By the time Qiao Hua noticed the shipping container was leaking, a patch of the floor was already wet.
She had no time to rest. She scrambled over, grabbed a plastic bag from the floor, and stuffed it into the hole.
At last, she managed to slow the seawater to a trickle.
Only then did Qiao Hua breathe a sigh of relief.
This couldn't go on. Sooner or later, the seawater would flood in.
Qiao Hua tried opening the door again. They weren't far from land now. If they could escape the container, they might still have a chance of survival. That was better than sitting here waiting to die.
But even after using every ounce of her strength, Qiao Hua couldn't open the door. All she managed to do was rub her hands raw.
As if things weren't bad enough, the plastic bag she'd used to plug the little hole was washed loose, and seawater poured in again.
Seeing Gu Jinyang still on the floor, Qiao Hua rushed over and scooped him up.
In that short time, a centimeter of seawater had collected on the floor.
Qiao Hua spotted the washbasin the man had tossed aside earlier. She picked it up and placed Gu Jinyang inside, keeping him from getting wet.
"Be good and stay right here, Yangyang. Don't move around. Mommy will be back soon, okay?"
Gu Jinyang gazed at Qiao Hua with his wide, innocent eyes.
Qiao Hua stroked his little face. Once he was settled, she went back to plug the hole.
This time, however, she failed. Almost as soon as she blocked it, a powerful surge of seawater forced the plug out again. Water splashed into her face and soaked her through, dripping steadily from her hair.
The seawater was rushing in faster now. In