Chapter 1: Seongnam (2)

Under the scolding of the Zhou family, the selected batons lined up in five teams in a chaotic manner, stepped forward in turn, and bent down with their backs to the side of the ship. Cheng Xiaojiu, Wang Ermao and a dozen other lucky people divided into groups, lifted rice bags from the deck, and put them on the backs of the strong men one by one.

Each rice bag has more than 200 catties, and when it is put on the back, it immediately presses people back and forth. The sticks whose lives were like weeds did not dare to complain, gritted their teeth, and under the scorching sun, they carried the rice bags to the carriage that was already waiting by the official road. When they arrived at their destination, they had to help each other put the rice bags on their backs into the carriage and arrange them neatly from beginning to end before they could receive a life-saving bamboo skewer.

After only two or three trips back and forth, some people were so tired that they almost fell apart, squatting on the side of the road, gasping for air. The "kind-hearted" Chengbo was very experienced in this, and ordered the family to take two large wooden barrels for fire prevention, each of which was as thick as a water tank. He sprinkled a little bit of coarse salt the size of a fingernail on it, and then ordered a well to fill the barrel. The tired and almost lying down the sticks immediately rushed forward, holding salt water in their hands and pouring it into their mouths like a rain of elixir. After being filled with water, the person slowly recovered a little bit of energy, gritted his teeth, staggered to the dock, and continued to fight for the next bamboo stick.

Cheng Xiaojiu, Wang Ermao and others only take care of unloading people, but every four people have to deal with a whole team of men, and it is not easy to do it. But thinking about the salary of a bucket and a half of a meter, everyone gritted their teeth and insisted. I'd rather pant and see black, than let people stand on the side of the ship and wait. Rao was like this, and the overseer's family still thought that everyone was moving too slowly, and kept beating everyone on the backs with the handle of the whip, "Be sharp, be sharp." If you can't do it, if you can't do it, you will go down, and the person who wants to do it will come up! One and a half meters a day, no matter how rich the God of Wealth is, he will not feed his children for nothing! ”

"Alas, alas!" "Alas! Huh! The person who had been whipped did not dare to return the tongue, but agreed in a low voice. While speeding up the movements of his hands, he hoped that the day would end soon. But the sun in the sky can't get along with people sincerely, and it's like a snail climbing a tree. I had already climbed to the top of half of my head before, and I saw that a large boatload of rice was about to be unloaded, and it was still sticking to the treetops.

The sun faltered in the sky, but the heat on the ship did not slow down at all. Beads of sweat dripped down the man's forehead, and as soon as he made contact with the deck, he disappeared without a trace. The soles of the feet, which have long been worn by the years and have been worn by the years, suddenly feel it again, and every step is like stepping on a fire. The white-flowered river, the hot deck and the daylight above colluded to make the whole ship into a large stove. The people who worked the boat were wrapped tightly in sweat-soaked clothes, and their arms and the edges of their hands were dripping with droplets, like steamed rice dumplings.

In addition to Wang Ermao, the other two "zongzi" who partnered with Cheng Xiaojiu to carry straw bags were all locals of Guantao. One of the round-faced men was surnamed Liu, and the other had a black neck like an axle. The two strong men felt that they had suffered a loss in their work with the two young men, and they always took the lead in half a beat when lifting the bag. On the surface, it seems that he took care of Cheng and Wang, but in fact, because he preemptively lifted the straw bag containing rice by half an inch, the rice in the bag was tilted towards the young man's side, and he invisibly took a big advantage.

Cheng Xiaojiu found that the signs were wrong, and hurriedly adjusted the countermeasures secretly. However, he and Wang Ermao have been in the industry for too short a time, and they are far less skilled than their partners opposite. After secretly fighting for a while, not only did it not make the other party stop, but it made the angle of the rice bag tilt bigger and bigger.

