The sea was rising higher and higher. There wasn't much time left for Zhang Zian and the others.
They were waiting for the boat to come, just like the poor peasants waiting for the Red Army. They even thought that the boat might not come because the leader of the Fishery Administration was not there.
Hearing Xiao Zhi's shout, Zhang Zian and Huang looked over at the same time. They saw a small tugboat coming towards the shore. They could vaguely see the Chinese words "Fishery Administration" on the boat.
Huang was old, but he jumped up happily, waving his hands and shouting, "Hi! We're here! We're here! "
Actually, he didn't need to shout. The minke whale was much more obvious than he was. The tugboat from the Fishery Administration had already found them.
Zhang Zian sped up his hands and finished stitching up the minke whale's wound.
His technique was very rough. The skin around the wound was uneven, and it would definitely leave an ugly scar in the future. He hoped that it wouldn't be unable to find a wife because of this …
Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped. At most, there was still some blood seeping out. The semi-adult minke whale was full of vitality, and the platelets would quickly clot the wound.
The long-lasting pain had disappeared. The minke whale happily flapped its pectoral and tail fins, opened its mouth to suck in seawater, and then expelled the seawater from its baleen. It seemed to be eager to return to the ocean.
But it was difficult to do that with its own strength. Its head was facing the mainland, and its body was too heavy after it was out of the water. It didn't have enough buoyancy, which made it almost impossible to turn, even with the help of the rising tide.
The tugboat was getting closer, and the people on the boat were getting clearer. They could see that there were a few fishery law enforcement officers in uniforms and orange life jackets.
The tugboat couldn't be too close to the shore, or else it would be stranded.
The law enforcement officers turned off the engine, dropped the anchor, and fixed the tugboat about 20 to 30 meters away from the minke whale. A few law enforcement officers sat on an inflatable boat and went to the shore. They jumped into the water and towed the boat to the shore.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry to keep you waiting! " The leader of the other party took the initiative to apologize. He was more sincere. "We wanted to come earlier, but the boat went somewhere else. We just got it back."
"Hello, we called to report." Zhang Zian pointed at the three of them.
"It's okay. It's good that you're here," Huang said with a smile. He even took a few photos with his phone.
"How long has this minke whale been stranded here?" the man asked.
Zhang Zian pointed at Huang and Xiao Zhi. "They found it first."
Huang told the whole story truthfully. He said that he and his son were flying a kite at the beach, and they came across the minke whale stranded on the shore. His son ran to find someone for help, and they happened to meet Zhang Zian. Then, the three of them poured water on the whale to cool it down.
"You guys handled it well. We came too late," the other party praised. "Do you have the relevant experience?"
Old Huang shrugged.
Zhang Zian said, "I've read some popular science materials, so I know a little about it."
"No wonder …" The man looked at the minke whale and noticed the wound on its back, as well as the crooked stitches on the wound. "This is …"
"When we found it, it was already injured. It was stabbed by a harpoon." Huang quickly clarified its responsibility and told it about how Zhang Zian had pulled out the harpoon and stitched up its wound.
"Amazing!" The other party raised his thumb in awe. "This is the first time I've seen someone operate on a whale without anesthesia! Didn't it struggle? "
"It struggled, but fortunately, it wasn't too intense," Zhang Zian answered.
The other party sighed. "Actually, something similar has happened before … Forget it, let's get it back into the sea first. We'll talk about it later."
It was not the time to talk. The sea was rising higher and higher, and even the few of them, adults, could not stand steadily.
"Life buoy and rope," the man shouted to the other officers. "Are there any extra life jackets? Throw them over. "
Splash! Splash!
A few red and white life buoys and life jackets were thrown over from the small boat, along with a thick hemp rope.
"This is what I'm thinking. Let's tie the life buoy and life jacket to the whale to increase its buoyancy, then use a tugboat to drag it into the sea. What do you think?" the other party discussed.
Zhang Zian nodded in agreement. "I think it's doable."
"Alright, let's get started."
Together with the other officers, they tied the life buoy and life jacket to both sides of the minke whale's body. They skillfully tied a Y-shaped sailor knot on its body with the thick hemp rope.
