After eating in the afternoon, Qi Laosan and Bei Niang took his mother-in-law back to the next door to talk, Dongzhu and Grandma Qi went to clean up the kitchen, Haizhu pulled Pingsheng to wash his face and hands, and said: "You will sleep with your brother later, and when you wake up, you will play in the alley with Chaoping." ”

"Can I go to private school with my brother?" Pingsheng asked.

Haizhu shook her head, "You are too young, you can't understand when you go, stay at home to play, and go with the third uncle to sell braised vegetables in the evening, and ask him to pay you." ”

As soon as he heard that there was a salary to be paid, his life immediately stopped, and as soon as Feng Ping shouted, he followed him into the house to sleep.

Haizhu took the basin and sprinkled water, and the yard was covered with fine sand, which was fine in the morning and evening, but at noon the sand was burned by the scorching sun.

"The water that was just sprinkled before the meal was dried again?" Grandma Qi took off her apron and came out, she scooped a basin of water to wash her hands and face, and washed her feet, and finally sprinkled the water in the yard and said, "Okay, let's go into the house and sleep." ”

Dongzhu went to close the door, ran into the house on tiptoe, heard a voice next door, she picked up the deadbolt and knocked on the wall, "Don't sleep yet?" No more talking. ”

The brothers next door closed their mouths, and after a while they covered their mouths and laughed.

Haizhu coughed when she entered the door, stood under the eaves for a while, and only entered the house when she heard that there was no movement next door.

It was hot, the people in the alleys were resting in their houses, the voices of people were silent, the birdsong of the sea was faintly in the ears, there were not many people left on the dock, and the seabirds circled and landed on the shore.

Until a noisy merchant ship floated from the sea, and a crisp whistle pierced the quiet town, and porters and porters ran to the docks on the scorching sand, and the seabirds that stayed on the reef and sand spread their wings and left, leaving fine pieces of guandown on the beach.

"Sister, I went to private school with Fengping." Dongzhu walked to the window and said.

"Okay, put Chaoping and Pingsheng in the courtyard, don't let them go out." Haizhu lay on the bed and did not move, she had to lie down for another half an hour, and then get up when she had rested enough.

Grandma Qi got up, she sat at the door and watched the two little grandsons spinning naked and sitting in the basin to play with water, and when she heard a voice outside, she put down the big pu fan and opened the door and went out, "Mother-in-law?" Let's go? I had dinner in the evening and asked the third child to send you back, how hot it is at this time. ”

"There is still kelp drying at home, and I have to go back and keep an eye on it, lest it be stolen by thieves." Bei Lao Niang is in good spirits, her hair is gray, and she is quite motivated, she didn't let Qi Laosan send it, and said a few polite words to Grandma Qi, and she walked out of the alley.

"Look, you're doing well, your mother is relieved, and your spirit is not bad." Grandma Qi said to Bei Niang, "It's still hot at this time, you can go back and rest." ”

Bei Niang nodded, and obediently went back to the house to lie down.

Qi Laosan went back, it was too hot, and the marinade from last night had changed a little, so he took it out and poured it, and went to the street to buy a hen and came back. He cleaned up the hen and soaked it in water, said to Bei Niang, went next door to get a machete and pushed the wooden cart out to chop wood, and got his second brother out before leaving.

"Third uncle, sell braised vegetables." Pingsheng went out with his bare ass.

"It's back, you wait at home." Qi Laosan raised his hand, "I'll be back when the sun sets, you stay at home with your third aunt, and she will stew chicken for you later." ”

"Oh, then you're coming back."

"Come inside and get out in the sun." Grandma Qi shouted.

Haizhu fell asleep in a daze, and when she woke up again, there was already a large area of shade in the yard.

"Woke up?" Second Uncle Qi turned his head with the two cats in his arms, "Your grandmother took Pingsheng and Chaoping to play in the alley." ”

Haizhu yawned, walked over and scooped up water, washed her face, removed the net bag hanging on the wall, took a pointed shovel, and said, "I'm going to the beach." ”

"Be careful when you go to the sea." Second Uncle Qi instructed as always.

"Okay." Haizhu goes out.

