Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Feng Jinhu
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The continuous heavy rains had long diluted the joy brought by the drop in temperature. The water level of the Huangjiang River continued to rise, and after entering the Lancang River, it went upstream. The speed of Fengyi and Hengrongsheng 2 was forced to slow down.
In just two days, the Huangjiang River became a veritable Huangjiang River. The clear river water turned into a muddy soup. The trees along the river, which had been scorched by the scorching sun, were baptized by wind and rain again. The dead leaves and branches fluttered in the wind. The once lush forests no longer had any breath of life.
The feeling of doomsday was really strong. Gu Mengran held the rudder, looked at the gloomy sky through the windshield, listened to the sound of the rain, and felt inexplicably stuffy in his chest.
The destination was within reach, the channel became wider, and the water resistance gradually weakened. Gu Mengran pushed the bell to the bottom and maneuvered the Fengyi for the final sprint.
One thousand meters, five hundred meters, three hundred meters...
Driving along the winding mountain road, the car rushed to the top of the mountain at full speed.
The narrow river channel was left behind in an instant, and there was a sudden feeling of seeing a sunny day after parting the dark clouds. The field of vision suddenly became wider, the rushing water gradually calmed down, and in a layer of hazy mist, a vast lake came into view.
The propellers reversed and the Fengyi began to slow down. Gu Mengran looked at the lake through the windshield, his mouth slightly open, his dark brown pupils filled with shock and joy.
The starting point of the Lancang River, the vast Fengjin Lake stretches as far as the eye can see. The lake surface seems to be connected with the gray sky, blurring the boundaries of the world, like a vast and boundless ocean.
The mountains surrounding the lake were perfectly hidden by the mist and turbid water. A plateau lake? If Grandpa hadn't told him in advance, Gu Mengran would have really thought that he had driven the Fengyi into the East China Sea along the Huangjiang River.
"How about it, your grandpa picked a good place, didn't he?"
Gu Mengran was watching intently and didn't even notice the old man walking behind him. When he heard his voice, he turned around and found that it was not only his grandfather who came, but also Zheng Yiji and Liang Zhao, who had been released from prison.
He didn't hear a word of his grandfather's words. The moment he saw Liang Zhao, Gu Mengran raised his eyebrows, his bright eyes filled with joy, "Didn't you say you would come out in the evening? What, have you figured it out?"
Liang Zhao stood beside Gu Mengran, looked at the time, and said softly: "Six thirty, should it be considered evening?"
"Okay, it's up to you if you say so. Congratulations to our little brother Liang on completing his retreat. I'll prepare some delicious food tonight to welcome you." Gu Mengran held the rudder with both hands and subconsciously turned his head to look at Liang Zhao while speaking.
Before Liang Zhao could speak, the ignored old man coughed in dissatisfaction: "Ahem, what are you doing? Just drive the boat properly and don't be distracted."
"Don't just give orders," Gu Mengran chuckled, looking at the misty lake through the rain, and said to the three people behind him: "Left, right, front, three directions, those of you who have been to Fengjin Lake, shouldn't you tell us about the situation around here?"
What was Fengjin Lake like? Having been here once many years ago, the old man couldn't remember it for a moment. He pondered for a long time before he stammering, "I, I remember there seemed to be a resort hotel? Go left along the lake outlet, yes, left front!"
"Resort hotel?" Zheng Yijie burst out laughing. "Grandpa Meng, how many years ago did you come here? The direction is correct. To the left/front of where we are now, the hill over there has been built into a resort. The whole hill is full of resort hotels."
Afraid that everyone would lose track of the direction, Zheng Yijie kindly raised his hand and pointed.
Resort...Gu Mengran frowned slightly.
Fengjin Lake is a 4A-level scenic spot, so its resort must be quite large.
If there are still survivors here, they are most likely concentrated in that area. The two large ships are too conspicuous. If you are unfamiliar with the place and don't know the specific situation here, it is best not to approach them easily.
After a moment's silence, Gu Mengran raised his eyes slightly and continued to ask his grandfather and Zheng Yijie: "What about the opposite side and the left side? What are the areas respectively?"
"Right across from..."
Zheng Yijie dragged out the last line of his voice, and before everyone was prepared, he clapped his hands twice and said loudly, "I remember now! The museum, Happy World, but there may be a lot of people over there, because there is also a beach."
"I'm not sure about the left side, I just came here to play--"
"Redwood Forest Park." Liang Zhao interrupted him in a deep voice and analyzed the three directions: "At present, the left side should be the area with the least people, and the water is deeper over there. As long as we don't go to the shore, ordinary people can't get close to the Wind Wing."
Gu Mengran nodded heavily: "Ok! Then let's go--"
"but……"
Gu Mengran glared at him, "When did you learn this from grandpa? You gasp for air when you speak."
"It's not a big problem." Liang Zhao smiled and said, "There is an island in the lake on the left. I just want to remind you to be careful when driving the boat so as not to hit the Wind Wing."
"Got it." Gu Mengran focused on the front through the rain, turned the rudder little by little, and sailed to the left/forward along the outlet of Fengjin Lake.
Although the lake is vast, it is definitely not as vast as the ocean. It took ten minutes for the Fengyi, with its small tail Heng Rongsheng, to carefully sail past the island in the lake and stop in a deep water area where the mountains in the distance could be vaguely seen.
Since we don't plan to leave in the short term, how to keep the boat steady is a problem.
Due to continuous heavy rainfall, the lake water was not calm and the cable could not reach the shore. Even if the anchor was dropped, the Wind Wing might still be pushed away by the waves.
