Chapter 3 Chapter Two Desperate Search

Jiang Wentao showed a very painful expression, and I also pointed to the map: "Look, the Shandai Desert is 1,000 kilometers across and 700 kilometers in length. This small village may be within the range of 700,000 square kilometers. Possibly, it's not at all outside the Sandy Desert, maybe it's on the other side of the Gulf of Oman, in Iran, it's also possible, it's farther away, across the Arabian Sea, in Pakistan, and more powerful, it's in Saudi Arabia, in Yemen, I Look at this matter, forget it!" Jiang Wentao listened to me quietly, and when I finished speaking, he said: "Brother Wei, I can't let it go like this, I have resigned, and I decided to spend my whole life looking for Shandai!" Surprised, Jiang Wentao was serving on the tanker and had already obtained a very high position. If he continued his service, the position could be promoted even higher, but he resigned!In order to find that illusory lover who doesn't know where she is!

I cannot deny that I am a secular person. His decision, in poetry or novels, is undeniably in an extremely romantic state, but it surprised me! I hurriedly said: "You are not joking!" "Not at all. Tomorrow I will leave here and sail to the Middle East. That is my last voyage. From then on, I will linger in the desert until I find Shande!" I raised my voice: "You will never find any Sande, all you will find are sand grains in the sande desert!" Jiang Wentao's voice was very calm: "Even if I knew it, I had no choice but to do it because I fell in love with Sandei, and I found that if I can't find Sandei, then everything is meaningless!"

I looked at him for a long while, and his words were already so resolute, so I really have nothing else to say!So, I had no choice but to say: "Then, I wish you luck, you are leaving tomorrow, and I will treat you to dinner tonight!" Jiang Wentao shook his head: "I don't want you to treat me to dinner, all I want is your help!" I said: "You have to know, this matter is not because I don't want to help you, but because I want to help you, but I can't help you!" Jiang Wentao said: "You know a lot of people, all kinds of people, more knowledgeable people, or people who have in-depth research on the phenomenon of mirages. They can help!"

I said helplessly, "Okay, I'll ask them for you." Jiang Wentao said again: "After I arrive in Oman, I will try to contact you at any time! Alas, the Arabs are too backward, and the people in the village don't have the habit of reading newspapers at all. Otherwise, I will publish Sandy's photo in the newspaper, or , she can see it!" My heart skipped a beat, and I said immediately, "Wen Tao, did you ever think that your Shande might already have a husband and a child, and it would be in vain for you to find her!" I thought those two sentences would definitely make Jiang Wentao reconsider his decision.

But Jiang Wentao immediately said: "No, no, you have also seen the photos, except for a young girl, what kind of woman can smile so innocently?" Some people say that a person in love is the most unreasonable, and Jiang Wentao's situation is exactly like this! Jiang Wentao put away the map, and solemnly put those photos in his jacket pocket, and said sadly, "Goodbye!" I also felt a sense of dejection in my heart, because what Jiang Wentao wanted to do was too slim, so I had no choice but to repeat what I had said: "I wish you luck!" Jiang Wentao left, and the rain was still very heavy. I stood at the door and watched him gradually leave in the rain.

Then, I went back to the study, sat there for a while, and found many books about the mirage phenomenon, but none of the books mentioned the virtual image of the mirage. In the evening, when Bai Su came back, I told her about Jiang Wentao in detail. Women are sometimes the most unreasonable, so after listening to my narration, Bai Su said: "Ah, it's so romantic, we should do everything possible to help him." I said: "Yes, we also wandered in the desert like him, so the chances of finding Shande will be tripled!" Bai Su was upset, she said: "You shouldn't laugh at him, we can find other ways to help him!"

I smiled: "If you have any good ideas, I'm all ears." Bai Su thought for a while: "For example, through our friends in Arabia, we can make hundreds of thousands of photocopies of Shande's photos and entrust them to distribute them to every Arab village." I was stunned for a while. Originally, I planned to laugh immediately after she spoke, because I really couldn't think of any way to find that Arab woman Jiang Wentao called "Sandai". Su's so-called method must be very funny. However, now that Bai Su has said her method, I immediately feel that it is not impossible.

Although, in the vast Arab region, the Arab friends I know do not have the power to distribute photos to every small village, but among the Arab friends I know, there are a few who are very powerful. Assuming this method, If one-tenth of the Arab villages are affected, then at least Jiang Wentao has a one-tenth chance! Therefore, after I was stunned for a while, I jumped up: "You are right, I will go find him!" Bai Su said: "Do you know where he is?" I said, "I can find out." Bai Su hurriedly said: "Then go quickly, if you can find that girl, what a touching love story it will be!"

