PDLP Chapter 59 Letter
Chapter 59 Letter
Lin Xiu'e woke up before dawn.
She didn't turn on the light, but sat up in the dark, searching for her feet under the edge of the bed for a while before finally finding the pair of cloth shoes.
The heel of her shoe collapsed from her footsteps, but she was too lazy to pick it up. She shuffled to the window and pulled the curtains open a crack.
A layer of gray mist still covered the sea surface.
The seawater in the stone trough was half-drought, lapping against the hull of the boat with a muffled sound that carried from the shed all the way to the dormitory entrance.
Today is the day for Lao Zhou's sampan to have its groove cut. Qiu Changhai said the day before yesterday that she should cut the groove herself.
The light was on in the kitchen.
When she went in, Lao Fang was already squatting at the workshop entrance, smoking his first cigarette of the day. He threw the matchstick into the stone trough and it went out with a hiss.
She scooped the dough out of the basin. The sourdough had risen overnight and was soft and fluffy. If you poked it with your finger, it would leave a small indentation that slowly bounced back.
The dough is pushed out with the palm and pulled back with the knuckles, rolling back and forth on the work surface until smooth. It is then divided into small, evenly sized pieces and arranged on a bamboo mat.
She put the red bean buns into the steamer, covered it, wiped her hands with her apron, and walked to the stone trough.
Yesterday afternoon, Hong Xiaobing and Ashun pushed Old Zhou's sampan onto the raft. The bottom of the sampan was turned upside down, and the barnacles were cleaned, revealing the dark brown old slab underneath.
The two rotten boards have been removed, but the grooves are still there. The grooves need to be re-cut before the new boards are installed.
Lin Xiu'e squatted down and ran her fingers along the crack.
The crack ran from the bow to near the stern, curving almost a foot along the keel, with one bend close to the old rib.
She stopped at the bend and shone her flashlight to check the direction of the crack.
After confirming that there was no change compared to yesterday, I pulled my hand out of the crack.
Qiu Changhai slowly walked over from the asbestos-roofed shed, twirling two walnuts that had been polished to a glossy sheen in his hand.
He walked to the edge of the boat raft, but instead of squatting down, he stood beside it and placed the walnuts on the stone block next to him.
Lin Xiu'e took out a chisel from her tool bag; the blade gleamed with a dull, ethereal light in the morning glow.
This chisel was passed down to her by Qiu Changhai. She had used it for several years, and the handle was worn smooth by her palms. The wood grain was inlaid with indelible tung oil residue.
She positioned the chisel blade at the start of the crack, pressed her palm against the chisel handle, gripped the top of the chisel with her thumb, and pressed her thumb against the back of the chisel.
The hammer was raised and struck down with a loud thud. The rotten wood split open, and a piece of dark brown rotten wood peeled off along the grain and fell onto the gravel below the raft.
Qiu Changhai stood to the side, without any walnuts in his hand.
His eyes remained fixed on Lin Xiue's wrist.
The corner is right next to the old rib; if the chisel is angled in too much, it will damage the bone; if it's angled in too little, the rotten wood won't be cleaned properly.
Lin Xiu'e switched the chisel to her left hand, and with her right hand took out the old narrow-bladed chisel from the tool bag. She wedged the blade at the bend, gently twisted her wrist in an arc, and then struck down with the hammer.
The rotten wood was completely peeled off from the bend, with a smooth cut and not a single burr.
Qiu Changhai picked up the walnuts from the stone block and put them in his pocket.
The walnut gently bumped against my pocket.
When the sun rises as high as the mast.
After Lin Xiue finished chipping away at the last piece of rotten wood, she placed the chisel on her knees, wiped the blade with cotton yarn, stood up, took a step back, and looked at her work.
The groove is of uniform depth from beginning to end, with smooth transitions at bends, and the board is completely undamaged.
Old Zhou squatted beside the sampan, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the butt flattened from his teeth.
He stood up, walked to the side of the sampan, squatted down, touched the groove that Lin Xiu'e had just carved with her finger, and said, "Xiu'e, your skill is almost as good as your master's."
Lin Xiu'e wiped the chisel clean and put it back in the tool bag. She said that before embedding the new board, she should measure it with calipers and trace the curvature of the corners with a stone pencil before chiseling.
Qiu Changhai had already returned to the shed, leaving only the faint imprints of the two walnuts on the stone block.
Lin Xiu'e squatted down and began to install the new board. She had prepared the new board in advance, and measured its size three times with calipers so that it would fit perfectly.
Tear the hemp fibers evenly, stuff them one by one into the gaps, and then tamp them down firmly with a blunt chisel.
She had just mixed the tung oil putty that morning. After the first frost, the weather was cold and the oil was thick, so she added a little more than half a spoonful of tung oil. The ratio was just right. She spread it on the hemp fibers and smoothed it out.
After finishing the stitching, she stood up and slowly straightened up, supporting her back.
This action is exactly the same as Qiu Changhai's.
