Chapter 42: Gao Meng

  A crudely made wooden raft floated quietly on the water.

  In the raft there were some wild fruits and roasted game such as rabbits and birds, along with some freshwater wrapped in leaves.

  Gujalan stood by the sea, quietly gazing at the small island, a hint of reluctance on his face.

  "What's wrong?" Lin San asked.

  Gujalan slightly shook her head: "Really leaving this place, it's really a bit reluctant."

  Lin San smiled to himself, thinking: Women are just sensitive creatures, if you can't bear to leave this small island, then stay here! Of course, these words Lin San only thought in his heart and would never dare say out loud.

  "Let's go." Gu Jialan took a deep breath and turned around to board the wooden raft.

  Lin San did not hesitate and also boarded the wooden raft.

  The raft gained weight with two more people on it and slowly sank, seawater almost level with the raft.

  "Miss Gu, hold on." Lin San called out to Gu Jialan and picked up a thick branch to start paddling the wooden raft, using it as a makeshift oar.

  Gujalan sat at one end of the wooden raft, quietly gazing at the increasingly distant island, her expression somewhat lost. Women are indeed sentimental, and after living on the island for over ten days, Gujalan had developed some feelings for it.

  Today it's an easterly wind, Lin San paddled the wooden raft with ease, taking advantage of the wind to propel the raft forward quickly, and before long, he left the small island far behind.

  Gujalan sat for a while and then went forward to help Lin San paddle the wooden raft.

  With one more person helping to paddle, the raft's speed increased significantly.

  The sky gradually darkened.

  "Ah..." Lin San let out a sigh: "Miss Gu, let's take a break and have something to eat."

  Gujalan was also a bit tired, nodded: "Good."

  Lin San handed a half-roasted rabbit to Gu Jialan and picked up several wild fruits to eat.

  Gujalan was eating rabbit meat while gazing out at the endless sea: "How much longer will we have to row before we reach land?"

  "I also said it's no good, I reckon we'll have to row for a while." Lin San said.

  Gujalan raised her head and gazed at the darkening sky: "It's going to be dark..."

  Spending the night in the sea was really a kind of torture. Lin San and Gu Jialan sat on the wooden raft, vigilantly gazing at their surroundings, afraid that a wave would come over and capsize the raft.

  Lin San and Gu Jialan spent a sleepless night in fear.

  Fortunately, this night was calm and peaceful, and nothing dangerous happened.

  As soon as it dawned, Lin San and Gu Jialan ate some food and continued to row the raft.

  As soon as the sky turned dark, Lin San and Gu Jialan stopped rowing the wooden raft and sat together, quietly waiting for dawn. It wasn't that Lin San didn't want to row the raft, but he was afraid of getting lost in the darkness. Once you lose your direction on the sea, death is not far away.

  Zhou Er Fu Shi, Lin San and Gu Jia Lan waited at sea for 5 days.

  For these 5 days, Lin San and Gu Jialan had a hard time. During the day, the scorching sun made them dizzy, and at night, the temperature on the sea surface was extremely low, making them catch colds. After 5 days, their appearance was beyond recognition.

  Another thing that made Lin San and Gu Jialan particularly anxious was that food and water were already in short supply.

  "We've been drifting at sea for 5 days, and still haven't seen a shadow of land, not even a single boat. Did we navigate in the wrong direction?" Gu Jialan gazed out at the sea, saying softly.

  "It shouldn't be long now." Lin San licked his dry lips: "Maybe if we hold on for a few more days, we'll see land."

  Gujalan smiled wryly: "How many more days can our food last?"

  Lin San fell silent, gazing at the remaining food. He let out a sigh and said, "Alright, we'll have two meals a day..."

  Gu Jialan slightly shook her head and didn't speak. These days, Gu Jialan felt like she was living in a world of extremes - scorching hot during the day and freezing cold at night, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted.

  "Miss Gu, we will definitely be rescued..." Seeing Gu Jialan's poor expression, Lin San spoke out to comfort her.

  "I'm fine, don't worry." Gu Jialan smiled at Lin San: "Let's continue rowing the wooden raft."

  Lin nodded three times, picked up a branch and continued to paddle the raft with Gu Jialan.

  Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

  The food was finally finished and the freshwater had been drunk dry a long time ago.

  Lin San and Gu Jialan sat quietly on the wooden raft, their expressions very despondent.

  After sailing for so many days, they still haven't seen any land, not even a small island. They've run out of food and fresh water, which means the two people's lives are starting to be in danger.

  "Lin San..." Gu Jialan suddenly called out softly.

  "Huh?" Lin San turned his head, looking at Gu Jialan with a puzzled expression. At this moment, Gu Jialan's face was pale, her lips were dry and cracked, and her eyes were lifeless, making Lin San feel a pang of heartache, secretly blaming himself for not being capable enough to let Gu Jialan suffer so much by following him.

  Gu Jia Lan gazed quietly at Lin San: "I have something I want to tell you, this sentence has been hidden in my heart for a long time..."

  "What's up?" Lin San asked.

  Gu Jialan licked her dry, cracked lips, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Lin San, actually I...I...like..."

  "Rumble, rumble......" A loud roar of an engine came from one side.

  Lin San Yi was stunned, hastily turned his head and looked around, immediately overjoyed: "A boat, there's a boat..."

  Gujalan turned around and saw that an old fishing boat was slowly approaching them. Gujalans expression immediately became extremely excited: "We are saved...... we are saved......" In the end, Gujalan even cried, originally thinking that he would die at sea, but unexpectedly a fishing boat appeared, this change really made Gujalan extremely excited.

  "Hey! Over here! Hey!!!" Lin San stood on the wooden raft, opening his arms and waving them wildly towards the fishing boat.

