Chapter 63 Yao Deshui: Sure enough... only bitter melon can comfort bitter melon.
Yao Ruyi had arranged to meet Zhou Jumu and his wife at the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), and it wasn't even noon yet, so she had several hours to while away. Yao Ruyi had already started pickling the plums; after feeding the donkey, she would sit on the porch, enjoying the afternoon breeze as she ate them—how pleasant!
Today can be considered Yao Ruyi's last day of leisure.
After all, the students will finish their exams tomorrow, and the alley will definitely be lively for several days.
Yao Ruyi placed the plums, which were pickled in licorice and plum brine, under the eaves. She quickly walked a few steps to the kitchen window and retrieved the "baby bottle" for the little donkey. The little donkey, which was tied up in the shop, was crying out more and more pitifully and urgently, as if it would starve to death if she didn't come soon.
The lame little donkey's voice is getting louder and louder.
It was only a month or so old and pitifully thin. Yao Ruyi held it on her lap and didn't feel its weight. She had heard that a healthy newborn donkey calf weighed fifteen pounds, but yesterday Yao Ruyi had a strange idea and weighed it on a large scale. It only weighed twelve pounds.
It's lighter than a newborn donkey seedling; it's unbelievable.
It had a full coat of gray fur, with only a few white hairs on its nose and belly. The young donkey's down was light gray and fluffy, and from a distance, you wouldn't guess how thin it was. But if you parted the fur, you could see the skin clinging tightly to the bones, and the ribs were clearly visible. I really don't know how it survived.
Because it was still small, it needed to drink milk every two hours. When Yao Ruyi took it to the cat and dog clinic, she saw an old man by the roadside selling bamboo tubes and water ladles with a bamboo pole. She had a bright idea and squatted down to pick out two palm-sized, thick-skinned gourds.
The gourd's shell is sturdy and comes in various shapes. It is resistant to sun and water and does not easily mold, making it an excellent container. It is often used as medicine bottles, water pouches, seed storage, and split open to make water ladles. It is said that fishermen and woodcutters on the Yangtze River would tie a large gourd around their waist to serve as a "waist boat" for crossing the river. The poem that mentions "a boat adrift in the middle of the river, a gourd worth a thousand pieces of gold" refers to this "gourd."
Yao Ruyi specifically wanted gourds that were round at both ends and thick in the middle, with short, round, and thick stems. When selecting them, she even compared the gourd stems to the donkey's mouth, choosing two that were the right length, thickness, and shape for the donkey to bite. After selecting them, she asked the old man to make a thumb-thick hole in the bottom of the gourd on the spot, empty the pulp, drill several pinhole-sized holes in the stem, and fit a tightly fitting wooden plug at the bottom.
I tried filling it with water, and it worked when water slowly dripped out of the small hole at the handle.
In this way, two simple gourd-shaped baby bottles were obtained.
The old man seemed to be deep in thought as he made the gourd-shaped milk bottle. He looked at Yao Ruyi and then at her donkey, as if he had suddenly gained some insight. Not two days later, Yao Ruyi saw the gourd-shaped milk bottle in the cat and dog shop. It had a waist rope, water lines engraved on the gourd skin, and was exquisitely carved with cat and dog heads all over.
I heard they can even make custom carvings based on the likeness of your cat or dog.
"It's listed on the stock market so quickly?" Yao Ruyi was extremely impressed.
That said, with this gourd drinking vessel, feeding the donkey became much easier. Simply pour milk into the bottom opening, seal the cork tightly, turn it upside down, and insert the gourd handle with a small hole into its mouth. It will then tilt its head back and suckle with great effort.
At first, it wasn't strong enough, so Yao Ruyi had to keep tilting the gourd to feed it. Each feeding lasted about 15 minutes, and she fed it four times a day. But within a day, its strength increased, its spirits improved, and its cries became louder. One time, it was so hungry that it kept crying out. Yao Ruyi was busy stirring the meat paste for roasted sausages in the kitchen and didn't hear it. It started howling and struggling, and finally jumped out of the basket.
This is a good thing, as it means that its two front hooves and one hind hoof are all healthy.
Yao Ruyi felt even more confident.
These days, it's much easier at night. Just tie a rope to the gourd before going to bed, fill it with milk, and tilt it slightly on the basket. No one needs to get up to feed it in the middle of the night. The little donkey has the strength to raise its neck and reach for it. After it finishes drinking, the next morning, wash the gourd from the night before, turn it upside down to dry, and then use another one.
