From Sichuan to Hunan, there is an official road to the east.When the official road approached the border of western Hunan and arrived at a small mountain town named "Chadong", there was a small stream with a small white pagoda beside the stream, and a single family lived under the pagoda.This family only has an old man, a girl, and a yellow dog. The small stream flows down, flows around the mountain, and then joins the big river in Chadong about three miles away.If a person crosses the stream and walks over the hills, he will reach the edge of Chadong City in only one mile.The stream is like a bow, and the mountain road is like a bow string, so there is a small difference between the distance and the distance.The creek is about twenty feet wide, and the riverbed is made of large stones.Even if the still water is so deep that a pole cannot sink to the bottom, it is still clear and transparent, and the fish swimming in the river can be counted.Since the creek is a channel between Sichuan and Hunan, the water often fluctuates. Due to financial constraints, a bridge can not be built, so a square-headed ferry was arranged.This ferry boat can carry about 20 passengers across the river at a time, including people and horses, and when there are many people, it will come and go repeatedly.A small bamboo pole was erected at the bow of the ferry, and a movable iron ring was hung on it. A piece of waste cable was pulled by the water tanks at both ends of the stream bank. , slowly lead the boat across to the other side.The boat was about to reach the shore, and the man in charge of the ferry, yelling "slow down, slow down", jumped onto the shore by himself, pulling the iron ring, and all the people, cattle and horses climbed onto the shore, turned over the hill and disappeared.The ferry is owned by the public, so the transition person does not have to pay.Someone felt uneasy, and when he grabbed a handful of money and threw it on the board, the ferryman would pick it up one by one, and still put it in the palm of the person, as if he was serious during a quarrel: "I have a word, three buckets of rice , seven hundred dollars, enough. Who wants this!"

But it doesn't work, I want to feel at ease in everything, who would be ashamed if I don't get paid for my efforts, no matter what, someone will still give the money.But the boatman couldn't help it, and for the sake of peace of mind, he entrusted the money to Chadong to buy tea and grass tobacco, and hung bundles of the top-quality grass tobacco produced in Chadong on his belt. Whoever needs it will give it generously.Sometimes, judging from his expression, when the person passing by from afar has attracted considerable attention to the grass smoke around him, he would stick a small bunch of grass smoke on the person's burden and say, "Don't you want to smoke this, it's good, it's wonderful, The taste is pretty good, and it is suitable for giving away!" The tea leaves are put into large vats in June, soaked in boiling water, and quench the thirst of passers-by.

The man who manages the ferry is the old man who lives under the tower.I have lived for 70 years, and I have been guarding this stream since I was 20 years old. I don't know how many people have passed the boat back and forth in the past 50 years.Although the age is so old.He was supposed to rest, but the sky forbade him to rest, and it seemed that he couldn't leave this part of his life.He never thinks about the meaning of his position to himself, but just lives there quietly and faithfully.Instead of the sky, the one who makes him feel the power of life when the sun rises, and does not think about dying at the same time when the sun sets, is the girl who is by his side.His only friends are a ferryboat and a yellow dog, and his only relative is that girl.

The girl's mother, the only daughter of an old boatman, had an affair with a Chadong soldier fifteen years ago, secretly behind the back of that loyal father.After having a child, the garrison sergeant wanted to ask her to escape downstream together.But judging from the behavior of escaping, one violated his duty as a soldier, while the other had to leave his lonely father.After some consideration, the soldier saw that she didn't have the courage to go far and he couldn't ruin his reputation as a soldier, so he thought to himself: If we go to life together, we can't gather together, and if we go to death together, no one can stop us.The woman cared about a piece of meat in her belly, couldn't bear it, and couldn't make up her mind.The matter was already known to the ferryman's father, but he didn't add a word of weight, just acting as if he had never heard of it, and still lived his life peacefully.The daughter felt shame on the one hand but compassion on the other. She stayed by her father's side until the child was born, but she went to the stream and drank a lot of cold water and died.In a near-miracle, the orphan had grown up and turned thirteen in the blink of an eye.The old boatman casually chose a close name for the poor orphan, "Cui Cui" because there are many bamboos and emerald greens on the two mountains where he lives.

Cui Cui grew up in the windy days, her skin became black, her eyes looked like green mountains and green waters, and her pair of eyes were as clear as crystal.Naturally raised her and educated her, she is innocent and lively, like a little animal in every way.He is so obedient, like the yellow deer on the mountain, never thinking of cruel things, never worrying, never getting angry.Usually, when a stranger on the ferry pays attention to her, she will look at the stranger with bright eyes, pretending to be ready to flee to the mountains at any time, but after realizing that people have no intentions, she calms down again. Played by the water.

An old boatman will stay at the bow no matter it is raining or raining.When someone made the transition, he bent his waist slightly, and led the bamboo cable with both hands to cross the boat across the stream.Sometimes she was tired and fell asleep lying on the boulders in the Linxi River. People were waving from the other side and calling for transition. Cuicui would not let her grandfather get up, so she jumped out of the boat and quickly helped the passers-by across the river for her grandfather. Everything slipped away. OK, never miss a thing.Sometimes I was on the boat with my grandfather, the yellow dog, and during the transition, I worked with my grandfather. When the boat was approaching the shore, and my grandfather was greeting the guests: "Slow down, slow down", the yellow dog held the rope in its mouth and jumped first. He went up, and as if he knew how to do his duty, he tied the rope tightly to the tugboat and approached the shore.

The weather was clear and peaceful, and there was no one to pass by. The town was long and idle, so my grandfather and Cui Cui sat on the big rock in front of the door to bask in the sun.Or throw a piece of wood from a high place into the water, and make the yellow dog around him jump down from the high place of the rock and bring the wood back.Or both Cui Cui and the yellow dog opened their ears, listening to their grandfather telling stories about wars in the city many years ago.Or the grandfather and Cui Cui each played clarinets made of small bamboos, playing the tune of welcoming relatives and sending off daughters.When the transitional man came, the old boatman put down the bamboo pipe and followed the boat alone. The man crossing the river, the one on the rock, saw the boat moving, so he shouted sharply:

"Grandpa, grandpa, listen to me and sing!" Grandpa sang happily when he reached the middle of the stream. The hoarse voice and the sound of bamboo pipes oscillated in the quiet air, and the stream seemed to be more lively. (Actually, the recurring sound of the singing made everything quieter.) Sometimes it is the calf passing through Chadong from the east of Sichuan, the flock of sheep, or the sedan chair of the bride. Cui Cui must strive to be the ferryman, standing on the bow, lazily climbing the cable, letting the boat slowly past.After the cattle and sheep sedan chairs landed, Cui Cui would follow her, and stood on the top of the hill, watching these things go a long way, before turning back to the boat and leading the boat closer to the shore of home.And alone, she brays like lambs and cows, or picks a bunch of wild flowers and tie them on her head, and dresses up as a bride by herself.

Chadong Mountain City is only a mile away from Dutou. When buying oil and salt, and when grandpa has to drink a glass of wine during festivals, when grandfather is not going to the city, the yellow dog and Cuicui go into the city to prepare things.In the shop selling groceries, there were a lot of vermicelli, big jars of white sugar, firecrackers, and red candles, all of which impressed Cuicui deeply. When she returned to her grandfather, she always talked about these things for a long time.There are still many boats going up by the river, and hundreds of boatmen are busy unloading department stores.This kind of boat is much bigger and more interesting than a ferry, and Cui Cui will not forget it easily.