Qi Ning held Chi Danmei to the riverside, went straight to the edge of the cloak, and shouted in it, "Is there anyone?" At first no one agreed, and after calling twice, he saw the gray curtain lifting, poking a head out, and shouting at Qi Ning, "Someone, are you going to cross the river?"
Qi Ning was not polite, and jumped onto the bow of the boat. The man had already come out of the cabin. He was a strong man of thirty-four or five years. The boatman dressed up and saw Qi Ning holding the man, he raised a finger and said, "Two people cross the river, thirty cents."
Qi Ning nodded without saying anything, and went straight into the cabin. The cabin was quite dim. There was an oil lamp hanging. It was raining heavily, and the boat was shaking. The oil lamp was also shaking. Seeing that there was another person in the cabin, squatting in the corner, there was a small stove. There was a fire in the furnace, and there was some smoke and dust, but it was not choking. The man used a small broken fan to stir up the fire. Hearing the sound of Qi Ning coming in, he looked back and nodded with a smile.
Seeing that he was in his early sixties, perhaps because he had been working all year round, his body was still solid, he nodded to him. When the old man saw that Qi Ning was holding someone in his arms, he frowned slightly and asked, "Are you sick?"
Qi Ning nodded, and the old man pointed to a place next to him and said, "If you don't dislike it, take a rest." It was a shabby quilt spread on the floor, and the cabin emitted a musty smell. The quilt was worn out. It seemed that it had been used for many years, and it was impossible to pick at this time. Qi Ning carefully placed Chi Danmei on it and lay down. At this time, he found that Chi Danmei's face was wet with rain, and it was wrinkled. Some areas were still sallow, but some were as white as snow.
He knew in his heart that Chi Danmei had mixed into the palace and had changed her face in advance, but this face that was easily disguised as soon as it was wet with rain, it lost its effect. He reached out to touch Chi Danmei's face, but this time it was very easy to wipe it open. As the fingers passed, a large area of ​​snow-white skin appeared. The old man was still stirring the fire there, and he didn't pay attention.
Qi Ning pulled a cloth towel from her body and helped Chi Danmei wipe her face. Things like debris fell off her face. In a moment, a beautiful face appeared, with a beautiful face and beautiful nose, delicate facial features, but a pale face. Qi Ning snorted her nose and was slightly weak.
He was worried and the mission was still in Lucheng. According to Bai Yuhe, he gave Chi Danmei twelve hours, but Chi Danmei's appearance, not to mention twelve hours, even seventy-two hours could not reach any place. He could not stay by Chi Danmei's side for these twelve hours.
A cold wind blew, and the strong man had already lifted the curtain and said, "The wind and rain are too strong, and the waves on the river are also strong. It is difficult to pass by at this time, so the guests wait."
Qi Ning asked, "Where is this place?"
"Don't you know where this is?" The strong man smiled and said, "I think I'm lost in the heavy rain. This is Qiaoshui River, which is only more than 100 miles northeast, and it is King Lu City. The guests are going to the King Lu City, right? That's the wrong direction."
Qi Ning thought that he had walked a hundred miles away in a daze. The Eastern Qi soldiers would not chase after this hundred miles. They were slightly more open and sat down next to the stove. The strong man turned to the stove. Qi Ning turned his head and took a look. He saw a small iron pot on the stove, which was supposed to be for the food of the two boatmen.
The old man took a small bag from the side, took a small piece of salt from it, opened the lid of the pot and put it in, stirred it with a spoon for a while, then took a small bowl and served half a bowl of soup, and said, "This is the fresh fish caught in the river. Your friend is sick, drinking some fish soup may be better. If the guests don't dislike it, come and have some soup together."
Qi Ning thought that the small pot was not big and there was not much soup. This was the meal of the two boatmen, so it was naturally difficult for him to use it together. Moreover, when he was away, he always had to be careful and said with a smile: "Thank you, please use it for yourself."
The old man didn't insist, and brought the bowl over and sat next to the strong man with the small iron pot to eat. It was just fish soup and there was no other meal.
Qi Ning couldn't help asking, "Do you guys use lunch?"
The old man nodded and said, "That's right, this is the first meal today. There are different lakes in the rivers, and there are few river fish at this time, so I can't catch a few fish." He shook his head and sighed, "If I were young, I could still dry a lot of dried fish every year. In addition to selling some, I would still have a lot of left in my home."
"Why? Is it because river fish is becoming more and more difficult to catch?" Qi Ning asked curiously.
The old man smiled and said, "This is also the reason, but." He shook his head and said, "Forget it, nothing, the accent of the guest does not seem to be the one here?"
