Chapter 2 two

Chongqing is a mountain city, where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet at its feet.The place where the two rivers meet is vast.The two streams of water collided and refused to give in, forming a beam of water that glistened in the sun.This water bridge is the boundary between the two rivers, and it seems to be there to remind passing ships to be careful of danger. A row of gray-black wooden boats moored along the river swayed gently.On the top of the tall mast, some small red flags fluttered in the wind.People with bare backs, bare feet, and white turbans on their heads walked up and down on the diving board, carrying all kinds of goods, large and small.

Ships, wooden boats, ferries and humble wooden boats come and go in the river.The big steamboat blared its whistle.The small wooden boat was tossing and turning in the waves like little blackened leaves.There are boats everywhere.Walking, standing, big and small.There are old wooden boats and new steamboats.Some walk straight, while others make twists and turns.With so many boats gathered in one place, the vast ocean where the two rivers meet also appears narrow, crowded, noisy and chaotic. There is a row of thatch and bamboo sheds on the bank, and the refugees rushed to buy food.There are large pots of steaming rice, large pieces of bright red pork, hanging thick sausages, and piles of oranges.Everyone gathered around the snacks, shopping, chatting, and admiring the fat big white pig and the chestnut-colored little Sichuan horse not much bigger than a donkey.

It was unbearably hot, and there was not a breath of wind.This piece of river water is like a steaming steamer—everyone is sweating, panting, and irritable.Boaters and boaters, porters and customers, buyers and sellers, all love to quarrel. The scorching sun reflected from the water, blinding people's eyes.The yellow sand and the big bare stones also make the sun shine brightly.People are almost burnt.The mountain city is several tens of feet higher than the river, covered with a layer of gray mist, and it is also dizzy from the heat.Below is a sheet of water, above is a sheet of stone.There are hundreds of stone steps between the mountain and the water——there are dazzling reflections.The surface of the water is a big steamer, and the mountain city is a big furnace.

Bao Qing hugged his precious sanxian tightly in his arms like a child.Dafeng held the big drum in his hands.Like a Bodhisattva, she held the big drum respectfully and carefully.Bao Qing was not in a hurry to go ashore, he didn't intend to be squeezed by the crowd.Running the dock for many years has enabled him to master a whole set of tricks and labor-saving skills.He found a place out of the way, hugged his Sanxian, and calmly waited for others to leave first.Hours before, he had said good-bye politely to his fellow shipmates and the fleeing children. From the bewildered looks of the passengers one would have thought that the ship was on fire rather than that it had docked.Everyone rushed down the diving board, some lost their temper, some shouted and cursed.You pushed and shoved, everyone staggered, some women pushed their children into the river, and some squeezed their high-heeled shoes.

Those who forgot to lock the box left only an empty box on the shore.Everything inside was folded into the water.Pickpockets are also very busy, and thieves grab other people's umbrellas and run away.Nasty men's hands look for soft places on women's bodies to touch.Bao Qingsheng was afraid of crowding Xiulian, so he kept calling: "Xiao Lian, don't be busy, don't be busy!" Although Xiulian is not yet fully developed, she attracts attention everywhere.Maybe it's because she's a lowly singer, and everyone thinks they can take advantage of her; maybe it's because her face has a virginal beauty, which just matches her simple and charming manner.

Her face is small and round, with delicate and regular features.Whether she wears makeup or not, her face is always so gorgeous.Her eyes were black and bright.She is not very beautiful, but she has an indescribable natural allure that makes you have to pay attention to her when you see her.Her nose is small and upturned, and her nostrils are slightly upturned.This made the lower part of her face look ugly, like a naughty little doll.She raised her little chin and her little nose up, as if she didn't care about anything in the world.Her lips were so thin that they were only defined by lipstick.Her teeth were very white, but not straight.It showed her personality.

Her hair was black, shiny, and thick, braided into two little braids.Sometimes it hangs in the front, sometimes it hangs in the back, tied with brightly colored ribbons.Her figure is not yet fully developed.She wore black satin shoes embroidered with white flowers, which made her look shorter and smaller.Her steps were light, too light, and she seemed a little unsteady.Her face, her two pigtails, and her figure were all that of an ordinary fourteen-year-old girl.It's just that sometimes she appears to be walking lightly, which makes it clear that she is a performer.Although she is wearing embroidered satin shoes at the moment, her young and flexible body is only dressed in a sea-blue cloth gown.