"Haizhu woke up and went to catch shrimp and crabs?" Erwang smiled and said, "Be careful in the sea, don't go deep." ”

"Hey."

"I heard from your grandmother, when the sea opens, your family will go back to your hometown for a banquet?" Hong Shanniang asked, "When will you go back?" ”

"I'm not sure yet, Sister-in-law asked what this is for?" Haizhu wondered.

"Last night, I heard Hongshan and her father mention that our ship will transport a shipload of goods from Fucheng to Niangniang Temple on August 13, if you want to go back, you can take a boat together at that time, and say to the helmsman, I can send you directly to the door." Hong Shanniang looked at Grandma Qi, "Old aunt, your hometown is built along the river, am I not mistaken?" ”

"There is a river, but Haizhu plans to drive us back by boat, which is convenient for going back and forth." Grandma Qi said.

"That's just as well." Hong Shanniang nodded, "Let's see if we can make up the day, and when the time comes, we will go together, and we will also take care of them on the road." ”

Haizhu found a stone and sat down, leaned over and asked curiously, "I heard that my sister-in-law means that your family has a merchant ship?" Is it the kind that comes and goes on the dock to deliver deliveries and carry people? ”

Hong Shanniang smiled and waved her hand, "It's not my family, I can't afford it, it's our clan's pooled money to buy one." ”

"You don't know?" Erwang Milk was a little surprised, "This alley is connected to the half of the alley next door, and the people living in it are all from our Ming clan, and we have more or less paid for it." Otherwise, why can we go to the restaurant to eat all at once, it is all dependent on men to go to sea, and we can't afford to support two or three generations of our old and young people sitting at home with their necks stalked, eating good and dressing well. ”

Haizhu and Grandma Qi glanced at each other, the people in their family don't like to inquire about other people's gossip, and they really don't know about it.

"The merchant ships that come and go on the sea are all purchased by coastal people, and if an individual can't afford it, a big family pools money to buy it in partnership, and our ship is called Ming's ship. The three alleys to the east are all inhabited by people surnamed Chen, and their boats are called Chen's boats. Erwangma shook her head, "I thought you knew, it's been more than half a year since you moved, and the former owner of your small courtyard was bold enough to run away with the boat, and he moved away when he got rich, otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy this small courtyard." ”

Haizhu: "...... It turns out that all the people around me live are rich people! I always thought you were more willing to eat and wear than the countrymen......"

Hong Shanniang laughed, "The money earned by going to sea to fish to support the family is all exchanged for life, who is willing to waste it, all thanks to the remnants of the ancestors, and run merchant ships to make money." ”

Some of the men in Qingshi Lane can only see once in half a month, and some of them go to sea to fish as usual, Qi Laosan has seen familiar neighbors on the boat when he carries the goods, he didn't think about it, he just thought that they were the same as Yu Laishun, they were all small merchants who sold goods, and they came back to tell their families that Haizhu also thought so.

"How much does a merchant ship cost?" Haizhu asked.

"What? Do you want to buy it too? Erwang Milk looked sideways, "This is not a simple matter, there is silver to buy and there must be reliable and capable people to use it, and the helmsman who travels is not easy to find." When the words fell and saw the two Chaoping brothers, she stroked her palms and said: "You have many brothers, I see that Fengping is a smart and stable person, when they grow up, if you have great luck and make a fortune, buy a merchant ship and let your brothers go out to run the boat, you sit at home and wait to count the silver." ”

"When they were young, you worked hard, and when they grow up, you sit at home and enjoy happiness." Hong Shanniang said softly that in her opinion, the Qi family was supported by Haizhu, and she was busy all day long, and she felt tired when she looked at it.

"Big sister—" Chaoping ran over with a shovel, and he pointed to the sun and said, "It's getting dark." ”

Haizhu looked up at the sky, it was indeed not early, she got up and said, "You continue to talk, I went to the sea." ”

When they reached the beach, the merchant ships on the docks set sail east, their blue-gray sails sailing against the setting sun, and the waves hitting the side of the ships reflected seven colors in the brilliant afterglow.

Haizhu stood on the beach and watched, thinking that when she bought the boat, she would also go out with the boat to have a look, and when she was homesick, she would bring everyone in the family with her, and come back when she was tired of playing.

