This Weizhou city is not big, but Xiao Zhouhou grew up in the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, and he really hasn't seen this small city outside the Saiwai, although his expression is still sad and indifferent, but when he sees something new, he can't help but widen his eyes.

Leng Yi said in a low voice: "We'll take a boat in a while, if people ask, just say we're brothers, understand?" ”

"But what if people recognize me as a woman? I can change my clothes, but I can't change my voice. Xiao Zhou asked.

"Well, if you recognize it, you can say that we are brothers and sisters."

"That's not good, it's not convenient to stay, I don't want to live alone. Let's say it's husband and wife. ”

Leng Yi was stunned for a moment: "This ......"

"Let's just talk about it, for the sake of convenience, it's not the first time we've lived in a room alone, right?"

The last time they talked about Li Yu's poems in the temple, they did spend one night together. Leng Yi saw that other girls were not taboo, so what else did he have to say. He nodded.

Leng Yi's inspection was nominally to inspect the local trial court, but in fact, his real purpose was to visit the smuggling carried out by Wei Ji Shipping and other imperial relatives on the Wei River.

Leng Yi went to the local bamboo and wood affairs first. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Qinlong area was full of primeval forests, rich in bamboo and wood, and the quality of the forest was very good, the wood was suitable for making all kinds of high-end furniture, and could also be used to build houses, mail and palaces, etc. Bamboo, on the other hand, is mainly used to weave various bamboo utensils and to build river embankments. The waterway transportation from Qinlong to the capital is very convenient, from the Wei River to the Yellow River, you can go directly to the capital Bianliang, tie the wood into wooden rows, drag it with a tugboat, and the water flows down, it can be easily transported to the capital. Ideal for large-scale shipping.

Due to the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the capital was heavily built. A large amount of bamboo and wood is needed, and the profits are very lucrative, so the government has set up government-run bamboo and wood affairs along the way, specializing in the trading of bamboo and wood in Qinlong. It is strictly forbidden for private individuals to engage in the buying and selling of bamboo and wood in Qinlong. Violators are punishable by felonies. However, because this business is too profitable, just like selling illicit salt, under the temptation of high profits, there are still many merchants who are privately engaged in the transportation and trading of bamboo and wood. Among them, many of them are using the situation of transporting other things to cover up the private ownership of Qinlong bamboo and wood.

Leng Yi took Xiao Zhou to the Weihe Wharf first. I saw that on the wharf, there were many tugboats and merchant ships, and on the river, there were dense wooden rafts made of bamboo and wood. Leng Yi asked briefly, and all of them were private ships. A considerable number of these tugboats are owned by Wei Kee Shipping.

He also asked where the bamboo and wood affairs opened by the government were located. took Xiao Zhou to the bamboo and wood affairs of the official camp. It's just a short distance from the marina.

When I got here, it was deserted, there was almost no one and only a few soaps sitting at the door chatting. Leng Yi asked Xiao Zhouhou to wait on the side of the road, walked up by himself, and arched his hand: "Dare to ask a few big brothers something, but is it convenient?" He said. He took a small ingot of silver from his pocket and handed it over.

The men were very impatient, and were about to blow him away, when suddenly they saw the ingot of silver. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and the first soap took the silver, changed his smiling face, and said, "Okay." It's convenient for you to be with others, what do you want to ask? ”

"That's right. The two of us brothers wanted to take a boat to Qinzhou, and I heard that the bamboo and wood affairs of Yamen had a boat to Qinzhou, so we came to ask if it was convenient, hehe. ”

The soap said: "There is a boat, but our official ship only goes once in half a month, and this trip has just left, and you will have to wait for more than ten days." Can you wait? ”

Leng Yi's face was full of disappointment: "Why is it only once in half a month?" I saw a lot of bamboo and wood boats on the Wei River, and I thought they were all from the government. ”

"Those are private boats. It's not from our government. ”

Leng Yi's face was full of surprise: "Didn't you say that Zhumu can only be operated by the government?" How can you do it privately? ”

As soon as he heard this, the faces of several soap li's subordinates sank. Look at him. The expression is quite unkind.

The soap Li also looked Leng Yi up and down: "Little brother, it seems that you are a foreigner, right?" ”

"Yes, yes! I am from Shudibazhou, and it is the first time I have been to Qinzhou. ”

"Well, it's no wonder. For the sake of your newcomer, I advise you, don't ask too much about bamboo and wood, so as not to get burned, understand? ”

"Alright, thank you."

