Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Black Bean Sauce Fish
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By chance, they got to know a captain uncle, and the days after Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao boarded the ship were no longer so precarious.
Food and water were delivered to their door, and each person was given two sets of warm clothing. Not only that, the manager in charge of arranging the rooms also started to smile and immediately said that they would be given a more comfortable single room.
There was no reason to refuse food and drink, after all, only when you are full can you have the strength to work. But as for changing rooms, there was no such thing as a reward without merit, so Gu Mengran politely declined.
Although Ding Pengyi is the supreme commander of the Giant, the ship does not belong to him alone.
The hundreds of people on the ship are a group and have long had strict order and rules. The more capable, the more work they do, and the more they get. If they enjoy special treatment as soon as they arrive and occupy other people's resources, wouldn't that be really becoming relatives and friends?
There is strength in numbers. Finding grandpa will take time. Gu Mengran is busy building good relationships with other people, so how could he become an annoying relationship customer?
But Ding Pengyi was not just talking, he really took great care of his old friend's grandson. When his request to arrange a room was rejected, he made a fuss about "work". On the grounds that Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao had rich driving experience, he directly transferred the two people who had just boarded the ship and were supposed to work on the bottom floor to the cockpit.
But Gu Mengran had no way to refuse. To find a ship in the ocean, one needs radar, not eyes. Only by entering the cockpit could they personally participate in the search for Fengyi.
then--
Amid the envious looks of others, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao gritted their teeth and walked into the driver's seat.
In a blink of an eye, more than a month has passed. The temperature continues to drop as time goes by. The sea is still as rough as before, but the huge ship seems to be sailing into an ice area. The wide and flat deck is tightly wrapped by a thick layer of ice armor, and all you can see is white.
The rain turned into heavy snow, and the seawater that hit the upper deck mixed with the snow and condensed into a thick layer of ice under the help of the cold air. The decks were gradually sealed and occupied by the ice layer. The mechanical arm had just thawed the railing, and it was frozen into a forest of icicles.
The sound of "ding-ling-dong-long, bang-bang-dang-dang" echoed from morning to noon.
The tempered laminated glass blocked the invading cold, but it could not block the sound. Gu Mengran was sitting in the cockpit, and when he looked up, he saw the people de-icing the deck in the wind and snow.
When the weather is cold and the waves are big, the deck will be frozen by ice every now and then. If it is not cleared in time, the large amount of ice accumulation will cause the waterline to be too deep, affecting the stability of the ship. The equipment on the deck will also be damaged if it is in a low temperature state for a long time.
De-icing has become a daily job. Not to mention being tired, the main thing is the cold.
The trawl net had been in the water for more than 24 hours, and the Giant cancelled its automatic navigation and slowly began to slow down. Liang Zhao followed the other crew members to the deck to help, preparing to retrieve the trawl net. There were only a few people left in the huge cockpit, which was quite deserted.
Gu Mengran had never heard of using a supertanker to cast a net to catch fish.
He also wanted to go to the deck to help and see if this new attempt could bring any results, but because of the captain's care, he had no chance to leave the cockpit. He was like a plant kept in a greenhouse and could not bear the slightest cold wind.
The captain and the first mate were talking in front of the cockpit. Gu Mengran was eager to try, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to speak. He finally waited until the first mate left with the binoculars. Just as he was about to get up and go forward, the captain's walkie-talkie rang again.
"Captain, this is the deck. The planks are set up, the winch is cleaned, the sailors are in place, and we can start!"
Ding Pengyi picked up the intercom and responded, "OK, tell the de-icing people to return to the cabin quickly and stay away from the winch and the robotic arm. Pay attention, safety is the top priority."
With a "received" sound, Ding Pengyi dropped the intercom and shouted, "Everyone, get back to your positions, follow my instructions, and prepare to retrieve the trawl net."
"receive!"
Gu Mengran: …
The buttocks that had just been lifted up fell back down again.
A trawl net is different from a traditional fishing net. It is a soft and flexible net barrel. After it is placed in the water, it is spread open by the current and then towed forward by a ship. The fish, shrimps and crabs in the waters it passes through will naturally be dragged into the net bag.
It is easy to put down the net but difficult to pull it up. The Giant is too tall, and there is a long distance between the deck and the water surface. The large trawl net is too long, which causes half of it to hang in the air, with the heaviest net bag still falling into the water.
Pulling from above and tugging from below, if the fragile trawl breaks, all the efforts will be wasted.
The tow board was set up as a buffer, the winch started working, the two ropes were gradually retracted, and the net successfully floated to the surface. The winch continued to operate, the rope soaked in seawater was stretched straight, the buoy was raised to the deck with the winch, and the green net bag was instantly exposed to the water.
The net bag rubbed against the smooth towing board and slowly rose. The sailors who had been waiting on the deck for a long time came forward to help, tidying up the tangled net ropes and deformed net circles to prevent the trawl net from getting stuck in the gap between the deck and the towing board.
It was a long and tense process. No one dared to let down their guard until the net bag appeared. In the unusually quiet cockpit, one could even hear faint breathing sounds. When most of the net bag was successfully returned to the deck, the captain gave the order:
"Move the mechanical arm! Quick, go up and help!"
All of a sudden, the cockpit and the deck were busy again.
The noisy voices, the hum of machinery, the hum of engines, the silent Giant instantly became bustling, heads popped out of the stern windows, and everyone was looking forward to the final result.
