Chapter 3 The owner of the orangery and an old sailor

Chenhe River is a tributary of Yuanshui River, converging with Yuanshui River on the north bank of Chenxi County.Lujiaping is about one hundred and forty miles away from Chenxi County, which can be regarded as a waist station in the middle of Chenhe County.Since it is a small water wharf, the situation is similar to that of other wharves. All goods exported from Eastern Guizhou from Chenhe include tung oil, timber, tobacco, leather, white wax, mercury, and indigo and gallnut, which are essential for dyeing and tanning. , as well as bamboo, hemp and other agricultural products produced on both sides of the upper reaches of the Chen River, are shipped down by boats, and flower gauze, kerosene, tap fire, seafood, white sugar, cigarettes and canned foreign goods are shipped up by boats, so many ships Dock at this place on "Review Tax".There are tax collectors appointed by the province to settle here, and there are many boats berthing up and down, so the village and town are quite large and the market is quite prosperous.There are several medium-standard oil mills, which ship thousands of barrels of tung oil every year.

There are several villages that buy Tungyoushan goods, some of which are set up separately in Hankou and Changde Dahaokou.There are more than a dozen ancestral halls, and the ancestral halls are as usual resplendent and resplendent, with many vermilion lacquer plaques hung on them, and a stage was set up facing them for members of the spring and autumn families to sing operas.There are several temples dedicated to the God of Fire, Marshal Fubo and the God of Wealth who rides a tiger.Thean Hou Temple, where foreign businessmen gather, symbolizes the hopes and ideals of the local people.There are more than a dozen small inns and a donated "smoking cessation center", which are specially prepared for the convenience of people on errands and small businessmen.The place is a water pier, and as usual, there are a group of senders who eat all kinds of food, extra officers who are almost paid dry salaries, widows who make a living on small loans, local kiln sisters with big tits and big buttocks, with nameplates Teahouses with chess and chess... due to some spare money, some idlers, and most people's inexhaustible free time to interact with each other, this small pier has a little more vitality.There are both wealth and goods in the place, and there are often 180 miscellaneous teams or security teams stationed there, called to protect the law and order, but in fact they are more like sending food here.On March 8th, people from the countryside from thirty to fifty miles away come to exchange what they have. They bring pigs, sheep, cattle, dogs, poultry and wild animals, stone mortars and wooden pestles to the market to find customers.A small businessman in Baoqing, Jiangxi Province, who relies on floating villages for a living, brought rock sugar, green salt, cloth, paper, yellow silk cigarettes, firecrackers and other miscellaneous goods, and set up a shed on the spot to do business.At that time, those who came on foot, those who came in small wooden boats and rafts made of big moso bamboo, all gathered in one place.Because cloth and flower yarn are necessary for people, the transaction is usually very large.Cattle, pigs and sheep are inseparable from the rural economy, because they are living beings, they often scream and bite, and they have to yell and curse when they do business. In addition, they are used to swear by the gods before the deal, and have to eat in the nearby shed after the deal Going to drink and get popular, so the transaction is particularly lively.The silversmiths and needlewomen in Piaoxiang were even more hectic.The silversmiths are highly skilled, and often perform gilding and bluish craftsmanship on the spot, using a small pipe to blow flames to make inlays, and there must be hundreds of curious and beautiful country women in front of the booth.In addition, those who use the name "Sai Zhuge" to tell fortunes and sell divination, and those who use the trademark "Red Cross" to pull teeth and sell plasters and talismans, all have their own customers.If it was spring and autumn, there would still be people who run mills with black mules, and people who run oil mills with fiery red rhubarb oxen. They would set up a small shed at the corner of the field, surround it with a sheet, and wait sincerely. The country people brought the horses and cows at home to mate and vaccinate.When the wild child was peeking at the western scenery from between the curtains, Xiang Baojiaduo suddenly emerged from the curtain and yelled loudly to drive them away.When the person in charge presided over the matter, he seemed to be more cautious and solemn than the matchmaker pastor who "civilized marriage" in big cities.As for the boaters on the Chen River, they are naturally more than happy to dock at Lujiaping.Because of the joke, the place was named "Lujiaping", when the sailors arrived here, they would go ashore to find a woman, and they would do some silly things mouth to mouth to vent their anger, which is not a taboo for sailors according to the custom.

Although Lujiaping is like a small commercial port, there is everything you need, such as Three Paotai cigarettes and canned lychee and longan, which can be bought as gifts.But the situation in a few small villages a few miles away from the river is completely different.As usual, these places have preserved all the rural scenes, and Lujiaping's ownership seems to have no influence on it.Human customs are simply different.Just like when picking oranges in an orange orchard, passers-by who are thirsty eat oranges without spending money in the village, but when they arrive in Lujiaping Town, they are very sour oranges. Although they are not valuable, there are old women guarding the ferry sold.Although this kind of business is not so much for making money, it is better for entertainment.

