When the tugboat starts, the ice on the water surface on the shore breaks apart with the movement of the hull, some are inserted under the ice, and some are rushed out of the ice, following the rolling current, revealing a hideous sharpness.

The steamer first sailed to the surface of a large convoy of ships, and with steel cables, a large wooden ship full of coal was attached, and behind it was connected to other ships of the same kind. The tugboat slowly follows the river and flows down the river.

This river, called Yuebanhe, is a river that zigzags through the provincial capital from north to south, and it carries a very large number of transportation tasks in the era when land transportation is underdeveloped. At that time, it was also a very prosperous water passage.

The banks of the river were frozen in the middle of the river, and there was still a slow flow in the middle of the river, only on the surface of the water, and from time to time there were large and small ice cubes. Behind the tugboats, dozens of meters apart, connected to more than a dozen large wooden boats, they are lined up, the momentum is huge, very spectacular.

Xiao Yao didn't stay long on the boat, he was dizzy by the roaring diesel engine, he saw Yuan Yuan sitting quietly on Qin Manjiang's shop, he wanted to talk to her and adjust his irritability, so he leaned into her ear and asked loudly:

"Yuan Yuan, what are you thinking? Did you miss him just after we separated?"

"You're talking nonsense, I'm thinking, how can I tell my parents about so much money when I go home. ”

"What did you say? I didn't hear that. ”

Yuan Yuan didn't come to Xiao Yao's ear, nor did he shout as loudly as Xiao Yao, Xiao Yao didn't hear it clearly at all.

Yuan Yuan had no choice but to lean into Xiao Yao's ear and said loudly:

"I won't say it, don't make your voice hoarse. ”

This time Xiao Yao heard it, she said it well, she was too tired to chat on this tugboat, and she definitely relied on shouting loudly. He was irritable and covered his ears with his hands, just covering them and feeling better, but after a while, he felt that everything was as usual, and he simply stopped covering it.

Xiao Yao is very depressed now, he knew this thing and this virtue, he didn't sit at all, this is too torturous, he has to admire now, these people who have worked on the tugboat all year round.

"Brother Xiao, are you okay?"

Qin Manjiang was busy for a while, walked to the door of the small cabin, and shouted at Xiao Yao.

"it, this boom, boom, it's all noisy, it's so slow, how long will it take to get there?"

"You just came up, and you are not used to it, but after a while, your ears will get used to it. Normally, it would be dark. ”

", you were killed, didn't you say that it was the same as a ship?"

When he heard that it would take so long, Xiao Yao couldn't help but burst into foul language, doesn't this cost human life? Now that it's lunch time, he has to stay up until dark in this environment, and he doesn't know if he can survive until then.

"Hey, hey, it's the same waterway as a steamer, it's just slow and noisy. ”

", get busy. ”

Xiao Yao was so angry that he pushed Qin Manjiang away from the door of the cabin, almost knocking him down.

"Okay, rest yell, and when it is time to eat, I will call you. ”

Yuan Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw that the conversation between the two of them was like a war. She stood up, pulled Xiao Yao to sit on the edge of the small bed, and gestured, signaling him to stop talking and pay attention to his voice.

Xiao Yao realized at this time what it was like to be on a thief ship. As soon as the tugboat set out, when it arrived at the location, it did not want to dock, and a dozen or so large wooden boats followed it, and if they were not careful, they would collide with it, and the tugboat would not dare to relax at all and move forward bravely.

When Qin Manjiang came to call Xiao Yao and the others to lunch, the fleet rushed out of the river and came to the entrance of Guohu Lake, only to see the lake in the distance, white and vast, and the sky was gray, and no clouds could be seen.

Eat and eat, and sail as sailing. Xiao Yao didn't take a few bites, so he couldn't eat it. It's not that Xiao Yao dislikes bad food, on the contrary, there are fish and meat, soup, salted duck, and vegetables, which can be said to be very hearty.

But Xiao Yao couldn't eat, this meal was not clean, and his ears were about to close his breath, which made him irritable and uneasy. He now knew what Qin Manjiang was talking about, that is, waiting for his ears to hold his breath. When the ears are closed, they can't hear, but they get used to it.

On the other hand, Yuan Yuan is much calmer than Xiao Yao on this boat, she is not impatient, she should eat, drink, and gestilate to Xiao Yao when she has something, and rarely shout.

Xiao Yao couldn't eat, he stood on the side of the boat, holding on to the pillar of the cabin, looking at the more and more ice on the lake. He felt that the speed of the boat was much slower than on the river, almost like a snail.

The more they drove towards the middle of the lake, the ice became bigger and bigger, and in the end, Xiao Yao suddenly realized that their tugboat was actually driving in a huge ice crevice.

I don't know if it's because the boat is slowing down, the engine power is reduced, or because Xiao Yao's ears are already breathless, inadvertently, Xiao Yao felt that the noise is much smaller, and this discovery made Xiao Yao very surprised.

"Yuan Kite, come and see, the entire lake is frozen, like a huge mirror lying flat on the ground. ”

This scene is completely different from the wind and waves when Xiao Yao originally took the passenger ferry, and Xiao Yao was as surprised as discovering a new continent.

