Chapter 46 Smoke cage, cold water, moon cage and sand

The road is far away, and the boat does not float on the river all day long. It has to dock at the shore every night.

Occasionally when they encounter a ferry or a place where they can dock, the boatman will often ask them for their ideas and make a temporary stop, and Song You will lead his horse off the boat to relieve himself. There are often women selling some food at the ferries in various places, and when they meet Song You they like, they will

Buy some to add some flavor to your mouth.

What the boatman said is true. The meals on this ship are fine if you only eat one or two meals. After eating for two more days, your mouth will taste a little bland and fishy. Fortunately, Song You also brought some dry food.

Unconsciously, it has been six days since we sailed.

As we approach Long County, the scenery on both sides changes.

There is not narrow flat land on both sides of the river, at least the fields are flat, and they are full of rapeseed flowers. They bloom in early spring and look golden, and the wind also carries the sweet fragrance of rapeseed flowers.

And above this land, there are countless strange and flat hills. Different from ordinary mountains, it is steep and small, like bamboo shoots. It is difficult for people to go up, and there is not much value in going up. There are countless such mountains.

The hills block the end of the line of sight. From a distance, they appear one after another, and the mountains are like forests. The line of sight is blocked before reaching very far.

I'm afraid some people believe that this mountain is a country of monsters.

"We've reached the boundary of Long County."

"Slow down, don't rush."

"They all say it looks good."

"Is it time to prepare dinner?"

At this time, I heard the scholar's voice again:

"Wait a minute!"

The scholar was immediately amazed and asked Song You: "Did you make it yourself, sir?"

About two or three quarters of an hour later.

"Is there anyone who can climb up?"

The boatman kept on holding on and started singing loudly.

"There is an old Mr. Zhang who lectures in Yunshuo Sheng, Bei Wazi, Yidu. The old man is well-informed and proficient in this way. He knows the mysterious and interesting things in various places. I will go to Yidu to visit friends in the future.

But if you go to Beiwazi to look for Mr. Zhang, if you don't stingy some tea money and follow the etiquette, you will not be disappointed."

Then turn around and look at the horse behind you.

It's best this way, as we don't owe each other anything.

"I still have a piece of bacon in my bag. I didn't finish it a year ago and it was very heavy when I was traveling with it. So I asked my husband to cook it and let us all try it together."

"I suddenly remembered something."

The boatman punted the boat again, and the boat left the shore again.

The water was strong at night and the ship quickly moved away.

Song You put the quilt bag on the horse's back and saw the calico cat jumping lightly on the bow of the boat, then jumped onto the shore and followed suit.

He has lived a long time and has seen a lot. In fact, some truths can be understood naturally without reading them in books. He has long seen that this guest officer is extraordinary. He is just a boatman, so why should he ask more questions?

The boatman's face was crisscrossed with grooves, but he had a smile. He liked to talk to this gentleman: "When you go to Anqing, Anqing County is the best place to see. When you get there, ask someone about it, and you will naturally know what to do. If you ask the old man

How do you know? Haha, every year countless high-ranking officials, great poets, and great talents come here to see the landscape, and almost all of them go to Anqing."

"My husband, please slow down."

I saw only ripples in the water, the boats were moving slowly, and the sound of splashing water filled my ears.

"It's different for guest officers. I've heard someone say that in addition to the messengers who are messengers and the scholars who are rushing to take exams, the bandits also have several other calamities: they don't rob Taoist teachers, they don't rob Buddhist masters, and they don't rob young people who walk alone.

Woman, don’t rob a lost naughty boy. Hehe, I don’t know how many bandits are particular.”

My heart softened, and the moonlight became much softer.

The sun gradually sank to the west, and before it sank into the horizon, it sank into the mountains and forests like bamboo shoots.

The boatman's voice came mixed with the sound of splashing water.

Song You felt extremely beautiful for a moment and was in a good mood.

So among the thousands of mountains, above the Liujiang River, under the dusk sky, there is another wisp of smoke.

"good."

"How many days does it take to return?"

"Lao Zhang."

"The guest officer is right, let's find a place to park."

The bacon is two fat and two thin, with three stripes and streaks. When you hold it together and look at it with the help of an oil lamp, you will see that the fat part is transparent and golden, crystal clear, and shiny on the chopsticks. When it is hot, put it into your mouth and taste it.

