The gray sky was covered with a layer of coarse linen gauze, and the ethereal mist floated on the calm surface of the river, making it impossible to see the movement on the river, let alone the long-awaited fleet. The overcast weather has increased the number of mutants on the streets, and it is also faster than ever. We used our fastest speed to cross the path that Wei Hong and I had already scouted before, and came to Chen Donggang.

After connecting with the Jiangshang men who were guarding the port, our group waited in the harbor for two hours, but there was still no trace of the fleet. Although the port guys told us that the fleet would definitely arrive here today, we had not seen the ship for a long time, so we had to doubt Wei Jiahui's promise.

In order to appease our emotions, the port guys invited us all to the small building where they were stationed to avoid the cold and drink hot tea, thanks to this, Wei Hong, who was anxious, and Liang Minxuan, who had a temper with the eldest lady, barely stopped complaining. The tea leaves are a little damp, and the tea brewed is not too delicious, but it is satisfying to warm up the body. The Hong Kong guards of the Jiangshang people are also quite good at enjoying life, and the room is full of all kinds of pastime tools. The video game console reminded me of the good old school days, with different types of magazines piled up in a corner and a few playing cards stained with oil stains on the coffee table...... The five men in charge of guarding the port are of all ages, but I guess they have a lot in common. This small building is similar to the structure of the port management office where I, Wei Hong and Liao Shuzhen hid in Nanning Port yesterday, but the people on the river have installed a generator set on the first floor and prepared a few barrels of oil, which can be used for a long time. However, in order to save, they also do not often develop motors; That's it now, I can't play video game consoles without electricity, and because the weather is sunny and dark today, the light in the room is even worse, which makes people sleepy.

After a brief greeting, the friends gradually became familiar with the Hong Kong defenders, and various topics followed. However, I thought there were too many people in the room and the air was stuffy, so I decided to go out on the balcony alone with hot tea to blow the air. When I closed the glass door of the balcony, the voices of people in the room were immediately quieter, and my ears were finally cleared.

The bad weather not only obscured our vision, but also added to a sense of unease and depression. The temperature plummets in winter, and the wisps of mist exhaled from my mouth and nose are like a tangible portrayal of my silent sigh. The hot tea in the cup is also emitting white mist, holding it in the palm of your hand like a comfort to the soul, so warm. The wind in the harbor was not strong, like a pair of cold hands caressing my dull cheeks. After only a few minutes of standing on the balcony, my nose was already cold, and the air I inhaled refreshed me and dispelled the sleepiness of the hazy day.

I faced the Yongjiang River, leaning against the balcony in a daze, my eyes scanning the looming river again and again. I don't know how long later, I heard the sound of the glass door opening and closing behind me, and a man leaned on the balcony in the same movement as I did, and appeared next to me. I swept it with my peripheral vision, and it turned out to be Huang Weizheng.

He casually looked around, and accosted me, intentionally or unintentionally, "The people on the river are easier to get along with than I thought, why don't you go in and talk to them?" ”

"Not interested......" I don't mean to find fault with me, it's because after these days of traveling, I'm less and less interested in accosting strangers, and sometimes even some people I just met don't bother to say hello or have nothing to say.

"You and Wei Hong came back yesterday and scared us, are you better now?"

"Fortunately, Chen Mo helped me find some medicine."

"Sometimes you don't have to work so hard, I don't want you to lose your life."

It's rare for Huang Weizheng to reveal his true feelings, I am secretly proud in my heart, and there may be a little smile on my face, but I still pretend to be indifferent and continue: "I can't lose my life, I will lose it sooner." ”

Huang Weizheng smiled stiffly at me, patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said, "Uh...... You told me that day you just wanted to protect us as best you could, and that I just had to believe in you as much as I did in the past...... I didn't answer you at the time, and I want to tell you now that I will definitely trust you as much as I have in the past. ”

It's really weird, why did this guy suddenly tell me this, I frowned in confusion, paused for a few seconds and then smiled: "This, that's right!" You will take us to Qingshan alive. As for me, I'll do my best to help you out of trouble. ”

"Hmm." Huang Weizheng nodded with satisfaction and continued, "In the past few days since you left, Long Hao told me about your recent ......."