Luoboxi is a relatively affluent village near Lujiaping.There is a small stream in the village, which originates ten miles away from the mountain. The water source is in a cave, and it flows into the big river from the east of the village.Although the waterway is not big, because the water flows continuously for many years, it is clear and urgent. The country people take advantage of the environment and build a layer of dams to collect the water section by section, use the pools to store fish, and use water to irrigate the fields for rice milling.There are 17 barrages and 12 mills upstream along the stream, which are not unrelated to the local economy.Under the water, there are fine metals outside the sand, so it is also called "Jinsha Creek".In March and April, when the poplar carp and crucian carp are feeding in the river, most of them crawl up from the big river against the current in the middle of the night. Therefore, there are many crucian carp and poplar carp in the water pools of the barrages and dams in the upper reaches of the stream, and the taste is very delicious.The land is fertile and sandy, and it produces big radishes, so the place is named Luohuaxi, which is very authentic.

People in Luoboxi are famous for growing melons, vegetables and oranges, especially oranges.Almost every household in the village has a small or big orange orchard. For those who have no land to grow, there are always a few orange trees next to the hair pit by the wall.The Juzhong Orangery is both vast and well-to-do. It is second to none in the local area, and it should be counted by Teng Changshun.The two sisters talked about in the transition place are the two daughters of this family. Teng Changshun used to be like many people in the local area. When he was young, he was empty-handed and worked as a short-distance sailor on other people's ships, eating food on the water.After arriving, he rowed a small single-masted boat by himself, and sent the boat to and from various wharves in the Yuanshui River Basin to solicit merchant business.Because of his young age, quick hands and feet, kemba hands, and honesty and reliability in dealing with customers, he prospered after three to five years, enlarged his ships, and expanded his business. The big ship owner.When they got married and asked for a daughter-in-law, they chose the daughter of a sugar shop in Gaocun, and brought her a share of her property.The man then remembered two old sayings: "A man needs to settle down, and a tree needs to take root." He thought to himself, floating like a spoon on the water is not a long-term solution.The two couples discussed for a while, and asked for divination several times, finally decided to settle down in Luoboxi, and bought an orangery and a house.The head of the family is still making boats in the Yuanshui River, and the woman stays at home with her children to manage the farmland, raise pigs and chickens.When the ship went up and loaded onto the Hongjiang River, the head of the family stopped the ship in Chenxi County and took a sailor to go home at night to see the women and children.When I went to pick oranges in the orange orchard, I resigned from other customers and used my own boat to load oranges to Changde Mansion for business. At the same time, I took my family members down to see the world below.Because the tangerines are neat, sweet, and have many acquaintances, they are particularly easy to get out and get a good price.When I turn back a month, I will load a ship of goods on the Chenhezhuang, spend a little of my own money on some groceries that can be delivered locally, and return to Lujiaping for the New Year.

Since the Republic of China, the Yuanshui River Basin has experienced dozens of civil wars in the past twenty years. During the civil war, many people's water careers were pulled, sealed, donated, and arrested. As a result, their careers were completely destroyed.Many oil workshop brands also went bankrupt due to various misfortunes caused by soldiers and bandits sending donations to extort money.Since the world is always changing, this place naturally has a lot of past and present, as the saying goes, "many people rise and fall in ten years".Washing away from this trend, this person, on the one hand, was lucky and on the other hand, was able to maintain the family business through all kinds of changes, and not only made a fortune, but also made a fortune.The woman raised two boys and three girls for him. By now, the children have grown up and begged for a wife to help him.Therefore, each of the two children was required to drive a small loach-head boat with three cabins and four oars to continue his water career in the Yuan River Basin, while he took care of the farm at home.The daughters have all promised others, the eldest has passed through the door, and the second and third are still at home.There are three grandsons in total, the eldest is six years old, and he can take a bamboo pole to watch the rice-drying mats and drive ducks down the river.The head of the family is fifty-six years old, and he has held his hands for thirty or forty years. He often says that people are old and their bones are loose, so they need to rest.However, when milling rice at home, the long-term workers and family members have both hands busy and cannot take care of it for a while, but they will inevitably stir up two big baskets of millet and run to the Xikou mill.

Since this man settled down in Luoboxi and worked as an outsider in the village, and because of his family business, age, and integrity, he was considered a model and won the trust of others. Therefore, the village has public affairs, and he often acts as a pedestrian. leadership.When there are any official affairs, such as the army passing by and sending messengers to entertain and go to the Lujiaping Township Office for meetings, he is often elected as the representative of Luoboxi.And because he knows a few words, he knows a little about Feng Shui, he has a little understanding of "Mayi Xiangfa", he knows a few herbal medicine prescriptions, and he can know a little about current events... All these things increase the importance of this person in the local area.

