Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Invitation

*

The main room fell silent. The middle-aged man sitting on the chair remained silent. The whole room seemed to be paused. His younger brothers all looked at the door in silence.

The calm atmosphere gradually became solemn. After two or three minutes, the man finally moved. He leaned forward, clasped his hands, and raised his chin nonchalantly towards the door: "Why, who are these two friends?"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the younger brothers stepped forward and hurriedly reported: "Captain, these two people were driving a diesel boat sneaking around the village entrance and we stopped them. They said they were from the village, but--"

"Okay, I was wondering why you two haven't been seen for the whole afternoon. Are you distracted again? Are you restless? Have you finished your work? You're a worry all day long." Without letting the little brother come out, Sister Fang stood up and pointed at Liang Zhao and Gu Mengran's noses and scolded them.

After she finished, her expression changed in a second, and she showed a polite and gentle smile to the middle-aged man beside her, "I'm sorry, Captain Dong, the young people in the village like to play, I made you laugh."

The man called Captain Dong raised his eyebrows and looked at the two of them with interest. "Are you two little brothers from our village too? You are so handsome. What are your names?"

The look in his eyes, like he was picking out pork, made people feel very uncomfortable. Liang Zhao frowned slightly, but before he could speak, Sister Fang took the lead and pointed at the two of them and introduced them, "This Liang Zhao and this Gu Mengran are young people who fled here with their families after the disaster. They are usually quite efficient and hardworking, but they just like to play around. Sorry to bother you guys."

"No, no, it's normal for young people to be energetic." Captain Dong smiled and waved his hands. His eyes inadvertently drifted to the door and he winked inconspicuously.

The three younger brothers successfully received the signal and without saying much, they quickly left the door.

Almost at the same time, Sister Fang glared at the door and said to Liang Zhao and Gu Mengran, "What are you standing there for? Can't you see there are guests? Go away, go wherever you want."

Liang Zhao nodded slightly, turned around and left with Gu Mengran.

But before he could take a step forward, Captain Dong said with a smile, "Why are you leaving? You guys from the village are all our brothers. Stand aside and listen. Maybe they can help us make a decision."

Now that things have come to this, it would be pointless to leave any further. Liang Zhao gently squeezed the hand in his palm, took Gu Mengran to the side, and stood behind Sister Fang.

It was a very funny scene, with two groups of people confronting each other, one group had a huge crowd, and the other group had so many people that they could be counted on one hand. Duan Yueyan and the young people in the village had disappeared, and the only ones standing behind Sister Fang were Liang Zhao, Gu Mengran, and a confused Xiaodong.

The atmosphere was not tense. Although the other party brought a large group of people, he spoke politely and negotiated. If you didn't carefully think about the meaning behind his words, you would think he was just a simple guest.

Liang Zhao and Gu Mengran arrived late. They had apparently already chatted with Sister Fang for quite some time, but the man called Captain Dong spoke in a pretentious and extremely long-winded tone, repeating the same thing over and over again.

After standing aside and listening for a while, Liang Zhao basically understood the situation.

Simply put, the group of villagers who left Shijin Village after the disaster returned, bringing back a cruise ship and a group of strangers. The purpose of bringing people back was not to stay here, but to sincerely invite all the villagers of Shijin Village to board the cruise ship and leave here together.

The captain of the other ship came to the village in person to invite them. He was very sincere and offered very tempting conditions. His reasons were also very sufficient, and he pointed out the current problems of Shijin Village incisively and accurately.

Live by the mountain, live by the water. Shijin Village is nestled in the mountains and beside the water. If it weren't for the continuous rain all year round, the villagers could have lived here peacefully for the rest of their lives.

Due to continuous heavy rainfall, the resources in the mountains were gradually emptied out. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were dug up two months after the rain, and only bare wooden stumps were left in the surrounding forests. The rain washed away layer after layer of mud day and night, not to mention food.

Fishing in the lake and planting crops under awnings in front of the houses are currently the only food sources for Shijin Village. However, the former is unstable and may be gone one day, while the latter causes crops to grow particularly slowly due to lack of sunlight.

Food is only one aspect. After all, Duan Yueyan was very foresighted and had previously led the villagers to stock up a lot of food. Their biggest difficulty now is - housing.

The rain fell day after day with no sign of stopping. Although the stone houses were solid, the long-term erosion of rain water caused leaks on the roofs of many villagers' houses.

Moreover, the water level continued to rise, and the accumulated water had already spread to the entrance of the village. If the rain did not stop, it would only be a matter of time before Shijin Village was flooded.

Captain Dong seemed to understand the situation in Shijin Village very well. He specifically mentioned this point and then showed his own advantages by generously extending an olive branch: "Our Ever Leap is large and spacious. It has six floors in total, more than 400 rooms, and can carry up to 730 people."

"There is no shortage of food and drink on the ship. We have been running around and collecting supplies for more than a year. Even if we only spend money in the future, I can guarantee that you will have no worries about food and clothing for three years. What's more, we have a professional fishing team and professional researchers. Their soilless cultivation experiments have achieved certain results. It won't be long before we can live the same life as before."

"It has been raining for more than a year, and no one knows how long it will continue. Living on the boat, we don't have to worry about whether the rain stops or not. Even if the land turns into water, we still have a place to stay."

