After everyone had eaten for a while, they gradually started to relax.
Back when he was working, Li Younan never liked those business dinner kind of gatherings. Even though on this yacht every group meal is easygoing for him, everyone is always paying attention to what he does. Whenever he speaks, they all listen very seriously. It’s a kind of respect... but honestly, it’s pretty tiring.
So Li Younan simply laid it out: "When you’re on my boat, there’s no need to be so stiff at the table. If you have something to talk about, just talk, if you don’t, then just focus on eating. I’m not some social butterfly who’s good at entertaining people, forcing myself to tell lame jokes. I’m pretty lame myself."
Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but laugh along with him, a laugh that came from the heart.
After lunch, the two deckhands very naturally took their own bowls and chopsticks to wash.
Here, everyone has their own set of tableware. Even though they’re eating Chinese food, each person’s rice bowl, soup bowl and so on are all separate.
Meanwhile, Ren Xiaohuan very proactively came over to help clear the bowls and plates for Li Younan and Liu Li.
Just then, Lu Zhiqing stood up and said with a smile, "This is my first time cooking for everyone. If you have any comments, just bring them up now, I’ll take note. I hope I can adjust the flavors of every meal to better suit everyone’s taste."
Liu Li thought for a moment. "I think it was pretty good."
Jing Chaoyi spoke up first. She’d already noticed that, aside from Li Younan himself and Liu Li, the others here didn’t really dare to make any suggestions.
After thinking a bit, Li Younan asked, "I didn’t really pay attention... but from the ingredients in the fridge... there wasn’t any seafood in this meal, was there?"
Lu Zhiqing gave an embarrassed smile and said, "Here’s the thing: considering that once we’re out at sea, seafood is actually pretty easy to get. There are lots of ports along the way where you can buy marine products. But chicken, duck, beef, lamb and other land meats, plus things like cured meat, are actually harder to find. So most of the meat we’ve stored in the freezer is those."
He paused, then added, "Also, when it comes to seafood, you really need to eat it fresh for it to taste good."
That made sense to Li Younan, and what Lu Zhiqing said suddenly gave him an idea.
Seafood tastes best when it’s freshly caught?
He rubbed his chin and said, "Right, we should be getting close to the Zhoushan Archipelago before sunset today. How about we hold a little sea fishing competition? Everyone takes part. Whoever wins gets a cash prize of 1,000 yuan. Don’t complain it’s too little—and on top of that, I’ll make you a glass of my special cocktail."
The 1,000 yuan cash prize might not sound like much, but on one hand it’s just a fun stake for a game, which makes it interesting; on the other hand, even though the crew’s income isn’t low, 1,000 yuan is still a nice little bonus. So you could clearly see everyone getting excited. As for the cocktail that Younan mentioned, nobody seemed to care.
As Ren Xiaohuan carried out the dishes and wiped the table, Liu Li said, "Xiaohuan, you should join us later too."
Then she turned to ask Li Younan, "Can the four of us girls form a team?"
She pointed over at Shen Mo.
Shen Mo blinked and said, "I... I think I’ll sit this one out."
Jing Chaoyi nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah. If the four of us girls win, we still only take 1,000 from you."
"Sure, no problem."
Of course, that didn’t bother Li Younan at all. It was only a game to begin with.
They still had a stretch of sailing ahead, and the crew had work to do, so everyone got busy again.
They worked in shifts.
This yacht uses intelligent control systems in many areas, so it doesn’t require everyone to be running at full capacity.
As for crew scheduling, what Younan wanted was to use about 60% of each crew member’s energy. That way they could keep the pace a bit slower.
If people run at 100% capacity, it can’t last. If they stay at high load for too long, then when some special situation comes up where you really need them to run at high load and they no longer can, there will definitely be problems.
So the crew who weren’t on shift each went back to their cabins to rest. Of course, if they got bored, they could also go out on deck for some fresh air.
Younan took Liu Li back to their cabin. Outside the huge picture window was the beautiful sea.
It was rest time now. The air conditioning in the bedroom was set warm and cozy, and Liu Li nestled obediently in Younan’s arms.
"To be honest, drifting out here on the ocean like this, sometimes when I look at the sea outside I can’t help thinking our boat is so alone and helpless. Every now and then I do get a little scared."
"Mm."
"But when I’m holding you, I’m not scared anymore."
"Mm."
Younan quietly ran his fingers through Liu Li’s hair.
"Do you know what makes me happiest?"
"Mm?"
"It’s that after going out to sea with you, my brother can’t boss me around anymore, hehe..."
Younan couldn’t help but laugh, and he gently kissed her on the forehead.
It was such a warm moment, and originally Younan wasn’t thinking about anything else. But suddenly, Liu Li lifted her head, her expression went still, her big eyes blinking at him, and she lightly bit her lip.
Younan froze for a second, then cleared his throat.
Liu Li chuckled, a blush slowly spreading across her cheeks, then she buried her entire head under the covers...
Younan took a deep breath.
A piece of women’s underwear was tossed out from under the blanket.
By dusk, you could already see scattered islands and reefs appearing on the sea horizon of the Zhoushan Archipelago.
The islands were covered in lush green vegetation, and some had white houses of fishing villages, with small fishing boats moored along the shore.
Near one island that still kept its original, unspoiled look, the yacht dropped anchor.

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