My Little Poplar - Chap 59
The water was so cold that it stung their brains, the water poured down their throats and into their stomachs, almost their whole bodies froze but they drank it in huge gulps, feeling the dried cells in their bodies come to life.
Wang Sheng scooped up a jug of water and put it to Li Jiale’s mouth saying, “Jiale, drink some water.”
Li Jiale held the jug of water and took a few big gulps.
Chen Jing said: “It’s raw water, don’t give him too much.”
But Li Jiale held on to the canteen and said, “Let me drink, I’d rather drown now.”
After drinking their fill, they began to study the problem of crossing the reservoir, the water was still warm from the sun but below 10cm it was extremely cold, with their physical abilities, it was dangerous to cross.
The men huddled together and discussed: “Is there anywhere else we can go around?”
Yu Fengcheng points at the map, shaking his head, “The power station at this reservoir is more than ten kilometres away.”
Wang Sheng looked back at Li Jiale and sighed heavily. In Li Jiale’s current state, he would never be able to swim and they didn’t have the strength to carry him across the river, the water was so cold, it could be life threatening.
The men discuss tying their packs together, floating on the water to carry Li Jiale across, or six men in three groups taking turns pulling him and while they are discussing this, a kilometre away, they see another team crossing the reservoir.
Da Xiong said angrily: “Shit, they’ve overtaken us, let’s not discuss it, let’s swim, if we get attacked here we’ll never get away.”
“Okay, let’s do what we just did, we’ll take turns carrying them!”
Li Jiale laid on all fours, choking back a sob: “Guys, you go, I give up.”
The crowd was frozen, no one said anything for a while.
Li Jiale had tears in his eyes and said, “You guys carry me to the reservoir and then carry me across the reservoir, there’s still a long way to go, you can’t carry me to the finish line, it’s enough for me to drink this water, that’s enough for you guys.”
The men were too distressed to speak but there was nothing else they could do, Li Jiale was right, they couldn’t carry the man to the end, it would be wise to take him to a doctor.
Li Jiale wiped his tears and said, “You should go, I’ll radio for help, leave me alone.”
They turned away with red eyes, gritted their teeth and jumped into the water.
Chen Jing was the first to jump in, the moment he hit the water, he let out a muffled scream, his face went white in a flash.
The others followed suit and there was a lot of huffing and puffing.
Bai Xinyu’s eyes closed, imagining that someone was pushing him behind him, he gritted his teeth and jumped in, the moment the water reached his body, he felt as if a million tiny needles were stabbing his skin at the same time, a chill penetrated his flesh and seeped into his bones, it was as if his blood had frozen. Bai Xinyu’s mouth opened wide, his expression was twisted, it was cold! It was so cold! His body shivered uncontrollably. He hurriedly swung his limbs, forcing himself to paddle forward.
The whole time he was on the blotter, no one spoke, only the sound of teeth clashing around him, their faces were as white as paper. When they reached the other side they climbed up on their hands and knees and then lay on the shore panting heavily, rolling their eyes in exhaustion.
