Chapter 86 - 78 Out of Control!

Chapter 86: Chapter 78 Out of Control!Xu Sanye said what he would do and took his office as his home. His son was attending university in Jiangcheng, and his wife Sister Wei was lonely in the county all by herself, so he simply moved his luggage and bedding to the office and rode his bicycle to work every day. The hard days for Han Yu and Liang Xiaoyu truly began. Each day at five o’clock in the morning, before the sky brightened, they started their training. It wasn’t just running; it was a full combat load. Wearing steel helmets, with canvas ammunition pouches tied in front, each pouch holding two magazines. Not only did they carry the 56 Assault Rifle, but also a water flask, which was really heavy. Xu Sanye led by example, with an extra telescope hanging around his neck, like a lion king "patrolling his territory." A thorough patrol along the shoreline, starting upstream from Bailong Port. The first day they ran three kilometers southwest along the Yanjiang levee. On the second day, they drove a three-wheeled vehicle there, parked it where they finished patrolling the previous day, continued running southwest for three kilometers, ran back, and drove the three-wheeled vehicle back to the office. Continuing westwards like this, they slowly "explored." Returning to the office completely exhausted, but after a shower, changing into clean uniforms, and finishing breakfast, they had to start a comprehensive water public security inspection. Their schedule was tight; life was truly "fulfilled." The militia training wasn’t this tiring. In the evenings, gritting their teeth, they would finish one hundred push-ups, and upon lying down, they would feel back and waist soreness, with no desire to move... But the meals were better than during militia training; they had meat every day for lunch and dinner! After a week of "patrol," they had reached the Sanhe Town Changnan Team today. Further ahead was the Hubin River, broader than the Bailong River. To cross it and reach the other bank, one would have to travel from the northern lock. This side was no longer the Yangtze North Branch, but the main waterway. To the southeast about five or six li was the westernmost part of Zhuangming Island, splitting the Yangtze River in two. Looking due south, the river seemed as wide as the ocean, with no sight of the opposite bank. On the river, hundreds of boats of various sizes, from tens of thousands of tons to just a few tons, bustled back and forth, presenting a prosperous scene. But as someone who grew up on a boat and studied Water Transport Management, Han Yu knew well that under this prosperous scene, danger lurked everywhere. You want to go east; I want to go west; he wants to cross from south to north or from north to south. Various vessels vying for the right of way could easily lead to mishaps, possibly resulting in collisions or stranded vessels. Liang Xiaoyu had always lived downstream of Bailong Port, often seeing passenger ships and hundreds of tons of cargo ships, but had never seen a mammoth ship of tens of thousands of tons. He was so stunned by the sight of the huge ships blowing their horns that he forgot about his sore legs. With the broad expanse of the river, Xu Sanye’s vision also broadened. He held the telescope, looking at the variety of ships sailing on the river, and muttered: "This is the Yangtze. Compared to this, Bailong Port is just a ditch. Our river base should be set up here!" Hearing this, Liang Xiaoyu couldn’t help but ask, "Director Xu, is this area under our jurisdiction?" "Of course it’s under our jurisdiction. Another ten kilometers or so to the west also falls under our control!" Xu Sanye stated resolutely. Han Yu looked around and whispered, "There’s nothing nearby, hardly even a person to be seen." "It’s inconvenient to set up the base here, but we can’t always stay huddled in Bailong Port." Xu Sanye adjusted the focus on his telescope, looking at a giant ship, and curiously asked, "Brother Salted Fish, why is that big white cargo ship flying so many colorful flags?" "That’s semaphore, similar to Morse code, used for signaling." "How so?" "Signal flags have five different sizes, from size one to size five. Size one is the largest, size five the smallest. A full set of signal flags contains forty-six flags. There are twenty-six letter flags, ten numeral flags, four direction flags, three substitute flags, one code flag, one answering flag, and