Wang Ermao is just over fourteen years old, his body bones and strength have not yet grown, and the four of them have to grit their teeth and stiffen up with an average force, how can they stand the other party's cheating and tricking? The first ship had just been unloaded, and the others were already a little overwhelmed. When he lifted his head from the second boat, his feet softened, causing the other two companions to roll their eyes at him. When he lifted the second straw bag, he tripped garlic under his feet again, and the strong man surnamed Shi who was standing opposite him immediately raised his eyebrows and whispered to him: "You kid take it easy, don't be surprised." If everyone is hurt and their arms are stretched, you will be asked for six buckets of rice's wages?! ”

"Eh, eh!" Wang Ermao didn't dare to argue, puffing out his cheeks. When I walked to the side of the boat, my left foot was so weak that I almost fell headlong into the canal. Fortunately, Cheng Xiaojiu, who was partnered with him on the same side, had great strength, and took the first step to pull both corners of the grain bag, so as to ensure that the bag of grain rested smoothly on the shoulders of the grain bearer.

"What are you guys doing?" The man who carried the food felt the strangeness of the force behind him, and looked back with a dissatisfied expression.

"Nothing, nothing, sweat too much on the deck, slippery feet!" Cheng Xiaojiu hurriedly smiled at the other party, apologizing while patrolling around with his eyes. Fortunately, several of the overseers' family members went elsewhere, and no one paid attention to him on his side, so Wang Ermao escaped by luck.

"Brother Cheng, be careful next time. Lao Tzu's waist has to be kept to feed a large family! The bread bearer frowned and lectured with a straight face.

"Rest assured, you rest assured. The next time we see you, we'll double down! The smile on Cheng Xiaojiu's face was even thicker, as if he owed the other party dozens of dollars and hadn't paid it back.

He breathed in such a low voice, and it was naturally inconvenient for the person who carried the food to have an attack. After leaving a few blank eyes, he walked to the official road with the grain bag on his back. Dealing with the current crisis, Cheng and Wang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Turning around and just about to walk to the cabin, Liu and Shi didn't want to continue to partner with them, grabbed in front of the two, pointed at Wang Ermao's nose and scolded: "Didn't eat, or was it tossed on the girls last night?" Once you throw the grain bag into the water, won't you let everyone eat it with you? ”

"I, I ......" knew that the other party was deliberately finding fault, except for his red face and red ears, Wang Ermao couldn't make any response. The round-faced man secretly glanced at the overseer's family again, glad that the scene just now was not discovered, and the evil fire in his stomach became more and more prosperous. glared at Wang Ermao fiercely, and threatened in a low voice: "Straight lady thief, if you want to eat, make some effort, don't expect to live here." I don't owe your mother money for the night! ”

"I owe your mother money for the night!" Wang Ermao couldn't stand the other party's scolding so viciously, stretched out his hand, and pointed to the face of the man surnamed Liu in return. He had just reached the stage of voice change, and his voice was sharp and thin, which immediately attracted the attention of many people. The man surnamed Liu couldn't hold back his face, roared angrily, rushed to Wang Ermao's side, and hit with a fist.

A strong man bullies a child who has not grown a beard, and this punch is naturally nine out of ten. The batons on both sides saw that there was a lot to see, and immediately secretly slowed down, waiting to watch how Wang Ermao's nose blossomed under the opponent's fist. To everyone's surprise, the punch surnamed Liu hit halfway and suddenly fell. The whole person also seemed to have suffered from heat stroke, his eyes were straight, the corners of his mouth were salivating, and his ass was sitting on the hot deck softly.

said that it was too late, it was fast, and without waiting for the overseer's family to come and intervene, the strong man surnamed Liu suddenly recovered his spirits again. A tall man jumped up from the deck, clutched his neck and shouted behind him: "Straight lady thief, who pinched grandpa's neck in the back just now." Straight ......"

In the second half of the swearing, the whip was directly pulled back into the stomach. Ding Guang, the overseer's family, saw him fall to the ground and pretended to be dead, and then covered his neck to provoke trouble, and immediately had the idea of killing chickens and monkeys, and he had more than a dozen leather whips on his head and face.

