Lao Lin is a boat owner on the Yangtze River. His family has been operating this ferry since his ancestors. Over the years, he has owned three or four ferries of different sizes.
Don't look at the few boats. The ferry service is no better than running a business. The distance is shorter and the profit is less. If Lao Lin has only three or four boats, he is already a celebrity in the ferryman business.
On this section of the river, whether going to Yangzhou or going from Yangzhou to the other side, most people will take his family's ferry.
As a result, Lao Lin's business was pretty good. He was not rich, but he still had enough food and clothing. He could also save some land and property for his children and grandchildren.
Originally, as he grew older, Lao Lin no longer operated the boat himself.
But now this is a special season. Several of the helpers he hired have gone home to celebrate the New Year. He himself is also a hard worker and can't rest. He takes advantage of this new year's holiday to run a small boat by himself to earn more money.
Point some money.
After all, if the ship is empty, it is also empty!
When people are idle, they are also idle!
If you are celebrating the New Year and you meet someone who is in a hurry to cross the river, you have to give him some New Year money, right?
But let’s not talk about it. Lao Lin has not been busy or tired these two days. He can’t get many people in one day, but the money he received from crossing the river is quite generous.
Pedestrians who came and went didn't stop to see Lao Lin celebrating the New Year, and almost always gave him some extra hard-earned money. This made Lao Linle very happy, and he became even more diligent.
This morning, seeing that the weather was good, he set out on the boat early again.
Unfortunately, he was unlucky today. Lao Lin spent the whole morning blowing cold wind by the river, but he didn't even see a ghost.
Seeing that it was noon and he hadn't opened yet, Lao Lin had no choice but to wrap up his cotton-padded jacket tightly, sigh, and get ready to go back for dinner while driving the boat.
I untied the mooring rope and slowly rowed the boat to the other side. But unexpectedly, at this moment, a team came from the distant road to cross the river!
Lao Lin has been working as a ferryman for almost his whole life. From a distance, he saw the mighty knights in this team, the gorgeous vehicles, and even the servants wearing fine new clothes, and he knew that this must be a team from a wealthy family!
He hurriedly rowed the boat back and shouted a few words to Xiao Dao who was talking to him. He was sure that the group of people were about to cross the river. If Lao Lin dared to delay, he immediately rushed back to change to a larger boat. During this period, he didn't even bother to ask his wife to ask him to eat.
He called out his two tired sons and led them to the dock together.
————
There was a vast mist on the river, and a large ship with half sail cut through the smoke and headed towards the other side of the river.
"The ship is coming..."
A deep and desolate trumpet sound came, and it seemed that the entire river was echoing this sound.
Xiao Han heard the sound and stood up suddenly! He saw a large flat boat steadily appearing on the river in the haze, half of its white sails bulging in the wind, carrying the big boat below, heading straight towards him.
.
"The boat is here, everyone, pack your things and get ready to cross the river!" After confirming that it was the ferry that was coming, Xiao Han rubbed his face that was a little cold due to the wind, and turned around to say hello to the people accompanying him.
"Here!"
When the fool and others under the boulder heard this, they habitually cupped their hands and responded loudly.
Xiao Han staggered and almost fell off the stone! After finally regaining his balance, he immediately glared at them: "What the hell! Who told you to do this? Didn't I just say that? We are businessmen now, aren't we?
General!"
"Master Hou, I'm afraid we won't be able to change this habit for a while..." The idiot scratched his head and muttered.
In fact, he was very dissatisfied with Xiao Han's change of identity. Why did the good prince pretend to be a businessman full of copper odor?
"Hmm? What did you call me just now?" Xiao Han turned his head and stared at the idiot with a dangerous look in his eyes.
The fool was startled, and then he remembered that he seemed to have called him the wrong name just now, and he immediately regretted it!
If others don’t say anything, they just jump out and say it themselves! If you talk too much, you will make mistakes. Why can’t you remember this?
Just when the idiot wanted to slap himself in the mouth twice, that rich voice came from the river again!
"Xiao Langjun, please help your people to connect the rope!"
Hearing this voice, Lunzi felt as if he heard a wonderful voice from heaven. He immediately took a deep breath and asked carefully: "Second Young Master? This..."
Xiao Han looked at his appearance, held his head helplessly, and said: "Hey, let's see what I do, let's take the rope first!"
"Oh, okay!"
When the fool heard this, he felt as if he had been granted amnesty and ran to the riverside, not forgetting to arrest Jia and San along the way.
The big ship slowly approached, and when it was still about ten feet away from the shore, a heavy cable flew over from the ship.
Jia San had sharp eyes and quick hands. Upon seeing this, he took a few steps forward and grabbed a cable as thick as his calf in his hand.
As soon as Jia San took hold of the thick cable, he immediately felt that it was extremely heavy!
If the fool hadn't rushed over from behind and grabbed the rope with him, he doubted that he would have been carried back into the river by the force of the rope's rebound.
"This man is so strong!"
Holding the cable in his arms, Jia San looked up in surprise at the old man who threw the cable, only to see the old man burst out laughing:
"What a good young man! I haven't seen a young man connecting the rope so steadily for a long time! Hey, help me put the rope on which stone, yes, that one! Thank you very much!"
Standing on the deck, Lao Lin spoke in a very loud voice, which he had developed over many years of boating.
The river is wide, and sometimes there are strong winds and waves. If you speak softly like a grown-up girl or a young daughter-in-law, will the devil still be able to hear what you are saying?
As for Jia San, who was surprised, he heard Lao Lin talking cheerfully and praising himself faintly, and he immediately felt good about him as the boss of the ship! Together with the fool, they did what he said and tied the cable to a big rock on the shore.
.
There was a winch on the big ship. Lao Lin's two sons worked hard to turn the winch, and the thick cable tightened little by little, and the big ship slowly moved closer to the dock.
"Bang..."
Finally, the big ship stuck firmly to the dock. On one side of the ship, the sacks of straw used as buffers were instantly squeezed into a flat strip.
The huge impact that followed shook the simple pier, and Xiaodong who was standing on the pier was so frightened that he hurriedly jumped back to the shore.
"Hahaha……"
When the boat stopped, Lao Lin laughed and threw a few planks from the boat.
His two sons also quickly jumped from the boat to the pier, and then picked up the discarded wooden boards with a familiarity and built a ramp for the carriage to go up and down.
"I've kept our guests waiting for a long time, please get on board!"
Looking at Xiao Han and others waiting on the side of the pier, Lao Lin's honest face showed a hint of cunning. He didn't even say the price and just invited people to board the ship.
