Chapter 1700: Five Thousand Miles of Exile
Qin Huacheng was dragged off the carriage. He only had time to glance at the family members who were stopped at a distance on the pier, and then he was pushed onto the boat by two big and round Haihan soldiers. As an exiled prisoner, after boarding the ship, of course he would not have the opportunity to say goodbye to his family on the deck, and he would be locked directly in the cabin below the deck.
In the past half month, there was only one ship going from Manila to Star Island. In addition to Qin Huacheng, there were also more than 40 prisoners who were sentenced to exile in Star Island during the same period. However, because Qin Huacheng has a special status, and the authorities do not want him to have too much contact with other people, lest the secrets about Chaosheng Commercial Inn be leaked before the ship leaves the port, they specially arranged for him to be locked up in a separate room. The cabin can be regarded as enjoying a different treatment.
But the ship Qin Huacheng got on was not a passenger ship, but a cargo sailing ship carrying goods. The mission of this trip to Xingdao was to send some equipment, supplies and personal belongings left by the South China Sea Special Warfare Group in Manila. By the way, he This batch of exiled prisoners was also transported. The cabins where prisoners were held on the ship were all temporarily vacated. The cabin where Qin Huacheng stayed had stored some rotten and smelly things in the past. As soon as he entered, he almost choked from the strong smell in the cabin. He wanted to ask the soldiers on the ship to change places for him, but who would pay attention to a prisoner like him? The soldiers who were called almost beat him.
Qin Huacheng lamented in his heart that this was really a tiger being bullied by a dog, and a phoenix that had lost its feathers was not as good as a chicken. Nowadays, anyone can really ride on his head. But in fact, when he was the leader of the public security police detachment, he could only be regarded as a local snake, and he could only suppress ordinary people. If he really met someone in military uniform, he would also have to deal with it in a humble manner. It's just that at that time, when people saw him wearing a police uniform, they naturally gave him some face, so he wouldn't face any trouble. But now that he is just a prisoner who was sentenced to exile, no one will care about his face anymore.
The soldiers escorting the prisoners on the ship did not know who Qin Huacheng was at all. However, they had orders from above to detain this man alone and ensure that he had as little contact with other people as possible during the escort. Naturally, he had to be strictly controlled. . Qin Huacheng wanted to change cabins. In the eyes of the guards, this was deliberately causing trouble, and he would definitely not be well-received by him. If the superiors hadn't paid special attention to this prisoner, the guards might have beaten him to dispel his restless thoughts.
As for whether this guy is comfortable living on the ship, that is not a question that the guards need to consider, and there is no special instruction from above to treat him well. As long as the living person is delivered to Star Island intact, the errand will be completed. Who will care about trivial matters such as whether he has eaten enough during the journey or whether he has suffered from insomnia.
Although Qin Huacheng did not come from a wealthy family, he had never experienced any hardships since he was a child, and he had never been imprisoned. It was not until the ship left Manila Port that he realized that his life was really A major change has occurred. The original hope of rising steadily in the police force is no longer possible, and for the next few years, I will have to survive as a hard labor prisoner. Even if I can survive the three-year sentence, I will be able to go to the police force after regaining my freedom. what? Even if he could return to Manila, he would have no choice but to become a useless person living a free life. Without him in the family, it was unclear how his father and brother would get used to this separation, and whether they would complain about his audacity.
The more Qin Huacheng thought about it, the more sad he felt, and he couldn't help crying. Fortunately, he was the only one being held in this cabin, and the guards would not take the initiative to visit him, so there was no need to worry about others seeing his weak appearance. But being so isolated from the world, he couldn't talk to others about his anguish, and the sadness in his heart became increasingly difficult to resolve.
He didn't know how long he had been silently sad, but Qin Huacheng finally got better from his sadness. With the light coming from the only small porthole on the side of the ship, he took a good look at his environment. . This cabin is only five feet wide, less than seven feet deep, and the height is less than seven feet. The only entrance and exit is the small two-foot-wide door behind it. If it weren't for the porthole that connected it to the outside world, it would be an exaggeration to say that this cabin looked like a living coffin. In the cabin, there was only a tattered straw mat more than two feet wide on the floor, a mattress that smelled bad, and not even a pillow, which was all his bedding.
