The entire ocean is my fishing ground.

Chapter 16: Da Zhuang, the Ship Repairman!

The next morning, Chen Hao called as promised.

"Brother Chen, I've finished that report for you and sent it to you on WeChat. Take a look for yourself. To be honest, I'm a little surprised by it."

"How so?"

Lin Chen asked while opening WeChat.

"You're not fishing, you're printing money! In less than a month, the gross profit is 45,000, the net profit is 22,000, and the profit margin is almost 50%!"

"These figures are better than many of the small companies we audit!"

"Did you secretly inherit some gold mine, kid?"

Lin Chen smiled:

"If I inherited the gold mine, would I need you to prepare reports?"

"That's true."

Chen Hao's tone then became more professional, "However, I also noticed some issues in the data. Your major costs are the purchase price of the speedboat, which is a one-time investment and not a big problem."

"The other cost is fuel, which accounts for almost a quarter of your total expenses. Isn't your speedboat's fuel consumption a bit high?"

One sentence was enough to enlighten Lin Chen.

His previous focus was on how to increase revenue and make more money, and he neglected cost-cutting, especially the daily maintenance and upkeep of the speedboat.

This speedboat absolutely cannot have any problems.

"Thanks for the reminder, Haozi. This seafood feast is on me."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen immediately decided to go to the dock to give the speedboat a thorough inspection.

The weather was nice today, and he was just about to jump onto the boat to check the engine when he heard a sound from the side.

"Brother, your boat is pretty good."

Lin Chen turned his head and saw a man in his early thirties squatting not far away, repairing a disassembled diesel engine.

The man was wearing camouflage clothing stained with oil, and was burly with skin tanned dark by the sea breeze and sun.

Lin Chen recognized him; he was Zhou Dazhuang from Dongxi Village, a neighboring village.

I heard he used to be a soldier. After retiring from the army, he opened a car repair shop in the city, but the business failed and he went out of business. After returning to his village, he made a living by repairing fishing boat engines.

"It's alright, I bought it secondhand."

Lin Chen responded politely.

Zhou Dazhuang paused for a few seconds on the outboard motor of the speedboat, his brow furrowed.

"Hey bro, I heard your direct-from-the-origin business is doing pretty well?"

"I think your speedboat's engine needs some maintenance. How about I take a look? It'll be free."

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat. He was worried about not being able to find someone knowledgeable to check the engine, but unexpectedly someone offered to come to him.

He sized up Zhou Dazhuang; he didn't seem to have any bad intentions.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhuang."

With permission granted, Zhou Dazhuang didn't stand on ceremony and jumped directly onto the speedboat.

He didn't use any complicated tools; he simply approached the engine, listened to the idling sound, and felt around at several connections before finally pinpointing an inconspicuous oil pipe.

"It's not a big problem, but if we don't address it, it will become a major issue later."

"The sealing ring at the oil pipe connection is worn out and there is a slight leak. Although the leak is not much, running like this for a long time will definitely increase fuel consumption, and there is also a fire hazard in the long run."

His diagnosis perfectly matched Chen Hao's analysis of the "high fuel consumption" problem from the financial statements.

Lin Chen nodded secretly; Zhou Dazhuang was indeed quite capable.

Zhou Dazhuang pulled a small sealing ring from his worn-out toolbox and quickly replaced the old one. The whole process was smooth and efficient, and he finished in less than five minutes.

He restarted the engine, and it sounded smoother and more powerful than before.

"Okay, that's a minor problem."

Zhou Dazhuang smiled憨厚ly.

"Brother Zhuang, how much?"

Lin Chen asked.

"Hey, I said it's free. It's just a sealing ring, it's not worth much."

Zhou Dazhuang waved his hand, completely unconcerned.

Lin Chen didn't insist any further, but silently kept this favor in his heart.

He took two bottles of water from the tricycle on the shore and handed one to Zhou Dazhuang.

The two leaned against the railing of the dock and chatted casually.

Through conversation, Lin Chen learned that Zhou Dazhuang was a technical soldier in the army, specializing in the maintenance of assault boats and landing craft, and was very knowledgeable about various engines and ship machinery.

After being discharged from the military, he wanted to get a captain's license and run his own transportation business, but when he inquired, he found that the training fee alone would cost tens of thousands of yuan, so he had to give up.

Later, he used his demobilization pay to open a car repair shop in the city, but because he didn't know how to run a business, he was swindled and lost everything, so he returned to his village.

"I make a living with this little skill now, repairing boats for Zhang San and Li Si, and I don't earn much money in a day."

Zhou Dazhuang looked somewhat disappointed and unwilling.

Lin Chen listened quietly.

A clear portrait of the person quickly took shape in his mind:

Veterans are characterized by strong discipline, excellent physical fitness, and the ability to fight and endure.

Proficient in mechanics, capable of solving all the technical problems of the future fleet;

He can sail and is familiar with ship operation; he is a ready-made captain.

He's a genuine person, which is evident from his willingness to help others for free.

Isn't this exactly the core member his future team needs?

Recruit him into your ranks!

But he quickly suppressed that thought.

He knew that now was not the time.

He didn't even own a decent fishing boat, and his business model was just starting out. Hiring people rashly would not only fail to provide them with stable security, but would also make him seem too eager.

Building trust is more important than making hasty promises.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen swallowed back his words of recruitment.

He patted Zhou Dazhuang on the shoulder.

"Brother Zhuang, thanks for today. If I ever have any problems with my speedboat in the future, I'll come to you. You'll pay the market price, I won't take advantage of you."

Zhou Dazhuang then burst into laughter and punched Lin Chen hard in the chest:

"Great job, bro! Call me anytime if you need anything!"

After saying goodbye to Zhou Dazhuang, Lin Chen drove the speedboat around the nearby waters.

The throttle response seems to have really improved, and the engine sounds much better.

[Intelligence: There is a group of fairly large squid somewhere in the open sea, but speedboats can't go that far right now. We'll wait for a larger ship.]

This intelligence reignited his desire for large ships.

The appearance of Zhou Dazhuang made his plans for the future clearer and more comprehensive.

He not only needs a large ship, but also a reliable partner like Zhou Dazhuang, who can both steer and maintain the ship.

The nascent business empire, with "ships" as its core asset and "people" as its core team, is unfolding in Lin Chen's mind.

He decided that before accumulating enough funds to buy a ship, he should first establish a solid cooperative relationship with Zhou Dazhuang, which would be more reliable than any verbal recruitment.