At dawn in the small town, Xiao Ning stood by the window overlooking the street view and watched the convoy of the hospital go away.

He turned back to the side of the case, sat down, and unfolded the letter that had arrived urgently in the day.

"General Sun." Xiao Ning called softly, and the people waiting outside the house immediately came inside.

Since last night's meal, which had only a few bites, General Sun was keenly aware that Xiao Ning's mood was much better.

Change the low feelings that come out of the sky.

General Sun stepped forward and asked, "What does Your Highness command?" “

Xiao Ning glanced at him and pushed the letter unfolded on the table to him: "The letter came early in the morning." “

General Sun hurriedly picked up the letter paper, held it in his hand, and when he saw what was written on it, he quickly raised his head and looked at Xiao Ning and said, "Your Highness means"

"I've seen the map, from the small town to the west, there is a road that goes directly to the southwest, and you can choose two people from the people accompanying the pioneer battalion to visit for me."

General Sun stood there, and a trace of embarrassment flashed on his face: "Your Highness came to Jianghuai this time, and originally brought not many people, and now you have to transfer two more people from the elite of the pioneer battalion."

The corners of Xiao Ning's mouth moved: "I understand what you mean, it's just that this matter, I am in suspense day and night, and I can't delay." “

General Sun was glanced at by him, his heart skipped a beat, and he smiled bitterly: "Your Highness, is Ying Tian's news reliable?" ”

Xiao Ning said lightly: "If the news of the secret guard is unreliable, there is no one in the world that I can trust." ”

General Sun's neck shrunk and responded, "My subordinates will do it immediately." ”

The door was gently closed by him, and Xiao Ning leaned back in his chair, but his eyes were always fixed on the stationery on the table.

The secret guard came with the news of the visit, saying that the last time Mr. Mu appeared was in the small town of Guanlan.

Speaking of which, it was a few years ago.

When it came to the small town of Guanlan, Xiao Ning was stunned when he first saw it, but he didn't expect it. I met her in Guanlan, and now even Mr. Mu's whereabouts are inseparable from that town

The team did not leave until near noon, Xiao Ning went downstairs and got into the carriage again, and General Sun's subordinates, who had been sent to explore the road overnight, came to report.

"The road ahead is ok. Seeing that their convoy arrived at the northern outskirts of Jianghuai, our talent turned back. ”

General Sun nodded and said, "In this way, His Highness can rest assured." ”

He frowned and looked at the direction of the carriage where Xiao Ning was sitting, and he really couldn't understand that a convoy that met and stayed outside the inn on a narrow road could still make His Highness worry.

He asked his subordinates to find out the news that the other party was a team of medicine delivery from the Yingtian Medical Center to Jianghuai North, accompanied by several doctors.

Could it be that His Royal Highness was worried that the people of Jianghuai City were short of medical treatment, so he let the pioneer battalion secretly guard.

It must be like this, His Royal Highness is kind-hearted, General Sun secretly affirmed

I sat in the car with Master Chen. The two of them each occupied the window on one side, not only me, but Chen Shi also lifted the curtain of the car to look at the street scene of the mountain city of Jianghuaibei.

Last night, I came out in the rain and almost ran into the guards who were patrolling. The atmosphere is always tense.

This tension is not floating on the table, but hidden underneath, like still water, which newcomers may not be able to perceive, and the city maintains the usual order as always, only a little in-depth understanding. to get a peek into the end.

The townscape of the mountain town at night is of course different from that at night.

I watched the pedestrians on the streets, the signboards of the shops, and the guards of the Jianghuai North City who passed by the car windows from time to time.

Chen Shi retracted his gaze, closed the curtain of the car window, turned his head and asked me, "Xiaolin, you went out last night." When you come back, you can actually borrow a boat, your friend in Jianghuai North, what a big face. ”

Chen Shi's eyes seemed to be smiling, and there was a bit of inquiry, and I knew that I couldn't escape this questioning. He forced himself to calm down and said, "Teacher, I am kind to him, and this time he will repay me." ”

"Grace? Requite? Master Chen looked at me suspiciously and said, "It sounds like it."

"Teacher!" I interrupted him curtly, "Don't ask, I can only say so much, in a word, when we get to the south bank of the river, what we have to do is the right thing." ”

"You don't have to worry about these little details."

Chen Shi shook his head and said: "This is not a trivial matter, do you know that the ships in the north of the Jianghuai River are all controlled, and if you want to use them, you must go through the Guò government." ”

"That friend of yours lent you a boat without authorization, if the matter is exposed and the government knows about it, I'm afraid he won't be able to eat and go around."

I smiled and said, "Please rest assured, the government in Jianghuai North will not let him eat stuffy sticks." ”

"The other party is from the government?" Master Chen said in an uncertain tone.

I turned my face away, and my tone was vague: "Sort it out." ”

Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's better than I expected, so it doesn't seem to affect him." ”

"No, it won't." I couldn't help laughing and said in a low voice, "Besides, in order to avoid suspicion, I deliberately chose the farthest ferry port in the northern suburbs of Jianghuai, the ferry port here in Shilipo, I inquired, and no one from the government came over." ”

Braving the heavy rain, the carriage walked through the streets and alleys, out of the city gate near the northern suburbs, and went straight along the mountain road to the Shilipo Ferry.

