Chapter 1348
This peculiar request must be fulfilled!
When Li Long arrived at the Agricultural Broadcasting School, Principal Yang was talking to a guest. When the guest saw Li Long drive over, he quickly said a few words to Principal Yang and then rode away on his motorcycle.
As Li Long approached, Principal Yang complained, "This place has absolutely no secrets. I just talked to you about the land contracting this morning, and this afternoon someone came to ask me to contract this land."
Li Long pointed to the figure riding away on a motorcycle and asked, "Him? He's here to contract those two experimental fields?"
“Yes,” Principal Yang said. “He said he would give me fifty yuan per mu per year for a five-year lease.”
Li Long joked, "If there's money to be made, why wouldn't you agree?"
“I’ll just accept my promise,” Principal Yang said, glaring at him. “If he takes over the contract, he definitely won’t be able to grow drip-irrigated cotton. What am I supposed to show Professor Yang if he suddenly decides to come and see the experimental field?”
I told you this morning that this drip-irrigated cotton is only profitable for you to grow. I heard you set up a drip irrigation tape processing plant, but most people can't afford that stuff.
In addition, since you participated in that support project, the government has invested some money in you, which can save you a lot of expenses.
"Regarding this, I think if you don't handle it properly, you might not even make any money. He might have a lower contract fee, but the bulk of the profit—the drip irrigation tape—he won't get at cost price, so he'll definitely mess it up in the end."
Li Long smiled. Principal Yang was still very clear-headed and wouldn't be blinded by short-term gains.
The two people went into the office and signed an agreement for the projects they had agreed on beforehand, in duplicate. At this point, no one would think about notarizing it; there was no need for it.
“I will hand this land over to you after the cotton harvest this year,” Principal Yang said. “Although I really hope you can make money from this land, at least in my opinion, it would be good enough if you can break even.”
Li Long smiled and said, holding the agreement, "Don't worry, I have a way of handling this."
Principal Yang didn't ask any further questions and took Li Long to see the land.
Some trainees are already topping the cotton fields. The cotton fields on the two plots are still clearly distinct; the one without drip irrigation isn't growing as well as the one on this side, but overall, it's still doing well compared to ordinary cotton fields.
Li Long sighed, "Even with further improvements, the cotton grown on this fertile land is still better than the cotton grown on my saline-alkali land."
Principal Yang was a little unhappy and said, "It's not just because of the land. We are an agricultural extension school after all, and we have the technical reserves. If we can't grow crops well, then the vast majority of people in the whole township can't grow them well either."
"Yes, yes, you guys are really good at it," Li Long said with a smile. "Not only are you good at farming, but you can also train people."
Principal Yang nodded in satisfaction.
Li Long had only come to check on things, and he noticed that the trainees were being rather cautious with the topping. Ten acres was fine, but for the cooperative's more than a thousand acres, the efficiency would be far too slow.
Although he knew that there were medicines in later generations that could directly stop cotton from growing taller during this period, which was much better than medicines like mepiquat chloride, he didn't know the ingredients, so it was all for naught.
Forget it, let's just let the researchers do their work and focus on what we can control.
Li Long drove to the fourth team and went directly to the cooperative's field.
Several vehicles were parked at the edge of the field, and Xie Yundong and his men were lined up in the field, threshing the cotton.
The cotton is growing well; most of it has grown to waist height, so you don't need to bend over to pluck it. Fast people can pluck it while running, which is very quick.
Speed doesn't necessarily mean efficiency, so Liang Dacheng, who was checking from the back, shouted loudly to the fast runners to pay more attention and even called them back to check the cotton bolls that had been missed.
These unharvested cotton bolls will become visible after a while, when the other cotton bolls that have had their heads harvested stop growing taller. The cooperative will then have to organize people to harvest them again.
This happens every year; it's quite troublesome.
But there's no way around it; with manual topping and large cotton fields, this situation will always occur.
Li Long just glanced at it and didn't pay any attention to it. He then went to check on the completed pump house, filter pool, and branch canals; everything was in place.
However, the pump room has not been installed yet, so it is not necessary for the time being. Li Long's idea is to install it when planting begins next year, so that the machine will not suffer any losses due to being idle.
