Chapter 9 husband

It rained in spring for seven days, and the river swelled. The river is full of water, and the smoke boats and prostitution boats moored on the river beach in normal seasons are very close to the shore, and the boats are all tied to the pillars below the stilted building. The leisurely man drinking tea on the upper floor of the Sihaichun Teahouse leans against the window facing the river. He can see the beautiful view of the pagoda "Yanyu Hongtao" opposite the river, and he can also know the scene of the women on the boat burning cigarettes with the guests.Because it is so close, it is convenient to go up and down, there are voices of acquaintances, shouting from above or from below, and finally saw each other, talked, pretended to be intimate, and cursed wild words, so people upstairs met tea money , from the wet and smelly passages, from those filthy places to the ship.

Get on the boat, spend half a yuan to five yuan, eat cigarettes and sleep as you like, and have fun with women without restraint. These young women with big buttocks and fat bodies who live on the boat use the benefits of a woman to serve the man overnight . The people on board, they called it like the rest of the place, it was called "business."They are all here for business.In terms of title, that title is the same as other work, neither conflicting with morality nor contrary to health.They came from the countryside, from those who were farming and digging gardens, left the village, the stone mill and the calf, and the young and strong husband, followed an acquaintance, and came to this ship to do business.After starting a business, she gradually became a city dweller, gradually distanced herself from the countryside, and gradually learned some evil virtues that only the city needs, so this woman was ruined.

But the destruction is slow, because it takes some days, so no one pays attention to it.And there is still no shortage of women who will still retain the rustic and simple temperament under any circumstances, so there will never be a shortage of young women on the small river prostitution boats in the city. The matter is very simple. A woman who is not eager to bear children, when she comes to the city, can give the money she gets from two nights in the city every month to her husband who stays in the country and works hard to make a living. On the one hand, you can live a good life without losing your status and benefits. Therefore, it is extremely common for many young husbands to send their wives away after they get married and stay at home to cultivate the fields and live a peaceful life. .

When does this kind of husband think of the young daughter-in-law who is doing business on the ship, or when he is supposed to meet his daughter-in-law during the holidays, he changes into a suit of starched clothes, and hangs the The short cigarette pouch that is always in my mouth at work, and the whole basket of sweet potato glutinous rice cakes on my back, rushed to the market, like visiting distant relatives, asking questions from the No. 1 boat at the dock until I recognized the boat where my woman was.I understood the question, and when I got to the boat, I carefully put a pair of cloth shoes on the outer panel, handed the things I brought to the woman, and searched the woman's whole body with startled eyes.At this time, women are naturally completely different in front of their husbands.

The big and oily hair bun, the thin eyebrows pulled with tweezers, the white powder and crimson rouge on the face, and the air and clothes of the city people must have made the husband who came from the country feel great. Surprised, a little overwhelmed.That stupidity seems to be easy for women to understand.After the woman arrived, she opened her mouth, or asked, "Did you get five yuan that time?" Or ask: "Has our pair of pigs raised a son?" Naturally, the woman's accent is completely different when she speaks, and she becomes like a wife in the city with the generosity and freedom, which is completely different from that of a wife in the country.

Hearing the woman ask about the money and about the pigs raised in his hometown, the husband saw that his identity as the master was not lost on this boat, and he saw that the grandmother in the city had not completely forgotten the country, so he became bolder and slowly He took out the pipe and the scythe. The second surprise was that the pipe was suddenly taken away by the woman, and a Hardman cigarette was stuffed into the thick and thick grasp immediately.The surprise was still temporary, so the husband, smoking and talking at the same time,... In the evening, after dinner, I was still smoking that fresh and interesting cigarette.A guest came, a ship owner or a businessman, wearing raw cowhide boots, with a thick and shiny silver chain protruding from the corner of the pocket, drank a stomach full of shochu, and staggered onto the ship.

one As soon as they boarded the boat, they yelled loudly that they wanted to kiss each other and want to sleep. The loud, bearded voice, and the pomp and circumstance all reminded the husband of the majesty of the village head and the squires, so the husband knew what to do without pointing him out. He timidly went to the rear cabin, hid in the rear cabin and panted lowly, while taking off the cigarette in his mouth, he looked aimlessly at the sunset in the river.The night has changed the river, and the river is full of lights on the bank. At this time, the husband must think of the chickens and piglets at home, as if those little things are his friends, as if those are his relatives, and now he is close to his wife. He was far away from his family, and a touch of loneliness hit him, so he was willing to turn away.

