Chapter 167: A Shakedown Cruise

Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi had eaten so much at the reception banquet, they were both stuffed.

Having just arrived in a new county, having eaten all kinds of delicacies, having all kinds of expectations for the future, Chen Xiao Cai was so excited. He and Shen Chi decided to take a stroll on the street.

"Lin Ge is amazing as always!" exclaimed Shen Chi.

"Yeah!" Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi went to the seafood center and they had heard so much about Lu Lin.

"I heard many people are talking about the fishermen dormitory. Let's go take a look, shall we?" Shen Chi suggested.

Chen Xiao Cai nodded.

Chen Xiao Cai was also very curious about the place called dormitory building.

There were 12 dormitory rooms built first, and they were all taken at this point. The second dormitory building was under construction for some time, but it had not been completed.

Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi happened to see a lot of fishermen coming back from sea when they arrived at the dormitory.

Chen Xiao Cai saw the fishing boats coming and mooring in a continuous stream. More than ten carp waving in the sea breeze, which made Chen Xiao Cai feel an upsurge of emotion.

Shen Chi exclaimed in surprise, "The fleet that Lin Ge is building has already begun to take shape! Fancy that! It hasn't been long since he came to the Fish Cabin county though!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Yeah! Sometimes, Lin Ge appears a bit frivolous, but he has a way to make things happen!"

Shen Chi agreed, "That's right. Li Ge seems to always have some unusual thoughts. Take this bunk bed for an example, it's actually a very simple thing, but it's not easy to think of it."

Qin Ming saw Chen Xiao Cai and greeted him excitedly, "Young Master Cai! You're here too! Finally!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Yeah, how have you been, Ming!" I heard you are the captain now!"

Qin Ming scratched his head and said shyly, "I'm lucky that I'm in Magistrate Lu's good graces. Are you here to visit the dormitory, can I show you around?"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Thank you, Ming!"

"There are many people in the building now! It hasn't been long since Lin Ge promoted this project, right?" Chen Xiao Cai asked.

The fishermen who were walking past by saw Qin Ming and Chen Xiao Cai, they warmly came over to greet Qin Ming. Although many of them didn't know Chen Xiao Cai's identity, they didn't dare to underestimate him when they saw Qin Ming walking behind Chen Xiao Cai with respect.

"The benefits given by the Magistrate Lu are too good to resist, so more and more fishermen have joined us," Qin Ming said.

Some fishermen were too cautious and they had been watching and weighing and balancing. The first dormitory building was full now, Lu Lin said they needed to suspend the hiring until the second dormitory building was completed.

Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "It's very troublesome to not have a stable place to love."

Chen Xiao Cai couldn't help but think of the time the three of them lived in the cave when their parents died. At that time, he wished for a roof over his head, so he could feel why some of the fishermen were so passionate to join the fleet.

......

Chen Xiao Cai looked so excited walking on the street, he said happily, "This Fish Cabin county seems to be very interesting. If I knew this place was so interesting, I would've come here sooner."

The scenery of this coastal county was completely different from Sha County.

Shen Chi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and sniggered, "Before you came, you were worried that we could only eat salted fish every day, and now you have fallen in love with this county on day one?"

Chen Xiao Cai had not seen the local restaurant in the Fish Cabin County, but the food in the county yamen was really mind-blowing.

Chen Xiao Cai scratched his head and said, "I've underestimated Lin Ge! I should have thought that Lin Ge, as a foodie, he would never let himself eat salted fish every day."

Shen Chi smiled mischievously and said, "Watch your tongue, don't call Lin Ge a foodie behind his back."

Chen Xiao Cai smiled and said, "I'm sure he doesn't mind."

Shen Chi smiled slightly.

"That reception dinner just now was really delicious," Shen Chi swallowed his saliva, smacking his lips.

Unfortunately, he only had one stomach. Many dishes were delicious, and he could only have several bites. Shen Chi wished he could have more space in his stomach.

Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "It's indeed delicious!"

Chen Xiao Cai was worried that his life would be very boring after he came here, but according to the current situation, there seemed to be a lot of interesting things to do here.

When Chen Xiao Cai was in Sha County, he had made a lot of money, he no longer saw making money his first priority.

Under the influence of Lu Lin, Chen Xiao Cai liked to do some practical things to boost the local economy.

"It's late, let's go back," Chen Xiao Cai said.

Shen Chi nodded, "Okay!"

Shen Chi still wanted to walk a few more streets, but he thought he was going to stay in this place for years, there was no rush, and he could explore slowly in the future.

Shen Chi and Chen Xiao Cai had a good night sleep that night.

Lu Lin was very happy about Chen Xiao Cai's arrival.

Lu Lin planned to open a high-end seafood restaurant, but he had been postponing the plan due to the lack of a suitable manager. And now that problem was readily solved with Cai's arrival.

