"Let's go back first, and then we'll have the helmsman come over when we get to the docks." Shen Sui told Haizhu that he stood on the boat and asked Yu Laishun, "Are you going back with us?" Or wait for the next trip with the fishing boat? It's better to wait, and then let Liu Wu accompany you to talk to the boatman, so as not to make the boatman angry with you. ”

"Then I'll wait a little longer, Haizhu, you go first." Yu Laishun said.

"Okay, uncle, you wait a little longer." Haizhu touched it in his sleeve, and the five taels of silver that he sold should have fallen into the river.

"I'll look for you at home in the afternoon." She said

The helmsman raised the sails, and the ship floated out into the wind.

There were still two dead bodies lying on the board of the boat, Haizhu didn't dare to look back, so she leaned on the side of the boat to talk to Shen Sui, and talked about the bandits, she said: "This gang of bandits is a bit poor, and they all rely on robbing houses to get silver when they go ashore, and they have robbed all the salted fish and vegetables and brown rice and noodles that the people in the village have saved." ”

"The life of the bandits has not been very easy, and if they do, they will not come all the way to the shore to make trouble." The bandits live on an isolated island in the sea, and when the place is larger, they can raise chickens and pigs and eat some meat, but when the island is small, they can only fish from the sea, and they eat grain, salt and oil and come to the shore to buy it, and if they can't buy it, they will starve to death, "So I will never say that the bandits will go ashore, unless I can kill them all." ”

Before Admiral Han was transferred, the previous Admiral was a man who didn't care about anything, and the wharf on the shore was the vegetable garden and granary of the bandits, and they dared to go ashore in full view of everyone. Even the bandits who escaped after committing murders still dare to go home, and come back every New Year's holiday, relying on the identity of bandits to make a lot of trouble, robbing fishermen, buying and selling young children is very common.

"People wearing official skins colluded with bandits, stepping on human blood to live a life of fine clothes and food, at that time, if I didn't care about the lives of my family, I would carry a knife and learn to take the life of the dog official and kill the thief who did evil." Speaking of it now, Shen Sui still couldn't stop being angry in his heart, he sighed and looked at the lively dock, and said, "Fortunately, Admiral Han is here, fortunately, he is not as blind as the previous dog officer." ”

At noon, the streets were scattered, the vendors who set up stalls and sold vegetables left with their boats, and dozens of flat boats sailed out of the wharf, like a flock of ducks released, rocking the oars and raising their sails, smiling and smiling.

Haizhu held her face and looked at the sea, the grandmother who sold tofu was still selling unsold tofu on the boat, and the girl who sold needlework wanted to exchange it with embroidery thread.

Admiral Han's relegation to the South China Sea was unfortunate for him, but a savior for the fishermen and fisherwomen who lived on the surface of the sea and made a living from the sea.

Thinking of Han Ji, who had been floating on the sea for half a month, Haizhu admired him in his heart, although he was young, he was an ambitious person who was willing to endure hardships.

As the official ship approached the pier, the red-bottomed sails embroidered with the word "Han" were lowered, and the soldiers lowered the wooden ladder and set up on the reef beach.

"I'm not going to go, and you'll take care of the rest." Shen Sui walked outside to block the afterglow of Haizhu and let her get off the boat first, he stood by the boat and explained to the soldiers: "The loss of Houwan Village is a bit big, you mention it to the general, see if you can compensate for one or two." ”

"It's up to you to say that's more appropriate."

"Okay, I'll come in the afternoon."

When Shen Sui disembarked, the soldiers withdrew to the wooden ladder, and the official ship raised its sails and left the dock.

"You go back to take a shower and change your clothes first, and I'll go to the restaurant to order food and wait for you." Shen Sui said to Haizhu.

"Okay, order a pot of rice wine, I want to suppress the shock."

Haizhu's clothes have dried, her pants and shoes are covered with a layer of mud and sand, her hair is like seaweed, she is embarrassed like a flower child, she walks briskly avoiding people along the way, and she doesn't want to be shouted by people she knows.

When she arrived at the door, she was just about to enter when she heard a cry in the courtyard, which was hoarse and grief-stricken. She pushed the door and went in, and saw Zheng Erlang sitting facing the door with a white cloth tied to his head.

Haizhu sighed in her heart, and hurriedly asked, "What's going on?" ”

"Where have you been? I can't find anyone anywhere, so hurry up and change my clothes and go back with your third uncle, your Uncle Zheng is gone. Grandma Qi said.

"Why aren't the good people gone? Got into trouble at sea? Haizhu's face was covered with ashes, how long has it been? She had only been away from the village for three months, and remembering the man who had been taking care of her three siblings since she woke up, Haizhu cried, and she sat on the threshold and asked hopefully, "Is there no mistake?" Someone found? ”

Zheng Erlang shook his head, "I haven't even found anyone with the boat, it's been six days, my mother asked me to come over and bury him tomorrow, to see if you have time to go back and see him off." ”

Haizhu wiped a handful of tears, "I'll go change my clothes." ”

Dongzhu and Fengping had already cried, and the two sat with Zheng Erlang in a daze, and only then did they say that they would also go back.

