() The first person to react was Captain Bach. Just as Dong Qiangqiang turned his head to look at the stern of the ship, he heard the captain shout, "Throw the lifebuoy."
Due to limited seats, a small cruise ship like the "Kingssee" has a very small number of crew members. Minimal means that there is only one driver except Captain Bach.
Since the "Kingssee" travels very slowly and has a high beam, tourists are not forced to wear life jackets when boarding the ship.
There were four lifebuoys placed at the bow and stern of the ship. Dong Qiangqiang ran to the stern in two steps, picked up one and threw it directly next to the person who fell into the water.
Almost at the same time, another lifebuoy flew out from the bow of the ship. Both lifebuoys landed well.
Only then did Dong Qiangqiang realize that the person who fell into the water was a boy named Xiaoxia, and there were actually several plump mallards swimming beside him.
It was obvious that Xiaoxia couldn't swim. He jumped up and down in the water in a panic, as if he didn't notice the lifebuoy that was so close at hand.
"Xiaoxia! Grab the lifebuoy quickly! The lifebuoy next to you!" Everyone on the boat shouted and was in chaos.
After Xiaoxia took a few sips of water, she saw the lifebuoy floating on the water very close to her. He clawed hard for the dog, first grabbed the lifebuoy with one hand, and then pinned his other arm in the other lifebuoy. Then he spit out water and gasped in shock.
At this moment, a big hand grabbed the lifebuoy, and Xiaoxia heard a steady male voice coming from above her head: "Hold on to the lifebuoy! Don't let go!"
Xiaoxia looked up when he heard the sound, and a young face was looking at him with concern.
"Let's go back!" Dong Qiangqiang comforted Xiaoxia while turning around and gesturing toward the ship. The captain understood and joined everyone in pulling the ship's cable tied to Dong Qiangqiang in the direction of the ship. Dong Qiangqiang pulled the lifebuoy, and the lifebuoy was wrapped around Xiaoxia, and then the two returned to the boat.
Everyone gathered around and asked Xiaoxia, "The boat is so high, how did you fall down?"
Xiaoxia sat on her seat with her head lowered without saying a word, as if she didn't hear the questions at all.
A string of water droplets dripped from his wet chin and clothes, and a puddle of water soon accumulated at his feet.
"You kid is quite talkative. Is your brain okay?"
After a long time, Xiaoxia finally replied in a low voice, "I... accidentally... fell..."
"Accidentally?" Everyone looked at the boat gang and looked at each other, feeling that these words sounded too untrue.
"How did you fall from such a height?" Uncle Chen had been standing outside the crowd. When he heard this, he finally couldn't hold back his temper, pushed aside the crowd, walked up to Xiao Xia, lowered his head and asked, "Why are there so many people? Can you fall? Are you a weight?"
"I just... wanted to take a picture of the ducks in the lake, but I leaned too low and couldn't hold myself steady..." Xiao Xia faltered, the last few words almost inaudible.
Uncle Chen knew that Xiaoxia was not telling the truth, but it was not a glorious thing to teach his children in front of outsiders, so he could only say "shameful" in a low voice, and then walked away with his hands behind his back.
The elderly couple who had been watching everything in front of them silently looked at each other. The old lady turned towards Xinxin who was sitting not far away and asked, "Xinxin, you and Xiaoxia were sitting close to each other just now. Did you see how he fell into the water?" "
"I was busy taking pictures of the scenery just now, so I didn't pay attention." Xinxin lowered her head and fiddled with the digital camera in her hand calmly.
Although it is already August, the temperature of the lake water is not high. After soaking in the water for a while, she was mentally frightened again. Xiaoxia's face turned pale, and her teeth could not stop chattering from the cold.
Dong Qiangqiang put his jacket on the boat before going into the water. Although he was a little cold now, he still put the jacket on Xiaoxia's body.
Xiaoxia trembled and said nothing, but she was filled with all sorts of fears.