In the midst of suffering, people often hope that more people will appear in their hearts, so that they can find a trace of joy in life. Seeing the strong man surnamed Liu being pumped, the onlookers laughed, and their legs and feet immediately became much sharper. The axle neck was friendly with the man surnamed Liu, and when he saw that his companion was beaten, he hurriedly stepped forward to explain to the supervisor, "Big brother, big brother, it was this kid surnamed Cheng who made it bad behind his back just now, he pinched Liu Laoshi's neck and stunned Lao Liu." It's not that Lao Liu is lazy, I can see it clearly just now, it's these two little hairy children who are slacking off, not Liu Laoshi! ”

"Fuck you. He is a half-sized son, and he can pinch Liu Laoshi down! Who are you bitch? "The overseer's family doesn't have the time to administer justice for the batons, and he doesn't believe that Cheng Xiaojiu has the ability to strangle a strong man like Liu Laoshi to faint. I can't help but say that turning the leather whip and hitting the axle neck is also a good beating. When he beat Liu and Shi's two aggressive roosters into wilted rabbits, he hugged his head and begged for mercy again and again.

After a beating, the overseer drove the two men off the boat. Liu and Shi's tempers at this moment immediately became extremely docile, and they bent down, crying and begging for mercy while making a fuss, preferring less pay and begging the other party to allow him to finish the day's work.

"Lazy bones, if I see you stealing and playing tricks again, Lao Tzu will uncover your skin!" The overseer's family pursed his lips and scolded coldly. After scolding, Wu felt angry, turned around, and pointed at Cheng Xiaojiu and Wang Ermao, who were standing aside with the tip of the whip waiting for their partners to start work, and shouted loudly, "Look at what, don't hurry up and move the grain bags." If you can't unload the boat before sunset, no one will be paid! ”

During the time when he was watching others being beaten, Wang Ermao had already taken a break. stuck out his tongue and pulled Cheng Xiaojiu to the grain bag in the center of the boat. The man surnamed Liu and the axle neck who had been beaten glared hatefully at the deck of the ship, and also ran forward in a panic to catch up with the work. This time, the two of them finally knew that the young man they partnered with was not easy to mess with, and they didn't dare to take the initiative to stir up trouble again. The hand carrying the rice bag no longer plays any tricks, lest it make Cheng Xiaojiu unhappy for a while, and use some extraordinary means to knock himself out. The next time the overseer sees it, it's a whole day's wages!

"Ermao, hold your breath when lifting the bag, and wait for the bag to be flat before you start panting. Try your best to mix the breath and match it with your steps! Seeing that the other party had already softened, Cheng Xiaojiu didn't care about himself. By pointing out Wang Ermao's situation, he taught all his companions the knock on the door of his work.

Liu and Shi were suspicious and tried to take a few steps according to Cheng Xiaojiu's method. I found that my throat was really not so burned, and I was overjoyed. Wang Ermao has always been convinced by Cheng Xiaojiu, no matter what the other party says, he will obey it. The four of them exerted their strength in the same rhythm, moved their feet in the same rhythm, and the cooperation between each other became more and more skillful, and the hostile gaze gradually softened.

"Sure enough, there are some doorways!" After another moment, the man surnamed Liu grinned and commented with a smile.

"My ninth brother is behind the gate!" Wang Ermao took over the conversation and showed off triumphantly. In his opinion, others respect Cheng Xiaojiu, which is equivalent to respecting himself, so he is in a particularly comfortable mood.

"Lost, disrespectful!" The man surnamed Shi, who had a neck like an axle, was taken aback and hurriedly showed favor to Cheng Xiaojiu. Although the other party is a down-and-out phoenix, there may be a few old hairs in the nest. It's better not to make enemies with such a person with a background.

"Don't listen to Ermao's nonsense, my grandfather has been dead for many years!" Cheng Xiaojiu moved his steps while gasping and explaining to everyone in a low voice. "If I were really a descendant of Jiangmen, I wouldn't come to the dock to carry a big bag for people. Come on, don't talk too much, let's work together, one, two, three......"

The grain bag was placed on the back of the other man, and the hands of the four of them were empty. The man surnamed Liu patted his calloused palms and said with a smile: "Then you at least used to be a son-in-law, and you were rich." It's not like us, born with a lowly life! After the compliment, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What kind of doorway did you pinch me just now, why did I suddenly lose my strength as soon as my eyes were dark?" ”

"I'm pinching the meridians behind your neck, which is what Lang Zhong said when he gave acupuncture! I'm also blindfolded, nine times out of ten! Cheng Xiaojiu looked around and no one was paying attention, and then replied in a low voice. Let's stop worrying about this, let's not fight and don't know each other! ”

"Yes, yes, if you don't fight, you don't know each other. Lao Tzu was beaten in exchange for getting acquainted with you! The man surnamed Liu muttered and complained. Bend down and lift the next bag of rice at the same time as the group. The four of them held their breath again, exerted their strength, moved, then adjusted their breathing, slowly walked to the side of the boat, and slowly put the rice bag on the back of the person carrying the grain.

