective measures of his colleagues were quite good. Everyone wore life jackets, and there were lifebuoys in the fishing boat. It looked quite standard. He didn’t think there would be any danger in such close proximity to the sea. After he was tired of watching, he lay down and played with his mobile phone.
After a while, Sihwa’s song ended. Zian sat up and saw that his colleagues were still fishing in the same place. Welder Zhao’s voice was the loudest.
Welder Zhao had very poor patience, and fishing was a sport that required patience. This led to him catching the least fish. Even electrician Wu, who was a novice, had a good harvest. Welder Zhao, on the other hand, only caught a few small fish. Every fish he caught was like a treasure at the bottom of the sea, and he thought he had caught a rare treasure. However, the fish he caught didn’t need Zhang Zian’s appraisal. His colleagues could tell at a glance that they were ordinary.
Zhang Zian sent a message to welder Zhao and electrician Wu, and then waved to the small fishing boat, telling them to have fun. He went back first.
When others said that the fish he caught were garbage, welder Zhao didn’t believe them. He insisted on keeping them in the bucket and waiting for Zhang Zian to identify them. When he saw that Zhang Zian was going back, he wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
After saying hello, Zhang Zian drove the assault boat back to the beach, deflated the boat, and stuffed it back into the car. Then, he returned to the Pet Shop and did what he had to do.
That night, he was having dinner with the staff when he received a message from welder Zhao, complaining that he was not kind enough and that he could not go back early.
He saw that his co-workers were in high spirits and only returned at night.
Zhang Zian said that he had something urgent to attend to and had to return early. Welder Zhao complained a little more, then said that he would help him fix the doors, windows, and roof tomorrow.
