Meng Kou's hand holding the fishing net was trembling a little, his eyes staring at the old worker drifting closer and closer to him, and he demonstrated the timing of casting the net over and over again in his mind.
This time it was not about catching river fish. When fishing for river fish, Mengkou could even close his eyes and throw the fishing net into the river at will. Anyway, he would end up with more than ten kilograms of fish.
This time I was netting a man who weighed more than 100 kilograms, and it was my hope to survive.
"Hey!"
Mengkou aimed at the half-way ahead of the old worker's trajectory and threw the fishing net out. Then he suddenly turned around, grasped the wood pulp, and rowed desperately.
After fishing for river fish for several years, Mengkou knew how dangerous this moment was.
Regardless of whether the old worker's body is accurately netted or not, the moment a dozen kilograms of fishing net falls into the water, there will be a sinking pull. Coupled with the reverse current of the river, if you are not careful, it will pull the hull of the boat backwards.
Mengkou's rowing arm felt severe pain and began to cramp, and the wooden boat moved forward bit by bit.
It felt like he was dragging a truck forward. Meng Kou knew that as long as he persisted for a while, it would become easier.
Meng Kou put one foot against the board of the boat and the other foot against the stern of the boat. He gritted his teeth and leaned forward. The movements of his hands became faster and faster, and the wooden boat finally began to move forward with the paddle of the wood pulp.
I took a look at the fishing net dragged behind the boat. Under the moonlight, there was a black and white dress inside the net, and there seemed to be a black shadow underneath the dress.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Mengkou shouted three times, and the sleeping animals in the grass on both sides of the bank were frightened and ran around. This shout seemed to vent all the dissatisfaction for so many years.
"If you buy a bullshit diesel motor, I'll buy a tin boat instead, one with an engine!"
Mengkou casually uncovered the ropes tied to the hull, thinking that he would come back to collect them after dawn, which would save some weight.
A gust of cold wind blew, and Mengkou felt the biting coldness on his face, and realized that he had shed so many tears at some point.
Guitou Bay is nearly twenty miles away from Mengkou Village, but only ten miles away from Xiaowang Village.
Mengkou's whole body was radiating heat, and he felt like he had endless strength.
An hour and a half later, Mengkou's wooden boat stopped at the dock of Xiaowang Village Battlefield.
Meng Kou tied the cable to the cable pile and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Suddenly he felt dizzy. After more than an hour of continuous vigorous exercise, the alcohol from a bottle of Erguotou finally hit his head.
"People on the battlefield are out working!"
Before Mengkou fell, he yelled at the courtyard of the battlefield not far away.
When Mengkou woke up, it was already noon the next day, and he was lying on a wooden bed in a strange room.
Mengkou shook his swollen head and looked outside through the window of the room, only to realize that he was in the workers' dormitory of the battlefield.
There were many people standing in a corner of the battlefield where there was a straw hut.
When Mengkou opened the door and walked to the courtyard, the eyes of those who saw him showed a different brilliance than before.
In the past, when some people saw Meng Kou, their eyes revealed undisguised ridicule.
This time it was different. Mengkou felt shocked and somewhat admired from their eyes.
"Are you awake? I really didn't expect that, Mengkou, I, Lao Zhang, admire you. You are really awesome! You are the first person in so many years who has been to Guitou Bay and still hasn't come back."
"Hehe, hehe, hahahaha."
Meng Kou lay on the Tukang in his home and giggled. Boss Zhang from the battlefield really gave him a stack of money. The crowd of people watching showed envy, and no one looked at him the same way as before.
"His grandma's. It's strange. I dragged two people back and I didn't feel anything."
After Meng Kou became drunk, following his shouts, the workers at the battlefield ran out of the dormitory and discovered his wooden boat.
Soon someone discovered that the body of an old worker was being pushed in the fishing net at the stern of the Mengkou boat.
Several people worked together to drag the fishing net out of the river, and found that not only the old worker was entangled in the net, but also the body of another young woman.
The old worker's body had been swollen by the river water and his skin was pale, but the young woman's body was like a living person sleeping, and it was completely impossible to tell that she had been soaked in water.
Everyone guessed that it might be because he fell into the water not long ago, so they simply sent someone to call the police.
After the police arrived, they drove a police car and made inquiries in several villages, but no one was missing.
This is strange. It is unrealistic to bring an unclaimed body back to the police station, and it is impossible for the hospital morgue to keep it for you for too long.
Later, the village chief came up with the idea that there was an abandoned brick factory between Xiaowang Village and Zhang Village.
You can place the woman's body there first, and send two people to help guard it until the family comes to claim it.
As soon as the policeman handling the case heard that this idea was feasible, he arranged for someone to take the woman's body to the brick factory first, while leaving two young policemen to guard it.
Subsequently, the police issued missing persons notices in several counties along the Yellow River.
This brick factory is said to have been built during the Qing Dynasty, specifically to build yamen-fired bricks for the county. It was later abandoned for unknown reasons.
There is an old homeless man living in an abandoned brick factory. No one knows exactly when this old man wandered here.
The old man was dressed in tattered clothes and always held a cigarette pole in his hand. The people in the village were simple, and no one would say anything about him living in an abandoned brick factory.
In Mengkou's impression, when he was very young, this old man lived in the brick factory.
The old man always had a dark face. Occasionally he would pass by the village and greet people, but he would never pay attention. Everyone suspected that the old man was mute.
After a long time, no one knew what the old man's last name was, so they all just called him Mr. Zhuan.
The brick factory has a medium-sized yard with two cave dwellings. One of the cave dwellings is occupied by Mr. Brick, and the other is unused.
When the police arrived at the abandoned brick factory, Mr. Brick was sitting in the yard smoking a cigarette. He didn't even raise an eyelid to the female body they brought in.
The female body was placed in an abandoned wooden shed in the yard.
The two policemen who stayed behind looked at the unused cave dwelling and found that it was not bad. It was clean inside and there were no problems with the people living there.
The young policeman told Mr. Zhuan that the place would be requisitioned for a few days to house the body of a woman who had fallen into the water, and told him not to be afraid. They would stay and live in the cave dwelling next door.
Mr. Zhuan was sitting in the yard smoking alone, as if the young policeman was nothing.
Fortunately, before arriving, the village chief told the police about Mr. Zhuan, and the young police did not care much about it.
The two discussed for a while, one stayed at the brick factory, and the other drove to the city to pick up bedding and some daily necessities.
The young policeman who stayed behind looked at Mr. Zhuan who was sitting in the middle of the yard, shook his head helplessly, and walked around the yard. The living facilities were quite complete, including stoves and firewood.
But he didn't notice that Mr. Zhuan, who was walking towards the cave dwelling after smoking a dry cigarette, glanced at the wooden shed in the corner of the yard, frowned, and looked like he was in trouble.