Only the ship has an owner, and the shipwrights and coolies who work here are all considered to be dock people. Usually, those of us who take the head with ourselves, make peace with the master of which family, and the master of that family will come to us when he goes on the boat. Although it is stable and stable, it is not fixed, and occasionally some people come and go freely. ”

Su Jinyao said: "That's good." Now let's see who is willing to rent me a boat. When the ship is settled, it is good to choose people. ”

After speaking, Su Jinyao whispered to Zhang Zhang: "I have made this matter clear, and there is one less knowledgeable person to take the lead." Do you want to take this boat for me, or just help me rent a boat? If you are the leader, you don't have to go into the water, you are only in charge of the ship and the distribution, and the salary is the same as these people. When you come back, I'll give you another 10 taels of benefits. If you can't come with me on this trip, can you rent a boat for me, or find someone to be the right leader? I will also give you ten taels of silver for your hardship. ”

I opened my head and listened, no matter what, it was good, and I nodded in agreement.

But he immediately explained: "Young Master Liu, I'm not just for the benefits you gave me. Yu Datou and I are good brothers who grew up together, and I can't watch him have an accident. So this boat, I'm going with you. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said, "Then thank you for opening your head." Don't worry, I will let the brothers who followed me come back as safe as possible. ”

They are all real men

Su Jinyao took out a silver ticket from her purse, handed it to the handsome, and said, "This is one hundred taels of silver, which is considered to pay for the five-day charter first." When the people are all ready, I will also pay the five days' wages first, and the rest of the wages will be settled together with the ship pay. ”

I really haven't seen such a refreshing guest. What's more, this is not Su Jinyao's business (qíng), just because the Liu family's ship is pulling the goods of the Helian family, it is really rare to be able to help with such money and efforts.

Before he could take the silver ticket, a young man in a brocade cotton robe (shēn) squeezed in from behind and said in a loud voice: "If there is something going on on our Liu family's ship, it is naturally our Liu family's people to handle it." Thank you Childe for your help. ”

Su Jinyao was stunned for a moment and looked up. Seeing that year, the man's face was anxious, but there was no malice.

The young man walked in front of Su Jinyao, saluted with both hands, and said, "Under Liu Shuo, he is the head of the Liu family's water transport." This is Liu Gongzi, who puts benevolence and righteousness first. Please don't get me wrong, I didn't blame Mr. Liu, but thanked Mr. Liu for acting so righteously. I'm just saying that our Liu family also has a fast boat, which is light and sturdy, and can set off immediately. 's own boat to save his own people, of course, he can't ask Liu Gongzi to break the bank. In addition, Liu Gongzi promised those shipwrights that I would also bear the wages of those shipwrights. But I see that Liu Gongzi responds to every call, so I still want to ask Liu Gongzi for help, our Liu family's boat, this trip. ”

I didn't expect the Liu family to be really (tǐng) particular and responsible.

However, it is also possible that it is because the other party doing business is the Helian family, if you really lose this cargo and delay the business with the Helian family, the loss is not a matter of a few hundred taels of silver (qíng).

However, with the master to take the lead, and the ship is ready, of course Su Jinyao doesn't have to spend a lot of money, so she has to be arrogant.

Su Jinyao accepted the money and said, "If the Liu family can trust me, of course I am still willing to take this trip." But the people of this boat, I still want to choose by myself. ”

"Of course." Liu Zhangjia nodded and said, "Brothers who were born and died together, of course, are counted by themselves. Please. I immediately sent someone to load the ship with supplies. ”

After Liu Zhangjia finished speaking, he took the little guy on the side (shēn) to the other side to greet him.

Su Jinyao turned her head to Zhang and said, "Now that the ship's matter (qíng) is solved, then please go and see how many boatmen are needed for that ship." ”

He said with his head open: "You don't need to look at the Liu family's clipper, I know." A very good boat, which had just entered the water the year before last, did go fast and steadily. The ship had enough for twenty sailors. ”

Su Jinyao nodded, and said to the little grasshopper: "Okay, the number of people is decided, except for you and the head Zhang, and another twenty sailors will be selected." Ask for you to understand. ”

The grasshopper said yes and plunged into the pile of boatmen. After a while, about 50 people were selected to come out, and let these 50 or so people take off their clothes and go into the water to try to hold their breath.