When Zhang Zian used the Wuling Hong Guang MPV to turn the minke whale over, he also tied a knot with a rope. But compared to the sailor's knot, it was too simple. The sailor's knot was tied firmly, and it could be easily untied with a pull. That was a skill that only old sailors who had been sailing for a long time had.
Due to the buoyancy produced by the life buoy and life jacket, and most importantly, the rising sea water caused most of the minke whale's body to be submerged in the water, its weight seemed to have become a lot lighter. When the people tied the rope to it, it began to shake its head, tail, and body. This was something it could never do before. It also proved that its wound was no longer painful.
"Alright, there's nothing for us to do here. Let's go ashore first," the other party said.
Zhang Zian and the others could finally leave the sea. Now, almost half of their bodies were submerged in the sea, and when the waves came, they would fall.
They made their way to the shore, one foot at a time.
When Zhang Zian walked past the whale's head, he seemed to feel something rubbing against his thigh. He looked down and saw that the minke whale was looking at him with gentle and peaceful eyes. Its eyes seemed to be conveying something very warm.
He patted its head for the last time, then waved and walked to the shore.
The officers pushed the inflatable boat back into the sea, took the other end of the hemp rope, and rowed to the tugboat. The people on the tugboat tied the hemp rope to a special towing tool.
They communicated with each other through the walkie-talkie, discussing how to start the tugboat when the tide rose to its highest point.
Zhang Zian and Huang's pants were full of water, and they stuck tightly to their bodies. It was uncomfortable, and it was quite cold. They hastily wrung the water out of their pants and felt a little more comfortable. But that was only a temporary measure. They had to change their pants immediately after they got home, or else their pants would be full of white salt when they dried.
The tide had risen to its highest point, and most of the minke whale's body was submerged in the water. When the biggest wave hit, only its dorsal fin could be seen.
Puff!
A thin stream of water vapor sprayed out, reflecting a gorgeous rainbow under the sunlight. It was like an old-fashioned steam train's signal before departure. It was enough to show the minke whale's joyful mood.
The leader gave an order, and the tugboat slowly started. It started from low to high, and slowly started at full power. The hemp rope that was originally submerged in the water broke out of the water, stretched into a straight line, and dragged the minke whale into the sea.
The minke whale's body finally moved. It was slowly dragged into the sea by the powerful modern mechanical engine.
It seemed to be not used to being forcefully dragged by a boat. It instinctively swung its tail fin towards the shore, trying to break free. But its strength was completely unable to compete with the tugboat, and it was still dragged into the deeper water inch by inch.
At that moment, it quieted down and let the tugboat drag it. Only when the officers on the tugboat thought that they had reached safe waters did they turn off the engine and send out a small boat to untie the rope that tied it up.
The lifebuoy and life jacket were both tied to the rope. When the rope was untied, they naturally left the minke whale's body with the rope.
The officers in the inflatable boat were worried that the whale would suddenly go crazy and capsize the boat after it was freed, so they quickly rowed further away.
The minke whale seemed to be confused. After floating in the same place for a while, it swung its tail and began to swim freely in the sea.
Sometimes it glided on the surface of the sea, and sometimes it plunged into the sea. After a while, it popped its head out from a place far away, puffed out a shallow column of air, and swung its tail fin two to three meters high. It plunged into the water again and swam further and further away. Under everyone's gaze, it became a small black dot and finally disappeared.
Huang temporarily forgot about his wife, who was urging him to go home for dinner. He stood on the reef with his son, tiptoeing and craning their necks to look around. It was not until the minke whale disappeared that he came back to his senses. He looked lost. "It left just like that?"
Zhang Zian smiled. "Of course. Did you expect it to stay forever?"
Huang explained clumsily, "No, what I mean is … Shouldn't it look back every three steps, wag its tail at us, and leave reluctantly?"
Even the fishery officer next to him couldn't help but laugh. "Do you think whales are dogs? Wagging their tails? "
"No, that's not what I meant …" Huang's face turned red, but he couldn't accurately express his feelings.
