The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 214 Propulsion System for Agricultural Support Ships

Finally, Sunday arrived, and Qian Jin finally had some free time.

But they have no free time.

He still has to go to the countryside.

It's been a while since I visited the Liu Family Production Team in Hongxing. That's a rear base we built ourselves, and it will play a big role when reform and opening up come along.

He rode a motorcycle to the countryside this time, with several long boxes strapped to the back seat.

The weather is great today. The sky was clear and blue from early this morning, like freshly dyed polyester fabric.

As he moved away from the city and closer to the Red Star Commune, the sun gradually rose higher.

The road surface was still steaming with bluish-white heat, and the yellow sand mixed with broken seashells was full of potholes, causing the motorcycle to bounce violently. He had to keep an eye on the box on the back seat from time to time.

The box contains precious items; we must not let them get bumped or scratched.

Poplar trees were planted in rows along the edge of the field, with half-green and half-yellow leaves hanging from their branches.

A motorcycle drove past the farmland when suddenly an old man shouted, "Hey! The real test is under the sickle..."

Qian Jin gripped the handlebars tightly and looked over with great interest; the cornfield was bustling with harvest.

A group of burly men arched their bronze backs like shrimp, slicing corn stalks diagonally along the base with sickles, the golden leaves rustling and swaying.

An old man shouted a work song, and strong men responded with their own. The corn stacks, bound together with straw ropes, were piled higher and higher, and the katydids in the ears of corn fluttered up and down.

This scene left Qian Jin speechless.

His story with the Liu family production team in Hongxing began around this time last year.

Around this time last year, he was also helping with the harvest of corn. He was so badly bruised by the corn leaves that he didn't dare take off his clothes. As a result, most of the strong men in the field were shirtless, which was quite impressive.

This year, without typhoons or torrential rains, production teams and brigades can slow down their autumn harvest.

One after another, large rubber-wheeled carts were transporting corn cobs and corn stalks to the production team.

An old ox pulls a cart, and a driver wearing a straw hat sits on the shaft; they all dress the same, regardless of which production team they're in.

His trousers were rolled up to his knees, revealing his calves covered in purple spots from mosquito and ant bites in the farmland.

The wheels rolled over the dirt road, and the golden corn cobs in the truck bed collided with each other, making a dry, rustling sound.

Money comes in and sometimes has to make way for others.

Amidst this scene of abundant harvest, he drove happily into the Hongxing Liujia production team.

On the threshing ground of the production team, the old team leader Liu Wangcai was leading the members to turn over and dry the newly harvested corn.

Qian Jin guessed that he was here, so he went straight to the threshing ground.

He saw Liu Wangcai from a great distance.

The old man seemed to have gotten younger after not seeing him for half a year.

His bronze face was still deeply etched with wrinkles, but he was in better shape. He walked with a powerful stride, his back straight, and he seemed more energetic, which made him appear younger.

The sound of a motorcycle came from afar, and Liu Wangcai, shading his eyes with his hand, looked over. His face gradually lit up with surprise: "Hey! It's the leader! Our Chief Qian is here!"

He turned and shouted to the other side of the threshing ground, "Youyu! Come here quickly! Chief Qian is here!"

Accountant Liu Youyu dropped his wooden shovel and ran over.

During the autumn harvest season, there are no cadres, only laborers.

At this moment, Liu Youyu's trouser legs were rolled up to his knees, his calves were covered in mud, and he had a towel draped over his shoulder, making him no different from the other strong laborers.

Qian Jin braced himself on the motorcycle and took off his sunglasses.

The autumn sun made him sweat, and a large patch of his white polyester shirt was soaked through: "Captain Liu, busy, huh?"

Liu Wangcai came up to us, grabbed the motorcycle, and laughed heartily: "How can we not be busy at a time like this? We're busy from morning till night, from day to night, busy without any distinction between morning and night or day and night."

Qian Jin said, "Oh, then I've come at the worst possible time."

"Nonsense, it's always a good time for you to come," Liu Youyu said. "We've missed you terribly these past few months since you last came."

Someone, leaning on the end of a wooden shovel handle, asked, "Boss, I heard from your buddies in the city that you went to work in a commune in Yuezhou County? You've gone to support agriculture again?"

