Chapter 119 Chapter 119 Long-awaited Reunion
*
The inky black curtain was quietly lifted, and the dark sky gradually brightened.
The light of dawn dispelled the darkness and cold, and also calmed the turbulent sea. The waves that had been surging wildly became less ferocious, and the white foam on the wave crests dissipated into the sea water, and the turbulence turned into ripples, leaving only the tiny waves flickering.
The sea surface has returned to calm, but on this rainy and snowy morning, the white building floating on the water and swaying slightly in the wind is particularly lively.
The wind was freezing and the weather was freezing. The Yongyue was covered with a thick layer of ice and the railings on the deck were frozen into icicles. However, the villagers did not feel cold at all and ran out of the cabin early in the morning to watch, and more and more people gathered.
Although the open deck was spacious, snow was still falling from the sky and no one wanted to get their clothes wet, so people crowded under the awning, which was not very spacious to begin with, and it was so crowded that no one could get through.
Those who arrived late could only see the crowds of people in front of them, trying their best to squeeze forward, while the people in front of them did not want to get wet in the snow or give up their seats, so they pushed back desperately.
People were pushing from behind and in front, the sea was empty, and before they could even see the shadow of the ship, the deck was already in chaos.
"How's it going? Are you here?"
"I'm old, please let me have a look."
"Old people, why join in the fun? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"
"No, no, I have to take a look too."
"Oh, stop pushing! It's not here yet."
"Don't get excited. Calm down. Everyone, calm down. I heard it's a big ship, super, super big, and very conspicuous. If it comes, we will definitely be able to see it."
"Super big? Is it as big as our Yongyue?"
"What are you thinking? No matter how big our Yongyue is, it is just a river ship. Theirs is an ocean ship, a giant that sails in the sea. There is no comparison!"
"Wow, when is it arriving? I really want to see how big it is."
The deck was in a great uproar, and people were talking about the boat all the time.
The fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy next to him rolled his eyes and said indignantly, "Humph, a bunch of ungrateful guys. Brother Gu and Brother Liang fell into the water and got separated from their grandfather because they were trying to help us, but you guys don't care whether they are safe or not, you just watch the boat."
"You've been exposed!" A girl in the crowd decisively retorted, "You're the only one who values friendship and loyalty, right? We didn't sleep in the early morning and came here to enjoy the cold wind just to see their boats. Have we never seen a boat before?"
"Alright, alright, what's there to argue about? People are on the boat, and when the boat comes, people will come back."
…
The noisy deck was like a busy city, and the quiet cab was like a deep alley at night. More than a dozen people were crowded together on the left windshield, in silence, without any unnecessary sound.
The only telescope was in the hands of a bully. Everyone was angry but could not say anything. They could only watch helplessly. It would have been fine if he had monopolized the telescope, but he just looked without saying anything and did not know how to share at all.
Xiao Dong tried to hold it in, but couldn't help it. He reached out and tugged at Duan Yueyan's sleeve, muttering softly, "How's it going, Brother Duan? Did you see that? Why don't you squeak——"
“Tsk.”
An impatient particle blocked Xiaodong's mouth.
But Xiaodong is no longer the coward he used to be. He decisively turned his head to look at the young girl in front of the driving platform, and said with a pout, "Sister Fang, look at him!"
Sister Fang took a moment to look back at them and chuckled, "It's almost the end of the Moon Banquet. What's the difference between holding a telescope by yourself and eating alone? Let them have a look too."
The foreign aid was quite powerful. With just one sentence, Duan Yueyan, who had not moved for nearly ten minutes, put down the telescope, raised his eyebrows threateningly, and looked at Xiaodong meaningfully.
Expectation overcame the fear of the bully. Xiaodong was not afraid at all and decisively reached out to Duan Yueyan, "It's my turn. Didn't you hear Sister Fang say?"
"Heh." Duan Yueyan sneered, threw the telescope to Xiaodong unhappily, and walked out of the crowd with a swagger, "There's nothing there. I don't know what you're crying and making a fuss about. What's so good about it?"
Why did you keep looking for so long? Xiaodong said to himself, picked up the telescope he had been longing for, and quickly looked towards the sea.
Believing Duan Yueyan's words, Xiaodong didn't hold out much hope. But when he looked at the sea through the telescope, he exclaimed, "This is nothing! Sister Fang, Grandpa Meng, here they come! Oh my god, what a huge ship."
"Is it true? Brother Xiaodong, let me see it too."
"It's my turn next, right?"
"Wow, is this a supertanker? It's much bigger than our Yongyue."
"Are Brother Gu and Brother Liang on that ship? That's so cool!"
"Wow, that's so handsome, can we go up and take a spin?"
…
There was a burst of wows in the cab. Duan Yueyan, who had just walked out of the crowd and hadn’t seen anything for a full ten minutes, said:?
Grandpa Meng and Sister Fang also hurried over after hearing the noise. It seemed a bit embarrassing to squeeze back to get the telescope. Duan Yueyan leaned against the cabin wall with his arms folded, looking at the sea helplessly.