The two lads have been floating with their father since they were young. They can clearly remember how many dangerous beaches and rocks there are in a long Yuanshui river, and when and what rocks are dangerous and troublesome to sail on top of a boat. (As for the boat entering the Chenhe River, the situation is naturally more familiar.) In addition, the father and son are very popular, and they are very trustworthy in various companies, so when they can sail the boat, the boat of "Boss Xiao Teng" is just like the situation of the old master. Still a commendable ship. As for the girls, because they are disciplined by their mothers, they are all healthy and able to work hard, and their hands and feet are very agile when doing things.Working in the fields under the sun all day long, his skin was tanned reddish brown.There are big and small in the family, parents, brothers and sisters are complete, so the personality is clear and prosperous, kind and sincere, happy and laughing loudly, no matter what work is like a game, each is completed in a happy and competitive situation.The three daughters, like the three flowers, develop and bloom in the sun, rain and dew.The older one, when she was seventeen, married a Tian family who sold cinnabar in Tongmuping as a wife, and she has been married for four years now.The second one is only sixteen years old now, promised to the son of an oil factory in Gaocun, the young man he appointed has gone far away and has no way of getting married.The third one was only fifteen years old, and was only allowed in October last year. After the young man graduated from the county primary school, he transferred to the provincial normal school. Years later.The eldest of the three daughters manages the family, the second is honest and honest, and the third is the most beautiful and delicate.The third daughter is small in stature, with long legs, a small mouth, white teeth, a well-proportioned nose bridge, handsome eyebrows and slightly wild eyes, a face with very dark hands and feet, and her demeanor is "pretty in black".Because she is the youngest in a family of siblings, she is named Yaoyao.The family made concessions to her in everything, but she was well-behaved and modest, and did not preempt herself.The heart is innocent and gentle, so it is more touching and lovable, and more praised.

This family seems to have no religious beliefs, but on the birthdays of Avalokitesvara, the God of Wealth, the King of Medicine, and all the legendary birthdays of gods and Buddhas, they worship incense or eat vegetarian food according to the custom, and send members to the local organizers.All traditional festivals and taboos in rural society are observed and practiced with great reverence.When traveling in the first month, you must read the general book and choose an auspicious day.On the Waking of Insects Festival, buckwheat cake must be made according to the custom.Cold food must go to the grave during the Qingming Festival, and cook bacon and social rice to have dinner in the wild.During the Dragon Boat Festival, zongzi must be wrapped, and a bunch of puai is hung on the door. At noon on May 5th, five poisons and eight treasures plasters are made, mixed with Liuyi powder and Sha medicine, and are prepared to be given away on June Day.After drinking realgar wine, the whole family changed into new clothes and went to Lujiaping to watch the boat race and cheer for the boat in the village.Tasting new things in June, you must eat carp, eggplant and new rice from the field.The harvest period must be a long-term helper brewing a large tank of rice wine. Fortunately, after work, I can drink cold water to quench my thirst.During the Hungry Ghost Festival in July, there will be a Ullambana Basin meeting for Buddhist ceremonies, and paper money will be burned for the relatives of the ancestors of the deceased. The girl's family will be busy for a long time. The child was carried to the bank of the river to be incinerated at dusk.And make lotus lanterns and float them in the river, illuminating the souls of the dead to ascend to the western sky.To respect the moon in August, people must be sent to the town to buy moon cakes, make festivals, and family reunions to enjoy the moon.When climbing the mountain in September on the Chongyang Festival, braised duck with purple buds and ginger must be used for picnics. The autumn is refreshing and full of flavor.Winter stings, sprinkle lime on the edge of the threshold to form a bow, and shoot all kinds of insects.On Laba day, cook Laba porridge and make Laba beans... In short, follow the customs in everything, and follow all the rules in the book.

Such a family has no worries about food and clothing. Generally speaking, they should be very happy.But no.This small place is just like other worlds, some things seem to be wrong, and it doesn't make sense.There are indeed some people on the ground who work hard all day with their hands or their brains, and work together with nature to increase the production of food on the ground and save wealth; Privilege is effortless in life, but it is extremely important in terms of status. It uses various methods and reasons to squeeze out the income of those who are close to the ground.Normal ones such as food tax, food supplementary donation, security supplementary donation, ... Common ones are public debts, irregular but unavoidable ones such as garrison loans, food distribution, donations, labor service, and apportionment to suppress bandits Rural ammunition, special wealthy people are easily taken care of, such as kidnapping and extortion, open fire robbery, all in all, if one yuan of annual income is spent on "gods", at least twenty yuan is spent on "people".There is a lot of income in the family, and there are also a lot of unique items.

