Chapter 608 Everyone Takes Action
Amidst the angry gazes of the crowd, Xiao Peng remained calm. Seeing a plastic box nearby, he simply moved it over and sat down. "Don't stare at me like that! Looks can't kill! Look what that is! A live camera! Who of you dares to attack me in front of the camera? Stand up and show everyone your courage! Come on, stand up quickly! You who's holding the live camera, do you even know what a live broadcast effect is? Right now, you should point the camera at Captain Liu Heping! Let everyone get to know him!"
Liu Heping was so angry that he wanted to kill someone. He stomped his feet and turned back to the cockpit.
"Tsk tsk, just go back, and stomp your feet like a jerk. I said 'jerk' and nothing else. The audience in the livestream can imagine what this means. Please don't swing your hammer at me, saints! I'm not buying it! Brother Chen, how about this, now I'm a livestreamer, right?"
Chen Zetao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Xiao Peng said to the camera, "Everyone, look here. This Brother Chen Zetao is a shareholder of the ocean exploration company this ship is in. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have come here at all! But do you know why he came to me? To complain! He couldn't understand why I gave him the coordinates of the shipwreck, even though he had the best ship, and yet he still hadn't found it! I think the reason is simple: he ran into a piece of crap!"
Now the crew members couldn't stand it anymore and started talking loudly:
"Who the hell are you talking about?"
"Who are you calling trash?"
"Turn off the camera! If you don't explain clearly, I'm going to fight you today!"
Xiao Peng suddenly laughed after hearing this. "Hey, you still have some temper? That's what a Chinese man should be like! But I didn't say you were useless. I really like your clear self-awareness!"
“…”
Xiao Peng waved his hand. "Who am I talking about as a loser? The commander here, of course! Every soldier is a wretch, and every general is a wretch. You're just following orders, but where's your commander-in-chief? I heard he was so high-spirited when he first came here, and his visibility was unparalleled. But all this time has passed, and the shipwreck hasn't been found. He, as the commander-in-chief, should be fully responsible, but what has he done? He threw your work plan into my hands and lay in bed pretending to be sick. Then Captain Liu saw me and gave me a cold shoulder. You guys have been hostile to me since I got off the helicopter. Maybe some of you were arranged to make things difficult for me. You were told not to cooperate with me and not to find the shipwreck, in order to prove that the failure to find the shipwreck is my responsibility, not yours. Don't deny it, it's human nature. Regarding this matter, I just want to ask you one question: 'Are you stupid?'"
After hearing what Xiao Peng said, the people on the boat did not discuss it. Instead, some of them looked thoughtful. Just as Xiao Peng said, they had indeed agreed whether to cooperate with Xiao Peng's work or not.
Xiao Peng smiled faintly at their expressions. "Have you ever considered this? For your Commander Ma, this is the spur of his career, but for you? It's a job! It seems like you can get paid to support your families no matter what the salvage results are, but who will take the blame when the salvage is ultimately held responsible? Why are they trying to put the blame on me now? You're all adults, don't you understand this? But I'm too stubborn and they can't let me go! Then who will be blamed in the end? If you don't understand, go ask those 'temporary workers' in China! What are you doing away from home and traveling halfway around the world? Are you there to be a 'stepping stone' for others' success, or to support your families?"
Everyone looks at me and I look at you.
Xiao Peng continued, "Don't stare at me. I'm telling you this: if you can't salvage the shipwreck from the seabed, I won't get a penny from you. At worst, I'll pay Brother Chen thirty million. Back then, I said I'd pay for it if there wasn't a shipwreck. I wasn't bragging, it was easy for me to do it. Some people say I'm wasting your time just to make fun of you. So be it, it won't affect me at all! But what about you then? Even if it doesn't affect your work, you'll still be labeled a 'waste', right? So let me ask you now, do you want to cooperate with me and find this shipwreck to remove the 'waste' label from your heads, or do you want to continue to intimidate me? Okay, stop staring at each other! Look at me!"
Someone said, "Boss Xiao, look at what you're saying. We're just crew members. We do our job the way we're told. It doesn't matter who's in charge. How could we possibly cause trouble for you? We also want to salvage this sunken ship to prove ourselves."
Xiao Peng looked at the person who was speaking and said, "Name, position!"
"Lin Wei, first mate! Head of the deck department." The person who spoke answered.
The first mate is the second highest officer on a ship after the captain. On foreign ships, the first mate is usually in charge of administrative management, while on Chinese ships, the captain is usually in charge.
Lin Wei's statement basically showed the crew's attitude: In fact, he was the one who took the lead in not cooperating with Xiao Peng's work this time. Ma Wufang pretended to be sick and let Liu Heping and Lin Wei make things difficult for Xiao Peng. After all, Ma Wufang's father was awesome. Although he is under investigation now, this matter is not a big deal in the final analysis, so Liu Heping and Lin Wei stood up. As a result, Lin Wei saw who Xiao Peng was and didn't give him any face and directly hung Liu Heping on the fire. He didn't want to become the next Liu Heping, so he quickly expressed his position.
After hearing this, Xiao Peng asked loudly, "Who is the ROV operator?"
Four people in the crowd raised their hands.
Xiao Peng continued to ask: "Where is the crane driver? Where is the winch operator?"
This time eight more people raised their hands.
Xiao Peng pondered for a moment: "How long will it take for the ROV to go into the sea?"
"Today?" Someone was stunned and replied, "Forty minutes at the earliest!"
"Where is the second mate?" Xiao Peng asked.
One person raised his hand: "Here!"
Xiao Peng made direct arrangements: "Lin Wei, give me the measurement records of the ballast tank and sewage well, and then take charge of the navigation department. Captain Liu has been working too hard, let him rest! Your mission is to maintain the stability of the ship and report any weather changes to me at any time! At the same time, observe the changes in the nearby sea conditions! Second Mate, you will now take over the deck department and lead the team to reinforce the easily movable objects on the ship and clear the rear deck! Boatswain, install the heavy hydraulic hook on the crane as quickly as possible. Pay attention to fire and explosion prevention on the deck when working! The ROV will go directly to the sea, and you..." He pointed to the crew member holding the live camera and said, "Take me to the offline room, I will give the orders from there. Everyone understands what you have to do, right? Then don't just stand there! Get moving!"
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