"Look! There's movement on the river! "The shadow of the behemoth in the river fog caught my attention, but in fact I knew what Huang Weizheng wanted to ask me; Long Hao's mouth has never been able to keep secrets, and I guess Huang Weizheng already knows about the abnormality of my body. And I just interrupted his hesitant question by finding a topic to get rid of in time.

Even so, Huang Weizheng put the problem aside for the time being, because ...... The small bit of mist on the river and the large fleet looming in front of our eyes are truly spectacular! The first thing that comes into our sight are two large sand carriers, which run side by side, more like a huge platform on the river; This may be due to the fact that they are held together with tools such as iron cables. Two 'sails' propped up by booms stand on the sand carrier, like giants' arms bent to the sky. Behind the two sand carriers is a scenic boat and a ferry cargo ship, the two ships are connected from head to tail, and each side has a riverside patrol boat. Between them, a slender suspension bridge is used as a passage for people to communicate and move from boat to ship. Behind the cargo ship was an older brown sand carrier, around which several ships were connected and finally towed onto a cargo ship. The whole fleet of ships pierced through the smoke and quietly anchored in the river still some distance from the port, like a mysterious island rising in the river fog, which made people breathtak and awe. It didn't take long for the flotilla to turn on and on, as if it was the light whisper of the people on the river. The guys stationed at the port also ran to the roof of our small building and responded with the signal lights set up there.

Huang Weizheng and I were still marveling at the feat of Jiang Shangren, when Zhang Xiaoying suddenly pushed open the glass door and said to us, "Hey, they said Wei Jiahui was going to send someone to pick us up." The car can't get on the boat, so Zhang Xizheng told us to go there now and get ready to board the ship. ”

"It's like a group vacation."

Zhang Xiaoying raised her eyebrows, and said with a smile: "You think it's the best." ”

Zhang Xiaoying turned around and left after speaking, Huang Weizheng and I also stepped out of the balcony to go downstairs to pack our luggage, and when we walked into the room, we found that everyone had gone to the empty building, and it seemed that if we didn't hurry up, we would be said to be lazy.

"By the way, I see that the relationship between the two of you has improved a lot since you and Wei Hong came back." I was still worried that Huang Weizheng would continue to ask the previous question, but who knew that he had forgotten about it and opened another conversation.

"Once you are born and die, what contradiction can't be solved?"

I thought I had said something big, and nodded proudly on the side, Huang Weizheng didn't splash me with cold water, he smiled: "It seems that I know what to do if I have a conflict with you in the future." ”

"Hey!" Before I was about to walk out of the entrance of the small building, I swore with big eyes that I pointed my finger back and forth between me and Huang Weizheng and said, "There won't be any big contradictions between us, ok?" ”

Huang Weizheng didn't answer me, just smiled and shrugged, like a hastily perfunctory unreasonable fuss; Although I think he should know how serious I am when I say this.

At this moment, Long Hao broke into the door and slammed open the door, and after seeing me and Huang Weizheng looking at each other because of his sudden appearance, he smiled boredly: "Did I miss something?" ”

"Lots of nonsense!" I knew that Long Hao would say such an indecent stupid thing, "What are you going to do?" ”

"Nothing, nothing." Long Hao turned around and opened the door again and said, "Wei Jiahui's speedboat has landed, and Min Xuan asked me to come over and urge you." ”

"The wife is strict." In response, I coldly gave Long Hao a tragic name, and walked out of the door in front of him.

The familiar patrol speedboat has docked, and friends are carrying large bags and small bags one after another on the boat with the help of the people on the river. Zhang Xizheng, accompanied by Wei Hong, stood beside the patrol boat with Wei Jiahui, chatting with the two generals after the unit. I just wanted to avoid their sight and go to carry the luggage with Wei Liqin and them, but I didn't expect to be stopped by Wei Jiahui. I had no choice but to smile and walk towards them.

As soon as I got close to them, Wei Hong took the initiative to take a step towards me and whispered to me that he had returned Wei Jiahui's appearance to its original owner. This guy didn't know how valuable Wei Jiahui's Patek Philippe watch was, and he took it out from time to time to fiddle with it, until Long Hao, who knew the goods, told him how valuable and precious the watch was, he was like holding a fragile egg, for fear that something would go wrong and break the watch. The change in attitude before and after made me laugh and cry, and of course some schadenfreude.