Did you really turn around?No.There are jackals, wild cats, and guards on the Thirty Li Road, all of which are not to be messed with, so it's impossible to go around.Naturally, the aunt on the boat had to keep him in Sanyuan Palace to watch the night show, and in Sihaichun to drink tea, and since he was in the city, the lights on the street and the people in the city had to go and see.So I stayed, sat in the back cabin to watch the scenery in the river, and waited for the aunt's free time.When we arrived, we were about to go ashore, so we pulled the awning from the Xiaoyang bridge to the bow of the boat; after playing, we still transferred from the old place to the boat, carefully keeping the sound down, lest people stay in the cabin and lie on the bed to burn cigarettes get angry.

When it was time to go to bed, there was a watch in the city, and the watch drum on Xiliang Mountain rang for a while, and Dongdong quietly peeked through the cracks to see if the guests hadn't left. The husband had nothing to say, so he just sat on the top cabin Sleeping alone in the new cotton wool.In the middle of the night, either already asleep or still thinking wildly, the daughter-in-law took the time to crawl across the back cabin and asked if she wanted some candy.Originally, she was very happy to have rock candy in her mouth, but the daughter-in-law remembered it clearly, so even if she said she had already slept and eaten, she still stuffed a small piece of rock candy in her mouth.The daughter-in-law left with the air of slightly complaining about herself, and the husband put the rock sugar in his mouth, as if for this reason alone, he had to forgive the daughter-in-law's behavior, even though she was with the passengers in the front cabin, he still slept peacefully up.

There are many such husbands in Huangzhuang, where there are strong women and honest men.The place is too poor, as usual, a little bit of harvest will be taken by the people above more than half, the country people with hands and feet sticking to the ground, no matter how hardworking and hardworking you are, for a quarter of the year, even if you use sweet potatoes It is not easy to deal with leaves mixed with chaff and ashes to satisfy one's hunger.Although the place is in the mountains, it is only thirty miles away from the docks of Dahe. Due to custom, women go to the countryside to make a living, and men understand all the benefits of doing business.

He is sensible, the girl's title still belongs to him, the sons raised belong to him, and if there is money, part of it will always belong to him. Those boats lined the river, and a stranger could never count them.Knowing the number and the order, I can remember the appearance of every boat and boatman. He is an old water conservationist in the fifth district. Mizuho is a one-eyed man.This one-eyed man was said to have killed a villain on the water because of a fight when he was young, and because of the murder, he was blinded by someone at the same time. But what he couldn't distinguish between two eyes, he managed with one eye.He manages all the rivers.His power on these small boats is more centralized than that of a Chinese emperor or president on the ground. The water in the river has risen, and the water conservation seems to be much busier than usual.Due to his responsibilities, he had to look around.Did some of the parents on the boat go ashore, and the children were crying.Is there any quarreling on board some ships that need to be sorted out.Are some ships in danger of slipping away because there is no one to take care of them?Today, this uncle, and going to various places to investigate some things that have affected the water surface from the shore.There have been three small robberies on the shore in the past few days. According to the people from the Public Security Bureau, every small crack and crack on the ground has been found, but there is still no trace.The small cracks and crevices on the ground were found by those decent incumbents, so the responsibility of water conservation came.He got a notice, that is, a notice from the lying Public Security Bureau Office, asking him to board the boat with the armed surface police in the middle of the night to search for the "culprits." It was half a day before Shuibao got the news.He has many things to do throughout the day.He wanted to fulfill some of the obligations that came from the usual hospitality, wine and meat, so he walked along the river bank, starting with the first boat, and went to talk in each boat. He had to investigate first, and ask if there were any unscrupulous foreigners on board. As usual, those who do water conservation are the masters of the water, and he knows everything about everything on the water.This man was originally a person who lived on the water, standing opposite