Xia Houying also suspected that he robbed pedestrians, and there was an accident on the riverbank. Hou Qike, the helmsman of the river patrol, knew that the water surface in this area was extremely wide, far away from the river bank, and the cries for help were very close.

The sailor on the bow replied: "There are people on the water." ”

Following the splash, a person came up from the water, and a probe shouted: "Save the ......" only half shouted.

This time the voice was extremely short, as if he had exhausted his strength and hoarse, and then he was swept away by the swift current, and actually washed the man to the side of the boat. The sailors had already picked up a penny, but they were a little hesitant to come to the rescue.

At this time, Xiahou Ying also rushed out of the cabin, and when he saw that someone had fallen into the water, he had already made a sound, and he would definitely not die, so how could he not save him when he saw death? ”

Hou Qi also felt that this person came too strangely, how could there be such a thing on the river in the middle of the night, so he ordered the sailors to come to the rescue. But it was really supposed that the people in the water would not die, and they came up to shout for help for the second time, and then they couldn't hear the sound, but they stuck to the side of the boat, as if they were holding something, and never left the boat.

Although the sailors are gangsters, they have the same compassion. At that time, I didn't know who was drowning, so I hurriedly used the iron hook on the penny to gently put on the clothes of the man in the water, grabbed it and dragged it to the side of the boat, and the other sailor reached out and grabbed the man in the water and pulled him onto the boat.

By the light on the bow of the boat, I could see that the person rescued was a short old man in his fifties with a short beard on his lips, and he was no longer aware of anyone at this time. The sailors touched this man's belly and said to Hou Qi: "Helmsman, this person doesn't seem to have much water in his belly, and his chest is still jumping, so he won't die." So he rescued him according to the way he had saved the drowning.

Sure enough, the short old man had a grunt in his stomach, and a mouthful of water squirted out. Hou Qi was standing in front of him, the saliva sprayed more than two feet high, Hou Qi lowered his head, but still greeted him, spraying all over his face. Hou Qi said frustrated, and held the water on his face with his hand, but it was inconvenient to attack. At this time, the short old man actually slowed down from the sound of "ouch".

At this time, the canopy had been lowered on the ship, in order to save the people in the water.

Xia Houying was very happy to see this thin old man, who woke up quickly. But this man was drenched in water, like a chicken in soup, so he said to the sailor, "If you have a surplus of clothes, lend him one to wear, and dry his wet clothes, and then ask him to change them when you turn around." ”

The sailors immediately brought a blue cloth shirt, leaned down in front of the old man, and said, "Hey, old man, how are you doing now?

The short old man raised his head, his half-open eyes were blurry, looked at the sailor, Xiahou Ying, and Hou Qi, and said in a trembling voice: "It doesn't matter, I am really a human being in two lives." All the benefactors, all of them are my life-saving benefactors, I thank you all in advance!"

Hou Qi said: "Old man, don't thank you, you change your clothes and follow me into the cabin." We are busy and have no time to delay, so I have something to ask you. ”

The short old man hurriedly said: "The old man is really a good man, I just need to change a gown." As he spoke, he raised his arms, clicked, and threw out two carps eight or nine inches long from his sleeves, and although they did not jump, their heads and tails trembled slightly.

The sailors sighed, and the short old man also said with a look of surprise: "Hey! My old man almost didn't feed the fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs, but fortunately it was two carps, and if it were two soft-shelled turtles, I would have to treat them to a full meal." It's not a tribute, it's a tribute to the benefactors!"

As he spoke, he took off his wet clothes, put on the sailor's shirt, and stood up with him.

Hou Qi really glanced at the short old man a few times, but according to all the actions of the short old man, there was nothing eye-catching, and the two fish may have been in a hurry. Hou Qi's original intention, thinking that the flooded man had been rescued, quickly called the boat to the shore and sent him away. If the old man is short of plate money, he will give him a few more emperors.

Now that this kind of trick is suddenly made, no matter whether he has any other feelings, he will take him into the cabin and interrogate him carefully. So he put on the cloth shirt, twisted the water in the middle coat, and the lower body was originally barefoot and wearing a pair of bast shoes, so Hou Qi beckoned and walked into the cabin.

Hou Qi turned around deliberately and arrogantly, and sat diagonally on the cabin. On the small table lay a candlestick, and by the light the little old man looked closely. I saw that he was very short, dry and thin, with bald sideburns, a sparse pigtail dragging behind his head, thin eyebrows and phoenix eyes, as if open and closed, sparse short beard on his lips, although his face was dry from water stains, it was not pale, it was still ruddy. His gaze touched Hou Qi, and he quickly looked away.

Hou Qi's heart moved, and then asked: "Old friend, dare to love is also a practicing family." Old friend, forgive me for being clumsy, if it's 'the same origin on the road', please report it, right?"