After watching, Li Long returned. When he passed by Lao Ma Hao, Yang Lao Liu was herding sheep back. When he saw Li Long's car, he hurriedly called him back.
Li Long parked the car on the side of the road, got out, and asked Yang Laoliu what was going on. Yang Laoliu angrily replied:
"Damn it, those shameless bastards went fishing in the small lake without even helping to watch the water. When I was herding sheep, I saw some people acting suspiciously, so I went over to check and found that someone was electrofishing on the south side."
Those fishermen must have noticed long ago, but damn it, not a single one of them stopped them. We can't let those scoundrels fish for free anymore; they're awful!
As he spoke, he pointed to Li Long's spoils: an electric fishing device made from a car battery and a bag of fish filled with urea.
"Did they get away?" Li Long asked.
"He got away. That guy is really cunning. He knew he couldn't outrun me on the road, so he just pulled the battery cable and went into the water."
When I saw him, he had already finished electrofishing and was about to leave. He ran into the water, and I waited for a while but he didn't come out, so I took the battery and the fish back.
Then Yang Laoliu pointed to the fish and said, "Put this fish here for now. Don't leave. We'll clean the fish later, and you can take the gutted fish back and cook it."
Li Long walked up to the urea bag, squatted down, and said while opening the bag, "Hey! Do you expect me to peel the fish before I take it back? If you do that, my dad will beat me with his shoe if I take it back!"
Yang Laoliu chuckled.
Li Long saw that the urea bag contained all sorts of fish. There were carp and silver carp weighing up to a kilogram, crucian carp the size of a palm, and pike the length of half a chopstick, but none of them were moving.
“This guy’s really ruthless,” Li Long said, standing up. “I’ll grab a bag, pack some up, and stew them.”
"Take whatever you want, you can have it all," Yang Laoliu said generously. "After all, they were fish caught in your little lake. By the way, what about this battery?"
“Let’s leave it here for now,” Li Long said. “It should be a car battery. We’ll see who can use it in their car and pay them to take it. These things aren’t cheap.”
He went to get a bag and filled it with two or three kilograms of crucian carp. Yang Laoliu said he had filled it too little, but he said that enough was fine. At this time of year, the point of eating fish is to enjoy its freshness. Any more than that and it wouldn't taste good if left out.
Yang Laoliu didn't say anything more, but called for Uncle Luo and the others to come and help, as he still needed to drive the cattle and sheep back into the pen.
On his way back, Li Long pondered that the person who fished with electricity must have known about Xiao Haizi's situation, otherwise he wouldn't have run away when Yang Laoliu came to chase after him.
Since they weren't locals, they couldn't possibly know that Xiaohaizi was contracted out. Most of the fishermen were unaware of this and thought it was a public reservoir.
Li Long returned to the courtyard, got out of the car, and quickly carried the fish to the well to prepare them. Gu Xiaoxia was already cooking. Seeing Li Long preparing the fish, she asked, "Dad, are you going to stew it tonight?"
"Let's stew it," Li Long said. "The fish is still fresh, so let's enjoy it while it's fresh. It won't taste as good tomorrow."
Gu Xiaoxia said, "That's right, you and Dad can have a drink tonight. By the way, Xiaofang is on holiday and came back this afternoon. She went to the cannery."
After Han Fang started school, she would come back every week or two. In Li Long's eyes, there were changes almost every time she came back.
When I was in middle school, I felt that Han Fang was still a little girl, but now she looks like a teacher.
Although still immature, he already has a certain air about him.
It might be related to the major I studied.
"That's good. By the way, Juan seems to be arriving soon," Li Long said. "In the next couple of days, I think."
"Hey, that's great!" Gu Xiaoxia laughed. "Juan's all grown up now, and college students... time flies, a year has passed in the blink of an eye!"
Li Juan got off the train, carrying her luggage, and avoided the bustling crowds, heading straight for the August 1st Guesthouse.
Although she was still a little hungry, she didn't want to eat there; instead, she wanted to get back to the county as soon as possible.
At this time, there is a bus to Ma County every half hour in the backyard of the guesthouse. You don't need to buy a ticket at the ticket office. Someone will collect the money after you get on the bus.
She didn't have much luggage. Ever since her parents scolded her for bringing a lot of Beijing specialties home during winter vacation, Li Juan knew that her family didn't need those things, and that going home lightly was the most important thing.
