From the moment Jin Da first saw the target through radar and then confirmed the target with a telescope, Captain Wang reduced the speed again and drove very slowly.

Han and Yu took the time to install the boom on the port side of the rear deck. They tried pulling the "hoist" a few times to confirm that it worked. They saw a red lifeboat from a seagoing ship appearing on the river not far away, like a leaf rising and falling in the strong wind and waves.

Ups and downs, go with the flow.

"Dried salted fish, there's someone on board!"

"Saw."

"People on the lifeboat, please pay attention. People on the lifeboat, please pay attention. We are here to rescue you. We will throw a cable to you. Please catch the cable first..."

Captain Wang kept shouting through the loudspeaker, but there was no response from the people on the lifeboat.

Han Yu was very strange and thought, could he be dead?

Jin Dagang got down from the driver's cab and ran to the second fire station on the port side. He was about to throw the cable. When he saw that the people on the lifeboat did not respond, he was even more surprised than Han Yu. He quickly pulled out the flashlight inserted in his pocket to take a picture.

You won’t know it until you see it, but you will be surprised when you see it.

There were actually five people crammed into the lifeboat that looked very old.

They were either wearing life vests or life buoys and huddled together.

Some were shivering from the cold, some had their eyes closed and seemed to have lost consciousness, and one was looking at 001, but his eyes were dull and he didn't react at all to the flashlight.

The fear on their faces made Jin Da realize that they were petrified by the death that could come at any time!

It was impossible to expect them to cooperate in the rescue. Jin Da turned around and asked: "Xianyu, can we go down alone, tie them up, and then hoist them up one by one."

"It can only be this way."

Han Yu also saw that the souls of those people had been frightened away, and he suddenly pulled the extended boom back to the top of the deck.

The last time we rescued a runaway cement ship, we accidentally missed the opportunity to board the ship.

Not wanting to miss the second time, Liang Xiaoyu took off the safety rope buckle and put it on the hook, shouting: "Dried salted fish, I am stronger than you, I'm going down!"

"You eat more than me." Han Yu cursed with a smile and quickly turned around to find the rope.

Jin Da raised his head and looked at the cab on the second floor, holding up the intercom and shouted: "Captain Wang, Xiaoyu goes down to rescue people, we are hoisting up one by one, you must hold still!"

Captain Wang looked outside and raised the intercom: "The wind and waves are too strong and the current is too fast. Let Xiaoyu go down and take the cable first."

"receive."

"After attaching the cable, you use the winch to pull it forward."

"clear."

Just as he was talking, Liang Xiaoyu was hung up by Han Yu with a "gourd".

Zhu Baogen, who was standing opposite Han Yu, shouted "Let's go", and then pulled hard, and Liang Xiaoyu hung from above the deck with the crane arm to above the water outside the port side.

The wind was so strong that Liang Xiaoyu spun like a top.

Han Yu saw the lifeboat getting closer and closer and shouted: "Xiaoyu, I'm starting to lower it down."

"Let it go, lower it."

"You are right, try to succeed once."

"I know, let go quickly, they are coming."

The lifeboat is drifting eastward, and 001 is slowly sailing westward. The timing of putting down the small fish is very important.

If he is released too early, he will not only have to take a bath in the river, but he will also be hit by a lifeboat.

If it was late, he would not only have to take a bath in the river, but Captain Wang would also have to turn around and catch up, then turn around and do it again.

Han Yu stared closely at the lifeboat that was getting closer and closer. Zhu Baogen fixed the direction of the boom, grabbed the iron chain of the "gourd", and was ready to help lower the small fish down at any time.

Jin Daze ran to the stern of the boat, fastened the safety rope, and was ready to throw the cable at any time.

At this time, the lifeboat that was about to reach the middle of the port side of 001 was actually pushed three or four feet high by a swell, almost flush with the side of 001's ship.

The people on the lifeboat all closed their eyes, either clinging to the rope of the lifeboat or hugging their companions, not daring to look or even think, completely resigned to fate.

Captain Wang hurriedly adjusted the course and tried to keep the ship steady.

God bless, the lifeboat did not hit 001, nor was it overturned by the surge. The people on the boat were just drowned in the river water. In fact, they were soaked to the skin.

Han Yu saw the right moment and shouted: "Let go!"

Zhu Baogen suddenly pulled up the chain, and with the clattering sound of the "gourd" turning, Liang Xiaoyu felt his body go limp. When he lowered his head, he actually fell on the two sluggish crew members.

