Lured by the houses, fishermen gradually joined Lu Lin's fleet. Those who joined all hung carp-shaped flags as insignia on their small boats.
The carp on the carp streamers are so lifelike that everyone who sees them marvels at them.
Han Xiaozhou sat on the boat, lazily swinging his legs, watching the carp streamers fluttering in the wind, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Xiao Zhou, you're all better!" Han Xiao Zhou's friend Jiang Chuan'er steered the boat over.
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "Yes!"
"They said you were taken away by the county magistrate, is that true?" Jiang Chuan'er asked with great concern.
Han Xiaozhou nodded. "It's true! We ran out of money for a hotel and were kicked out. The magistrate took me to the county government office and even got me a doctor."
"Oh, I see! Everyone was worried when they heard you went to the county government office," Jiang Chuan'er said.
Fishermen by the sea are most afraid of getting into legal trouble. Being taken to the county government office is not a good thing for many fishermen.
"Is the new magistrate really that good? He'll find you a doctor for free?" Jiang Chuan'er asked.
Han Xiaozhou shook his head and said, "It's not free anymore. After Dad catches the fish, he still has to pay back the money for the medicine slowly. But it's not much."
Lord Qin said the cost of the medicine and the doctor's fee was four hundred coins. Han Xiaozhou guessed that the doctor might have reduced the fee because of the county magistrate.
Previously, his father spent two taels of silver to treat him, but it didn't work. In the end, he went to the county government office and was cured for four hundred coins.
"However, the magistrate was really kind. When I was at the county government office, I even got to eat the dishes cooked by the county government office's cook." Thinking of the taste of the county government office's food, Han Xiaozhou subconsciously swallowed.
When Han Xiaozhou and Han Feng were in the county government office, they ate with the servants.
Yunniang's cooking skills were extraordinary; she could make delicious food from inexpensive ingredients. Although the dishes were ordinary, they were dishes that Han Xiaozhou could never forget.
Han Xiaozhou blinked and said with some envy, "That's great!" A couple of days ago, his dad bought him grilled squid, and it was really delicious.
Jiang Chuan'er swung her legs, looked at the carp flag on Han Xiaozhou's boat, and said, "These flags are very pretty!"
"Right! This flag was designed by the county magistrate. If you join the fleet, you can also get a flag."
Jiang Chuan'er blinked and said, "My mother is willing, but my father is not!"
His father said that few of these officials were good people, and he worried that if they joined the fleet now for a little favor, they wouldn't even have their own boats anymore. "Look at this flag, it has koi fish on it. They say it will bless us to catch more fish," Han Xiaozhou said.
Jiang Chuan'er blinked. Koi are relatively rare fish. If a fisherman catches one, he usually doesn't eat it. Instead, he sells it to wealthy people who like to buy it for ornamental purposes.
"Little boat, why does the master want to form a fleet?" Jiangjiang boatman asked.
Han Xiaozhou blinked and said, "I don't know!" But anyway, he and his father were so poor that the magistrate didn't seem to have anything to scheme for.
"You can live on the shore now? What kind of place is it?" Jiang Chuan'er asked curiously.
Han Xiaozhou smiled and said, "Do you want to go take a look? I can take you!"
Jiang Chuan'er asked with some curiosity, "Is that alright?"
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "Sure!" Lord Qin Ming said that it was okay to bring friends to visit the residence once or twice, no problem.
Han Xiaozhou is currently sleeping on the top bunk of a bunk bed. He finds this kind of bed very magical and wants to show it off to someone.
Jiang Chuan'er's father, Jiang Qian, was not very agreeable to joining the fleet, but he did agree to Jiang Chuan'er going ashore to play with Han Xiaozhou.
When Jiang Chuan'er went there, Jiang Qian specifically instructed him to take a good look around when he got there.
Han Feng also approached Jiang Qian, but Jiang Qian firmly refused his invitation. As a cautious person, Jiang Qian simply did not believe in free lunches.
However, Jiang Qian was also very curious about the seaside house that Lu Lin had built.
Jiang Qian also wanted to go and see, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
As evening fell, Jiang Chuan'er moored his small boat at the shore.
Lu Lin had someone specially reserve a mooring spot for fishing boats next to the fishermen's dormitory building. When Jiang Chuan'er followed the boat over, he saw that three small boats were already moored on the shore. All the small boats were decorated with carp flags. A single boat with a carp flag was not very conspicuous, but the group of boats together made quite a show.
After securing the boat, Han Xiaozhou took Jiang Chuan'er ashore.
Soon Jiang Chuan'er saw a row of wooden houses. When Han Xiaozhou returned, he ran into Qin Ming, who had just come out to deliver the news.
"It's Lord Qin!"
"Lord Qin?" Jiang Chuan'er asked in confusion.
"He's the captain of the fleet. He's in charge of our lodgings and all the fish we pay for every day." Jiang Chuan'er asked, somewhat confused, "Is he a fisherman too? I've never seen him before!"
Han Xiaozhou shook his head and said, "No, he is Lord Lu's confidant and has been with Lord Lu for many years."
Jiang Chuan'er blinked, thinking to herself: So he's an amateur!
Qin Ming glanced at Han Xiaozhou and said, "Xiaozhou, you're back!" Jiang Chuan'er, worried about being kicked out, timidly hid behind Han Xiaozhou.
"You brought friends?" Qin Ming asked with a warm smile.
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "Yes! This is my good friend."
"There's hot soup in the kitchen. If you like, you can go and have some together." Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "Okay, it's a bit chilly, so I'd like something hot to drink."