The only other furnishing in the cabin was a clay pot toilet. Fortunately, this thing had a lid, otherwise Qin Huacheng's life would have been even more difficult. Qin Huacheng felt around along the bulkhead and couldn't find even a nail. It seemed like he couldn't find anything useful here.
Qin Huacheng was still wearing a police uniform when he was arrested, but after being imprisoned by the Military Intelligence Bureau, his uniform was taken away and he was given a separate linen prison uniform with black vertical stripes to wear. And this prison uniform accompanied him from Manila to the ship, and it seemed that he had to wear it all the way to his destination. During the sea voyage, the fresh water on the ship was very precious, and he obviously could not expect to have the opportunity to bathe and change clothes during the journey.
In the past twenty years, Qin Huacheng has never been as embarrassed as he is today. Looking at the rough furnishings in the cabin, smelling the disgusting and strange smell, and being tired, hungry and thirsty, Qin Huacheng I almost fell into an emotional breakdown for the second time. It was only then that he began to truly regret that he should not have followed the guidance of those two old foxes and made so many wrong things. Otherwise, An An could peacefully be the captain of the security police detachment in Manila, and he could be transferred to a formal position in a year or two. , according to the arrangements of the Haihan Police Division, he would be sent abroad or stay in Manila as a police station chief. Wouldn't that be a pleasant life?
In the end, just to get more money from Ding Feng, he invested his entire future in it. Now, even if he is filled with regret, he can no longer look back. Qin Huacheng made one wrong move, which caused him to lose everything in the future. Looking back now, it was still due to greed in his heart and his inability to restrain his desires. But no matter how much he hated those two people, it was of no use now. He could only focus on the present and think about how to survive the three years of hard labor in exile.
After a long time, the guard knocked on the door outside, and then pushed in a wooden tray from the movable grid at the bottom of the door. Inside was a bowl of porridge, a porcelain spoon and a small jar of water. Qin Huacheng swallowed and hurried over to pick up the tray. Then I heard the guard say from outside: "There are two meals a day, morning and night, and the toilet is cleaned once every three days. If you have anything to report, call a report, but if nothing happens, don't say anything. If anyone is dishonest on this ship, then first think about whether you can Live until you get off the ship!”
While the guard was talking, Qin Huacheng had already drank most of the bowl of porridge. There is no oil at all in this porridge, just some finely chopped vegetable leaves cooked in it, it is extremely vegetarian. Fortunately, there is still some dry food in the bowl, so it is not like the porridge served to prisoners in the Manila City Prison, which is so clear that people can be reflected in it. Qin Huacheng saw this once when he was escorting prisoners to a prison in the city. He was particularly impressed, but he never thought that he would have to drink this kind of vegetable porridge as a prisoner.
One of the main reasons for arranging such meals for prisoners was to save costs. Qin Huacheng knew that part of the reason was to limit the prisoners' physical reserves in terms of food, so as not to cause trouble when they were full. But when it was his turn to receive this kind of treatment, Qin Huacheng realized how difficult it was. A small bowl of vegetable porridge could not satisfy his appetite, even if he put down his shelf and licked the bowl clean. Nothing can be done. As for the small jar of water, Qin Huacheng estimated that he could drink it in three sips at most, and he would have to drink sparingly.
There are only two meals a day, morning and evening. If you want to avoid strong hunger, you can only reduce exercise as much as possible to save energy. In the current environment that Qin Huacheng is in, the most effective measure is to lie down and don't move. Thinking that the journey to Star Island is said to be five thousand miles, Qin Huacheng silently calculated it and estimated that it would take at least half a month on the sea. If the food and treatment during this period are as follows, then he will reach his destination. I will definitely lose ten or eight pounds by then. Nothing happened on the boat, just lying down and thinking about how to find a way out in the future.
