Chapter 173
The pirates retreated, the wind and waves subsided, and the passengers on the boat moved to the Liu family's boat. The boat owner led his men into the bottom warehouse, abandoned some goods, drained the water from the bottom warehouse, and directed the boatmen to repair the damaged areas.
After washing up and changing into clean clothes, Jiaojiao wrinkled her nose and drank the ginger soup. Then she turned around and climbed into her father's arms again, clutching her father's clothes with her little hands.
Yin Zheng had a silk cloth used to bandage wounds wrapped around his head and patted Jiaojiao's back soothingly.
Although Qin Mianmian and Shi'an choked on a few more mouthfuls of water, they were fine. After changing clothes and drinking ginger soup, they snuggled in bed and whispered to each other with lingering fear.
Qin Mianmian had no experience of whispering with someone while lying in bed, and the same was true for Shi'an, so this inevitably made both of them feel novel.
"I don't know what happened to Uncle Yin. I saw a big cut on his head." Qin Mianmian said worriedly.
Shi An was equally worried and felt a little guilty: "When we get to the county town, I'm going to learn duck swimming so I don't have to burden Uncle Yin anymore."
Qin Mianmian nodded in agreement: "I want to learn too."
"Once we learn it, we'll teach Jiaojiao. Then he won't be afraid if he falls into the water in the future."
"good."
The two fell asleep while talking.
Jiaojiao next door also fell asleep curled up in her father's arms. Even in her sleep, her little hands did not forget to tightly hold her father's clothes.
Yoyo, who got into the room, lay down on the corner of the bed, and had already surrendered.
The next day, the sun set through the paper-covered window. When Jiaojiao woke up, she found that her father was still asleep, so she stayed in her father's arms obediently without moving.
Qin Mianmian and Shi'an from next door got up and noticed that there was no movement next door. Thinking that they slept late last night, they guessed that since Jiaojiao was still asleep, Uncle Yin didn't get up either.
The two went out to ask the boatman for water to wash up and then went to have breakfast. The breakfast on the boat that Liu Jingcheng and his friends were on was much richer, with buns, porridge, sugar cakes, meat cakes and wontons.
The two of them each ate a bowl of wontons and returned to the house. Qin Mianmian read and Shi'an listened. In the past, Qin Mianmian read silently, but because Shi'an couldn't read, Jiaojiao would read to Shi'an every time she read. After a long time, Qin Mianmian got used to it.
Since Jiaojiao hadn't woken up yet, he read to Shi'an to prevent Shi'an from getting bored sitting alone.
Uncle Yin and Jiaojiao hadn't gotten up until noon. They realized something was wrong and knocked on the door next door. "Jiaojiao, Uncle Yin?"
In the cabin, Jiaojiao, who was lying in her father's arms and playing with her belly because she was so hungry, heard a knock on the door. She looked up at her father who was still asleep, then got up quietly by supporting herself on the bed, slid down from the bed, and ran to open the door.
But he was too small, and he couldn't reach the latch even after jumping around with his hands for a long time.
He looked around and ran to the side to drag a stool. Jiaojiao couldn't drag the solid wood stool at first. He rolled up his sleeves, gritted his teeth and pulled it hard. "Crack!" The harsh sound of wood friction was heard.
Yin Zheng, who was woken up, saw Jiaojiao struggling to drag a stool. He shook his dizzy head, and his slightly hot body temperature told him that he had a fever. He got up from the bed, took Jiaojiao into his arms, and reached out to open the door.
Outside the door, Qin Mianmian and Shi'an noticed something strange about Yin Zheng, and their eyes were filled with worry.
Jiaojiao, who was in his father's arms, also noticed something was wrong. He reached out and touched his father's red eyes. The overly hot body temperature told him that his father was sick like Mianmian last time.
He immediately patted his father's shoulder anxiously: "Dad, put Jiaojiao down."
Yin Zheng put him down as he was told.
After landing, Jiaojiao tugged at her father's trouser leg and walked back: "Dad is sick, he needs to rest and stop running around."
After pulling his father to sit beside the bed, he stood on tiptoe and patted his father's hand: "Be good, Dad. Jiaojiao will go buy some bitter medicine."
As he spoke, he wrinkled his nose, as if he had drunk bitter medicine.
Liu Jingcheng, who had come over, heard this and glanced at Yin Zheng's abnormal face: "Is it a fever? I'll ask the doctor to take a look."
This ship is the Liu family's merchant ship, and it has its own doctor on board.
The doctor came over to take Yin Zheng's pulse and prescribed some medicine. Yin Zheng drank the medicine and prepared to return to the original boat. Just now, the boat owner asked the boatman to say that the bottom warehouse had been repaired and it could sail normally.
Liu Jingcheng, who was worried, quickly persuaded him, "Brother Yin, just rest here. This head injury is serious. The doctor said your dizziness and vomiting are all caused by the head injury. Now you have a fever. Not only is there no doctor, but there are no medicines either. You have three children with you. What if something happens?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Mianmian and Shi'an couldn't help but persuade them, and Jiaojiao even hugged her father's legs directly.
Yin Zheng picked up Jiaojiao and looked at Liu Jingcheng: "Thank you very much. I will pay for the medicine and the boat fare."
Liu Jingcheng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll have someone go to the boat and bring your luggage over."
Jiaojiao and the others stayed on the ship, but both Shi'an and Yin Zheng forgot to ask Liu Jingcheng about their destination.
Liu Jingcheng also subconsciously thought that Yin Zheng and the others' destination was the same as his.
At night, fearing that Jiaojiao might be infected with the disease, Yin Zheng did not let Jiaojiao sleep in the same room with him.