"You see, there's a boat in front of you, and there's someone waving on the ice. ”

Following the direction of Yuan Yuan's finger, Xiao Yao saw a person standing on the white ice, holding a red object in his hand, swaying from side to side. Behind him was a wooden boat, with a high mast, pointing barely towards the sky, looking so weak.

At this time, the tugboat can already be compared to staggering, and the speed is so slow that it can't be slow, and it almost stops. The steel hull and the "click" sound of rolling the ice surface all clearly entered Xiao Yao's eardrums.

It was such a slow speed that the tugboat continued to move forward for a long time, until it judged that the big wooden boat behind it would not slide and collide with it, and then it completely stood still.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Yao looked at Yuan Yao and asked, Yuan Yuan looked at Xiao Yao in a daze. Qin Manjiang and the personnel on the bed all went to the cab.

Before getting on the boat, Qin Manjiang said that the wheelhouse would not let others in, Xiao Yao was not easy to inquire, so he could only wait here, and only when Qin Manjiang came back could he know what was going on.

"Brother Xiao, the lake is frozen, the more you get to the front, the thicker the ice becomes, and the boat can't go any further. ”

"What? You mean, we're in the middle of this lake?"

Qin Manjiang felt very sorry for Xiao Yao at this time, and he said embarrassedly:

"That's all we can say at the moment, but that's okay, we're going to contact the icebreaker, and as long as the icebreaker comes, we'll be gone. ”

After Qin Manjiang finished speaking, he hurriedly left under the pretext that there was something. Xiao Yao and Yuan Yuan stared at each other with wide eyes, and only let out a sigh.

When the boat stopped, it was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and a few hours later, it was getting dark. The tugboat was okay and there was lighting, but the dozen or so large wooden boats behind could only light kerosene lamps.

They were in the rear more than ten or twenty meters away from the tugboat, and their voices could be faintly heard, but they could not hear what they were saying.

At this time, the most timid is Yuan Yuan, on the whole boat, she is only a woman, from the time she got on the boat to the present, she didn't even dare to go to the toilet. And Xiao Yao also thought of this, but he was embarrassed to ask her.

But everyone has three urgencies, and at a certain time, they can't help it if they want to endure it, no, Yuan Yuan took the initiative to find Xiao Yao.

"Xiao Yao, I ......"

"You come with me. ”

Xiao Yao didn't wait for Yuan Yuan to finish speaking, so he took her to the toilet behind the tugboat, there was only one toilet on the tugboat, Xiao Yao went in, and specially observed that the latch on the door was broken. Therefore, after Xiao Yao went in, he stood not far away to help her.

In Xiao Yao's mind, even if a girl goes to the toilet, it won't take too long, but Xiao Yao stood at the door, waiting left and right, but he didn't see Yuan Yuan coming out, he wanted to urge her several times, but he really couldn't pull down this face.

However, it's really cold outside, and he doesn't dare to leave, in case he leaves, what if he doesn't push the door in with long eyes?

Xiao Yao was impatient outside, Yuan Yuan was crying anxiously inside, this toilet was too narrow, when she finished digging out the paper, her elbow fell to the wall board, and the straw paper in her hand fell into the toilet that went straight to the water.

"Yuan Yuan, what's wrong with you?"

No matter how much he asked, Xiao Yao suspected that Yuan Yuan had fallen into the water, not to mention going to the toilet, even if it was about to take a nap.

"I ...... I dropped the paper in the water, woo-woo-woo......"

Yuan Yuan was shyness and sadness at this time, and when he heard Xiao Yao's question, he turned from silent tears to small tears. Xiao Yao hurriedly ran back to Qin Manjiang's small cabin, and in his hurry, he didn't find straw paper, so he tore off two pieces of paper that were not written on his homework book and ran back.

He stood at the door of the toilet, and did not rush to hand the paper to Yuan Yuan, but rubbed it vigorously in his hand, and waited until the paper was soft, and then handed it in through the crack in the door.

Yuan Yuan, who was extremely embarrassed, came out, and saw that Xiao Yao was frozen like a hairless chicken in the water in winter, so she hurriedly pulled him back to the small cabin, and she herself was frozen enough.

"Xiao Yao, you are so careful, no wonder they all like to be with you. ”

Xiao Yao didn't know if she meant this with good intentions or bad intentions, and she didn't understand what she was referring to, so she snorted. At this time, Yuan Yuan took out the red envelope given by Ding Heimole and handed it to Xiao Yao.

"I don't want this, it was given by your friend, you can take it back. ”

Xiao Yao was puzzled by her move.

"Where is his friend of mine, but he is a black-hearted foreman, if it weren't for his bright tricks (his eyes slipped), I would have troubled him this time. If you give it, you will take it, he will make black money, and we will not be sorry to fight local tyrants. ”

Yuan Yuan hesitated for a long time, but still handed it to Xiao Yao.

"I can't take it home, what do I say to my parents when I go home? I am afraid of scaring them with so much money. Or you can keep it for me, and give it to me later. ”

Xiao Yao saw that she was worried about the 200 yuan red envelope, and he couldn't help but be happy. He remembered a story his father told him when he was a child, he took the red envelope, slapped it in his hand, and looked at Yuan Yuan with a playful eye.