  At this time, people on the fishing boat also discovered Lin San and Gu Jialan, added horsepower, and drove towards Lin San and Gu Jialan.

  "The fishing boat is coming, the fishing boat is coming!" Gu Jialan grabbed Lin San's hand and exclaimed excitedly.

  "Yes, the fishing boat has arrived, we don't have to die." Lin San had thought that he and Gu Jialan were going to die at sea, but just as Lin San was about to give up hope, he suddenly saw a fishing boat, and his excitement can be imagined.

  The fishing boat finally arrived at the wooden raft, a bald man in his 40s stood on the deck and looked at Lin San and Gu Jialan with surprise: "How did you end up in the sea?"

  "Big brother, we've encountered some danger, can you help us?" Lin San said very politely.

  The bald man glanced at Lin San and Gu Jialan a few times, nodded: "Come to my boat." After that, the bald man put down a ladder from the fishing boat.

  "Ah, thank you big brother, thank you!" Lin San thanked him a few times, then pulled Gu Jialan up the ladder onto the fishing boat.

  "Look at you, you must not have drunk water for several days." The bald man saw Lin San and Gu Jialan's pale faces and dry lips, and knew that the two had not drunk water for a long time.

  "Yes, yes, yes, big brother, you're absolutely right. We haven't had water for 2 days." Lin San nodded non-stop.

  "Come on, I'll take you to get some water." The bald-headed man waved his hand and turned towards the cabin.

  Lin San and Gu Jialan hurriedly followed up.

  The cabin is not very large, but it's tidy. At the back of the cabin there is a storage cabinet, which is full of food and water.

  The bald man handed two bottles of mineral water and two breads to Lin San and Gu Jialan.

  Lin San and Gu Jialan hastily thanked them, walked to one side, and in a few mouthfuls, they finished eating the bread and drinking the water. The two of them had been starving for two days.

  "Big brother, where is this boat going?" Lin San walked over after finishing his bread.

  The bald man pulled out a cigarette and handed it to Lin San, who declined. The bald man lit the cigarette himself and took a puff: "Going out to sea to fish, now is the peak fishing season."

  "Go fishing?" Lin San furrowed his brow: "In other words, you won't be returning to land for the time being?"

  "Yes, I've only been out at sea for two days, won't be going back that soon." The bald man spat out a mouthful of smoke.

  Lin San turned his head to look at Gu Jialan, his face looking a bit unpleasant. They had finally encountered a ship, but unexpectedly this fishing boat was going out to sea to catch fish and wouldn't be returning to land. Was he and Gu Jialan going to have to stay at sea for a while longer? Lin San was really fed up with the ocean and wished he could grow wings and quickly return to land.

  Gǔ Jiālán walked over and said to the bald man: "Sir, what should I call you?"

  The bald man glanced at Gu Jialan and said lightly: "Gao Meng."

  "Oh, Gao Ge, can I discuss something with you?" Gu Jialan said politely.

  "What's going on?" The bald man looked at Gulan suspiciously.

  "Is that so? Can you take us back to land now?" Gu Jialan said in a negotiating tone.

  Before Gu Jialan could finish speaking, Gao Meng shook his head repeatedly: "It's impossible. I came out this time to fish, and if I don't catch a certain amount of fish, I won't return to land." Gao Meng was a genuine fisherman by birth, relying on fishing for a living. Now was the best time for fishing, how could he possibly give up fishing to send two unfamiliar people back to land? You know, this back-and-forth trip would waste a lot of time.

  Gujalan smiled: "Big brother, I won't let you send us back to land for nothing."

  Gao Meng furrowed his brow: "What does it mean?"

  "If you take us back to land now, I'll give you a reward of 100,000 yuan." Gu Jialan was indeed the young mistress, and with one move, it was already 100,000 yuan.

  Lin San was secretly sneering on one side, thinking: Rich people are just rich people, doing things is just bold.

  "1 million yuan? Are you kidding me?"

  "I mean what I say and do what I mean." Gu Jialan's expression was very serious.

  Gao Meng slowly inhaled his cigarette, not immediately responding, seemingly deep in thought.

  Seeing Gao Meng didn't immediately refuse, Gu Jialan knew there was a chance: "Big brother, even if you caught a whole boat of fish, you wouldn't be able to sell them for 1 million. Now, just by sending us back to land, you can get 100,000 yuan. This is a very good deal, what else do you have to hesitate about?"

  Gao Meng glanced at Gu Jialan: "How can I believe you'll really give me 100,000 yuan?"

  "Big brother, my family's condition is not bad, 100,000 yuan to me, really isn't very important. I just want to return to the mainland immediately now. If you still don't feel at ease, I can give you a written guarantee." Gu Jialan said.

  Gao Meng thought for a moment and then held up two fingers: "I want 200,000."

  "Alright! No problem! As long as you get us safely to land, I'll give you 2 million right away." Gu Jialan agreed without hesitation. To Gu Jialan, there wasn't much difference between 1 million and 2 million.

  Gao Meng nodded and found a piece of paper and a pen from the cabin, letting Gu Jialan sign a receipt. It seems that Gao Meng was still somewhat uneasy.

  Gujialan readily set up a written guarantee, and Gujialan had no intention of defaulting on the debt. To increase the credibility of the guarantee, Gujialan also asked Lin San to sign his name and press his handprint on the document.

  Gao Meng picked up the IOU, read it carefully twice, nodded in satisfaction, folded the IOU and put it in his pocket. The reason Gao Meng agreed to send Lin San and Gu Jialan back to land was entirely because of the 200,000 yuan. Gao Meng wasn't a fool, even if he stayed at sea for half a month and caught a full boat of fish, he wouldn't be able to sell them for 200,000.