After getting on the bus, she took a book out of her bag and placed it on her seat, then put her bag on the luggage rack.
She sat in the third row, on the left by the window. There weren't many people on the bus, except for a man and a woman sitting at the very back, talking quietly.
Li Juan thought to herself, "You're all sitting here comfortably now. You'll soon find out how 'comfortable' it is to sit in the last row. You'll experience all the ditches and potholes along the way most intensely from there."
The book she was holding was the middle volume of "Ordinary World." Some of her classmates read Qiong Yao's works, some read Xi Murong's, and others read Sanmao's, Wang Guozhen's, and Mo Yan's.
Li Juan had read some of them, but in the end she read "Ordinary World" because she felt that some of the content was similar to her own life, both of which involved living a hard-working life in an ordinary rural area.
Someone sat down next to her, but Li Juan ignored them, engrossed in her book and not wanting to be disturbed.
A young man next to her looked at Li Juan and tried to greet her. He even took out some pears and melons from his bag to share with her, but Li Juan refused.
As the bus pulled into the station, Li Juan packed her books into her bag and got off. The young man was about to come up and say hello, but then he saw Li Juan get into a car and leave.
He was somewhat disappointed.
We're not on the same wavelength.
Li Long picked up Li Juan, first went to the purchasing station to pick up his father, and asked Sun Jiaqiang to temporarily take charge of the purchasing. Then he went to the courtyard to pick up Gu Xiaoxia and headed to the fourth team.
Team Four had already received the news and was preparing delicious food.
"Hey, this place is still the best." Li Juan breathed a sigh of relief in the car and said to Gu Xiaoxia next to her, "Auntie, let me tell you, although Yanjing is a more prosperous city, it just doesn't feel like the place for me."
“If you’re not comfortable staying here, come back after graduation,” Li Long said as he drove. “With your qualifications, you should be able to find a place to work easily in Wucheng.”
Li Juan smiled but didn't say anything.
When the car arrived at the Li family's house, Li Qiang rushed out first with Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin. By the time Li Juan got out, Hongqin had already pounced on her, and Mingming and Haohao also surrounded her. Li Qiang came from behind, but was the first to take his sister's bag.
Mingming said loudly, "Big sister, we specially caught some fish for you today, and it's already cooked in the pot. It smells delicious!"
Hao Hao chimed in, "That's right, that's right, you should eat more later!"
Hongqin wanted to say something, but ultimately she didn't.
Du Chunfang sat in the courtyard, muttering to herself, "Those two boys are really fearless. I wonder who they took after..."
Under normal circumstances, after not seeing each other for a semester, Li Qiang and Hong Qin's behavior was normal. Although they wanted to get closer, they still felt a sense of unfamiliarity after not seeing each other for so long.
These two kids have absolutely none.
Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei appeared calm, but they were actually very excited. When Li Juan called out "Mom and Dad," they responded repeatedly, their smiles never fading.
That day, the Li family was bustling with activity, and everyone had a happy smile on their face.
Some people in the village heard the news and came to the Li family's gate, but they just came over to say hello and left.
I understand everything I understand.
The next day, Li Juan went to the county and met with Han Fang. The two girls chatted for a long time. Although one was from a teachers' college and the other from a university, their relationship was still there, and they had a lot to talk about.
Li Long received Liu Shanmin's call at the purchasing station.
Liu Shanmin told Li Long several things over the phone.
"Regarding that expert you mentioned, I inquired about it, and you know what? There are actually people who want to go there, but they have their own conditions."
"What are your conditions? Tell me," Li Long said. "You're not asking for an exorbitant salary, are you?"
"No, no, it's still the Soviet era, after all. Although everyone knows that the Soviet Union is about to collapse, as long as the Kazakh Republic doesn't secede, the Soviet Union's structure is still intact."
Indeed, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic was the last constituent republic to declare its secession from the Soviet Union, which can be considered as doing everything it could.
Of course, even though it was the last to secede, it was still a founding member when the CIS was established.
There's no way around it; the country is large, and although it faces numerous internal conflicts and difficulties, its foundation remains intact.
"What are the conditions?" Li Long asked. "If we need a translator, I think we should be able to find one, but he has to have real skills."
"This is an expert, a real expert! He's a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, specializing in oil and gas chemical research."