Chapter 121: The End of the Forbidden Sea - Out to Sea

As soon as the dinner was served in the evening, Qin Jingniang and Yu Laishun came to pick up the child, and as soon as the two entered the door, the family that had just sat down stood up, and Grandma Qi asked the two of them to sit down and eat again.

Qi Laosan brought a chair from the house and said, "Sit down and eat more, and I'll go get you dishes and chopsticks." ”

Yu Laishun handed over the two packs of pastries in his hand, saying that they were for the children, "I was not at home when you got married, and I heard Jing Niang mention it when I came back, I haven't been free to come over, although it's a little late to say congratulations, but I still have to make up a sentence." ”

"It's not too late, it's just right, I'm going to be a father." Qi Laosan grinned.

Yu Laishun's heart was shocked, he glanced at Bei Niang, and turned his face a little lonely.

The rice noodles boiled at night, fried a plate of leek eggs and a bowl of sauerkraut and jar fish, poured on the rice noodles are very delicious, Yu Laishun took the bowl, he had no appetite, ate a few chopsticks and sat aside to listen to other people.

I ate a chicken leg in the evening, and I wasn't very hungry, and I didn't eat the diced fish on the noodles after eating.

"Let's leave when we're full, the more we delay, the later it gets." Yu Laishun took Pingsheng and said to the four Haizhu sisters and brothers: "I have to go to the house for dinner when I am free, your mother will talk to you at home every day." ”

"Come here when you're free, there are plenty of people to eat and be lively." Grandma Qi sent people out with a bowl, "Slow down on the road, it's dark, look at the road under your feet."

Qin Jingniang turned around and waved her hand, "Mother, you go into the house to eat, don't send it." ”

Turning out of the alley, Pingsheng hugged Yu Laishun's neck and said that he accompanied his third uncle to sell braised vegetables, and he also got a salary of ten cents. He took out the copper plate, divided five for each of his father and mother, and said sweetly: "When I make a lot of money, you will be at home every day." ”

Yu Laishun's heart warmed, and he kissed the kid in his arms loudly, "Good son, I didn't hurt you in vain." ”

Qin Jingniang rolled her eyes in the dark, she was not the one who was full of despair when she heard that the third daughter-in-law was pregnant with a baby, no matter how good she said in her mouth, her life was still not as good as the shadowless flesh and blood in his heart.

The restaurants and taverns along the street are still lively, but the fishermen in the village are empty, there is no one at home and no lights, and everyone is still staying up late at the beach to catch the sea.

The tide rises and falls, night and day alternate, and the storm at sea weakens between the tides of the day, and the distant sea surface returns to calm, and the wind on the sea becomes calm.

On the evening of the 10th day of the first month of August, the newly renovated pier sounded with gongs and drums, and the people in the streets and alleys laughed in unison when they heard the rhythmic sound of gongs and drums.

The typhoon season has passed, and the sea ban period has ended.

"It's more than half a year in a flash, and in the second half of the year, time flies." The fishermen carrying the boats on the road sighed, "I didn't make a fortune in the first half of the year, and I don't know if I can catch a lot of nets in the second half of the year." ”

"Go to the Mazu Temple to worship, I don't want to make a fortune, I just hope that I will go to sea at dawn and come back safely at sunset." Someone else accosted him.

Qi Laosan nodded secretly, he also prayed with this prayer, he could work hard, make a small amount of money steadily, and only hope to return home safely from the sea.

Haizhu waited at the pier, waiting for Qi Laosan's boat to advance into the bay, she said hello to Du Xiaowu, jumped on the boat and took her third uncle to the island to find a boat.

"I knew you were coming over today, the boat had already dragged you into the water." The guards on the island said, "There is sand and leaves, and you have to work hard to clean them up." ”

Haizhu walked up to the bow of the boat, and thick mud and sand leaves fell on the board, as well as conch and clam shells, all of which were blown up when the wind was blowing. She glanced at it briefly, walked to the bow of the ship and raised its sails, a layer of sand swooped down, and she squinted back.

