Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Grandpa's Old Friend

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“Boom boom, boom boom.”

"Lao Wan, Lao Wan, are you in there? Is this the place?"

There was a knock on the door and a rough male voice almost simultaneously.

As soon as the voice came, Liang Zhao immediately stood up and went to open the door. Just as he took a few steps, the impatient man outside the door spoke again, and the walkie-talkie in Brother Wan's hand also rang.

"Why aren't you saying anything? I'm asking you a question, hurry up."

The same sound came from two different directions, so loud that it hurt my ears.

Brother Wan made an impatient "tsk" sound, and not to be outdone, he yelled at the door: "Are you giving me a chance to speak? You're talking so fast that I can't even open my mouth. You really need to change your impatience."

Before he finished speaking, there was a click and the door opened.

Before the draft in the corridor could even blow in, the cabin door was suddenly pushed open and a middle-aged man with a walkie-talkie in hand walked in hurriedly.

The man was not tall, half a head shorter than Zheng Yijie. He was probably around 40 years old, with deep and shallow wrinkles on his face. His dark skin was like soil baked by the sun, rough but not aged, and looked quite healthy.

This man is really inconspicuous, the kind that would be ignored in a crowd. He looks like a laborer moving bricks at a construction site, or an ordinary crew member rusting and painting the deck, but he is actually the highest commander of the Giant - the captain.

The man, who had no captain's airs, closed the cabin door and stared at Liang Zhao, who was closest to him, with gentle and honest eyes. He then glanced at Gu Mengran and finally stopped at Brother Wan and asked, "Whose ship is called Feng Yi?"

"They are a family," Brother Wan sat on the bed without moving, waving his hand to the captain, "Don't stand there like you are interrogating a prisoner, come and sit down, and let's talk slowly."

"Are they from the same family? They don't even look alike."

The captain didn't have the patience to sit down and chat. He turned his gaze to Liang Zhao, who was closest to him, and smiled in a friendly manner, asking eagerly, "What's your name, little brother? Where are you from? You said your ship is called Feng Yi, so what's the captain's name?"

The intercom was turned on and the captain was called over with just three words: Wind Wing. He arrived in ten minutes. His anxious expression and urgent tone showed that this captain had a close relationship with my grandfather's former ship, Wind Wing.

But...is he an enemy or a friend?

A former crew member or a former enemy, Gu Mengran was never sure about this. However, considering his grandfather’s good character, it shouldn’t be possible that there are still enemies who are thinking about him after so many years, right?

Never mind! Before Liang Zhao could answer, Gu Mengran stood up, looked at the harmless captain, and asked directly: "Captain, do you know Meng Gaoyang?"

"who?"

A stone fell into the calm lake, creating ripples.

The captain's eyes were wide open, his mouth was wide open, like a gust of wind. In an instant, he walked in front of Gu Mengran, stared into his eyes, and asked hurriedly: "Do you know Captain Meng? No, who are you to him?"

"I'm his grandson." Gu Mengran replied immediately.

The bet was right. This captain not only knew my grandfather, but also seemed to have some friendship with him. I just didn't know how deep the friendship was.

So Gu Mengran rubbed his slightly red eyes and quickly added: "Brother Wan said that the Fengyi you know is a sea ship, and I immediately thought of the ship that my grandfather was on. Captain, you know my grandfather, right? Then can you--"

"You don't have to say any more."

The captain ruthlessly interrupted her before she could finish her words.

Sure enough, friendship is still not enough...

Gu Mengran lowered his eyes in disappointment. Just when he thought there was no hope, a dark hand landed on his shoulder.

The short captain patted Gu Mengran's shoulder with great effort, looking at him with loving eyes, full of relief and care, and speaking in an elder's tone: "Mengran, Gu Mengran, although I didn't hold you in my arms when you were a child, I have seen your childhood photos."

"Ah? You know my name and have seen me when I was a child?" This was somewhat unexpected, and Gu Mengran was dumbfounded.

"You are 20 years old today, right?" The captain smiled, his mouth corners raised, revealing a row of uneven but white teeth. "When you were born, I had just joined the ship and was still a trainee crew member, while your grandfather, Mr. Meng, was already the captain at that time."

