Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Bad Situation

It is now June 16, the twenty-ninth year of the Republic of China. Since the abandonment of Xiamen the year before last, Japanese planes have frequently dropped bombs on the city of Quanzhou, killing an unknown number of people in the past two years.Just this month, Yongning and Chongwu were in flames. It is said that thousands of people were killed and hundreds of boats were sunk. If the national army hadn't destroyed the roads along the route when they fled, Quanzhou would have already died. Fallen. Under the turmoil of the world, even the dhows ran out to the open sea like crazy, and the black scorpion, which was impossible to go to the ocean, also sailed out to the open sea.The most famous one is the black ship in front of me: Fuchang.

I remember that day when my uncle secretly counted the money and gave it to the broker, he came back to comfort me: "Minsheng, don't worry, the Fuchang is a bit bumpy, but the boss of the boat is a powerful man, he could kick a cow to death with one kick when he was young. As long as you get on the boat, you have nothing to worry about." Then he handed me a one-cent nickel with the word "Jiao" stamped obliquely on it, and said to take this on board when the time came. At that time, I didn't know what Jiaoye's ability to kick a cow to death had anything to do with going abroad, but I knew that my uncle probably couldn't find any other reason to let me get on the boat with peace of mind.After he finished speaking to me, he walked back in front step by step. Looking at his old back, my mood became sluggish and heavy.

I didn't understand why my uncle said that, and I didn't have any imagination about the Fuchang. It was only when I returned to Quanyongtang three days ago and found that the people in the medicine hall had gone to Loukong that I vaguely had an idea in my heart.I searched all over the city of Quanzhou, only to find out from a clerk that my uncle had boarded Taiji Commercial Company's "Anqing" two days ago and left. Amidst the clerk's silence, I finally understood that I had been abandoned again. The "Anqing" is a large ship owned by an English merchant. It sails every two weeks. The ticket costs 200 cash, and cash is not accepted.

And what was the concept of two hundred yuan at the time?Selling our entire pharmacy, I'm afraid we can only get more than a hundred yuan. Uncle must have used up all his money to get on that boat.Uncle is an honest man, and I can imagine how uneasy he felt when he took me to pay for the Canton Ferry ticket when he could only buy a life-saving ticket. I never expected that my uncle would abandon me. It has been thirteen years since I came to Quanzhou City from Anxi County to join him when I was seven years old. We have always depended on each other. He treats me like his own son. , I can't hate him.Thirteen years ago, I also lost my sister on the way to escape. In this troubled world, I thought I had nothing to rely on. It was my uncle who gave me clothes and food, taught me Chinese medicine, taught me how to read and write, and gave me Talking about a small body and a low life, wishing to cure all diseases in the world, talking about hanging the pot to help the world... Now I still have this boat ticket and the ten yuan note he gave me earlier, so I have nothing to complain about.

I'm just sad that my uncle left without telling me the truth. As a pariah in troubled times, in fact, as long as he tells me, I can understand how many things have deviated from the normal course of life in this chaotic era. At that time, I thought that everything could not be worse than then, but now, facing this strange "cracker" alone, I found that this is the biggest problem facing me. I was the first batch to pay the money, and the first batch to board the boat. I showed the coin with a special mark in my hand to Taohaike who was guarding the gangway. He took it and checked it for a long time, and waved his hand reluctantly. , I climbed onto the boat along the gangway.

It can be seen from the exposed part of the ship's side that this ship has experienced a long time at sea. Several places on the hull below the waterline are covered with barnacles and countless shell-like parasites.As for the other hulls, the wood looks quite new, and there are not many parasites on it, but in comparison, it looks even more mottled and uncomfortable. Looking at it like this, it seems that the hull of the ship has undergone major repairs recently. Is it to cope with this long voyage? But I know that's not why I feel strange about the ship.Once on deck, I came to the side of the ship, and at last I began to notice something unusual.