Qian Jin said, "The child has no mother; it's a long story."

"Then take your time, go have some herbal tea and talk slowly." Liu Wangcai patted the dust off his clothes and beckoned him to the office.

Qian Jin rolled up his sleeves and said, "How about I help you with the work? We can talk while we work..."

“We don’t need your help this time.” Liu Wangcai insisted on dragging him away. “This year is a good year. The weather forecast says there won’t be any strong winds or heavy rains for the next ten days to half a month. Our production team can just take our time to finish the work in the fields.”

As they walked, Qian Jin told the two about his experience working in the countryside this year.

Occasionally, we would encounter commune members pushing small carts.

The women, wearing blue headscarves, greeted him warmly when they saw him.

Qian Jin responded, but as a result, he hadn't said much along the way, and he would be interrupted every now and then.

During harvest season, everyone is happy and everyone loves to talk.

The commune's supply and marketing cooperative salesman pushed his old-fashioned bicycle from the field ridge onto the dirt road in the production team's territory.

This is for autumn harvest cooling and heatstroke prevention work; to put it simply, they're here to sell popsicles.

There was a wooden box on the back of the bicycle, and the red slogan on the white box had faded from the sun.

Upon seeing this, Liu Youyu hurriedly took out some small change and bought a bunch of popsicles, rushing back to the office: "Let's go, let's have an ice cream to cool down."

While eating his popsicle, Qian Jin finally managed to finish explaining what had happened over the past six months.

Liu Wangcai listened intently, puffing on his pipe, his eyes narrowed. After listening, a broad smile spread across his face, stretching out his wrinkles.
"Good, good! You took down a corrupt official in Zidian Commune? Impressive, Chief Qian, you're a good cadre!"

Liu Youyu then focused on the key point: "Chief Qian, do we have to call you Director Qian now? You're really something, you've become the director of your unit's new department?"

"So, who has a higher rank now, you or Director Jiao from our commune's supply and marketing cooperative?" a member of the commune asked curiously while applying for farm tools in the office.

Qian Jin arrogantly said, "We're all serving the people, what's the difference between high and low official positions?"

Liu Youyu glared at the commune member: "You really can't understand human language."

“When Chief Qian went to Zidian Commune, he did the same job as Director Jiao. Now that he’s back in the city and been promoted, he’s definitely a higher-ranking official than Director Jiao, by a lot.”

Qian Jin smiled.

This is the truth.

Some commune members, seeing the box on the back of the motorcycle, asked curiously, "Boss, what good stuff did you bring back this time?"

Qian Jin said, "You won't believe how good this is. It's not grain this time, it's some foreign stuff that you've probably never seen before."

He threw away the popsicle stick, clapped his hands, went out to untie the ropes, and opened the first wooden box.

Inside lay a gleaming metal propeller, its blades shimmering coldly in the morning sunlight.

Opening the second box revealed a small marine propulsion unit, painted a striking orange-red.

Outboard propulsion!
Currently, there are no mechanized boats at the production team level; only the production brigade and commune's fleets use them.

In particular, the Hongxing Liujia production team has poor near-shore resources and does not rely on the ocean for their livelihood, so the higher authorities did not provide them with the qualification to purchase machinery and ships.

Even if they provided it, it wouldn't have mattered; they didn't have the spare money to buy a mechanical ship, as Qian Jin had already discovered before.

The fishing boats used in the production team, regardless of size, were still very primitive sailboats and man-made boats.

In this situation, it would be very necessary for him to send a marine outboard motor.

Although the Liu family production team in Hongxing did not have a mechanical oil tanker, Liu Wangcai, Liu Youyu, and others knew its value.

After all, the commune had a dock, where some ships began to be converted into initial-stage mechanical ships in the 1960s by installing outboard diesel engines.

They had seen outboard motors before, but never one this beautiful.

The machine is entirely black, without any special coating, but the black paint on the exterior is already striking enough.

This is an anti-corrosion and sun-protective paint, which can greatly extend the service life of the machine.

The office erupted in chaos.

Several people swarmed around him. Liu Wangcai carefully touched the iron thing with his rough hands and exclaimed, "It's a marine engine! It's a good thing, boss, this is definitely a good thing."