"Go back, your Uncle Zheng is a good person who doesn't live long, you go back and kowtow to him, he also takes care of your three sisters and brothers." Grandma Qi sighed, if it weren't for the inconvenience of the second child, she should have gone back.

Haizhu had already changed her clothes and came out, she scooped up a scoop of water to wash her face, and said, "Let's go." ”

"There's no ship here." Zheng Erlang spoke.

"I have a boat, I can go back." Haizhu took five taels of silver to give her milk, and said, "You go to my mother in the afternoon, and give these five taels of silver to Yu Laishun, he understands what it means." Then let my mother take a merchant ship back in the afternoon, and hire a boat to take her to Qijiawan at Hui'an Wharf. ”

Grandma Qi nodded, "Okay, I see." ”

When the group went out, the people in the alley looked curiously and saw the white cloth on Zheng Erlang's head, they all understood that there was a funeral, and no one in the alley made a sound, so they watched them leave quickly.

"Ahh

Passing by the restaurant, Haizhu called the running hall that sent the guests out, "Tell the little sixth master, I have an accident in my hometown and go back." ”

Then head straight to the pier.

The building boat sent by Han Ji came in handy, it could carry five people, and it could run a long way with two sails.

Lu Haizhu asked what happened, only then did he know that Zheng Haishun was not far from the center of the storm on the day the dragon sucked up the water, according to the people who fled back said that the wind was extremely strong at that time, and the tide on the sea had also changed, and the boats around there were scattered, and when the wind and rain stopped, they found the direction and rushed back overnight, only to find that there were seven ships missing.

Seven boats, at least fourteen fishermen disappeared into the vast sea.

In the past few days, there have been boats going out to sea to look for it, but it has been windy and rainy and unable to travel far, until yesterday when the rain was a little less and went out to look for it, and there was nothing left on the sea.

In the evening, the boat turned into the Haihe River, the brilliant sunset after the rain was reflected on the river, the big fish led a large group of small fish fry to float in the aquatic grass to peck duckweed, the bow of the boat broke the water and disturbed them, and in an instant there was only a series of bubbles left on the water surface.

When I entered the village, people were sitting on both sides of the river to eat, and children were dragging bamboo rakes to gather grass by the water. Erdan looked at the boat entering the village, he looked at Haizhu, and shouted at the boat: "Xiaoyu, your father is not dead." ”

"What?" Zheng Erlang was ecstatic, "My dad is back?" ”

Haizhu also looked at Erdan, and then at the others, "Second uncle, my Uncle Zheng is back?" ”

"He was kidnapped by bandits, you will know when you go to his house."

There was still a white cloth hanging on the door of Zheng's house, there was no one in the yard, the pole for drying salted fish hung crookedly on the ground, dirty clothes were piled on the ground, unwashed rice bowls were piled on the stove in the house, and flies and mosquitoes were buzzing around.

"Haizhu is back, alas, this thing is troublesome." Wei Jinhua came in from outside the door, she lost a lot of weight, her clothes were loosely draped on her body, her mouth was foaming, her face was so thin that she was sunken, her two cheekbones were protruding, and she was about to faint from exhaustion, but her eyes were terrifying.

"The ship that just went out to sea to look for people came back, they met bandits at sea, your uncle and they were blown to the bandits' nest by the sea breeze that day, and they took them captive, now let us take the money to ransom people, and I will go to ransom people tomorrow." Wei Jinhua said in a hoarse voice.

It's a bandit again, Haizhu frowned, and said, "It's a good thing for people to live, how much ransom do you want?" Do you have enough money at home? Not enough for me to go back and get it. ”

"One hundred taels, it's enough to borrow and borrow."

"I'll go with you tomorrow."

Chapter 72: Sister, do you dare to go with me to the sea

The house was unoccupied for three months, a thick layer of ash had fallen on the house, grass had grown in the yard, and the door lock had rusted under the corrosive sea breeze. Haizhu opened the door and went in a circle and came out again, The stone house smelled musty, there were insects in the corners, and there were cobwebs on the beams, which was not suitable for a short overnight stay.

"I'll sleep on the boat tonight, Dongzhu and Fengping will sleep with me, third uncle, you go to find someone to borrow for two nights, if there are no special circumstances, we will go back the day after tomorrow." Haizhu said.

Qi Laosan listened to her, "Your Aunt Wei said that you would come to her house for dinner in the evening." ”

"Forget it, she's not in good spirits, so it's better to rest more. You borrow a boat to fetch two buckets of water, and we cook on board. ”

coincided with the low tide, Haizhu took Dongzhu and Fengping to catch the sea, she was also tired, and didn't want to bother anymore, so she planned to catch a few crabs and shrimp, dig a few snails and pry a few oysters, and then pinch some greens mixed with seaweed to make a pot of porridge.

"Haizhu, did you buy this building boat again? Or borrowed? The villagers asked.

"Admiral Han sent it, and he accepted me as a righteous daughter." Although it is difficult to explain, Haizhu did not lie, this is not an unsightly identity. What's more, Dongzhu and Fengping are still around, if she lies casually to save trouble, they will do the same.