As it grows bigger, the amount of milk can be reduced, and a handful of fresh grass can be added at night.
However, Yao Ruyi quite cherished it. Whenever she had free time during the day, she would not let it eat the gourd's "self-feeding milk" but would hold it and feed it slowly.
Donkeys are very intelligent and clean. Yao Ruyi changed its bedding and wiped its hooves every day, so the little donkey didn't smell much. If you had to get close to smell it, it would have a milky smell mixed with a bit of hay, but it wasn't too unpleasant.
Perhaps knowing that someone was treating it well, its temperament wasn't as stubborn as the Meng family's donkey; instead, it was very affectionate towards her. After eating its fill, it would lower its head and rest it obediently on Yao Ruyi's lap or in her palm. If you called it "Yao Deshui," it would wag its short tail and respond with a light "humph."
That's right, the little donkey took her surname.
The name is taken from that of a famous shadow donkey in later generations.
Today, holding the gourd, Yao Ruyi watched as Yao Deshui tilted its head back and drank the milk in one go, plop, plop. Yao Ruyi even praised it, saying, "It's really amazing," and wiped its mouth clean. After resting for a while, she took a soft, wide cloth strip, passed it through its rear abdomen, and lifted up its hind leg, which was unsteady due to its lameness.
Its left hind leg was born deformed and bent, always slightly curled up, unable to exert any strength or touch the ground. If Yao Ruyi hadn't been holding it with the cloth strap, it wouldn't have been able to stand.
As soon as Yao Ruyi pulled it up, Yao Deshui's eyes lit up and it became extremely excited. Its ears perked up, its front hooves thrashed, and it stumbled and wobbled forward. Yao Ruyi shouted, "Slow down, slow down!" Holding the cloth belt in her hand, she bent over slightly and hurried along, circling the yard to keep up with its pace.
Yao Qizhao and Tie Baojin sat in the courtyard basking in the sun, watching with a smile as she and the donkey wandered around the yard. After wandering around for a while, Yao Ruyi was too tired to run anymore, so she picked up the little donkey, who seemed to still be running around, and sat down next to Grandpa Yao, fanning it with her hand.
She was sweating profusely, her temples were damp, and her face was steaming. She muttered, "No, no, that's too much of a burden. I still need to get a car."
"Sit down and rest, wipe your sweat," Yao Qizhao shook his head. "Why bother getting so tired over a sick donkey you picked up for free?"
Yao Ruyi chuckled, offering no explanation and not expecting Grandpa Yao to understand.
At that time, donkeys were livestock, serving not only as "food" but also as "tools." Unlike later generations, people in those times didn't keep idle people, let alone idle donkeys. Therefore, it's normal for Grandpa Yao to say that.
Her idea of building a cart for the donkey and getting it used to standing and walking to build up its strength in its forelegs so it could live a better life in the future is hard to understand. After all, even if Yao Deshui could walk on its own in the future, it still wouldn't be able to carry goods or pull a millstone; it would still be a useless donkey.
Grandpa Yao thought so, Aunt Yu said so too, and Sister-in-law Yinzhu even did the math for her: raising a useless donkey requires a shed, feed it coarse and fine feed, soybeans and bran, and shoeing and hooves trimming, costing one and a half strings of cash a month. Especially Yao Ruyi's donkey, born with disabilities and illnesses, even its mother didn't want it, and who knows if it will easily get sick in the future. This amount of money is equivalent to half a month's wages for a strong laborer, enough to buy twenty bushels of rice, which adds up to several dozen strings of cash a year, really not worth it.
"If you can't bear to do it, you might as well send it to Butcher Zheng and ask him to take care of it. He can even skin it for you and maybe even boil it into a jar of donkey-hide gelatin."
Imagining Yao Deshui transformed into donkey-hide gelatin...
Startled, Yao Ruyi clung tightly to the donkey and shook her head violently.
Even Master Meng, filled with curiosity, strolled over with his hands behind his back, circling Yao Deshui several times while making clicking noises. It seemed that because of Yao Deshui, he wasn't as disgusted with his own stubborn old donkey, who always kicked and farted. At least it had all four limbs; even if you secretly blindfolded it and dangled a carrot in front of its eyes, it would still pull the millstone.