Since the world is always changing and changing, it is the turn of the country people to pay.Teng Changshun, the head of the family, understood this truth.When the money comes out, the world does not seem to be getting better, so it is considered "luck".As usual, country people almost use "luck" to explain it when they can't solve their helplessness, add a little patience, a little adaptability to unfair treatment and misfortune, and leave a little hope in case of emergency.The fact that the world is not peaceful is due to "luck", Teng Changshun has understood this truth, so the family of father, son, mother and daughter should live a good life.Fortunately, there are many people and many hands, the ground produces a lot, and a few "floaters on the water" never have any accidents, so they are still called "rich people" in the same township.Although the world is changing, all the things that should be carried out in this family are held as usual, such as weddings and funerals, year-end fulfillment of vows to God, and the application of children and daughters. Everything is fully prepared. There is another person who understands that the world is changing, and uses luck to explain the inevitable hardships that come upon him during the changes, and barely survives.This person is an old sailor who sits on the maple col and guards the ancestral hall. He is concerned about the "new life" coming to the local area and wants to report to Teng Changshun.This person's life experience is like a story, simple but not ordinary, and his fate is in contrast to that of Teng Changshun who took root on land.When I was young, I also ate food on the water. After I got married and had children, I had two boats as homeowners, so I built one myself and hired others to do it for me to load goods in the Yuanshui River and travel up and down.Seeing that the career has just started smoothly, the eldest son is twelve years old, and is about to become a helper with a promising future, when the disaster star suddenly comes to the door, and with an invisible big hand, regardless of age, he catches him.For a watermelon, the three mother and son died of cholera within two days, just as there will be "story" after that, but the old head of the family is deliberately left alone.Seeing that the catastrophe had fallen on his head, the man felt helpless, so he sold a boat, exchanged three coffins of different sizes, and sent the mother and child to the ground.I still barely support myself, use "luck" to arrange, and row the boat in Yuanshui.At the beginning, I thought that I was only a little over forty years old, and if my luck improved, I could still use my energy to start a new family business.But misfortunes never come singly. Less than three months after the death of the woman's son, the remaining boat was loaded with tung oil and tobacco and sailed down to Changde Mansion. I watched helplessly as all the goods fell into the water and were scattered by the strong waves.The man fished for an oar, anxious and angry, and floated and sank for more than ten li to reach the shore.After arriving on the shore, I found out that not only the two cargoes were lost, but also the merchant who escorted the cargo was drowned, and two of the eight sailors were missing.In this way, all old roots are really gone.Although the big boss on the loading oil tanker thinks that the ship is three points dangerous, it is not a matter of people's care. The fact that the ship crashes is just bad luck, and he doesn't care about all losses.He also promised to lend him another three hundred taels of money to buy a smaller old boat, to be a swimmer, to find food on the water, and then slowly try to make money.But after these two blows in a row, this person couldn't trust himself, and felt that everything was over, and there would be no benefit in doing any more.Therefore, like other frustrated people, they only look at it and run away.After a while, the sailor was no longer seen in the Yuanshui River Basin, and no one knew where he was.Gradually, as winter went to spring and the seasons changed, people in Lujiaping naturally forgot about such a person. After about fifteen years, this talent suddenly appeared in Lujiaping again. When I first came back, the younger locals didn't know it at all, and only those over forty years old remembered it when they mentioned it.For this person, the old fellow countryman knew at a glance that he was not very satisfied with living outside for more than ten years.His hair was already grey, one hand seemed to be twisted, and he couldn't move it very smoothly, his face was haggard, his clothes were a bit sloppy, and the burden on his back was small and light.The idea of ​​returning to the countryside was that I wanted to ask my fellow villagers for help, hold a meeting, collect 500 hanging coins, and then set up a boat to come to the water to earn food with young men in their twenties and thirties.According to local customs, everyone was willing to help this meeting. Teng Changshun found out about it when he was collecting money from a boat owner on He Street.Teng Changshun used to sail the same boat as him to