Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Shijin Village

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At daybreak, a small white boat had already stopped under the side deck of the Wind Wing, with its pointed bow pressed against the outer plate and its light hull swaying with the water.

Putting on raincoats and picking up walkie-talkies, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao rushed into the thick rain under the worried eyes of their father and Zheng Yijie, and boarded the long-awaited speedboat along the escape ladder that had been prepared in advance.

In fact, Gu Mengran also thought about driving a diesel boat himself, so that even if he entered someone else's territory, he could drive the boat away in time if the situation was not right. But then he thought again, they had to go ashore anyway, and the boat could only stay on the shore. If others had bad intentions, they would definitely not give them a chance to drive the boat away.

Of course, the most important reason is that diesel boats have no roof.

The rain today was quite heavy, and the lake surface was covered with mist again. If I were to get drenched all the way... forget it, it would be too harsh.

There were only four people in the speedboat, including Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao who had just boarded the boat, Xiao Pang who had met last night, and a tall and strong man with a gloomy face sitting in the driver's seat.

We exchanged glances when we boarded the boat. The man had sharp facial features, thick eyebrows, and a broken right eyebrow peak. He looked like someone who was not easy to mess with. This was in stark contrast to the fat boy, who had fair skin, small eyes, a chubby round face, and looked non-aggressive at first glance.

Gu Mengran suspected that this person was the hot-tempered old man who was hard-mouthed but soft-hearted that night, but the other party was concentrating on driving the boat and never said a word, so he couldn't judge by the sound.

There was still room for maneuver, so Gu Mengran didn't act too reserved when he got on a stranger's boat. He looked at the two men inconspicuously, looked around the speedboat, and started the conversation in a very familiar manner: "Your boat is really good, small, flexible, and fast. The interior looks quite luxurious. It must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"Well, of course." Xiaopang took over the conversation without any defense, and said with a bit of pride: "The scenic area specially purchased a luxurious speedboat for sightseeing the lake. Before the disaster, it would cost two or three hundred yuan per person to take a boat."

Gu Mengran raised his eyebrows. "Wow, it's so expensive? Are there many people sitting here?"

Xiaopang waved his hands and said, "It's not expensive. This is a 4A scenic spot with a lot of tourists. Normally, if you want to take a speedboat to see the lake, you have to queue up."

As he was talking, Xiaopang sighed, "Ah, but now..."

What happened now? Gu Mengran was about to ask when the speeding speedboat entered the shallow water area. On the misty lake, two or three dilapidated fishing boats swayed with the waves and flashed past the porthole.

The speed was too fast. Before Gu Mengran could see clearly, the speedboat had left it far behind. The heavy rain blocked his view. Gu Mengran withdrew his sight with regret and asked curiously, "What was that just now?"

The knowledgeable little fat boy turned around and looked at him, "Fishing boat, you don't even know what this is?"

"Yes. I mean, that's your ship too?"

Xiaopang's eyes changed subtly, and he looked at him like a fool. "I told you, this is our territory, so of course only our people can fish. The dried fish they gave you that day was caught in the lake. How does it taste?"

"It's very good, my grandpa loves it very much." Gu Mengran, who didn't dare to eat it at all, smiled dryly.

Xiao Pang nodded with satisfaction, his eyes suddenly became much friendlier, "There is not much food left now, the water level has risen, and the fish have also fled with the current, so it's good to have something to eat. Some time ago, there was a big ship that came from downstream just like you. Some people on their ship were infected, and they had no food. We kindly gave them dried fish, but they rejected it."

"It's probably not because they dislike it." Gu Mengran chuckled and expressed his guess: "They should have seen dead fish floating on the river when they came from downstream. They might be worried that the water source is polluted."

Moreover...having personally seen the spectacular sight of fish floating in the river, anyone with poor mental quality would not be able to eat fish in such a short period of time.

Xiaopang shrugged his shoulders in disapproval, "I know what you're talking about. Later, my brother Duan went to see it himself. It was indeed very scary. But we are in Fengjin Lake, the upper reaches of Lanjiang River. The water from Lingjiang Port cannot flow here."

"Besides, there are no dead fish in our lake, and we need to eat fish ourselves. Oh, we can't go to the lake to catch fish just to hurt others, right? If you don't understand this, I really don't know why you are so cautious."

When he started to complain, Xiaopang stopped stuttering and talked for a long time.

Gu Mengran nodded in agreement and asked, "So where are they now? Did they leave or stay here on the big ship you mentioned?"

Without waiting for Xiaopang to answer, Gu Mengran saw the answer himself.

The speeding speedboat gradually slowed down and approached the shore little by little.

This was probably the former tourist pier, with all kinds of boats moored at the berths, including speedboats, diesel boats, sightseeing boats, and the big ship that Xiaopang mentioned, a medium-sized bulk carrier.

There is no doubt that those on that ship have stayed here.

The speedboat stopped and went ashore. Gu Mengran stayed close to Liang Zhao, followed Xiaopang and the silent man, and walked into the resort, which was once bustling with people but now quiet and desolate.

The earthquake left no trace in the lake, but its footprints are everywhere on the land. The concrete road beneath the feet is full of cracks, the green plants on the roadside have turned into dead grass, and the large-scale collapsed resort hotel has affected many surrounding buildings. The dust was washed away by rain, and the broken bricks and tiles are like indelible scars, which remain here forever.

