The boat rowed for a long distance, and no one among the three people on board spoke.
It wasn't until they paddled to an open area on the water again, with the noise of people, that the three of them came back to their senses. If the boat's deck hadn't been still wet, they would have thought it was just a dream.
"Xi'er, who do you think she is? Why does she want to die at such a young age? Who are those people who came to find her? They can't beat her, can they?"
Yang was quite worried.
Huo Xi probably guessed the identity of the other person, but when he left at the end, he didn't leave his name or say anything. It was just a chance encounter with him, and he probably wouldn't see him again in the future.
Therefore, I don’t want to share my conjecture with Yang.
"She has thought about it and will probably live a good life in the future."
"That's good."
Yang sighed: "You are not even afraid of death. You should live a good life in the future."
Grandpa Zou also lamented: "You are so young, why can't you think about it? How can it be worse than those of us who go to and fro in the wind and rain day and night, and are poor fishermen?"
Huo Xi was silent.
Maybe for some people, being poor is not the most difficult thing, but they only envy them who are poor fishermen.
The boat entered the Xiang River, carried several more guests, and sold some goods along the river. Some guests hired their boat as a cruise ship, watching the scenery and the excitement along the way. They generously gave a lot of hiring money, and
It’s a reward, and it’s also a way to buy food and drink.
After sending the people to the place, they started selling goods all the way along the river. The goods on the boat were almost sold. The three of them were very happy.
I was also a little worried about Xiao Miao'er and the others. It was their first time entering the city and they didn't know if the other three boats were going smoothly.
"Mom, Master Zou, let's go into the Qinhuai River and go all the way west to look for Xiao Miao'er and the others."
"Okay."
The boat rowed all the way to the west and was about to reach Xishui Pass. When it reached the vicinity of Yuminfang, it was unable to pass.
"Excuse me, why is there a traffic jam ahead?"
Yang asked the captain of the boat in front of him.
"I heard that a few new boats didn't understand the rules and were blocked by the boss of the boat, trying to teach them a lesson."
When Huo Xi heard this, her heart skipped a beat. She straightened up on the boat board, stood on tiptoes and looked forward. However, she was blocked by several boats. The entire river was surrounded by boats, and she couldn't see clearly what was ahead.
Yang was also very anxious: "What are the rules and the boss of the ship?"
When the boatman heard this, he looked at the Yang family and their boat: "Are you new to the inner city too?"
Yang nodded: "We just entered the inner city today. I don't know what the rules are. Why is there a ship boss here?"
Is it a river park? I haven't heard of any rules for entering the city.
Huo Xi also pricked up his ears, but the man only looked at them once and then pursed his lips. Huo Xi became more and more anxious.
Seeing her mother talking to someone there, she hurriedly got into the cabin.
He came out with a bamboo tube of wine and a bag of snacks: "Uncle, this is a little bit of our thoughts. We have just entered the city and don't know the rules. Please tell us so that we don't bump into people without knowing it."
The boatman smelled the aroma of wine and cakes, and couldn't help but be tempted. He reached out and took the wine tube and cakes.
A little more enthusiastic: "You newcomers don't know that there is a boat boss in the inner city. The big and small rivers in the capital are all under the control of their boat gang. They have set rules for everyone. If you want to do business in the city or solicit customers, you must obey them.
s arrangement."
"How to arrange it?"
"You have to give money to show filial piety and money to cross the river. Otherwise, your boat will be blocked, let alone doing business, and the boat will be impounded."
Huo Xi and Yang looked surprised: "When we entered Shuiguan, the officials didn't charge us the entry fee, nor did they say we couldn't solicit customers and do business on the inland river. How come someone was in charge of us when we entered the city? They
Is it from the government?"
"The government doesn't care about these things. Of course, the people who sail the boats are in charge of it."
Huo Xi frowned. She only heard that the fishermen wanted to collect taxes from the river, so why did they start a boat gang?
The man then said: "You haven't paid homage to the pier, have you? If you don't pay homage to the pier, and you want to do business under the eyes of the boat gang, won't you attract people's attention? If you want to do business on the inland river, you have to pay homage to the boss of the boat and do business with him.
After paying for crossing the river, I gave them half of the money earned before I allowed you to sail on the inland river."
"Half?" Yang's voice was a little louder.
"We used to charge 60%. Now that the curfew has been lifted, and there are fewer boats and more people, we only charge half."
Yang was so stunned that she forgot to close her mouth. How dare they work so hard and have to share half of the money they earned?
Huo Xi frowned tightly: "This boat gang is not from the government, so who are they? How come the boat gang doesn't care about things, but the boat boss is his own group?"
The boatman glanced at Huo Xi, thinking that the child was a bit brave, and whispered: "There must be someone in the government, otherwise they would dare to openly reach out to the boatman on the inland river?"
Huo Xi felt a little weird. She went into the city to find some business opportunities, but a boat gang appeared. She was a little worried about Xiao Miao'er and the others.
But the boat was blocked at the mouth of the river and could not cross.
"Mom, I'll go ashore and walk over to have a look."
"Xi'er, don't go. Mom, go take a look." Yang held her back, fearing that something might happen to Huo Xi due to a mistake. She had been worried about Xi'er since she entered the inner city, fearing that someone would recognize her.
come out.
Yang grabbed Huo Xi and lifted her legs up to the shore. Huo Xi was worried and followed her.
When I walked to the dispute point in front, I heard Xiao Miao'er's voice: "We have no money!"
Huo Xi hurried over.
"No money? If you don't have money, just keep the ship."
"We still have to fish on the boat!"
The gangsters who blocked their boat laughed: "Fishing? Why do fishing boats come into the inner city, just to watch the scenery and join in the fun? Or do they imitate other people's pleasure boats to make money? Fishing boats shouldn't be fishing outside.
, but he came to the inner city."
We are not afraid that guests will think there is a fishy smell on the boat.
Chang You, Qi Defu, and Mi Mancang are young and energetic. They made a lot of money this night and are very happy.
I was planning to run a few more trips so that I could share a lot of money and live a prosperous life. But I didn’t expect that people would appear from nowhere to act as a gangster and ask them to pay for a share of the profit.
What kind of boat gang, the government has never collected boat tax from them, these cats and dogs came out of nowhere.
How could they get what they wanted? They stood on the bow of the boat and started quarreling with each other. At the mouth of the river, you argued with each other. One side wanted to row away, but the other side refused to let them go, blocking the entire river.
Even people on the shore gathered around to watch the fun.
Yang squeezed into the crowd first and stood on the embankment to please the other party: "I'm sorry, everyone, we are new here and don't know the rules of the inner city. If I mess up your affairs, I apologize to you on their behalf."
, let’s row the boat away right now.”
"aunt!"
Xiao Miao'er screamed happily when she saw Yang. Yu Ya was sitting in the cabin and shivering. At this time, she also stood up, like a person who fell into the water and saw the driftwood.