eat on the water, but now seeing this distant old Zong brother Luo Yu come back, he seems to be tired of the wind and waves and wants to take a rest.He has no children, no one to rely on, and he is nearly sixty years old, so he proposed to him: "Old man, I think you are really tired of being a water duck. You are quite old, no matter where you put a handful of bones It's not very good to go. It's better to take a rest and simply live in my house. There will always be a bite of simple food. The world is still changing all the time, and we are useless. Let your nephew do the things on the water. Now that we have them, we are happy to eat sauerkraut soup and rice. You just come to my place and wish that I want you to live in it, just like my own home, and I won’t miss you.” The old sailor squinted his small eyes to fix Chang Shun, shook his twisted arm, sighed, and started to laugh.He nodded again, thinking "you say the same, it's the same", so he accepted Changshun's kind proposal, carried that little burden on his back that day, and went back to the orange orchard in Luoboxi with Changshun. Although staying here as a guest, the country people have nothing to do as usual, and they always help out in case of trouble.Moreover, he has a lot of knowledge and experience, can drink a glass of soju, and has an extremely easy-going personality. The whole family treats this person very well, and treats him like a real uncle. After two years, the family had become used to it, but the old sailor couldn't seem to get used to it.It is not possible to live in sojourn in this way. People are old and their hearts are not old, so they have to find a way to get out.But as for the job of sailing, as Chang Shun said, it is the job of young and strong young men, and people who are approaching sixty have no part.There are many clans with the surname Teng in the area. Those who build boats, run the oil shop, and plant orange trees all get together. When the money is useless, they have to spend part of it on ancestral halls and temples to honor their ancestors, accumulate blessings for their children and grandchildren. Recognize personal role models of thrift.In addition to public temples, there are also private temples. As usual, the ancestral temples are made with money sent by the branches, and the norms are quite grand. There are also some ancestral halls and public lands that can be used for setting up voluntary schools other than offering sacrifices.Most of the private ancestral halls are built by individuals with money as family temples.At that time, there happened to be a widow surnamed Teng who started a Hongfa oil workshop. She paid a sum of money to buy the entire vacant land at the top of Fengshu'ao Mountain and built a ancestral hall on the Au. After the ancestral hall was built, an elderly watchman was needed, and there was no one worthy of it. Xuan Changshun said a good word for the old sailor, so the old sailor became the ancestral watchman sitting on the maple tree. The ancestral hall is adjacent to the official road and the river, and there are many people coming and going. When passers-by and boatmen pass by the col, they must sit down to rest their feet, take a puff of cigarettes, and relax their burdens.There were dozens of large maple trees in front of the ancestral hall, and several rows of bluestone benches under the trees, so the old sailor set up a small stall under the trees to sell snacks.For passers-by, I am like the master of this place, and life is much more comfortable than being a guest in someone else's house.Occasionally cross the river to visit Changshun’s house, and when you get there, sit down and talk about local affairs, or go to the cowshed to see the newborn calves, or go to the kitchen to cook sweet potatoes and corn Great, drank a bowl of sticky rice tea and left again.Occasionally, I would bring a small bamboo basket to the market, walk around the market, taste the cattle, taste the rice, and taste the farm tools and groceries. People talk about various markets, listen to boatmen talk about the news about going down the river, and the market for agricultural products to be transported down the water.When you meet people who run official business in the county, you can also know the latest law and order of the city yamen and the news of the transfer of the security team.It’s getting late and I’m thinking of “home”. When I change places, I’ll take something with me—a piece of salt, a bunch of tobacco, or half a gourd of shochu. Sometimes I’ll try this shochu along the way, and as usual, there’s only half of it left at home. of.Due to misfortune in life, when he was growing hair, he tripped over his feet due to bad luck and couldn't get up.He is old and lonely, and his temperament seems a little weird compared with the average Lujiaping people.Due to a lot of life experience, part of the vitality has no way to vent, so although people are old, they are easy to explore and conjecture about many things, and they are still a little childlike.This mixture of eccentricity and good nature makes him a special character among the natives.Earlier, some people thought that