This person speaks Chinese, studied in our country, and participated in exchange programs for a period of time; ordinary communication is no problem. He wanted to leave because Almaty is in chaos right now, and he couldn't stand it, so he resigned and stayed home.
"What do you dislike?" Li Long asked. "Do you dislike the current chaos, or the current Soviet Union?"
If you can invite a top expert in oil and gas research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, what's so special about that?
A huge Bodhisattva statue in a small temple? That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?
“He can’t stand them,” Liu Shanmin said, “and he can’t stand people like me either. Of course, in his eyes, things are a bit better on our side, so his requirement is that if he comes to your side, you have to find him a Party branch so he can participate in Party activities!”
Li Long was speechless at that moment.
This kind of person, well, he deserves respect.
For the sake of their beliefs, they would rather go abroad than stay in their own country. Is it because they don't want to see the banner of socialism fall?
But the situation in China is also very complicated right now. If he comes, will he be disappointed?
“Let me tell you, although he’s not the most authoritative figure in this field in Kazakhstan, his abilities are definitely not a problem,” Liu Shanmin said. “If you’re interested, I’ll send him over to you, and I’ll take care of all the paperwork.”
Li Long immediately said, "Of course I want it. How could I not want such a capable person? I'm just afraid he'll think my place is too small."
"Don't worry, they don't care about salary and benefits, that's all they mentioned. By the way, can you handle it?"
"That's definitely no problem," Li Long said, forcing a smile. "Don't worry!"
Although he is not a party member now, I think the community party branch near the oil refinery would not refuse the request of such an old party member.
Coordination is definitely needed, but Li Long thinks it shouldn't be a big problem.
A truly exceptional talent!
Oil refining is not something anyone can do.
To be honest, what my second brother Li Anguo was doing was just the most basic refining. Li Long also knew that if refined, oil could produce many good things, but right now it was just a waste.
If we really bring over a top expert and a set of good equipment, we might be able to set up the chemical plant's framework ahead of schedule.
Of course, let's take it one step at a time.
The second thing Liu Shanmin mentioned was that he had acquired a medium-sized oil field in the west. Of course, the oil field's production has basically stopped at present, with aging equipment and staff losses. It needs to be reorganized before it can be put into production.
“I thought I was pretty rich,” Liu Shanmin said with emotion. “But when I went to look for oil fields after listening to you, I realized that the little money I had wasn’t even a fraction of what others had.
At this point, some established European companies had already started extending their reach. I was far inferior to them, so I didn't touch those large oil fields. I found some that seemed promising, and while everyone else's attention was still focused on the large oil fields, I secured them first.
Actually, he was being a bit modest. Although he didn't have enough money, he had plenty of connections. Over the years, by using scarce resources, he had made many connections with powerful and influential people in Almaty.
Although some people disappeared during this transformation, many others still hold high positions and even wield greater power.
That's why he was able to acquire control of a medium-sized oil field with relatively little capital.
Otherwise, it really wouldn't be his turn.
After several years of investment, it has finally paid off.
Li Long vaguely remembered that a few years later, Kazakhstan seemed to have discovered another large oil field, but he couldn't remember the name or location.
After all, he couldn't possibly remember everything from his previous life; he only had a vague impression of it.
This is all thanks to short videos and smartphones; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to get so much information.
However, having an oil field now is already quite good.
"As for the crude oil you need, I can bring it over for you on this trip," Liu Shanmin said. "However, the quantity won't be large in the short term. Once I've cleaned up and restarted my oil field, I can supply you as much as you need."
"It's settled then. As long as you have enough capacity, I'll take as much as you have!"
From the founding of the People's Republic of China until two or three decades later, China has always imported crude oil from abroad. As long as the oil price was relatively reasonable, it really imported as much as it could.
"This oil field is mine. Since you want to invest, I won't treat you unfairly. You don't need to invest any money. How about 10%? Any more than that, I can't just give it to you for free. You'll need to spend money, and it will be in US dollars."
The main issue is that although some people here are already discussing privatization, many still prefer to cooperate with large European and American companies.
Those who advocate for land privatization fundamentally oppose foreign contracting. "If you want a larger share, another 10% will do; it'll cost at least half a million dollars."