"Aren't you going to take a boat to Qinzhou? Let's do it," the soap Li checked the silver ingot in his hand and said in a low voice: "You go to the dock and find an official named Leper Tousan, who is the steward of the dock, and said that Brother Zhang, the official of the bamboo and wood affairs, asked you to find him." Give him a little benefit, and he will arrange a boat for you to go to Qinzhou. ”

"Great, thank you!"

Another older soap Li looked at Leng Yi with a gloomy face: "I'll give you another word, along the way, don't ask too much, don't look around, take the boat honestly, and you can get to Qinzhou safely, otherwise, hehe......"

"Little one gets it! Thanks a lot! Leng Yi arched his hand, turned around and went down the steps. After taking Xiao Zhou, I came to the pier.

There were a lot of officials on the dock, and after Leng Yi asked, he quickly found the official named Leper Tousan, gave him a small ingot of silver, said his intentions, and said with a smile: "I heard that Wei Ji Shipping is big in the Wei River, and the road is safe, can you let us take their boat?" ”

The leper shook the silver three times: "Okay! With the two of them, he came to a big tugboat and called the boat boss: "These two brothers are going to Qinzhou, you can take them." ”

The boss of the boat was a big black man, with a face full of horizontal flesh and a shocking scar on his face, but when he saw the leper head three, he still had an ugly smile on his face, and he agreed, put down the pedal, and let Leng Yi and the two of them get on the boat.

Leng Yi took out a small ingot of silver and gave it to the captain of the ship, and said with a smile: "I don't know when our ship will leave?" ”

"The delivery has been completed, and when a few guys who went ashore to purchase come back, they will leave immediately, at most half an hour." The boat boss glanced at Xiao Zhou behind Leng Yi, and his eyes lit up a little.

"Great! I don't know the name of the big brother of the ship? ”

"Everyone else calls me Black Shark Head."

"It turned out to be Big Black Brother. Thank you for your kind attention. ”

"Well said!" The black shark head glanced at Xiao Zhou Hou again, and the corners of his mouth showed a silver smile that he didn't notice.

Leng Yi took Xiao Zhou Hou and sat down in the cabin. It didn't take long for the guys who had gone ashore to buy back.

When they were on board, a stocky man pulled back the heavy pedals and placed them in the cabin.

Leng Yi saw that the pedal was at least two zhang long. Weighing hundreds of pounds, this short and strong man actually pulled it back and let it go alone, and he didn't show any difficulty, so he couldn't help but squint.

The captain of the boat, who called himself the head of the black shark, walked to the bow of the boat, grabbed the iron anchor chain the thickness of the child's arm, shouted, and used his arms alternately, and soon lifted a heavy iron anchor out of the water. Placed in the bow of the ship. shouted: "Sail the boat!" ”

Leng Yi stared at the iron anchor on the bow of the ship, this thing was much heavier than the pedal just now, it seemed that the strength of the black shark's head was even more powerful than that short and strong man.

The boatmen are holding the boat. Paddled, the tugboat slowly emerged through the gap in the middle of the raft and into the main channel. Then they pulled the sails and went up the river. Just downwind, the tugboat sails were full of strength, the boat was fast, and the people on both sides of the strait gradually became scarce. In the end, it was gone, and only the vast wilderness remained.

After the boat had finished its meal, he saw a small wharf with several houses on it. There were a few government officials sitting there, and on the dock, a large tugboat was setting sail from the dock and heading down.

Leng Yi looked very casual. Asked a skinny boatman, "What is this dock for?" How come there are two piers not far apart? ”

"This is where bamboo and wood pay for it."

"Bamboo and wood affairs collect money? What kind of money do you charge? ”

"Of course, it's the money for our tugboats! Don't you know that this bamboo and wood business is a government franchise? We're going to make this deal. If you don't give money, can people let you do it? ”

"Oh, how much?"

"It depends on how much bamboo and wood the boat tows......"

As soon as the boatman said this, he heard the black shark head at the helm of the ship say angrily: "Li Zhugan! What tongue base do you chew? Beware of Lao Tzu throwing you into the river to feed the king. ”

The boatman, nicknamed Li Zhugan, turned pale with fright and hurriedly ran away.

The black shark head handed over the rudder to another boatman, walked over, looked at Leng Yi, and said with a gloomy face: "Don't be too curious, otherwise you won't know what's going on when you die!" ”

"Just ask." Leng Yi said lightly.

After the head of the black shark left, Leng Yi talked to another boatman: "How much money can you earn a month by pulling wooden rows?" ”

"A thousand."

"Oh, quite a bit."

"That's it, you don't look at how many wooden rafts we're going to pull down this trip! And how much money can these wooden rafts make. Compared to that, we're just picking up the hair on the old cow! ”

"That's right, you shouldn't have to worry about the business of this wooden raft, right?"