It took nearly an hour and a half in total, and with a burst of screams and explosions, finally, a huge, bulging net bag was completely pulled onto the deck.
A strong fishy smell immediately filled the air. As the ropes were untied, it was like waves surging. With the sound of "bang bang bang", tens of thousands of fish, shrimps and crabs rushed out of the net bag quickly and swiftly like a tide.
The stern deck was still far away, and although it was difficult to see what was there clearly, when everyone saw the vast expanse of white, they knew that today was going to be a great harvest!
The crew in the cockpit could no longer sit still, and they all looked around, like a pot of boiling water, boiling in an instant:
"Oh my god! That's too much, right? How many pounds does it weigh?"
"Jin? My friend, this should be measured in tons."
"It's so packed, my eyes are dazzled! Hey, do you think there will be king crabs or something?"
"Don't say that, it's possible. There are king crabs in the East China Sea."
"I haven't seen so many fish and shrimps in decades. Is this enough for us to eat for half a year?"
"That's an exaggeration. With so many of us, we can only eat for three months at most!"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Although they were in the cockpit, their hearts were already on the deck, and no one had the heart to work anymore.
Seeing this, Ding Pengyi simply waved his hand and said, "Go, go, if you want to join in the fun, hurry up and don't poke your head around here. Remember to ask the others to bring their belongings and sort out the fish and shrimp."
Some people were too cold to go out, while others were not afraid of the cold and just wanted to join in the fun. Gu Mengran was the latter and hurried out of the cab along with the majority of the troops.
The biting cold could not dampen people's enthusiasm. They took out pots, bowls, pans, buckets... all the movable containers in the cabin, rushed out from the poop like a swarm of bees, and rushed to the deck in a hurry.
Gu Mengran thought he was very fast, but it was too late. People were gathered in three layers inside and outside, surrounding the bow deck so tightly that no water could get through. He could not see any fish or shrimp at all, and could only smell the fishy smell.
Instead of joining in the excitement, I was left feeling quite cold.
Gu Mengran was about to give up and rubbed his hands to leave, but at this moment, the crowd that had been crowded together suddenly dispersed, and the mountains of fish and shrimps were spread out on the deck with tools to make them more available for sorting.
He thought he was lucky and it was just a coincidence, but the next moment, he met a pair of smiling eyes across the crowd. Gu Mengran then realized that Liang Zhao, who was working on the deck, had already discovered him.
By making use of his "connections", Gu Mengran finally reaped the rewards of today.
Fish, shrimps and crabs are piled up in layers, and even when spread out, they look like a tall "seafood mountain". The lively barramundi, the strange-looking prawns, the thick and long snake-like seven-star eels, the snarling octopus...
There were many species and huge quantities, mixed with many deep-sea fish that Gu Mengran couldn't name. The most abundant were the small, sweet and delicious shrimps that were abundant in the East China Sea, also known as dog shrimps.
Gu Mengran was dazzled, just as the crew member had said:
"I've lived for more than 20 years, and I've never seen so much seafood."
The sorting work is simple, boring and very tiring. At the beginning, it feels fresh and everyone works very hard, each one more skillful than the other. Later, when the sea breeze blows, picking up the fish and shrimps that look like ice cubes makes people feel younger and frozen like grandchildren.
As the sky gradually darkened, the last large bucket of shrimps was carried back to the house and put away. Gu Mengran, Liang Zhao, and two other crew members came out of the storage cabin sweating profusely.
His clothes were wet and dry, and he smelled of sweat. Gu Mengran was just about to ask Liang Zhao to go to the public bathroom to take a shower together when a loud shout came from the end of the corridor.
"It's time to eat! The seafood feast is ready!"
Gu Mengran paused, immediately pulled Liang Zhao back and went back to their storage room to get the dishes and chopsticks.
If you are not active when eating, there is something wrong with your thinking.
Today is a bumper harvest, so the dinner is naturally extra sumptuous.
Unfortunately, there were not enough seasonings on the boat, so the chef only cooked a dish of black bean curd with barramundi, and chose the most simple method of steaming both the shrimps and swimming crabs.
After waiting in line for ten minutes, Gu Mengran finally got the dinner he had been longing for. After Liang Zhao walked out of the line with his bowl, the two of them chose an empty table in the corner of the restaurant to eat.
After doing physical work for an afternoon, Gu Mengran was already hungry. He picked up the chopsticks and poked into the fish belly. He carefully selected a piece of tender fish belly meat with few bones.
The rich aroma of fermented black beans wafted around his nose. Gu Mengran had already imagined how delicious it would be. But before he could put the tender and fragrant fish meat into his mouth, the chief engineer who was eating at the table opposite him suddenly took out a "zizi" intercom.
"Lao Gui Lao Gui! Are you in the restaurant?"
The intercom rang. It was the first officer's voice.
Originally, this had nothing to do with Gu Mengran, but after Master Laogui pressed the intercom to respond, the first mate's excited voice rang out again: "Help me see if Gu Mengran is in the restaurant, quickly! It's urgent."
They were just separated by a table, and the distance was very close, so Gu Mengran could hear it clearly.
"Did you hear that, Lao Gui? When you see him, tell him to come to the cockpit. The radar has detected ships that appear to be the Ever Leap and the Wind Wing!"