Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Liang Zhao's Change
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A massive earthquake cut off the communication signal, and the Fengyi completely lost contact with the outside world. The situation in the waters ahead was unclear. Although there were radar and satellite navigation, the Huangjiang River after the earthquake was full of dangers, and even the experienced old captain did not dare to move forward rashly.
So the three of them discussed and decided to stay at the anchorage to rest for another night.
I was not in the mood to cook dinner, so I just had a quick meal in the evening. But at this critical moment when I was in a heavy mood and my nerves were extremely tense, Gu Mengran took a shower, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
I slept until I woke up naturally. It was still dark outside, as if it was the middle of the night.
Gu Mengran sat up in a daze and looked at the electronic clock on the bedside table and realized that it was already nine o'clock in the morning.
The fog was too thick. The yellow fog was dyed into a dark ink color by a large amount of volcanic ash, like a lingering dark cloud, carrying a strong sense of oppression that permeated the sky and the earth.
It was obviously not feasible to judge the time by the weather. Considering that the mobile phone would be of no use in the future, after washing up, Gu Mengran rummaged through the space and took out three outdoor multi-function watches.
Grandpa and Liang Zhao didn't have the habit of sleeping in, so they probably got up early. After going to the cab and not finding anyone, Gu Mengran decisively turned around and went to the living room without any intention of knocking on the door.
As expected, Grandpa and Liang Zhao were indeed in the living room and the kitchen respectively, but there were now two more people sitting on the sofa in the living room which had been deserted.
"I knew it was you!"
As soon as Gu Mengran stepped half a foot into the living room, the young man sitting on the sofa stood up suddenly, his eyes shining with excitement.
The young man was Xu Xinghe, who had drowned and was unconscious yesterday. After a night, he had obviously recovered. His face was still a little pale, but he looked energetic.
His sister Xu Xingran was sitting nearby, chatting and laughing with Meng Gaoyang. When she saw Gu Mengran walk into the living room, she hurriedly stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Good morning, I hope I didn't disturb you by coming to your house.
Xinghe was not in good condition yesterday, so I was not able to thank you properly. I came here today to let this kid meet his savior and thank you in person."
Without giving Gu Mengran a chance to speak, Xu Xingran raised his arm and bumped Xu Xinghe, "Speak, are you mute?"
"Oh." Xu Xinghe woke up from his dream and grinned at Gu Mengran. Then he bent down and bowed 90 degrees to Gu Mengran in one go.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving my Heng Rongsheng, thank you for saving me and my sister. I can never repay you for saving my life. From now on, you and Brother Liang are my half-brothers, and Grandpa Meng is my real grandfather!"
What a scene, what a loud voice.
Gu Mengran was stunned and forgot to speak for a moment.
The old man was also startled, and hurriedly reached out to help Xu Xinghe, stuttering: "This child, there is no need to perform such a big ceremony."
"cough."
Xu Xingran pretended to be calm and coughed lightly. When he reached out to help Xu Xinghe up, he took the opportunity to twist his arm and said through gritted teeth, "Did I tell you before I came here? Be serious and stop doing these nonsense. You are embarrassing yourself."
"Why is it embarrassing? This is the way we young people say thank you, you don't understand." Xu Xinghe rubbed his arm and looked at Gu Mengran with a smile, "right buddy?"
Don't judge a person by his appearance. He may look gentle and polite, but in fact he is a real social hero.
Gu Mengran slowly came back to his senses from his shock and said "hmm" politely.
"I have to say it, we are really destined to meet! My sister said that two handsome guys saved us, and I thought of you immediately!" Xu Xinghe is a chatterbox. As soon as Gu Mengran opened his mouth, he started talking like a chicken with blood injected, and kept on talking.
"I remember the Wind Wing was parked next to us, so we wanted to try our luck, but the fog was too thick, so we drove the diesel boat for a long time before we finally found it. Hard work pays off. When Grandpa Meng said that you did go down to rescue people yesterday, I knew that this trip was not in vain."
Compared to thanking him solemnly, Gu Mengran really prefers the way young people like Xu Xinghe handle things. It won't embarrass each other, nor will it increase the psychological burden of others. Just treat it as making friends.
It was just that now was not a good time to make friends. The siblings had obviously not yet landed and had not yet realized the true harm of the earthquake. With tall buildings collapsing and civilized order disintegrating, they should plan how to survive instead of thanking and making friends here.
As enthusiastic as Gu Mengran was that day, he is as cold today.
He didn't care how long the guests had been waiting, nor did he intend to sit down and chat. He stood at the entrance of the passage without moving forward, and said coldly: "There is no need to make this trip. The magnitude of this earthquake is very high, and the situation on the shore is more serious than you think. Stock up on supplies and make plans. We are ready to leave, so we won't keep you for dinner."
