Wang Jin was quite happy. Now they had 10 tires, which was equivalent to buying a layer of insurance.
"Everyone, listen to me. Now go peel some bark and use it as rope. We'll tie 10 tires together, connect them together, and then use some branches to make a raft. This way, we won't get lost while swimming in the sea."
When the others heard this, they nodded repeatedly, "Okay, let's listen to Brother Jin."
Ten people worked together, some peeled the bark, some picked up branches. Huang Xiaoji was lucky and found two wooden boards, which could be used as oars.
Wang Jin also prepared a few wooden sticks so that he could defend himself in case he encountered any bad guys after getting ashore.
There are actually countless illegal immigrants in the mangroves, including men, women, young and old, with all kinds of accents.
And many of them are retired soldiers recruited by Lin Sanqi.
But there were 10 people in Wang Jin's group, all of them were strong and looked tough, so no one dared to step forward to grab the tire.
Many people made up their minds and decided to quietly follow these 10 people at night, just in case these people had a better conscience and could help them.
Blackness began to cover the earth.
Wang Jin has been observing the situation on the sea. When the tide is high, the sound of the sea water is roaring. When the tide stabilizes, the water surface begins to calm down again.
Wang Jin knew that the time was almost up. The sky and the earth were dark and vast, and he could not tell east from west, south from north.
If you don't have a direction, it would be really difficult to cross the sea, because once you are on the sea, you will be swept around by the tide and you will have no idea which directions are which.
Not everyone looks for the North Star, and not everyone sees stars in the sky every night.
"Everyone, get ready. The tide is no longer rising. We are ready to set off. Please note, we only have three hours to cross the sea. Now, everyone, please count and confirm the number of people."
Lu Xuezhi, here you are!
Zhao Jintao, here you are!
Huang Hua, here you are!
…
Huang Xiaoji, here!"
"Alright, all ten of us brothers are going to leave now. Once we get to Hong Kong, no one should be left behind. For the sake of our wives and children at home, we must succeed. Come on!"
“Come on, come on!!!”
Wang Jin and his companions pushed the temporary "raft" out of the mangroves. Everyone climbed on it, picked up the wooden boards and prepared to row south.
But after rowing for a few minutes, Liu Genchun exclaimed:
"Brother Jin, someone is holding onto our raft!"
Wang Jin gritted his teeth and thought that one more person wouldn't make much difference, and one less person wouldn't make much difference either. Never mind, just consider it as saving someone. If someone wants a ride, then just take it.
As a result, Zhao Jintao on the other side also shouted:
"Who are you? Don't touch our boat!"
There was a man in the water, begging for mercy: "Comrade, please be kind. I won't get on the raft. I'll just hold on to the branches. Please take me across the sea."
"Brother Jin, someone here is holding onto our tires too."
Wang Jin suddenly woke up. Although he couldn't see clearly in the dark, he could hear someone swimming towards their raft in the sea.
It was called a raft, but it was just 10 tires hastily put together. It was barely enough to carry 10 grown men, and if one or two more people took it, they would have turned a blind eye.
But if dozens or even hundreds of people gather around and everyone wants to take a ride on their boat, there is only one outcome.
The raft would surely break apart or sink, and no one would be able to escape.
Huang Hua was a little anxious and exclaimed, "Brother Jin, what should we do?"
Wang Jin took a deep breath, knowing that this was not the time to be soft-hearted, so he cruelly shouted to the refugees beside the raft:
"Let go, everyone! If you don't, we won't be polite!"
A man pleaded, "Comrade, please be kind and take me across the sea!"
There was a young woman's voice: "Comrade, take me across the sea, you can do whatever you want to me, I will be your wife!"
Another elderly voice also rang out: "We are all Chinese, we must unite!"
"Yeah, you can't be so selfish!"
"If we're going to leave, let's all leave together. Please!"
Wang Jin's scalp went numb when he heard this. More and more people were gathering around the raft, and the raft had begun to sway from side to side. It was obvious that it could not withstand everyone clinging to it.
"Brother Jin, what should we do?"
"Brother Jin..."
Wang Jin took a deep breath again and shouted:
"Get your weapons on! Beat them until they let go. Wang Can, Xiao Yu, Fan Dengfeng, Huang Hua, the three of you, row the boat hard and don't stop."
The biggest advantage of the soldiers is that they obey orders in everything they do. Wang Jin is now their "leader", and whatever the leader says is what they do.
Lu Xuezhi, Zhao Jintao, Shi Nan, Liu Genchun, Huang Xiaoji, and Wang Jin simultaneously raised the wooden sticks and planks in their hands, gritted their teeth and began to smash them hard at the people clinging to the raft.
