Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Maritime Affairs
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The sun rose early, and the hot and dazzling light shone through the clouds, covering the silvery-white Huangjiang River with a layer of golden light, just like the sunflower fields in the memory of midsummer.
Through the telescope, the flower field turned into a field of corpses in a second. The bright sunlight made the view clearer. Among the densely packed dead fish, one could see at a glance the corpses with pale skin that had swollen several times due to long-term immersion.
Not just one or two bodies. After confirming what they were, Gu Mengran took a quick glance and saw seven or eight. Then he suppressed his nausea and counted them carefully. There were at least thirty bodies floating on the river ahead.
The time of falling into the water should be inconsistent, and the state of the bodies is different. Most of the bodies have begun to rot, and along with the disgusting stench, the flesh and blood gradually separated from the skeleton and merged with the turbid river water.
In very rare cases, the death time should be within three to five days. They lie in the icy river water, their bodies become extremely large, and are particularly conspicuous among the dead fish with their white bellies turned up, like inflated balloons that will burst with a poke.
In order to count more carefully, Gu Mengran scanned the bodies and found that the time of death was inconsistent, but these bodies had one thing in common, which was -
Their exposed skin was not smooth. Their arms, necks, and even their swollen bellies were all covered with dense red rashes. Perhaps the itchiness had invaded their bones, and bloody scratches could be seen everywhere on their bodies.
The scene was a bit too horrifying. Although many people died in the earthquake and there were many dead bodies along the way, more than 30 bodies were soaked in water at the same time, rotting and stinking. Some of them even looked like giants. It was simply horrible.
The water was rippling as the Fengyi came to a complete stop, only a thousand meters away from Lingjiang Port.
Even though he was wearing long sleeves and long pants, Gu Mengran felt a chill on his back.
It was a bit troublesome, so he put down the telescope, took a deep breath, and tried his best to suppress the feeling of nausea in his throat.
Although it was uncomfortable, he could still bear it. But he, the person who had watched the longest, was not hurt at all when the next second, a shocking retching sound suddenly sounded beside him.
Zheng Yijie was obviously terribly sick and was bending over and vomiting.
He didn't spit out anything, just dry heaving. Two minutes later he raised his head, his face was pale, his eyes under the black frames turned red, and tears kept welling up in his eyes.
A bottle of mineral water appeared out of thin air in Gu Mengran's hand. He handed it to Zheng Yijie and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Zheng Yijie couldn't wait to take the mineral water, and drank half of it in one gulp. His complexion gradually returned to normal. He sniffed and said, "No, it's okay. What happened? Am I dead? Is this hell?"
No one could answer this question. Seeing that the old man's face was not looking good, Gu Mengran took out a bottle of mineral water and handed it to him. He also took out a bottle of wind oil and applied it evenly on the temples on both sides.
"Oh! This is really weird." After drinking the water, the old man put the bottle under his armpit and decisively stretched out his hand to Gu Mengran, "Give me some too, I feel a little nauseous."
"I want one too!"
Someone applied some medicated oil, and a strong minty smell filled the cab. The uncomfortable feeling of nausea was gradually suppressed, and the air became exceptionally fresh.
The refreshing effect of Fengyoujing was well-deserved. The coolness stimulated the solar plexus, and Gu Mengran became much more awake. But even though he was awake, he couldn't think of a solution for what happened here and how to deal with the current situation.
"What happened is not important." The old man turned around and looked at the river again. This time he did not use a telescope. He looked at the looming ships through the glass and said seriously, "What is important is these blocking ships. I don't know if there are people on them, what is the purpose of stopping here, and how can we get through."
Zheng Yijie took off his glasses, wiped his tears with a tissue, and helped analyze the situation: "Isn't there a tributary next to the bridge? Can we go around it?"
Gu Mengran lowered his eyes and glanced at him, looking at him as if he were a fool. "Waterways are different from land routes. You can't just go around and get through."
"What can we do? Force our way through?" Zheng Yijie paced back and forth anxiously.
"It won't work." The old man who was paying special attention to the ships shook his head. "Those ships are connected by cables, and each one is bigger than the other. If we force our way in, both sides will suffer. It will be troublesome if we damage the Wind Wing."
Zheng Yijie: "Then, then use the high frequency to call and see if there is anyone on it. If there is, we can discuss it with them. If not, we can move over and move the boat away?"
Gu Mengran frowned slightly and sighed helplessly, "It won't work. Looking at the bodies in the river, there must be some infectious disease outbreak here. Even if there's no one near, do you dare to get on the boat?"
"This doesn't work, and that doesn't work. What should I do?" Zheng Yijie grabbed his hair in annoyance.
Everyone was at a loss. The cab gradually became quiet, with sighs coming one after another. The air became dull and depressing. Even through the glass and the mask, one could vaguely smell the stench of decay on the river.
