ebookland Chapter 1073
Chapter 1073
The Zhou family is very sensitive to the word "secret".
Their expressions immediately changed slightly.
Zhong Tiyun immediately retorted angrily, "What secrets could we possibly have? Do you think we have a strongman hiding in our house who can carry such heavy ore onto a cruise ship by hand? What good can a person in a diving suit do underwater!"
"Exactly! Some people are too well protected by the mothership, and with nothing to do all day, they try to cause trouble..."
Zhou Jianghai also said angrily.
Tao Zheng quickly reassured them, "Uncle, Aunt, don't take it too seriously. Most people are just saying it casually."
Qi Mingyu nodded, his tone calm: "Okay, we understand. Tao Zheng, thank you for coming to remind us."
Tao Zheng only touched on the point, worried that if the Zhou family were to be targeted, they would be caught off guard.
Seeing that the Zhou family had taken the matter to heart, he took the initiative to change the subject.
The group then chatted about their experiences over the past six months.
Tao Zheng said he was assigned to the mechanical maintenance team on the mothership, where he learned ship repair from veteran technicians every day, and his skills improved a lot.
Jiajia helped out in the medical ward, learning some basic nursing skills from the medical staff, and occasionally helping to change dressings for lightly wounded soldiers.
Zhou Shuwan also briefly talked about the tsunami and ice storms they encountered at sea, but skipped over the thrilling parts of the conflicts with other fleets, only saying that "it was a close call."
Before we knew it, more than an hour had passed, and the sound of soldiers changing shifts could be heard in the corridor.
Jiajia glanced at her watch, stood up and said, "Wanwan, Auntie, Uncle, it's getting late, we should go. You must be tired after just getting back, so please get some rest."
Tao Zheng also stood up: "Call us anytime if you need anything. We live nearby and can be there in just a few minutes."
Zhong Tiyun quickly got up to see them to the door, and then stuffed a small bag of smoked dried fish into Jiajia's hand: "Here, Jiajia. Come visit often when you have time."
Jiajia smiled and didn't refuse, saying "Thank you, Auntie" before turning around and leaving with Tao Zheng.
The moment the door closed, the relaxed atmosphere in the room vanished instantly.
The Zhou family members exchanged glances, their smiles vanished, and their expressions became extremely solemn.
Zhong Tiyun frowned slightly: "I'm a little worried about what Tao Zheng said earlier. What if someone doesn't believe what we're saying and keeps pressing us for answers?"
Zhou Shuwan patted her shoulder, her expression resolute: "Don't worry, Mom, we have a reasonable explanation."
First of all, no one knows exactly which sea area we went to, and no one has seen the seabed there. We said we would use mechanical means to transport the goods, but they have no way to verify that.
Secondly, the equipment on the cruise ship and the handrails on the submarine all showed obvious signs of damage, so if someone were to investigate later, there wouldn't be any clues.
The submarine that has been kept on the cruise ship is the one they originally requested from the wealthy family.
The one given to them by the mothership was severely damaged and was stored in Zhou Shuwan's spatial storage.
On their way back, Zhou Shuwan deliberately let them out and put away her own belongings.
The submarine was severely damaged.
They escaped only after enduring many dangers at the bottom of the sea.
Even if the technical and maintenance personnel on the mothership were to inspect it, they wouldn't be able to find any flaws.
Zhong Tiyun was finally slightly relieved.
Zhou Jianghai pondered for a moment and said, "Wanwan is right, we don't need to panic too much. But it's always good to be careful. In the future, on the mothership, even among our own people, we must be careful what we say."
Having weathered countless storms, he understood better than anyone the principle of "possessing a treasure is a crime," and that their greatest trump card was their space, which must never be exposed.
Qi Mingyu seemed to be deep in thought and remained silent.
His gaze fell on the undulating sea outside the window, as if he were pondering something.
Captain Chen has always relied heavily on the Zhou family, and this discussion may actually be an opportunity to see his true stance.
The Zhou family didn't have to wait long. The doubts that had started circulating on the cruise ship that afternoon were swiftly suppressed by Captain Chen that evening.
The news spread while the patrolmen were chatting in the corridor.
Those soldiers who were gossiping about the Zhou family's "hidden secrets" were taken directly to the deck and publicly punished. They were not only deprived of three months' worth of supplies, but their rank was also demoted by two grades.
Captain Chen stood on high ground, his voice carrying throughout the ship through the loudspeaker: "The Zhou family risked their lives to bring back crucial materials for building the fortress from the deep sea. They are heroes of the entire ship! From now on, anyone who dares to spread false rumors or slander them will be punished for disrupting morale!"
Upon hearing this, the people who had been whispering amongst themselves immediately fell silent, and no one dared to make a fuss about the "twenty tons of supplies" anymore.
Upon hearing this, the Zhou family's worries dissipated considerably.
Zhong Tiyun breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I didn't expect Captain Chen to act so quickly. Now I don't have to worry about anyone gossiping."
After washing up that evening, Zhou Shuwan and Qi Mingyu had a rare moment alone together.
She leaned against the bulkhead and quietly asked him, "Did you already guess that Captain Chen would do this?"
Qi Mingyu was combing her hair when he heard this. He looked up and smiled, his tone gentle yet firm: "It's not a guess, it's just that Captain Chen values you very much. Even if someone does question it, he will most likely help us cover it up. After all, we still need to find those minerals, and he won't make things difficult for us."
Zhou Shuwan nodded, completely relieved.
Early the next morning, the Zhou family went out with a small cart to move their belongings back from the cruise ship.
As soon as they reached the deck, they saw Zhipeng and the others standing not far away. When they saw them coming, Xue Tao waved and called out, but did not go forward.
Zhou Shuwan understood their thoughts.
Supplies are the most private things in the apocalypse, especially since the Zhou family had just returned from outside. They didn't want to appear to be deliberately prying into things just because they were "helping," so they consciously avoided it.
The Zhou family didn't leave many supplies on the cruise ship; most of the precious food and medicine had already been stored in Zhou Shuwan's spatial storage.
The rest were mostly durable smoked dried fish, potatoes, compressed biscuits, canned fish, and some other miscellaneous supplies.
This was to make life on the mothership more convenient in the future, so Zhou Shuwan deliberately kept more and didn't put them in her space.
Sure enough, one of the soldiers guarding the cruise ship couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Zhou, you seem to have quite a lot of supplies. Did you bring so much with you when you set off?"
As Zhou Shuwan loaded the boxes onto the cart, she explained casually, "No, we encountered a group of people who called themselves 'sea wanderers' on the way. They tried to rob us, but we fought back and killed them. These are all things we collected from their ship, so it wasn't a complete scare."