50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 287 Reception in International Waters
As soon as he regained his senses, Professor Meng immediately looked around alertly.

When he found his wife and daughter sleeping soundly beside him, he felt relieved.

He knew that the agent named 'Di Ting' had finally managed to escape safely with his family.

Sun Zhiwei piloted the "Annie Baby" ship and spent a day getting to the vicinity of the international shipping lane, where he anchored and waited.

In the following days, Sun Zhiwei spent his time fishing and diving, showing no signs of tension or anxiety, which allowed Professor Meng's family to begin enjoying life at sea as well.

The yacht was quite spacious, and it was equipped with a large amount of food supplies. The four of them could live comfortably on it for half a month without any worries about food or clothing.

Professor Meng's wife, Ms. Ai Wen, naturally took on the role of cook. In addition to the staple foods they had prepared, they could also enjoy various seafood ingredients that Sun Zhiwei caught at sea every day.

As time went by, cargo ships kept passing by on the shipping route, but none of them were the cargo ship that Sun Zhiwei was waiting for.

Sun Zhiwei didn't care and continued to swim every day.

On the fifth day, Sun Zhiwei, who had been enjoying himself, spent the entire day at the bow of the ship, looking at the waterway not far away.

Around noon, a 10,000-ton cargo ship flying the Panamanian flag sailed in from the south. Sun Zhiwei's eyes lit up when he saw it from afar.

He immediately climbed into the driver's seat, shouting, "Professor Meng, I'm starting the yacht now, all of you get ready."

Upon hearing Sun Zhiwei's voice, Professor Meng and his team quickly returned to the cabin.

Soon, the anchor was retrieved, Sun Zhiwei started the engine, and the 'Annie Baby' began to slowly approach the course.

After the Panamanian cargo ship in the distance reached the agreed coordinates, it sounded its horn three times in a row, followed by two more blasts after a pause.

As Sun Zhiwei steered the ship, he also sounded the ship's horn, the frequency and rhythm of which were opposite to those of the cargo ship.

Once the connection signal was established, the cargo ship began to slow down. Sun Zhiwei then circled around to the side and rear of the cargo ship, slowly approaching it from the side.

As the two ships approached, Sun Zhiwei could clearly see the hull number and name at the stern: Oriental Angel.
Once the two ships came to a stop, the cargo ship began to lower its gangway, which was soon raised to the height of the yacht deck.

Sun Zhiwei said to Professor Meng, "Professor, you go first, I'll go last. I'll carry the suitcase."

Professor Meng nodded, climbed the gangway first, and then pulled his daughter and wife up with him.

Sun Zhiwei lowered the anchor of the yacht, secured the boat, and then jumped onto the gangway with Professor Meng's suitcase.

When he got to the deck of the cargo ship, the first thing he saw was the captain, surnamed Huo. He was a distant relative of the Huo family and a trustworthy family member.

"Mr. Sun?"

"It's me. Thank you for the Huo family's support."

"Of course, as long as the country needs it, let alone just a few people."

"Let me introduce you. This is Professor Meng, and this is Professor Meng's wife, Ms. Ai Wen, and their daughter."

"Professor Meng, this is Captain Huo. We will take this cargo ship directly to Hong Kong Island."

After Captain Huo and Professor Meng got to know each other, the captain took them to the cabin and specially set aside two rooms for them to use.

Sun Zhiwei observed the sailors on the ship along the way. There weren't many of them, but they were all very tough.

He knew in his heart that in this era, a sailor who went to sea had to be tough.

Pirates roamed every important waterway, and the crew also had to contend with the naval police of various countries along the route, as well as warships from the Soviet Union and the United States.

In the age of sail, going to sea was a matter of life and death; in modern times, it's at most 50/50. Safety is only guaranteed if every voyage involves a large fleet, but that's rare, and there are very few times when a large fleet needs to be deployed.

In most cases, only a small number of ships set sail, which requires the captain to have extensive experience in handling various unexpected situations along the way.

Captain Huo must have had some connections to dare to travel alone in a cargo ship.

Sun Zhiwei noticed that almost every sailor had calluses on the back of their hands. These calluses could be from working on the ship or from holding a gun for long periods of time; he thought it was the latter.

"Captain Huo, the yacht we came on was borrowed from a local tycoon in Los Angeles, and we still need to return it to him."

"Could you send someone to sail the ship back to the Port of Los Angeles?"

“That’s easy. I’ll have a sailor take the yacht back for you.”

"Then how did this sailor get back?"

"Mr. Huo has friends in the local market. We can have them take the sailors directly to the next port to wait for us."

Soon, a sailor descended the gangway, boarded the cruise ship, and skillfully steered the yacht toward Los Angeles.

Once the yacht had sailed away, the cargo ship's gangway slowly retracted, and Captain Huo ordered the ship to set sail.

Afterwards, Professor Meng took his luggage and family to the cabin to settle in.

There was basically no danger after that, so Sun Zhiwei stopped following Professor Meng and went to the bridge with the captain.

There are only a few people in the cockpit: a navigator and a helmsman. The two of them are enough to handle the daily navigation work.

The captain will only step in and take command of all crew members when it is necessary to change course, enter or leave a port, or when there is an unforeseen event.

So, after Captain Huo and Sun Zhiwei arrived at the bridge, they ignored the navigator and helmsman who were steering the ship and went to a small bar on the side.

You heard right, it's a bar, and the bar is stocked with all sorts of drinks. The captain brought each of them a glass of rum.

Rum is a sweet sugarcane liquor, not as strong as Chinese baijiu, and has always been a favorite drink among sailors.

Of course, a major reason was that rum was relatively cheap. Especially during the Age of Exploration, merchant ships, cargo ships, and pirate ships all carried many barrels of rum on board.

Firstly, fresh water had a very short shelf life at the time, while rum could be used to preserve it for a long time.

Another reason was due to custom; women were not allowed on board, so alcohol became a necessity on board at that time.

Although we have entered the modern era, with advanced technology and faster ship speeds, intercontinental voyages are still measured in months.

Long sea voyages are boring enough; if you can't even drink alcohol, problems are bound to arise in the long run.

Therefore, while drinking alcohol is prohibited during working hours on board, it is not entirely forbidden. As long as the crew is not on duty, they can drink as much as they want.

The rum that Sun Zhiwei and his friends are drinking now is a premium brand, which is even more expensive than high-end Chinese liquor.

Sun Zhiwei accompanied Captain Huo as they drank and talked at the bar.

"Captain, what is our ship's course?"

"Our ship is now fully loaded with cargo, so we don't plan to make any long stops along the way. We'll just resupply at the ports along the way and head back to Hong Kong Island."

(End of this chapter)