I smiled and said, "It's really touching!" Bai Su brought me a raincoat. I put on the raincoat and rushed out in the rain. Half an hour later, I was in the shipping company and knew that Jiang Wentao was staying in the senior sailor's club.And when I found his room, the waiter told me that he was in the bar in the cellar. I immediately rushed to the bar in the cellar. I hadn't stepped into the bar yet, but when I got to the door, I heard an astonishing noise and fighting sound in the bar, as if World War III broke out inside. .I saw several people rushing out, and one person almost collided with me head-on, I grabbed him: "What happened inside?"

The man gasped: "Fight." I pushed that person away and walked in. The light in the bar was not very bright, but it was enough for me to see the mess in the bar. I pushed two more people away and saw Jiang Wentao, who was waving With one punch, a burly man fell backwards and fell out. I shouted loudly: "Wen Tao." My yelling hurt Jiang Wentao, because he raised his head to see who was calling him, so he couldn't avoid a blow from behind him. It was a wine bottle, which hit him hard on the back of the head. The bottle was broken, and the blood-red wine flowed down, making Jiang Wentao's face red, his body shaking, and falling down.

Before he fell to the ground, I had already pushed away the three people who rushed towards me. The fights in the bar were all drunks, but I hadn't had a drop of alcohol. Naturally, I had the upper hand. I rushed to Jiang Wentao's side before he fell to the ground, grabbed his arms, and dragged him away. Before dragging him to the bathroom, I punched back four other men. When I got to the bathroom, I soaked Jiang Wentao's head in the washbasin, and drenched his head with cold water for half a minute, until I heard the whine of a police car, which came quickly from far and near. , I dragged him out of the bathroom again. At this time, Jiang Wentao seemed to be awake a little bit. I helped him go upstairs from the back stairs. He put his hands on the back of his head and kept moaning. I supported him and went straight to his room. Only then did he let go, and Jiang Wentao fell to the ground with a "bang". He began to struggle to stand up, but I didn't help him. After struggling for a long time, he staggered to his feet and looked at me with wide eyes. I wondered if he could recognize me because of the look in his eyes. , it seems so scattered and confused. After a long time, he finally recognized me, and he said: "So...it's you, why are you here?" I said, "I'm here to find you!" He sat down on the sofa: "what's the matter?" I said in a deep voice, "Wen Tao, a person like you is actually not suitable for fighting." Jiang Wentao jumped up, but immediately fell back on the sofa. He stared: "Two people made fun of me, saying that I was a fool, and I was tricked by others. How could I not hit me?" I frowned: "Why would they make fun of you?" Wen Tao lowered his head: "I was in the bar, drinking while looking at Sandy's photo, and a guy next to me struck up a conversation with me, so I told him how I took Sandy's photo!" I said, "He just made fun of you?" "No," Jiang Wentao said, "The man listened attentively. After I finished speaking, he patted my shoulder and said that if I would give him a thousand dollars, he could find Sandy for me." When I heard this, I couldn't help but take a breath, because I could already know what happened next. Sure enough, when Jiang Wentao continued to speak, as I expected, he was obviously not sober, and he was still talking drunk. Jiang Wentao said: "A thousand dollars is nothing, as long as I can find Sandai, I will count it out to that person immediately, and I will also give him Sandai's photo, and that person left, and there are two troublesome guys beside him." , but said that I was fooled, and we... started fighting!" I sighed: "Wen Tao, until now, don't you think you were fooled?" Jiang Wentao looked at me with wide eyes, looking at him, as if he wanted to fight me again, and I was already ready.This big bastard, if he does something, then I will definitely give him a good punch with my chin in my hands as punishment! But at last it was okay, Jiang Wentao looked at me for a while, but he didn't make a move. He might have sobered up a lot, because what he said, he was also much sober.He smiled bitterly: "Maybe I was fooled by others, but as long as there is a chance, I will not let it go!" Hearing Jiang Wentao say such words, in an instant, my heart couldn't help but feel extremely heavy. I felt a little pity for Jiang Wentao, but that wasn't pure pity, there was also a bit of admiration in it.Indeed, Jiang Wentao is not a fool. No matter how much he drank, he would not easily believe what a stranger said, and just gave him a thousand dollars. The reason why he did that was because he paid a thousand dollars , bought a hope, although that hope is so slim and far-fetched. And the reason why he got into a fight with those two people was because he only spent a thousand dollars to buy a hope, but those two people said that he was fooled, and he knew in his heart that it was a fooled thing, and he still wanted to do it. After