However, everyone was just talking. Now that Yao Ruyi has amassed a considerable fortune, and the young lady is in high spirits, she doesn't lack a few strings of cash, so let's just raise her!
But... Yao Ruyi lowered her eyes, stroking Yao Deshui's still thin back, and heard Yao Deshui make a soft humming sound in his throat, and then obediently put his head on her lap.
She looked up at the small courtyard again. The sun was still high in the southeast, warming the blue brick floor of the courtyard. A breeze blew by, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, carrying the dampness of spring leaves and soil, making the pea leaves climbing high in the two vegetable plots that had been cleared by the clumps of jujubes at the corner of the wall rustle.
Two clotheslines stretched across the courtyard; one held a few pieces of clothing, while the other held a rabbit doll that she had washed until it was crooked. The clothes were constantly being blown up and down by the wind, casting swaying shadows on the ground.
The wind also made her clothes billow, her hair flutter wildly, and she would occasionally scratch her cheeks.
This little courtyard seems to have changed as well.
Beside her was a basin of green plums, half green and half yellow, floating and sinking huddled together in the brine. Sunlight shone through the still-unsettled surface of the water, illuminating the bottom of the rough earthenware basin as it swayed.
Yao Ruyi wiped her hands, scooped up a piece with a spoon, and popped it into her mouth. It hadn't been soaked long enough; only the outer skin had a slightly sweet taste. One bite and it was so sour that her face scrunched up.
But once the initial sourness subsided, she pushed the plum to her back teeth, took a small bite, and then sucked on the sour and refreshing juice, eating it slowly like that.
Lin Wen'an was not as leisurely as her. Although he earned 173 guan a month, he still had to get up before dawn every day and go to the yamen to sit down for his shift before the morning bell of the bell tower rang.
Thinking about it this way, he's the real "corporate slave," Yao Ruyi chuckled to herself.
He bought a horse, not only handing the deed to Yao Ruyi, but also not riding it, as if he intended to keep it as a pet in the Lin family's yard. It was only after her repeated requests that he reluctantly rode away with the "cart" horse this morning. He even asked in confusion, "But... this is your 'cart'!"
Yao Ruyi was speechless. He simply slapped the horse's rump and told the horse, which was still chewing grass, to carry him away.
But just now, thinking of Yao Deshui, she suddenly missed him.
On the way to the clinic with Lin Wen'an that day, she asked Lin Wen'an if he thought her actions were... a little strange.
But he replied to her, "I brought it back because I wanted to save its life." He even thought that Yao Ruyi was worried that Yao Deshui couldn't cure it, so he told her, "There are animal officials in the suburban animal husbandry bureau who specialize in treating donkeys and horses. If you hear that Seventeen Niang can't cure it, I have an official token and I can go out of the city to try."
After a pause, Lin Wen'an seemed to have considered the worst-case scenario and said gently to her, "If even the animal husbandry officer says it's difficult to cure and unlikely to survive, then we should do our best and leave the rest to fate. Whether it's a human or a donkey, the value of life lies not in its length, but in its depth and breadth. Having lived well in this world, even if its lifespan is short, it's not a wasted life, and you don't need to be too sad for it."
Yao Ruyi was stunned, and a wave of indescribable bittersweetness welled up in her heart.
It turns out that he had already planned this when he took Yao Deshui in.
From beginning to end, he didn't care what others thought of this sick donkey that was given as a bonus when buying a horse, and he never intended to eat it. In fact, if Yao Ruyi hadn't liked it, he wouldn't have wanted her to take care of Yao Deshui; he was prepared to find a way for it to survive himself.
He had even considered what would happen if ordinary cat and dog veterinarians couldn't cure him, and what the worst-case scenario would be. That's typical of him—thinking three steps ahead for every one step he takes.
Unlike the others, he was the only one who, like her, had once faced death, so he could also feel a sense of kinship and pity for Yao Deshui, just like her.
It was then that Yao Ruyi realized that Lin Wen'an, who now seemed strong, composed, and meticulous in everything, had perhaps thought of giving up countless times during the long seven years he had been bedridden. That's why he said that he had lived a good life, even if it was short, it wasn't a wasted life.
There's no need to be sad for him.
Is that "he" Yao Deshui, or his former self?
At that moment, Yao Ruyi was holding Yao Deshui, and she couldn't help but lower her head and quietly move closer to him, resting her shoulder against his upper arm. The road was wide and the crowd was like a sea, but all she wanted was to be closer to him.