if he had not accumulated a lot of wealth, he must have accumulated a lot of truths during his ten years of traveling abroad, so when he first came back, everyone was still a little curious about him.But the countryman is a realist after all, and two years after he came back, he could neither see wealth nor understand any reason. For this old sailor, it was not surprising that he turned his attention to another aspect.Knowing the old sailor clearly, and full of affection, it seems that only the Changshun family. The old sailor is old-hearted, and he thinks he can't change, but he believes in a few words in "Song of Shaobing", thinking that the world will change drastically.For better or for worse, "business as usual" cannot last forever.This point was expected to be partly confirmed by the Sichuan army and the Central Army passing through the border one after another four years ago. Therefore, he believes that there are still many things to happen one after another, and that "tomorrow" will definitely not be the same as "today".Now that I hear that "New Life" is coming, I'm really excited. I'm really the first person in the local area to have a whimsy about a new life.In fact, even though the world is different, the life of this old sailor has already frozen.The little place, as it was, had changed more than the old sailor could have dreamed of. The old sailor and the two girls from Changshun's family crossed the ferry, and when they walked back to Luoboxi along the river kan path, the old sailor was still not at ease about the original matter, and asked Yaoyao: "Yaoyao, are you talking to your second sister today? Go to the field, are there many people on the field?" Yaoyao thought this question was funny, so she asked the old sailor, "Why aren't there many people on the field? It's full?" "Let me ask you, are there many security groups?" The second girl said: "I heard from the people in the town that there are still people playing games on the field. A table is charged two yuan, and there are a total of twenty tables. They also said that the captain wears a box cannon and sits on the field. Drinking with the head of the group. The head of the group was blushing, and told the captain to talk to his parents about his family, and he didn't know what to say." The old sailor seemed to be talking to himself: "Still betting? What year is this? Money is not life!" Yaoyao felt strange and asked the old sailor: "Why don't you die? It's not a bandit,..." The old sailor frowned, and when he was assessing the situation of the captain and the head of the regiment fighting each other, Yaoyao recalled from that expression how the townspeople and San Heizi had praised and criticized the water police in the past.Because things are not very human, the words are a bit wild, and I can't say them, and I am afraid of breaking the taboo, so I just smile. The old sailor said: "Yaoyao, what are you laughing at? Are you laughing at me so dizzy?" Yaoyao said: "I laughed at the three sunspots, I was ignorant, and almost caused a catastrophe." "whats the matter?" "It's an old story. What happened last year is full of what you've heard." The old sailor couldn't help laughing when he realized that.But after laughing, he was silent. It turned out that the security team was stationed in the town, and all expenses were as usual. Fortunately, there were not many people, and there was a water pier. people, so the number is not very large.However, the water police sometimes confuse the boaters because they are sent to suppress bandits or escort the boat gang.San Heizi is a straightforward person, once he was driving a boat with a big gang boat to a wharf on the Chenhe River, and the team guarding the boat heard that Wengzi Cave was not quiet, and said that the big gang boats were too responsible for going up and it was difficult to handle.But the escort fee had been paid in full, and the people on board asked San Heizi to negotiate, saying that they couldn't be responsible, so the money would be refunded, and everyone found another way.Negotiations were fruitless, so Sanheizi advocated that there should be no protection, and that the ship should go up the ship at risk, and then discuss it when troubles arise.When a group of boats were about to start, San Heizi was detained. They meant to ask the boat gang to spread some money as an extra, deliberately saying that the river is not stable and it is difficult to be responsible.Knowing that the big gang boats must not stop halfway for a long time, as long as someone makes a change and pays a sum of money, they can naturally go on the road.Now that San Heizi said it, then it was tantamount to defeating their plan.So he was detained and asked him why he dared to take risks.He also threatened that the matter was not clear, and it had to be sent to the province. Only when the truth came to light, could this group of ships sail.In the end, the old man had a lot of experience and knew that this was just breaking the point, making the issue a stalemate. If the stalemate was only at the expense of the people on board, they made another kind of negotiation to make peace. Thinking