When the sun rose over the sea again, the chimneys of the people who woke up early in the shantytown had already begun to emit smoke. Then, the fragrance of breakfast slowly filled the entire shantytown, causing some noise in the homes of those who were still sleeping. The children of one of the families shouted,
"Mom! I'm so hungry! Have you cooked breakfast?"
"Are you a hungry ghost? You ate so much last night and you're still not full? The rooster hadn't even crowed, and the sky hadn't even brightened yet! Lie down…"
"There's still a lot! How could that be called a meal? I can even see my own face when I look at it!”
The child was a little unwilling to give up.
"Mom! You haven't seen Ah Fu's house cooking. It's so dry, and it's so golden! There was even meat piled on it! Every grain of rice was clear! Ah Fu ate a big bowl! Sigh! Are you still waiting for the rooster to crow? All the chickens on the island were eaten by the barbarians in the city! The sky was so bright! I can smell the fragrance of their breakfast!”
"The child's mother! It was rare to have some rice. Why not let the child have a full meal?!”
"What are you doing here? This was the only rice that was distributed at home. He had to save it well. If he encountered anything, it could be used to save him!…. Why didn't these life-saving Bodhisattvas come earlier! My poor child! Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone like that…"
"There's someone outside!" he whispered.”
When the two people on the other side heard the woman's words, they fell silent for a moment. However, voices really came from outside the shack.
"Genbao? Are you up yet?"
"Father of the child, it's the team leader Ah Fa calling you! Get up!"
"Oh! Ah Fa bro! Get up, get up!"
The one called Genbao walked out of his straw shed and looked outside. Because the mountain blocked the sunlight, it was a little dark compared to the surrounding environment. However, he could still see the burly team leader Ah Fa standing outside the bamboo courtyard.
"Brother Fa, what's the matter?"
"Didn't Old He who was ferrying across the river run away? Yesterday, I went to his house to take a look. They haven't returned yet! Today, I have to receive those masters. I can't hold them off anymore. Wouldn't there be no one to hold the boat?
Didn't you say that you've been on a boat before? So I came over to see if you're willing to hold the boat for a few days? The daily allowance is 60 wen, plus one out of five for the total number of ferry trips. It's better than working every day! If you want to go, go to my place to get the oars later!”
"Oh, is that so? Let me ask the child's mother…"
"Then hurry up. I'll wait for your reply here. If not, I'll have to find someone to…"
"Alright!"
As soon as he returned to the straw shed, he heard,
"What did the team leader say?"
"Uncle He hasn't come back yet, so he lacks people to ferry him. The team leader asked me if I was willing to go over.”
"Didn't you say how long you'll be gone?"
"He said that he would wait until Uncle He comes back…"
"I see! The market is not stable these few days. It's not easy for you to find something to do. It won't affect you much if you go and take over for a short period of time! But if Uncle He and the others don't come back, won't you have to continue working? We have to make this clear to the team leader. We'll do it in a short time. If it takes a long time, we'll have to consider it!”
"I'm not sure about that. We're only going to take over for the time being, so I don't think it'll have much of an impact. Besides, the ferry is more well-informed. We might be able to find someone who knows…"
"Alright then. If there's really no one now, you can go and take over first. However, you have to tell the team leader that it can't be too long! Maybe we'll have to leave again one day…Then I'll hurry up and cook. You can take the ferry after you eat…"
"Got it!"
The team leader was already a little impatient.
"Has your wife decided?"
"I've decided! However, my guest said that the time can't be too long!”
"Oh! Alright, I'll temporarily go and take over for a few days! Let's discuss it again after this period of time. We'll come over to get the oars later. Who knows, some early bird might cross the river!”
"Alright! I'll go over right after breakfast!"
When Zhang Genbao was ready, there were already two or three people waiting for the ferry. When they saw Genbao with an oar in his hand, they knew that they had changed boats again today!
"Sigh! I said, you are the man who is ferrying the boat today?”
"Yes! The two uncles want to cross the river?"
"That's right! Why else would he come here so early? I was wondering why I haven't seen you before. Are you new here?"
"Oh! He wasn't considered new. He had been here for more than three months! I usually work at the Shen family's residence, so I'm not familiar with this place. Today, my team leader asked me to take his shift and come over to ferry the boat. It's my first time here and I'm not familiar with it. Please forgive me!”
"I see. May I know your name?"
"Your surname is Wang! My name is Genbao, and my name is Ran Yu. Just call me Genbao.”
"Oh! Oh! So it was Young Master Wang! My surname is Tang. I'm sorry for my disrespect!"
"So it's Young Master Wang! My surname is Zhuang, I apologize for my disrespect!"