Li Long was genuinely tempted by the offer of $500,000 for a 10% stake in an oil field.
Over the years, he has earned millions of dollars through sugar, canned cement, and other products, which he has kept sitting in his hands without spending them; they are practically worthless.
If you spend your money here, at least you'll have a decent place to go.
As for whether or not Liu Shanmin is trusted, there's no need to even discuss it. If they didn't trust each other, the deal between them wouldn't have been possible at all.
Moreover, almost all of Li Long's current dollars were earned through the other party, and the profits were several times higher than in ordinary transactions. Li Long felt that it was no problem to sell them to him in exchange for shares in the oil field.
As for what Liu Shanmin said about Kazakhstan's policies, Li Long understood them quite well. For a considerable period of time, many Central Asian countries admired Europe and America, just like those in our country who fawn over foreigners.
After all, Europe and America have dominated the world's development for a considerable period of time.
Even though China has developed, some people there still harbor hatred towards it, robbing it for money and demanding tips, but they just look down on it.
It will take a considerable amount of time for them to adapt and adjust.
Li Long expressed his understanding, but he insisted that he still contribute some money.
"You don't need to spend any money. Just tell me what you need, and I'll get it for you from here."
Let me tell you, a lot of people are offering to sell me their equipment, but I have to be selective. If you buy that equipment, you'll be doing me a favor.”
After hearing this, Li Long thought for a moment and said, "Alright, in addition to the high-horsepower tractors, Kamaz heavy trucks and cars that we already need, if you can get some more advanced cotton pickers and cotton cleaning machines, I'll need those too."
"You've only just started large-scale cotton planting, and you're already thinking about getting cotton harvesters?" Liu Shanmin asked, somewhat surprised. "Isn't that unnecessary?"
Li Long smiled and said, "Let's plan ahead."
He could already imagine that finding people to pick the cotton flowers from these 1,000-plus acres of land would be quite a hassle this year.
After all, the large-scale flower-picking campaign hasn't really taken off yet, and it would be quite troublesome to find students to pick flowers and arrange for their placement.
Finding odd jobs is easy, but the quality of flower picking is questionable.
Therefore, Li Long had to plan ahead and get the machines over first, even if he couldn't collect them, he could still study them.
When the cotton industry expands in a few years and a large cotton-picking army arrives, the cost of picking cotton will also increase.
Picking cotton now costs two or three cents per kilogram, which translates to about one-sixth to one-eighth of the price of cotton.
In a few years, when the price of picking cotton reaches one or two yuan, or even two or three yuan, that translates to one-fifth, one-third, or even one-half of the price of cotton. That will be unbearable.
If you don't want to be controlled by others, you have to find a way to break through.
Liu Shanmin was just joking. Since Li Long asked, he would naturally pay attention. It was just a matter of a word.
Liu Shanmin then invited Li Long to go hunting there, saying that although Almaty was still a bit unstable, Liu Shanmin was currently in a small city with many people coming and going to protect him, so his safety was definitely guaranteed.
Li Long declined, saying he was busy and didn't have time for a while, and that they could talk about it later.
After hanging up the phone, Li Long went to attend to his own business. Lately, there had been a lot of miscellaneous things going on; he hadn't properly inspected the purchasing station and the cannery for a while.
Then came the time when he became one of the workers. Li Long himself was very approachable. He was familiar with all aspects of the cannery and the purchasing station and could get involved in any of them, so the workers respected and liked him.
After all, what worker wouldn't like a boss who frequently gives out bonuses?
Liu Shanmin didn't keep Li Long waiting for long; two and a half days later, he called again.
“I know you want good stuff,” Liu Shanmin said bluntly. “Cotton harvesters from Deere & Co., Ltd., cotton cleaning machines from Rams Corporation, and ginning machines and baling equipment are also available. It depends on whether you need them.”
There are also cotton harvesters made in the Soviet Union. As for their performance, the locals say they're not very good; I guess you probably don't want them.
"Hey, just as you thought, I want Deere's cotton harvesters, Rams' cotton cleaning equipment and related equipment!" Li Long was quite excited; this was very efficient.
Although cotton cannot be privately purchased and processed at present, this is the trend for the future.
Li Long was thinking of taking advantage of this first-mover advantage, developing the equipment and the supporting farming model, so that once the country opened up the market, he could set up a processing plant and integrate harvesting into one process, which would be much less strenuous.