of these things naturally made the countryman unhappy, so the old sailor said: "Come on, come on, these shameless guys have made enough money with us, and they will be walking soon. Someone else is coming Already!" Yaoyao still didn't understand what it meant, so she stopped by the side of the road and asked the old sailor, "Manman, who is coming to our place soon? Make it clear, it's uncomfortable to bore someone into the gourd!" The old sailor pretended to look at the child and said, "You won't understand, I'm Wang Banxian. I can pinch my fingers and I will come if I say it. The Sichuan army came the year before, and the Central Army came again. You fled to the mountains I went home for two months. Soon I will have to walk again. If you don't walk away, people will stretch out their hands, and if you don't, it won't work.Twelve thousand is not enough, maybe even the gold rings and silver collars that you dowry are also used to offset the debt!Yaoyao, are you willing to part with it? " The second girl was older and took things more seriously. Seeing that the old sailor spoke in a very dignified manner, she asked him in a low voice, "Manman, didn't the southern and northern armies open fire again, and the troops are going to retreat?" In my heart, I still only remember that when the country was defending the country against Yuan, Cai E led troops here to fight against the northern army, which was very impressive. Therefore, from the young people's impression of telling the story, this incident is the only one that is extremely moving. Said the old sailor: "No war. Not an army. The one who came is stronger than the army!" "What is it? What are they doing here? The local security team has guns, so don't they clash?" "Hey, security group! What is the security group? Even they have to run away. If they don't run quickly, they will capture Zhang San alive, arrest them one by one, and settle the twenty-year-old debt." Yaoyao said: "Manman, what are you really talking about? Chewing clams with your mouth closed, made you confused, as if you were stuffed in a drum, and your ears were always buzzing, ringing for a long time, But it’s still Dongdongdong.” When they were about to reach the stone bridge of Luoboxi, Yaoyao saw her father was talking with a person from the tax bureau by the edge of the garden, holding a branch of bamboo in his hand, shaking it back and forth, with a strangely calm expression.People from the tax bureau came to buy oranges, and they planned to ask someone to take them to Taoyuan County to give them away.Two long-term workers were picking oranges from the tree with bamboo baskets.Yaoyao hurried to her father's side, "Daddy, the ancestral hall is full, I have something important to tell you." Changshun hadn't seen the old sailor for nearly half a month, so he asked him why he didn't cross the river for so long, whether he was going somewhere else, and asked him what he wanted to do.Because the people from the tax bureau were by his side, the old sailor thought of the grandiose air of the other letter writer in the town, thinking that keeping them from knowing about this matter, and taking them by surprise to suffer a bit of recklessness, was due retribution.He refused to say it face to face.He hesitated and walked under a big orange tree.Changshun understood the temperament of the old sailor. The so-called important things are nothing more than the news in the county and the stories about the security forces along the river. Go behind the bamboo garden and take a look at the big cellar we dug this year." Changshun looked back and saw the things in the second girl's cage, so he smiled and said, "Second sister, why did you make so many goods! You really are You need to open a grocery store! You must have forgotten the big fishing hook I asked you to bring, right? As a person, you never buy what you want, and you don’t buy what you don’t need, so you won’t be a good wife in the future.” Chang Shun scolded his daughter in front of the guests, but his tone was full of warmth and love, as if a person pats a child's head with his hand, using punishment as caress.So the second girl just smiled when Chang Shun continued. When she picked up the hook, the second girl really forgot about it again, and replied to his father, "I made an agreement on this matter earlier, and Yaoyao will handle it. Yaoyao will forget about it today." Yaoyao also smiled, not admitting the crime. "Father, I will never forget the matter that you sent me personally. The matter that the second sister sued me was miscellaneous and said a lot. While talking, she also dragged me to the field to watch the cattle sale. I only remember the calf, not the bull. Fish. The Taiping Xitian family took two small cows to the market to sell. Someone offered 26 yuan, but they still refused to let go! He asked for 30. If I have money, I will buy it for 30 yuan. It’s a good deal For the cow, it looks so good-looking!" Changshun said: "Yaoyao, you will talk empty words. What's the use of you buying the cow." Yaoyao: "Why are cows useless? They look good when they are young, but they are easy to plow when they grow