being exposed, hope is naturally disillusioned, so I feel extremely distressed! I sighed and pressed his shoulder: "Wen Tao, do you really love this Arab girl so much?" Jiang Wentao gave a bitter smile: "Yes, I know that, it's too abnormal, it's just asking for trouble, but I can't restrain my own feelings." After Jiang Wentao told me about this incident, I always had a rather funny feeling in my heart, and I could laugh out loud anytime, anywhere.But at this time, the funny feeling in my heart has completely disappeared, and my expression has become very serious.My voice sounded more solemn as if I was taking an oath. I said: "In this case, Wen Tao, then I will do my best to help you find her!" Jiang Wentao obviously also heard the affirmative, sincere, and willingness to help him in my words, so he held my hand and said repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you so much!" I said: "The first action to take is to make many copies of her photo." Jiang Wentao said: "That's easy, I'll give you the negative." He got up immediately, pulled out a box, and handed an envelope to me, and I said again: "I want to leave first, make arrangements first, and then, after your ship arrives, I will meet you." .” Jiang Wentao nodded and said, "Okay, the tanker will stop at Shuer Port in Oman, and I will meet you there." I said: "OK." Originally, I wanted to say "I hope that when I meet you in Shuer Port, things will have a clue", but I didn't say it, because it was not a joke, Jiang Wentao is very serious, if I do that at this time Having said that, his heart will be full of hope, and if there is no result at all, his disappointment will naturally be even worse! We shook hands, and I advised Jiang Wentao to rest more.With those few negatives, I returned home. That night, I didn’t go to sleep until very late. I took two of the four negatives that were clear and enlarged them in my own dark room. When the photos were enlarged, Bai Su looked at them and couldn’t help but admire: " This Arab girl is so beautiful, no wonder Jiang Wentao is fascinated." I smiled: "I have promised Jiang Wentao to find her, we may be separated for half a year, or even a year!" Bai Su smiled and said: "If you can find this girl for Wen Tao, it will be worth it. Moreover, you can contact me at any time, and I can come to meet you at any time." I hurriedly said: "Of course, we have traveled to many places together, but we have never traveled in Arabia." While I was talking, I yawned, Bai Su smiled and said: "You should go to sleep too, there are still many things to do tomorrow." In the next few days, I was really busy. I had to go through the travel procedures, and I got in touch with all the Arab friends I knew in advance. It took three days before I set off. And when I arrived at the port of Aden, I became even busier. I visited every friend I knew, and distributed them to the areas under their jurisdiction, looking for this Arab girl. Most of my friends said yes to my request without asking any more. Naturally, there are inevitably many people who want to ask questions, so I told the story I made up in advance. Of course, I would not say that the girl just appeared in a mirage, and I made up another story. A few friends even joked: "Who is she, she can't be an Israeli spy!" Naturally, I had to explain it carefully.After that round of busy work, I arrived at Shuer Port.And Jiang Wentao arrived a day earlier than me. Shuer Port is a small place, and there is only one hotel with relatively good equipment, so as soon as I entered, Jiang Wentao saw me. I also saw Jiang Wentao, but before he greeted me, I couldn't recognize him. It's been less than a month since I broke up with him, but during this month, he has become so much! He had lost at least twenty pounds. He was originally a very handsome man, but at this moment, he gave off a skinny feeling.His eyes are big and lifeless, and even his complexion seems to have become much darker, so when he stood up and called me, I stayed for two or three seconds before I cried out Said: "Wen Tao!" Jiang Wentao walked towards me. When he walked towards me, he staggered like a ghost. I really couldn't bear him to take another step, so I hurried forward, went up to him, and held his arm: " Wen Tao, do you have any discomfort?" "Me?" Jiang Wentao smiled wryly, stroking his own cheek: "I've lost a lot of weight, haven't I?" "You are not only thin, but also in a trance, why?" A more bitter smile appeared on Jiang Wentao's face, and he sighed: "You know what I'm doing, I haven't slept well these days, and as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw her!" Hearing what Jiang Wentao said, I could only smile wryly.I already knew that he was fascinated by that girl, but I never expected him to be so fascinated!Judging from the situation in this month, if the Arab girl is still not found in another three months, Jiang Wentao may be so thin that only a handful of bones are left, and he will not be able to live anymore!His situation at this time made me understand the meaning of the phrase "the shape breaks and the bone stands"!At that moment, I didn't say anything more, shook hands with him, and he said: "I have