the law and the government, and was used by the officials according to the custom to deal with everything on the water. But when a person gets old, the world changes day by day. From time to time, this person has money, has a family, drinks wine, has children, and lives comfortably. This person slowly turns into a peaceful and upright person. up.He helped the government in his job, but he got close to the boatman emotionally.On these occasions he constructed a moral model.He is respected no less than an official, but he is not feared and hated.He was godfather to many whores on the riverboat.Due to the connection of these social habits, his behavior and affairs are on the side of the water people. At this time, he was jumping from a wooden diving board to the head of a newly painted "flower boat".He knew who was in charge of the boat, and he called "Seven Girl" as soon as he got on board. There is no sound.The young woman didn't come out, and neither did the old headmaster.The old man knew things very well, and thought that there might be young men on board to do stupid things in broad daylight, so he stood at the bow of the boat and waited for a while. After a while he yelled two more times, aunt again, and Wuduo; Wuduo was a boy on the boat, twelve years old, very thin, with a sharp voice, and usually the adults would guard the boat when they landed, buy things and cook. He is often beaten when he eats rice, loves to cry, and sings ditties again after a while.But after shouting for more than five times, there was still no result.Because there seemed to be real sounds in the cabin, like people venting their anger, it didn't seem like they were all on the shore, and it didn't seem like they were all dreaming.Shui Bao leaned over to peek at the hatch, and asked the dark place who was inside. There is still no answer. Shuibao got a little angry, and asked loudly, "Which one are you?" A very unfamiliar man's voice inside replied weakly and timidly, "It's me." Then he added, "They're all going ashore." "Have they all gone ashore?" "Ashore. They..." It seemed that he only agreed in this way, and he was afraid that he would offend the visitor. At this moment, he felt that he had to fulfill his duty, so the man crawled out from the dark place, and carefully pulled the canopy from the hatch, looking very restrained. people. First, I saw the pair of pigskin boots that seemed to be painted with persimmon oil. On the upper part was a soft ocher suede pocket, and on the upper part was a pair of embracing hairy hands, full of veins and yellow hairs. There is an extremely large gold ring on his hand, and then there is a square face that is made up of countless orange peels. The man realized that he was a respectable customer, so he learned the language of the people in the city and said, "Master, please sit inside, and they will come back." From the voice of his voice and the smell of dry starched clothes, the Shuibao could tell at a glance that this man was a farmer who had just come from the countryside.Originally, he wanted to leave without the woman, but the young man suddenly became interested in him, so he stayed. "Where do you come from?" He asked him. In order not to restrain others, Mizuho assumed a peaceful father's appearance and looked at the young man. "I don't recognize you." He thought for a while, but he didn't seem to recognize the guest, so he replied, "I came yesterday." "Is the wheat earing in the country?" "Wheat? Our wheat before the mill, ha, our pig, ha, our..." This person seemed to suddenly understand that the answer was irrelevant, remembering that he was talking to a respectable urbanite, he should not have said "we", should not have said that we were "water rollers" and "pigs", he used the wrong words, So I can't take it anymore. Because he didn't speak, he saw Shui Bao smiling timidly, he wanted people to understand him and forgive him - he is a decent person, and he didn't dare to play tricks on others. Shuibao understands this.And during this conversation, he understood that this was a relative of the people on board, and he asked the young man, "Where did Lao Qi go, and when can he come back?" At this time, the young man answered carefully.He still said, "It came yesterday." He also told the water guard that he "came last night." At the end, he said that Lao Qi was in charge, and Wu Duo went ashore to burn incense and asked him to guard the boat.Because the guard of the boat had to reveal his identity, he even reported it to the water guard, who was Lao Qi's "man". Because Lao Qi usually called the water conservationist godfather, this godfather met his son-in-law for the first time, so there was no need to keep him, and after a few more words, both of them climbed into the cabin after a while. There is a small bed in the cabin, and the bed