At the wharf, although it was still early for closing, the people of Huai County loved to watch the excitement and did not want to be left behind. So at this moment, there were already many people standing on the wharf and the embankment. There were even many people standing on the trail beside the Huaihe River Bridge diagonally above the wharf, looking down from above.

The arrival of a sedan chair caused a great commotion among the people who were waiting impatiently for the opening.

"Wow, who is this? Such a cool way to make an appearance?"

"Are you stupid?" The person next to him patted him, "Didn't you see Miss Zhou was among the people following the sedan chair?"

"Oh! Miss Zhou is walking behind, so the sedan chair must be filled with Miss Zhou's elders?"

"I think so. I want to ride in a sedan chair too!"

"You're just dreaming, but you don't know where Miss Zhou got this sedan chair from!"

Zhou Xiang and his group did not hear the whispers of the crowd. At this moment, they were welcomed by Song Sui to the side of the simple wooden house.

There are several long tables placed at the door of the simple wooden house, covered with red silk cloth. There are several microphones on the silk cloth table. This is the podium for the opening ceremony.

Two leaders were already sitting in front of the rostrum, the county governor and a senior county official.

Seeing that there were only two minutes left before the opening time, Zhou Xiang urged Song Sui to go and preside over the ceremony quickly, and to talk about it later, as she was still waiting to take a boat trip on the river!

The ceremony was simple. The county magistrate and senior county officials said a few words to commemorate the old wharf, and then said auspicious words to wish the new wharf a smooth and successful construction. Then Song Sui announced the simultaneous opening of the wharf and the old street.

In the fenced open space, men wearing Ma Gua, Chang Shi, Zhongshan suits and May Fourth Youth uniforms, and women wearing cheongsam, dresses with bow ties and May Fourth Youth uniforms appeared one after another, dazzling the crowd.

People who take a boat tour on the river walk along the wooden plank road where snacks are sold to the pier to board the boat.

Zhou Xiang called out, and the sedan bearers lifted the sedan again and walked towards the pier.

Song Sui and Zhou Shang thought, "Miss Zhou, what about this sedan?"

"I rented it from far away. Do you think it would be more lively if a few sedan chairs were passing through the old street?"

"Of course. When I saw the sedan just now, I remembered that there was something missing between the old street and the pier."

"You shouldn't do it yourself. Let the shops on the old street do it. Two shops are enough. If there are more, the competition will be fierce. If there are fewer, one shop will dominate the market."

"Yeah, yeah," Song Sui nodded repeatedly, "I'll define the market."

Zhou wanted to change the subject, "I gave all employees three days off just to come here for a river cruise. Let's not talk about work today, it's purely for fun."

"Okay, okay, thank you for your support, Miss Zhou." Song Sui wanted to lead Zhou Xiang to the dock, but was chased away by Zhou Xiang. "I don't need you to accompany me here. I'm really flattered. Go and get busy!"

The sedan stopped at the ticket office and Jiang Weihua told the bearers to wait there while Lu Zhaochong quickly bought tickets for more than a dozen people, checked his tickets, and boarded the ferry.

The passenger ship has only one floor, with an aisle in the middle and three seats on each side of the aisle. There are about ten rows in total, and there should be more than ninety seats.

A dozen people sat in the boat, waiting for it to depart, and watched the costume festival on the shore through the glass window.

Soon, Song Sui came on board and asked Zhou Xiang if he could borrow the sedan chair for filming.

Zhou Xiang looked at Jiang Weihua, and Jiang Weihua stood up and went off the boat with him to negotiate with the sedan chair bearers.

When Jiang Weihua came back, he was followed by a group of people.

Zhou Xiang saw these people smile, "Aren't you busy?"

Ling Ran sat down next to his wife and said, "No matter how busy you are, you must come to participate in this grand event in Huai County!"

Xiao Chunmei, Zhang Ning, Li Li and Zhou Xiang sat down across the aisle. "You're so mean, Zhou Xiang. You came to watch the fun but didn't even bring us along."

"You guys are too busy. I'm the only one who has time to watch the fun."

"Sigh..."

The three women all laughed at her. How could a hands-off shopkeeper have the nerve to show off her idleness in front of these busy people? Was she asking for a fight?

After waiting for about ten minutes, the boat was almost full before it started to leave the shore.

Inside the boat, many people started talking.

"Oh my! I grew up by the Huai River, and this is my first time riding a passenger ship on the Huai River."

"Isn't it? When I was a kid, I saw the docks here, and they were mostly filled with cargo ships."

"You don't know this, do you? My grandfather said there were passenger ships in the past. Back then, there were only horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts, and the roads were not good. Boats were faster. Several cities near the Huai River have passenger ship terminals, but the terminal in Huai County is used for both passenger and cargo ships. Later, as cars increased and road conditions improved, passenger ships disappeared, and gradually disappeared, leaving only the cargo ships of those cats panning for sand."

"Shh, cats hate being called cats. If you say it on land, they can't hear you. Now we're on the water and there are cargo ships passing by from time to time, so keep your voice down."

The conversation here was interrupted when another older person brought up the topic, "I used to sell tea at the dock when I was a kid!"

"Really?" A young man next to him said, "Anyone want to buy it?"

"Of course people bought it," the old man raised his chin proudly. "I could sell several thermoses of tea a day. Back then, there was no mineral water like there is now. Some of the coolies carrying bags didn't even have teacups and drank directly from our bowls."

"Oh! Uncle, your family is quite rich?" The young man was surprised.

"Why do you think so?" The old man smiled like a flower.

"I heard that thermoses were big household items back then, and people often had several of them! Wouldn't that be something only the wealthy could own? And you're also a business person."

"Hey, you're a good young man, with some knowledge." The old man praised the young man.

"I heard my grandma mention it before. She also said that many families don't even have thermoses. When they want to drink hot water, they just boil it and drink it. They say boiling it wastes firewood, and if they can't finish it, it gets cold again. My grandma said this happened because I accidentally broke her most precious thermos."

Zhou Xiang smiled. A pier that existed in the memories of generations made everyone recall the good and bad times.

The weather is fine today. The bright sunshine shines on the river, and the rippling waves are reflected in my eyes. I squint my eyes and look at the river surface that seems to have no end. In the distance, the weeping willows on the bank are entangled with the smoky mist, which gently touches the water surface and disappears in the blink of an eye.

After traveling about five or six miles south, the passenger ship slowly turned right and entered the Hui River. Although the Hui River was narrower than the Huai River, it could still accommodate three ships in parallel, so it was not difficult for the passenger ship to turn around at the flood diversion gate.

The flood diversion gate is a large gate with three holes, and the net width of each hole is 7 meters. Looking up at the pedestrians and vehicles on the flood diversion gate and listening to the deafening roar below the gate, the sounds above and below the gate are completely different, as if they are separated by two worlds.

The man who had called them "cats" looked at the cargo ship docked on the shore, its cargo hold full of sand waiting for buyers. His expression changed. "It's not easy for them either. From now on, I will never call them "cats" again."

"Yeah! It's not easy!" The person who had told this person to be careful with his words also looked at the cargo ships that were waiting for buyers foolishly.

Under the sun, his dark skin and honest smile make people feel happy and sad.