One of the commune members tried to touch the propeller, but Liu Youyu slapped him back.

He said, "Chief Qian, this machine looks really nice. How many horsepower is it?"

Qian Jin said, "Nine horsepower."

Several people exclaimed in surprise:

"Wow, this little guy has nine horsepower? That's really powerful."

"Nine horsepower, isn't that amazing? It can definitely power our team's biggest gourd basket."

"When are we going to give it a try? Let's see how strong this guy is."

Liu Wangcai shook his head and said, "It won't work. It can't carry the big melon basket. Look how small it is! The bottom of the big melon basket is so high. If we put it on, the propeller won't even touch the water!"

Qian Jin nodded: "Captain Liu knows his stuff."

The Dagualou is the largest of the local traditional fishing boats, and its official name is Dafengchuan (Big Wind Boat).

This type of boat is a large wooden sailing ship, powered by wind and oars, with a flat bottom and a flat bow, and has an outstanding range.

It has an excellent carrying capacity, starting at twenty tons and reaching fifty tons. In the past, during the Republic of China period, it often operated in the form of "mother ship leading child ships", and it was a large ship.

The marine outboard motor that Qian Jin brought was for small boats, just like the one Liu Wangcai mentioned. It had requirements on the height of the stern plate from the water surface; it wouldn't work if it exceeded half a meter.

Otherwise, the propeller won't be able to get into the water and won't be able to function.

Liu Youyu asked curiously, "Chief Qian, could this be new equipment from the Provincial Fisheries Bureau?"

Qian Jin patted the thruster: "No, it's a foreign gadget. Didn't I tell you? I work in the Foreign Investment Office now, so I have access to some foreign machinery first."

“I saw this machine in a foreign newspaper. It just so happened that some foreigners were selling these at a ghost market in Kaohsiung, so I bought them all at once. I brought them all over to you.”

Liu Wangcai was deeply moved: "Chief Qian, look at you, what can we say?"

"I know about your city's trip to the harbor to try your luck at the black market. That's risky. It's like going to the foreigners' black market to buy things. If you get caught, it's a serious matter."

Qian Jin laughed and said, "So you have to keep a close eye on these two machines for me. You can't show them off in a big way or cause a big fuss, otherwise the relevant authorities might investigate me."

Liu Youyu said excitedly, "Chief Qian, don't worry, we will definitely keep a close eye on this machine. From now on, a designated person will be in charge of using it. We won't let any commune members get close to it, and we certainly won't let anyone from other teams see it."

"With this installed, the small wooden boat can run at the speed of a motorboat, right?" a member asked curiously.

Qian Jin nodded.

This is natural.

Liu Youyu had already squatted down next to the box and started studying it.

His fingers deftly darted among the propeller parts: "Wow, what country is this brand from? It's really well made, much better than the machines I saw at the commune."

Liu Wangcai tentatively looked at Qian Jin: "This price..."

"You don't need to worry about the price. Consider it a loan to our production team. You can use it as you like, just remember to keep it a secret for me," Qian Jin said generously.

Liu Wangcai was overjoyed: "Then Chief Qian, don't worry, I will definitely keep it a secret, I will definitely keep it a secret."

"But something this good must be expensive, right? What if we break it?"

Qian Jin was full of nonsense: "It's alright, I'll find someone to fix it. This thing only has a few main parts, it's easy to repair."

"Also, Captain Liu, I'm not going to give this to you for free..."

"No problem, this can't be used for free. Are we supposed to pay rent?" Liu Wangcai asked, stroking the machine with a cheerful smile.

Qian Jin said, "No, it's because I need a batch of small seafood. I checked the calendar when I came here, and today is low tide, right?"

Liu Wangcai clapped his hands: "What do you mean by not using it for free? Boss, if you want seafood, just say so."

"You're right, today is low tide. Our team members went beachcombing early this morning, and every household found a lot of good stuff. What do you need? I'll go and get it for you!"

Qian Jin said, "I want everything, and I want a lot of everything."

"Didn't I just tell you? I'm now the director of the Foreign Investment Office, with about forty people under me. I'm planning to give them some seafood as employee benefits."

Liu Wangcai readily replied, "This is nothing! I'll arrange for more people to go beachcombing, and I'll bring you the freshest seafood when you leave!"