Sure enough, this sentence aroused everyone's surprise and curiosity, and Haizhu was chased to inquire why she was accepted as a righteous daughter by Admiral Han.

When she returned from the sea, the village chief came to Haizhu when she was washing crabs, and he asked her if she could contact her stepfather to send troops to suppress the bandits.

"One hundred taels for one person, and sixteen people for one thousand six hundred taels, the foundation of our village has been hollowed out." The village chief said.

Haizhu also has this plan, otherwise she won't follow her, she can't find Han Ji's person for a while, so she can only go to the bottom first, and if something happens to the ransom, she can escape back and report the news.

"I don't know where Major General Han is patrolling the sea now, and I will mention it to him when I see him, as for whether to suppress bandits or not, I can't make the decision." Haizhu didn't show his mouth, for fear that he would endanger himself if he leaked the news.

"Yes." The village chief sighed and left.

Haizhu continued to bow his head to wash the crabs, cleaned them and pried the shells with a knife, broke off the crab gills and crab lungs, chopped them in half, broke the crab claws, and then handed them to Dongzhu and asked her to pour them into the crockpot, "Remember to add a few more pieces of ginger, I remember that there are still a few red dates on the table in the cabin, you go to find them, wash them and throw them in together." ”

"Hey." Dongzhu ran on the boat, and after a while, he pedaled down again.

When night falls, the sound of lively conversation is heard in the wind from the seaside, and the village is so quiet that you can hear the insects.

After the porridge was cooked, Qi Laosan carried the cleaned table back to the courtyard, and Haizhu and Dongzhu followed up with borrowed dishes and chopsticks, waiting for the third uncle to come over with the porridge jar.

Zheng Dalang brought a plate of steamed salted fish from the house and sent it over, he was a lot silent when something happened at home, and he talked less, and he looked sensible, and told Haizhu that she was tired and ran for a trip, which was very polite.

While eating, the village chief's daughter-in-law brought a plate of fried meat and asked the three Haizhu sisters and brothers to sleep at her house.

"Don't bother, there's a bed on the ship, let's just sleep on the boat." Haizhu doesn't want to trouble people.

"What's the trouble, it's hard for you to come back once." The village chief's daughter-in-law sat down on a bench with dust, and she didn't leave, just watched Haizhu and them eat.

"Auntie is still in trouble?" Haizhu asked.

"You eat first, and you're not in a hurry."

Haizhu picked up a bowl of porridge and nibbled on two crabs before getting up and leaving, "Let's go out and talk." ”

At night, the stars are dotted, a bright moon hangs high, the stone houses in the village can be faintly seen, the white cloth tied to the door of Zheng's house has been removed, there is light coming out of the yard, and the broom is rustling on the ground.

"Haizhu, do you think there will be an accident if you go to redeem people tomorrow? You may not know that bandits are not good people who speak of faith, and I am afraid that they will kill people after taking money. The village chief's daughter-in-law said in a suppressed voice that her man was the village chief, and she would go to redeem the people in the village tomorrow to designate him, and she was afraid that there would be no return for this trip.

"Have you ever ransomed someone with a bandit before?" Haizhu asked.

"There is no one in our village, but there is one in the village next to it, and the bandits who kidnap people are not a nest, some will kill people, and some will release people."

"Killing people doesn't do them any good, they shouldn't kill people." Haizhu said.

"But I'm afraid of what happens."

"There's no way, it's just gambling, you can't help but redeem people." Haizhu spreads his hands.

The village chief's daughter-in-law also knew in her heart that if she stopped her from ransom people, the hearts of the people in the village would be scattered, and her man would not be able to sit firmly in the position of village chief.

"You're not Admiral Han's righteous daughter? Can you come forward and stop it? ”

Haizhu glanced at her, didn't say anything, turned around and left.

Laughing to death, there are quite a lot of twists and turns in this person's heart, and she is afraid of offending people, so she pushes others out to block the infamy.

"What did you say?" Qi Laosan asked.

"I didn't say anything, third uncle, you wash the dishes and go to sleep, let's take a bath and sleep."

"I sleep on the board of the boat at night and make the bed and quilt." Qi Laosan changed his mind when he was eating, Haizhu has eaten fat for most of the year, and he looks like a big girl, he doesn't worry about letting her sleep on the boat alone, the people in the village know each other, but they are not all good people.

It's not cold to sleep on a boat in this weather, but the water vapor is heavy, and sleeping in the open air on the river can wet half of your hair for a night, Haizhu doesn't let him guard it, "I'm good at water, and if there is a thief, I will jump into the river." ”

"What should you do if you dive into the water and Dongzhu and Fengping?" Qi Laosan asked, "Today, you listen to me, I am your uncle, your elder, and I will beat you if you are strong." ”

Haizhu: ......

Dongzhu and Fengping watched from the sidelines and snickered.

Haizhu also smiled, "That's okay, you sleep in the bottom cabin, you can hear someone walking on the boat at night." ”

But in the middle of the night, there was a person on the boat, and Qi Laosan's snoring did not stop.