Episode 18 A trip to the water town

He found that Xiang Xiaoqiang was looking at him, grinned a little awkwardly, avoided his gaze, lowered his head and continued to rock.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was suspicious that Xiuxiu was recognized. But watching Xiuxiu again, wearing a big mask, he coughed twice from time to time, and he pretended to be very similar. The boat boss is also a man, in his forties, and it is normal for him to like to look at beautiful girls. Although Xiuxiu covered half of her face with a mask, her two thick black eyebrows, delicate apricot eyes, and delicate nose bridge are still very attractive. In addition, Xiuxiu is wearing a dress, although it is not gorgeous, but it is also very elegant, sitting there like a hibiscus out of the water, at first glance, she is a well-educated, rich lady.

Not to mention the rough man of the boat boss, it is Xiang Xiaoqiang himself, and whenever he sees such a girl on the street one day, he must feast his eyes as much as possible.

And Xiang Xiaoqiang himself is also in a coat and suit, and he also brought a few entourages, this "gorgeous" group hired boats, and did not go to Wujiang, Taicang, Huzhou, Jiaxing, a slightly larger place, but named to an inconspicuous country town, which is indeed attention-grabbing.

Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at Xiuxiu, and she also found out. The two looked at each other and smiled, not taking it seriously.

I don't think I'll recognize it. This kind of boating on the river to make a living will not buy newspapers as often as city people. And there are more newspapers in the photo, Xiang Xiaoqiang, Xiuxiu has not been photographed by reporters.

The canopy boat shook out of Jinji Lake and headed south into the river. Xiang Xiaoqiang held Xiuxiu, got up and walked out of the cabin, sat on the bow of the boat, and enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the strait. Xiang Xiaoqiang took a deep breath of the unique water vapor of the water town, and the pleasant feeling spread from his mind to his whole body. Although it is still February, in this land south of the Yangtze River, the first breath of spring has been smelled. Many of the plants on the banks of the river are still green. Even in the depths of winter, they never withered.

There was a flock of ducks swimming in front of the river, and when the big boat approached, they swam quickly to the shore, spread their wings and went ashore, "quacking" and staggering. Interested in Xiao Qiang, staring at them. When the boat had passed, the ducks crowded down the river again, and rearranged themselves like a fleet, and from time to time one or two ducks plunged into the water and floated up again.

Xiang Xiaoqiang sighed:

"Spring River Plumbing Duck Prophet. Xiuxiu, you are so blessed to have grown up in such a place. ”

Xiuxiu smiled charmingly, snuggled up to Xiang Xiaoqiang's shoulder, and said with a smile:

"I grew up in England, and I envy me, and I envy me. Hehe. ”

Xiuxiu said and leaned down, stretched out her hand to scoop it out in the water, and said happily:

"Ah, the water is not cold anymore! …… My lord, it is really the prophet of the plumbing duck in the spring river! ”

Then he fished out the river a few more times and threw it on the shore vigorously, looking very happy.

Seeing Xiuxiu so relaxed this time, Xiang Xiaoqiang was very pleased. He let Xiuxiu play for a while, and then stretched out his arms around her slender waist to prevent her from being naughty. Xiuxiu smiled coquettishly in Xiang Xiaoqiang's arms, looked up at her face, and kissed Xiang Xiaoqiang.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was overjoyed when he saw Xiuxiu taking the initiative to kiss him. Xiuxiu lowered her head suddenly, and her face was as ashamed as a red cloth. She let out a sudden "ah" and turned her head to look at the cabin, trying to see if she had just been seen by the guards. But the cabin was so dark that nothing could be seen. Xiuxiu was also bold and pretended not to be seen.

After a while, another canopy boat came ahead, also slowly. Approaching, the stern boss looked enviously at the young man and woman at the bow of the boat. When the two ships staggered, the captain of the boat smiled and asked what was going on, and the boss of the boat also shouted with a smile, looking quite proud, as if the ship was carrying a distinguished guest, very uplifting.

Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't understand, but he probably asked the two of them, so he asked Xiuxiu. Xiuxiu chuckled softly:

"The captain over there asked where this was, and the captain over here replied that he was in the same place."

Yes...... Xiang Xiaoqiang sighed, the two boats in the Jiangnan water town met, and this kind of mutual answer was exactly like two acquaintances in the north walking around and meeting and greeting "Have you eaten......

Xiang Xiaoqiang now understands why "South Ship North Train". The water network in the south of the Yangtze River is really dense enough, especially in southern Jiangsu, which can be called the most dense water network in the world. There is a river almost every three or five steps, and there are not always bridges, so if you are in a car, it is simply difficult to walk an inch. He also understood why the Nanming Army didn't pay attention to tanks anymore.

But boats are different, and they are like a fish in water in this environment. Xiang Xiaoqiang originally thought, there can't always be a river at such a long distance, if you encounter a place where the boat can't pass, wouldn't you have to go ashore and change boats? Who knew that starting from Jinji Lake in Suzhou, this same boat has been shuttling in the large and small rivers, obviously looking at the front of the river there is no river, but the captain turned the rudder and sailed into a new river.

Although the big awning boat looks bulky, it is like a dexterous fish, looking at a very narrow river, it can also squeeze in, the long grass on both sides of the bank almost stretches up to the bow of the boat, Xiang Xiaoqiang is worried that the river is too narrow and the big boat is stuck, but it is always just right, shuttling in the meantime, and swimming with ease.

When driving in a wide river, factories can often be seen on both banks. They are all light factories, and 80 percent of them are textile. Textile mills, silk weaving mills, embroidery mills...... In the area of Gusu, the textile processing industry is the best in the world, since ancient times.

The sun gradually sank in the west, and the twilight became thicker, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu sat on the bow of the boat like this, looking at the scenery, and they couldn't get tired of watching it. It was the first time for Xiang Xiaoqiang to take a long-distance tour like this, and Xiuxiu returned to her hometown, and what she saw was familiar and kind, and she also liked to sit with Xiang Xiaoqiang like this. She not only hoped to get home soon and see her mother and younger brother, but also hoped that this trip would never end, so she let Xiang Xiaoqiang hold her forever.

……

The six guards in the cabin had been playing poker all afternoon. When Xiang Xiaoqiang was in the cabin, they didn't let go much. But after Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu sat at the bow of the boat together, they were unrestrained, and there was a burst of laughter from the cabin from time to time. Now that it was dark, they asked the captain to light the lamp and continue to play poker in the cabin.

At seven o'clock, the boat sailed into Tongli Lake. The lake is open, but it is already dark, and only the lights of the villages and towns in the distance can be seen, and the fishing fires can be seen. Xiuxiu stood up excitedly, tried to look in the dark, pulled Xiang Xiaoqiang and said:

"My lord, it's here, it's here, I'm going to be at home!"

Xiang Xiaoqiang also stood up and looked around, but he couldn't see anything. At this time, the boat boss shouted loudly, as if asking something. Xiuxiu was very excited, and immediately replied backwards, pointing her arm in the direction to the left. The captain of the boat replied and continued to rock the oar.

Xiuxiu didn't wait to ask Xiaoqiang, so she told him that Tongli Town was on the shore of the lake, and the boat boss was asking her which waterway she entered the town from.

Xiang Xiaoqiangqi said:

"Can the big ship still get into the town?"

Xiuxiu smiled:

"Not only into the town, but all the way to the back door of my house!"

Sure enough, the canopy boat sailed into a waterway, drilled over a stone bridge, and the field of vision narrowed again, with bluestone foundations on both sides, leaving a narrow bluestone road on one side, and a whitewashed house on the other side.

The ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River in Xiang Xiaoqiang's mind is right in front of him. …… Unfortunately, it was already dark, and there was hardly anything to see.