It was so hot that she tossed her braids back without a bow.Sweat washed away the powder on her face, revealing a lustrous ivory skin color.Her cheeks were reddened by the heat, and she looked much better than she had put on makeup. Her curious big black eyes saw everything on the shore clearly—green oranges, white rice, little sorrel horses, and sheds made of thatch and bamboo.For her, these things are so new, interesting, and moving.She wished she could jump ashore at once, buy some oranges, and ride that strange pony.She felt that Chongqing was really amazing.Who would have thought that the horses here would be smaller than the donkeys, and the oranges would be sold green before they were ripe!Some people with their families have already gone to rest in the bamboo shed.A naked little fat boy caught her attention.She forgot about the heat, about those little things that didn't go her way.She just wanted to go ashore quickly, and she didn't want to stay on the boat all the time.

She knew Dad was watching her!No matter how anxious she was, she still didn't dare to get off the boat alone.She is still young, and she is also a singer.I have to be protected by my father.She had no choice but to stand quietly, looking forward to the green oranges and the fat big white pig.The wimp sat up - he didn't want to sit up, but if he didn't sit up, the people scrambling to get down would step on his face.He is still barking.According to him, he was dizzy when people beat him and squeezed him. In appearance, he resembled his brother, only taller and thinner.Because of thin, eyes and nose appear particularly large.His hair was combed back, smooth and long, like an artist who just came back from Paris!

He can also sing drum books along with the big drum and strings, which is better than his brother.But he despised the lowly profession of drum singing.He also plays the Sanxian.But he didn't want to play the strings for his brother and niece, because the work in this corner was inferior.He does nothing and relies on his brothers for food.According to himself, it would not be disrespectful.he is very smart.He could have been famous if he wanted to.But he wasn't going to bother.He has always looked down on money, and sells it for money by playing and singing!shame! In terms of human relations, Baoqing had to support the wimpy.They were born of the same parents, so they had to take on this burden.But a wimp is somewhat useful at home: he is the only one who can control Baoqing's wife.Her temper comes and goes quickly like summer clouds and rain.Once Baoqing can't deal with her, only the elder brother can deal with it.When she loses her temper, a wimp loses his temper too.If both lose their temper at the same time, one of them will have to give in first.As long as she smiled first, the wimp would follow suit.Both of them laughed, and the family was safe.The wimpy old man accompanied his younger siblings, played cards and drank with her.