This marks the beginning of the mechanized era for running.
Liu Shanmin continued, "These devices were obtained from someone else similar to me, so the price may be higher, and payment will be made in US dollars."
"How much?" Li Long asked.
"The cotton harvester, cleaning equipment, and other supporting equipment will cost $50,000."
“No problem, I’ll pay.” Li Long was now quite wealthy. He was going to spend the dollars he earned anyway, and if he didn’t spend them now, he felt there wouldn’t be much to spend once the economy there stabilized.
After all, he's facing that country right now, and these devices are actually worth some money. Once things stabilize over there in a few years, he'll start buying equipment from China and sending it over.
What was worth buying there back then?
Seeing that Li Long was so agreeable, Liu Shanmin didn't say anything more and told Li Long that he would pack up the people and equipment and ship them to him in a while.
As for how to transfer the money, Liu Shanmin will come over and you can just hand it over to him.
Liu Shanmin also said half-jokingly, "Li Long, let me be frank with you, there's no way we can make a profit on the 20% stake in the oil field in the short term. Maybe the biggest profit will come from selling crude oil to you."
Furthermore, these things can't be put into writing, and even if they were, they wouldn't have much effect, so it depends on whether you believe me or not.
“Nonsense, we’re in this together, how could I not trust you?” Li Long said. “No need to test me, the fact that I’ve spoken means I completely trust you.”
Let's not talk about this between us. We've known each other through thick and thin, and we've shared both good times and bad. Talking about this would be a bit unfair to us after all these years.
"Yes, yes, I was naive." Liu Shanmin immediately admitted his mistake. "Then it's settled. I'll go there in a week."
After hanging up the phone, Li Long thought for a moment and immediately made a call to his second brother.
Li Anguo was out working and couldn't be reached for the time being, so Li Long asked them to register him and have him call him back later.
After hanging up the phone, Li Long thought that he would definitely tell his second brother to install a telephone at home when his brother called back.
The oil refinery is making tens of thousands of yuan a month now, so Li Anguo has already achieved a comfortable standard of living ahead of schedule, and installing a telephone is still very easy for him.
Just won't pretend, isn't that infuriating?
In the afternoon, Li Anguo called, and Li Long told him about the expert.
"Xiaolong, you mean you want to find a Party branch for the experts? You know my factory, there are less than ten workers there, and not a single Party member. How can we possibly set up a Party branch?"
"Does your factory's community have a Party branch?" Li Long asked him to find a solution. "Report it to the community and ask them to help resolve it."
Think about it, those are experts! In our country, that's equivalent to the Chinese Academy of Sciences! That level—you should talk to your community; maybe they'll proactively help you solve it!
“Then I’ll take leave and go give it a try.” Li Anguo knew this was a big deal, after all, the person’s rank was high enough. He was already extremely grateful that such a big shot was willing to work in his small factory, so how could he possibly be picky?
If there are difficulties, let's solve them.
Li Long then told Li Anguo to install telephones at both the factory and his home, so that it would be convenient to contact him at least until he resigned.
"Second brother, we don't lack this money. We have to be willing to spend money on this. Otherwise, if something happens in the factory and you don't know about it, it will be difficult to solve."
Li Long shared what he had learned about workplace safety with his second brother before hanging up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Li Anguo couldn't help but mutter, "Why is Xiaolong becoming more and more like an older brother, so talkative..."
The colleague on duty at the phone asked with a smile, "Li Anguo, what's wrong? Is there something you're complaining about?"
"No, no," Li Anguo hurriedly waved his hand, "It's nothing, I'm leaving now."
On the way out, I was thinking that I really needed to install a telephone, at least it would be convenient to keep in touch.
PS: Thank you uiru for the reward, thank you book friend 20180912171317152 for the reward, thank you book friends 20260310213128614, 20241222172215556, 20260319120425880, Flying Swallow's Hometown, Xi Kaixuan, Yang Xiaofeng-bd and other book friends for the rewards, thank you all for your monthly tickets and subscriptions.
The snow in Team Four melted almost completely yesterday, and today's rain has almost melted the ice in the small lake. I wonder if we'll be able to see any fish in a few days. (End of Chapter)