In the end, he left twenty of them who held their breath for the longest time, and then came back and said to Su Jinyao: "Young Master Liu, I guarantee that these twenty big brothers are all good underwater hands." As for how they hold the boat, you have to ask if they have opened their heads. ”

He looked at the twenty people, and some of them were indeed strong (shēn), five big and three thick; But a few of them were short and thin, and the youngest one was estimated to be not much bigger.

looked at Su Jinyao again, and seemed to be a little difficult to decide.

Su Jinyao also looked at the person, and then said: "Don't be suspicious of employing people, don't use suspicious people." Since I believe in the little grasshopper and let him choose people, then these twenty people. What's more, holding the boat is one thing, if you really encounter the water bandits, the underwater kung fu must be excellent, the little grasshopper said they can, I believe it. ”

The little grasshopper was very happy to hear this, and repeatedly assured Su Jinyao that these twenty people were guaranteed to be good hands.

Su Jinyao walked over and said, "Do you have any weapons to take advantage of?" ”

Twenty people shook their heads. One said: "We are usually honest workers on the docks, and anyone who causes trouble and fights will be driven away." ”

Su Jinyao laughed when she heard this, and said, "Then when you go out this time, you're really going to fight, don't faint when you see blood when you see it?" Now that I have thought about it, this is a desperate thing, and no one can save your life except yourself. But if my brother runs for his life on his own, I will not spare it. Now give you half an hour to go home and talk to your family. Half an hour later, the boat sailed, and if it didn't come, it gave up, and we didn't wait for anyone. ”

The twenty men looked at each other, and more than a dozen of them scattered and left. A few were left and leaned towards the shēn.

The little grasshopper said to Su Jinyao: "These few have no home, they are all willing to follow Liu Gongzi." ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said, "Okay, now a few of you follow the little grasshopper and go to choose weapons." He said that it is suitable for underwater warfare, and what are you preparing. Remember, it's better to have more than you need, and it's not wrong to prepare more. ”

"Okay." The grasshopper agreed, and left with the shēn.

Su Jinyao suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly stopped the little grasshopper and said, "Little grasshopper, I forgot to ask you, why don't you go home?" I told them to go, and I didn't say I wouldn't let you go home. You should also go back and have a look, and come back early to prepare something for the fight. ”

The little grasshopper shook his head and said, "My father is sick, and my mother is busy." If she had known I was leaving, she wouldn't have agreed. But I promised Liu Gongzi not to go into the water, presumably there will be nothing wrong, of course I won't tell them, so as not to make them anxious. ”

"That's not going to work, you can go back and have a look." When Su Jinyao heard this, she immediately ran over to intercept the little grasshopper and said, "In this way, I have to let you go home and take a look." You can't hide anything from your parents, they will be more worried about you if you don't explain it. ”

One of the grasshoppers who followed him said: "His family runs a restaurant on the Jiangkou side, not far away." Or I'll send him back. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said, "Go, go early and come back early." I try to make sure you don't put you in danger. ”

When the little grasshopper walked forward, Su Jinyao glanced at the direction he left, called out to the little grasshopper again, and asked, "Do you have a cousin named Shui Ling?" ”

"yes." The little grasshopper turned around and asked Su Jinyao, "Does Liu Gongzi know her?" ”

"When I came, I was on her boat." Su Jinyao waved her hand at the little grasshopper and said, "It's okay, you can go." ”

"Hee-hee." The little grasshopper grinned and turned (shēn) away.

Time passed quickly, half an hour passed in a blink of an eye, and the Liu family's clipper was ready.

Su Jinyao looked at the people who had come back one after another, counted the whole nineteen, and said, "It's all real men, let's go, the boat will leave." ”

I didn't leave my head. He is in charge of the ship's affairs (qíng), and there will be no danger if he does not go into the water, so he does not want to go home to talk about it, and he does not have to worry about the empty family.

