Chapter 677 - 297: Crew Assembled, Yacht Complete! (Part 3)

On the other hand, reserving a few positions on the ship also ensures some redundancy in capacity, making it easier to handle any unexpected situations requiring temporary spaces.

This time when Li Younan returned home, he confirmed the next crew member choice—the ship’s most insignificant and unnoticed role, the server.

Ren Xiaohuan, who had been helping his grandfather manage the guesthouse, found that the guest flow was not high, and having been exposed for such a long time, his grandmother had already learned how to tidy up the rooms.

As for the payment for accommodation, mom could handle everything remotely.

Although Li Younan didn’t mind Ren Xiaohuan taking the salary, Ren Xiaohuan himself felt embarrassed to accept it.

This time when Li Younan went back, Ren Xiaohuan specifically found him, expressing his desire to go out for work.

After thinking it over, Li Younan straightforwardly invited him to his ship as a crew member.

Initially, Ren Xiaohuan was naturally apprehensive, hesitant to agree, fearing he couldn’t perform well in such a job.

For a kid from the countryside of Sichuan who hadn’t seen the sea, the idea of living on a ship was even more unimaginable.

The more this was the case, the more steadfast Li Younan became in inviting Ren Xiaohuan.

After all, a server’s job both depends on his perceptiveness and his character.

Ren Xiaohuan’s character was commendable; he was perceptive, and using him on the ship would be reassuring.

Then, when returning to Shanghai, Li Younan decided to bring Ren Xiaohuan along.

Back in Shanghai, he had Jing Chaoyi arrange for a guest room for him to stay in so he could acclimate first.

During this period, since the ship wasn’t yet built, Ren Xiaohuan followed Li Younan to the shipyard every day, doing various tasks within his abilities.

Soon, other crew members also had candidates.

First was the sailor; originally, Li Younan planned to find retired servicemen from the navy for the role, as military discipline tends to be better.

However, one day when Li Younan was inspecting the power system transformation, Old Chen hesitated before making an awkward request to him.

He hoped to bring his son on board as a sailor and promised Li Younan that his son would surely do stable work, asserting that with him as the strict father, his son wouldn’t slack off.

Regarding this matter, Chen Tiefeng felt quite complex.

After all, he hadn’t yet shown his capability on Li Younan’s ship, having neither achievements nor hardships, making such requests felt somewhat embarrassing to him.

However, when his son earnestly expressed his desire to join the ship, willing to endure any hardship, Chen Tiefeng was moved.

Throughout his son’s long growth period, Chen Tiefeng indeed hadn’t fulfilled his paternal accompanying responsibilities.

His son was a good son, but he was not a good father.

After the divorce, his son didn’t choose to follow his mother but stayed by his side, already proving that fact.

Now, his son’s simple wish to be by his father’s side when he grows older made it impossible for Chen Tiefeng to refuse his son’s request.

Upon hearing Chen Tiefeng’s request, Li Younan was naturally happy to grant such a favor.

Having interacted with Chen Tiefeng for some time, Li Younan could roughly estimate that Chen Tiefeng was a very stable, meticulous, and upright person. Even if his son made mistakes on the ship, having such a father would lessen the worry about discipline.

From another perspective, as the chief engineer, Chen Tiefeng needed to assign tasks; ordinary sailors might not be as willing to obey instructions, potentially leading to unforeseen problems during communication and coordination.

But if it’s his own son, the so-called father-son soldiers fighting together, inspecting the engines and working together, things would proceed much smoother.

Li Younan agreed.

Soon after, a suitable candidate for the first officer and helmsman was found.

He was recommended by the original unit of this research vessel, named Qin Yue.

A man of few words, silent, coming from a maritime family with his father being a retired naval captain and his mother a marine meteorologist.

He joined the military at 18, served on naval vessels for 8 years, participated in southern patrol missions and far-sea rescue missions, and post-retirement joined an ocean-going research vessel as the first officer, now only 37 years old.

After passing Li Younan’s assessment, he officially became a crew member of the "Lailai."

Qin Yue’s core characteristic is his highly professional competence; he is familiar with global routes, especially adept in China’s coastal and complex oceanic regions, and being exposed to his mom’s meteorological knowledge from a young age, he excels at judging sea conditions, wind direction, and currents while being very familiar with underwater reefs and shoals.

His military background allows him to organize affairs systematically, able to detail navigation plans, select emergency anchorage points for routes, supply schemes, and even precisely gauge daily fuel and fresh water usage.

One aspect that satisfied Li Younan greatly is when communicating, Qin Yue either doesn’t express opinions, or when he does, he likes using terms like "rest assured, no problem, I’ll handle it," with a firm tone, never ambiguous.