up!" "When you grow up, Yaoyao?" Daddy was trying to tease Yaoyao, because when a person grows up, according to the old saying "boys should marry when they grow up, and girls should marry when they grow up", so Yaoyao has to marry out. Yaoyao realized that the meaning of this joke was a bit unfavorable to her, so she stopped arguing, picked up a stalk of foxtail from the ground, held it in her mouth, and ran straight to the bamboo forest.The second girl called "Yaoyao, Yaoyao" and left with a smile.The old sailor stayed there to watch them plant oranges, and then went to see the new cellar. A member of the tax bureau looked behind Changshun's two daughters and said: "Boss Teng, you are very lucky, and your family is prosperous. This year's oranges are really fruitful, and you will get two thousand yuan in income. Make a fortune. It's really rich in Tusi!" Chang Shun said: "Master, how do you know that our life is difficult! What is the value of this water bubble thing, what kind of wealth does it have? A few live money, the higher up will let you bury it?" The people in the tax office started to laugh and joked, "Boss Teng, you seem to be afraid that I will borrow money, so first talk about bitterness, bitterness, bitterness, and seal my mouth with Coptis chinensis so that I won't open my mouth. Do you know that you are an 'outsider' from Luoboxi? If you want money, there may be thousands of ingots buried in the cellar!" "My old man, the cellar is full of silver, that's great. The cellar is full of sweet potatoes! Master, it’s really good for you if you say yes, you don’t have to worry about anything, don’t be afraid.Eating and drinking freely, life is so uncomfortable! It's so easy to make a fortune and accumulate more! " "As the saying goes: You can see the height of the mountain from one mountain, but you don't know our difficulties. It's not a word for us to go here and there with the director. We mess around everywhere! A month ago, the director didn't come, and he was sitting at the widow's house in Tongwanxi to recuperate. , who knows what kind of disease he is? Someone from below said that the General Administration is going to change people again, and once the people are changed, they will be changed at the same time, everyone pack up their luggage and get out." When the old sailor heard about the replacement, he thought it might have something to do with his "new life", so he interjected inquiringly and asked, "Master, the county is probably very busy these days, isn't it?" "I said they were busy with nothing." “师爷，我猜想一定有件大事情……我想是真的……我听人说那个，一定是……”老水手趑趑趄趄，不知究竟怎么说下去，他本不想说，可又不能长久憋在心上。 长顺以为新闻不外乎保安团调防撤人。“保安团变卦了吗？” “不是的。我听人说，'新生活'快要来了！” 他本想把“新生活”三字分量说得重重的，引起长顺注意，可是不知为什么到出口时反而说得轻了些。两人因此都不曾听清楚。于是老水手又说：“新生活来了，当真的！” 税局中人和橘子园主人同声惊讶的问：“什么，你说……新生活要来了吗？”事实上惊讶的原因，只是“新生活”这名词怎么会使老水手如此紧张，两人都不免觉得奇怪。两人的神气，已满足了老水手的本意，因此他故意作成千真万确当神发誓的样子说：“是的，是的，那个要来了。他们都那么说！ 我在坳上还亲眼看见一个侦探扮作玩猴子戏的问我到县里还有多远路，问明白后就忙匆匆走了。那样子是个侦探，天生贼眉贼眼，好象正人君子委员的架势，我赌咒说他是假装的。 " 两个人听得这话不由不笑将起来，新生活又不是人，又不是军队，来就来，派什么侦探？What are you afraid of?值得大惊小怪！两人显然耳朵都长一点，明白下边事情多一点，知道新生活是什么，因此并不觉得怎么害怕。听老水手如此说来，不免为老水手的慌张好笑。 税局中人是看老《申报》的，因此把所知道的新事情说给他听。但就所知说来说去，到后自己也不免有点“茅包”了，并不十分了解新闻的意思，就不再说了。长顺十天前从弄船人口中早听来些城里实行新生活运动的情形，譬如走路要靠左，衣扣得扣好，不许赤脚赤背膊，凡事要快，要清洁……如此或如彼，这些事由水手说来，不觉得危险可怕，倒是麻烦可笑。请想想，这些事情若移到乡下来，将成个什么。走路必靠左，乡下人怎么混在一处赶场？不许脱光一身怎么下水拉船？凡事要争快，过渡船大家抢先，不把船踏翻吗？船上滩下滩，不碰撞打架吗？事事物物要清洁，那人家怎么做霉豆腐和豆瓣酱？浇菜用不用大粪？过日子要卫生，乡下人从哪里来卫生丸子？纽扣要扣好，天热时不闷人发痧？总而言之，就条例言来都想不通，做不到。乡下人因此转一念头：这一定是城里的事情，城外人即不在内。因为弄船人到了常德府，进城去看看，一到衙门边，的的确确有兵士和学生站在街中干涉走路、扣衣扣，不听吩咐，就要挨一两下，表示不守王法得受点处分。一出城到河边，傍吊脚楼撒尿，也就管不着了。隔一道城墙就如此不同，因此一来，受处分后还是莫名其妙，只以为早上起来说了梦，气运不好罢了。如今听老水手说这事就要来乡下，先还怕是另外得到什么消息，长顺就问他跟谁听来的。老水手自然说不具体，只说“一定是千真万真”。说到末了，三个人不由得都笑了。因为常德府西门城外办不通的事，吕家坪乡下哪会办得通。真的来，会长走错了路，就得打手心了。一个村子里要预备多少板子！ 其时两个上树摘橘子的已满了筐，带下树来。税局中人掏出一块钱递给长顺，请他笑纳，表个意思。长顺一定不肯接钱，手只是遥“师爷，你我自己人，这也把钱？你要它，就挑一担去也不用把钱。橘子结在树上，正是要人吃的！你我不是外人，还见外！” 税局中人说：“这不成，我自己要吃，拿三十五十不算什么。我这是送人的！借花献佛，不好意思。” “送礼也是一样的。不嫌弃，你下头有什么亲戚朋友要送，尽管来挑几担去。这东西越吃越发。” 税局中人执意要把钱，橘园主人不肯收，“师爷，你真是见外，我姓滕的不够做朋友！” “滕老板，你不明白我。我同你们上河人一样脾气，肠子直，不会客气。这次你收了，下一次我再来好不好？” 老水手见两人都直性，转不过弯来，推来让去终不得个了结，所以从旁打圆成说：“大爷，你看师爷那么心直，就收了吧。” 长顺过意不去，因此又要长工到另外一株老树上去，再摘五十个顶大的添给师爷。这人急于回镇上，说了几句应酬话，长工便跟在他身后，为把一大箩橘子扛走了。 老水手说：“这师爷人顶好，不吃烟，不吃酒，听说他祖宗在贵州省做过督抚。” 长顺说：“人一好就不走运。” 夭夭换了毛蓝布衣服，拉了只大白狗，从家里跑来，见他父亲还在和老水手说话，就告他父亲说：“爹，满满说什么'新生活'要来了，我们是不是又躲到齐梁桥洞里去？” 长顺神气竟象毫不在意，“来就让它来好了，夭夭，我们不躲它！” “不怕闹吗？” 长顺忍不住笑了：“夭夭，你怕你就躲，和满满一块儿去。 我不躲，一家人都不躲。我们不怕闹，它也不会闹！ " 夭夭眼睛中现出一点迷惑，“怎么回事？”要老水手为答解。 老水手似乎有点害羞，小眼睛眫巴眫巴的，急嚷着说：“我敢打赌，赌个小手指，它会要来的！夭夭，你爹懂阴阳，今年六月里涨水，坝上金鲤鱼不是跑出大河到洞庭湖去了吗？这地方今年不会太平，打十回清醮，烧二十四斤檀香，干果五供把做法事的道士胀得昏头昏脑，也不会过太平年。” 长顺笑着说：“那且不管它，得过且过。我们还是家里吃酒去吧。有麂子肉和菌子，炒辣子吃。” 老水手输心不输口，还是很固执的说：“长顺大爷，我敢同你赌四个手指，一定有事情，要变卦。算不准，我一口咬下它。” 夭夭平时很信仰她爹爹，见父亲神气泰然，不以为意，因此向老水手打趣说：“满满，你好象昨天夜里挖了一缸金元宝，只怕人家拦路抢劫，心里总虚虚的。被机关打过的黄鼠狼，见了碓关也害怕！新生活不会抢你金元宝的！” 老水手举起那只偏枯不灵活手臂，面对河坳上那一簇红艳艳老枫木树，用笑话回答夭夭说的笑话：“夭夭，你看，那是我的家当！人说枫香树下面有何首乌，一千年后手脚生长齐全，还留个小辫子，完全和人一样。这东西大月亮天还会到处跑，走路飞快！挖得了它煮白毛乌骨鸡吃，就可以长生不老。我哪天当真挖得了它，一定炖了鸡单单请你吃，好两人上天做神仙，仙宫里住多有个熟人，不会孤单！今天可饿了，且先到你家吃麂子肉去吧。” 另外一个长工相信传说，这时却很认真的说：“老舵把子怎不请我呢？做神仙住大花园里，种蟠桃也要人！” “那当然。我一定请你，你等着！” “分我吃个脚拇指就得了。” “你就吃你自己一个脚拇指也成！” 老水手话说得憨而趣，逗引得大家都发了笑。 几个人于是一齐向家中走去。 因为老水手前一刻曾提起过当地“风水”，长顺是的确懂那个的，并不关心金鲤鱼下洞庭湖，总觉得地方不平凡，来龙去脉都有气势，树木又配置得恰到好处，真会有人材出来。 只是时候还不到。可是将来应在谁身上？不免令人纳闷。