157: Chapter 157 Draw Lottery to Set Sail

"Ten million? Are you talking about RMB?" President Wang was instantly shocked. One had to know that in Huaguo, ten million could buy ten brand-new medium-sized fishing boats.

I'll pay five million before we depart tomorrow, and the remaining balance will be settled when the ships return in half a month. President Wang, what do you think? Is that okay?

"Is it okay? It's more than okay! With conditions this good, even I want to go fishing." President Wang danced with joy, looking exactly like an old prankster.

"Alright then, gather the participating fishermen here tomorrow morning. I'll discuss the sailing plan with everyone."

Zhang Wei and President Wang signed a lease agreement. Seeing that things were settled, Zhang Wei rushed back to the hotel without stopping.

He intended to accompany the fishing boats on this voyage. Since signals in the open sea were intermittent, Zhang Wei worried about losing contact with the country, so he needed to hurry and explain the tasks clearly to An Xiaoxi.

Back at the hotel, Zhang Wei took a quick shower. In Hainan during January, he had just taken a casual walk outside and ended up drenched in sweat. He had to admit that Hainan was truly a great place to spend the winter.

"Student An, I miss you so much here in Hainan~" Zhang Wei rarely acted silly toward the camera.

"Ugh, can you not be so disgusting?" An Xiaoxi looked at him with disdain.

"Speak up if you have something to say. I'm busy fixing bugs on the sales platform. Lately, someone has been trying to hack into our company system. Once I'm done, I'm definitely going to drag them out."

Zhang Wei immediately became serious: "Has the company suffered any losses? If not, ask Officer Zuo for help. Hacking is an illegal act; have her send over a couple of cyber police officers to investigate."

An Xiaoxi looked relaxed: "Don't worry, I can handle this kind of small fry with one hand. Besides, I've hacked plenty of others myself; calling the cyber police would be like being a sore loser."

"Tell me, what exactly do you need me for?"

"Can you help me look online? I urgently need a fanatical patriot from the Philippines."

"Are you sure? I remember they are all pro-American over there. Finding a patriot might not be easy, right?"

Zhang Wei slapped his forehead: "I didn't make myself clear. Not someone patriotic toward our Huaguo. A fanatical Filipino patriot. If there really aren't any, someone extremely anti-Huaguo will also do."

"Are you sure?" An Xiaoxi was bewildered. Soon, she became excited. Zhang Wei wasn't Liu Haorui; if he was doing this, he must be plotting against someone again.

The two conspired for a long time. After Zhang Wei hung up the phone, he drove to the city to do some shopping.

He needed to buy essentials like a windbreaker for tomorrow's voyage. He also spent over twenty thousand yuan on a carbon fiber fishing rod, planning to fish to pass the time when things got boring at sea.

The next day arrived quickly. Zhang Wei checked the intelligence system. Two ordinary pieces of information about finding bargains appeared, along with a newly refreshed location of an ancient shipwreck in the deep sea.

He couldn't help but marvel that as a major route of the Maritime Silk Road, Hainan's shipwreck treasures were indeed abundant. He silently noted the coordinates, waiting to assemble a salvage fleet in the future to unlock these millennial treasures.

When Zhang Wei arrived at the entrance of the Fishery Association, over a hundred people had already gathered. Everyone looked at him with eager eyes.

President Wang walked out from the crowd: "Boss Zhang, you've finally arrived. If you hadn't shown up, I would have called the police."

"President Wang, what's the situation? Did you mistreat the fishermen and cause them to go on strike?"

President Wang hurriedly waved his hands: "You can't just say things like that. These are all the leaders of the local fishing boats. They heard the news yesterday that you wanted to charter boats to go to sea, so they all rushed here wanting to participate."

Being a fisherman was a typical profession where one relied on the heavens for food. With good luck, you'd find a school of fish and fill the hold. With bad luck, you'd be out for days and only catch two or three small fish. Especially for boat owners, fuel, labor, and maintenance costs were all their own responsibility. The risk of losing money was high.

But Zhang Wei's job not only offered generous compensation but also had no requirements for the catch. If President Wang hadn't sworn that he was a big boss, the fishermen might have even thought such a high amount was a scam.

That was why so many people had gathered today, all wanting to snag this deal.

Zhang Wei scratched his head: "I only need 15 boats. How about we hold a lucky draw on the spot?"

President Wang nodded; he had the same idea. He took a suggestion box to serve as a temporary lottery box. He then cut slips of paper, wrote numbers on them, and put them inside. The fishermen lined up and reached into the suggestion box to feel around.

Over a hundred people surrounding a suggestion box was an extremely comical scene. From a distance, someone who didn't know better might have thought the fishermen were filing a collective report.

Soon, fifteen lucky winners were born. The fishermen who drew the lots were taken to the association's large conference room, where Zhang Wei assigned them today's mission.

"It will be hard work for everyone over the next half month. Our mission this time is very simple." Zhang Wei drew a point on the nautical chart on the wall: "The target is right here. We won't return to port for half a month. Everyone, hurry back and prepare your fuel and living supplies. We depart this evening."

After speaking, he directly transferred five million to President Wang: "I'll trouble you to distribute the money for me. See you at the pier this afternoon."

President Wang showed his phone to everyone. Seeing that there was no problem with the payment, everyone scurried back to prepare.

Zhang Wei went to the pier for lunch and communicated with An Xiaoxi about the progress of the plan. Afternoon arrived quickly.

The pier was bustling with activity. President Wang had cleared a specific berth. Fifteen fishing boats were docked side by side. Next to them was a yacht—the same one Zhang Wei had used to harvest the nanyang white pearls last time.

Considering the simple living conditions on fishing boats, Zhang Wei didn't plan to suffer at sea for half a month. So, he called the previous boat owner and chartered the yacht for the period.

After coordinating the radio channels, the fleet set off grandly. With the speed of the fishing boats, the 50-nautical-mile distance would take at most two hours to cover.

The weather today was very cooperative. The sky was clear for thousands of miles, seagulls soared in the sky, and the azure sea water churned with waves, making one feel refreshed and relaxed.

They soon reached the designated sea area. The boats spread out at a certain distance, and the fishermen skillfully dropped their anchors. Once fixed, the ships were no longer affected by the currents.

"I'll say the harsh words first. For these two weeks, everyone is to stay fixed in this position to fish. If I find anyone leaving the designated area, they won't be getting the final payment.

Additionally, every half hour, one random fishing boat should perform a radar scan. If there are no issues, everyone can cast their nets and start fishing."

The fishermen, who had been fishing for half their lives, had never heard such a bizarre request. Usually, they would finish fishing in one spot and immediately move to another. However, since the financier had spoken and it wasn't an unreasonable request, they couldn't say much.

As the nets were cast one by one, Zhang Wei set up a lounge chair on the yacht and lazily basked in the sun.

Five hundred kilometers away at the Camilo Osias Naval Base, it was a scene of busy activity.

Vice Admiral Jericho frowned as he looked at the light blips on the radar.

Just now, the radar showed that a large number of ship signals had appeared in the waters directly above where the unmanned nuclear submarine was trapped. This undoubtedly disrupted the planned rescue operation.