is covered with brocade silk and red printed foreign cloth, neatly folded.Visitors are supposed to sit on the edge of the bed as a rule.The light comes from the hatch, so the cabin feels extremely dark outside, but everything is clear inside. The young man was looking for cigarettes and running fire for the guests, and overturned a small jar of chestnuts beside him with his rough feet and rough hands. The round chestnuts with black golden luster rolled around in the thin and bright cabin, and the young people caught them with their hands everywhere. , I still put it in the small altar, and I don't know whether to invite the guests to eat.But the guest was not polite, picked up the chestnuts from the deck, bit them and ate them, and said that the dried chestnuts were really good. "This is very good, don't you like it?" Because Shui Bao didn't peel the chestnuts and eat them when he saw his master. "I'm happy. It grew on the chestnut tree behind my house. Last year, it formed a lot of knots, and it burst out obediently from the thorn balls. I'm happy." He smiled, almost mentioning his son's appearance, and he was very happy to say this . "Such big chestnuts are not easy to come by." "I picked them one by one." "you choose?" "Yes, I stayed because Lao Qi likes to eat this." "Do you have monkey chestnuts?" "What monkey chestnut?" Shuibao told the story of "the monkey lived on the mountain, and when he was insulted by others, he threw down his fist and beat people with big chestnuts. When people thought about this chestnut, they deliberately went down the mountain to swear ugly words, and prepared to pick up chestnuts." people listen. Because of Chestnut, the young man who was suffering and had nothing to say got someone who sympathized with him. He told Mizuho about other things that belonged to Chestnut.He knows a lot about the problems in the country.So he talked about the news about the place name "Li Ao".He also talked about how a plow tool made of chestnut wood is strong and usable.This man needs to say so much. Last night, there were guests who ate wine and made wine, shut themselves at the back of the boat, and talked with Wu Duo, who slept like a dead pig.This morning, I should have had the opportunity to talk to my daughter-in-law about the country affairs, but the woman said that she would go ashore to cross the Qili Bridge to burn incense and sent him alone to guard the boat.I sat on the boat and waited for a long time, but no one came back. I went to the back end to see the scenery on the river. Everything was new and different, and I was just bored.For a while, I was sleeping in the cabin, thinking that if the river floods to the countryside, how many carp should be on the weir!When the fish was caught, they put wicker sticks through their gills and put them in the sun to dry. They were counting the number, so they couldn't figure it out.Suddenly guests came to the boat, it seemed that all the fish jumped into the water. Guests came, and it was obvious from the look that people would not refuse these conversations, so this young man, who had prepared to talk to his wife at the bedside, had a good opportunity at this time, and brought them to him. Talked to the water conservationist. He told the water conservationist a lot about the country, about the troublesome temper of the little pig, who was called "Guaiguai", and about the stone mill that had been repaired by the stonemason, and told a stonemason a joke by the way.Talking about a sickle that has been missing for a long time, a small sickle that Shuibao couldn't dream of, he said, "Look, isn't it strange? I swear I found it everywhere. Under our bed, on the door frame, in the corner of the warehouse, what can't be found?It hides.Like peek-a-boo, it's gone.I scolded Lao Qi for this matter.Lao Qi cried.But still missing.The ghost hit the rock, blindfolded, it turned out that it was hiding in the rice basket on the beam of the roof!Hiding in the rice basket for half a year!it eats!His whole body was rusty like sores.How cunning this thing is!I said this, do you understand me?How could he be in the rice basket for half a year?It was a show thing, hanging on the bucket window.I remembered that incident, I was the one who peeled the wedge, scraped the skin on my hand, bled, got angry, and threw the knife away in a fit of anger. …After grinding on the water for a long time, it is not bad, and you can still eat meat. If you are not careful, you will bleed.I haven't talked about this with Lao Qi yet, she will never forget that crying.I found it, haha, I really found it. " "Just find it." "Yes, it's good to have it. Because I always suspect that this thing is Lao Qi who fell into the stream, I'm sorry to explain. I know she is not lying to me.I see.I know she's been wronged because I said, "Can't find it? Then