Two days later, in the early morning, a camel caravan with more than 40 people and more than 80 camels appeared at the end of the line of sight.
The attire of these forty-odd people can be described as diverse. Some are wearing white robes or gray robes, and some are not too hot wearing dark blue or almost black robes, and their entire faces are tightly wrapped, only their eyes are exposed, and some are even more so.
Wearing loose shorts and sun-protective clothing, desert boots, which look cooler, he also wears sunglasses and a headscarf of the same style as the Kongbu molecules.
But without exception, each of them had a new or old telescope and a walkie-talkie hanging around their necks, and even a few of them blatantly carried AK rifles or rocket launchers on their shoulders.
And those camels without people on them were carrying various supplies, from water bladders made of sheepskin to tents, to some pots and pans for making fires and cooking, and even a few big-eared foxes that looked cute when they poked their heads.
!
When this mighty camel caravan stopped, a child wearing a light blue robe, who looked to be about eight or nine years old, immediately rushed towards the Berber guide who was approaching, and shouted from the latter's arms.
Li took over the two little foxes.
Obviously, it was this kid who put the two little foxes in the cargo compartment of Weiran's armored pickup truck.
Behind the child, a Berber man who looked about thirty or forty years old also carried a snakeskin bag and walked towards Wei Ran, who was eating watermelon and watching the fun.
"He said thank you for your willingness to return the two little foxes to his son."
Soliman, who was standing next to Wei Ran, translated in time and took the snakeskin bag from the other person's hand and handed it to Wei Ran, "This is his gift to you."
"What is this?"
Wei Ran curiously took the snakeskin bag and opened it, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. The bag also contained two little foxes that looked no bigger than a palm.
"He said these were the two most beautiful and healthy ones he specially selected from two litters of fox cubs."
Soliman gloated and joked, "Victor, when you raise these two, remember to hold a wedding for them, and then they can legally give birth to litter after litter of fox cubs."
"Why do I raise so many foxes when I have nothing to do?" Wei Ran grinned, and finally asked Soliman to help express his gratitude.
Although this exchange of foxes for foxes could only be regarded as an insignificant episode, although for him, these two foxes were dispensable, this small incident made him see the good side of these nomadic tribes.
At least, the apologetic Berber man in front of him is a good father who is willing to go to customers to get their pets back for the sake of his children.
Secondly, he was still thinking about sending two foxes to Wei Ran in exchange, obviously taking Wei Ran's feelings into consideration.
Thinking about it again, the child holding two little foxes and screaming seems to be the grandson of the tribe leader, so this man is the... crown prince of the Berber tribe?
Wei Ran patted his forehead and handed the snakeskin bag in his hand to Soliman, "Let this... Soliman, what is his name?"
"His name is longer than you imagine, so you can just call him Muttalib."
"Then Muttalib"
Wei Ran pointed to the armored pickup truck behind him, "Soliman, ask Muttalib to wait for me. I also have some gifts for him."
"no problem"
Seeing that Soliman agreed, Wei Ran immediately trotted into the armored pickup truck. After rummaging through the trunk, he found a large can of Chinese tea that had not yet been opened in his luggage and gave it to Mutali as a gift.
cloth.
This small gesture of kindness clearly made the Berber crown prince feel Wei Ran's goodwill, and also made the only unfamiliarity between the two parties disappear.
While the two of them established a friendship here through Soliman's translation, Edward also negotiated employment matters with the tribe leader who came with him with the help of Saleh.
"Victor, what are we going to do next?" Edward and Saleh asked Wei Ran, who was still chatting with the Berber crown prince.
“very simple”
Wei Ran pointed to the sand beam in the distance, "Let everyone choose a sand beam, separated by a sand beam, and then follow the red line on the map to find it. The whole journey is about two hundred kilometers."
"Are you sure you can find it this way?"
Edward asked suspiciously, "What if the plane was buried? Moreover, we tried this drag-net search method decades ago, and even tried flying a small plane to search at low altitudes, but nothing happened."
What clue."
"Mr. Edward, please give me and these friends who live a nomadic life in the desert some trust."
Wei Ran said seriously, "After all, what we are looking for is a plane, not a bicycle. I believe there will always be something discovered."
"When should we set off?" Edward asked simply. In any case, the helper had already arrived, and it was too late to say anything at this time.
"Uncle Saleh, when can we set off?" Wei Ran looked at Saleh next to him.
"Let those camels rest for an hour, and then we can set off."