Fifteen minutes later, at the junction of the sky and the sea, a vague and huge shadow pushed aside the layers of mist, revealing a complete outline visible to the naked eye. The shadow was so huge that it looked like a mountain or a moving island, sailing steadily with a huge humming sound, slowly moving towards them.
The bow of the ship split the waves, and the surging white waves paved a silky water path.
As the distance gradually increased, the mysterious veil was lifted by the wind and waves, gradually revealing its true appearance. The island turned into a moving steel city, with a huge metal hull, towering superstructure, and tall masts...
What a huge ship.
The cabin was in an uproar again, with people marveling at the size of the ship. Duan Yueyan was also stunned for a moment, but compared to this giant cargo ship that he had never seen before, he was more concerned about the people.
Were Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao injured? How did they escape in the first place?
The night was not spent in vain. Gu Mengran stood in front of the windshield holding a telescope, watching the Yongyue and Fengyi getting closer and closer on the sea. He felt full of energy and the smile on his face became brighter.
Looking from a high vantage point, with a telescope in hand, he could clearly see the deck of the Ever Given.
The giants were too tall and could not be seen from the other side. However, the villagers who had worked on the farm and eaten together seemed to have noticed something. A group of people crowded under the awning, greeting each other with smiles and waving.
The roar of the engine was deafening, but Gu Mengran heard it, heard the cheers, heard the uniform voice: "Welcome home."
His eyes felt inexplicably hot and Gu Mengran took a deep breath.
Finally... Grandpa, Wind Wing, their companions who fought side by side.
The Giant was too big to sail directly in front of the Yongyue and Fengyi, otherwise the waves stirred up by the propellers might overturn the two fragile "small boats".
So, about 1 nautical mile away from Yongyue, the propeller of the Giant began to reverse rapidly, reversing the direction of the water flow to slow down, and slowly and steadily stopped about 1,000 meters away.
When the waves calmed down, the preheated Yongyue started with a roar, dragging the Fengyi, which had completely lost power, and carefully approached the Giant from the side, finally completing the berthing.
It took an hour and after several adjustments of the angle, Yongyue and Fengyi were finally parked on the left wing of the Giant, one after the other.
The height difference between the three ships was too great to carry cables, so Ding Pengyi decisively ordered the lowering of the left wing gangway, and immediately asked the crew to tie the cables of the two ships to the gangway.
Gu Mengran was eager to return home and couldn't wait, but as a sailor on the Giant, he had to stick to his post and complete the work assigned by the captain.
Now...the work is done, it's time to go home.
Heavy snow fell as Gu Mengran, Liang Zhao and Ding Pengyi, the Giant's supreme commander, rushed out of the stern deck in one go as if fleeing from their fate, and ran towards the gangway in the wind and snow.
The deck was slippery on a snowy day, and they slipped three steps at a time for every one they took. Even so, the three of them did not slow down. They fell, got up, and continued to run forward stumblingly.
They were not the only ones who were anxious. At the other end of the gangway, Meng Gaoyang, Zheng Yiji, Xu Xingran, Xu Fang, Duan Yueyan... a large group of people stood on the deck of the Yongyue, like a pile of stiff stone statues, staring up at the sky without moving.
The snowflakes felt a little cold on the face, but people remained motionless. Everyone held their breath at the same time until the sound of hurried and messy footsteps came closer, and a thin figure appeared above their heads.
"hello!"
A brisk shout awakened the sleeping stone statue. Everyone's faces, which had turned pale due to the cold, suddenly turned rosy. They widened their eyes one by one. Although they had already established contact through high frequency, they still looked incredulous.
"Gu Mengran! Liang Zhao!"
Someone shouted, and the deck, where you could hear a pin drop, suddenly became boiling.
"I knew you were still alive. Where did you go?"
"Brother Gu and Brother Liang, you are really okay, that's great, that's great!"
"You guys still remembered to come back, I almost thought..."
"Don't say anything unlucky."
"What are you standing there for? Come down quickly."
…
The voices of a group of people mixed together, and Gu Mengran could not hear a word clearly, but he felt their worry, their concern, and their enthusiasm.
The gangway, which had been adjusted many times, was stretched exactly from the deck of the Giant to the deck of the Everlasting Leap. Gu Mengran grabbed the railing and took two steps at a time, like a nimble squirrel, and landed steadily on the deck in less than a minute.
He had no time to care about Liang Zhao and the captain behind him, nor did he pay attention to other people who greeted him. He sprinted a hundred meters into the crowd and hugged the old man, whose eyes and nose were red and whose body was trembling slightly, into his arms.
"Grandpa," Gu Mengran was so excited that he was shaking all over. He hugged his grandfather tightly and buried his face in his slightly cool neck. He panted and said, "I'm back, Grandpa. I missed you so much, Grandpa."
Is it only by calling out names that one can express his thoughts?
Gu Mengran didn’t know either and just kept calling him grandpa.
The old man hugged Gu Mengran back, patting his back gently with his palm like coaxing a child. He was no longer as sharp-tongued as before, and his hoarse voice was choked with sobs, "It's good that you're back, and it's good that you're back safely."
"Grandpa, Grandpa misses you too."
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