The further you go in, the weaker the business atmosphere becomes.

After turning countless bends, the modern-style buildings completely disappeared. It felt like switching from the city to the countryside in one click. Quaint, solid and sturdy original stone houses appeared on both sides of the alley.

Stone houses, stone alleys, stone steps, the cracked cement road underfoot has turned into round and smooth pebbles, and stone walls can be seen everywhere to build houses of various sizes, blending into a primitive and simple village.

Most importantly, most of the buildings here are low, with the highest not exceeding two stories. Therefore, the stone houses that have experienced major earthquakes still stand firmly in the wind and rain, witnessing the hardships and vicissitudes of the past.

Children running in the rain, women killing fish on the stone platform, old men collecting firewood under the eaves... Suddenly I was back to the time before the disaster, when nothing had happened yet and everything was so peaceful.

The Chosen Village? Gu Mengran looked around with eyes wide open. Before he could recover from the shock, Xiaopang and the man led them into a large two-story stone house.

"Duan Yueyan! Are you a mad dog? I just fixed it for you the day before yesterday, and you bit it again! I had nothing to do one day, so I fixed your intercom for you, right?"

Before he had even stepped foot into the door, there was a sudden "bang" from the room, followed by a cursing male voice filled with anger, and the whole room trembled.

The little fat girl who entered the room first was not frightened at all. Instead, she happily went to the right side of the living room and eavesdropped in front of the closed door.

The wooden door had very limited soundproofing effect, and the people inside had loud voices, so there was no need to stick close to the door to eavesdrop. Gu Mengran could hear it clearly even if he was standing in the hall.

"I persisted for another week. This is the last time. This is the last time."

"No time! Take your fucked up balls!"

"Don't be like this, Zhou Feng. I promise, I will come to see you again next month after this time."

"Fuck you! Do you think I don't know? Today is the 30th!"

"Uncle Zhou~"

"Will you get out or not? If you have the guts, just stand there and wait for me to deal with you—"

Before he could finish his words, the tightly closed wooden door suddenly opened from the inside. The person inside hadn't come out yet, and the fat boy who was eavesdropping against the wall was caught off guard and fell into the door.

Before he fell completely, the people inside pushed him hard, and Xiaopang staggered back four or five meters before he managed to steady himself.

Even though he was treated like this, the little fat girl was not annoyed at all. She even raised the corner of her mouth and looked towards the inner door, pulling out an almost flattering smile, "Brother Duan, hey, I didn't eavesdrop."

Hearing the familiar name, Gu Mengran looked towards the wooden door and saw a tall and slender, handsome young man in his early twenties walking out of the door.

With deep eye sockets, a high nose bridge, and thin lips, the young man's appearance is extremely outstanding, with a strong sense of exoticism, like a carefully carved doll, which is out of tune with the dim environment around him.

Gu Mengran was stunned for a moment. How could this grumpy old man be so handsome?

As if to confirm his guess, Duan Yueyan closed the door and looked at Xiaopang with his chin raised, "Get lost! How dare you look at me and laugh at me?"

“I dare not, I dare not.” Xiaopang waved his hands repeatedly, frightened like a quail.

Gu Mengran: ...How discordant!

Realizing that there were other people in the room, Duan Yueyan didn't bother to scold Xiaopang.

Soon, his eyes shifted to Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao, looking at them recklessly. Then he pulled a stool from the side and sat down. He had no intention of inviting the guests to sit down, and went straight to the point:

"Well, I've given you time and I've seen it. Are you ready to think about it?"

Without even the time to wipe the rain off his head, Gu Mengran couldn't help but get nervous and exhaled a breath of hot air, "I've considered it, but I still have a question."

The grumpy old man twitched his lips and said impatiently, "You're so stupid. If you want to ask, ask now."

Gu Mengran didn't bother to be polite with him and said directly: "Do you understand the situation outside? Do you plan to live here for a long time in the future? If you work, you will be fed. What kind of work do you mean? And--"

"You are asking a hundred thousand whys? This is just a little doubt." Duan Yueyan interrupted him unhappily, and then threw a look at Xiaopang, "You come."

The silly little fat boy said "Oh" and answered Gu Mengran's questions slowly and calmly: "We know the situation outside. It's completely chaotic. Brother Duan said this should be the end of the world."

"The houses in our village are different from those outside. They are more durable. They didn't collapse much in such a big earthquake. We will definitely live here for a long time in the future."

"As for work, since you are all men, you may have to do some hard work, such as cutting trees in the mountains, fishing in the lake, or digging potatoes in the mountains."

"Potatoes?" Gu Mengran caught the key word and asked, "Where do the potatoes come from in the mountains? Go find them in the mountains?"

Xiaopang laughed, "Are you stupid? Although our place is planned to be a resort, we in Shijin Village have not moved away. We still have our fields on the mountain. The villagers who lived here before the disaster still knew how to farm."

No wonder, with potatoes and fish, no wonder they have no shortage of food.

Gu Mengran nodded thoughtfully, turned his gaze to the grumpy brother again, and asked the key question: "If we join, can we still move freely? Can we work here during the day and go back to the ship to rest at night?"

Obviously understanding his intention, Duan Yueyan chuckled, "You want to join us to get food, but you also want to have freedom. So what you mean is - work for us?"

Gu Mengran smiled back at him, "What do you think?"