Saleh communicated with the old patriarch next to him for a few words and then continued, "Victor, these camels can travel about 10 kilometers per hour, and they can walk continuously for four or five hours without any problem.
According to Mr. Edward's request, during the day they can find the plane according to the route you planned. But at night, they must follow the arrangement of the clan leader, who will designate the resting place."
"no problem"
Without thinking, Wei Ran nodded and agreed to Saleh's request to help translate. It was obvious that it was much safer to follow these nomadic tribes in this desert, and they knew better where to rest at night.
After discussing all the issues before departure, Wei Ran and others began to pack up their tents, and the helpers who came over also used bamboo poles and canvas to prop up a piece of camel's back while they were resting.
A pergola over one meter square.
Everything was ready. Soliman followed Wei Ran's request and issued the order through the walkie-talkie. In an instant, forty helpers wearing various robes immediately shouted to the camels under their buttocks to stand up, and rushed to their respective positions with squeaking noises.
Sha Liang spent more than two hours opening a loose search line with a width of more than 15 kilometers in this vast desert.
It was not until the furthest tribal helper was in position and sent feedback via radio that the time came to 8:30 in the morning. By this time, the heat emitted by the sun overhead had already distorted the view of the surface.
"Let's start." Wei Ran called through the radio, and the latter immediately switched channels and issued the order.
Immediately afterwards, three cars that had been prepared for a long time also started up one after another, and slowly drove to the southeast under the leadership of Wei Ran.
However, Wei Ran's car was particularly lively at this time, because in addition to the four little foxes jumping up and down, the "Emperor Grandson" of the Berber tribe, the child wearing a light blue robe, was also in his car.
, but the crown prince of their tribe went to the truck driven by Soliman.
As for the respected patriarch, he went to the off-road vehicle driven by Saleh. At the back of the vehicle, there were six or seven young people wearing shorts and sun protection clothing, wearing sunglasses and turbans on their heads, and carrying weapons on their shoulders.
, also driving the forty or so camels responsible for consigning supplies and walking slowly at the end.
Naturally, such a vast team could not move much faster, but it gave Wei Ran time to calmly appreciate the magnificent scenery in this boundless desert.
In the end, he even left the job of driving the pickup truck to the kid who was happily jumping up and down in the car.
Although this behavior is somewhat dangerous, there are no traffic police, no traffic lights in this vast desert, and there are no road killers with malicious intentions. In addition, the speed of the car is only about 10 kilometers per hour, and he will also drive in the passenger seat.
The position helps you keep an eye on the gear lever and steering wheel, so you won't really encounter any danger.
As for whether the little guy who is responsible for driving at the moment will pester his grandfather, the patriarch, to get him a car for fun in the future, that is not something Wei Ran should consider. He believes that this child will definitely have a complete childhood.
.
I walked slowly from morning to noon, and the reading on the odometer showed that I had traveled nearly 50 kilometers. Soliman also signaled through the radio channel to turn off the car.
The Berber kid who had been helping him drive all morning was finally tired at this time. He allowed Wei Ran to help him take off the sunglasses that were too big on his face, and then carried him to the back seat.
He hugged the litter of little foxes who were also tired and fell asleep.
"It's time to find a place to take a rest."
Soliman parked the truck next to the armored pickup truck, "Let's wait until 3:30 in the afternoon to continue. At this speed, we will almost complete the two hundred kilometers you drew on the map tomorrow night."
"Did you find anything?" Weiran asked boredly as he opened the door.
"Nothing was found." Soliman leaned his upper body out of the car window and asked, "Victor, do you really think you can find the plane this way?"
"Who knows?"
Wei Ran spread his hands irresponsibly, "I don't need to spend money to hire those helpers anyway, so why not give it a try?"
"That makes sense." Soliman smiled and turned off the truck's engine.
Taking advantage of the rest, the Berbers who had been following at the end were not idle either. These seven or eight people quickly raised the bonfire and produced enough meals, and then packed them into aluminum lunch boxes.
inside.
Soliman also borrowed the off-road vehicle driven by his father Saleh, loaded up his lunch box, several boxes of mineral water and a large basket of apples moved from the truck bed, and climbed over the sandy ridges, enjoying it endlessly.
He took on the job of delivering meals.
Compared to the diligent Soliman, Wei Ran once again moved out of the deck chair in the cargo compartment after eating and drinking, found a quiet place in the shadow of the sand beam, and dozed off leisurely.
