In the chaos, Zhao Xiu didn't know how things happened, only remembered that the boat overturned, and most of the people on the deck slipped into the icy river, and the rest clung to the edge of the boat, railings or anything else that could be grasped, and the wailing for help instantly sounded on the river.

Zhao Xiu was very unlucky, she was held in her arms by the pearl sister-in-law, and the pearl sister-in-law was in a daze, the moment the boat overturned, the latter did not react at all, and slipped down at the first time, and the whole person broke through the railing and fell straight to the river.

But although she did not fall into the water, she also fell into a precarious situation. From her point of view, many of the people on the boat had fallen into the river, and in the confusion she even saw her father, who was being carried on his back, also falling into the water, her mother crying, her little brother crying, but her grandmother seemed to be protected, clinging to a railing that could slide off the deck at any moment. In the river, countless people are screaming and howling, and there are still a few dead wind lamps hanging on the boat that have not been extinguished, shaking in the wind and rain, accompanied by the creaking sound of the boat, it always makes people feel that this boat may not last long.

In the wind and rain, Zhang's scream was heard: "Find a way to swim ashore!" It's not far from the shore! If you work together, you will be saved! ”

Her words alerted many people, and those who were struggling to call for help in the water and a few boatmen immediately came to their senses and swam desperately to the shore. Helplessly, most of the male and female servants and women accompanying the Zhao family were northerners, and most of them were not familiar with water, even if they knew that the shore was not far away, they didn't know how to swim over, so they could only struggle desperately. But at this time the hull of the ship was still moving by inertia, and the broken mast was mercilessly attacking the people on the river, who watched as the huge hull fell to them, and one companion after another was swept under the water, and could do nothing but scream.

Sister-in-law Pearl hung on the edge of the boat and couldn't help crying: "Old lady, old lady, I can't hold it anymore!" Save my sister, save my sister! Zhao Xiu was also very scared, regardless of his weak strength, a pair of small hands tightly grasped the edge of the boat.

She can swim, really, and swim well, but with her current small body, can she really swim? She didn't want to drown, she really didn't want to!

But Zhang's can't take care of this side anymore, because she can't protect herself now, the hull of the ship is tilting more and more, and there is even a sound of wooden planks cracking on the deck, seeing that she is about to fall into the water, and there is even a servant who is guarding her and can't hold it down into the river, just when the pearl sister-in-law is crying, Mi Shi also fell into the water, and Zhao Wei in her arms naturally did not escape.

The sound of the deck cracking was getting louder and louder, and Zhao Xiu had to think of a way: "Nurse, grab a plank!" As soon as she finished speaking, the remaining mast was completely broken and fell into the water, half of the hull sank into the water, and the other half leaned to the other side under the force of the rebound. Suddenly it cracked, and the whole ship fell apart in a short time. Zhao Xiu subconsciously grabbed the edge of the boat, but the force of the pearl sister-in-law's fall was too great, and she was brought down to the river, and she only felt that there was ice on her body and she had fallen into the river.

She immediately used the swimming skills she was familiar with before the crossing, except for choking on two mouthfuls of water at first, but she quickly got used to it, but the pearl sister-in-law was a landlubber, and hugged her tightly, if she didn't want to be dragged into the water, she could only find a way to save herself. She didn't care so much about life and death, and immediately taught Sister-in-law Pearl the skills of swimming: "Kick your legs!" Swap pedals on two legs! Inhale out of the water, hold your breath in the water, the free hand dials the water, dials back, and we swim ashore! "It's a pity, how much can Sister Pearl listen to in a panic? Except for subconsciously kicking her legs, she couldn't do anything, and she drank a few more sips of water.

It is also her luck, one of the cracked planks of the hull of the ship floated near them, the size of two door panels, and the pearl sister-in-law seemed to remember what she just said "grab a plank", and pounced with all her strength, and was really pounced by her, and the first time was to send Zhao Xiu to the plank, and she also climbed up.

Zhao Xiu finally got rid of the crisis of drowning temporarily, she was soaked at this time and sneezed a few times. But before she could think about whether she would be sick, she searched for her grandmother, her parents, and her brother by the light of the lanterns on the wreckage.

Zhao Zhuo and Mi Shi have long disappeared, there are countless people on the river calling for help, Zhao Xiu can't tell who is who, in the dark, as if she saw someone swimming towards them, swimming closer, she found that it was Qiu Ye holding Zhang. Sister-in-law Pearl hurriedly reached out to pull it, Qiu Ye pushed Zhang's death onto the plank, Zhao Xiu forgot how old she was for a while, and helped pull it, although her strength was nothing at all.

Zhang had passed out, his face was pale, and he seemed to have drunk a lot of water. Zhao Xiu felt that her pulse was still beating, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But as soon as Zhang came up, the planks began to sink down, and they were about to be completely immersed in the water. Sister-in-law Pearl was a little confused, but Zhao Xiu immediately understood that this plank was too small to bear the weight of two adult women, although she was a small child, it was not negligible in physics, what should I do? !