"What about Huang Weizheng? There he is? I was about to introduce him to Mr. Wei. "It turned out that I was looking for me for this matter, but Zhang Xizheng still didn't put me on the table in the end.

But after so long, I didn't have the heart to think about it so much, so I impatiently pointed to Huang Weizheng, who had just walked out of the small building with Long Hao. "That."

Zhang Xizheng hurriedly beckoned Huang Weizheng over, patted him on the back as if he was introducing his favorite general, and introduced Wei Jiahui: "He is Huang Weizheng, I told you just now." ”

"Hello." Wei Jiahui shook hands with Huang Weizheng very politely and said politely, "Welcome to board." ”

"Glad to have your help." Huang Weizheng replied very politely.

After greeting him, Wei Jiahui's subordinates whispered a few words behind his ear, and then he smiled and said to us, "Your room on the Wanderer has been arranged, and I have prepared dinner for you in the evening." ”

"There is a ...... to work"

Before Zhang Xizheng finished his flattering words, I suddenly interrupted and asked Wei Jiahui: "Wanderer? Did you come up with a name? ”

"Yes." Wei Jiahui was a little embarrassed, and his erratic eyes evaded our gaze.

"That's a cool name!"

I am like the naughtiest student in the class, and Zhang Xizheng is the rigid and conservative old head teacher, and I am the most provocative thorn in his eyes. This was evident in the disgusted look in his eyes when he looked at me. In fact, when I was in high school in the past, I was such a student. I know from experience that when you see this kind of look, the best option is to pat your ass and walk away. So I casually found an excuse to leave, but I didn't expect Huang Weizheng to follow me to do the same.

We both found a reason; In fact, they were all the same, and they barely retreated under Zhang Xizheng's suspicious gaze, and found their friends who were carrying their luggage and preparing to board the ship. As soon as Huang Weizheng and I finally returned to the team to help, my friends all lamented that we were lazy, but they still pointed their guns at me as always, in other words, I was the only target of shelling......

Although the car cannot be driven on the patrol boat, the motorcycle can. Yesterday, after leaving the port, Wei Hong and I went back to the house where Liao Shuzhen was hiding and retrieved the motorcycle that was temporarily parked there; In other words, the only means of transportation we can take with us now are these two motorcycles. In fact, we are all satisfied to be able to do this, so there is nothing to complain about. After loading, we got on Wei Jiahui's patrol boat and began to approach the Wandering, the fleet of people on the river.

As we got closer to the fleet in the fog, the behemoth became more and more awe-inspiring. In the white fog, the roar of the engine could not be heard at all. The big ship lying quietly on the river is like a ghost hidden in the mist, and the brown hull eroded by the river rises and falls with the waves, emitting bursts of empty humming, like an ethereal music whispering in the white mist.

The patrol boats docked at the ferry-cargo ship in the middle of the fleet, and the crew skilfully tied the two boats with cable ropes and then laid steel plates on the modified joints for our passage. The patrol boat's engine went out, and we boarded the lifeless "ghost boat" with our wandering bags.

But as soon as we boarded the ship, I realized that it was all too much, and the distant deck was faintly filled with the sounds of people talking and the noise of a market. I'm not sure, but I'm sure there are a lot of people in this fleet, and they're just like us who survived the Holocaust. We were like strangers in a foreign land, standing on the deck of a cargo ship in a daze, not knowing where to go.

Wei Jiahui, who got on the boat after us, whispered a few words to his subordinates, and then opened his long arms and pointed to the head and tail of the cargo ship and smiled: "Welcome to the Wanderer, this is the home of the people on the river." The next boat on my left is the activity center and business district, which you can visit later. In the past, the two parallel sand carriers were our farming and storage areas and management offices, as well as the command center of the entire fleet. You can also go and have a look, but there are some areas that are not open to the public, I hope you can understand. The boats on my right-hand side are the main quarters of most of the fleet's inhabitants, and of course there are a few small shops, but they are all small. ”

"Wow, that sounds like a bit of scale." I whispered, and of course it was heard by Wei Jiahui.

"You're right, we Jiangshang people can be said to be the third real safety zone in Nanning now in addition to Qingshan and Wanxiang City. We don't force anyone to stay, and we welcome anyone to join us at any time. ”

"It's a bit tempting to say that......" I muttered again, this time Wei Jiahui didn't notice; Or maybe he deliberately ignored my little words.

