Chapter 114: Setting Fire to the Ship
Although you don't need to rush once you enter Haizhou, you can enjoy the journey.
However, after deciding on their destination, everyone wanted to arrive earlier, so after leaving Hehua County, they rushed to the nearest Qihe Wharf.
The day before arriving at the dock, Zhou Yunshu saw the first rain since her rebirth.
The rain lasted from morning to night. People in Haizhou did not feel anything about it, but Zhou Yunshu and her group had been staying in the lobby of the inn since the rain started, watching the slanting rain lines and the pleasant sound of rain outside the window.
"After this winter rain, I need to put on another layer of clothes."
The charcoal is burning, and the river fish in the casserole on the stove is bubbling, emitting an enticing aroma.
"I made you a pair of cotton shoes. The size is a little wider for you. Try them on before you go to bed tonight." Li Jialan said as she put the peeled river shrimp in front of Zhou Yunshu.
This is a treatment that Yuan Li, Yuan Yi and other younger brothers nearby do not have.
Zhou Yunshu put the tender shrimp meat into her still steaming rice porridge, nodded, and took a bite of the sweet shrimp meat paired with the glutinous rice porridge, which tasted especially sweet.
"This kind of weather is really suitable for eating a hot soup and rice like this. It warms up the body."
Of course, it would be even better if it was a hot pot meal.
Perhaps because she no longer had to worry about her livelihood and safety, Zhou Yunshu became visibly lazy after entering Haizhou. Not only did she focus on studying food and drink, she even wanted to bring the modern hot pot here in its original form.
Oh, if only Dong Ge were here, she’s the best cook.
After the refugee riot, Zhou Yunshu always thought that Dong Ge was with Wu Gui, but they were not.
Now she could only hope that Dong Ge was with her grandmother.
"It's true. When I was at home, it wasn't hard to eat fresh river food, but it wasn't available everywhere like it is now." Wu Yue looked at the delicate white fish in the bowl and smiled, "Even the taste is better than before."
"I heard the fish balls in the middle of the river are especially famous. Let's take a boat there." Li Jialan paused mid-sentence, looking at Zhou Yunshu's belly. "Let's have a good rest in the middle of the river."
After Zhou Yunshu finished the rice porridge in front of her, she looked at Li Jialan with a worried look and asked, "What's wrong, mother?"
"I was just wondering, since the Chinese New Year is coming soon, should we celebrate it in the middle of the river or rush to Dongchuan?"
"Even if we make it to Dongchuan, we'll probably have to live in the county. It takes time to find a place to stay. If there's a suitable house, it'll be fine. If there's nothing suitable, it'll take time to buy land and build a house."
"Let's go to the river first."
Zhou Yunshu wiped her hands and continued, "My previous knowledge of Haizhou was basically what I heard from Uncle He. We can find out the news ourselves when we get to Jiangzhong."
"Besides, we haven't heard any news from the northern and northwest regions in a long time. People from all over the world come and go across the river, and there are even boats going directly to Qingzhou and Cangzhou. News is most readily available there. We can spend the New Year there before heading to Dongchuan."
Zhou Yunshu even thought about giving birth to the child directly in the river before going to Dongchuan, but after thinking about it, it seemed like a waste of time.
Li Jialan, Wu Yue and others were very happy to be able to celebrate the New Year in the bustling Jiangzhong, especially Feng Xujie.
There is the rudder point of the Feng family fleet in the middle of the river, and the person stationed there is his father's confidant. The purpose of his trip is to find him.
Of course, he wouldn't just come to the door like that.
After his father's death, many things developed beyond his expectations. Even his third uncle, who had the best relationship with his father, betrayed him, and perhaps his confidants would do the same.
Feng Xujie wanted to find out whether Feng Kewen had taken over the Feng family's power in Jiangkou before deciding whether to look for his father's confidant.
Thinking this in his heart, he told Zhou Yunshu so. After all, if he really wanted to do these things, he would definitely need Zhou Yunshu's help.
Of course Zhou Yunshu would not refuse. The reason she kept Feng Xujie was because she was jealous of the fleet that Feng Xujie might get, as well as the Feng family's shipbuilding technology and the talents on the ship.
Now that she has finally arrived in Jiangzhong, she must of course help Feng Xujie take down the Feng family's forces, at least in Jiangzhong.
On the second day after the rain, Zhou Yunshu and others boarded the passenger ship belonging to the He family at the Qihe Wharf.
The He family’s passenger ship is the most important passenger ship on the Qi River, and it is also the largest and safest passenger ship.
The He family's passenger ship can not only carry people, but also livestock.
However, some livestock had never been on a ship and were prone to seasickness, so before boarding the ship, Yan Shilei took Hu Zi and others to sell all the mules, horses and vehicles in the team at the mule and horse market, leaving only luggage and food.
Anyway, they can buy mules, horses and other things after they reach the river, so it’s not a waste.
The He family's passenger ship has three floors, the top two floors are guest rooms and kitchens, and the bottom floor is used to store food, water, and various supplies, as well as a place for temporarily raising livestock and for people working on the ship to live.
Zhou Yunshu and her group arrived early and booked the entire third floor, which had a total of six rooms, which was just enough for them to squeeze in.
I don’t know which family was getting married later, but after carrying dozens of loads of dowry onto the boat, they occupied the second floor and wanted rooms on the third floor.
Although the visitor was unwilling to be rejected by Uncle He, he still went to the second floor in an orderly manner.
Uncle He looked at that person with some regret. He had thought that they would take advantage of the power of others to cause trouble, but in the end there was no follow-up.
Before boarding the ship, Li Jialan and Wu Yue were worried that the pregnant Zhou Yunshu would show signs of seasickness, so Dr. Xue always had seasickness medicine on hand so that Zhou Yunshu could take it quickly if she felt unwell.
But who would have thought that the one among them who was seasick and almost lost half his life would be Zhou Yunjia.
Since boarding the ship, Zhou Yunjia felt as if his feet were never on solid ground. He sat on the bed every day, hugging the pillar tightly, and couldn't even concentrate on reading his favorite book.
Every time he opened the book, Zhou Yunjia seemed to see the words on the paper transformed into little people dancing wildly in front of him, making him dizzy and want to vomit.
Seeing her son like this, Wu Yue had no mind to do anything else and could only stay by his side all the time.
However, Zhou Yunshu, who everyone was worried about at the beginning, did not react at all on the boat.
Not only did she not react, Zhou Yunshu would even walk around the deck every day to exercise.
Zhou Yunshu couldn't sleep that night. While she was watching the moon on the deck wearing a cloak, she suddenly heard the voices of two people talking on the second deck.
"Are you sure the things are hidden on this ship?" The man's voice was a little anxious.
The woman said, "Our young lady is the younger sister of Master He's deceased wife. She went to Jiangzhong this time to become Master He's second wife. This map is related to the marriage between the Jiang and He families. How could our young lady lie?"
The woman's argument was convincing, and the man, though he had his doubts, said, "We'll board the ship and set it on fire at midnight."
"If we kill He Nianzhang's son for you and your servant, and you don't hand over the map to us, then we won't just take away your young lady's dowry and the map. Your young lady will just have to wait to become a boat prostitute in our village!"
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