g, I took a deep breath and asked, "What's wrong with Hongjie What's going on with you all How did you find me"">"Hoo..." A low hoot came from the owl perched on the woman with yellow eyes' shoulder.W...Now it's very quick to take a boat from Shunde to Zhonggang, just a few hours.

But it was still quite slow at the time, and the ship had to operate normally fishing so as not to attract attention. It moved very slowly, stopping and starting like a snail.

Hong Jie is fine. As a northerner who has never been on a boat before, I got seasick that night. Lao Huo repeatedly told us to try not to go out, and if we were caught by inspection without a crew member's ID, we would be in big trouble. Lao Huo said that if we really couldn't hold it in, we could go to the deck after one o'clock in the morning for some fresh air.

Old Ho planned to reach Zhonggang in seven days' time.

My meal with Red Sister in the storeroom was quite good. It was all seafood like shrimp and fish.

The boy who brought us food was also the one who helped us move our boxes onto the ship. He was Lao Huo's cousin, nicknamed "Douzi" (Little Sprout), and he was one of the few people on board who knew that Red Sister and I lived in the storeroom.

The bean sprout was in his early twenties and talkative. Seeing that Red Sister and I were listless all day, he would sometimes bring us food and chat with us. The bean sprout told us many stories about the sea, while I also shared a few tales about Northeastern heroes like the Out-Horse Protector Xian and Yellow Skins, leaving the bean sprout utterly amazed.

> Late one night, around nine o'clock on the fourth day, my friend Hongjie and I were playing cards in the storage room to pass the time. Suddenly, a hurried voice came over the walkie-talkie from Captain Lao Huo.

"Two gentlemen! Are either of you there Please respond if you hear this."

">

I pressed the intercom, "What is it"

“Things are looking bad, someone’s coming to check. I'll try to stall for a few minutes here. I've sent Dòu Yá (Bean Sprout) away. You guys quickly follow Dòu Yá and let him lead you to safety!”

As soon as Lao Huo finished speaking on the walkie-talkie, there came a series of loud knocks on the door from Douzi.

After opening the door, Douzi nervously threw two raincoats to me and Hong Jie. He told us to put them on quickly before he left.

After going out of the engine room, Douzi used his walkie-talkie to whisper: "Uncle, uncle, what's the situation now Can we go on deck"

After waiting for several minutes, the red light on the walkie-talkie flashed and Lao Huo's voice came through.

"Boy, those men are checking tables in the control room. You quickly lead them both to hide in the fish hold, there are five minutes left!"

"Let's go! Quick!" Douzi pushed open the door to the engine room and led me and Hong Jie onto the deck.

The deck had a hatch in the middle, and underneath was the fish hold. Inside were tons of dead fish, stinking so badly that it could knock you out. There was a ladder under the hatch. At Bean Sprout's urging, I and Sister Hong put on our raincoats and scrambled down the ladder in a fluster.

Bang!

The air was thick with stench, slippery and slimy. The bean sprouts were covered, and the fish hold plunged into darkness.

Almost at the same time, both Hong Jie and I heard someone speaking from beneath the trapdoor.

"What do you do Why weren't you here when I was checking the list just now Where's your seaman's card"

I heard Lao Huo say, "Oh, sorry about that. This is my nephew Douyazai. I just called him, but he didn't answer. Maybe his walkie-talkie is out of battery"

The little sprout quickly said, "Uncle, did you just call me I didn't hear. It seems like I forgot to charge my walkie-talkie last night."

"> "

Lao Huo laughed and scolded, "You kid can't learn your lesson. You say you know so much, but you never charge the walkie-talkie. You just don't have a good memory!"

"Hey everyone, want to check out the employee warehouse"

"Hold on, that's the fish hold, right Open it up for me."

">d the door."How did you get here! Don't you know the trouble you've caused me!" The proprietress spoke in a huff.I asked, where are those people we used to live withThe old lady stomped her foot and p...