"When you get to the dock, take off the sails, don't use the boat for the next two days, I'll overhaul it for you, and if there is a problem, go to the boatman as soon as possible." Qi Laosan followed, he walked off the boat board to the bottom warehouse, the bottom warehouse was dry and did not enter the water, he lay on the boat board and knocked inch by inch, he was worried that the boat would be moth-eaten when it was lifted to the island.

Haizhu also walked down and said, "Let's go back first, I'll ask a boatwright to come to the boat tomorrow." ”

"It's okay, you often go out to sea to run off, the boat can't have an accident, it's worth paying a shipwright to check it." Qi Laosan walked to Haizhu's side, lowered his voice and said to her: "I see that the few clusters of flowers on the island are very beautiful, you ask the people on the island if you can dig one and walk, go back and plant the yard to drive away the smell of oil, and your third aunt smells comfortable." ”

Haizhu glanced at him, went to the island to say hello to the guards, and she took the wildflowers to the boat with her bare hands.

At this time, a turtle shell floated on the surface of the sea, and the old turtle slowly swam to the island, and when it heard the familiar voice, it craned its neck, and then accelerated its speed to swim to the side of the boat.

A familiar crash sounded at the bottom of the boat, and Haizhu leaned on the side of the boat and looked down, "Hey, old guy, I've been waiting for you for a long time, do you want to go back with me?" ”

"It is estimated that it is used to living on the island, and it goes to the sea twice a day to hunt, and when it is full, it comes up to bask in the sun." The guards on the island are a little anxious, the island is boring, and it is quite interesting to raise a turtle, and they have also tried to catch a turtle and raise it on the island, no matter how they feed it, they will escape as soon as they enter the water.

"Miss Qi, you just let the old turtle stay on the island, and you will come to pick it up when you go to sea." The sentry guard begged.

"It's your baby, don't worry, it won't go back with me." Haizhu motioned to the people on the island to pull out the anchor, and the building boat had no fixed anchor point and immediately slid out with the wind.

The old turtle swam behind the boat, and halfway through the boat it found its way, and without thinking about it, it sank into the water and turned around and swam to the island.

Haizhu looked at it and snorted.

……

The next morning, the fishermen, who had enough rest, went out of their homes at dawn to the beach, where they sat on the dock and waited for the tide to recede, and as soon as the tide receded, they led the boats and set sail.

Haizhu's morning shop didn't open the door, she went to the boatwright, negotiated the price and went to the dock together, and when the two arrived, only her boat was left in the bay.

The shipwright first took off the two sails and went ashore to examine them carefully, and then hung the mast intact after a pillar of incense, and he said to Haizhu: "The shipwright who built this ship took a lot of thought, and the sails were made of three layers of oilcloth, or glued together with precious cowhide, and could not be broken easily." ”

After that, he picked up a small hammer and struck the plank, and the old craftsman could discern the situation inside the wood by just listening to the sound, and he knocked on the row inch by inch, and Haizhu felt bored after watching it for a while, so she jumped into the water from the bow of the boat and drilled to the bottom of the boat with neat movements.

The planks on the bottom of the boat are scratched, the wood is a little rotten after soaking in the seawater, and the rotten wood is embedded with sand and gravel. She went out to sea and told the old boatman about the situation, "What is going to happen about this?" ”

"Don't deal with it, pay attention when you sail, don't row shallowly, avoid the reef underwater, as long as you don't hit the reef, you have no problem with this boat." The old carpenter put away the hammer and said, "Give me a tael of silver, and there is nothing to repair in your ship, and I need not bother to inspect it." By the way, which shipwright built this ship? ”

Haizhu took out a tael of silver and gave it to him, saying, "I don't know, someone else gave it." ”

"Hearts are strong." The old boatman picked up his toolbox and disembarked and left.

Haizhu went to pick up the old turtle and go out to sea, anyway, the clothes were already wet, so he didn't go down to the sea to go around.

She came with no nets and a pointed shovel, but went to the island to borrow an iron rake and a sack, and took the old turtle straight to the blue sea.

At this time, there were no waves on the sea, the water was clear and dazzling, and Haizhu stared at the gelatinous sea, and she lowered the sails and jumped from the bow of the ship with a sack and iron rake.

With a "bang", the sea surface sank into a nest, and as the underwater figure disappeared, the sea surface returned to calm.