rented a double room, we can live together." I nodded in agreement: "Okay, I also have a lot to say, and I want to talk to you. Tell me." We came to the room together, and I told Jiang Wentao about all the efforts I had made after arriving in Arabia, probably because I heard that I had done a lot for him, so Jiang Wentao's spirit improved a lot . I said again: "I also consulted experts, what they mean is that in ordinary mirages, all you see are reflections!" Jiang Wentao shook his head and said, "No, what I saw was not a reflection. Those people, as if they were in front of my eyes, didn't look like reflections at all, as if they were actually there!" I continued: "If it is a reflection, the virtual image of the mirage will not be too far away from the real body, because it is formed after one refraction, rather than a reflection, which is formed after two or more than two refractions. The distance between the virtual image and the entity can be extended to infinity, even across the ocean!" Jiang Wentao stared at me blankly, and then said in a daze, "So, where is she?" I really can't bear to blame him, but if I want to find such a girl, the hope can be said to be zero, so I said tactfully: "Wen Tao, if you like Arab girls, I can introduce you to a more beautiful one. I know a small tribe The chieftain, and his three daughters, are all beauties in the Arabian Nights, if you—" Before I finished speaking, Jiang Wentao stood up abruptly and said sharply, "Shut up!" After he yelled, his chest rose and fell rapidly. Since he was very thin, that kind of movement gave people a terrifying feeling. After a long while, he said: "If we are not good friends, I might hit someone!" Under such circumstances, although I never take him seriously in my heart, I can't provoke him any further, so I can only laugh He smiled: "In this case, then we should start to study the itinerary. I have prepared a detailed map of the Shande Desert. You can compare it with yours." Jiang Wentao also took out his map. The two maps were spread out on the ground together. I used a red pen to draw a small circle on my map and said, "This is where you were at that time?" Jiang Wentao nodded and said, "Yes." I said, "According to your estimation, how far is the virtual image you see from you?" Jiang Wentao said, "About half a mile." I drew a small circle on the map with a red pen. There are already two small circles on the map, one represents where Jiang Wentao was at that time, and the other is where he estimated the virtual image appeared. Then, I pointed to the map: "At that time, if you went another 20 miles, there was an oasis, which was marked on the map. That oasis was called Yali Oasis. Let's start from Yali Oasis, how about it?" Jiang Wentao said, "Okay, let's start there." I noticed that Jiang Wentao's reaction was very sluggish, he just knew how to repeat what I said, and I couldn't help sighing in my heart. Because I really can't imagine what will happen to Jiang Wentao if we finally can't find that Arab girl! I said again: "We are traveling in the desert for a long time, and we cannot do without sufficient preparations. I think we will have to delay for at least three or four days here, and we will start when we are fully prepared." Jiang Wentao still didn't say anything, just nodded. My heart also became very heavy. There was really no way for Jiang Wentao to go on like this, so I sent him to do a lot of things in the following days, and asked him to purchase everything we needed for our trip in the desert. And myself, to find a car that would be perfect for our long desert trip. It took me a day to find a very good car. The car belonged to the chief of a small tribe near Shuer Harbor. The land under the jurisdiction of such a small chief may be less than one hundred. square kilometers, but they are often the richest people in the world. The car I borrowed was custom-made by the sheikh from Germany, and it has all the comfortable equipment. I was introduced by an Arab friend and met the sheikh. When I saw the chief, I felt relieved that my work before I came to the port of Shur was not in vain, because I saw that in the chief's bedroom, there was a picture of the Arab girl, That's what I asked someone to distribute. But what worried me was the words of the sheikh, who pointed to the photo of the Arab girl: "I really can't believe that there is such a beautiful girl in Arabia, I must try to find her to be my wife! " So it was with a heavy heart that I drove back to Shure Harbor in the sheikh's luxurious car. The method provided by Bai Su, which I will implement, may be of some help in finding someone. But we have never considered that the most powerful and wealthy chiefs in the Arab world are all lustful. Jiang Wentao will be fascinated by seeing the girl's photo. Are those chiefs the same?If the girl is in the area under the rule of those chiefs, then this is a great tragedy! I really regret that I took that approach! However, when I met Jiang Wentao, I didn't express what I was worried about, because Jiang Wentao is already like this now, if I add a little more worry, will he still be supportive enough to go to find Shan with me? Dai also has doubts.