Because she saw herself reflected in Yao Deshui.
She was once seen as a useless, sickly, and abandoned by her closest relatives, a "sick donkey" who almost didn't survive. Her grandmother, like Lin Wen'an now, took her home despite her perceived innocence, never expecting anything in return, only trying her best to keep her alive.
If only I could have met Lin Wen'an in my past life. If she could have heard these words back then, when she was tormented by illness and resenting God's injustice in the dead of night, perhaps she wouldn't have died so unwillingly.
Indeed... only the bitter melon that suffers itself can comfort the bitter melon.
Yao Ruyi smiled and thought, then lowered her head and cupped Yao Deshui's head, rubbing it gently, and scratching its chin with both hands. It obediently raised its chin, squinted its eyes in enjoyment, and its two donkey ears twitched comfortably.
Its unremarkable gray fur, when bathed in the spring sunshine, didn't look bad at all, with a pale golden tinge at the tips. After drinking milk for two days, its fur wasn't so dry to the touch anymore, and felt soft to the touch.
"Yao Deshui, you must be strong and live on." She closed her eyes, pressed her face against the donkey's forehead, and whispered, "Losing a leg doesn't matter. When you grow up, you'll be the most powerful three-legged donkey in the world. Think about it, all the other donkeys have four legs, but we're the only three. Aren't we naturally more powerful than them?"
Yao Deshui couldn't understand a word Yao Ruyi said, and it would chime in agreement with a "hmph." Despite their different languages, the man and the donkey managed to exchange words in a seemingly serious manner.
As she recounted the story, Yao Ruyi herself laughed.
Yao Qizhao was feeling a bit sleepy from the spring sunshine. That's how it is when you get old; you can't sleep when you should, and you feel sleepy when you shouldn't. But at this moment, he was also amused by Yao Ruyi and the donkey. Today, his wrinkled face no longer had its usual blankness, but instead showed a calm and dignified air of a normal old man.
If Lin Wen'an were here, he would recognize that this was Yao Qizhao's appearance before he fell ill. However, Yao Ruyi was busy playing with Yao Deshui and did not turn around to look.
She didn't notice Yao Qizhao's long, silent gaze fixed on her.
As the sound of the mule cart approached from the outer courtyard gate, Zhou Jumu and He Xiang's greetings also came over. She hurriedly put Yao Deshui down on the porch, got up quickly to open the door, and called out, "Grandpa, please keep an eye on the donkey for me, don't let it fall off the ground!" She didn't even bother to look back.
Yao Qizhao turned his head and looked at the little lame donkey lying on the porch, struggling to turn over with its front hooves. It used all its strength and finally turned over and lay on the porch, its eyes meeting Yao Qizhao's bright eyes.
Yao Deshui was startled. The donkey tilted its head back and brayed fiercely at him.
Yao Ruyi was chatting and laughing with He Xiang, who had just gotten off the cart, by the door. Zhou Jumu was turning the mule cart around and stopping it, so he hadn't come in yet.
Yao Qizhao glanced at the doorway, then his gaze returned to the skinny little donkey. He chuckled, blocking the large, gilded dog's head from sniffing him with one hand, and muttered to himself, "...Where did you come from, you little donkey?"
Yao Deshui shook his donkey ears, the two tufts of hair at the tips of his ears swaying.
"Forget it, why bother asking this now?" Yao Qizhao reached out and patted the donkey's head, then struggled to stand up, supporting himself on the armrest of the chair. Seeing this, Tie Baojin lost his curiosity about the donkey and quickly turned around, laying his back across Yao Qizhao so that he could stand up steadily.
"Let's go, Jinzi, we've rested enough. Let's go to Zhixingzhai for our shift." Yao Qizhao helped the dog stand up straight. Without him saying anything, Tiebaojin wagged its tail and ran into his room, carrying out one of his old book bags. Inside was "Yao Qizhao's Detailed Explanation of the Prefectural Examination Policy Essays," which Yao Qizhao had written at Yao Ruyi's request for this year's autumn prefectural examination.
Dr. Jiang is also engrossed in compiling "Detailed Explanation of the Classical Texts for the Jiang Jingxing Prefecture Examination".
