The heavy rain was pouring down, and mixed in with the heavy rain were occasional flashes of lightning and bursts of thunder, shaking the city in the darkness.
Changzhou is a big city on the Jiangnan River route. During the Tang Dynasty, it once had the reputation of being one of the ten most popular state capitals in the world. But even if it prospered because of the route, it would naturally not be able to compare with big cities like Bianjing, Jiangning, Suzhou and Hangzhou. In this way
In the heavy rainstorm, there were only a few lampposts flashing faintly in the city, sparsely. Only when lightning occasionally flashed across did the landscape of overlapping and towering city buildings appear in the field of vision.
The sudden heavy rain caught everyone off guard in the afternoon. At this time, there were still people running around in the heavy rain near the pier in Changzhou. In fact, the real chaotic situation had ended in the heavy rain in the evening.
At that time, many ships docked, rushing to load and unload cargo, and secure the ships. Those who were still busy in the heavy rain were basically some merchants who had an accident and could not afford the losses. They spent a lot of money to hire people who were not afraid of death.
Boatmen carry goods here in the rain.
The wind and rain roared on the entire pier, and occasionally when lightning flashed, there were probably two or three places that showed activity. The area on the east side of the pier obviously had the most people. I saw the waves pushing up and down the densely packed boats in the river.
There were still many people moving things up and down near a cargo ship. In the sound of wind and rain, these people were like ants, being blown around by the wind, shouting loudly. There was the light of torches in the cargo ship, and the dock was not far away.
There was also light in the house, and they were trying to move some things from the cargo ship into the room.
This cargo ship belongs to a large trading house in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The owner's surname is Lou. This time the cargo ship transported a cargo of goods south. When it arrived near Changzhou, there were some problems with the ship's hull. It happened to be raining heavily again, so it hurriedly docked. Originally, I thought it had stopped.
Let’s avoid the heavy storm at the dock, but at night we discovered that the problem with the cargo ship was even more serious. There was a lot of cargo on the ship. In order to avoid bigger problems, we had to hire workers who risked their lives to grab some first.
Reduce the weight of the hull.
Of course, although in such windy and rainy weather, there is not enough light, the workers may be blown down by the wind or fall into the water at any time, but the river is not deep after all, and most of these boatmen are quite good at water. It is summer again, so falling into the water is not possible.
Nothing may happen if you go down there. If not, no one will come even if they spend a lot of money.
At this time, the sky and the ground were filled with the sound of the howling wind in the heavy rain. Closer to the dock, you could vaguely hear the squeaking and chaotic sounds of hundreds of ships rocking on the water. The boatmen were carrying goods staggering through the rain.
, we went to the pier and found the room with the light on it. The room seemed a bit crude and empty at this time. Boatmen who were soaked all over moved the goods in and piled them in the middle. There were merchants' clerks busy counting and recording.
With.
In front of the window on one side of the room, several people were casting their gazes into the darkness outside, looking at the hull of the boat floating vaguely in the rain. The leader was a woman in bright clothes, her hair was already wet, and the maid behind handed her a hand.
When a towel came, she wiped the water droplets on her face with it. In fact, there was rain falling outside the window, but there was a man dressed as a scholar standing beside her, blocking part of it for her.
"How is the ship? Can it be repaired? Will it sink?"
It was the pretty woman who asked the question. After asking, a man who ran in from the outside replied while wiping the water drops on his face: "Miss, I have already entered the pier, so I shouldn't be able to sink, but
The weather is really bad now and repairs are difficult, so some of the cargo on the ship must be moved off the ship."
"Then keep moving."
"Know."
The man nodded in agreement. After saying this, the woman looked out the window again, her face a little gloomy. Many of the cargo on this ship were fragile items such as porcelain. After the current incident, a lot of damage must have been done to her.
She was in a bad mood. The man next to her who blocked half of her body from the rain turned around and said: "Shu Wan, everyone is moving. There is no need for you to stand here and watch all the time. It's not good to let the rain get wet. Why don't you go inside?
Bar."
The man and woman were probably a couple. The woman glanced at him, her eyes still a little gloomy, then she suddenly smiled, turned around and walked away. The man dressed as a scholar then walked over with a smile, and the two of them were talking to each other by the wall.
, the man was obviously trying to say something interesting to make the woman laugh, and everyone else - including the maid - walked away knowingly. The woman said a few words to the man, then looked out the window again, obviously still there.
Worried about cargo ships.
This went on for a while, and on the side of the pier, another ship sailed towards the shore amid the heavy rain. It was a two-story boat. It seemed that some wealthy people were traveling and encountered the storm.
We just came over to Changzhou. In the storm, we were traveling relatively smoothly. The firelight in the cabin was swaying. We must have lit a torch for lighting, and the figures were reflected in the darkness.
