Guo Qi grabbed her, saying, "Don't go, I've specially reserved two rooms for you."
After saying that, he ran in the other direction, saying as he ran, "Don't go, don't go, wait for me to come back."
Zuo Ling: "..."
It's been arranged.
She met Pei Nansheng's gaze. Should she leave or stay?
Pei Nansheng smiled and said, "Go if you want, stay if you don't. Who can stop you from leaving this boat?"
Xiao Hao's eyes darted left and right, unsure whether to go or not.
The dog barked twice in the snowy night. "Are you coming or not? No, I'm going to patrol my territory."
The waterfall clung to the snowy night, its little paws scratching at it. "You little wimp, are you coming or not?"
As I swayed back and forth, I heard a series of thuds and clangs.
Zuo Ling: "..."
Is this an emergency assembly call? It sounds like the sound of banging on a large basin, and the sounds are inconsistent—one sharp and loud, the other deep and muffled.
Not only was she curious, but her family members were too, and the group headed toward the sound.
On the high platform where the flagpole had been erected, a thin, withered old man with completely white hair was vigorously banging two basins with a wooden mallet.
The pots, one large and one small, hung unimpressively high up, their surfaces uneven and pitted.
One is a large copper basin that looks like a washing machine, and the other is a stainless steel basin used for washing vegetables.
Zuo Ling chuckled. She hadn't been paying attention earlier, but upon reflection, she realized that Guo Qi had indeed said "knock" the assembly call, not "blow" it.
The atmosphere was initially quite tense, but the comical scene before them made it less tense.
Pei Nansheng also found it funny, and Xiao Hao was even more overjoyed, jumping up and saying, "Uncle, I'm strong, let me help you knock."
The man recognized Xiao Hao and bowed respectfully as he handed the wooden hammer to him.
Thump, clang... The large copper basin was fine, but the stainless steel basin was deformed by Xiao Hao's knock.
Xiao Hao was embarrassed and at a loss. He hadn't expected the basin to be so fragile.
The old man was equally dumbfounded. He had been knocking on it for a long time and it hadn't deformed. How come it deformed as soon as you knocked on it?
Zuo Ling laughed until tears streamed down her face.
Pei Nansheng forcefully pressed the deformed part back into place, took the wooden hammer back to the old man, and patted his younger brother's head, saying, "Alright, don't cause your uncle any more trouble."
In just a short while, a number of people emerged from all directions and gathered on the deck.
Guo Qi's instructions:
"An emergency has occurred. We'll leave as soon as the firewood carriers return. Those items that haven't been brought up yet, hurry up..."
An uproar erupted below.
"Guo, what do you mean, 'Let's go'?"
"Yes, what happened?"
Guo Qizhen couldn't explain it; he couldn't very well say that Zuo Ling had a premonition of danger.
"I've received word that Scorpion and Rose have joined forces to harm us. So, we need to leave as soon as possible."
Zuo Ling: "..."
What a fabrication! No wonder people say that a leader's mouth is a liar's mouth.
"Why be afraid of them? Aren't there..."
Everyone looked in the direction of Zuo Ling's family.
Guo Qi glared at the speaker and said, "Alright, enough nonsense. Teams, listen to your captains' instructions. Those who haven't finished, hurry up."
Someone shouted, "No, we can't leave! Some of our people haven't come back yet. They've gone to inform others; they're all preparing to return home."
"Yes, we still have some people who haven't arrived yet. Didn't we say there were still two weeks left? Why are we in such a hurry to leave?"
"..."
Many people came with the intention of gathering information, and once they confirmed that it was true, they rushed back to inform their relatives and friends.
Some arrived too late and couldn't make it in time, while others hesitated, thinking they still had time and weren't in a hurry.
To my surprise, the ship departed more than half a month earlier than scheduled, leaving no room for maneuver whatsoever.
Everyone got really anxious and started chattering and making a fuss around Guo Qi.
It's been eight years, and this is the first time I've had the chance to go back to China. With so many people on my mind, there are very few who don't want to go back.
Time was of the essence, and Guo Qi was busy; he didn't have the patience to explain.
"Those who don't want to leave, get off the ship now. The time is set and won't be changed. Alright, that's it. Go do whatever you need to do."
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