He counted the number of people, and it was nineteen, and said to Su Jinyao: "The little grasshopper and the one who walked with him haven't come back yet." ”

Su Jinyao smiled and said, "The little grasshopper is young, and it is normal for his family not to let him come." That man might be back in a moment, so let's ship now. If he hadn't brought the letter with him before the boat had sailed, he wouldn't have had to wait. ”

Tou Zhang nodded, in fact, one more person or one less person would not have much impact, and I didn't pick another person to make up for it.

Liu Shuo, the head of the Liu family, walked over, clasped his fists at Su Jinyao, and said, "Young Master Liu, it's hard work." The Liu family waited for the heroes to come back and held a banquet to welcome each other. ”

Su Jinyao smiled and said, "I just look forward to how many people have gone and how many people can come back." After speaking, he beckoned to Liu Shuo and turned (shēn) towards the boat.

In the end, the head is a good hand, and the clothes boat has already arranged the division of labor among these people. Several people in a team, how long to change shifts, and what to pay attention to (qíng), are all explained.

Then someone was in charge of untying the cable, lifting the anchor, and starting the boat.

Because of the tight time, the sooner they arrived, the greater hope that the people on the Liu family's cargo ship would be alive, so no one delayed and immediately entered the state.

Su Jinyao had already thought that the little grasshopper might be kept by the family, so she asked someone to prepare dozens of daggers in advance. All have been sent to the ship.

As soon as the cable was untied, the man who had followed the grasshopper home came running, waving to wait for him as he ran.

The man who collected the gangplank waited a little longer, and only then did he take it back when he was also on board.

The man ran to Su Jinyao and said, "Young Master Liu, the little grasshopper was locked up by his mother." His mother asked me to bring you a message, saying that the little grasshopper is too young to go on this trip. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said, "Actually, I didn't plan to take him with me." Otherwise, he wouldn't have been told to go home. ”

Su Jinyao wanted the little grasshopper to help him pick out some good (shēn) hands that could be used.

In this regard, only the little grasshopper is an expert, and he begs others not to be sure. When the selection is complete, of course Su Jinyao will not take the little grasshopper to the adventure.

The Liu family's clipper was really good, and it quickly left the dock and sailed to the center of the river.

And the people on the dock were still together, all looking this way, and no one dispersed.

At the front of the crowd was the head of the Liu family, who was still waving towards the boat, and the watch (qíng) was solemn as if he was holding a farewell ceremony.

Su Jinyao felt that something was wrong with this atmosphere, and laughed "poof". "Don't let this atmosphere affect you. Whether we can touch those bandits is not certain. Even if you can't meet it, at least the wages are earned. ”

After listening to the first zhang, he also smiled and said, "Yes, the salary is really a lot." Besides, we also went on this trip to save those brothers who worked together on the docks, and this time we went to save them, and next time something happens, someone will come to save us. ”

The words of the first Zhang can be regarded as saying to everyone's hearts, because they are all eating in the river, and adventure is inevitable. In addition to seeing if it is smooth, you also have to beware of encountering water ghosts.

If they can rescue the people of the Liu family this time, everyone will take care of each other and twist into a rope, and they will not always be remembered by the water bandits.

As a result, the atmosphere that was similar to life and death just now was much reduced, and everyone was concentrating on their own business (qíng), busy driving the boat, busy arranging plans.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Look, who's swimming over there?" How does it look like ...... Little grasshoppers? ”

Su Jinyao heard it, and hurriedly ran to the man's side and looked forward in the direction of his finger. Sure enough, I saw a little brain melon swimming towards this side in the water, and the little brain melon was still holding his clothes.

Su Jinyao really said that she should not be angry or praised, this kid is really a good hand, and he is bold and good.

Su Jinyao immediately asked someone to bring a rope, and she personally tied a knot and threw it at the little grasshopper.

Although she doesn't know how to horse, she has the right head of her hand. This time it was also a half (shēn) (tào) of the little grasshopper and pulled it violently.