She quickly said to Akiba, "Find another plank!" Autumn leaves panted on the edge of the board, and when she heard it, she understood, looking at the current situation of the master, she looked up and said to the pearl sister-in-law: "Sister-in-law, come down for the time being, this board can't hold you and the old lady on it, let's find another board!" Sister-in-law Pearl then understood, she had no objection at all, although she was afraid, she still closed her eyes and jumped into the water, and the plank instantly returned to its original state.

Sister-in-law Pearl also learned to pick up the edge of the board like autumn leaves, kicking her feet around, although she was tired, but she also learned a little swimming skills on the ground, and there was no danger of drowning for the time being. Seeing this, Qiu Ye said, "Sister-in-law takes care of the old lady and sister, and I will go to find the second master, the second wife, and Brother Wei." Then a fierce man plunged into the water again.

Zhao Xiu sneezed again, looked at her grandmother's appearance, her abdomen was slightly raised, most likely she drank water, she tried to stand up, pressed her whole body into her grandmother's abdomen, and sister-in-law Pearl exclaimed: "Sister, don't move!" A column of water had spewed out of Zhang's mouth, and Zhao Xiu pressed it two or three more times, until there was no more water flowing out of Zhang's mouth, and he woke up quietly.

When Zhang opened his eyes, his eyes were still very blank: "Where am I?" ”

Sister-in-law Pearl cried again: "Old lady! Zhao Xiu looked up and looked around, wanting to answer where his grandmother was, but he was stunned.

It has been a while since the ship sank, and they were no longer in the same place, and drifted along the current for some distance, and the big boat they were sitting on sank into the river twenty or thirty feet away, leaving only a few masts still on the water, and a lantern fell on it, and slowly sank into the water.

The sound of splashing came, and Qiu Ye swam towards them with a wooden tabletop less than a square size, and there was a small figure lying on the tabletop, which was Zhao Wei. Zhao Xiu was overjoyed: "Brother! Autumn leaves swam over and said, "Brother drank a lot of water and fainted." Her face was pale, evidently cold, and she was panting as she spoke.

Sister-in-law Pearl hurriedly helped move Zhao Wei to the big plank, she cautiously saw that Zhao Wei's weight did not let the plank sink, so she breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly pulled the small plank closer, wanting to climb up, but unfortunately the plank could not bear her weight either, she could only pick it up and use it as a floating board.

Zhao Xiu reused her little body, pressed out the water that Zhao Wei drank into her stomach, she also tried her little brother's breathing, it seemed to be a little weak, looked around, her heart was horizontal, and she gave him artificial respiration.

The light was dim at night, Zhang's was still a little delirious, Autumn Leaves was panting on the edge of the plank, Sister-in-law Pearl was busy tossing the small plank, no one noticed what she was doing, and when Zhao Wei's breathing returned to normal, Zhao Xiu immediately moved her body away, pretending to be calling her brother.

Akiba rested on the side of the board for a while, and then turned back to continue looking for someone. Zhao Xiu was afraid that she wouldn't be able to hold on: "Don't you matter?" She just smiled and swam away.

The surroundings seemed to be quiet again, it was pitch black, except for the four of their ancestors and grandchildren, Zhao Xiu didn't see anyone else, he could only hear the sound of the water, the rain stopped at some time, the wind was not strong, but it blew through the wet clothes coldly, and it could freeze into people's bones.

A light appeared on the shore not far away, and Zhao Xiu perked up: "Someone!" Sister-in-law Pearl looked over and was overjoyed: "It's Master Hou and them!" That's our family's boat! Zhang woke up suddenly, and struggled to prop up his body: "Don't go to ......" But Sister-in-law Pearl had already grabbed the small wooden board and kicked it over desperately: "Help! Help me! ”

But what answered her was a few long oars, which beat her in a daze, and the plank in her hand was knocked off at some point, and the whole person disappeared into the river.

Zhao Xiu wanted to scream, but her grandmother covered her mouth tightly, and she could only stare at the boats and the people on them from a distance, allowing the planks under her to float down with the river until she could no longer see the light. Zhang let go of his hand and lay down on the board weakly, Zhao Xiu looked at her with tears in his eyes, and wanted to ask "why", but he felt that there was no need to ask.

They didn't meet anyone else.

I don't know how long I drifted, Zhao Wei began to heat up, talking nonsense in his mouth, and his forehead was hot. Zhang tore off the corner of his wet clothes and put it on his forehead, knowing that this was not a long-term method, and then looked at his granddaughter, who had been sitting blankly, staring at the riverbank, not knowing if he was stupid.

There are also sons and daughters-in-law, and a few confidant maids-in-law, who don't know whether they are dead or alive at the moment.

Zhang's heart was at a loss, and he didn't know where to go.

The granddaughter suddenly sat up straight and startled her: "Eldest sister, what's wrong?" ”

Zhao Xiu suddenly shouted loudly towards the shore: "Help! Help me! ”

Zhang followed her gaze to the shore, and found that there was a carriage on the river beach not far away, and the light from the lantern hanging on the eaves was so warm and bright.