“Ahhhhhhhh!!!”
"Oh, help! You can't do this!!!"
"You are so cruel, you just watch us die!!!"
"I have gold, take me on board and I'll give it all to you!!!"
Wang Jin gritted his teeth, veins bulging, "Smash it all! Smash it all down!"
Everyone on the raft went crazy, hitting people like crazy, rowing like crazy, accompanied by crying, cursing, and begging for mercy. It didn't look like hell on earth at all.
The raft was moving very slowly at first because too many people were pulling it, and then it became lighter and lighter because too many people had to let go.
Finally, the raft became lighter and it rushed out. Finally, there was no one clinging to it. Only the sound of the oars paddling quickly could be heard as it rowed towards the boundless sea.
"Woo woo woo~~~"
On the raft, Huang Xiaoji, the youngest and smallest, started crying.
Wang Jin sat on the raft, feeling as if he had lost half his life, and slapped himself twice.
Everyone was silent, because what happened today had far exceeded their values and was completely contrary to what they had been taught.
Zhao Jintao said softly:
"I have twin sons who never get enough to eat and cry out in hunger. One time, I saw them picking up goat droppings and eggs to eat. My wife, who was so beautiful before we got married, is now nude and has no buttocks. She's just a handful of bones.
I signed up to go to Hong Kong just for the money. With the money, I can buy food and clothes for my wife and children. I just want them to have enough food and clothes. I want them to live well, and I want our family to be happy, without anyone being left behind.
Fan Dengfeng also said:
"When my mother was alive, she lay in bed, complaining of stomach pain every day, begging us to save her. But I had no money, so I borrowed 50 kilograms of sweet potatoes from the village, hired a doctor, and took a lot of Chinese medicine, but it didn't work.
The doctor said it was an intestinal abscess and that my mother needed to be taken to the local hospital for surgery. But I had no money. I hadn't returned the 50 kilograms of sweet potatoes, and the village wouldn't lend me any more. And then my mother died in agony. I'm an unfilial person. I don't need money.
Shi Nan said weakly, "We did nothing wrong. We just wanted to live. We bought the tires. The money was given to us by Colonel Lin personally, not by the government."
"Yes, we are not wrong. For our wives and children, for our parents, we are not wrong!"
"It was just a close call, otherwise none of us would have been able to escape. If they want to survive, they should find a way themselves!"
Wang Jin took the wooden board from Wang Shen and shouted:
"Paddle hard towards the Xiangjiang River! We did nothing wrong. We just want to stay alive and feed and clothe our families. We did nothing wrong!!!"
"I'll do it, row hard!"
"Change, I'll row!"
…
…
Three hours later, the raft finally docked in the New Territories.
Fortunately, there were 10 people taking turns rowing, and fortunately, these 10 people were all strong and healthy, otherwise, it would be difficult for ordinary people to persist in rowing for a full 3 hours.
Wang Jin felt the raft run aground and knew it had reached the shore, and he breathed a sigh of relief:
"Brothers, thanks to our ancestors, we have finally arrived in Hong Kong."
Huang Xiaoji touched his sore shoulders and asked:
"Brother Jin, didn't you say it was only 5 kilometers? Why do I feel like it's already 15 kilometers?"
Wang Jin's mood had recovered and he replied with a smile:
"We don't understand the currents of this bay, so we've probably gone off course. But we've finally landed on Hong Kong soil, and our revolution is halfway to success."
"Yoho~~ Xiangjiang, here we come~~"
"Brothers, make money and get rich, and bring honor to your family. It's just around the corner~~~"
“Hahaha~~~”
Wang Jin and his companions jumped off the raft while chatting and laughing, and waded through the sea and mountains towards the land.
"Everyone sit down and rest for a while."
Wang Jin gave the order, then took out a flashlight from his backpack, along with a map of Hong Kong provided by Lin Sanqi.
"Brothers, we have arrived in Hong Kong now. According to the map, we should be in Yuen Long, which is about 40 kilometers away from the city center of Kowloon.
Colonel Lin said that we can only apply for a Hong Kong identity card as refugees if we reach Kowloon or Hong Kong Island, so our next task is to reach Kowloon.
My suggestion is, since Colonel Lin hasn't given us a time limit, we should try to find a place to rest during the day and start walking at night. That way, we can pass through the layers of checkpoints and avoid being deported. What do you think?
The others all expressed their opinions: "We will listen to Brother Jin."
"Okay, then let's find an empty house, or hide in the mountains, and then..."
"who?"
Before Wang Jin finished speaking, he suddenly stood up and said, "Who is it? Come out." (End of this chapter)
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