At Songjiang Wharf, noises could be heard in the distance. Looking around, I could see merchant ships and passenger boats gathering together, and the river dozens of feet wide was actually packed to the brim.
The sound of punting, throwing ropes, anchoring, and stopping the boat to the shore was endless, and was also mixed with the sounds of boatmen scraping and scolding for going in and out.
"Dad, let's not squeeze in, just park on the outside."
Good guy, it is indeed an outer port pier. Hundreds of ships are gathered together. If you want to squeeze into the pier, you have to wait for the ships inside to sail out before there is a place to dock.
Yang also nodded repeatedly: "Xi'er is right, let's not squeeze in, let's park on the outside. You can't squeeze in anyway, so parking outside makes it easier to get in and out, and it also saves a parking fee."
Huo Erhuai and Yang Fu stood at the stern of the boat, tiptoeing and looking around: "This is still far from the dock. If we park here, we have to walk a long way into the city."
Huo Xi glanced at the shore and saw carriages and horses coming and going on the shore. She comforted her and said, "It's okay, dad. We'll go ashore and hire carriages and horses to travel instead."
Yang Fu and Huo Erhuai looked towards the shore, and sure enough they heard the driver's voice soliciting customers, so they nodded: "Okay, then we won't enter the dock."
After talking for a long time, Huo Nian's voice was not heard, so Huo Xi went to look for him out of curiosity.
Turning his head, he saw the little boy holding the pillar of the cabin, climbing half way up, looking up at the big ship on the pier, his eyes widened, his mouth open in circles, drooling.
Huo Xi burst out laughing, and quietly poked Yang, Yang Fu and others to take a look.
When everyone saw it, they immediately became happy and laughed.
Yang Fu stepped forward and hugged him down, but Pi Xiaozi couldn't close his mouth: "Mom, what a big boat, so tall, taller than the pagoda of Linggu Temple!"
Yang smiled and touched his little face: "Nian'er likes to watch. Let's stop in Songjiang for a few more days so that Nian'er can see enough. Don't be in a hurry, let's watch slowly."
"Mom, I can look at those big ships all day long!"
"Okay, let's take a look with Nian'er."
"Yeah. It's so pretty."
"Then you stay on board and watch the big ship, while my dad and uncle and I go ashore to watch the red-haired weirdo." Huo Xi teased him.
"No, no, I want to go ashore to see the red-haired weirdo! Sister, you can't leave Nian'er." Deng Deng ran over and hugged Huo Xi tightly around the waist, for fear that Huo Xi would throw him into the boat.
"Then you have to be obedient. If you don't, you run away and are caught by the red-haired weirdo and taken to the sidelines, you won't be able to find your parents, sisters and uncle."
Pi Xiaozi's hand tightened on Huo Xi's waist: "Nian'er is obedient. Sister told the red-haired weirdo not to catch Nian'er."
"Okay, just be obedient and won't let them catch you."
Huo Xi looked at him and smiled, then turned around and ordered Yang Fu: "Uncle, you tell the guys on the three boats in our shop to make sure they guard our boats and not go ashore at will. Let another guy come on."
Let’s take care of this boat.”
"Okay, I'll go right away."
After parking the boat, the family went ashore. Someone immediately came up to greet them and asked them if they wanted to hire a car.
Huo Xi looked at Yang, who looked at Nian'er who was looking around: "How about we walk along the coast and let Nian'er see the excitement. If we are tired from walking, we can hire a car."
Everyone agreed, so the family walked along the shore to watch the excitement.
There are many small traders and hawkers on both sides of the pier, and there are shouts and shouts. People are going out for fun, doing business, transporting goods, and people are coming and going.
Nian'er couldn't even see enough. He looked to the left and then to the right, his little head shaking back and forth without stopping.
The closer you get to the pier, the more lively it becomes.
As expected of the Outer Harbor Pier, both sides of the strait are lined with several-story-high Dafu ships, as well as various cruise ships, merchant ships, cargo ships and passenger boats, as well as small fishing boats passing through to deliver and sell goods.
On the dock, porters and porters were unloading and moving goods back and forth, and the stewards led the workers back and forth among them, coming and going.
There were also people coming to pick up family members and friends, including rich ladies, ladies, gentlemen and young masters traveling. The young servants, maids, and attendants were escorting and crowding around. The pier was filled with sedans, oxcarts, and horse-drawn carriages.
"There are so many people." It was rare for Yang to see such a scene, and she was dumbfounded.
"Sister, there is a red-haired monster!" Nian'er jumped up and pointed with her little finger to tell Huo Xi to look at it.
"Don't point your fingers at people, it's impolite."
Nian'er put down her little hand and stared at the two red-haired foreigners in front of her. Huo Xi, Yang and others also looked over.
Although I have seen Huo Xi a lot, this was the first time I saw him in this dynasty, so I couldn't help but take a second look, not to mention the Yang family, Huo Erhuai, Yang Fu and others.
He stares at people so hard that he can count all the hairs on his head.
"Sister, why do they look different from us?"
Nian'er's eyes were full of curiosity, unlike some people who would jump away from a strange-looking person when they saw him, wanting to see but not daring to look, with a fearful look.
"Because they grow in different places. Just like the eggplant and melon, if they grow in different places and are planted in different fields, there will be round ones, flat ones, long ones, short ones, thin ones and thick ones.
.The same goes for people.”
"Are there other hair colors besides red hair?"
"Yes, except for their hair, look at their eyes. They have black eyes. They have blue, green, and gray colors. They also have skin, some are white, and some are all black."
"The whole body is black? Is there such a person?" Not only Nian'er, but also Yang Fu, Huo Erhuai and others were stunned when they heard this.
"Yes, just like eggplants and melons, there are all kinds, and people also have all kinds."
"Wow!" Pi Xiaozi was stunned.
Huo Xi couldn't help but smile when she saw that this little boy's eyes were full of curiosity, he looked like he was accepting things well, and he was also staring at the people passing by him.
Seeing that all the people had passed by, but Huo Nian was still staring at them, Huo Xi took him to the dock to take a closer look, and also to see what goods were sold on the ships coming from the outside.
After the maritime ban was lifted in this dynasty, I heard that in places such as Guangzhou, Zhangzhou, and Ningbo, foreign shipping and trading docks were "full of ships on the sea, and barbarians were mixed in the city."
Sure enough, seeing is better than hearing. This Songjiang Wharf is comparable to the rumored places like Guangzhou and Zhangzhou.
The foreign boats docked at the pier were very different from the lucky boats of this dynasty, and were very exotic. Not only she and Nian'er were stunned watching the boats, but people on both sides of the strait were also lined up to watch the excitement.
Huo Erhuai, Yang and Yang Fu whispered to Waifan's boat, why the bow and stern were made like this, and why it was so high, and what were the patterns painted on the hull.
Huo Xi couldn't help but laugh.
She searched the dock with her eyes, wanting to buy some rare goods.
I saw some businessmen from this dynasty talking gesticulatingly with the people from the Ban Dynasty, and local businessmen were frequently invited to board the ships. I couldn't help but sigh. Others looked down upon my small business, so I guess there was no chance of being invited on the ship.
He looked towards the pier again.
There were many people at the pier. They set up stalls on the pier to sell the goods they had brought. Many people gathered around to watch.