I'm going to hit someone!" "Don't you need it to mow grass?" "Hey, where, it's very useful. It's a small scythe, so delicate, how do you say it's mowing? It's for peeling a little potato and scratching the flute: these are used. It's very small, worth three hundred yuan, steel fire Wonderful. We should all have a knife like this close by, don't you see?" Shui Bao said, "It's clear: everyone should have one, I understand what you mean." He thought that Shuibao really understood, so he talked about everything, and even said that he hoped to have a baby next year, so that it was only suitable for him to sleep on the same pillow with his daughter-in-law and discuss it.Young people add a lot of vulgar and stupid words without restraint.After talking for a long time, Shuibao got up to leave, and he just remembered to ask the guest's name. "Master, what's your surname? Leave a picture here so I can answer." "No, no, no. You just tell her that there is such a big man who has been on the boat and wears such big boots. Tell her not to receive guests at night, I will come." "Don't pick up guests, you want to come?" "That's all. I must come. I'll buy you a drink. We're friends." "We're friends, we're friends." The water conservationist patted the young man on the shoulder with his big and fat palm, and walked ashore from the bow of the boat to another boat. After Shuibao left, the young people waited and guessed who this big man was.It was the first time he had talked with such a noble person.He will not forget this good impression.He not only talked to him today, but also called him a friend and promised to buy him a drink!He guessed that this person must be Lao Qi's "regular customer".He guessed that Lao Qi must have got a lot of money from this man. He suddenly felt happy and felt that it was time to sing a song, so he sang a folk song softly.Using the style of Sixi people, he sang "When the water rises, the carp climbs up the beam. The big ones are as big as big straw sandals, and the small ones are as small as small straw sandals." But after waiting for a while, Lao Qi didn't come back, not a single ghost came back, and he thought of the handsome talk of that big man again. He remembered the shiny boots, and thought that they would not be so decent and beautiful if they hadn't been coated with excellent persimmon oil.He remembered the yellow and heavy ring, and couldn't tell how much it would be worth, and couldn't understand why the baby was so cute.He remembered that great man nodded and spoke together, with the style of a governor, and the identity of an army commander-this is the God of Wealth of Lao Qi!So he sang another song.In the unserious tone of the people of Yangcun, they sang, "The regiment chief in the mountain depression burns charcoal, and the ground protection at the foot of the mountain climbs ashes; only the sweet potatoes get fat when they climb the ashes, and their faces turn black when they burn charcoal." By noon, there were already people cooking on the boats everywhere.The wet firewood does not burn, and the smoke spreads everywhere, making people cry and sneeze. When the firewood smoke spreads on the water, it looks like thin silk.Hearing the sound of the chef in the restaurant on the river street beating the side of the pot with a shovel, and the sound of the cabbage falling into the pot on the neighboring boat, Lao Qi has not returned yet.But the young people haven't learned the skill of burning wet firewood on the boat, and the small steel stove is always cold and silent.After working for a long time, there is still no result, so the only way is to put it down. When he was supposed to eat, he couldn't eat, and when he was hungry, he sat on the small stool and beat the deck. He still had to think about something.A restless guess grew in my heart.The pocket, which seemed to be extremely proud of being filled with money, reappeared before his eyes, and the original peace was lost.An orange-peel-red square face made of distiller's grains and red blood is also an extremely disgusting look, which is retained in the impression.And, what's the use of remembering?He remembered that the instruction was said in front of a husband! "Don't pick up guests tonight, I'm coming." The damned words were so unceremoniously uttered from the sweet potato mouth!Why do you say this?Is there any reason to say this? ... Daydreams added anger to his heart, hunger repeatedly gripped this angry heart, and there were some emotions that primitive people do not lack, and he grew up in the emotions of this young and simple person. He can't sing another song.My throat is choked by jealousy, and I can't sing any songs. He couldn't have any more joy.According to the temperament of a farmer, he thought that he would go home tomorrow. It's even worse to start the fire again when