Han Xiaozhou pulled Jiang Chuan'er to the kitchen, where there was a large pot containing a large pot of seaweed and egg drop soup. Although there were relatively few eggs, there were indeed eggs in it.
Han Xiaozhou served Jiang Chuan'er a bowl, and then served herself a bowl.
"This soup is free?" Jiang Chuan'er asked, somewhat puzzled.
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "It's free. We'll still cook for ourselves for now, but the kitchen sometimes prepares some hot soup or something in the evenings."
Jiang Chuan'er blinked, thinking to herself: What a wonderful thing!
Jiang Chuan'er had eaten a lot of seaweed soup before. A sheet of dried seaweed, soaked in water, can be cooked into a big bowl by simply adding a little bit to the pot.
Jiang Chuan'er hadn't eaten dinner and was a bit hungry, so she drank two large bowls of seaweed soup.
Han Xiaozhou took Jiang Chuan'er's hand and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to see my bunk bed."
Jiang Chuan'er followed Han Xiaozhou into the dormitory.
Along the way, they encountered several fishermen's families who were busy at work. The fishermen's families all knew Jiang Chuan'er, and when they saw him coming, they greeted him warmly.
As soon as the door opened, Jiang Chuan'er saw the bunk bed.
Jiang Chuan'er looked at the bunk bed in astonishment and exclaimed, "Wow! People can live on both the upper and lower levels!"
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "That's right, people can live on both the upper and lower floors! You can also put things under the bed on the lower floor. I live on the upper floor, and it's very comfortable there."
Jiang Chuan'er looked at the bunk bed and said with great curiosity, "Wow! There's another bunk bed over there!"
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "Yes, the adults said that four to six people should live in a dormitory. Now there are few people, so my father and I can share a room. When there are more people, everyone will have to squeeze in."
Jiang Chuan'er sat down on the bunk bed and said, "Even if six people share one room, it's spacious enough." His family was also crammed onto a boat, but compared to that, this room was much more comfortable.
Jiang Chuan'er borrowed Han Xiaozhou's bed and lay down for a while, thinking about how to persuade her father to join the fleet as soon as possible after returning home.
There are only a few rooms in the house. If you arrive first, you seem to have priority in choosing a room. If you arrive late, you'll have to share a room with other people.
Jiang Chuan'er played here for a while, then went back.
"Dad, you're back!" Han Xiaozhou asked.
Han Feng nodded and said, "I heard that you brought Jiang Chuan'er here to play?"
Han Xiaozhou nodded and said, "That's right! Lord Qin Ming didn't object and even told me to bring more people to play." However, he didn't have many playmates, so even if he wanted to bring people, there weren't many he could bring.
Han Feng has been busy running around for Qin Ming these past few days. Qin Ming was appointed by the adults, but he wasn't very skilled at fishing, so Han Feng stayed by Qin Ming's side to coordinate the relationship between the two sides.
"Boatman's father is a stubborn old man! There are only so many houses available. When more people come, there won't be any good houses left." Han Feng and Jiang Qian actually had a good relationship. He thought joining the fleet was a good thing and had told Jiang Qian about it a long time ago. However, Jiang Qian was unwilling to join. The more he talked, the more Jiang Qian suspected that he had taken benefits from the county magistrate and was now helping the county magistrate deceive people. Seeing that Jiang Qian was not easy to teach, Han Feng was too lazy to talk to him anymore.
"Jiang Qian might be backing down." If Jiang Qian didn't agree, Chuan'er wouldn't have come here with his son. Recently, more and more people have joined the fleet, and many have experienced the benefits of joining. The reputation has gradually spread. Recently, Han Feng has stopped encouraging people to join the fleet. He only brings people to see the accommodations when someone is curious about them.
Even without Han Feng saying a word, most of the people who came to see it would voluntarily ask to join.
“Dad, I see they’re still building a building next door!” Han Xiaozhou said.
Han Feng nodded and said, "Yes!"
"Does the adults need so many places to live?" Han Xiaozhou asked, puzzled.
Han Feng frowned and said, "Sir, you must want to build a large fleet, right? So, you need a lot of people." Han Xiaozhou blinked and said, "Building so many houses must cost a lot of money."
Han Feng nodded and said, "Sir, you have plenty of money."
Han Xiaozhou sighed. Even though his father worked hard fishing every day, he hadn't saved much money. He had spent it all on his father's medical treatment and even owed money to the adults.
The adults built so many houses all at once, and it seems they're also going to build a restaurant.
"I heard that the master had a large ship built," Han Feng said.
Han Xiaozhou said excitedly, "Really? A big ship?" For fishermen, a ship is their means of livelihood, so its significance to them is naturally extraordinary.
Han Feng nodded and said with some emotion, "That's right! It seems to be a very large ship. They've hired several shipbuilders to build it. Even if they work on the oars every day, it will probably take more than half a month to complete it."
"How big must that ship be?" Han Xiaozhou asked.
Han Feng shook his head and said, "It must be a very large ship!"
Han Xiaozhou asked excitedly, "Who will steer this ship?"
Han Xiaozhou blinked. The magistrate's men were all landlubbers! This meant perhaps they could sail out fishing in a large boat. The bigger the boat, the safer it would be in the face of wind and waves. If her father's fishing boat were bigger, perhaps they could catch more fish.
Han Feng rubbed Han Xiaozhou's head and said, "This ship won't be ready for a while, so don't think about it too much for now." In fact, not only Han Xiaozhou, but Han Feng himself was also very interested in the upcoming big ship. However, Han Feng was an adult after all, so he acted rather reserved.
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