It's not a bad idea to go with the flow. At worst, you can just not drop anchor, drift out and come back later. But it's troublesome to go back and forth like this!
You could hear a pin drop in the cab, and when the question was raised, no one said a word.
Just when Gu Mengran was at a loss, Liang Zhao seemed to have thought of something. He squinted his eyes and glanced at the river surface, then turned his gaze to Gu Mengran, "If you don't mind being neighbors with Heng Rongsheng, the Feng Yi can berth with them."
"Oh, that's right!" Gu Mengran's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed again.
If two ships were moored side by side with a rope, one ship would indeed be much more stable, but as neighbors...how could they enjoy the good life?
Gu Mengran thought about it carefully.
Fengyi was driven from the front, while Hengrongsheng was driven from the back. If they were parked in the same direction, the wheelhouse would not be within reach. However, the kitchen and living room of Fengyi were at the stern, almost facing the stern of Hengrongsheng.
No, no!
In this way, when cooking in the future, will I have to keep the doors and windows closed and draw the curtains? It feels too much like stealing!
Before Gu Mengran could figure out what was going on, a high frequency sounded, and Xu Xinghe's slightly excited voice echoed in the cab:
"Brother Gu, Brother Gu! Should we dock? My sister said the current is too fast. It's not safe to drop anchor. It would be troublesome if the water pushes the boat and breaks the anchor chain!"
It seemed like everyone was waiting for Gu Mengran to make a decision, and no one reached for the pager. Gu Mengran hesitated for a moment, sighed silently in his heart, gritted his teeth, picked up the pager, and pretended to say polite words:
"Yes, what Sister Xu said makes sense. Berthing is indeed more stable. How about this, you two turn around, so that our cabs face each other, and it will be convenient for our two families to travel in the future."
Not hearing the hidden meaning, Xu Xinghe on the other end of the intercom became more and more excited, and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, I think so too, then I will turn around right now."
"Well, thank you for your help."
Gu Mengran said this without blushing or feeling nervous. He put down the pager and chuckled.
The old man heard his little plan and gave him a thumbs up decisively: "Good boy, you are really good."
The captain's chair was given to grandpa to sit on, and Gu Mengran took out two sets of raincoats from the space, one for Zheng Yiji and the other for himself.
Liang Zhao, who was standing beside him, frowned slightly and looked at Gu Mengran in confusion, "Where's mine?"
"You? You want to go out in the rain right after you recover from an illness?" Gu Mengran was busy putting on his raincoat and asked without raising his head.
For long-term mooring, the front and rear anchors must be lowered and connected to Hengrongsheng with cables.
The workload is extremely heavy and the two of them will probably be busy for a while.
Looking at the heavy rain outside, Liang Zhao wanted to fight for it again. He slowed down his voice and said to Gu Mengran: "You know, my illness has been cured a long time ago, I've just been isolated until now."
Gu Mengran refused without even thinking: "You should take good care of yourself after recovering from a serious illness. Go sit aside and play. Don't worry about me."
Without giving Liang Zhao a chance to speak, Gu Mengran quickly put on his raincoat, picked up a walkie-talkie, and then put the hood of the raincoat on his head and waved to Zheng Yijie who was dressed neatly at the side, "Let's go, let's go early and come back early!"
Zheng Yijie never neglects his duties, and without saying a word, he followed Gu Mengran out of the cab.
“Huahuahua——”
I pushed the door open and the deafening sound of rain hit my eardrums.
The dense raindrops were like solid glass marbles, falling from the sky without any cushioning, and even causing a noticeable dull pain when they hit the body.
The raincoats had become decorations. Less than a minute after rushing into the rain, Gu Mengran and Zheng Yiji were soaked all over. They walked towards the chain locker in a panic and with difficulty.
The workload was indeed huge. The anchor chains at the bow and stern finally entered the water, and Heng Rongsheng slowly approached. Gu Mengran and Zheng Yijie could not stop for a second, and hurriedly contacted the wheelhouse and stood on the deck to direct Heng Rongsheng to berth.
The wind and rain were so fierce that the only way to speak was to shout. By the time Heng Rongsheng came to a stop against the fender of Feng Yi, Gu Mengran's voice was hoarse.
Fortunately, they were not the only ones who were soaked to the skin. Xu Xinghe on the opposite boat was even worse off. He didn't even have a raincoat that could block the wind a little.
After an hour of hard work, all the cables were completely fixed.
Two boats, four anchors, and countless cables kept them firmly on the lake.
Dense raindrops fell from the top of his head, and the annoying rain kept getting into his eyes and mouth. Gu Mengran wiped his face from time to time and felt like he was about to drown.
After one last check along the connection and saying hello to Xu Xinghe, Gu Mengran and Zheng Yiji walked back in a hurry, breathing heavily.
He walked in a hurry and didn't look at the lake. Gu Mengran had already grasped the door handle with one hand. Suddenly, a short whistle sounded from not far away.
“Beep—beep—”
The sound was not loud and barely covered the sound of rain.
Gu Mengran paused and met Zheng Yiji's gaze tacitly. Then they both turned around and ran to the guardrail to check the situation following the source of the sound.
On the vast lake, a small white boat with a pointed nose was sailing through the heavy rain and approaching from the side and rear at a very fast speed.
Gu Mengran immediately identified a speedboat based on its vague shadow, and the target on the opposite side seemed very clear, it was the Fengyi and Hengrongsheng that had just stopped.
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