756: Chapter 747: Thatched Cottage 756: Chapter 747: Thatched Cottage The plane flew back smoothly and landed just as smoothly.
Once back on the ground, Gao Yang finally felt at ease and conducted a very meticulous check of the plane.
Catherine and Adele accompanied Gao Yang in inspecting the plane.
No bullet holes were found on the fuselage, and just as the inspection was about to conclude, Gao Yang heard the honking of a car horn twice from underneath the aircraft.
Martin drove over with gasoline.
After honking twice to announce his arrival, Martin parked the vehicle next to the airplane.
Jumping down from the car, Martin loudly said, “Gao, how did it go, any findings?”
Gao Yang shook his head and replied, “The only thing we found is that after we flew into Sudan’s airspace, we discovered a military camp, and the soldiers there were very unfriendly.
They shot at me, but fortunately, after checking, our plane wasn’t hit by any gunfire.”
Martin frowned and said, “Those soldiers really are unfriendly.
We’ve also been warned to keep our distance from them.
To my knowledge, there are about six or seven such military camps scattered along the border.
Normally, no one is willing to get close to them.
These people are all crazed by desperation.
The border between North and South Sudan isn’t clearly defined right now, and both sides engage in cross-border actions.
Unpublicized battles happen frequently.”
Martin had come with someone nicknamed Radar, Bantuna.
Holding a fuel pump, Bantuna got down from the vehicle and simply listened to the conversation between Gao Yang and Martin.
When Martin finished speaking, Bantuna said calmly, “These things are normal, nothing to talk about.
Just keep your distance from them.
Alright, open the fuel cap for me, help me refuel.”
Martin drove quite a new pickup truck, which had a fuel tank on board.
The camp’s electricity and vehicle fuel supply depended entirely on the gasoline brought by the tank truck.
South Sudan is synonymous with vast land and sparse population.
There are no towns nearby where Gao Yang is located.
To the northeast of South Sudan, within Ethiopia’s territory, a tropical rainforest is practically devoid of human presence.
Heading north is Sudan where, apart from some soldiers stationed along the border, there are no residents.
Along the edges of this tropical rainforest, not even the nomadic Dinka and Nuer people would go, so replenishing fuel once it runs out is a big problem.
After inserting the fuel hose into the plane’s fuel tank, Gao Yang said to Martin, “Do we have enough gasoline?
I mean, can we ensure enough fuel for the camp operations and to leave here, and how much can I use for flying on top of that?”
After thinking for a moment, Martin laughed and replied, “We still have quite a bit.
Besides the generator, we hardly use any gasoline.
Only one vehicle runs on gasoline; the rest are diesel.
Plus, we still have a whole tank of gasoline.
If your flights are all as short as this morning’s, you should be able to fly at least six or seven more times.
Don’t worry, use it as you need to.
Even if it runs out, I can arrange to have more brought over.”
Not having to worry about fuel was good news.
Checking his watch, Gao Yang saw that it was still early, just past one in the afternoon.
Not wanting to waste the upcoming hours, Gao Yang said with a smile, “I plan to continue searching this afternoon, but this time I don’t intend to head north again.
I want to try my luck in the opposite direction.
Our lunch should be ready soon.”
Martin, of course, hoped that the Akuri tribe could be found sooner rather than later.
He spread his hands and smiled, “As long as you don’t feel tired, it’s fine, but I suggest you go back to the camp to eat something before taking off again.”
Gao Yang looked at Catherine, who hadn’t yet spoken when Catherine said anxiously, “Don’t ask me, I’m not tired at all.”
Adele also said hastily, “I’m not tired either, let’s take off again, I have a feeling we’ll find the Akuri tribe this afternoon.”
Gao Yang had initially planned to fly just once.
Deciding to take off again on the spur of the moment, he knew it wouldn’t hurt to eat something to replenish his energy, and it wouldn’t take too much time.
However, before Gao Yang could speak, Catherine grimaced and said with a pained expression, “What’s on the menu for lunch?”
Martin said cheerfully, “Fried chips and antelope meat sandwiches, Radar shot a young antelope.”
Upon hearing Martin’s reply, Catherine immediately said with determination, “I’m not hungry, and we have emergency food prepared on the plane, so I won’t go back to the camp.”
Adele quickly added, “I won’t have lunch either, I’m not hungry.”
Gao Yang had been planning to go and eat.
Hearing Martin’s description, the lunch seemed to be freshly made, which would be a rare treat in the wilderness.
However, seeing that Catherine and Adele were adamant about not having lunch, Gao Yang had no choice but to give up.
With a resigned shrug, Gao Yang said to Martin, “Alright then, I won’t go for lunch.
We’ve brought a lot of emergency food, we won’t go hungry.”
Hearing Gao Yang’s words, Bantuna suddenly asked, “What did you bring exactly?”