When the little grasshopper got out of the boat, he shivered and wiped the water (shēn) and got dressed, grinning, "It's good that I'm in a hurry." ”

Su Jinyao walked over, slapped him on the back of the head, and said, "Stinky boy, I don't want to take you out when you go home, why are you still swimming and coming along." Your mother can't find you when she turns around, how anxious should she be? ”

The little grasshopper rubbed the back of her head, still gritting her teeth, and said, "Actually, my cousin secretly let me go and sent me over." She said, you're a good person, and it's right to follow you. ”

"She?" Su Jinyao thought of the generous Shui Ling and asked, "Didn't she say that she would stay a late return?" Why is it still in your house? ”

The little grasshopper said: "My mother said that she wanted to tell her cousin a kiss, let her not go back, go back and take my aunt over, and take a picture with the man's family." I'll come back when it's decided. ”

Su Jinyao listened well and said: "What, you guys are talking about relatives here, it's not that the matchmaker changed the post, and the two families can still meet?" The men and women of the two families also meet? ”

He happened to pass by, and when he heard Su Jinyao's question, he smiled and said, "Yes, our rules here are different from those in other places." Because they all rely on water to eat, it depends on how the water (xìng) of the other party's house is. If you don't meet, just by the matchmaker's mouth, in the end, the other party is a landlubber, so how can you pass (rì) it? ”

Su Jinyao nodded and praised: "That's good, those who only see what the other party looks like when they pass through the door and the cave room, it's much better." ”

But after saying that, Su Jinyao slapped the little grasshopper again and said, "Your cousin is really, I don't have to worry about letting you run out like this." But since you've been pulled into the boat, you have to remember what you said before, don't go into the water easily, you know? ”

"Got it." The little grasshopper had a very good attitude, and nodded vigorously in agreement.

When the grasshoppers warmed up, they took the initiative to go to the boatmen and talk about their underwater experience.

The little grasshopper's family has been catching water ghosts for generations, and there are two kinds of underwater kung fu, but they are all secret skills and cannot be taught casually.

But the little grasshopper picked up a few more practical tricks to demonstrate to these people, and said: "These first two tricks are life-saving tricks, and the last two tricks can kill people in one move." But it can only be used as a last resort, and everyone can practice it, but don't learn it and go the wrong way. ”

The wonderful use of fish bladder

Su Jinyao watched the little grasshopper teach the boatmen how to use daggers, she leaned against the side of the boat not far away and watched.

This ability is too much to suppress (shēn), but it can save life when it is critical. So Su Jinyao will never let go of any opportunity to learn.

And she is alert and smart, and after watching the little grasshopper demonstrate it a few times, she has a sign in her heart and secretly learns it.

There are a total of four tricks, and it won't take much time for a stupid person to learn them. The rest is to figure it out and practice on your own, and the more skilled you are, the better.

Seeing that the boat had reached the center of the river, he ordered everyone to rest according to the rotation schedule scheduled before.

Because it has been delayed for a day to catch up with the boat in front, it is now impossible to stop, only fast, and have to take turns rowing.

Of course, Su Jinyao doesn't need to row, and neither do the little grasshoppers. Su Jinyao and the little grasshopper automatically took on the task of patrolling.

The two men walked to the stern of the boat at will, and the others went to rest, and the rowers were busy, so there was no one else here.

The little grasshopper smiled "hehe" and said to Su Jinyao: "There is no one here, should I call you Miss Liu, or continue to call you Liu Gongzi?" Or, let's call you Sister Liu. ”

Su Jinyao said: "Did Shui Ling tell you?" She is too, these have some and don't, what do you take out and say? ”

Little Grasshopper said: "I thought Sister Liu was a boy and a girl, but I didn't expect that she was really a handsome young lady." I still wonder how there is such a good-looking man in this world. It turns out that there really isn't. ”

Su Jinyao pinched his nose and said, "I haven't seen it, I don't prove it, but I've seen several women who are good to see men." Not to mention, it's my cousin, and he's also the best looking. ”

The little grasshopper pursed his mouth and said, "But we don't care about this, no matter how good-looking we are, it's not as good as water (xìng)." All of our men here must be able to swim, and they must have good water (xìng), otherwise they will not be able to get a wife. ”