Chapter 31 The Matter of Crossing the River
The branch manager had covered for Cheng Jiantong a few times and knew how arduous his postal route was. When Cheng Jiantong was over forty years old, the manager even considered changing his postal route and transferring him to a neighboring town to deliver mail, so that a younger postman could take over his route. However, Cheng Jiantong refused.
Cheng Jiantong's reason for refusing was simple: he was used to running this postal route and had developed a deep bond with the mountain people along it. The river in Siqiwan was too dangerous in the summer, and he didn't trust other postmen to deliver mail here. He was afraid that a new postman might be swept away by the swift current and drown.
Cheng Jiantong grew up by the river and was a good swimmer from a young age. He had been wading in the river at Siqi Bay for more than 20 years and knew the depth of the river at the bottom of the bay very well.
He knew better than anyone which spot was best to enter the river, which spot had soft, easily sinking riverbed mud, which spot had lots of moss-covered pebbles on the riverbed that were slippery, and which large pebble was the easiest to step on to cross. He explained all these precautions to Cheng Ying one by one.
The village of Qingshui, where the Cheng family lives, is surrounded by a large river. The children in the village grow up by the river. Most of the boys can swim, but fewer girls can. This is mainly because they can't swim in the river shirtless or in very little clothing like the boys, for fear of being gossiped about.
Cheng Ying was different. When she was very young, Cheng Chunfu and a bunch of good-for-nothing rascals pushed her to the riverbank and almost drowned her.
In order to get revenge, she wanted to push Cheng Chunfu and his gang of bad kids who had bullied her into the deep end of the river, so that they would also experience the feeling of almost drowning. Whenever Cheng Jiantong was on vacation at home, she would ask him to teach her to swim. She quickly learned to swim and became a very good swimmer, thus getting her revenge.
Knowing that Cheng Ying could swim, and that she wanted to work as a postman, Cheng Jiantong felt comfortable letting her deliver mail alone.
It hasn't rained in the mountains during this period, so the Qinghe River isn't muddy or very rapid. The water is crystal clear, and you can clearly see the fine white silt and sand under the riverbed, as well as the colorful pebbles of different sizes. There's also a lot of moss floating on the pebbles, and many small fish swimming in the water, occasionally darting under the moss and stones to hide.
From the outside, Siqi Bay appears to be a picturesque place with clear waters and lush mountains, and the river doesn't seem very deep, so there doesn't seem to be any major problem.
But Cheng Ying, who lived in the countryside, knew very well that such seemingly shallow and clear waters were actually just a visual illusion. The clearer and shallower the water appeared, the deeper and more unfathomable the water was underneath. If a person was careless and swam into those sapphire-like waters for the sake of coolness, they could easily drown if they were not a good swimmer.
In the sweltering summer heat, Cheng Ying had walked all day on mountain paths. Her feet, legs, and limbs ached, and she was covered in sweat. Seeing the cool, green mountains and rivers, she naturally wanted to take off her clothes and jump into the river for a good swim.
But she is a postwoman. The mailbag she carries on her back is not just mail, but also a responsibility, the expectations and trust of her fellow villagers. It cannot get wet, and the mailbag and letters cannot be soaked. Her time is also very tight, and she cannot linger or treat things lightly.
Cheng Ying put down the mailbag on her back, placed her crossbody bag on top of it, and then took off her shoes and socks. Her ankle-length work skirt revealed a pair of tight-fitting black cotton-linen trousers underneath.
She wore these pants intentionally, so that in case of an emergency, if the skirt of her postal worker uniform hindered her movement, she could simply take off the skirt and fight the beast wearing only the pants.
She looked around to make sure no one was watching her, then took off her trousers, leaving her in only her underwear. She tied her clothes to the mailbag and called to Big Yellow, "Big Yellow, come here."
The moment Dahuang came down the mountain, it ran to the riverbank and splashed around in the water.
After running for several hours on mountain roads, it was both tired and thirsty.
Upon hearing Cheng Ying's call, it turned and ran to Cheng Ying's side, shaking its head at her to indicate that the rope tied around its neck should be removed.
Cheng Ying squatted down and unwrapped the chopstick-sized nylon rope that was wrapped around Da Huang's neck. Then she tied one end of the rope to Da Huang's collar and the other end around her slender waist.