The next day, Jiaojiao got up early and ran to the door to squat waiting for her father to come out. Yin Zheng, who was worried about Jiaojiao and had not slept well all night, opened the door and saw Jiaojiao squatting at the door.
"Dad." Jiaojiao propped herself up and stood up. She ran over and hugged her father's legs. She raised her fair and tender face and said worriedly, "Jiaojiao is so worried about you."
Yin Zheng picked him up and said, "Yeah, it's okay."
In a blink of an eye, they had been on the boat for nearly half a month. It was not until the boat stopped at the canal dock and Yin Zheng got off the boat and changed to a carriage that he realized something was wrong.
It only takes eight days to travel from Hengyang Town to the county town. They had already been traveling for five days before encountering the pirates. How come it took them another half a month now?
Liu Jingcheng, who had failed to coax Jiaojiao into selling Youyou to him in the past half month, was dumbfounded when Yin Zheng asked if this was Wuyang County.
"What Wuyang County? Aren't you going to the capital?"
Yin Zheng: “?”
Qin Mianmian: “?”
Shian: “?”
""Jiaojiao was a little slow to catch up with the formation, and looked up at Liu Jingcheng and said, "Uncle Liu, we are going to Wuyang County, not to the capital."
"..." It was just the Double Tenth this year, and Liu Jingcheng, who was known in the clan for losing things, grinned awkwardly.
Liu Jingcheng went to Beijing this time to enter Chongshan Academy and plan to prepare for next year's autumn examination. Although Chongshan Academy, as the most prestigious academy in Dayong, is not easy to enter, for the salt merchant Liu family, there is no door that cannot be opened with money.
He was visiting a good friend in Wuyang County and set out from the Wuyang County wharf. After sailing for two days, he met Yin Zheng and his men at the border where they encountered pirates. Most people would avoid such a situation from a distance, but he was brave and kind-hearted and wanted to see if he could save a few people. He hid aside and when he saw the pirates jump away, he quickly directed his men to row the boat closer.
After saving the person, he subconsciously thought that the person was on the same journey as him, so he brought the person all the way to the capital.
Yin Zheng had a head injury and a fever. He rarely got sick, but now he suddenly fell ill, and his recovery took much longer than that of an ordinary person.
He was recuperating from his illness and injuries along the way, and since he rarely traveled far, he didn't notice that there was something wrong with the journey.
Both sides were speechless, staring at each other. Liu Jingcheng, who could not defeat the three of them and a deer alone, bowed his head and admitted his mistake. He felt very guilty when he heard that Yin Zheng originally wanted to go to Wuyang County to try to see if he could enter Qingshan Academy.
It would take a month to go back and forth, and even if I go back now, I will miss the entrance examination of Qingshan Academy.
Although the Liu family is rich, if they don't have their own people in the officialdom, they are just other people's money bags. Fortunately, the daughters of the Liu family all married well, and with them as matchmakers, the Liu family has good connections in the officialdom.
However, the Liu family has not relied solely on these connections over the years. They have also trained many disciples and sent them to officialdom. Over the years, they have steadily come to where they are today and have become one of the top salt merchants in Dayong.
Liu Jingcheng is one of the people sent to officialdom by the Liu family this generation. In fact, his talent for studying is not very good, but he is better than most and worse than most, so he was still chosen by the clan.
That is why he would come to the capital every once in a while and stay there for a few years, just to make more friends with the children of the powerful and influential.
However, since he was not from the main branch, the real powerful and wealthy children looked down on him as a member of the Liu family's side branch, so he made friends with a group of playboys in the eyes of outsiders.
So if they knew they had made such a joke, those animals would definitely laugh at them, and maybe two of them would be so shameless as to go and tell their brothers.
Thinking of that scene, he couldn't help but shudder.
No, I must not let my brothers know!
Liu Jingcheng gritted his teeth and decided to spend money to get Yin Zheng into an academy. If Chongshan Academy didn't work, he would go to Songyang Academy. If Songyang Academy didn't work, he would go to Qinglian Academy. If Qinglian didn't work, he would go to Shengcai Academy. He didn't believe that he couldn't get in!
This was the first time that Yin Zheng felt helpless from someone other than Jiaojiao, but what else could he do since he was already here?
It’s too late to go back now. I can’t just pack up and go back to Lijia Village!
I had no choice but to go to the capital to see what happens.
The group got on a carriage and headed towards the capital, which was still half a day's journey away.
Qin Mianmian, who was in the carriage, realized later that her home was in the capital and she could go home. She was so excited that she cried and jumped in the carriage while hugging Jiaojiao.
Jiaojiao was happy to know that Mianmian could go home. Besides, Uncle Huaizhi was also in Beijing, which made Jiaojiao even happier.
All along the way to the capital, people kept looking at Youyou who was walking beside the carriage.
"Is this the legendary divine deer?"
"Is it the divine deer that caused the pirates to retreat, the rainstorm to stop, the raging river to calm, and even caused giant fish to carry drowned people out of the water?!"
"I heard that the divine deer is much larger than ordinary deer, and its body is completely white and very human-like."
"That's the deer! Everything fits together!"
Yin Zheng and Jiaojiao, who did not hear the whispers, did not know that because of what happened on the river that day, the reputation of Yoyo Divine Deer had almost spread throughout Dayong, attracting the interest of many people.
The carriage entered the city at the hour of You. When the soldiers at the city gate were checking the pass, they couldn't help but look at Youyou who was standing beside them.
After entering the city gate and walking on the stone road, the prosperous atmosphere of the capital city hit me in the face. Jiaojiao, who was lying by the window, stared at it intently, feeling extremely curious.
Along the way, people kept looking at Youyou, but Jiaojiao and the others were completely unaware of this.
The carriage gradually stopped and arrived at the Liu family's mansion in the capital.
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