I have a temper, so I threw all the firewood into the river. "Thunder strikes you! I want you to go to the ocean!" But the firewood was picked up by people on another boat two or three zhang away.The man on the boat seemed to be ready for everything. He was waiting for some wet firewood drifting from the river. When he picked up the firewood, he saw a piece of waste cable used to start the fire, and the whole boat was full of smoke, and the fire carried a small fire. The crackling sound ignited.Seeing all this, the young man was humiliated by a new anger, and he thought he would have to walk without waiting for the man to return to the boat. At the end of the street, I met a woman and Xiao Maotou Wuduo, who were holding hands, talking and laughing as they came.Wu Duo held a huqin in his hand, it looked brand new, it was a guy he had never met in his dreams! "Where are you going?" "I——want to go back." "I want you to look at the boat and don't look at it. I want to go back. Who offended you, so stingy?" "I want to go back, you let me go back." "Go back to the boat!" Look at the daughter-in-law, she looks tougher than she talks.And when he saw the huqin, he knew it was specially bought for him, so he couldn't hold on any longer, touched his feverish forehead, and said quietly, "It's okay to go back, or go back", and followed his wife Run behind the boat. The lady in charge also came, she was carrying a pair of pig lungs, she seemed to have stolen it by chance, she was afraid of being chased and taken to the yamen.So I ran until my cheekbones turned red and I couldn't stop panting.As soon as the aunt got on the boat, the woman shouted in the cabin: "Ma'am, look, my man wants to leave!" "Who said that, leave without watching the show!" "We ran into him at the street corner, and he looked angry. He must be blaming us for not coming back early." "That's my fault; it's the Bodhisattva's fault; it's the butcher's fault. I shouldn't have quarreled with the butcher over a piece of money. The butcher shouldn't have so much water in his lungs." "It's my fault." The woman who accompanied the man in the cabin said this and sat down.Opposite is a man. So when she changed her clothes on purpose, she revealed her very coquettish red silk bodice."Mandarin Ducks Playing Lotus" is embroidered on the chest girdle. The man stared and said nothing.Something unspeakable surged in the blood. At the back end, I heard my aunt talking about chaimi with Wu Duo. "Why did someone steal our firewood!" "Who panned the rice?" "It must be a fire that doesn't burn....My brother-in-law is from the country and only knows how to burn rosin." "Didn't we just break up the bundle of firewood yesterday?" "It's all over." "Go ahead and move a bundle, don't talk about it." "Brother-in-law only knows how to wash rice!" The young man who heard these words sat quietly in the cabin without saying a word, looking at the newly bought huqin. The woman said, "The strings are all set, try pulling them out." At first, he was silent, and then he put the piano on his lap and looked at the rosin.When tuning the piano, unfamiliar sounds flowed from the fingers, and the player smiled happily. After a while, the cabin was full of smoke, and the man was called out by the woman. He still took the piano outside and stood at the bow to tune the strings. After lunch, Wuduo said: "Brother-in-law, turn around and pull 'Meng Jiangnu Crying at the Great Wall', I will sing." "I won't pull." "I heard you pulled well, you lied to me, lied to me." "I kid you not." The aunt said, "I heard Lao Qi say that you are good at playing, so when I went to the temple, when I saw this piano, I thought of you and said that I should buy it for my brother-in-law. It was luck, so I bought it. I'm afraid you can't buy it for a dollar in the village, can you? " "Yes. How much is it worth?" "One hang six. They all said it was worth it!" Wu Duo said, "Who says it's worth it?" The aunt said angrily, "Mao girl, who said it's not worth it? What do you know! Tear your mouth! " Because the piano was bought from an acquaintance who sold the piano, and it didn't cost a single penny. When I heard the aunt's lie, Wu Duo argued, the aunt scolded Wu Duo, but the seventh child laughed.The man thought it was the ignorance of the laughing aunt, so he also laughed dryly. The man finished his meal first, and then started to play the piano. The sound of the new piano was clear and bright. Bowls, wash pots. At night, the front cabin is covered with a canopy, the man plays the piano, Wu Duo sings, and the old seven also sings. The cover of the Mobil lamp has a sun hat cut out of red paper. Like Chinese New Year, my heart is blooming.But after a while, a soldier passed by the river street, drunk, and heard the sound. Two drunks staggered to the side of the boat, their hands