A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1038 Something happened again

“It’s very simple. When you get back to Hong Kong, we’ll give you some money. You can just take it and run away, right? You said you don’t want to be a traitor, Mr. Lin. Now is your chance,” Wu Mingqiang said from the side.

At this moment, the other boatmen on the ship also came over. When they heard what Gui'er and Wu Mingqiang said, they were all at a loss and looked at each other.

"You can't just give them money, we need a share too, otherwise the Japanese will come after us and we won't survive either," the boatman said, realizing what had happened. He wasn't ashamed of his actions at all; instead, he thought that there were only two people in front of him, so they must be someone important, and they had guns. Although he outnumbered them, bullets don't discriminate, so he had no choice but to ask for more money.

“No problem, as long as we get back to Hong Kong, everything will be fine,” Wu Mingqiang said.

"I don't believe that. You have to pay a deposit first. If you run away back in Hong Kong, where am I supposed to find you?" the boat captain said slowly as he put on his clothes.

"Here, this is enough for the deposit, right?" Gui'er took out the gold watch she had taken from Captain Hao.

"This is, this is, Captain Hao's gold watch! You, you, you actually brought it!" Lin Zhengfu said in horror. He had been half-believing Gui'er's words, but now he believed them completely. These two people were really crazy. He felt like the sky had fallen.

The boat captain took the gold watch, looked at the glittering gold strap, bit it with his teeth, nodded and said, "Hmm, it's real gold. I'll take this for now. When we get ashore, I'll have to give him at least two more watches like this to make up the numbers. I still have to share with my brothers." With that, he put on his clothes, waved to the other boatmen, and they left the cabin.

Lin Zhengfu stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Wu Mingqiang said with a smile, "Mr. Lin, you don't want to be a traitor either? Isn't that perfect?"

Lin Zhengfu turned his head and stared blankly at Wu Mingqiang, then suddenly said, "The business you were telling me about is a scam, isn't it?"

Wu Mingqiang smiled slightly, without answering his question, and simply said, "Once we get ashore, I'll give you two of those gold watches."

Lin Zhengfu wanted to argue something, but he didn't know how to say it. Looking at the guns in the two men's hands, he sighed and turned to walk out.

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that everyone had left.

Wu Mingqiang turned to her and smiled, saying, "It's alright, Miss, don't be afraid. You can rest here for a while, I'll be right outside."

Gui'er nodded. It was a ship, and the two of them couldn't really go anywhere. It was even more inconvenient for her, a woman, to keep moving around on the ship. It would be even more troublesome if they were seen by passing Japanese ships.

After Wu Mingqiang left, she dared not rest anymore. She stared blankly at the boundless sea. The sea breeze was cool and pleasant, but she dared not let go of the pistol in her hand, afraid that what had just happened would happen again.

As evening approached, Wu Mingqiang came in with a plate of fish soup and said, "Miss, it's time for dinner. The conditions on the ship are simple, so you'll have to make do with some porridge for now."

Gui'er was puzzled. Where did this wooden boat get hot porridge? Wu Mingqiang said, "They are always on the boat, so they must be prepared. But now that Guangzhou has fallen, it is too dangerous to go out on the streets. They eat dry rations. I was worried that you would get cold from the sea breeze and not have anything hot to eat, which would be bad for your health. So I managed to find some tools from them and get two fish to make this bowl of porridge for you. Eat it while it's hot."

Gui'er nodded and asked, "And you? Have you eaten?"

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "I'm not hungry."

"Hey, we're almost in Hong Kong, you two." Lin Zhengfu suddenly ran over and said, seemingly a little apologetic, "It was all a misunderstanding earlier. You two are both heroes of the War of Resistance Against Japan. Anyway, I've managed to get you both back to Hong Kong. As for what we agreed on earlier..."

Wu Mingqiang said with a smile, "Mr. Lin, don't worry, as soon as we arrive in Hong Kong, I will fulfill my promise. You know who my boss is, you won't be shortchanged."

Lin Zhengfu nodded and bowed, saying, "Yes, of course, of course."

Wu Mingqiang added, "I made fish soup for our young lady, and there's some left. Why don't you have a bowl, Mr. Lin? The sea breeze is quite cold, and I think we'll be at shore for a while."

"Then why are you so embarrassed?"

"It's alright, come on, everyone have some drinks to warm up. Go and call those brothers for me. It's all a misunderstanding. It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester." Wu Mingqiang put his arm around Lin Zhengfu's shoulder and pulled him out of the cabin.

Gui'er watched their retreating figures with some worry. They were about to return safely to Hong Kong, but these people were not benevolent. Although Hong Kong was still under British control, Japanese spies were already operating with impunity. If the incident in Guangzhou came to light and an investigation was launched, Lin Zhengfu and his crew might betray her and Wu Mingqiang in order to escape.

Even if they don't betray me, given their character, they'll probably keep extorting money from me endlessly. Just thinking about it is annoying. I need to go back and talk to Chen Zhongyu to come up with a solution.

Just then, Wu Mingqiang walked in. He smiled and said to Gui'er, "Miss, we're almost at shore. Look ahead."

Gui'er quickly walked to the cabin door and looked towards the bow of the ship. Sure enough, she could see land on the gradually darkening sea.

"Something's happened! Someone come quick!" Lin Zhenglin's shrill voice suddenly came from outside.

Gui'er was startled and quickly went outside. She saw Lin Zhengfu walking over in a panic, saying, "They, they're all lying on the ground, I just touched them, they seem to be dead."

"Who are you talking about?" Gui'er asked, startled.

"Of course, it's the boatmen."

Gui'er suddenly realized that the boat seemed to have stopped, or rather, it seemed to be being blown back by the wind.

"What do we do? There's no one at the helm, the ship is going to be blown back!" Lin Zhengfu said in a panic.

"That's impossible. They were just fine a moment ago. I'll go check on them."

"This way." Lin Zhengfu said as he led the two of them to another cabin. In the middle of the cabin was a table with a large bowl of fish soup in it. The captain and three boatmen were lying haphazardly in the cabin.

"Where are the others?" Wu Mingqiang asked.

"Oh, right, what about Lao Zhang and Xiao Liu? Where did they go?" Lin Zhengfu said.

"Could it be that the two of them did something?" Wu Mingqiang said calmly, then turned to Gui'er and said, "Miss, don't come in, it's dirty here."

Gui'er stood at the cabin door, looking at the people lying on the cabin floor. Why did these people look so much like Captain Hao in death?

"Do you think Lao Zhang and Xiao Liu have any conflicts with other people? How come they're causing this kind of trouble just before arriving in Hong Kong?"