Qian Jin nodded: "That would be perfect."

"What are you all standing there for?" Liu Wangcai began to give orders to the people around him, "Organize everyone in the team who doesn't have to work, and get them all out to go beachcombing today."

"We've searched most of the mudflats in our team's area. Let's go somewhere else today and take a boat to Dragon Snake Island!"

"Dongning, go and drag Hongwei No. 1 over here. Let's give Hongwei No. 1 a boost!"

The strong and fit commune member readily agreed, "Okay, I'll go to tow the boat right away."

At Liu Wangcai's call, several commune members rushed towards the beach. Qian Jin was surrounded by them.

They ran to the beach, where several mottled wooden boats of the production team were quietly moored on the shallows. The tide was rising, and the small wooden boats were rocking back and forth.

Hongwei No. 1 is a single-sail fishing boat, which, as the name suggests, is a fishing boat equipped with a single sail. It has a simple structure, is flexible in operation, and is often used for daily fishing.

This ship is perfect for installing propulsion systems.

It is made of solid materials and can withstand high-speed sea travel. The stern plate is about 40 centimeters above the sea surface, which is also suitable for the operating environment of this 9-horsepower long-shaft propeller.

The propulsion system consists of two parts: the engine and the drive shaft.

The two parts together are 120 centimeters long, which looks quite small but is powerful.

The installation process went more smoothly than expected.

Liu Youyu, along with two commune members who had served in the military, quickly fixed the propeller to the stern of the boat, following Qian Jin's instructions.

They adopted a tilted placement posture.

This position has the advantage of raising the propeller and drive shaft, thus better protecting the components and preventing mechanical corrosion caused by scratching the ground or prolonged immersion in water.

When the propeller was installed, the crowd cheered.

"Want to give it a try?" Qian Jin handed the key to Liu Wangcai.

The old captain's hands were trembling slightly.

Fill the tank with diesel fuel and insert the key into the ignition switch.

The entire beach fell silent, and the villagers who had come to watch the excitement were all staring intently at Liu Wangcai's hands.

As the key was turned to start the engine, it immediately emitted a "putt-putt" roar.

Instantly, the propeller stirred up snow-white waves, and the Red Guard No. 1 wooden boat lurched forward like a horse that had been whipped.

"It's done!" Liu Youyu jumped up, his straw hat flying off.

He strode onto the boat and waved to the shore: "Chief Qian, come on up and give it a try!"

The villagers who were watching also wanted to go up.

But Liu Wangcai glared at them, extinguishing their restless hearts with his eyes.

Then Liu Wangcai boarded the ship, and he stroked the metal casing of the propulsion engine with his rough hands, as if he were stroking a fine horse.

Qian Jin, sitting on the boat, asked, "Can you pilot this thing?"

Liu Youyu pointed to a young man with a buzz cut: "Zong Hanghui, he served in the army, in the navy. After he came back, he became a militiaman in the commune and had to participate in training every year."

"Their training includes maritime training, which involves patrolling the sea in motorboats powered by outboard motors."

Zong Hang turned around, smiled and nodded, then said, "Hold on tight," and turned the throttle.

Immediately, the small wooden boat shot out like an arrow.

The crowd on the shore began to shrink instantly.

For safety reasons, Zong Hang steered the machine close to the coastline. After all, he was new to operating the machine and was worried about potential problems.

There is no danger in racing along the coastline in the near sea. The water is shallow and the waves are small. Even if the propeller malfunctions, there is no problem. We can just jump ship together. After all, it is near-shore waters and we can swim ashore in a few minutes.

People on the shore saw the fishing boats skimming along the coastline, and several children chased after them, splashing water everywhere.

The sea breeze swept over me, carrying a vibrant, salty scent.

Qian Jin's shirt fluttered in the wind, and his hair stood on end. Liu Wangcai gripped the gunwale tightly, a smile etched on his wrinkles: "Good heavens! This is much faster than those motorboats from the commune!"

The spray from the stern resembled a white ribbon stretching across the azure sea.

In the distance, several seagulls were startled and took flight, their cries drowned out by the roar of the engine.

Liu Youyu laughed like a child: "Great, great! Our production team has a motorboat now!"