The dart master who escorted us to Jianghuai North had already settled the accounts with me and responded to the sky alone.

The length of our stay here has not yet been determined, and if we need to stay for a month or two, it is impossible to make the family wait, and we will have to hire someone from the dart bureau in the northern city of Jianghuai next time.

The one who drove the car today was a guy from our medical center.

With the addition of Master Chen and me, a total of six people went to Jianghuai.

There were no pedestrians on the mountain road, and the more you went in the direction of Shilipo, the more remote the road became, and you could see scattered villages and dwellings on the side of the road before, but later you couldn't even see a single house, and occasionally after passing through the mountain pass, there would be wooden houses where hunters rested, and they looked old and unbearable, and they were inaccessible.

When I reached the ten-mile slope and turned the mountain road, the rain became heavier and heavier, and I looked up and saw several houses built at the ferry.

"Master Chen, this is it." I motioned to the guy who was driving the car to hurry up.

Getting off the carriage, I opened my umbrella and greeted Master Chen.

A few people followed me, around the half-man-high bamboo fence wall. Go to the main entrance of the house.

A wooden door was hidden, and a cloth curtain hung on a thin bamboo pole was picked out from the bamboo pole outside the wall, and the embroidered tea characters on it were almost faded and illegible.

There was a knock on the door, and someone in the easternmost room shouted, "Come in yourselves." ”

There was only one in the house who looked to be about four years old. A fifty-year-old bearded uncle, who was lazily leaning on the bamboo couch to sleep, saw us entering, his eyelids raised slightly, and said, "What are you doing on the ten-mile slope in this ghost weather?" ”

I saluted, smiled politely at him, and said, "Uncle, we have come here to wait for a boat to take us to the south shore." ”

"I saw the word tea written on the curtain outside the gate of your courtyard, and came in to ask for a cup of tea."

The uncle beckoned a few of us to sit at a long table, and before he got up from the bamboo couch, he approached the stove inside. After a long while, we came up with steaming tea.

The tea is very ordinary, but it is still very pleasant to come from the city in the rain and have a cup of hot tea.

The uncle's gaze repeatedly looked at the few of us: "What are you doing on the south bank?" ”

"I won't hide it from you." I was the first to answer, "My master and I, as well as a few brothers and sisters, are from the Yingtian Medical Center, and we plan to go to the south bank to treat the victims. ”

Hearing this, the uncle stood up, a complicated look flashed in his eyes and said, "You are new here. Don't you know that the south bank has been washed away by the water? ”

I exchanged glances with Master Chen, and said to him earnestly: "That's right, but you always have to go and see, and if you can save one, it's one." ”

The uncle shook his head and said, "The boatman you hired in Jianghuai North City told you to cross the river at Shilipo?" ”

"That's right."

"Hey, you've been deceived." The uncle's voice just fell. The brothers and sisters who accompanied me looked at each other and turned their eyes on me.

I took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "How can you see that?" ”

"The government of Jianghuai North has already issued an order, and the number of ships in the city is controlled, how can he be a shipper. How powerful is it to hide from the government and give you accommodation? ”

"Besides, this Shilipo ferry was abandoned as early as 20 years ago, not to mention the boats, and there are not even a few people passing by."

"He told you to cross the river here, but what is it that he didn't lie to you?"

The uncle saw that I had been answering him since he entered the house, so he stared at me and said, "Little brother, did he take your deposit?" ”

"Nope." I flatly deny it.

"Listen to the accent, you are from the north, about far away from here, I don't know the situation of Jianghuai."

"I want to hear about it."

"From Jianghuai north to Jianghuai, there are a total of four ferries along the river."

"From Shilipo past, the river passed by several reefs, and decades ago, when the weather was bad, there were always accidents."

"After that, Jianghuai North has built three ferries of Cuiluokou, Xijin and Quarrying, and the ferries here in Shilipo gradually have few people crossing the river."

"When you come out of the northern suburbs of Jianghuai, you must see the abandoned houses on the mountains along the way, those are all residents who have migrated out, to be honest, this land is no different from being abandoned."

"The boatman asked you to cross the river here, I'm afraid I'm joking with you, little brother, you have been deceived."

The young man who was sitting drinking tea next to him interjected: "Uncle, you said that the ferry port is deserted, but isn't your teahouse open properly?" ”

The uncle laughed and said: "The flag and signboard of this teahouse were still hung more than 20 years ago, otherwise how could it be so broken." ”

"I live here, I make a living by fishing on weekdays, and the weather is bad recently, so I stay in the house to sleep, don't you see the dried fish hanging under the eaves when you come in?"

After listening to the uncle's words, Master Chen deliberately went out of the house and called me to follow, he turned his head outside the house and asked me, "Xiaolin, is your friend reliable?" "Reliable, don't worry."

I glanced at the river in the rain and saw that the waves were rough, and the boat I had agreed with was not visible for the time being.