You can't even taste the greasiness, but it's just full of bacon aroma, with the fragrance of pine and cypress branches, not salty nor bland.

Calculating it this way, this old man can earn at least more than a thousand yuan from a trip back and forth. If he is lucky, he may earn more than 2,000 yuan. If he is not lucky, it may be a few hundred yuan more. He certainly cannot make two trips in a month.

But it’s not just one trip, the income is still pretty good. However, the waterway is very long, and you have to punt and cook along the way, which is also hard work.

There is a moon tonight, but the boatman refuses to dock. He only relies on the moonlight and experience to continue sailing, hoping to deliver them all so that they can return tomorrow.

Song You smiled, but did not answer. He just asked:

"We should be able to get there tonight."

"..."

After the boat had gone far, Song You looked back.

The scholar took his clothes box and said goodbye to Song You together with the male head of the family of three.

"After all, I am lucky to have you, sir. Thank you sir." The scholar smiled and handed Song You over, using his chopsticks non-stop, and said as he ate, "I also like to eat Yizhou bacon, especially this one made of pine and cypress.

The smoked branches are not as good as anywhere else."

"It's quite far to Lingbo County, but there is a water monster causing trouble in that section of the waterway. The water monster is so big that ordinary ships can be overturned in one go. Many people died in the past few years, but now no one dares to leave.

Fortunately, Lingbo is the last section. Guests going to Lingbo will get off at the nearest ancient ferry, which takes about an hour." The boatman paused, "It's just that passengers must be careful. They can go ashore from the ancient ferry and go to Lingbo County.

There are many bandits on that road. Although I have never heard of anyone being killed, people are often robbed. If ordinary guests take this road, I would advise them to give some money and say good words to the thieves to avoid suffering.

The pain of skin and flesh, if you meet someone who is discerning, you may be able to keep a portion."

As soon as the oars were pushed, the boat left the shore again.

"The road is slippery at night, so please walk slowly."

"Ten days, eleven days." The boatman said with a smile, "I'm lucky this time. I met someone with a family and a family, and I met you, the guest officer. Normally I can't take so many people on one trip."

Song You stopped talking and only ate meat and some water and wine.

The last light slanted down from the jagged and high-level mountain forest tops. It was pale gold and the shape of the light could be clearly seen. Half of the river was a reflection of the mountains and light. People wearing coir raincoats and bamboo hats

The old man paddled the boat forward, and the man in Taoist robes stood at the bow. The boat was traveling alone across the entire river.

But I quickly realized that this was actually arrogant, rude and inappropriate.

The scholar's hair had not been combed for several days and was already a little greasy, but he was still full of energy and used chopsticks to pick up a piece of bacon from the bowl.

The scholar could not have imagined that what he suddenly said was this. After hearing this, he immediately put away his playful smile, put down his chopsticks, and gave him a solemn salute.

"How long does it take to get to Lingbo County?"

"Sir, it's hard for a young man to repay you for being like this."

The boatman laughed and said, "This scholar is good in everything, but he is a little too noisy."

The ship gradually approached the shore and made a sound.

Soon I heard the boatman shout:

"Just put your best effort into compiling a book. If the world doesn't understand it, maybe future generations will value it."

"okay!"

It's just a miscellaneous book, how many people will really take it seriously? If you want to leave a lasting legacy, it's good if you don't scorn and ridicule! But with just this sudden warning, he had already felt it from this gentleman he met by chance.

I paid attention to it, and for a while I felt like I had a close friend.

"Oh? What's the matter, sir?"

The boatman said to him while paddling the boat: "The mountains in Liaojun are like this. They are piled up. Most of them are impossible to climb up. There is no land on them. People can only walk through the middle of the mountains."

All in all, getting a kind word is like getting a cool breeze on a hot day, or drinking a cup of hot tea on a hot day. It is also like getting good luck when going out, which is surprising and makes people feel happy.

"!"

Looking down again, Sanhua Empress arrived at a new place and started running around again, sniffing here and there, as if she didn't hear what he said at all.

Song You just stood at the bow of the boat and looked at the side of the boat.

"I'm lucky enough to travel with you, so let's say goodbye."

Song You also stood at the bow of the boat and held hands with them, watching them disembark and leave.
To be continued...