"You just said there is a business area, you mean ......"

"Yes, we have developed a way of trading and we have developed a scale." Before Huang Weizheng's question could be asked, Wei Jiahui proudly gave the answer, "In fact, we have trade contacts with Qingshan and Wanxiang City, as well as some other surviving forces, which is why the Wanderer wanders back and forth in the Yongjiang River. We also trade with these forces as we collect supplies, so even if there is a conflict between them, they can still buy each other's goods and, of course, intelligence. ”

"And what do you use for money?"

"Ha, that's a good question." Wei Jiahui handed Huang Weizheng a small piece of paper with fifty Arabic numerals written on it and the seal of a trading company and a bullet that should be the caliber of a submachine gun, and continued, "This is called 'fish ticket' is the common currency of the people on the river, and this bullet is the common currency of all the survivors of Nanning City. One bullet is equal to five dollars for a fish ticket, which is the current exchange rate. ”

"Hehe, it's really interesting, the end is coming, but I didn't expect you to still care about currency." Liang Minxuan took the fish ticket and bullet in Huang Weizheng's hand with great interest, shook it in the air, and asked Wei Jiahui again, "Then Qingshan and Wanxiang City also have their own money?" ”

"They didn't have it originally, but later they also created their own currency like us, like Wanxiang City, which used stamped vouchers in shopping malls as currency, and changed it to commercial coupons. As for the common currency, bullets, we have agreed that the 7.62 mm and 9 mm bullets, which are mostly submachine guns and Type 51 rifles, as well as pistols, will be used as standard bullets, which are equivalent to five yuan fish tickets. The Type 95 rifle has a standard 5.8mm bullet, which is relatively difficult to find, and one is equal to a seven-dollar fish ticket. Now our three main forces have different reserves of bullets, and their purchasing power is also different. Aoyama is a member of the evacuation organized by the government in the past, many of them are soldiers or policemen, and they have more weapons and bullets, and they directly use bullets to trade; And a five-yuan Wanxiang City's commercial voucher is equal to a standard bullet. ”

"Is the stamp on this fish ticket your past company?" Liang Minxuan pointed to the red seal on the fish ticket and smiled.

"yes, you know my past company?"

"I don't know, it's just that in days like this, it's a problem to survive, and there will be no one to organize trade except for the boss of a big business like you. And the currency you come up with will naturally leave some mark on your own beloved company. ”

"Alright, alright! Travel guides and doomsday economics wait until dinner! Seeing that the topic was going to go on endlessly, I quickly stepped forward and shouted, "Well, where's our room?" Just tell me this. ”

"Someone will take you there." Wei Jiahui smiled at me understandingly, and then said to us while motioning to his subordinate leader, "Then I still have some things to do." This brother will take you to your respective rooms to rest now. ”

A few of Wai Ka-fai's men parked our motorcycles at the designated location of the cargo ship, and a yellow-haired man with a somewhat thin figure received Wei's order and respectfully extended his hand to let us follow him out of the cargo ship, so we walked into the survivors' ark like a team of expeditions.

Through the connecting corridor between the stern of the cargo ship and the bow of the sand mining ship at the rear, we came to the residential area that Wei Jiahui was talking about. Flipping over the green curtain across the connecting deck, our eyes suddenly lit up, I finally saw so many people at the same time again after leaving Tianyang, not to mention, I was really a little overwhelmed. Through the transformation, the excess equipment on the ship has basically been removed and cleaned up. In the past, a row of iron pillars was erected in the middle of the cargo area where the sand was loaded, and pieces of tarpaulins made of various rainproof plastic sheets were propped up, and people's tents of different sizes and styles were set up under this one after another raincloth; In addition to the tents, there are several simple small board houses made of composite panels, and I don't know how they were set up. Several ropes covered with clothes were hooked like spider silk between the two rows of prefabricated houses, reminiscent of the wires between the slum blocks of the old days. It's not a quick place to be tidy, but it's still clean and hygienic, so it's not annoying to walk in. On the contrary, I still have in my mind the image of people shuttling back and forth and talking when the sun shines through the gaps between the tarpaulins when the weather is nice.