But after driving for a while, and crossing a stone bridge, the town was a little more lively, and the stone roads on both sides of the river were wider, and many pedestrians could be seen, walking leisurely, greeting each other, sitting on the stone railings on the riverbank, chatting with words they did not understand. There are often stone steps on both sides of the river that reach into the river, and women in twos and threes, dressed in batik blue cloth, squat on the stone steps to wash rice and vegetables, talking and laughing.

At this time, Xiuxiu looked a little shy, and pulled Xiang Xiaoqiang to hide in the cabin. Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that she liked to be low-key, she had grown up in this small town since she was a child, and all the townspeople knew her, but now she suddenly "returned to her hometown", and she was very uncomfortable, afraid that she would greet her fellow villagers and neighbors.

Xiuxiu pointed to the awning boat docked behind a family and said:

"This is it, stop."

The boat boss stared at Xiuxiu, and suddenly laughed with a sudden understanding, and said with a smile:

"I said what's going on, I look like you from Suzhou, wearing this dress and a big mask, and I haven't dared to recognize it...... You're Teacher Shang's little show, right? ”

Xiuxiu took off her mask, nodded a little shyly, and said with a smile:

"Uncle...... Do you recognize me? ”

The boat boss laughed and said:

"Then why don't you recognize, my little nephew is studying at your mother's place. Teacher Shang's daughter Xiao Xiu'er is beautiful, no girl can compare to this area! Hehehe......"

As soon as Xiuxiu was told by him, her face turned red with shame, and she lowered her head and smiled.

Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't understand these words as usual. But he knew that his guard platoon commander Hu Jiong was from Hangzhou, and he should also understand the Gusu dialect, so he made a look at Hu Jiong. Hu Jiong grinned and whispered in Xiang Xiaoqiang's ear to translate.

Xiuxiu is beautiful, everyone in the town knows that this Xiang Xiaoqiang is not strange. He was a little strange why Xiuxiu's mother was also surnamed Shang? Seems to be still a teacher?

Xiuxiu thanked the boat boss, said a few words of greeting shyly, paid for the boat, and the group lined up and jumped from the board to the stone steps by the water one by one.

There is no river bank here, and the bluestone foundation of the house goes directly into the water, and a small door is opened in the white whitewashed wall above. The stone steps in the water go up a few steps and lead directly into the small door. Next to the small door is a wooden plaque engraved with four words: Pinxian Academy.

Everyone walked up the stairs, the back door was hidden, Xiuxiu was excited, pushed the door directly in, and then stood by the door, bowed very politely and said:

"Welcome to my house...... I invite you to an adult...... Platoon Commander Hu, please come in...... Squad leader Zhang, please come in...... Squad leader Song, please come into ......"

Entering the backyard, it is a patio, very small, but very neat, with green brick paving, the small courtyard is full of all kinds of bonsai, and a canna is planted. The wooden pillars of the small buildings around are very simple, but full of elegant taste. It can be seen that Xiuxiu's mother is also a very cultured person.

Xiuxiu excitedly shouted a few times in her hometown, but no one answered. There seems to be no one in the backyard. Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu glanced at each other, both a little puzzled.

At this time, there was a faint noise in the direction of the front yard. It seems to be a woman, scolding something at a high level.

Only Xiuxiu and Hu Jiong can understand here:

"Shang Xiaojun, you are a...... It's amazing how many words you know...... I know all about the you had back then...... Don't force me to show it...... Where did you pick up a wild seed, and now you have raised it, and the old fox is also a little fox girl...... Let it go out for you to climb the dragon and the phoenix...... Now the tail is up to the sky...... Hmph, the whole family is shameless......"

Although Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't understand it, he also knew that it must be extremely ugly. He saw that Hu Jiong's face was full of embarrassment, and Xiuxiu's face was already pale, trembling all over, and tears were rolling in his eyes.