The other party's attitude changed drastically, but Xu Xinghe didn't have time to care.
He ignored the other party's intention to send him away and asked shamelessly: "Have you contacted your family? Can you lend us your phone? I woke up last night and couldn't get through the phone. I don't know what happened. I can't contact my family either--"
"There is no signal now. Go back and check as soon as possible." Gu Mengran interrupted him.
Xu Xinghe: "The Hengrongsheng mainframe has been flooded, and the operating system has completely failed. We estimate that we will be gone for a while——"
"Aren't there diesel boats?"
Gu Mengran interrupted him again and sighed softly, "Let me put it this way, if you are alone and have no ties, I suggest you repair Heng Rongsheng, go ashore as soon as possible to collect supplies, and try to go upstream on the Huangjiang River.
Of course, if you have important relatives on shore, it is recommended that you set off immediately, and perhaps you can reunite with them. Bring all the fuel and food on board as much as possible. The world is in chaos and order has collapsed. These important supplies will not be available for purchase even if you have money. "
These words frightened the brother and sister. It was true that the magnitude of the earthquake was high, and they could feel it on the river surface. But order collapsed, and they couldn't buy supplies even with money?
This is too alarmist.
"Are you kidding me, buddy?" Xu Xinghe stopped smiling and stared at Gu Mengran, trying to find a flaw in his face. But unfortunately, Gu Mengran looked serious and didn't seem to be joking at all.
"It's actually very easy to prove, isn't it?" Gu Mengran met Xu Xinghe's gaze and spoke word by word: "You can go ashore and take a look now."
Now that things have come to this, it’s up to you to decide whether to believe it or not.
It is better to be safe than sorry. Xu Xingran was cautious and asked, "You warned us that there would be an earthquake before, but what about after that? Even if all the houses collapsed, the order of human civilization would not collapse overnight. Do you know something?"
If you are willing to believe it, then it won't be a waste of words. Gu Mengran nodded and made up a story in all seriousness: "What a coincidence. I have a relative who works in the Meteorological Bureau. We contacted each other after the earthquake yesterday. He told me that it was not just an earthquake. Almost all active volcanoes across the country erupted in one day yesterday."
"volcano?"
After all, Xu Xinghe was a prospective college student. He could tell something was wrong as soon as he heard it. He softly retorted, "I did hear a loud noise yesterday, but active volcanoes are usually in sparsely populated areas. The damage they cause cannot be greater than the impact range of an earthquake."
Xu Xingran: "Don't interrupt, just listen to him."
Gu Mengran continued: "Earthquakes are direct destruction, and their impact on cities and people is indeed greater. But if all volcanoes erupt at the same time, the harm of volcanic ash and gas to the environment -"
"I know, greenhouse effect!" Xu Xinghe suddenly blurted out.
"Yes, it won't be long before extreme heat waves sweep the globe."
Extreme heat...
Thinking about it, Xu Xinghe's scalp was numb and he got goose bumps for no reason. But he soon found something suspicious and chased after Gu Mengran and asked, "Then why did you ask us to go upstream? We don't have to stay in the river all the time in such hot weather, right?"
I'm tired. I got up early and didn't even have a sip of water. Gu Mengran was talking with a dry mouth.
Just wanting to send the people away as soon as possible, Gu Mengran stopped beating around the bush and stopped explaining the reason. He said directly: "Rain, there will be a heavy rainfall after the high temperature, a rain that will last for a long time. Letting you stay in Huangjiang is not to escape the heat, but to let you try your best to keep Hengrongsheng, so that you will not be left without a place to stay when the land disappears."
Without caring about what kind of bombshell he dropped, Gu Mengran quickly walked to the sofa, handed the outdoor watch to his grandfather, turned around and walked towards the kitchen.
There were pots on both induction cookers, and the kitchen was steaming. One of them seemed to be steaming buns, and the rich aroma of meat filled the air with the steam, which could be smelled as soon as you entered the door.
Liang Zhao stood alone in front of the stove, stirring the food in another casserole with a spoon. He seemed to be cooking seriously and attentively, but his eyes were fixed on the dark river through the glass, and he didn't even notice Gu Mengran approaching.
"It smells so good, what kind of porridge is that?"
A soft cry woke Liang Zhao up. He turned sideways and lowered his eyes. A furry head poked out from his arm.
The slightly curly black hair brushed against her arm, revealing her fair and slender neck. Liang Zhao was stunned for a moment, then moved half an inch to the side without leaving any trace, and replied in a low voice: "Lean meat porridge."