The rope was about five meters long. Cheng Ying and Da Huang each tied one end, giving the dog and the person enough room to move around. If they encountered danger, they could easily pull each other out.
Don't underestimate Dahuang just because it's a dog. It's very strong, tall and powerful. It has been running around in the mountains for many years and has been trained by Cheng Jiantong since it was a puppy. Its limbs are very muscular.
When Cheng Jiantong, an adult man, was in danger and swept away by the raging torrent of the mountain river, it could desperately pull Cheng Jiantong to the riverbank. Naturally, it could also pull Cheng Ying, who was thinner than Cheng Jiantong.
After the rope was tied, Da Huang stood quietly beside Cheng Ying, waiting for her to lift the half-empty mailbag on her head. Then, it slowly walked to a shallow spot on the riverbank that looked a bit like a fish's mouth, and barked three times at Cheng Ying, indicating that she should go into the water from that spot.
“Okay, I understand. My dad told me to go down from the fish mouth, where the water is shallower.” Cheng Ying held up the mailbag and walked to where Da Huang was before going into the water.
The moment she stepped into the water, the mountain water, formed from melted snow, was so cold that she hissed and couldn't help but mutter, "My dad was right. The water in the mountains is colder than the river water outside the mountains. And this is still summer. The water is as cold as if it were filled with ice. In winter, this water will freeze people to death."
Big Yellow barked at her, signaling her to watch the river water at her feet and not to let her guard down.
It then moved to a position about one meter above Cheng Ying, and with a splash, jumped into the water, using its body to struggle against the current and alleviate the force of the water washing over Cheng Ying's legs.
This is a habit it developed over the past four years, as it has accompanied Cheng Jiantong on his mail runs.
Cheng Jiantong is getting old. He has been running this postal route for many years and has become increasingly thin. His two thin legs have developed rheumatism. If Da Huang (a local deity) doesn't block the upstream water flow for him, he will easily lose his footing, slip and fall, and wet the mail in the parcel.
In that case, Cheng Jiantong would feel extremely guilty and remorseful, unable to eat or sleep properly. If a recipient reported him, his salary would be deducted, and he would become even thinner.
Dahuang felt sorry for its owner, and without Cheng Jiantong's instruction, it learned from the old dog that had died that it should shield its owner from the water.
Holding the package, Cheng Ying felt the water flow slow down considerably as she entered the water. She turned her head and saw that Da Huang was keeping pace with her, using his body to shield her from the force of the upstream current. She was moved and said, "Da Huang, you used to shield my dad from the water like this, right? Actually, you don't need to shield me. I'm still young and have plenty of strength. This current isn't a problem for me. I can walk across by myself without falling. Save your energy and swim across by yourself."
Da Huang glanced at her, and whether it was Cheng Ying's imagination or not, she felt that Da Huang's gaze seemed to be looking down on her for not knowing what was good for her.
Cheng Ying: ......
Well, at least Big Yellow meant well; let it block if it wants to.
A man and a dog waded through a body of water about seven meters wide, making a splash as they made their way to the shallows on the opposite side.
When they reached the middle of the river, Da Huang suddenly barked twice at Cheng Ying and pulled her in another direction.
"What's wrong, Big Yellow? Why don't you just walk through here?" Cheng Ying asked, puzzled.
Cheng Jiantong said that when wading across the river from the fish mouth position, there is a whirlpool in the middle, the water is deeper, and the riverbed is somewhat collapsed, making it more difficult to walk.
However, there is less moss here than in other places, so it is not easy to slip. As long as you keep your balance, you can cross the river quickly. Why is Da Huang suddenly pulling her to change positions?
Big Yellow couldn't speak human language, so it could only bark once, telling her to follow it.
Seeing that she was standing still, it became anxious, making low whimpering noises, and pulled on the rope on its back, trying to pull her to the side.
Cheng Ying was pulled so hard she almost fell. She looked at the whirlpool in front of her and saw that apart from the water being a bit deep and having some white foam on the surface, it didn't seem to pose any major problem.
However, animals have a strong sense of danger, and Cheng Ying was not the kind of stubborn person who would not listen to advice. Without saying a word, she followed Da Huang to the right for about five meters. On the moss-covered pebbles, they carefully waded through the river water. After walking for seven or eight minutes, they safely reached a small pebble-covered shallow beach on the other side of the river.