Lu Lin kept humming when he lied down in bed.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "You're in a good mood!"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, I am, Cai is finally here, there are so many things I have planned for him."

Chen Xiao Mi smiled, "You two are workaholic, Cai just told me the same thing, he said he couldn't wait to get to work and he would inspect the seafood center first thing tomorrow morning."

......

The pilot ship was completed several days after Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi arrived at Fish Cabin County.

On the day when the pilot ship got off the sea, the fishermen in the fleet and common villagers all swarmed to the beach to witness that moment.

The shoreside was crowded with people, ordinary ship wouldn't attract this many people to watch, but this pilot ship was designed by Lu Lin, to some degree, Lu Lin was a celebrity in town, people were naturally more curious to see his work.

Jiang Chuan'er sat on his father's boat and stared at the pilot ship in awe.

"What a big ship!" Jiang Chuan'er exclaimed.

Han Xiao Zhou nodded, "Yeah! The carp flag on the ship is so much bigger as well!

"This flag is indeed very big, and the carp looks more vivid as well."

Jiang Chuan'er nodded. Such a big flag looked very imposing.

Han Xiaozhou had taken Jiang Chuan'er to the fisherman's dormitory for a visit several days ago. Jiang Chuan'er went back and told everything to his father, Jiang Xian. Jiang Xiao was anxious to join the fleet.

Even though Jiang Xian was tempted, he did not immediately look for Han Feng for fear of ridicule. Jiang Xian had rejected Han Feng before, and he didn't want to admit he was in the wrong. He just hoped that his friend would approach him again and he would say yes then.

However, Jiang Xian did not expect that Han Feng no longer approach people, trying to persuade them to join the fleet. The first dormitory building was already full. The table had turned, now it was fishermen approaching Han Feng and begging him to join the fleet.

At first, Han Feng was afraid that no one would join them, but later on, he had to discuss with Qin Ming on how to select the right candidate because too many people had applied.

The people who firstly moved into the dormitory had the privilege to share one room with their family, but later they had to share the room with other people.

Han Feng and Han Xiao Zhou had one private room in the beginning, but now they were sharing the room with two more people.

Jiang Xian waited for a few days, and as he saw more and more people were joining the fleet, Jiang Xian immediately became anxious and he took the initiative to look for Han Feng, Han Feng did not refuse him.

After joining the fleet, Jiang Xian knew that the fleet was indeed good.

Initially, Jiang Xian thought that Han Feng owed Lu Lin a favor and that was why he kept saying good things about Lu Lin, but now he knew Han Feng was just speaking the truth.

The weather at the moment was getting colder and colder. It was easy to get cold living on the boat.

When Han Feng saw that Jiang Xian appreciating the lifestyle in the dormitory, he could not help but tease his old friend. Jiang Xian knew he was in the wrong, he always kept quiet.

"Who is that person standing in front of Captain Qin? How come I haven't seen him before," Jiang Chuan'er asked Han Xiao Zhou.

Jiang Chuan'er had seen Lu Lin before, but he had not seen Chen Xiao Cai.

Han Feng was now working for Qin Ming, so he was well-informed.

"That is Magistrate Lu's second brother-in-law, Chen Xiao Cai. Uncle Qin says he is a business genius, he has a whole business empire back in Sha County" said Han Xiao Zhou.

Jiang Chuan'er exclaimed in surprise, "It sounds very impressive!"

"I agree, I think he has an awe-inspiring appearance. I also heard Magistrate Lu is hen-pecked, I just hope this brother-in-law is a decent human being. Do you remember the previous magistrate's brothers-in-law? Aren't they a pain in the neck? They would just throw their weight about everywhere and take advantage of the poor peddlers and small business owners." Sighed Jiang Xian.

"Indeed, but things are different now, just two days ago, one of the previous magistrate's brothers-in-law took advantage of a stall owner, Magistrate Lu gave him a fine! How great is that!"

"Really? Now the other brothers-in-law will restrain themselves!"

"This ship is really impressive!" As a member of the fleet, Han Xiao Zhou felt proud that they had such a big ship in the fleet.

Jiang Chuan'er nodded, "Yeah!"

......

Many of the fisherman in the fleet felt the same way, they were very excited and honored that they were in such a great fleet.

There were three types of fishermen in this county. One type was the impoverished who didn't own a house or farmland and lived on fishing, one type was the middle-class who owned a house and some farmland and went fishing occasionally, the last type was the rich who went fishing as an entertainment.

The fishermen who joined Lu Lin's fleet were the first type, people at the bottom of society. Therefore, some people called Lu Lin's fleet 'The Beggars Fleet'.

And now the fleet member all felt proud that they had such an impressive pilot ship in their fleet.