Once he reached the main road on his bicycle, Ye Yaodong picked up speed.
He had not brought his fair-weather friends along today, so there was no one to distract him and no dead weight. The ride was exceptionally peaceful. Though it was a little boring, he rode faster, reaching the shipyard in only about an hour.
It happened to be quitting time. When he arrived, the factory workers were filing out, presumably heading home to eat. The old man at the gate was about to lock up, so he hurried over and explained why he had come.
The old man recognized him and knew he had ordered a boat there, so he simply let him in.
There was no one to attend to him at this hour, though. Only the old gatekeeper followed behind him, eating from a lunch box he had brought, so he started looking around on his own.
The twenty-six-meter boat already looked quite far along. It seemed all it needed was paint and the installation of its machinery and equipment.
Though the cabin above had not been painted, and the welded construction looked rather crude and unattractive, it really was quite spacious. Two sets of bunk beds had been welded inside, leaving only a passage wide enough for one person between them. It was no different from the boats he had been aboard.
It was only a place to sleep. Somewhere to lie down was enough. People who drifted about at sea hardly cared about such things.
An even larger fish hold had been left below, with room for several thousand jin of catch without any trouble.
He circled the boat, then climbed aboard to inspect it carefully, confirming that the main structure was nearly finished. Only the machinery and equipment remained to be installed