It turned out that people in ancient times only had names, unless they were scholars or rich families. Therefore, when the two old men heard that this person had a name, they were a little surprised and immediately respected him!
"Aiya! You're too polite! Uncle Zhuang and Uncle Tang, please board the ship…"
"Alright, alright!"
It turned out that this river was from the moat of the county town in the northeast to the sea of Dinghai Harbor after passing through Daotou City in the southwest. There was no bridge on the river. The entire river separated the county town from Qinglei Mountain and Dongyue Mountain. One had to pass the ferry from Qinglei Mountain and Dongyue Mountain to the county town. The river was only over 30 m wide. On the opposite bank was a small wharf made of simple wood. Bao was familiar with this place. This 18-foot-long ferry boat was placed horizontally at the simple dock, and then it called out to the two uncles who were about to cross the river…
"Sit tight! It's time to sail!"
"The boat is leaving!"
Then, with a long cry, the boat steadily left the simple dock and swayed to the other side in the breeze. The two old men sitting on the boat could not believe that the person in front of them really belonged to a young master! This ship was even more stable than the old man!
Soon, the boat arrived at the dock. After greeting the two old men who had entered the city, he saw that there was no one at the dock. Thinking that no one wanted to go to the shack now, Genbao pushed the boat back to the south bank and parked it on the side, patiently waiting for the next passenger to cross the river.
The reality was completely different from his wishes. He was full of hope as he waited for people to cross the river. However, from the time the sun rose to the time the sun rose, there were many people crossing the river. Unfortunately, they all came on their own boats. Among them were the " Bodhisattvas " mentioned by the guests at home. They carried big boxes and small boxes to the shantytown.
As a result, he was a little discouraged and hid in the straw shed that Uncle He had set up at the side to avoid the scorching sun. From time to time, he would stretch his neck out of the straw shed and look around, hoping for the arrival of the next person crossing the river.
By the afternoon, he had lost all hope. He could only look around in boredom to kill the boring wait! The dock area was not large. There were logs less than 10 meters wide and about ten to five meters long. They were tied together with hemp ropes and placed on four horizontal logs that were standing on the deeper parts of the riverbed to form a simple wooden bridge. The trees on both sides of the dock were cleaned very well. The water on the riverbank fluctuated from time to time with the movement of the current. A few small fish swam back and forth at the waterline...
Looking at the small town across from them, the foot of the city wall that was made of mud was almost close to the river. Along the river bank in the direction of the county town along the east gate, there were a few places where the trees had been cut clean. There were more than ten simple docks, and there were a few small sand boats parked at the docks. Most of the boats only had one sail pole, and there were a few boatmen cleaning the boats...
On the river near the county town, a small fishing boat with cormorants was slowly rowing upstream, not afraid of the scorching sun…
Looking back at where he lived, he saw rows of straw shacks not far from the shore, densely packed all the way to the foot of the mountain. Almost all the families who came first lived near the river, and those who came later lived near the foot of the mountain. At the embankment of the dock, there were a few small roads that were trampled by people, winding and leading to different parts of the shanty town. All kinds of shrubs and miscellaneous trees on the riverbank covered the embankment tightly, and the soil on the riverbank was almost invisible.
Looking at the bay along the river, there were a few strange ships docked in the deep water area not far away. Those that were a little far away could not be seen clearly.
He recognized the ship with the mast. It was a large ship from the foreigners. However, he was not familiar with the shapes of the other boats. They looked strange too. The boats were low, and the front and back were almost the same. They were called sand boats, but there was a house in the middle. They were called art workshops, but they did not have such beautiful clothes. There were two prows that were strangely high. He really did not know what the purpose of making such boats was. There were also some numbers and symbols on the hull, but there was no name. Moreover, there were no eyes drawn on the bow! Could it be that they weren't afraid and didn't respect the Sea God?
For the first time, Genbao realized that his thoughts were not enough. These boats should be used by the "Bodhisattvas" that his wife mentioned.
Recalling what his wife told him last night when he got home, about the different actions of these "Bodhisattvas", Genbao became more interested in these people. Once he became interested, he suddenly realized that his current job was particularly beneficial to him. Here, he could come into contact with all kinds of people and inadvertently learn a lot of things!
Thinking of this, he hoped that Uncle He would never come back here again. This way, he would be able to do it for a long time! Moreover, he hoped that someone would come and ferry him now. That way, he could ask some things he wanted to know.
However, he kept coming out and going in and out of the straw shed until the sun was about to set and all hope was about to be extinguished. Only then did many people come out of the straw shed area. He immediately became excited and quickly ran out to welcome them...
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。