1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

In 1992, Jiang Haiping, the son of the director of Binhai Shipyard, didn't want to take over the business. He squatted on the dock watching people shovel barnacles, his mind not on building large ships, but on repairing small ones. Thousands of fishing boats in Binhai needed repairs every year, but the fishermen couldn't afford them. The day Lin Xiu'e, a fisherwoman's daughter, came to his door, her father's fishing boat had sunk, leaving him 80,000 yuan in debt to the credit union. Her family wanted to marry her off to a fishmonger to pay the dowry. She had walked all morning, squatting at the shipyard gate, her lips chapped and peeling. "Brother Ping, I've come to borrow something from you." Jiang Haiping borrowed a boat. He then used the money he had saved since childhood to open a ship repair shop on Moon Island. Retired fitters from the shipyard came, as did veteran seamstresses from the island. On the day the first boat was repaired and tested, the main engine roared to life. An old fisherman stood at the helm, his shoulders trembling. Later, the ship repair shop got a name. Later, the Ping'an (Peaceful) went to sea and caught 4,000 jin (2,000 kg) of ribbonfish during the spring fishing season. Later, the fishermen on the island took turns keeping watch at night, saying that repairing one boat would benefit one family. It started with a sunken ship. It started with one person squatting on the dock watching for barnacles. It was dirty and tiring work. But every time a repaired boat set sail again, a fishing light would appear on the sea.