“Sizzle, sizzle—”
A burst of white noise broke the silence. Gu Mengran thought Heng Rongsheng 2 was trying to contact him, but when he looked up, he saw Liang Zhao adjusting the high-frequency channel.
With a click, channel 22 jumped to the public channel, and a hoarse male voice came immediately:
"Attention, ships! Attention, ships! This is the Lingjiang Port Maritime Patrol Team. Please maintain a speed of 4 knots and berth at the water service area. There are injured people here who need help. Thank you for your cooperation!"
He used a very formal tone, repeated three times in a row, and indeed sounded like a maritime officer.
Everyone stayed where they were before, no one was going to pick up the pager to answer, even the warmest-hearted old man frowned, his eyes revealing vigilance.
There were no other ships in the river basin. Apart from Heng Rongsheng 2, the only ones that could call on the Feng Yi were the roadblocking ships.
It's the end of the world. Anyone who takes a walk on land will know that social order no longer exists. At this critical juncture, are you seeking help in an official tone and fooling fools who don't know the situation?
It's not possible to completely ignore it, after all, you still have to find a way to get through. Liang Zhao pondered for a moment, raised his head and looked at Gu Mengran, then, with the other's approving eyes, reached out and picked up the pager.
"Hello, Lingjiang Port Maritime Patrol Team, this is Fengyi. We have received your message and can cooperate with the berthing, but we have observed a large number of dead fish and floating corpses in the channel. We are not sure about the specific situation ahead. Please inform us in time."
The other party was silent for so long that Gu Mengran thought there would be no response. Then the high frequency sounded again: "Hello, Fengyi, we are the survivors who gathered here after the earthquake. Some of us are maritime and staff members of Lingjiang Port, and some are crew members."
"We stayed at the port after the earthquake, helping and supporting each other and overcame the difficulties together. Until recently, a highly contagious chickenpox broke out in Lingjiang Port, and many people were infected."
"We didn't respond in time, didn't take adequate protective measures, and lacked medicine. In the end, more than 30 people died because they didn't get timely treatment. The bodies were also contagious, and we had limited conditions to deal with them, so we had to throw them into the river."
He answered every question with a sincere tone and a friendly attitude. Meng Gaoyang and Zheng Yiji looked at each other and immediately believed it. Their expressions were visibly relaxed.
Liang Zhao stopped talking in a pretentious tone and turned back into an ordinary crew member. He was a little timid when facing maritime affairs and asked with some concern: "Is the chickenpox under control now? This river basin doesn't look very safe. Will we be infected if we go there?"
The other party answered quickly and confidently: "It's under control! After a period of isolation, the last chickenpox patient has recovered. You should know that chickenpox is a self-healing disease. As long as the fever does not persist, it will naturally get better in about seven days."
"Since the situation is under control, why don't you go ashore? What are you doing stopping the boat here?" The old man was so curious that he couldn't help but ask.
"Are you the captain?" Noticing that he had changed his position, the other party became more polite and friendly. "We have been to the shore. We landed not long after the earthquake. But the nearest town to Lingjiang Port is a small county town, and there is no rescue there at all."
"Later, when the weather got hot, we had nowhere else to go so we returned to the port. At least here we have boats, air conditioning, a water service area next to us, and no shortage of fuel."
"As for blocking the road... I'm ashamed to say that you should have discovered from downstream that this area of water has been polluted by us. There are a lot of dead fish and corpses. The whole area is like a stinking ditch. We are not blocking the downstream, but the upstream. If there are boats coming, we must tell them not to touch the water to prevent infection."
"Oh, so that's how it is." The old man completely relaxed his guard and turned into a warm-hearted person. He quickly walked to the front of the driving platform and took the pager from Liang Zhao: "So what help do you need now?"
"Medicine! Any medicine, cough, trauma medicine. One of our crew members was injured while working on the deck." The other party paused for a moment and smiled dryly, "Also, food and water. If you're interested, what's on board your ship?"
Just as the old man was about to answer, Liang Zhao spoke first, "We have the ore, food, and medicine on board, but not much. If you need it, we can give you some. How many people are on board?"
"We are not many, only a dozen or so left. If it is convenient, please give us some food and medicine. A small portion will be enough. If you want to continue sailing, stay with us. We will figure out a way to get through these few days."
The other party was not greedy at all and seemed to care about them.
The old man felt relieved, even a little impatient, but Liang Zhao didn't give him a chance to speak. He took away the pager when he was not paying attention, and said with embarrassment:
"We are facing some problems now. There are too many dead fish along the way. Our propeller blades are overly worn and the efficiency is obviously reduced. There are still many dead fish in this section. If we continue to drive through like this, our propeller will be scrapped."
"So what do you mean?" the other party asked hesitantly.
Liang Zhao: "Help me clear the channel and assist us in docking."
Without much hesitation, the other party responded, "Okay!"
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