Jiang Haiping carried a jar of boiling water out of the workshop, squatted down at the workshop entrance, and placed the jar at his feet.
He had just heard the sound of a chisel striking wood in the workshop, and it was only slightly different in force from the rhythm that Qiu Changhai had used.
Lin Xiu'e put away her tools, walked over, took the jar from his hand, and took a sip.
Jiang Haiping said that she had stitched the seam more steadily than last month.
Lin Xiu'e returned the jar to him, saying that the turn was still a little off, the curve wasn't as smooth as Master Qiu's, and she would practice again next time.
In the morning, Jiang Haiping was organizing the training schedule in the workshop.
Ahai and Hong Xiaobing were at the dock repairing the gearbox of a government vessel.
Ding Haisheng and A Guang were welding and repairing the hull of the aquatic products company's transport ship in the welding area, while Lao Fang was squatting at the workshop entrance dismantling two water pumps that needed repair.
Around noon, someone suddenly called for Ping Ge'er's phone from the dock duty room.
Jiang Haiping put down the schedule and walked to the duty room. He picked up the receiver and heard Wang Cunzhi's voice on the other end. He said that the province had just issued a notice that the provincial fishing boat repair skills competition would be held in Yantai next spring. The competition items were similar to those of the year before last: main engine disassembly and assembly, fault diagnosis, welding, and caulking, with four individual items plus the team total score.
Director Sun's intention was for the service station's original staff to continue working: Lao Fang as the main engineer, Ding Haisheng as the welder, Lin Xiu'e as the seam lacing worker, A Hai as the troubleshooter, and A Guang as the substitute.
Jiang Haiping hung up the phone, walked back to the workshop, and told everyone the news.
Old Fang put the water pump casing on the ground, stood up, wiped his hands with cotton yarn, and said, "Let's have a competition. It's not like I haven't been to provincial competitions before."
Ah Hai squatted next to the gearbox, holding a torque wrench in his hand, saying that he needed to further strengthen the high-pressure oil circuit and return oil line this year in terms of fault diagnosis.
Lin Xiu'e had just finished suturing a seam, holding a basin of tung oil putty in her hand, and said that she won first place in suturing the seam two years ago, and she would win it again this year.
Ah Guang poked his head out from the old parts warehouse and said, "I'm still a substitute. Master Fang, does a substitute count as a team member?"
Old Fang said it counts; moving tools is a skill too.
That evening, Jiang Haiping sat on a stone stool at the workshop entrance and checked the training schedule that he hadn't finished organizing during the day.
Lin Xiu'e placed a bowl of fish ball soup on the stone stool next to him and sat down beside him.
Jiang Haiping folded up the schedule and put it in his pocket, then picked up the bowl and took a sip of soup.
In the kitchen, Lin Xiu'e put the bowls and chopsticks into the cupboard, took out the bag of salted duck eggs that Zhouzhou's mother had given her last time, cut two eggs, and placed them on the stone stool at the entrance of the workshop.
The yolk is oily, and the egg white is tender and white.
"The notice for the provincial-level skills competition has been issued; it will be held next spring."
Lin Xiu'e picked up a piece of salted duck egg, put it in her mouth, chewed it, and said that she had won first place the year before last.
The service station will definitely be busier this time next year. The refurbishment business is on track, several training courses have been held, and the new apprentices are gradually getting the hang of it.
Jiang Haiping put down his chopsticks and suddenly remembered the letter he had received that evening.
The letter was sent by Mr. Chen from Zhoushan. The words on the envelope were written with a brush, in a neat line: To Mr. Qiu Changhai, Moon Island Ship Service Station, Binhai County.
He put down his chopsticks, took the letter out of the drawer, and walked to the door of the asbestos-roofed shed.
Qiu Changhai was sitting at the doorway sharpening his chisel, the sandpaper scraping against the blade with a fine, even sound.
He handed over the letter, saying it was from Master Chen.
Qiu Changhai took the letter, opened the seal, and pulled out the letter paper.
I looked at it for a while under the light coming from the shed, then folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
"Old Chen said his apprentice will be transferred to the provincial ship inspection bureau in the second half of the year. He will inform the service station in advance if there are any revisions to the technical standards related to seam sealing in the province."
Qiu Changhai placed the letter on his lap and picked up the chisel to continue grinding.
The sandpaper made a soft, scratching sound as it rubbed against the blade.
Jiang Haiping squatted down next to him and said that once this path is cleared, when the province conducts employment registration in the future, sewing workers will have their own standards.
Lin Xiu'e poked her head out of the kitchen, still holding an apron in her hand. She had just ladled out the last bowl of fish ball soup from the pot, intending to wait for Qiu Changhai to finish sharpening the chisel before bringing it over.
In the distance, fishing lights dotted the sea, and the loquat tree in the service station courtyard gleamed a dark green under the moonlight.
Several more government vessels will be coming for maintenance tomorrow, and the teaching materials for the next training course will be ready soon.