The other day, Yao Ruyi also brought over Dr. Zou from the Ding family, asking him to compile a book called "Zou Jingyuan's Essentials of the Four Books and Five Classics" for young scholars. Dr. Zou was so pleased that he was practically dazed while walking, bumping into three pillars in the process. He even refused Yao Ruyi's offer of a writing fee, saying that with three bumps on his forehead, he righteously declared that since he had been asked to compile the book, he should not let money taint his literary talent.
Yao Qizhao was actually a little embarrassed. It seemed a bit too arrogant to name a book he had compiled for the prefectural examination after himself. But... what scholar could resist such temptation?
In any case, he couldn't withstand it. These past few days, following Yao Ruyi's requests, he's been working exceptionally hard on compiling the book, expending a great deal of energy on it every day. Perhaps it's the effects of the herbal medicine and acupuncture he's had over the past six months, or perhaps it's the daily mental exertion from pondering exam questions and compiling the book. With the warming spring weather, his moments of confusion have gradually decreased. Sometimes, when he is confused, he'll suddenly snap out of it, realizing he's just been confused again.
But Yao Qizhao didn't mention this to anyone. He didn't know if this blissful state was a final flicker of life or a genuine recovery, so why make a fuss and disappoint his family?
He secretly observed the changes in this decaying body.
Although his hands still trembled a little, the long-term forced writing had made them more steady than before, and the strength in his wrists had been restored. However, he had developed a new problem—lower back pain from sitting for long periods, and now it was more difficult for him to stand up than before.
Ruyi always urged him to get up and move around from time to time, but he was writing in the middle of something, how could he interrupt his thoughts and get up? He was afraid that if he went around and came back, he would forget everything. So he often ignored her.
Fortunately, there was Jinzi. When Tiebaojin was a puppy, he loved the old man more than the other puppies in the family. Now that he's grown up, he follows him around every day and never leaves his side.
It knew him well, always sleeping by his bedside at night, and during the day it would follow him to Zhixingzhai to "sit in class," lying at his feet listening to him lecture his students, never causing trouble or barking. When it was noon, Uncle Cong would call out from across the street that it was time to eat, and even if it was sleeping, it would immediately stand up and nip at his trouser leg, urging him to go home.
After waking up from a midday nap, it followed him to Zhixingzhai.
In the afternoon, there weren't many students, so Yao Qizhao would slowly consult the classics and annotate their meanings by himself. Tie Baojin would still be squatting to the side, turning its head to look when a student came in. Nowadays, the students who often come to Zhixingzhai to study all recognize it and have given it a nickname, "Dr. Jin." Whenever they come in, they greet it with a smile: "Good morning, Dr. Jin" or "Hello, Dr. Jin."
It wasn't ashamed at all; it raised its big head, barked, and actually agreed.
Yao Qizhao now cherishes it like his own grandson.
Yao Ruyi was exchanging pleasantries with He Xiang when she saw Grandpa Yao and Tie Baojin come out. Tie Baojin was still carrying a book bag in his mouth, so she knew they were going to the other side. She smiled and patted Tie Baojin's head. As Grandpa Yao crossed the threshold, she reached out to help him and instructed him, "Grandpa, I put an hourglass on your table. Remember to get up and walk around every half hour."
"Okay, okay," Yao Qizhao replied guiltily.
Yao Ruyi narrowed her eyes, knowing immediately that he was just being perfunctory, but before she could grumble, Grandpa Yao had already urged Tie Baojin to leave quickly.
Never mind, I'll just have Cong Xin, who's guarding the stationery shop, keep watch in a bit.
Zhou Jumu finally parked the car, and she led the couple in, poured tea, and brought out paper and pen. She then showed them Yao Deshui and explained what the item she wanted looked like.
In her past life, Yao Ruyi had seen many paralyzed puppies coming for acupuncture at the pet hospital next to the hospital. The veterinarian there used a steel frame to customize a hind leg assist cart for the puppies. The front had a leash and a protective belt, and the back of the cloth belt had an "H"-shaped iron frame with two large wheels at the bottom.
With this support at the rear, as long as the front legs have the strength, they can move and run.
If it were made of wood, it would have to be a sturdy and hard wood that wasn't too heavy, otherwise Yao Deshui's small frame might not be able to pull the cart.
After discussing with Zhou Jumu, they decided to use elm wood. Elm wood is very strong and durable, making it a good material for making wheels. Once the wood was chosen, a small wheel was made according to Yao Deshui's current dimensions, and a new one would be made when it grew larger.