"We only manage transportation, regardless of buying and selling, and there are special people for buying and selling. Just leave it to them. Moreover, we are only responsible for the section from Qinzhou to Weizhou City. From Weizhou City to the capital, it is someone else's management. ”

"Who cares?"

"The Shi family's ship!"

"The Shi family? Which Shi family? ”

As soon as he said this, Leng Yi's shoulder was slapped heavily, and a short and sturdy man's smile came from his ears: "I said that you owe a beating?" What the hell are you going to do? ”

Leng Yi turned around and saw that the short and stout man who had withdrawn the pedal of the boat earlier was staring at him viciously, his thick arms clasping his shoulders deadly.

Leng Yi's face did not change, grabbed his palm, and slowly broke his palm off his shoulder.

The short man looked at Leng Yi with some incredulity, the hand he was holding Leng Yi's shoulder just now had used seventy percent of his strength, and the strength of this grasp was enough to crush a hard-shelled walnut with a claw! He didn't dare to use all his strength, for fear of crushing the bones of this weak scholar. However, he didn't expect that Leng Yi would bear it without changing his face. Moreover, he broke off his palm.

Leng Yi said: "I'm just asking casually, aren't I allowed to talk to the boatman on the boat?" ”

"Of course not!" The short man said angrily: "You'd better shut up and don't ask anything!" Otherwise, don't blame Lao Tzu for being unkind. ”

After that, the short and stout man patted Leng Yi on the shoulder twice, and then walked to the boat seat and said a few words to the black shark head, the black shark head nodded, looked at Leng Yi and they sneered, and then muttered a few words to the helm. When the helmsman nodded.

After that, Leng Yi talked to the boatman again, but the boatman didn't dare to talk. And the black shark head and the stout man stared at them from time to time and sneered, and still looked at the sky from time to time, as if waiting for God to hurry up and get black.

It is said that the head is westward, and the sky is full of sunset.

A chubby cook on the boat shouted, "It's time to eat!" Two large wooden basins came out, one full of white rice, and the other a large pot of boiled meat. More than a dozen boatmen came over, each holding a bowl and chopsticks, serving rice and vegetables, and squatting on the side of the bow and eating.

Leng Yi didn't prepare dishes and chopsticks in his package, so he smiled and said to the cook, "Auntie, can you borrow two bowls and chopsticks." ”

The fat chef nodded happily, took two pairs of chopsticks and handed them to Leng Yi. Leng Yi served the meal and sat in the cabin with Xiao Zhouhou to eat.

The taste of the food is average, Leng Yi doesn't care, but how can Xiao Zhouhou, who is used to being pampered, get used to eating such coarse tea and light rice, only eat two bites, and then put it down.

Leng Yi said in a low voice: "We have a lot of time to go, there is no tavern on the ship, we can only settle, if you don't eat, you will be hungry." Eat! ”

Xiao Zhou had to pick it up again, and he ate half a bowl of this scalp, but he couldn't eat it. Leng Yi was not reluctant.

The horizon fell. It was getting dark, and the scenery on the riverbank was no longer very clear.

Xiao Zhouhou sat next to Leng Yi, blushing and twisting his body. Leng Yiqi said: "What's the matter?" ”

"I want to ...... it, it's convenient to ......," Xiao Zhouhou's voice was inaudible.

"Good!" Leng Yi got out of the cabin and asked a boatman who was rowing, "Where is the convenience?" ”

The boatman smiled: "Just tear off your pants and pee!" A boatload is all men, you have me too, what are you afraid of! ”

The other boatmen laughed.

Leng Yi sneered: "It's big." ”

"It's the same! There is a pedal in the back of the boat! Pull directly into the water. ”

Leng Yi nodded, and said to Xiao Zhouhou in a low voice: "You wait, I'll take a look." ”

Xiao Zhouhou blushed and nodded.

Leng Yi came to the back, and sure enough, he saw a pedal next to the rudder, approaching the water. There is also a handrail in front, which is relatively low, and if a person goes down and squats, the helm's view is blocked, and he can't see it.

Leng Yi returned to the cabin, beckoned Xiao Zhou to follow, and pointed it out to her. But the helmsman was next to him, although his vision was blocked, but he couldn't accept it in his heart, Xiao Zhouhou looked at Leng Yi with a red face, and then looked at the helmsman. Leng Yi knew that she wanted the helmsman to get out of the way.

Leng Yi smiled and said to the helmsman: "These brothers, I will take the helm for you, how about you go into the warehouse to rest for a while?" ”

"No need!" The helmsman said: "This helm is not a joke, you are a scholar, don't make trouble." ”