"The old captain never puts on airs and is very easy to get along with. None of my colleagues envied me for meeting such a good captain on my first trip to the sea. The old captain is good in every way, except that he loves to show off. He always shows off his grandson to us with a baby photo."

"You don't know, our biggest headache every day is seeing that baby photo, because not only do you have to look at it, you also have to exaggerate it. We are a bunch of rough people who have been forced to become cultured people, and we are all fluent in saying auspicious words."

There are so many beautiful things left in the past years that the captain couldn't stop talking once he started, and he talked more and more excitedly.

"The old captain really has nothing to say, just one word, good! When I first came on board, I knew nothing and always made mistakes, but he would not blame me blindly. He would patiently encourage and teach us, just like a father, always caring about us."

"When I took the exam for the third mate position, I failed several times because of my lack of education. I wanted to give up, but the old captain's constant encouragement helped me regain my confidence and try again. How should I put it? Without him, there would be no me now..."

Unlike his previous hypocrisy and evasion, Gu Mengran listened very seriously.

Although my grandfather often brags about how great he was when he was young, this is the first time I have seen such a dazzling grandfather. It feels like the old man in his sixties in my memory has become vivid and clear in other people's stories.

Captain Ding Pengyi was a little too excited to meet the grandson of an old friend, and he talked about the past for a long time. However, he did not forget the business, and after chatting, he kindly took Gu Mengran to sit down and carefully understood the situation.

He asked very detailed questions, including the time, ship model, direction, speed, how many people were on board, whether there was food, and whether the old man would be hungry...

Looking at this captain who was even more nervous than himself, Gu Mengran completely let down his guard and told him the true situation without reservation. Of course, he still couldn't tell him about the space.

Finding someone in the vast ocean depends a lot on luck, but it doesn't just depend on luck. It also depends on whether there are people who understand the sea area and are willing to help.

Brother Wang had no relationship with them and sent them away without even saying a word. However, after understanding the basic situation, Captain Ding asked people to question the residents on the ship one by one and also sent the ship's navigation diary. His level of attentiveness was completely different.

Although the information provided by Gu Mengran was quite vague, the captain actually found some clues after mobilizing manpower and material resources and spending two hours.

【At 9 p.m. on the 16th, three small and medium-sized ships were detected in the northwest direction. The medium-sized ship is a multi-layer structure, suspected to be a container cargo ship, and the small ship is suspected to be a bulk carrier (river ship). The three ships were sailing at the same speed towards the southeast. The speed was lower than the minimum speed, and it was speculated that the power was insufficient. 】

【At 9:21 pm, tried high-frequency calling, no response.】

A thick sailing diary was spread out in front of Gu Mengran. He read it carefully from top to bottom. His dull eyes lit up instantly. He looked at Captain Ding with excitement and nodded excitedly, "Yes, it is very likely that they are the ones!"

"Three ships, the number matches. The big ship is a cruise ship, which is indeed easy to identify as a container ship on radar. The two small ships are also bulk carriers sailing on the Huangjiang River. The time... 16th, that is, fifteen days ago, these basically match."

As soon as these words came out, Ding Pengyi also became excited. His bronze face flushed slightly, and like a child, he grabbed Gu Mengran's arm and shook it left and right: "Good, good, good! This is good news. They have been separated for more than a month. This at least means that they were safe fifteen days ago and entered the East China Sea smoothly."

Ding Pengyi grinned, but as he was smiling he seemed to have thought of something, the smile froze on his face, and he looked at Gu Mengran with a worried look.

Without saying anything, Gu Mengran felt inexplicably uneasy. He pursed his lips subconsciously and asked nervously, "What's wrong, Captain Ding? What did you think of?"

Ding Pengyi sighed, "You just arrived in the East China Sea and you don't know that the East China Sea has not been very peaceful recently. I don't know where the evil wind came from, the temperature dropped sharply, and the wind and waves also became stronger."

"Of course not." Brother Wan, who was joining in the fun, said, "The kind of storms you encountered tonight are now commonplace, and they happen every now and then. Although our Giant will not be affected too much, the fish, all the fish will be scared away!"

Ding Pengyi glared at Brother Wan and said, "We are talking about business, stop making trouble."

The joy that just appeared on his brows was diluted a lot by worry. Gu Mengran stared at the floor in a daze, but his eyes were particularly firm.