one international answering flag." After thinking for a moment, Han Yu continued: "Numeral flags are triangular, letter flags are either square or swallowtailed, and both the answering and international answering flags are trapezoidal. What flags are hoisted and in what order they are arranged convey different meanings." Xu Sanye didn’t expect flags to have so many details; taking off his telescope, he handed it to Han Yu, pointing at the river. "Brother Salted Fish, take a look at what flags that big white ship is flying and what signal it is sending." Taking the telescope, Han Yu scrutinized carefully and said, "They’re carrying hazardous cargo, possibly chemicals, alerting other ships to keep their distance. The pilot is on board, they’re about to adjust their course to port." "Just a few flags can send out so much information, quite interesting. Let’s get ourselves a set of flags when we get back." Searᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Director Xu, our ship is too small, the mast isn’t tall enough to hoist them." "Then raise the mast a bit, make the flags smaller." "Alright." Taking back the telescope, Xu Sanye again looked and asked, "Why are those ships turning on their lights in broad daylight?" Rubbing his legs, Han Yu explained, "The lights are also signals. All vessels, whether moving or anchored, must display navigational lights and shapes no matter the weather." Xu Sanye pressed, "What do you mean by navigational lights and shapes?" Struggling to explain on the spot, Han Yu simply gave an example: "It uses lights to tell other ships its dimensions. When moving through the water, it must display red to port and green to starboard sidelights, fore and aft mast lights, and a stern light. When not moving through the water, it displays the aft mast light. When anchored, during the day it hangs an anchor ball at the bows, at night it turns on the anchor lights at both bow and stern, and deck illumination lights must be on. If grounded, during the day it hangs three black balls at the main mast, at night it displays two all-round red lights at the main mast, and hangs an anchor light at the bow." Xu Sanye didn’t expect there to be so many details, asking, "What if the vessel is out of control?" "In the daytime, hang two black balls at the main mast, at night display two all-round red lights vertically at the main mast, and the port and starboard sidelights and the stern light must also be on." "Do we have signal lights on our 001? Do we have any balls prepared?" "Yes, not just on 001, but on the Dunship as well. Once we tow it to the riverbank, we’ll need to send a light signal to warn passing ships not to hit us." To Liang Xiaoyu, the most admirable person wasn’t Xu Sanye, but Han Yu, who couldn’t help but say, "Brother Salted Fish, you really know a lot." He didn’t speak Mandarin very well, only a not very standard Shadi Language, so in his mouth, Brother Salted Fish became Brother Salted Fish. Han Yu was at a loss whether to cry or laugh, then turned around and said, "I’m just over a month older than you, just call me Han Yu, stop calling me salted fish!" Xu Sanye laughed heartily, "Salted fish is quite good, later I’ll ask Old Qian to dry some." "Director Xu..." "Being older by more than a month still counts, after all, you are Brother Yu’s older brother." Xu Sanye tightened his gun strap and turned around, "About the signal knowledge we discussed earlier, organize it and explain it to us tonight. As long as we understand the signals, even from the shore we can know the navigation status of vessels on the river, this is very important." "Yes." "Let’s head back, I heard there are reporters coming for an interview today, they might want to take a small picture, so cheer up after getting back!" Taking pictures, huh, luckily the swelling in my eyes has gone down, otherwise it would really be embarrassing to meet people. Just as Han Yu was silently reflecting, he suddenly noticed something off about the posture of a cargo ship sailing on the river. "Director Xu, take a look at that ship with the binoculars!" "Which one?" "Over there." Han Yu raised his arm, pointing at the river surface. Xu Sanye lifted the binoculars, following the direction of his finger, slowly adjusting the focus, and suddenly noticed a cement ship seemed to be drifting with the waves, immediately his eyebrows knitted together. "There’s nobody at the bow, and it seems there’s no one under the cover