This thing isn't difficult to make, but the wheel's bearings, spokes, and hub, even with the best efforts to reinforce them, will wear out very easily when walking on the uneven paved roads and dirt tracks. It might need replacing in just a few months, and replacing it won't be easy. It would be better to make a new one according to its grown size later.
"If this little donkey can live to adulthood and stop growing, and if the young lady is still willing to spend money, a copper bushing can be inserted into the hub hole. The inner hole of the copper bushing can be engraved with an oil reservoir to retain grease, making it extremely durable and wear-resistant. The outer ring can be wrapped with wooden strips or rattan, so it will not be easily damaged and can be used for many years."
When Zhou Jumu arrived, he realized that the donkey had gone to great lengths to make a cart for it.
At first, when he heard the idler who came to deliver the message say, "Young lady of the Yao family invites you to ride in a donkey cart," he thought it was a cart pulled by a donkey... However... he couldn't help but look at the little lame donkey that was barely taller than a person's calf when he lifted it up. It wasn't wrong, although it wasn't a donkey pulling a cart, it was a cart that pulled a donkey.
So the dimensions were measured, and two extra mortise and tenon joints were made on the wooden frame. This way, if Yao Deshui grew too big, the two ends of the bracket could be unscrewed to disassemble and adjust the width. As for the wheels, there was no way to fix them; if they broke, new ones would have to be made.
However, Yao Ruyi still wanted to do her best to maintain it, so after thinking about it carefully, she told Zhou Jumu that she could try to use leather ropes as "vibrators" at the connection between the crossbar and the wheel of the small car, and make a suspension cable woven from leather strips, which is probably similar to the shock absorber springs of modern cars, in order to reduce the impact of wheel bumps on the axle.
Although the leather rope is elastic, its shock absorption effect is naturally not as good as that of a spring. However, Yao Deshui is still young and light, so it might be just right for him. It can be considered as doing our best.
After paying the deposit and seeing off Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Jumu, Yao Ruyi had some free time again.
She carried Yao Deshui into the shop, sat him behind the counter, ate sour plums, enjoyed the warm breeze, propped her chin up and watched the sunset, occasionally selling goods and chatting with Xiao Shitou, Moli, and a few other children who had come specifically to see Yao Deshui out of curiosity.
Another ordinary day passed by.
The next day, the students who had been locked up in the examination hall for three days were finally released. Several uncles and aunts from families with examinees in the alley went to pick them up early in the morning. They quickly brought back the smelly children and didn't dare to ask how they had done. They rushed home to wash up and fell asleep as soon as they were exhausted.
A few days later, Yao Ruyi realized that something was wrong.
She's too busy! And why is it that as soon as she opens her small shop early in the morning, there are so many unfamiliar faces who seem to have slipped in from nowhere lining up to buy breakfast sets? And some even specifically want to buy the dog-shaped book bag—the exams are over, why would they need a book bag?
Old Xiang, who was guarding the alley entrance, had a neck pillow around his neck and an eye mask on his forehead. When he heard Yao Ruyi come over to ask questions, he was also puzzled. But these people were either led in by acquaintances in the alley, brought in by students, or had official credentials and seals, so he couldn't stop them.
Old Xiang touched the neck pillow and eye mask that Yao Ruyi had given him with affection, having heard that the neck pillows and eye masks in her shop had been completely sold out by these people.
Fortunately, he got it early!
Zhixingzhai was also packed with people, some drinking tea, some eating snow cakes, some borrowing books from Sister Jiuwan, and some even coming specifically to pet the cats. The newly carved batch of Sanwu was also snapped up.
I made a lot of money without really understanding what was going on, and before I knew it, it was April, and the news of the results being released came out.
At the same time, the servants that Granny Xue had sent to wait at the dock every day also rushed back, saying that the grain transport boats from the south had all arrived at Chenqiao Town and would soon be able to enter the ferry crossing.
So the entire alley was filled with people going out to inquire about news from morning till night, some going to the entrance of the examination hall to see when the results would be posted, and others looking back and forth at the dock.
Amidst the turmoil and chaos, an inconspicuous salt transport ship, bearing several flags proclaiming "Jiangnan West Circuit Salt Ship" and "Supervised by Fuzhou Canal Transport Office," docked at the bustling Shuimen Wharf.
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