After a long while, he smiled nonchalantly, as if to comfort himself, and murmured in a low voice: "It can survive. The Wind Wing is not a traditional river boat. We also made some minor modifications at the shipyard, so it can withstand wind and waves quite well."

"Besides, Captain Ding, you also said that my grandfather was once a very good captain. He has rich sailing experience and knows the sea very well, so... he must know how to survive this."

He spoke exciting words in the calmest tone, and for a moment, Ding Pengyi seemed to see the shadow of the old captain in this young man.

It's just a small storm. We've encountered it before when sailing.

Ding Pengyi slapped his thigh and echoed, "That's right, our old captain is no pushover. With his sharp insight, he will definitely be able to resolve this crisis."

It seemed that he had already come up with a solution. After saying this, Ding Pengyi turned his head and looked at the first mate on the other bed. He raised his chin and said, "Lao Wan, go and inform the sailors now to preheat the boat in advance. We will officially set sail at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."

Brother Wan didn't say much. He patted his thigh, stood up, and disappeared at the door in a flash.

With Brother Wan's departure, the huge rock pressing on his chest was finally removed. Gu Mengran heaved a sigh of relief and sincerely thanked Ding Pengyi: "Captain Ding, I don't know how to thank you. You saved us when we had nowhere else to go, and you were willing to help find my grandfather. It's really troublesome——"

"Don't say such polite words to me!" Ding Pengyi interrupted him, pretending to be angry, with some dissatisfaction in his tone: "What do you mean your grandpa? I'm going to find my old captain! He is like my father, can I ignore him? Absolutely impossible."

As he spoke, Ding Pengyi raised his shoulder and bumped into Gu Mengran, "Boy, if you really want to thank me, don't call me Captain Ding. It sounds too polite. Call me Uncle Ding."

Although I had never seen him before, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity at first sight.

Gu Mengran smiled and called out, "Uncle Ding."

“Hey!”

Ding Pengyi was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He patted Gu Mengran's shoulder, squeezed his hand, and said with deep emotion: "Time is really magical. He was so small in the photos before, the size of a palm, and he has grown into a big man in the blink of an eye. It's great."

"We are destined to meet each other. I never thought I would see what you look like when you grow up."

Gu Mengran nodded and sighed, "Yes, fate is really amazing. In such a big world and such a big ocean, we just happened to be together. I really want to find grandpa as soon as possible. He would never have thought that a colleague who he hadn't contacted for many years could actually save his eldest grandson."

"No contact for many years?"

Ding Pengyi raised his eyebrows and immediately retorted: "Who said we haven't been in touch for many years? Although I have been a captain in recent years and can't spare the time to visit your grandfather, I am not a heartless person. I will still call your grandfather during the holidays."

As if eager to prove it, Ding Pengyi quickly added: "Don't disbelieve me, we just contacted each other some time ago. It was your grandfather who called me before the earthquake."

"Shh, it's quite strange to talk about this. The old captain said some inexplicable things at that time, asking me to take my wife and daughter away from the mainland, sail to high altitude areas as much as possible, and buy as much food and daily necessities as possible. His tone was very straightforward, as if he wanted me to spend all my wealth to stock up on supplies."

There is this one?

Gu Mengran looked at Ding Pengyi with interest: "Do you believe it, Uncle Ding?"

Ding Pengyi nodded: "At first I was worried that he might have Alzheimer's disease or something like that because he's old. But his logic is not chaotic, and his words are clear and coherent. It feels like... he knows something."

"I listen to advice and eat well. I listen to advice the most, especially the advice of the old captain. Even when I was sailing abroad, I called home and asked your aunt to stock up on a lot of things."

"Now that I think about it, your grandpa must have known something, and he was reminding me in a roundabout way. I can't imagine what the result would be if I didn't listen to him. Eating and drinking are small matters, but thanks to the old captain's reminder, your aunt and your sister, our family can live safely until now."

Although these were very heavy words, Gu Mengran smiled.

The butterfly fluttered its wings slightly, changing the fate of many people. Grandpa and Liang Zhao, who should have died, Shijin Village, who should have been destroyed, and Uncle Ding, who should have been separated from his family...

They are all alive and will continue to live well in the future.