Zhang Zian could understand it. It was like meeting a stranger who was in trouble on the road. After you spent a lot of effort to help him, he left without saying a word. Maybe you didn't expect to be rewarded with money, but the other party should at least express their gratitude, or at least say thank you before leaving.
However, it was a whale, not a human. It didn't need to be bound by the rules of human society.
Zhang Zian patted Huang's shoulder and comforted him. "Huang, it did receive help from humans, but before that, it was also hurt by humans. Although we weren't the ones who hurt it, it doesn't make any difference to it. It's grateful to humans, but it's also deeply afraid and guarded against them. There are so many of us here, and it doesn't know what we're going to do. It's best to leave as soon as possible after it's free. "
Huang sighed. Just as he was about to say something, his phone rang again. Unsurprisingly, it was his wife urging him to take his child back.
Zhang Zian smiled again. "Besides, it's a semi-adult minke whale. Maybe its mother and siblings are waiting for it to go back in the distant sea."
Huang nodded. He felt that what Zhang Zian said made sense, and he was completely relieved. It might still have a family waiting for it to go back. No wonder it left in such a hurry.
He and his son had just happened to find the stranded whale. At first, he wasn't very enthusiastic about helping it. He felt that it was troublesome, dirty, and a waste of time. He would get scolded by his wife, and it might even be dangerous.
However, when he saw this gigantic whale recover its health with the help of himself and others and dive into the embrace of the ocean once again, he felt a great sense of achievement in his heart. The bigger the whale was, the greater the sense of achievement in his heart.
Such an experience was difficult for an ordinary person to experience in their lifetime, no matter how high their salary was, how much power they had, or how successful their lives and careers were.
Huang was just an ordinary person, an ordinary salaryman who had been unknown for his entire life. Even if he had had ideals and ambitions when he was young, they had long lost their edges and edges as time went by. Every day, when he opened his eyes, he would think about the mortgage and car loans that he hadn't paid off. He would think about his child's education and school enrollment, and he would think about his and his wife's four parents who needed support … However, such an ordinary person like him had done something extraordinary that day. It was even worth bragging about for the rest of his life.
After standing for a while, his wet pants were a little cold from the sea breeze. The minke whale still hadn't come back. After all, Huang was a middle-aged man. His body wasn't as strong as it used to be.
"Then … I'll take my son and leave first. My wife at home is nagging me …" He took his son's hand and said goodbye, embarrassed.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done. On behalf of all the staff of the Fishery Administration, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to you!" The leader of the Fishery Administration walked over and shook hands with Huang.
Huang's old face turned red. "Cough! Not at all. Anyone who encounters something like this will help! Alright, I'll leave first. "
"Take care. Be careful on the road." Zhang Zian smiled and waved goodbye.
"Uncle … No, brother, goodbye!" Xiao Zhi also waved goodbye.
From afar, Zhang Zian heard Huang ask his son strangely, "I wanted to ask just now. Why did you call him brother? Shouldn't you call him uncle? "
"He told me to!" Xiao Zhi answered.
"…"
"Dad! I want to write what happened today in my diary. Is that okay? "Xiao Zhi asked, looking up. His eyes were full of excitement.
"Okay." Huang agreed immediately. He wanted to pat Xiao Zhi's head, but Xiao Zhi avoided him.
"Dad! Your hands are so dirty! Wash your hands when you get home! Otherwise, mom will scold you again! "Xiao Zhi said with a frown.
Old Huang chuckled and wiped his hands on his clothes.
"Dad!"
"What else?"
"I want to buy a set of books about the ocean."
"Okay, buy it online when you get home. It's cheaper there."
"No! I want to read it now! "
"Okay, then let's take a detour to Xinhua Bookstore on our way home."
"Really? But my mom has been urging us a few times … "
"Hehe, she's been waiting for so long. Let her wait a little longer …"
"Dad!"
"What is it now?"
"I want a whale kite!"
"Whale kite? Is there anyone selling whale kites? "
"I don't think so …"
"It's okay. I'll make a whale kite for you!"
"Ah? Dad, you know how to make a kite? "
"Brat! Don't look down on your dad … I won first place in the school's handicraft competition! "
"Pfft! How long ago was that? "
"How long ago … It seems like it was yesterday."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