"I was shocked when I saw you suddenly jump down just now." Brother Yun said with lingering fear, "I was relieved when I saw the cable around your waist."
"I threw the lifebuoy to him firstly to attract his attention and give him something to grab, and secondly to prevent him from holding on to me." Dong Qiangqiang said softly, "The cable is to prevent accidents. If he didn't grab it just now, If you don’t want to catch me directly without a lifebuoy, you can also pull the rope and rescue us both.”
Brother Yun glanced at him suspiciously, "Is this what you thought of just now?"
"How is that possible? I'm not a god. I learned first aid in middle school. Besides, no matter how courageous or good I am, I wouldn't dare to rush to save people in such unfamiliar waters, otherwise you would have saved two of you just now." Dong Qiangqiang wiped the water from his face and said, "You cannot save people who are falling into the water from the front. I understand this."
Brother Yun glanced in the direction of the captain and said, "The captain has contacted the dock. We will meet the boat that went to the island in the middle of the lake in a while and return. You take him back and buy a few sets of clothes for him to change into. The water here is Cool, don’t catch a cold.”
"Okay." Dong Qiangqiang agreed, and suddenly remembered something, "Did something like this happen to the group you led before? I mean, falling into the water. Will they cause trouble for us? For example, we I failed to fulfill my duty of escorting, so I want to ask for compensation or something?"
"Never." Brother Yun shook his head and said, "This is the first time I have encountered it. But I videotaped him when he admitted that he fell. I think it is unlikely that he can blackmail us." Brother Yun shook his head. Shaking the digital camera in his hand.
"Then do you think what he said is true?" Dong Qiangqiang breathed a sigh of relief when Brother Yun said that the video was recorded, and then changed the question.
But this time Brother Yun didn't answer him, but moved his eyes to Xinxin's seat.
Dong Qiangqiang looked at Xinxin's back thoughtfully, as if he understood something.
At this time, the captain came over, whispered a few words to Brother Yun, and left the captain's hat to her.
Brother Yun clapped his hands and said in a loud voice, "Attention, everyone, please pay the captain's tip just now."
"What? You need tips for rescuing people?" Uncle Chen, who was standing on the side of the ship, turned around in surprise when he heard the sound, glanced at the captain's profile, and asked Brother Yun dissatisfied, "Is he obsessed with money? I didn't hold him accountable for his dereliction of duty. Not bad, he still dares to ask me for money?"
Everyone cheered and the scene was a bit chaotic.
Bach looked at the angry crowd with a confused face, and couldn't help but ask Brother Yun, "Can you tell me what he just said?"
Seeing that his words caused misunderstanding among everyone, Brother Yun quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, my expression just now was inaccurate. Let me say it again. Saving people must be free. The tip is not for the act of saving people, but for everyone just now. The trumpet echoes. I hope you don’t misunderstand me. In Europe, tipping is just a courtesy of doing as the locals do. You don’t need to give too much, it’s just your appreciation.”
After she explained this, everyone's doubts and dissatisfaction were finally settled. Everyone thought of the captain's swiftness and decisiveness in rescuing people, so they stopped complaining and put their tips into the captain's hat.
The captain didn't know what happened. He looked at the group of angry and calm passengers in front of him inexplicably and secretly marveled.
The boat continued to move forward for a while, and sure enough it met a returning boat. Dong Qiangqiang helped Xiao Xia and moved to another boat, while Uncle Chen started to compete with Brother Yun in reciting poems related to landscapes with great interest, without even looking at Xiao Xia seriously.
When the two ships separated, Dong Qiangqiang glanced back subconsciously, only to see Xinxin still looking indifferent, playing with a digital camera indifferently.
Dong Qiangqiang and Xiaoxia each bought a set of coats at the King Lake souvenir shop at the main entrance of the scenic spot. Although they were very uncomfortable to wear, they were better than wet clothes.
Back in the car, Dong Qiangqiang turned on the heater. It took more than ten minutes for the two of them to feel relieved.
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