After leaving the county seat, walking seven or eight miles to the south, I arrived at a small ferry in the upper reaches of the vortex river. There are several straw huts made of reeds on the shore, and there are half-human-high wooden stakes buried next to the straw huts.

Thick cables were tightly tied to a dozen small boats, which swayed with the waves on the water of the dock. It should be around three o'clock in the afternoon, and there are not many pedestrians coming and going at the ferry, so it seems very quiet.

The rare silence was broken by the sound of horses' hooves coming from afar, and in a short time a caravan came to the ferry.

This horse team was none other than Yang Tianfeng and his men. After explaining the urgent matters to be handled in the Yang family's shop in the city, he went back to find Miyamoto, and received the guns and ammunition accompanied by Miyamoto, and did not dare to delay at all, and quickly went out of the city and came directly to the ferry.

Huzi and everyone didn't know what was wrong with the young master, he suddenly became extremely serious, there was no smile on his face, and he was busy with his actions, as if the fire had burned his buttocks.

Yang Tianfeng was really anxious, he really wanted to put on his wings, fly back to Qulong Town immediately, and discuss with Zong Baichuan and the others. His fingers tapped rapidly on his thighs, and the pace was much faster than usual.

What to do? What to do? The question kept wandering around his mind, but there was never a definitive answer. He just arranged it in the city according to his immature ideas, and as for how much of a role it could play, he really didn't know how much it could work.

Coming to the county seat to take a boat is against the current, and going back to take a boat is to go downstream, and time can be saved a lot. On the way, Yang Tianfeng thought about it, he took a few people to take a boat and carry weapons to the waterway, while the others crossed the river by the ferry and rode back along the landing road.

When the ferrymen heard the sound, they all came out of the huts, and they were a little frightened when they saw the group of people in fresh clothes and angry horses, and armed with weapons. just stood there and watched timidly, but no one dared to come forward to talk.

Yang Tianfeng jumped off the horse, his eyes swept over these simplely dressed and tanned boatmen one by one, and said with a faint smile: "Why, don't you dare to do business?" As he spoke, he waved his hand at Huzi, "Give the money first, and let the villagers rest assured." ”

Huzi agreed, took out a few pieces of ocean from his pocket, made a noise in his hand, and said loudly to the boatmen: "Which one is the leader here, come and get money to work." ”

A man in his fifties walked out of the crowd, of medium build, wearing a blue trouser gown and a black cloth belt tied around his waist. On the black-red face, which has been exposed to the wind and sun all year round, it is covered with wrinkles of hard work.

"Boss, I'm the head of here." The man arched his hand and said with a smiling face, "May I ask you all the time you always want to cross the river, or—"

"Half of them crossed the river, and half of them took a boat to pull goods to Qulong Town." Huzi said with a grin: "The price is calculated, don't be lazy halfway to increase the price!" ”

"Look at what you say, you don't dare to borrow the two of us!" The man said with a smile: "I, Zheng Laocheng, have been working at this ferry for decades, but I have never done that shameful thing." ”

After doing it for decades, he must know a lot about the water situation, Yang Tianfeng's heart moved, pointed at Zheng Laocheng and said: "Take your boat when you get to Qulong Town, and the price will be doubled." ”

"Hehe, this sir, you are the old man who takes care of me." Zheng Laocheng patted his chest, the wrinkles on his face stretched a lot, and said: "Don't worry, I'll pick a few good hands and a few good ships for you, and the quasi-guarantee is fast and stable." ”

When the boatmen heard that the price had doubled, they all leaned on Zheng Laocheng's side, chattering for this good business.

"Don't rob, don't rob." Zheng Laocheng was unhappy, waved his hands, and his eyes widened, "If you see the money, you will die, and you won't be ashamed." We have rules, and we can't all carry them all in our waists if we eat alone, and beware of choking to death if we eat alone. ”

When the boatmen heard this, they closed their mouths one after another, but their eyes were very eager, and they looked at Zheng Laocheng with blank eyes.

Yang Tianfeng watched with interest Zheng Laocheng assigning work, among these boaters, Zheng Laocheng was still quite prestigious, even if the boatman who didn't get the job was not very happy, he obediently took the order and left.

There was another rush of horses' hooves, and Yang Tianfeng sat on the bench brought by the boatman, put his hands on the pergola, and looked at the smoke and dust rising on the road in the sun.

The horse team came quickly, and in a blink of an eye they came to the ferry, with a total of more than two dozen horses, and the knights on the horses were all dressed in the clothes of the puppet army.

Yang Tianfeng stood up, and he recognized the person in the lead, who was Yan Baocai, the head of the security regiment. Yan Baocai also saw him at this time, a smile appeared on his face after being surprised, a guy with a folding fan next to him said a few words, Yan Baocai turned over and dismounted, and walked over to this side.

The Yan family is also a well-known family in the county, and their hometown is Yanjiazhai in the northwest of the county. Before the Japanese devils came, the militia groups in Yanjiazhai were only large in number, and they were inferior in quality to Qulong Town. However, after Yan Baocai defected to the Japanese, he indiscriminately gave his name and recruited a puppet army. Bring ten people to vote, that is, the platoon leader; Bring 100 people to vote, that is, the battalion commander; Stragglers and ruffians swarmed in, and soon expanded to 1,000 people, controlling the villages and towns in the north of the county. Yang Tianfeng learned through Zong Baichuan that Yan Baocai, who was rude and unwise, relied on his cousin Wu Yuansheng to give him advice, so that he could be where he is today.

"Captain Yan, it's always been good." Yang Tianfeng took two steps with a smile, arched his hand, and greeted, "Brother is polite." ”

"Hahahaha." Yan Baocai's face trembled with laughter, stepped forward to take Yang Tianfeng's hand, shook it vigorously, and said, "Brother Yang, oh, Deputy Head Yang, it's really not easy to see you here!" ”

"There are too many trivial things at home, and I really can't take a break." Yang Tianfeng was very uncomfortable by Yan Baocai's affectionate behavior, and forced the smile on his face to say: "As a subordinate, it is really rude, I will definitely visit me one day." ”

"What subordinates don't belong to, Deputy Head Yang is too polite." Wu Yuansheng, who looked like a literati with a dog-fat beard, walked over, shook the folding fan in his hand, and said with a smile: "Head Yan is looking forward to you helping him all day long!" ”

"yes, yes!" Yan Baocai nodded again and again and agreed: "Deputy Head Yang studied in the East, but he drank foreign ink, I am ashamed of myself, I am ashamed of myself!" ”

Yang Tianfeng said modestly: "Head Yan has won the award, and he has won the award." As he spoke, he glanced at Yan Baocai's horse team and said, "Captain Yan is picking up his family?" Well, it's more comfortable to live in the city than in the country. ”

"Brother Yang, you guessed wrong." Yan Baocai took off his military hat with one hand, stroked his shiny head with the other, snuggled his chin, motioned to his subordinates to lift the curtain, and said: "In the carriage is my gift to Commander Watanabe, but I'm afraid that Commander Watanabe will not be satisfied, so I will ask Brother Yang to take a look at it and make suggestions." ”