Chapter 17: New Companions

Worried that the British warship hadn't gone far, Zhang Hainuo and his companions stayed hidden in the small river bay for an entire day.

"Thanks to you last night, otherwise we would have lost everything if we were intercepted by the British!"

Zhang Hainuo was the kind of person who admitted his mistakes. He picked up a bowl of wine generously, although the wine was not as good as the white wine brewed in the Black Forest, he still drank it all in one gulp.

Elga just smiled faintly and also emptied his bowl of wine.

The woman who had amazed them in the boiler room, Elga's wife, finally came out to eat with everyone. She promptly filled the bowls of the two men, and then continued to break the bread into small pieces, moistened them with water, and carefully fed them to the baby in her arms, who was about eight or nine months old.

Elga's other three daughters, one leaning against her mother, and two sitting on either side of their father, looked like a harmonious family.

After drinking a few more bowls of wine, Elga became more talkative.

"Ah, if it wasn't for the British confiscating my cargo back then, I wouldn't have fallen to this point today!"

"Oh?" Zhang Hainuo and his companions had previously viewed the war from a military perspective, so the civilian experience was still very new to them.

"In 1915, the British and French forces landed at Gallipoli and blockaded the entire Dardanelles. At that time, transporting goods from the south to the Gallipoli Peninsula could double the profit or even more! Every time, I disguised the Rapid as a French supply ship because it was originally built in a southern French port!"

Elga said proudly.

"What happened later? Were you discovered by the British?"

Elga nodded extremely painfully. "After they drove me and my family off the ship, they fired two shots and sank the Rapid!"

"Then..." Zhang Hainuo was about to ask, but suddenly realized that this was not the first Rapid. Like the SMS Schleswig-Holstein, the famous battleship in World War II had previously been a light cruiser of the German Far East Fleet during World War I. The two ships were named in honor of a Prussian general.

"We were sent to Egypt and it took more than a month to return to Turkey! I'm indignant. Back in Antalya, I bought another ship and renamed it Rapid! It was indeed fast, capable of running at 20 knots with the wind, but it was unlucky. It was caught by the British the first time it sailed. As usual, the British drove us off the ship and then used the Rapid as a target for their guns!"

Zhang Hainuo was very surprised, and at the same time, he began to admire this Turkish captain's tenacity.

"This is the third Rapid, but I have no confidence to take it out to sea and race the British again. I stayed in Antalya for two years, drinking every day, and had two more children. My savings gradually ran out, but I didn't know what I could do! Fortunately, I met you, otherwise the Rapid would have been chopped up and sold as firewood!"

These experiences indeed made Zhang Hainuo sigh. Although he had encountered some setbacks himself, obviously not as tortuous as Elga's.

"Why do you think we can help you?"

Elga looked at Zhang Hainuo, smiled helplessly, and then pointed to himself, his wife, and children.

"This ship is everything to me, and it's the same for them! Mr. Schwei, I don't need your money, I need a job, a job that allows me to prove myself again!"

"We can help you buy a new ship!" Zhang Hainuo suggested, "You can continue to be the captain!"

"I don't want a new ship, I want respect and trust!"

This Turkish captain's stubbornness came up again.

"Sir, please leave us behind! We won't cause you any trouble!" Elga's wife pleaded on the side.

"Yeah, sir, we will never reveal any secrets!" Alsan also joined in.

Zhang Hainuo was very conflicted at this moment. He did need a local guide familiar with the Aegean Sea, but he was also worried that letting them see those two submarines would leak the secret. Looking at his three companions, their eyes were equally complex.

"To tell you the truth, my name is not Hans Schwei! My name is Hainuo von Finkenshtein, Lieutenant of the German Navy!"