at the stern either!" "Director Xu, let me take a look." "Hurry and see what exactly is going on." Han Yu took over the binoculars, carefully observed for a while, and said solemnly, "That ship has lost control, there’s no ball hung up, no signal lights or signs, it has probably drifted from its anchor!" Xu Sanye asked anxiously, "What should we do now?" "Contact Port Supervision, ask them to warn other ships to avoid it." "Port Supervision is in Binjiang, by the time they get here the pickles would have cooled!" Xu Sanye didn’t want to wait for Port Supervision, immediately pulled out the walkie-talkie from the magazine pouch, tuning into the communication frequency of Bailong Port Lock Management Office which was relatively closer: "Master station, master station, I’m Xu Sanye from Yanjiang Police Station, please respond if you receive this." "Received, received, Director Xu, please go ahead." "In the waters near Sanhe Town Changnan Team, a cement ship is out of control, there’s no one onboard, it’s likely drifted from its anchor and is floating toward us. I’m by the river, too far to shout back to the station, please immediately contact our Instructor and Captain Wang, ask them to heat the ship and get ready for the rescue!" "Received, I’ll contact them now." "Wait, please also inform Bailong Port control room, notify other ships passing through the locks to be careful." "Understood." "Please relay to our Instructor and Captain Wang that I’ll be back at the station in no more than twenty minutes." "Alright, I’ll relay the message right away." "Also, 001 will set sail in twenty-five minutes, it’s urgent, please arrange for us to pass through the locks." "Director Xu, rest assured, I’ll coordinate it right away." ... Meanwhile, Li Weiguo was hosting Reporter Wang, personally accompanied by Master Ding. Initially thinking Reporter Wang was from Binjiang Daily, only later did he find out he was actually a reporter from Binjiang People’s Broadcasting Station, merely publishing articles in Binjiang Daily. Just invited him into the reception room, about to ask Old Qian to pour some tea, when the phone rang in the next office. "Commander Li, you go answer the call, I’m not in a hurry." Reporter Wang smiled slightly, looking at the pennants hanging on the wall. Li Weiguo was truly overwhelmed, pointing at the two large paper boxes on the table: "Reporter Wang, I’ll go answer the call first, you can take a look at the public letters." Which police station could have so many public letters, and all of them were letters of thanks. Although Master Ding didn’t like Xu Sanye, as an instructor of Linghai Police Bureau, he felt somewhat proud in front of outsiders, turned around and smiled: "I’m here, go ahead and get busy." Xu Sanye’s walkie-talkie could be tuned to civilian frequencies and could reach Bailong Port Lock Management Office, but the walkie-talkie there couldn’t be tuned to police frequencies and couldn’t reach Yanjiang Police Station, they had to make phone calls. Li Weiguo, startled by the phone call, shouted hurriedly: "Old Qian, hurry to the shipyard and inform Captain Wang and Baogen, there’s an emergency on the river, tell them to heat the ship fast!" "Got it." "Old Li, what’s the situation, what kind of emergency?" Master Ding walked out and asked. Li Weiguo, picking up the life jacket Zhang Lan had sent over yesterday afternoon and slipping it on, said urgently: "There’s a ship out of control on the river, drifting towards us. If we don’t rescue quickly, it might collide with other ships, or could run aground and sink." That’s something for Port Supervision to handle, isn’t this overly worrying about a mundane trouble. But in front of a reporter, Master Ding couldn’t say it out loud, he could only ask, "Where’s Xu Sanye?" "The emergency was discovered by Director Xu leading salted fish and Xiao Yu during their major patrol by the river; they’re on their way back, by the time they return, 001 will be nearly ready and can set sail for the rescue." "What’s your rescue plan?" "Jump aboard the ship, board and take control, and find a way to tow the uncontrollable ship to a safe water area." either stays put or once it moves it burns at least a hundred bucks worth of fuel! Master Ding didn’t know what to say, but Reporter Wang, full of anticipation, said: "Commander Li, can I come along? I’d like to see how you perform the rescue." "Sure, but you have to wear a life jacket." "Okay, thank you."