Captain Dong became more and more excited as he spoke, his voice rising as if he was giving a passionate speech.

It was hard to tell whether Sister Fang was interested or not, but the villagers outside the house were visibly excited, like a pot of boiling water, discussing excitedly:

"Is there such a good thing? No shortage of food and drink, and a stable place to live?"

"I haven't seen a cruise ship yet. Can we go take a look first?"

"Seriously, I think what the captain said makes sense. If it keeps raining, it won't be long before the village is flooded. If we don't come up with a solution now, where can we go? Now is different from the past. The boat is really safer than the land."

"What do you mean by that? Why don't you think of a solution? Didn't Xiaoyan and the others--"

"Ahem, let's stick to the facts and stop talking nonsense."

"I think we can consider it. It's hard to find a boat. There will be no such shop after this village. I have also seen Lao Luo's cargo ship. The space is too small. I am afraid that all the people in our village can only sleep in the cargo cabin. Moreover, the environment is definitely not as good as the boats that people have to buy tickets to ride."

"There are more than 400 rooms, and we can't use one each!"

"You wish. There are still quite a few people on the boat."

"It's not impossible for me to live on the boat for a long time, but... it's not pleasant to live under someone else's roof."

"Don't ships need to burn oil? What if they run out of oil?"

"There's nothing to drift to, so we can drift to wherever we want. But they don't have to worry about food and drink, so why should they take us with them? Are they really just doing good things?"

"Are you stupid? Aren't Xiao Zhou and his friends on the boat? Xiao Zhou must have said hello to the captain and came back to pick us up."

…

A group of people gathered at the door of the main room and started a concert, making a lot of noise.

There were many voices of doubt, but Captain Dong turned a deaf ear to them until the villagers gradually quieted down. He suddenly raised his hand and called softly, "Come on, Xiao Zhou, explain it to your fellow villagers."

As he finished speaking, a tall young man walked out from the right corner of the wall.

The young man had regular features and a handsome appearance. It was clearly a pleasing face, but his appearance was diminished by the dark circles under his eyes and the messy stubble on his chin.

Xiao Zhou moved very slowly, and it took him a minute to walk from the corner to the door. He looked very tired, but he forced a smile when facing the villagers.

"Uncle and aunt, some of you have already guessed it. Yes, I was the one who brought the captain back to the village. I know you may still be resentful of me for leaving without saying goodbye, but I definitely did not abandon you. We just went out to look for help and see if there is a safer place to stay."

"After we left, we traveled everywhere and had a hard time. Many people even died. We only met Captain Dong half a year ago. At that time, we were already at the end of our strength. He was kind enough to take us in and give us food and drink."

"Captain Dong is a good man. I told him at the time that there were still people in our village. He agreed to pick you up, but it was raining and there were floods and mudslides in many places. We couldn't set off, so we delayed it until now."

It was like a speech, with Xiao Zhou standing on the stage and speaking, while the villagers below the stage were talking about it.

"Is this true? Did I misunderstand them?"

"A lot of people died? Who died?"

"Why didn't you see the child from the Li family?"

…

Xiao Zhou waved his hands, and when the villagers gradually calmed down, he continued, "This is an unprecedented flood. Many places outside have been flooded. Our village is located on high ground and escaped the disaster, but Captain Dong is right. It is only a matter of time before it is flooded."

"Those who left before are now on the ship, uncle and aunt. I hope you will come on board with us. We don't have to separate from our families. We can drift together and find a new home together. I promise you, as long as -"

"Zhou Zhiqi!" Sister Fang interrupted him sharply, her face flushed.

Without waiting for the villagers to start talking again, Sister Fang turned her head to look at Captain Dong, twisted her lips and forced a smile, "Captain Dong, didn't I just say that? We still need to discuss and consider it. Relocating the whole village is not a trivial matter, and it is not decided by one person. You don't have to let Xiao Zhou act as a lobbyist here, give us some time, okay?"

The words were spoken politely, but the tone was not friendly. Captain Dong did not show any anger at all. He pinched his chin and laughed softly, "Did you hear that, Xiao Zhou, you talk too much again."

"Sorry, Captain." Xiao Zhou took the pot and quietly stepped aside.

"Young people are full of passion and care about their fellow villagers, so we can't blame him entirely."

Captain Dong turned his head to meet Sister Fang's gaze, his smile deepening. "Of course I can consider it, but you have to know that this is an opportunity for you, not for me. If Xiao Zhou hadn't begged me, I might not have made this trip."

"Thank you Captain Dong for giving me the opportunity." Sister Fang's mouth twitched, with a forced smile.

Captain Dong snorted and laughed, staring at Miss Fang, shaking his head helplessly, "How about one night? I'll give you one night to think about it, and we'll leave tomorrow. But before that, Miss Fang, please arrange accommodation for us."

Suddenly forgetting what she said before, Sister Fang raised her head and her pupils shrank suddenly, "You guys are going to stay in the village tonight?"

"Why, you're not welcome?" Captain Dong raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "If this is how Shijin Village treats guests, then we don't have to wait until tomorrow, we can leave now."

He almost gritted his teeth when he said the last part, and the word "leave" even sounded a little angry. Qin Fang looked at the sanctimonious man in front of her and the eager younger brother behind him, and her hand hanging by her side trembled slightly.

"You're welcome, of course you're welcome."