"Xiaoyu, don't be so stupid, get off the hook quickly!"

"oh."

The "hoist" looks like a small crane, not an anchor chain hoist, and the chain is very short.

Liang Xiaoyu hurriedly climbed up, hooked the rope on the lifeboat with his feet, grabbed the hook with both hands, and took off the safety rope set on it.

"Take the cable!"

"Where."

"Here it is, look for it!"

Han Yu was afraid that the little fish wouldn't be able to catch the knot thrown by Jin Da, so he quickly ran to pick up the second one.

Liang Xiaoyu grew up on a boat. His family's small fishing boat bumped and swayed more violently on the river. It wasn't Xu Sanye who had never been on a boat before, but he caught the cable thrown by Jin Da in one go.

Zhu Baogen saw it clearly and shouted: "There is another one, I have to catch it too."

"Where?"

"Here it is."

Han Yu saw the right opportunity and threw it violently.

Liang Xiaoyu successfully caught it again and quickly wrapped it around his arm.

"One tie is tied to the front of the lifeboat, and the other is tied to the back of the lifeboat. Let's tie one tie to the bow and one tie to the stern to secure the lifeboat first!"

"Know."

"The waves are too big, fasten the safety rope to avoid being thrown into the river."

"I hooked it with my foot, I can't care about it now."

Han Yu and Jin Da were anxious in their eyes, but they wanted to help but could not help. They could only watch Liang Xiaoyu calmly tying the mooring rope on the lifeboat that was bumping up and down.

The lifeboat continued to drift with the current, slowly drifting from the port side of 001 to a dozen meters behind the stern of 001 at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Dried salted fish, dried salted fish, tied at the front, let's start pulling."

"receive!"

Han Yu looked at the lifeboat getting further and further away. He signaled Jin Da, who had just moved the cable to the bow winch, to quickly retract the cable. He held up the intercom and shouted: "Captain Wang, Captain Wang, let's start retracting the cable. Pay attention to the angle."

"I saw it, feel free to accept it."

Captain Wang was sailing the boat while also watching and listening in all directions.

He put down the walkie-talkie, gently turned the steering wheel, and adjusted the angle between 001 and the lifeboat to ensure that the lifeboat would not be pulled into 001's propeller and that the lifeboat would not be affected by 001's wake.

After nearly twenty minutes of busy work, the lifeboat was finally fixed to the port side of the rear deck of 001 by two cables, one in front and one in the back.

Liang Xiaoyu tied the rope around the waist of a crew member in his fifties, made sure the tie was strong, then put the rope on the hook lowered by the boom, and raised his hand to signal for lifting.

Han Yu pulled twice and felt something was wrong, so he shouted: "I can't pull it, I can't pull it hard, let's see what's going on."

"It can't be pulled, how is it possible?"

Liang Xiaoyu lowered his head to check, and was shocked to find that a crew member was holding on to the old crew member's life jacket. He quickly opened the crew member's hand and signaled for lifting again.

This time it went smoothly, and the oldest crew member was successfully hoisted to the deck.

Jin Da and Zhu Baogen quickly untied the rope and helped the old crew member into the cabin. Han Yu put down the rope and hook and hoisted the second one.

Just like this, one by one, the five crew members were hoisted onto 001. When Liang Xiaoyu came up, they hoisted the lifeboat onto the back deck together. It was already bright.

It was very warm in the cabin, and the five crew members quickly came to their senses. They kowtowed to Han Yu, Jin Da, Zhu Baogen, and Liang Xiaoyu with tears in their eyes, thanking Han Yu, Jin Da, Zhu Baogen, and Liang Xiaoyu for their life-saving grace.

"I am the port supervisor, and Xianyu and the others are the police. It is our duty to rescue you, so let's talk about what is going on first."

"Oh, we are from Yangzhou No. 3 Shipping Company. When our ship was approaching Liuhekou, the steering gear suddenly failed. The radio broke and we didn't bother to send it for repair. There was heavy fog on the river again. I thought about it in the middle of the night.

I couldn’t even call for help, so I could only watch the boat drifting on the river.”

"What's your ship's name and number?"

"Yang Huo 308."

"What luck."

"Coal is shipped from Xuzhou to the East China Sea."

"Where's the boat?"

"It was hit and sunk. It looked like it was a seagoing vessel."

…
To be continued...