After getting ashore, Cheng Ying untied the rope around her waist and re-wrapped it around the big yellow collar.
After Dahuang finished tying the rope, it turned around and ran into the woods overgrown with weeds and trees on the bank, and disappeared to do who knows what.
Cheng Ying didn't bother with it; it knew this road very well and there shouldn't be any major problems.
She turned to look at the spot where Big Yellow had prevented her from leaving, where the fish mouth had turned back into a whirlpool. She noticed that what was originally a small, barely noticeable whirlpool on the surface of the water was now growing larger and larger, with more and more foam appearing on the water.
Standing on the bank and looking closely, she noticed that the riverbed beneath the whirlpool seemed to have a large hole, and at the same time, the river was surging. She suddenly realized what was going on.
Dahuang must have noticed that the riverbed under the eddy had collapsed and was afraid that she might step on the collapsed riverbed and accidentally slip and fall, getting the mailbag wet.
The increasing amount of white foam on the water indicates that there has been a flood or rising water level upstream, and the water will soon flow here.
If her legs get stuck in the riverbed and she can't pull them out, and the current is too fast, she could easily be swept away and drown.
Sure enough, as she observed the whirlpool, the river water rose rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and at the same time, the river water became turbid. In less than two minutes, the river water submerged the nearly three-meter-wide shallow beach full of pebbles. The current became extremely rapid, and some branches and mud were washed down from upstream. The size of the current was shocking.
Cheng Ying hurriedly carried the mailbag and ran to an earthen embankment about five meters above the river. Standing under a tall silk tree, she looked at the flooded river and felt a wave of fear wash over her.
If Da Huang hadn't pulled her to cross the river in a different direction, and if she hadn't followed Da Huang and stubbornly walked back to the whirlpool, she would probably be in grave danger by now.
As Cheng Ying looked at the swollen river and pondered how to cross it on her way back, she heard the sound of woofing behind her.
She turned around and watched as Big Yellow, with a few thin, dry twigs in its mouth, ran out of the woods along the river and placed them on a relatively open piece of land next to her. Then it turned around and ran into the woods not far away, bringing back some dry grass and some sticks, which it kept placing in front of her.
Cheng Ying paused for a moment, then remembered that her pants were wet.
Cheng Jiantong had told her that every time he crossed the Siqiwan River, he would dry his wet trousers by fire on the riverbank before continuing his journey wearing the dried trousers.
In autumn and winter, the time spent drying your pants is a perfect opportunity to warm up, eat some dry food, and rest – killing two birds with one stone.
Dahuang had been running the mail service with Cheng Jiantong for four years, so it was naturally very familiar with what Cheng Jiantong had to do. After crossing the river, it would very consciously help Cheng Jiantong gather firewood so that he could start a fire to keep warm. It was quite thoughtful and sensible.
Cheng Ying watched as Da Huang ran back and forth searching for firewood, soon piling up a small pile in front of her. Da Huang was panting heavily from exhaustion. Cheng Ying couldn't help but sigh. No wonder people in later generations always called cats and dogs "furry children." Wasn't Da Huang just as obedient and sensible as a child?
Raising a big yellow dog is even better than raising a child, because the big yellow dog won't cry, throw tantrums, or act spoiled like a child.
The child wouldn't accompany her on such a long mountain path without a single complaint, nor would he, despite being exhausted, not only help her avoid danger but also diligently gather firewood for her.
Dahuang is truly an exceptional dog!
"Dahuang, stop looking. You rest for a while, I'll go look for it." Cheng Ying affectionately patted Dahuang's fluffy head, gesturing for it to lie down and rest under the silk floss tree.
She went to where Big Yellow had run, gathered a lot of firewood, took out an old-fashioned diesel lighter from her shoulder bag, pressed the lighter's gear, started a fire, took off her wet underwear, put it on a tree branch, and dried it next to the fire.
To avoid the embarrassment of someone passing by seeing her naked, she put on a long skirt and, while drying her pants, took out the dry food biscuits that her mother, Wan Shuhui, had made for her and roasted them on two sharpened wooden sticks.
Big Yellow lay down on the ground far away from her to rest. It was too hot to burn firewood in the middle of summer. It wasn't stupid; it wouldn't go near the fire and burn itself to death.
