Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Feng Jinhu
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The continuous heavy rains had long since washed away the joy brought by the cooling temperature. The water level of the Huangjiang River continued to rise, and after entering the Lanjiang River, it went upstream. The speed of the Fengyi and Hengrongsheng 2 was forced to slow down.
In just two days, the Huangjiang River became a river worthy of its name. The clear water turned into muddy mud. The trees along the river, which had been scorched by the scorching sun, were once again baptized by the wind and rain. 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 "bang bang bang" sound of the rain, and felt inexplicably stuffy in his chest.
The destination was within reach, the waterway became wider, and the water resistance gradually weakened. Gu Mengran pushed the bell to the bottom and controlled the Fengyi for the final sprint.
One thousand meters, five hundred meters, three hundred meters...
Driving through the winding mountain road, the car rushed to the top of the mountain at full speed.
The narrow river channel was instantly left behind, and it felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal a clear sky. The view suddenly became wider, the rushing water gradually became gentler, and in a layer of hazy mist, a vast lake came into view.
The propellers reversed and the Wind Wing 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.
At the starting point of Lanjiang 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 the turbid lake water. A plateau lake? If grandpa hadn’t told him in advance, Gu Mengran would have really thought he had driven the Fengyi into the East China Sea along the Huangjiang River.
"What do you think? Your grandpa picked a good place, didn't he?"
Gu Mengran was watching so intently that he didn't even notice his grandfather walking behind him. When he heard a voice, he turned around and found that it was not only his grandfather who came, but also Zheng Yijie and Liang Zhao who had been released after serving his sentence.
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 at night? Why, have you figured it out?"
Liang Zhao stood beside Gu Mengran, raised his hand to check 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 the end of his retreat. I'll prepare some delicious food tonight to welcome you back." Gu Mengran held the rudder with both hands and subconsciously turned his head to look at Liang Zhao when he spoke.
Before Liang Zhao could say anything, the ignored old man coughed in dissatisfaction: "Cough, what are you doing? Just drive the boat well 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: "What about the three directions, left, right, and front? Those of you who have been to Fengjin Lake, shouldn't you talk about the situation around here?"
What is Fengjin Lake like? I came here once many years ago, but the old man couldn't remember it for a while. He pondered for a long time before he stammering, "I, I remember there seems to be a resort hotel? Go left along the lake outlet, yes, left front!"
"Resort hotel?" Zheng Yijie chuckled, "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 people might not know 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, and we are unfamiliar with the place and don't know the specific situation here, so it's 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 words, and before everyone was prepared, he clapped his hands twice and said, "I remember now! The museum, Happy Land, but there may be a lot of people there, because there is also a beach."
"I don't know about the left side, I just came to play at that time——"
"Redwood Forest Park." Liang Zhao interrupted him in a deep voice and analyzed the three directions: "From the current point of view, the left side should be the area with the least people, and the water there is deeper. 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 your grandfather? You gasp for air when you talk."
"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 big as the ocean. It took ten minutes for the Fengyi, with the small Hengrongsheng on its tail, to carefully pass the island in the lake and stop in a deep water area where the mountains in the distance could be vaguely seen.
We don't plan to leave in the short term, so how to keep the boat stable is a problem.
Due to the 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 impossible to go with the flow. At worst, you can just not drop the anchor, drift out and then come back. But it's troublesome to go back and forth like this!
You could hear a pin drop in the cab; 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, 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 cable attached, it would indeed be much more stable for one ship to be a neighbor...how else could they enjoy the good life?
Gu Mengran thought about it carefully.
Feng Yi is the front-drive ship, and Heng Rong Sheng is the rear-drive ship. If they park in the right direction, the cockpit is indeed out of reach. But Feng Yi's kitchen and living room are at the stern, almost facing the stern of Heng Rong Sheng.
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 sound rang out, and Xu Xinghe's slightly excited voice echoed in the driver's seat:
"Brother Gu, Brother Gu! Should we dock? My sister said the current is too fast. It's not safe for a ship to drop anchor. If the water pushes the ship away and the anchor chain breaks, it will be troublesome!"
It seemed that 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, Sister Xu is right. Mooring is indeed more stable. How about this: you turn around and put our cabs opposite each other, so it will be convenient for our two families to travel back and forth in the future."
Not realizing the hidden meaning, Xu Xinghe on the other end of the phone became more excited and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes, I think so too. I'll turn around right now."
"Well, thank you for your help."
Gu Mengran said this without blushing or getting 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 raincoats from the space, one for Zheng Yijie and the other for himself.
Liang Zhao, who was standing at the side, 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 Heng Rong Sheng with cables.
The workload is extremely heavy and the two of them will probably be busy for quite some time.
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 just have 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, put the hood of his 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 neglected his duties, and without saying a word, he followed Gu Mengran out of the driver's seat.
“Boo-boo-boo——”
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 buffering, and there was even a noticeable dull pain when they hit my body.
The raincoats had become decorations. Less than a minute after rushing into the rain, Gu Mengran and Zheng Yijie were soaked through. The wolf walked towards the mooring cabin with difficulty.
The workload was indeed huge. The anchor chains at the bow and stern finally entered the water, and Heng Rong Sheng slowly approached. Gu Mengran and Zheng Yijie could not rest for a second, and hurriedly contacted the driving room, standing on the deck to command Heng Rong Sheng to berth.
The wind and rain were so fierce that people had to shout to speak. By the time Heng Rongsheng had stabilized against the fender of Fengyi, Gu Mengran's voice had become hoarse.
Fortunately, they were not the only ones who were soaked. Xu Xinghe on the opposite boat was worse off than them. He didn't even have a raincoat to block the wind.
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 overhead, and the annoying rain kept drilling into his eyes and mouth. Gu Mengran wiped his face from time to time, feeling like he was about to drown.
After a final check along the connection and a greeting to Xu Xinghe, Gu Mengran and Zheng Yijie hurried back, panting heavily.
He walked in a hurry and did not look at the lake. Gu Mengran had already grasped the door handle with one hand. Suddenly, a short whistle sound came from not far away.
“Beep—beep—”
The sound was not loud and barely covered the sound of rain.
Gu Mengran paused and met Zheng Yijie's eyes tacitly. Then they both turned around and ran to the guardrail to check the situation following the source of the sound.
On the vast misty lake, a small white boat with a pointed nose was coming from the side and behind at a very fast speed, cutting through the heavy rain.
Gu Mengran immediately identified a speedboat based on its vague shadow, and the target on the opposite side seemed very clear, it was the Feng Yi and Heng Rongsheng that had just stopped.