Liu Wangcai was reluctant to waste diesel fuel. After testing it and finding no problems, he shouted to Zong Hang, "Go back, go back."

"Accountant, you organize a group of people for me, and then we'll take this boat to Dragon Snake Island."

"There aren't many people beachcombing on Dragon Snake Island, so there must be a lot of small goods piled up there. Let's try to get more for Captain Qian to take back!"

Liu Youyu, still wanting more, asked reluctantly, "This machine seems very stable to me, aren't we going to go to the deep sea?"

Liu Wangcai glared at him: "What are you going to the deep sea for? To burn diesel fuel for fun?"

Liu Youyu chuckled: "Let's try out the fishing nets, see how it goes with this boat for fishing!"

"Almost there!" Zong Hang shouted excitedly.

Liu Wangcai said, "Did we bring a fishing net? You two are talking nonsense. Go back, go back right now!"

Liu Youyu reached out to touch the seawater.

The fishing boat sped by, and the seawater slapped his hands and arms until they ached.

But he didn't feel uncomfortable at all, and kept chuckling.

This unique experience thrilled him.

Liu Wangcai was embarrassed by his childish behavior: "Hurry up and put your hands up, today is your day to play in the water."

"Go back and bring people and nets. First, send people to Dragon Snake Island. Then, Zonghang, you take people to try out the nets and see what happens when you combine the speedboat with the nets."

Upon hearing this, Liu Youyu was overjoyed: "Yes, yes, it's definitely going to happen!"

Longshe Island is located southeast of Hongxing Commune, about 20 to 30 nautical miles from the nearest sea.

Local fishermen avoid the island, and the reason is related to its name:
Dragon and Snake Island.

There are many snakes on this island.

It is one of the few snake islands in China's waters.

The snakes on Dragon Snake Island are sea snakes.

Fishermen know that all sea snakes are highly venomous, and if one is bitten, one can simply be buried at sea.

Furthermore, there are many small islands scattered in the waters near Longshe Island, and the underwater environment is complex and dangerous.

The waters here are constantly turbulent with undercurrents and strong currents, which fishermen call the Turbulent Sea.

Even experienced fishermen, often referred to as "water ghosts," cannot fathom the turbulent waters of the sea, and their vessels frequently run aground or capsize when navigating these waters.

Therefore, the locals are taught from a young age to stay far away from Dragon Snake Island.

So much so that there's even a local rhyme:

Once you reach Dragon Snake Beach, you enter the King of Hell's palace; once you cross Dragon Snake Island, you'll find corpses at the bottom of the sea.

Because the island is dangerous and the sea conditions are complex, and most importantly, it is too far from the sea, no fishermen usually go to the island.

Although the local fishermen all know that Longshe Island is a treasure island for beachcombing.

How much can you gain from beachcombing?
It's not worth traveling 20 or 30 nautical miles just to go to the beach. You have to understand that without a motorboat, it would take half a day to travel 20 or 30 nautical miles in a rowboat.

Half a day to go and half a day to come back, all the time and energy is wasted on the road!
Compared to the harvest from beachcombing, this is definitely not worth the effort, so fishermen are unwilling to do it.

Qian Jin didn't want Liu Wangcai to do that either: "Is this island dangerous? Then don't go. I can just get some seafood. There's no need to take the risk."

Liu Wangcai chuckled: "What's the risk? No risk at all!"

"Why not take the risk?" Qian Jin asked worriedly. "There are sea snakes on that island..."

“Sea snakes are the best. They are actually quite docile. As long as you don’t bother them, they won’t attack you even if you just walk right past them,” Liu Wangcai explained.

Qian Jin said, "The problem is, as you said, the sea conditions near Longshe Island are complicated."

Liu Wangcai laughed heartily: "How complicated can it be? Can it be more complicated than this machine? Let me tell you, it's nothing. Our ancestors have been making a living on this sea for generations. We've figured out even the most complicated sea conditions."

"We didn't go to Longshe Island before for one reason: there were no motorboats, and it was inconvenient to get to the island by rowing or sailing, as it was too far."

Liu Youyu also reassured Qian Jin: "Don't worry, we've actually been to Longshe Island before, especially during famine years. We would go to the island every few days to find some food and drink."