While Cheng Ying was drying her wet pants over a fire, it would occasionally look up and observe the activity in the dense woods and bushes on both sides of the road. If anything seemed amiss, it would immediately bark loudly to warn Cheng Ying of the danger.
With it around, Cheng Ying felt at ease baking her pants and flatbread. Once the flatbread was fragrant and soft, she took two large flatbreads and walked to Da Huang. She picked a leaf from the nearby bushes, bigger than her palm, and placed the flatbreads in front of it. Then she took its special enamel water cup, poured half a cup of clean water from the Guo family, and reached out to stroke its head, saying, "Eat, Da Huang. After you finish eating, we'll rest a little longer before we go. You're tired too, so we're not in a hurry to get going."
Normally, Cheng Jiantong would arrive here around 6 or 7 p.m., and then walk for another two hours along the mountain road to reach Ma'anshan Village before dark.
Cheng Ying was younger and healthier than him, and walked very fast. Although she didn't know the way very well, it was her first time walking such a long mountain path, and she was exhausted. When she came down the mountain, her speed was significantly slower.
However, Cheng Ying arrived at Siqiwan more than an hour earlier than Cheng Jiantong. It was only around 5 o'clock. In summer, it gets dark late, around 8:20. Cheng Ying didn't need to rush to continue her journey. It wouldn't hurt to rest a little longer.
The flatbread was baked until it was soft and fragrant. Dahuang didn't stand on ceremony. He lowered his head and ate the flatbread clean, then drank all the water. He rested his head on his outstretched front legs and closed his eyes for a short rest.
Its actions indicated that there were no wild beasts or dangers nearby. Cheng Ying ate the remaining cakes, put on her dried underwear, carefully extinguished the fire with sand and water, walked to Da Huang's side, leaned against the tall canopy of the silk floss tree, and closed her eyes for a short rest.
Perhaps because she was exhausted from walking all day on the mountain path, Cheng Ying fell asleep against the tree trunk not long after.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard a barking sound. Cheng Ying suddenly opened her eyes, stood up quickly, gripped her military dagger, and looked around with a sharp and alert gaze. She scanned the surroundings but didn't find anything unusual or dangerous.
She looked at Big Yellow, who was holding her mailbag in its mouth and dragging it to her side. It barked at her, as if to say: It's getting late, time to get going.
Cheng Ying looked up and saw the setting sun hanging over the western mountains. The last rays of the setting sun dyed the clouds on the horizon orange-red. The clouds seemed to be on fire, shining with an incredibly brilliant orange-red light. Under that light, the rolling mountains looked like an ink painting, unbelievably beautiful.
Cheng Ying watched for a while, but couldn't bear the dazzling light of the setting sun in the west. She looked down, raised her left hand, and glanced at the Plum Blossom brand quartz watch on her wrist. It was already six o'clock. She had been leaning against the tree trunk and sleeping for an hour.
The watch on her wrist was purchased by her earlier this year after she completed a relatively dangerous mission, for which she received a generous allowance.
At that time, Wei Muchen noticed that she didn't have a watch on her wrist, and said he wanted to buy her one. He said that an ordinary watch wouldn't suit her, and he would go to Hong Kong to buy her an expensive Rolex gold and diamond watch worth thousands of dollars.
She declined at the time, saying that gold watches were tacky, and that she was someone who often went on missions. Wearing a gold watch on a mission would make her easily remembered, could bring many unknown dangers, and could easily damage the gold watch. She told him to buy an ordinary, common watch instead.
Wei Muchen disagreed, feeling that she didn't understand romance or his feelings, and the two argued and had a long cold war over it.
In a fit of anger, Cheng Ying went to the department store and bought the cheapest Plum Blossom brand quartz watch in the store at the time. It cost her 78.8 yuan and a lot of industrial coupons. She deliberately wore it on her wrist and flaunted it in front of Wei Muchen, which made Wei Muchen furious. He didn't speak to Cheng Ying for several months.
Looking back now, I realize that my impulsive decision to buy a watch back then has actually made it easier to tell time while walking in the mountains today.
Cheng Ying slung her crossbody bag and mailbag over her shoulder again, called to Da Huang, and continued on her way with Da Huang.
Aside from a narrow path leading up the mountain, the riverbank was surrounded by weeds taller than a person and many trees. Climbing up the mountain along this path, the other side of the mountain was Ma'anshan, where she would be staying for the night.
Bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun, a narrow, winding path meanders through the verdant, craggy mountains, leading all the way to the summit.
The mountain leading to Ma'anshan is a steep, rocky mountain with cliffs everywhere. The mountain path is built along the steep mountain walls. Most of the trees on both sides of the path are wild, but many were planted by the villagers of Ma'anshan to prevent villagers from falling down the mountain when they leave the village on such a steep path without any obstacles.
Even so, there are still many places on those steep mountain paths without tree cover, and one has to be extremely careful to get through those narrow and difficult places.
Cheng Ying followed Da Huang, walking uphill from the foot of the mountain, which was covered with weeds.
There is another, wider and easier road leading to Ma'anshan, so this mountain path is rarely used. The road is overgrown with all kinds of weeds, and snakes and insects often appear in it, which are chased away by the big yellow dog running ahead, or scared away by its cries.
Occasionally, wild rabbits, wild boars, wild foxes, skunks, and other animals would dart by, while pheasants and wild birds would fly away in flocks. There were also cobras thicker than Cheng Ying's thighs that would slither by, startling Cheng Ying.
Cheng Ying was not afraid of ferocious beasts such as jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards. She had enough combat skills to deal with the wild beasts in the mountains and protect her own life.
However, she was more afraid of the venomous snakes, insects, and rodents in the mountains, such as the cobra and other venomous snakes she saw by a bend in the road. These snakes were very fast and had strong venom. If she was bitten by them and was not taken to the hospital in time, the remote mountain roads would delay her treatment and she would die from the poison. No matter how skilled she was, it would be useless.
Therefore, before she set off, Cheng Jiantong reminded her to bring some pungent floral water or realgar to apply to her body.
Although these things have no effect on venomous snakes and insects, they can only give you a little psychological comfort.
However, the pungent smell does indeed deter some snakes and animals with a keen sense of smell from attacking her, so she has no choice but to apply it.
She stopped by the roadside under a pine forest, took out a bottle of floral water from her shoulder bag, and applied it all over her body, including Big Yellow. Finally, she sprinkled some realgar powder on her legs. As she was about to continue walking, she suddenly noticed several yellow fungi under a pine tree by the roadside.
She went over and saw that it was a type of mushroom that she often picked with Wan Shuhui and Cheng Xue when she was a child. It was edible and very delicious.
She remembered that Cheng Jiantong used to bring back a lot of mushrooms every summer when there was a lot of rain, for her and her two daughters to eat. She guessed that he saw these wild mushrooms on the road and picked them on a whim.
As the saying goes, "those who live near the mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near the sea live off the sea." During the rainy summer, many kinds of mushrooms grow in the forests of the mountain villages under the jurisdiction of Qingqu Town. Many villagers go up the mountain to pick mushrooms whenever they have free time, gather them into a pile, and carry them to the grocery store in town to sell, where they can get a good price.
If you can't sell them, or if you don't want to walk so far through the mountains to sell them in town, you can dry the mushrooms you can't finish eating and carry them to town to sell when you go to the market, which will earn you some money.
Cheng Ying loves eating mushrooms. During the rainy season, mushrooms such as termite mushrooms, matsutake mushrooms, chanterelle mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms, as well as various wild wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and tea tree mushrooms, are very common in the sparsely populated mountains.
Since she had come across wild mushrooms, she naturally wanted to pick them. She picked the few clusters of hairy mushrooms and put them in her crossbody bag. Then she looked around the pine forest near the roadside and found some porcini mushrooms and a matsutake mushroom weighing about two ounces. She put them all in her bag, reluctantly left the place, and continued climbing the mountain.
Although she knew that many delicious mushrooms must grow further away in this pine forest, she was a postman, and it was her duty. No matter how delicious the mushrooms were, she couldn't let picking mushrooms interfere with her work.
Dahuang knew that Cheng Jiantong had a habit of picking mushrooms, and seeing her doing the same, every time it walked a certain distance and smelled the aroma of edible mushrooms, if it was close to the roadside, it would stop, bark at Cheng Ying, and lead her to where the mushrooms were growing, pick the mushrooms, and then continue walking.
The two of them walked and stopped intermittently until they reached a steep mountain path near the summit, where there were no trees to provide any shelter. By then, Cheng Ying's crossbody bag was bulging with mushrooms.
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