"Without the preserved egg? It's lacking some soul." Gu Mengran didn't notice Liang Zhao's little action. He was concentrating on eating and looked into the pot curiously.
Liang Zhao looked away and stared at the casserole, "I'll make it for you next time."
Gu Mengran responded, and finally took his eyes off the casserole. He raised his hand and almost covered the warm outdoor watch and handed it to Liang Zhao, "Here, this is for you. I guess you won't need a cell phone in the future, so a watch is more convenient for checking time. You don't have to take it off when you take a shower. It's waterproof."
"You're well prepared." Liang Zhao took the watch, looked at it for a moment, and then put it on his left wrist.
Gu Mengran looked at him eagerly, "Does it look good? Do you like it?"
"It looks great. Thank you. I like it very much."
"We are one family, so why thank you?"
The kitchen was not far from the living room, and there had been no movement for a long time. Liang Zhao guessed that Gu Mengran had appeared here again, but he still asked, "Are they gone?"
"I should leave now. Anyway, I'll leave after I finish talking." Gu Mengran shrugged helplessly: "I've said everything I should and shouldn't say. I've given them a lot of preventive measures. I hope they can live well."
Thinking of what Gu Mengran said two days ago, Liang Zhao asked again: "Have you ever thought about letting them stay?"
"Why should I stay?" Gu Mengran asked subconsciously. After he said it, he remembered that he seemed to have mentioned this a few days ago.
The water is shallow and the road is narrow, so the Fengyi cannot start the automatic driving at present, and there must be someone on duty in the cabin at all times. There are only three people on the boat, working in three shifts day and night. Gu Mengran is fine, but he is mainly worried that his grandfather is too old and can't bear it.
So he discussed with Liang Zhao and his grandfather a few days ago that since the Fengyi is so large, if they meet crew members who can drive a boat and have good character on the way, and if the other party is willing, should they consider "recruiting" a few people to help drive the boat.
"Why!"
It’s not easy to meet the right person, and Gu Mengran still has concerns in his heart.
He sighed and complained to Liang Zhao in a low voice: "They are indeed suitable. They are nice people and it is not difficult to get along with them. But they are obviously worried. They just asked me to borrow my phone to contact their family. I guess they will have to go ashore soon."
"Besides, I'm also conflicted. Although there are risks in having more people on board, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages overall. But when I think about letting strangers live on the Wind Wing for a long time, every cell in my body resists."
Liang Zhao understood his concerns and nodded thoughtfully, "If we live together for a long time, it will be difficult to hide the space. The post-disaster situation is different from the pre-disaster situation. If you encounter someone with bad intentions, you and the Fengyi will be in great danger. You must be more careful."
Gu Mengran agreed, "Right! There are only three of us, so we have no chance to fight back when we encounter bad guys! Space is our lifeblood, and I don't want anyone else to know about it except you and Grandpa."
"Do you trust me so much?"
This topic was too heavy to discuss, so Liang Zhao deliberately changed the subject.
Gu Mengran ran off as soon as he saw her. “Of course you saved my life.”
"Uh, in a dream, I mean in a dream."
Liang Zhao smiled softly, "What kind of person am I in my dream?"
"Warm-hearted, quiet but kind-hearted, cooks deliciously... I can't think of one for now, probably similar to grandpa. What are you laughing at?" Halfway through his words, Liang Zhao smiled even more, and Gu Mengran stopped and looked at him.
“I may not dream the same as you do.”
"What's the difference?"
The porridge was ready, Liang Zhao turned around to turn off the induction cooker and put the rice spoon back into the pot. From an angle that Gu Mengran couldn't see, the smile in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a trace of indissoluble sorrow.
Gu Mengran waited a long time for an answer and was about to ask more questions when his eyes accidentally swept across the trash can next to him. His mind went blank for a moment and he was stunned.
In the trash can, colorful plastic bags were printed with huge product names: instant freeze-dried lean meat porridge, semi-finished fresh meat dumplings...
The question is, how did Liang Zhao, who was an excellent cook in his previous life and cooked for him in various ways, fall to the point where he has to cook instant food even for porridge?
No, cooking instant food may also be for convenience.
Gu Mengran tried his best to convince himself, but his thoughts drifted uncontrollably and he suddenly thought of yesterday.
When grandpa suggested saving people yesterday, Liang Zhao's first reaction was not to save them.
Although the explanation he gave was very reasonable and irrefutable, when Gu Mengran was in danger in his previous life, Liang Zhao took risks many times to save him, and once he even nearly lost his life.
Could the same person change so much from the previous life to this life?
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