"Back then, we almost wiped out all the sea snakes. The government used them for medicinal purposes."

"Also, you absolutely have to go to Dragon Snake Island, because there's a Razor Clam King Beach there. You've eaten razor clams before, right? They're top-quality. Today, our team is going to focus on catching razor clams."

"If you're going to give your men some perks, razor clams are the perfect choice. Crabs and shrimp are common, but razor clams are different. They're a rare find in your city!"

This is the truth.

Many people only know about razor clams but not about the king of razor clams.

The king razor clam looks like a razor clam, but it is much larger. In some places, it is called the giant bamboo razor clam.

It is large in size, with particularly well-developed foot muscles, and has an extremely delicious taste.

Mature razor clams are longer and thicker than a man's middle finger, making them incredibly satisfying to eat. They also have medicinal value.

Since ancient times, razor clams have been a precious seafood product, and some have even been served at state banquets!

After hearing the introductions from Liu Wangcai, Liu Youyu, and others, Qian Jincai felt relieved.

The other thruster was carefully stored in the warehouse and is not planned to be used for the time being.

Liu Wangcai wanted to test one machine first, and then increase the scale of the motorboats once he had fully mastered the technology of operating the propeller.

Hongwei-1 was carrying 20 people.

Liu Wangcai personally selected people, all of whom were women with exceptional beachcombing skills. He also arranged for elderly men and women who did not work to collect various seafood on the production team's coastline.

Qian Jin then boarded the ship.

Liu Wangcai also wanted to test the catch of fishing with nets cast by the speedboat; he was going to bring money with him to fish at sea today.

Zong Hang was still steering the boat. Liu Youyu, who was standing at the stern with a few people, almost stumbled, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

The laughter was quickly carried away by the sea breeze and disappeared into the boundless blue sky.

Amidst laughter, Hongwei-1 plunged into the ocean, braving the wind and waves, and quickly moved away from the coastline.

Qian Jin looked back and saw that the crowd of people seeing him off on the boat had quickly turned into black dots.

More than half an hour later, an island came into view.

The women on board had by then gotten used to the motorboat, and they began to marvel at its speed:
"These diesel-powered cars are really faster than us cornbread-eating ones..."

"Wow, we've arrived at Dragon Snake Island? It's only been a short while, and we're here in a flash! Amazing..."

"This boat is going too fast, Erbang's mom, help me, I'm getting seasick..."

Longshe Island is a large island, with a land area of ​​over a hundred acres.

The island has mountains, and the mountains are covered with dense forests, where countless snakes lurk in the forests and crevices of the rocks.

Despite the old captain's casual tone, he remained cautious when actually landing on the island.

"Yu, keep a close eye on them, and watch your step carefully so you don't step on a sea snake!"

Liu Youyu, who was in charge of leading the team, said loudly, "Captain, don't worry, I won't do anything, I'll just keep an eye on the feet of our commune members."

“Actually, there are generally no sea snakes in mudflats; they don’t like to wallow in the mud,” Zong Hang said.

Qian Jin said, "Anyway, we have to be careful. The same number of us who came must go back safely!"

After dropping people off the boat, the motorboat still had to go out to work.

The sea conditions near Longshe Island are complex, with many undercurrents beneath the surface, which makes for a good catch.

The motorboat carried various nets.

Liu Wangcai took a deep breath and stood at the stern of the boat to personally cast the net.

He used the most common trawl nets used by fishermen when they go out to sea, which are best deployed by two boats together.

However, a boat can also use trawls for fishing, but the operation is more complicated, it is more laborious to haul in the net, and the catch is less.

Qian Jin was originally prepared to watch the show.

As a result, Liu Wangcai called out to him, "Chief Qian, come and lend a hand."

Zong Hang temporarily shut down the thrusters and stood up. He asked, "Grandpa, can the three of us manage?"

Liu Wangcai laughed and said, "It will definitely work. I've cast this fishing net by myself before, no problem!"

Qian Jin felt that these words were like those of an old general on a theatrical stage, with flags stuck all over his back.

However, he was not a fisherman and did not know the tricks of fishing at sea, so he did not bother to explain.

He does whatever the big shot tells him to do.

Follow the expert's instructions.

(End of this chapter)