Anjiang is adjacent to Xiongchi in the west, and because of the countercurrent, it was not until noon the next day that we reached the ferry to Beichi, the largest of Xiongchi.
Beichi Ferry and Lining share the Bajianghu Basin. There is a large post station near the ferry. Recently, the army has been mobilized frequently, and civilians at the inn station cannot easily pass.
When Xia Zhaoyi's boat came over, they happened to encounter thousands of ferry boats, many of which were moored at the port. There were many small boats passing by, shouting to ask if they wanted to get off the boat and go to the shore for a walk.
The speed of the boat slowed down, and it slowly shuttled through the sea of boats.
Zhili stood by the window and sighed: "In prosperous times, this scene is called prosperity, but in troubled times, this scene is called chaos."
The birdcage he brought with him was placed on the table. Xia Zhaoyi was feeding the birds food. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "It won't be so busy soon."
"Huh?" He turned around and asked, "Why?"
"Song Zhiyi will not leave the waterway alone."
"If he wants to control it, he can't do anything about it. Bajianghu is so big and he has so many ships."
"As long as you want to take care of it, there is always a way," Xia Zhaoyi glanced at him and said, "Someone is shouting outside, do you want to go down for a walk?"
"No, there are too many people." Zhili said. He looked back outside. There were so many people on the shore that there was probably no place to stay.
At this time, there was a lot of movement on the deck, and the old man was vaguely heard yelling over there.
Zhili frowned: "What is this old man doing? I'll go take a look."
He turned and walked toward the door.
Xia Zhaoyi took a deep breath, put down the long wooden stick in his hand, and followed him out.
People on the surrounding ships were looking here. The old man was sitting on the bow of the ship, holding a wine jar in one hand and a long thick rope tied to the mast with the other. His back was swaying and he was singing loudly.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle asked him to come down, but he refused, shouted very loudly, raised his hand and took another sip of wine.
"Crazy," Zhili stepped forward and said, "What is he doing!"
"Ah Li!" Zhi Changle saw Zhi Li and Xia Zhaoyi coming out and hurriedly ran over and said, "I don't know when he slipped up. They only found out when they heard him singing."
"Can't you shout?" Xia Zhaoyi said.
"As soon as he got close, he said he would jump down and wouldn't let us get close!"
After drinking the wine, the old man lowered his hands and suddenly raised his head. His voice was very high, and he imitated a wolf and let out a "wow--" with a very long tail end.
People nearby laughed and many pointed.
"It's so embarrassing," Zhili said, "Senior sister, should I go and drag him down?"
Xia Zhaoyi looked at the old man's figure and shook his head: "No, just let him be."
"Um?"
"Today is the death anniversary of his late brother and his late wife," Xia Zhaoyi said, "I almost forgot about it."
"...died on the same day?"
"His brother and his deceased wife fell in love and were killed by robbers on the same day when they eloped."
"this……"
"There are twists and turns in the middle. His late wife originally loved his brother, so there's no telling who is right or wrong," Xia Zhaoyi said, "Let him make trouble."
She turned around to go back to the house, thought about it, and turned around again.
It doesn't matter if you're embarrassed or not, safety is the most important thing.
The sky was now raining, thinly and continuously. Xia Zhaoyi walked towards the bow of the ship against the river breeze and spring rain: "Mr. Qi."
The old man looked back at her, his face flushed from drinking. When he saw it was her, he subconsciously hugged the wine jar tightly: "What are you doing?!"
"It's raining," Xia Zhaoyi said.
The old man seemed to realize it just then. He stretched out his hand, and the rain gently hit his hand. He smiled and said: "It's true!"
"Come down, it's dangerous here," Xia Zhaoyi said, "If you really don't want to come down, can I tie you a rope?"
"I have it!" The old man leaned against the thick hemp rope beside him and wrapped his arms around it, "Little girl of the Xia family, please don't disturb my enjoyment of singing!"
"If you fall, it will be difficult to rescue you," Xia Zhaoyi said.
The old man waved his hands casually, turned around, and sang loudly: "Life and death have destiny! All things are thought to exist, all things can be lost, ignorance is thought to be something, and without a teacher, there is nothing..."
Zhili reached out and covered his ears.
"It makes me cry when I hear this," Lao Tong said.
"The behavior of living people, the principles of dead people, the world is so hypocritical, so ridiculous..."
"Mr. Qi," Xia Zhaoyi frowned, "come down."
The old man ignored her and continued singing.
More and more people were looking around. Many people were walking out of the cabin. Several children put their hands in front of their lips and shouted at him to shut up. It was really ugly.
"What's the sound?" Ji Xiahe came out of the cabin and looked up ahead, "Who is yelling?"
Many people on the ship were on the deck, looking at the source of the sound.
There are many ships in the middle, and they are too far away to see clearly.
But the singing voice that was too unrestrained and completely tuneless still came through with full force, and from time to time there was a "wolf" howl.
"It feels like a hundred years to sleep, and when you wake up, you will be shocked to find that everything is cold. Demons and monsters are running rampant, and thousands of ugliness are being performed. Small profits, strong competition, no big gifts, eating human flesh and blood without spitting out the bones. There are endless good and false words, and the true and false faces of Yin and Yang
.From now on, I want to go to the clouds, where the mountains and rivers are at ease, and I am at ease. Instead, I point my fingers and draw my feet, and I want you to pity me for my immortal spirit?"
Lao Tong was unhappy: "Are you scolding Ah Li?"
"How is that possible?" Zhili said, covering his ears. "Does the young senior sister know how to point fingers at others? She doesn't even care about giving her money."
"That's true..." Lao Tong nodded.
The old man became more and more excited as he sang. He stood up from the bow of the boat and swayed.
People around him screamed, fearing that he would really fall.
Xia Zhaoyi took a deep breath and looked back at Zhili.
Frustrated, he quickly cheered up, pointed at the old man, and looked at Xia Zhaoyi with questioning eyes.
Xia Zhaoyi nodded.
Zhili also nodded, and then walked up quietly.
The old man raised his head again and howled "wolf" at the sky.
The two brothers and sisters behind him used their strength at the same time and rushed forward. One of them grabbed one side and forcibly pulled him off the bow of the boat.
With a "bang", the old man hit the deck, and the wine jar in his hand fell to the ground. A small half of the jar of wine rolled and spilled on the ground.
It happened so fast that the old man was stunned for a moment. When he reacted and struggled to get up, Zhili grabbed him by the front of his chest and was dragged away by Lao Tong and Zhi Changle who came later.
"It's gone, it's gone!" Zhili shouted in all directions, "Whose family doesn't have a few drunkards!"
"Why don't you sing anymore?" Ji Xiahe looked curiously at the direction of the singing, "You won't sing anymore?"
"It seems that he is drunk and crazy." said the attendant on the side.
"It's interesting," Ji Xiahe opened his folding fan and waved it gracefully a few times in the fierce river breeze, saying, "Not to mention, the singing is not good, but the lyrics are pretty good."
Dai Yu and Du Xuan came out of the cabin to follow the singing.
"Aren't you going to sing anymore?" Dai Yu said.
"It's stopped," Ji Xiahe said, "I don't know who the bad old man is."
As the ship gradually headed east, seeing everyone's eyes looking at the westbound ship in front, Ji Xiahe said: "Oh, that ship is quite big."