were full of mud, and they were pulling the boat with their hands, with walnuts in their mouths. Shout: "Whoever sings, please report the name! If you sing well, you will be rewarded with five hundred. Don't you hear it? I reward you five hundred! " The sound of the piano inside stopped abruptly, and there was silence. The drunkard kept kicking the boat with his feet, making a blunt and dull sound, and tried to push the canopy, but he couldn't find the joints of the canopy, so he shouted, "Don't you want to reward me, a bitch made it? Pretend to be deaf, Pretending to be dumb? Who dares to have fun here? Who am I afraid of? I am not afraid of the emperor.Sir, I am afraid that the emperor is not human!Our army commanders are all bastards!It's a preserved egg, a rotten egg!I am not afraid. " The other said with a sandy throat: "Sexy bitch? Come out and drag me onto the boat!" And immediately heard stones beating the canopy and insulting ancestors loudly.Everyone in the boat panicked.The aunt hurriedly turned the light down a little, and went out to push the canopy. When the man heard the menacing sound, he grabbed the huqin and went into the rear cabin.After a while, the drunk had already entered the front cabin.While talking wild words, the two wanted to win kisses with Lao Qi and Da Niang Wu Duo.And hear the question: "Who is singing and having fun here, catch the violin player and sing a song for me." The aunt didn't dare to make a sound, and the seventh child had no idea, so the two drunken lunatics cursed loudly. "You bastard, call Guizi to come out and play the violin with me, and you'll be rewarded with a thousand dollars! The hero Cao Mengde would not be so generous! I will reward one thousand, one thousand sweet potatoes, come quickly, if you don't come out, I will burn your boat!Listen no, old man! ?Hurry up, don't let the old people get angry, the lanterns don't recognize people? " "Master, this is for fun with a few members of our own family, not outsiders..." "No! No! No! You're not good, old bitch. You're old, wrinkled! Call the fiddler! Bastard! I'll play the fiddle, I'll sing myself!" Come on, I want to search in the back cabin.The aunt panicked and opened her mouth wide and couldn't close it.Lao Qi was quick-witted, dragged the drunk man's hand, and placed it on his big breast. The drunk man understood this and sat down again. "Okay, wonderful, I can afford the money, I'm going to sleep here tonight! The lonely king is drunk in the Peach Blossom Palace, Han Sumei is born with a beautiful face..." After this one lay down on Lao Qi's left side, the other one also lay down on the right side without saying anything. The young man heard that the front cabin seemed to be quiet for a while, and softly called aunt from the next door. Feeling an insult, the aunt quietly crawled over. The man didn't quite understand what was going on, so he asked the aunt: "whats the matter?" "The vice master of the battalion is drunk, like a cat, and he has to leave after a while." "You have to leave. I forgot to tell you. A man with a generous face came today. He seems to be a high-ranking official. He told me that he will come at night and no guests are allowed." "Is it wearing big leather boots and talking like a gong?" "Yes, yes. And he has a big gold ring on his hand." "That's Lao Qi's godfather. Has he been here this morning?" "He came. He talked for a long time before leaving. He ate some dried chestnuts." "What did he say?" "He said he must come, and he must not keep any customers... He also said that he must buy me a drink." Madam, think about it, what are you doing here?Could it be that Shuibao himself is coming to rest for the night?Could it be old versus old, Shui Bao noticed... I can't figure it out, even though a bustard has become a habit of doing all kinds of scandals and doesn't blush at anything, she still feels a kind of humiliation when she is said to be "not good at eating".She quietly went back to the front cabin, saw that the new things in the front cabin were not in the right shape, pursed her lips, scolded pigs and dogs, and finally returned to the back cabin. "how?" "not very." "Why, they left?" "No, they're asleep." "Sleeping?" Although the aunt couldn't see the man's face clearly at this time, she understood the tone very well, so she said, "Brother-in-law, it's rare for you to come to the city, we can go ashore to play. Tonight, I invite you to sit on the high platform for the night performance at the Sanyuan Palace. It's 'Qiu Hu's Three Plays with a Wife'." The man shook his head and said nothing. After the soldier messed around for a while and left, the five older women and the seventh child were all talking and joking under the light in the front cabin, talking about the soldier's drunkenness.The man stayed in the back cabin and could not