Qi Ning said: "I am a foreigner and traveled around with my friends. My friends are sick and lost."
"So that's it." The old man said: "After crossing the river, you go south, less than twenty miles away, there is a large bamboo forest, which is easy to identify. There is a small temple there, with only two monks. The old monk's medical skills are very good. If you take your friends over and take a look, you will definitely cure the disease."
Qi Ning hurriedly said, "Thank you for your advice."
The strong man drank the soup very quickly. In the blink of an eye, he drank a bowl of fish soup, but did not eat more. The old man said, "Eat another bowl."
The strong man shook his head and said, "I'm full." He went over and lifted the curtains behind the boat. It was windy and rainy outside. The heavy rain poured on the deck. He frowned and said, "It seems that the rain can't stop for a while, but the guest is a little sorry."
Qi Ning knew that this was helpless and shook her head and said, "It is impossible for the God to be good. Yes, this guy, are there many people crossing the river on weekdays?"
The strong man shook his head and said, "It's not a lot. In fact, walking up to the north for more than 30 miles is the official road. Passers-by are all walking on the official road. There are not many people walking on this road. We are not considered crossing people here. When we are free, we just go to the river to make a living in the river. Occasionally, there are guests who cross the river, so we will take them across the river."
"Since fishing here is not easy, why not change the place?" Qi Ning asked: "You father and son don't seem to be very generous here."
The strong man said, "It's good to be able to eat." He sat down and said, "We are not father and son, this is my uncle, and I am his nephew."
"oh?"
The old man sighed: "To be honest, my nephew had land and property. Five years ago, there were bandits in Mount Tai, so the court recruited young and strong men near Mount Tai into the army, as civilians, transported food and grass to build camps. My nephew lived near Mount Tai and was also recruited. After more than half a year, the court wiped out the bandits. When my nephew returned, his family and a few acres of land would no longer exist."
Qi Ning was stunned and said strangely: "Why is this?"
The strong man sneered: "Taishan suppressed bandits, and the imperial court collected additional taxes. If they were not paid on time, they would have to be arrested in prison. There was not so much money at home, so they could only use the few acres of thin fields to exchange for some money first. God was also blind. That year, the drought was severe, and the crops were harvested. The fields were collected. A few people in the family couldn't eat, and they all starved to death." Speaking of this, they clenched their fists, their eyes full of grief, but they were extremely angry.
"I am like my hometown, so I can only come and join me." The old man shook his head: "I originally had a son who followed me to make a living by fishing, but after I was recruited for the first few years, there was no news after I left." After a pause, he sighed: "Dongqi Primary School has a master in every land and every lake. It is not our turn to have a place with beautiful water and lots of fish. We can only eat in such a river where no one cares about it." Drinking a little soup in the bowl, he sighed: "If the former emperor was still there, it wouldn't be like this."
"Last Emperor?" Qi Ning was stunned. The old man obviously felt that he had said too much, and waved his hand and smiled, "It's nothing, nothing, I'm talking nonsense, don't take it seriously."
The strong man couldn't help but say, "Uncle, this is true. I still remember when I was young, we could eat and wear a lot, plant one acre of three-point land in our family so that we would not be hungry or cold. But now!" He smiled bitterly and said, "This day is not as good as a day. Today can still drink soup, but tomorrow I am afraid that even the soup will not be able to drink soup."
Qi Ning glanced at Chi Danmei, and saw that her face had regained a little blood, her heart slightly widened and asked, "Can the current emperor not be as good as the previous emperor?"
"The emperor now?" The strong man snorted coldly, opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. The old man winked at him. The strong man wanted to speak but stopped and closed his mouth, but seemed to be depressed, and could not help but throw a sentence: "Not to mention the former emperor, even the deposed prince is much better than him."
"Destroy the Prince?" Qi Ning was stunned again. Seeing that the strong man did not speak, he knew that the two of them were wary and smiled: "Don't worry, you two, it's heavy wind and rain outside, so let's just gossip here. I am a foreigner, but I also heard that the king of Qi was a bit unconventional. If he was really a good emperor, there wouldn't be people in the country often cause trouble."
The strong man smiled and said, "You are a wise man. You are right. The leader of Taishan's rebellion. I heard that he was the deposed prince's side back then. He led people to rebel, saying that he wanted to avenge the deposed prince. The man in the palace killed the deposed prince."
Qi Ning was a little confused and asked, "Brother, who is the deposed prince you are talking about? Is he the prince of the current Dongqi king? I heard that the king of Dongqi has three sons and two daughters, and he was only appointed as the crown prince not long ago. Could it be that there was another crown prince before?"
Chapter completed!