Gao Yang glanced at the plane and replied, “Well, biscuits, chocolate, some military compressed biscuits, and also some canned ham.”
After hearing what Gao Yang said, Bantuna licked his lips and requested, “If you have enough, could you spare some for me?”
Catherine laughed and said, “No problem, I’ll get them for you.”
Catherine fetched two compressed biscuits, a bag of ordinary biscuits, and a beef ham from Kenya, all of which Gao Yang had bought in Malakal.
Their taste was just okay, but Bantuna looked very excited when he took them, and he even started eating them right away after opening the packages.
Martin drove off, while Bantuna, sitting in the passenger seat, began to eat the food that Catherine had given him at a rapid pace.
When they were leaving, Bantuna made a gesture of thanks to Catherine.
Waiting for Martin to drive away, Catherine let out a long sigh and said, “People like Bantuna have the lowest demands when it comes to food.
Now even Bantuna can’t stand it, ah, it’s just frightening, the British.”
Adele said helplessly, “Frightening British!”
Gao Yang asked curiously, “What’s going on?
What are you talking about?
Adele, aren’t you British?”
Adele shrugged and said, “I am British, but after spending so much time in America, I’ve become quite picky about my food.”
Gao Yang laughed heartily as if he had heard the funniest joke, saying, “What did you say?
Are you suggesting that Americans know how to eat?
Oh my, the idea that Americans have spoiled you with their food is the funniest joke I’ve ever heard.”
Catherine said with a look of resentment, “Is it that funny?
Americans might not be the best eaters, but we have plenty of options beyond fast food.
But the British, oh God, how do they survive?
Fried chips, fried fish pieces, potatoes that can be eaten with just a sprinkle of salt.
Alright, after leaving the fried fish behind in the UK, it’s just potatoes, potatoes, potatoes!
Only potatoes, always potatoes!”
Adele said somberly, “I hate potatoes, hate them to death.
I hate fried fish, I hate jellied eels, and aside from tea-time snacks, I hate all the traditional British fare!”
Gao Yang said sheepishly, “Just now you mentioned there were antelope sandwiches, right?”
Catherine sighed and said, “Antelope meat is quite gamey, but that’s not the point.
The point is, Martin’s team is basically all British, and the cook is British too.
Trust me, when you take a bite of a sandwich and want to throw it away, but you have to force yourself to finish it, then you’ll understand why Bantuna was moved to tears by compressed biscuits.”
Gao Yang scratched his head and said, “I’ve never been to the UK, nor have I tasted British food.
Well, it seems I am lucky in that regard.
Hmm, we’ll eat something and then take off.”
While eating the biscuits that Gao Yang had brought, Adele said gloomily, “Meal times are my most miserable moments.
I will never again join a British team unless they have a foreign cook.”
Gao Yang couldn’t help but imagine how awful the food in Martin’s team must be.
Many things you don’t realize how tough they are until you try them, and food is definitely among those things.
So, Gao Yang was actually looking forward to trying how bad the British-made food could be.
After a simple meal, Gao Yang and the others took off again, this time heading south.
Using the same approach as in the morning, after flying out about twenty kilometers, Gao Yang began to fly back and forth laterally.
As Gao Yang moved southward at a slow pace, the width of his search to the east and west was very generous.
After weaving back and forth for two hours, he had covered a significant distance, but from the take-off point, they were only about thirty to forty kilometers away.
Mechanical repetition can easily dull one’s enthusiasm.
The three of them leaned on the airplane windows, listlessly looking down.
The monotonous view of greenery was sleep-inducing, and Gao Yang eventually couldn’t help but yawn.
Yawning is highly contagious.
Hearing Gao Yang’s yawn, Catherine and Adele couldn’t help but start yawning as well.
Adele was in the middle of a big yawn when her eyes suddenly widened, and she began shaking Gao Yang who was sitting in front of her.
“What’s wrong?”
Adele’s mouth remained open for quite some time as she frantically pointed outside.
Gao Yang followed the direction of Adele’s pointing and saw a faint layer of smoke appearing in the view.
The trees were not very dense, but the canopy was so thick that it obscured any view of the ground.
Moreover, even if there were people living on the ground, the smoke, after passing through the dense canopy, couldn’t retain its column shape, forming a layer of smoke that looked like a thin fog atop the canopy, invisible from far away.
Finding smoke usually meant there were people.
Gao Yang immediately maneuvered the plane to the side of the smoke but couldn’t see anyone on the ground due to the dense treetops.
Gao Yang circled twice and spotted what seemed like a skylight-like gap in the tree canopy.
He immediately lowered the plane’s altitude again, nearly skimming the treetops, and in the moment they flew over the gap, Catherine shouted loudly, “I saw it, thatched cottages, there are thatched cottages!” (To be continued.
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