But this was just Qin Huacheng's wishful thinking. The day after the ship left Manila Bay, it encountered stormy weather at sea. Qin Huacheng didn't know how big the waves were outside, but he really felt like he was on a swing. He was suddenly thrown up high, and suddenly fell weightless. After repeated many times, Qin Huacheng finally couldn't help but eat the food he had eaten an hour ago. Vomited out a meal. Seawater kept pouring in through the small porthole, soaking the mat and mattress where Qin Huacheng slept.
What made Qin Huacheng feel ashamed was that his first reaction was not the discomfort after vomiting, but regret that he had wasted this meal. But after a while, he no longer had time to ponder these weird thoughts. The constant bumps made him vomit out the gall water, and he almost went into shock. Qin Huacheng was lying on the straw mat, and he couldn't help but have a thought in his mind. If the ship sank, it would be a relief.
After struggling in the wind and waves for an unknown amount of time, the ship finally struggled out of the stormy waters. Qin Huacheng was tired and weak. After the ship became slightly more stable, he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up again, it was already evening. Qin Huacheng quickly struggled to get up and went to the door to get his dinner. Fortunately, he quickly touched the tray. With the moonlight coming in through the porthole, he divided the meal by three and five. The bowl of vegetable porridge with a sour taste went into my stomach.
In the past, he would have kicked this kind of food over without even taking a second look at it. But now, in order to survive, he had to force himself to eat. He would eat whatever he could, as long as he could eat without starving to death. That's it. Qin Huacheng kept cheering himself up. When he got to Star Island, he would definitely have more food. After all, he was going to do hard labor there, so he would never be able to withhold food like he did now.
The only time Qin Huacheng can see a living person is once every three days when the ship's laborers clean the toilet. However, at such times, there are guards at the door to supervise the work, and Qin Huacheng does not dare to take the initiative to talk to him.
On the fourth day at sea, perhaps because of sleeping on wet straw mats and mattresses for several consecutive days, and because he ate too little, Qin Huacheng finally couldn't hold on and fell ill. The guard discovered that Qin Huacheng was sick after he noticed that he had stopped eating. However, the conditions on the ship made it impossible to seek medical treatment. They could only feed him some medicine prepared on the ship according to the local regulations, and then changed the mats and mattresses in the cabin to dry ones. .
As for whether Qin Huacheng could survive, the guards on the ship didn't actually care too much. It was normal for such long-distance escorts at sea to suffer losses during the process. Although they have the responsibility to transport living people to Star Island, if a prisoner suddenly falls ill and dies on the ship during the journey, it is considered force majeure and the higher-ups will not hold them responsible.
But Qin Liancheng burst out with a strong desire to survive at this time, and actually gritted his teeth and held on. Although he didn't get any decent help, he recovered bit by bit. My physical condition is still far from healthy, and I am still very weak, but my cold has obviously recovered.
Qin Liancheng actually didn't understand why his vitality could be so tenacious, but later he figured it out. He was still unwilling to die in silence, on the unknown sea, and maybe he would be taken to the ship after his death. The guards threw the body into the sea, because the ship probably did not have the conditions to store the body for a long time.
Qin Liancheng also suddenly realized that the strange smell emanating from the cabin where he was detained must be the stench of corpses. Perhaps the last prisoner held in this cabin died while being escorted. Of course, it is very possible that more than one person died here. After all, there are probably few prisoners like him who enjoy the special treatment of a single cell. But now that he thinks about these things, he no longer feels any fear. How much better can his current situation be compared to death?
On the eighth day of the voyage, Qin Huacheng was awakened early in the morning by the guards cursing outside. He leaned against the door and listened for a long time, and then he realized that people had died in another cabin where prisoners were held, and two of them died at once. Now they were organizing people to carry the dead people out and deal with them. As for how to deal with it, the guard did not say clearly, but Qin Huacheng guessed that it might be thrown into the sea.
Soon he heard the sound of several guards dragging heavy objects passing by outside. Qin Huacheng couldn't help but feel grateful that he was lucky, otherwise his body would have been dragged out and thrown away like a dog to death.
But the matter did not end there. On the ninth day, two more prisoners died in the cabin. The atmosphere on the ship suddenly became tense, because it was likely that some kind of fatal epidemic was spreading among the prisoners.
(End of chapter)