It is not a very strange thing to come to the pier to dock at this time. After all, there are occasionally lone people. The location where the boat docked is not far from here, so it did attract some attention. In such weather, the boat
It was not easy to get to the shore. The guys on the boat used bamboo poles to prop up the shore. After adjusting with all their strength for a long time, they finally stopped the boat with difficulty. Then the people who got off the boat also struggled very hard. Due to the heavy wind and rain, the stretched out boards
It was unstable and rickety, so I basically had to jump down. The group of people were wearing raincoats, and there were women and children among them. The men who got off first held or caught them. It took a while for dozens of people to finish.
He hid under the eaves not far away and lit a torch.
Although it was quite windy and rainy, some of the children were still quite happy. They were running around under the eaves shouting weird words like "Great Powerful Tianlong". Some of them looked over and were called by their parents.
Went back, probably counted the number of people, and then discussed leaving from the pier.
In this weather, no one had time to care. The people in the room just looked over there. After all, they were still concerned about their own cargo ships. The woman named Lou Shuwan chatted with the scholar for a while, and then
She started to frown again and asked about the ship and cargo, but at a certain moment when she cast her gaze under the eaves outside the door, lightning happened to flash past, and she was slightly stunned.
The three torches under the eaves were lit in the hands of everyone, and they were swaying violently in the wind. The light was not much. Some people were laughing and talking, untiing their raincoats, and then tightening them, when lightning flashed across
You can vaguely see them or the smiles on their faces. They can talk and laugh in this weather, which shows that they are in a good mood. But one of their faces seems to slightly evoke the memory of the woman here.
"Huh? Shu Wan, what are you looking at?"
Lou Shuwan opened her mouth, and then turned her eyes to the man next to her, but she became indifferent and impatient: "It's nothing."
After all, it was impossible to see clearly in this kind of weather. It was not an important memory. She shook her head and returned her mind to her business. It was really unpleasant to delay this time. It was a damn rainy day. Then she felt that the man next to her
It's really long-winded, and I don't like it.
****************
Although they were in a bad mood, it was useless to worry about things at the moment. Soon after they confirmed that the goods were almost moved and the ship's situation was slightly stable, they left the dock and returned to the inn in the rain. The Lou family's business is mainly in Hangzhou, and Changzhou is just
Passing by, I stayed at one of the best inns here. The weather came unexpectedly, so there weren't many people staying there. They went out at night, and when they came back at this time, it seemed deserted.
Instructing the maid to bring hot water and taking a simple shower, Lou Shuwan called an accompanying steward to discuss the problem of the cargo ship. The summer storm came and went quickly, and it could not last for several days, but the ship
It was broken and couldn't go away. Most of the goods on it were fine, but only a small part of them. Because they had promised others, they couldn't bear the delay, so they had to consider chartering the ship. We discussed this matter for a while and waited for the person in charge to leave.
, the scholar who had also been washing up in another room came over and wanted to know about her business arrangements, so he had been waiting outside for a while.
She had something on her mind, so the scholar closed the door, talked and laughed a little, and then came to hug her and want to have sex with her. She was hesitant and frowned slightly, but she didn't refuse. However, as soon as she was taken off her coat, she heard
There was a knock on the door in the lobby below, and then a lot of people seemed to come in. Curious, she pushed the scholar away, put on her coat, opened the window and looked out, there were about twenty people taking off their raincoats in the lobby, two children
Running around are the same people I saw on the pier.
"What's wrong?"
The scholar came closer and looked out through the window. The woman frowned slightly and her eyes wandered among the people in the lobby. After a long while, she pushed the scholar away and said, "Go to bed. I don't want to... there tonight."
There is someone I recognize."
"Huh?" The scholar became interested and looked down, "It looks like a trip by an official."
In this weather, umbrellas were of no use at all. Although this group of people were wearing raincoats, they were already soaked to the skin when they found this place. Several of the women couldn't change their clothes for a while, so they found thin cloaks and put them on.
Judging from the clothes of a few women, this group of people is quite well off.
At this time, the scene in the hall was chaotic. The shopkeeper and the waiter were busy arranging the room, and the people who came in were busy ordering water to be boiled and carrying luggage. It seemed extremely lively for a while. Of course, the owner of the maid among them could clearly distinguish them in a moment.
One of the women held her wet hair in her hands and tilted her head to talk to the people around her. She seemed to be arranging things. She had a look similar to Lou Shuwan's usual look. This woman was tall and very beautiful. The scholar looked at it
After a few glances, Lou Shuwan pointed at her.
"This woman's surname is Su. I have seen her before, but I know her. Her home is in Jiangning, and she has been there for several years. I didn't expect to meet her here."
"Want to go out and meet?"
"It's not in a hurry..." Lou Shuwan said, and then thought about it, "But... she has a boat, and it seems she is going south. If so..." Thinking of this, she looked down again, and saw that the waiter seemed to have arranged
After getting into the room and leading the people up, she closed the window, tidied her clothes slightly, and then pushed the door open and walked out...