The short old man didn't seem to understand what Hou Qi said, and said hesitantly: "Engong, your eyesight is really high, it is inconvenient for the little old man to tell lies, my surname is Gao, and there is a single name and a character." If I hadn't done it twice, I wouldn't have almost lost my life. Xiao Lao'er's family is in Dongping Dam, Yueqing, and he also raised fishing boats in his early years, and I also know a little about water. It's just that because I'm getting old, my strength is getting worse day by day. I thought that if I continued to do my best, my legs and feet would be gone, and I would have to feed the soft-shelled turtle sooner or later. Fortunately, my son and grandson were able to support the family, so I sold the boat and ate them, and for six or seven years, I still had enough food and clothing. The day before yesterday, I went to Gulingyi, visited one of my nephews, and when I came back, I tried to save a few hundred dollars, but I didn't know that I was walking in the north of Shengjiazhuang, and I met a poor thief who couldn't open his eyes, and robbed me of all my clothes and money. Alas, I'm not afraid of Engong's jokes, I just have the temper of sacrificing my life and not giving up money. I relied on the old and sold the old, and I ran away with shouting, trying to shout out the villagers of Shengjiazhuang. When the poor thief is afraid, can he not give me back what he has robbed me? Engong, this thief who dares to love is also very poor, and when he saw me shouting, he immediately kicked me to the ground. If I had been honest and silent, the poor thief might have gone. But I remembered that a good new bamboo cloth kaftan was made for me by my grandson. On the first day, I put it on, and the two emperor dollars in my pocket are not easy to accumulate, and they are all enjoyed by him. The poor thief is also ruthless, and must kill me. He still thinks of his old age, and tells me to choose my own way of death, one is to cut green onions, and the other is to plant lotuses. I don't think it's good to be buried alive, and I can't turn over when I die. It's too uncomfortable to bury in the soil, but I'm still willing to drown. They had to tie a stone around my neck, and I deserved to die before I could find a stone, and they threw me into the water. I was a little familiar with water, but the water was too fast for me to slow down. I only felt that after half a sip of water, something was wrong. I didn't want to live anymore, but I felt that it was not comfortable to drown, and I was willing to live for two more days. From now on, I know that the taste of death is too sad, and I will never scold a thief again. The benefactors have a bowl of hot water, and the five organs that are flushed with water are all empty. ”

Xia Houying listened to his foolish words, looked at Hou Qi and smiled.

Hou Qi knew that he was really an ignorant countryman, so he disdained to ignore him, so he said: "Since you live in Dongpingba, this is getting farther and farther away from our boat, I will tell the guys to bring the boat ashore, you go ashore and go home!"

Xiahou Ying took out an emperor yuan and said: "Old man Gao, this piece of silver will be given to you too! ”

Hou Qi replied: "This young man, don't scold people so casually, if you don't say a few words, why will you almost drown? Go to the rear cabin and drink a bowl of hot water, and ask the sailor to send you ashore!"

The short old man hurriedly said to Hou Qi: "Engong, save people and save me, I have not recovered from being irrigated by the poor thief with water, my limbs are weak, and I have no strength at all, how dare I go alone and take the black road again? No matter where I go, I will follow first, I would rather take more unjust roads than dare to go by myself." Benefactors forgive me. ”

Hou Qi was about to answer, but Xiahou Ying saw that he was pitiful, so he said to Hou Qi, the helmsman of the river patrol: "What Lao Er said is also the truth, originally a countryman, how did he go through? Not to mention that he has died nine times in his life, and he is inevitably afraid." Since we saved him, let's just tell him to stay on the boat for a little longer!"

Hou Qi was inconvenient to refute because Xia Houying had already spoken, so he beckoned the sailor Ah Jin and led the old man to the rear cabin to settle down.

Then the sailors, seeing that there was nothing else to do, re-pulled their canopies, and sailed forward. Arrived at about five watches, the ship arrived at the Longkou pile, where the main helm of Hou Qi, the helmsman of the river patrol, was located.

In addition to sending speedboats out of the waters under his jurisdiction, there are usually six or seven sailboats moored for standby. He used a two-masted wind ship, which has always been anchored and garrisoned here, and has never been immovable without being dispatched by himself. When I arrived, I didn't see a single ship under my jurisdiction.

Hou Qi immediately knew that Luo Xin, who had both hands of golden darts, must have taken a step forward, and I was afraid that the future might not be over. Thinking of this, he discussed with Lu Zhong, who was at the helm of the ship, for a while, and instructed: "Unless it is the three halls inside the main altar of the chief helmsman, no matter who comes to stop us from sailing, we will only give him a hard break." Whoever dares to touch my ship will be responsible for it. Lu Zhong, who was at the helm, agreed one by one.

Xia Houying saw that Hou Qi looked flustered, and he didn't want to ask him directly, and he knew that he couldn't tell the truth if he asked. As a casual look, he looked out of the hatch, and vaguely saw that the situation in this area was even more sinister.

This tight flow is a three-way street, and the way from it is already the strength of the barren river. To the east is the waterway into the sea, and to the northwest there is a huge fork in the water, the water is very strong, and the sound of the water is especially loud at night. Where the two channels diverge, whirlpools rise on the surface of the water. The waterway to the northwest is particularly desolate and treacherous, with a surface of more than five feet wide, and a high hill with steep walls at the left, and rocky and undulating slopes below, full of barren river thorns. On the right is a reef rising from the middle of the river, and on top of it is dense grass and reeds, and the boat is heading for this waterway.

Xia Houying had yet to discern the situation in detail, and Hou Qi actually greeted: "Brother, don't say that you can't see the situation clearly at night in this area, even during the day, there is nothing to see, please sit down!"

Xiahou Ying was told that it was not good to look at it again, so she had to retreat.

Although Hou Qi pretended to be calm, his expression was already anxious, and then he suddenly heard three whistles outside in a row, and his voice was sharp. Hou Qiqian's complexion changed, and he immediately jumped to the hatch, and Huo jumped out of the hatch.

Because Xiahou Ying arrived on the boat, he showed that he had no other, and removed the single knife inserted in his back, put it on the small table, and looked at it to see that it was still there. Then he walked lightly to the hatch, peeked out sideways, and saw Hou Qi standing upright at the bow of the boat.

At this time, the boat was a little slower, because as soon as it entered this fork in the water, it had to turn from time to time, and the wind canopy could not be used, so four sailors rowed the boat.