Between a group of men who live by selling their labor, even if there is a conflict, it will not last long. After a few nonsense words from all over the world, the two strong men Liu and Shi and the two teenagers Cheng and Wang have become familiar with each other. Liu Laoshi belongs to a typical memorization of eating, as soon as he became familiar with it, he immediately made a joke about the two teenagers, raw and cold, and there were no taboos. Wang Ermao is also a sharp-mouthed and thick-skinned master, and he must come and go, and he is honest with Liu Laoshi. The fight to the lively place caused all the companions to laugh, but also reduced the fatigue on the body a lot.

"You little hairy man, sharp teeth, how can you be like my son!" Liu honestly put down the straw bag containing the grain and took advantage of it with a smile.

Wang Ermao wiped the sweat from his face, smiled, and showed a mouth full of white teeth, "My grandfather has been gone for more than ten years." If you want to be my grandfather, you can, I'll burn paper for you in two days. Grandpa, grandpa, you promise! ”

"You, you little bunny!"

"Didn't you just say I was your cub?"

Liu Laoshi fell behind again, but he couldn't get a seizure, and he was so angry that he scratched his ears and cheeks. Suddenly, he put away his smile and said in a low voice: "No, grandma's, these grandsons!" ”

The other three were stunned by his scolding, and they didn't know what was going on! Looking at each other head-on, Liu honestly lowered his head, suppressed his voice and said, "Someone is making it bad." When we carried the rice bags, we carried one hundred and twenty carefully, lest we break the bags and make the host's family angry. If you look closely, what is on the ground from the dock to the official road? ”

Cheng Xiaojiu and the others peeked in, and sure enough, they saw rice grains in one place. Trampled by the sweaty feet of the strong men, it has the same color as the gray river sand. With his brows furrowed slightly, Cheng Xiaojiu figured out the reason, snorted at several other companions, and whispered, "Don't be nosy." Left and right are for a chew. It's smart that they can come up with it! ”

Liu Laoshi and others thought about it, and this is indeed the truth. The rice sprinkled on the ground is not your own, so there is no need to debunk other people's tricks. But after thinking about it, if the rice sprinkled on the ground was collected into a pile, washed and dried, it would be enough for my family to snack for several months. Immediately, my heart became unbalanced again. spat on the deck and scolded in a low voice: "Grandma's, splash rice and sprinkle noodles, and you are not afraid of thunder and thunder!" ”

"Don't be nosy!" Cheng Xiaojiu pulled him and told him again.

The four men continued to work, but the eight eyes unconsciously began to glance into the crowd below the side of the boat. Putting the rice bag on the back of the grain bearer, Wang Ermao was the first to see the doorway. "Brother Jiu!" He turned his back to the side of the boat and hooked his fingers lightly behind him, "They, they buckled, buckled the bag!" ”

"If you leave it alone, you don't see anything!" Cheng Xiaojiu straightened Wang Ermao's fingers and scolded in a low voice. "If you take care of it, it is equivalent to stealing someone else's food. Once the fight starts, I can't help you! ”

"I don't care, it's not our rice!" Wang Ermao nodded and said stupidly. His eyes no longer wandered under the side of the ship, but the grains of rice scattered in the mud and sand were deeply rooted in his eyes. "Grandma's, don't be afraid of thunder and thunder!" Spitting, he also cursed under his breath. From morning to now, half a grain of rice has not eaten in the stomach and the fire is burning, how uncomfortable it is.

"Oh my God, if God had eyes. It will not be so fat that the rich will not be able to live! "The strong man surnamed Shi couldn't get used to the faces of Wang and Liu that were intertwined with jealousy and envy, and he whispered to grab white." God died a long time ago. I don't believe you told him to thunder and take a look! ”