Bao Qing protects Xiulian for his own reasons.She was his cash cow, and in good conscience he couldn't help but be grateful to her.She has been performing on stage since she was eleven years old, earning money for him.But he was always afraid that she would *everything* go wrong.The more she grows, he feels, the greater the danger.So he became more and more worried about her.She sang in entertainment venues, and met some girls who sang, and they sold more than just art.He has the responsibility to protect her and discipline her, but he can't spoil her.For this, affection and worry kept fighting in his heart; he was always undecided on what to do. The wimpy attitude towards Xiulian is quite different.He didn't thank her for spending the money she earned.He didn't worry that her low profession would corrupt her.He treats her like a niece.What Xiulian wants, if his brothers and younger siblings don't give them, he can really fight with them.But he himself made Xiulian angry many times.If he has no money, if he can't keep it, he will take a piece of gold from her, or a pair of expensive high-heeled shoes, and sell it.If Xiulian was not angry, he would be closer and more loyal to her.If she got angry, he would turn red, scold her, ignore her, and insist on her to pay for it before it's over. Not long before landing, Grandma Fang had just fallen asleep.She always does.When it's okay, she has more ideas.Once something happens, she is always too drunk to wake up.When she wakes up, if everything is done properly, she won't say a word.Otherwise, she would have to make a big fuss, and she must have the right idea.The second grandma's father was also a drummer.According to the rules of those who sing big drums, parents are never willing to let their own daughters go to learn arts, and they always think about raising them into decent girls so that they can marry a decent husband in the future.They are often willing to buy a girl with a foreign surname and let her earn money after training.That's what I said, but Second Mistress herself didn't grow up in a decent way.Before she got married, she also worked as a singing girl. When she was young, she was still pretty.Even though she is middle-aged now, when she is not drunk, she is still somewhat charming.She has a long round face with fair and tender skin.But when he got drunk, his face was covered with little red spots, and he looked dissolute.She had beautiful eyes and her hair was always pulled back carelessly in a bun.This bun sometimes makes her look delicate and sometimes childish.She is not tall, and her back has become a little hunched in recent years.Sometimes she is well-dressed and painted; but often she is sloppy.Everything about her is the same as her temper, elusive and changeable. Bao Qing was not originally a big drum singer. He had learned the craft and liked to sing a few lines.Later, I made up my mind to do this line of work.When he was studying art with her father who sang drum books, he fell in love with her beauty.After marrying her, he also made a living by performing arts. Second Mistress felt that since Xiulian was a drummer, she would never be a good woman.Second Mistress thought this way, because she was used to seeing singing girls in her early years.Xiulian grew more and more beautiful, and the second grandmother became more and more jealous.Sometimes when she was drunk, she scolded her husband for being mean to the girl.She came from a family that sang big drums, and she always thought it was nothing to buy and sell girls for a little profit.She made up her mind to sell Xiulian as soon as she was still not very sensible, and give her to a rich man to be his concubine.The second grandma knew that this could make a lot of money.She can take part of the money to buy a seven or eight-year-old girl, train her, and then sell it when she grows up.This is a good deal.She is not a heartless person, she is practical.Back then, she had seen many little girls let others buy and sell, it was just a matter of course.Besides, if a rich man bought Xiulian, she would have nothing to worry about food, drink, and clothes for the rest of her life.Even for Xiulian, selling her is not considered wicked. Baoqing objected to his wife's idea.He didn't come from a drum singing family.Human trafficking disgusted him.It's true that he bought Xiulian.But he bought her to pity the child.He had planned to raise her decently.At the beginning, he didn't feel at ease to let her do art.She was very clever and a singer, and it was only then that he taught her a tune or two.He felt that if it was wrong to buy her, it would be even worse to sell her.He hoped that she could help him for a few more years, and when she was old enough, he would find her a decent master and start a family.Only then can his conscience live. He didn't dare to quarrel with his wife publicly about this matter, and she never discussed Xiulian's matter with him.As soon as she got drunk, she yelled at him: "Go ahead, you want her! If you want her, then it's time to honor your heart. Sooner or later, she'll have to run away with a stinky man who's not a joke." !" Such words can only distract Baoqing a little more, and make him have to protect Xiulian even more.The wife's tongue is getting meaner every day. The boat was almost empty.Xiulian wanted to go ashore, but she didn't dare to go alone.She neither sits nor stands, pulling the two braids to her chest for a while, and throwing them behind her back for a while. Xiulian dared not wake her mother up.Baoqing and Dafeng didn't dare either.Only a wimp can do this.But he has to wait for someone to invite him. Only in this way can he show his importance. "You wake her up," Baoqing said. The wimp stopped calling, rolled up his sleeves pretentiously, and woke her up.Second Grandma opened her eyes.Hiccup twice.Seeing a city on the mountain at a glance, he immediately asked, "Where are you?" "Chongqing," the wretch replied with a pompous air. "That's it?" Second Mistress pointed at the mountain with her trembling fingers. "I'm not going there! I'm going home." She snatched up her little bundle as if she could jump home with a single step. They knew that if they fought her, she could plunge headfirst into the water and cause a mess that would keep everyone out of the water for hours. Baoqing's eyes rolled.He never admitted to being henpecked.He still remembered how he had pursued her and the first two years of marriage.He remembered how he had gone out of his way to please her, to spoil her to the point of making himself ridiculous.As he thought about it, he rolled his eyes.How could he persuade her to go ashore without arguing.Finally, he turned around and only said to Dafeng and Xiulian: "Would you two like to walk, or ride on a pole?" Xiulian replied in a crisp voice, "I want to ride that chestnut-colored pony. It must be interesting." Second Mistress immediately forgot the little bag she was planning to take home.She turned to look at Xiulian and screamed, "Don't do that! Riding a horse? No one is allowed to ride!" "Okay, okay," Baoqing said, jumping at the chance.He was walking on the head, still holding the string in his arms. "Let's ride the sliders. Come on, we'll all ride the sliders." Everyone followed him down the gangplank.Second Mistress was still saying that she was going home, but she had already moved with everyone.She knew very well that if she stayed alone, she would never be able to go home by herself.What's more, she doesn't know what's going on in Chongqing at all. The whole family, holding three strings, big drums, big bags and small bags, sat on a rack of sliders.The porter raised the sliding pole and walked forward. The coolies carried the sliding poles, step by step, slowly and arduously climbed up the steep slope leading to the city.Those who sat on the sliding poles sat quietly, with their heads up, except for sometimes straightening their backs, they did not dare to move.There was a dangerous ladder ahead, and even the second grandmother held her breath.She was afraid that as long as she moved, she would fall down the pole.Only Xiulian was happy.She shouted at her sister Dafeng: "Look, it's like ascending to the sky!" Dafeng seldom speaks.This time she said, "Be careful, sister. People say that the higher you climb, the more painful you fall!"