come out.The aunt went to the door and yelled twice, but she didn't agree, because she didn't understand where this temper came from.The aunt came back to check the pattern of the four bills, because she had already recognized the authenticity of the bills. The ticket was real, she pointed to Lao Qi to see those marks and flowers under the light, and put it on her nose to sniff, saying that this must be found in a halal restaurant, because it smells of butter. Wu Duo walked over for the second time, "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, they are gone, let's finish singing that, we have to..." The woman, Lao Qi, seemed to have thought of something on her mind, and held her back for more than five minutes, not allowing her to speak. one Everything was silent.In the back cabin, the man was still tying the strings with his fingers, making a small sound, when his hands also left the strings. The three women all heard the sound of gongs, drums and suona floating from the river street. A businessman on the river street had a wedding event. After a while, Lao Qi climbed to the rear cabin alone, but came back immediately. The aunt asked: "What's the matter?" Lao Qi shook his head and sighed. At first I thought that Shuibao might not come, so everyone still slept. The auntie and his wife were in the front cabin, and only the man was put in the back. In the middle of the night, the ship inspector was led by the water security guard. The water surface was completely silent. Four armed police officers stood guard at the bow of the ship. The water security guard and the inspector entered the front cabin with flashlights.At this time, the aunt had already turned on the lamp. She had a lot of experience and knew that this was not a big deal. Lao Qi put on his clothes and sat on the bed, calling his godfather and Mr. Inspector, asking Wu Duo to pour tea.Wu Duo was still drowsy, and only thought of picking Marchberries in the countryside in his dream. The man was shaken awake by the aunt and dragged out. When he saw Shui Bao and a big man in black uniform, he was too scared to speak, not knowing what serious things had happened. The inspector pretended to be very majestic and said, "Who is this?" Shuibao agreed on his behalf, "Lao Qi's man just came from the countryside to visit his relatives." Lao Qi said, "Master, he just came yesterday." The inspector looked at the man for a while, and then at the woman for a while, as if he realized that what Shui Bao said was not a lie, he stopped talking and rummaged around in the front cabin at will.When he noticed the small jar of dried chestnuts, Shui Bao grabbed a handful of chestnuts and stuffed them into the big pocket of the inspector's decent uniform. The inspector just laughed and didn't say anything. one After a while, the gang went to another boat.Just as the aunt was about to build the awning, a policeman came back and sent a message: "Auntie, auntie, tell Lao Qi that the inspector will come back and inspect her carefully, do you understand?" The aunt said, "Are you coming?" "Come after checking the night." "Really?" "When did I ever lie to you old bitch?" The aunt was very happy, which made the man very surprised, because he didn't understand why the inspector came back to inspect Lao Qi. But at this time, when he saw Lao Qi sleeping, he was out of breath in the first half of the night. He was willing to make peace, and he was willing to have some private conversations with her on the bed, to discuss something, so he sat still on the edge of the bed. The aunt seems to understand the man's thoughts, understands the man's desire, and also understands that he is ignorant, so she only informs the seventh child, "The inspector is coming soon!" Lao Qi bit his lip and remained silent for a long time. The man was about to walk when he got up early in the morning. Without saying a word, he straightened his straw sandals and found his cigarette pouch.After everything was unified, he sat on the edge of the low bed, as if he had something to say but couldn't say it. Lao Qi asked him, "Didn't you promise your godfather last night to come to his house for lunch today?" "..." Shaking his head, he didn't answer. "They specially organized a banquet for you, are you ashamed to be ungrateful?" "..." "Don't you want to watch the show?" "..." "The oil-stained steamed stuffed bun that's full of red sky doesn't go into the basket until half a day ago. That's the steamed stuffed bun you like." "..." one 定要走了，老七很为难，走出船头呆了一会，回身从荷包里掏出昨晚上那兵士给的票子来，点了一下数，一共四张，捏成一把塞到男子左手心里去。男子无话说，老七似乎懂到那意思了，“大娘，你拿那三张也把我。”大娘将钱取出，老七又把这钱塞到男子右手心里去。 男子摇摇头，把票子撒到地下去，两只大而粗的手掌捣着脸孔，象小孩子那样莫名其妙的哭了起来。 五多同大娘看情形不好，一齐逃到后舱去了。五多心想这真是怪事，那么大的人会哭，好笑。可是她并不笑。她站在船后梢舵，看见挂在梢舱顶梁上的胡琴，很愿意唱一个歌，可是不知为什么也总唱不出声音来。 水保来船上请远客吃酒，只有大娘同五多在船上。问到时，才明白两夫妇一早都回转乡下去了。 1930年4月作于吴淞 ------------------ one