Chapter 1 Salvage

The only rooms on the boat that hadn't taken on much water were rooms six and seven near the bow. Room seven had originally been occupied by Hu Sixiang's family, while room six had been booked by Bai Ma Shan and Lu Maowang. Those two had only put their luggage inside; they hadn't returned to sleep there the previous night.

After bandaging Gong Dalong, Jia Wenjun helped Grandpa Wang and the others retrieve their belongings from the flooded rooms. Watching them pile everything into rooms six and seven, the already cramped space was instantly filled.

Realizing that people would need to take shelter indoors when the storm hit, Jia Wenjun explained the situation to everyone and suggested they move their luggage to the captain's cabin on the second floor.

When Lili boarded the ship, she had brought a huge suitcase full of clothes for taking pictures. Aside from Zhao Di's things, she had the most luggage on board.

Reluctant to move it upstairs, she complained, "With so much luggage, Brother Bai and the other strong men have gone to the storage room to salvage things, and Gong Dalong is lying in bed. It's just us women, plus an old man over seventy and a teenager, who are moving things. How can we possibly move this huge pile of stuff up those stairs to the second floor? We might as well wait for them to come back."

Carrying a large bag on her back and another in her hands, Jia Wenjun gritted her teeth as she walked upstairs, "Everyone has their own things to do. If everyone just sits around and waits, will the work get done by itself? The storm won't wait for you."

Anna, who had long been dissatisfied with Lili, retorted coldly, "You don't have to move it, but the two cabins are only so big, and everyone has a limited amount of space. If your suitcases take up too much room, you can stay outside in the rain."

Seeing Lili's reluctance, Grandpa Wang carried his own suitcase in one hand and Bai Ma Shan's in the other, "Now is not the time to worry about whose is whose. We're all in the same boat. Aren't we all sharing the food they salvage?"

"Exactly, even the elderly and the young ones aren't complaining. Yet you're the first to cry about being tired," said Teacher Lin, who had brought little luggage of her own. She carried her small backpack and Lu Maowang's fishing tackle box. Beside her, Nao Nao helped his mother drag their suitcase.

Ever since being caught "in the act" and then frightened by Gong Dalong's "resurrection," Hao Jiening had been in a daze. She didn't speak, avoided eye contact, and did whatever she was told. All she wanted now was to protect her son and keep him safe.

Lili was silenced by the crowd and had no choice but to start moving things, no matter how unhappy she was.

After several trips up and down, her back ached and her waist was sore. Seeing Sun Jiaojiao hiding in the room and refusing to come out, she couldn't help but shout outside, "Are some people still acting like homeowners waiting to be served? Everyone else is out here moving things, but you're lying comfortably in the room. We're all in the same boat, who are you waiting for to serve you?"

Sun Jiaojiao rubbed her belly. She was only a little over a month pregnant, and her pregnancy wasn't stable yet. She didn't want to do any heavy lifting, in case she bumped into something and harmed the baby.

Hearing the sound of luggage being dragged outside and Lili's shouting, Sun Jiaojiao knew that if she didn't go out, the others would have complaints. She glared at Gong Dalong, who was fast asleep on the bed, and got up to walk towards the storage room.

To get from the cabins to the storage room, she had to go down another flight of stairs. Without power, it was pitch black below.

The storage room was near the stern and was completely flooded. Because the boat was tilted, the water depth in the area closest to the stern was over two meters. The food cans and bottled water had all rolled to the deepest part of the water as the boat tilted.

Although Hu Sixiang had followed along, he couldn't swim at all. Seeing that the storage room was full of water, he was instantly stunned.

"The water is so high, how can anyone go down there? Besides, it's pitch black inside, you can't see anything. Even if you hold your breath, you won't be able to see anything, so how can you salvage anything?" Hu Sixiang held onto the stair railing, refusing to go down.

Bai Ma Shan hadn't expected the storage room to be filled with so much water either. Just as he was at a loss, he suddenly noticed two bundles of water rescue ropes tied to a lifebuoy on the yacht railing.

If the food had all rolled into the deep water, and the storage room floor was cluttered with boxes and cabinets, it would be dangerous for anyone to dive in alone without being able to see anything. But with ropes, it would be much safer.

Lu Maowang, relying on his good swimming skills, hadn't thought so much. He quickly took off his outer clothes and pants and said to Lao Hu, "If you can't swim, don't come down. I'll dive down and pass things up, and you can catch them up here."

"Wait, it's too dangerous to go down like that." Bai Ma Shan stopped Lu Maowang, who was heading down the stairs. He quickly went over, grabbed the two bundles of rope, and handed one to Lu Maowang. "You and I will each tie one end around ourselves, and then tie the other end around Lao Hu. If we have any problems down there, we'll pull the rope. If Lao Hu feels something wrong with the rope, he should pull us up quickly. If there are no problems, we can tie the ropes and go down to salvage things, then pass them to Lao Hu, which will be easier."

"That's a good idea." Lao Hu finally saw his importance.

Lu Maowang thought it was unnecessary, but Bai Ma Shan insisted, so he agreed.

Before going into the water, Bai Ma Shan felt that he should take some tools, such as a fishing net, which could scoop up more than just using his hands. Also, some unopened ten-liter buckets of water would be difficult for one person to drag up while holding their breath, so he had to find a way to tie the ropes to the buckets and have the people on shore pull them up together.

Sun Jiaojiao came over and saw them looking for tools everywhere.

She volunteered to look in the nearby kitchen, because she had seen Grandpa Wang's fishing net there when she was busy cooking before. It would be fastest for her to find it.

The kitchen was on the deck, behind which was the area where they had been drinking and barbecuing, and further back was the sloping stern of the boat.

Sun Jiaojiao carefully stepped into the flooded kitchen.

She immediately saw the fishing net placed next to the counter, but she didn't go to pick it up right away. Instead, she went around to the other side of the counter, opened the cabinet that was half-submerged in water, and sure enough, in the side of the top compartment, there was still more than half a bag of candy left.

After looking around to make sure no one was there, she quickly stuffed the large bag of candy into her bag. This was the reason she had risked coming here.

This was what Nao Nao had brought into the kitchen and left there yesterday when she was cooking. Hao Jiening wouldn't let him eat so much candy, so he had hidden the candy he had collected here.

At that time, there was plenty of food, everyone was preparing to have a party, and wine, drinks and meat were everywhere. No one cared about eating those small snacks, and even Nao Nao himself had forgotten about it. The candy had just been left there, ignored.

Who would have thought that after only one night, things would be so different?

The food and cooking utensils in the kitchen had already been moved out by others, but this bag of candy was hidden away, and no one had seen it.

In times of crisis, if there wasn't enough food, this bag of candy, eaten a few pieces a day, would help her survive a few days longer than others. For the sake of the baby in her belly, she had to find a way to hold on.

When she left, Sun Jiaojiao not only took the fishing net, but also several rescue ropes she had found.

Seeing her find so many good things, Lu Maowang couldn't help but say, "You have a good eye."

In order to be able to dive, Bai Ma Shan and Lu Maowang didn't wear life jackets. They each had a rope wrapped around their waists, and the other end was wrapped around Hu Sixiang. When they went into the water, Bai Ma Shan and Lu Maowang each held a rescue rope, which they would use to tie around the buckets of water they found.

Holding their breath, the two men, who had taken off their outer clothes and pants, dove into the water together.