Chapter 82: Matters of the Steamship
Qingqu Town is located on the riverbank. The town is very small. Cheng Ying lives on East Street, which is only 200 meters away from the town's dock. You can see the scenery of the river from East Street.
Cheng Ying led Long Buxi along the town's cobblestone streets toward the dock.
The town was quiet in the evening. It was almost dinnertime, and many families were cooking at home. The sounds of stir-frying and cooking could be heard from both sides of the street, and the aroma of food floated in the air.
Cheng Ying led Long Buxi through two streets and into a small alley. After exiting the alley, there were rows of stone steps below, and the dock was at the end of a cement road less than 100 meters long below the stone steps.
The two descended the stone steps and walked along the cement path towards the dock.
The dock was deserted in the evening. The townspeople hadn't eaten dinner yet. After dinner, they would stroll and chat along the riverside road. They lived a simple but leisurely life.
The scenery along the river is very beautiful. Due to the scarcity of cement, the riverside roads were not paved with cement like they are today. Instead, they remain as primitive and rustic dirt roads. No one clears the weeds from the banks, resulting in the growth of many weeds and reeds.
Now that it's late autumn, the reed beds are covered in white reed flowers, like white feathers, swaying in the river breeze.
The evening glow was fiery red, the river was calm yet turbulent, flocks of egrets and water birds flew across the river, and two small steamboats and several narrow covered boats were moored at the nearby dock. The steamboats sounded their horns to indicate that the ferry was about to depart. The river scenery in Qingqu Town was as beautiful as a painting.
Long Buxi had never seen such a sight before. He stood by the cement road at the dock, looking curiously at the surging river, at the flocks of egrets flying overhead, and at the reeds swaying on the shore, his eyes filled with wonder.
The wind by the river was quite strong, blowing his Miao clothes and making them billow, which made his figure look even thinner.
For some reason, the bell on his hand was rang in the wind, jingling and jingling incessantly.
Cheng Ying quickly grabbed his hand and asked, "Why is your bell ringing?"
The Miao people of Pucang Village say that Long Buxi's bell is a kind of divine bell that doesn't usually ring. It only rings when he uses Gu magic and sacrifices blood to the bell. So why is it suddenly ringing in the wind?
Long Buxi turned his head to look at her. The river wind blew his shoulder-length hair, covering most of his handsome face, making it impossible for him to see his eyes and expression. He could only hear him say, "The wind is rising. Lingdang likes the smell of the wind."
Cheng Ying: ......
What a strange metaphor!
He was unwilling to explain why the bell rang, and there was no one around who had offended him, so it was unlikely that he would use witchcraft on innocent people.
Cheng Ying thought for a moment, then pointed to the ship not far away and said, "You've never been on a boat before, have you? Why don't you try it? We'll take you on a round trip so you can experience what it's like to drift on the river."
Long Buxi didn't object, nodded, and followed her toward the ship.
A wooden sign stood by the dock, displaying the ferry schedule. It usually ran every half hour, and the fare was one cent per person.
A dime might not sound expensive, but in those days, a dime could buy several kilograms of sweet potatoes or other coarse grains. People who weren't going to the other side simply wouldn't spend the money to take a boat.
Because the area across the river is all mountains and villages with no flat markets, people from the other side of the river come to Qingqu Town to buy daily necessities on the 1st, 4th and 7th of each month.
The town also has the only junior high school in the surrounding hundreds of miles. If a family across the river has a child who is admitted to junior high school, they will send the child to Qingqu Town to study. So, apart from market days, there are not many passengers on the ferry.
Cheng Ying walked into a tin-roofed ship that was drafty on two sides and surrounded only by iron railings. She bought two tickets from an uncle wearing a homespun jacket and pulled Long Buxi to sit on a bench in the cabin.
The uncle recognized Cheng Ying and put banknotes into the money box at the back of the ship, saying, "Little Cheng, who is that comrade next to you? Is he from Pucang Village? He's really good-looking."
Cheng Ying leaned against the iron railing, feeling the river wind blowing against her back. She shivered and pulled her clothes tighter. She looked at the uncle and replied, "He's my boyfriend. He's from Pucang Village. I also think he's quite handsome."
Long Buxi's expression had been somewhat melancholy, but her mood suddenly improved. She turned to look at Cheng Ying and asked, "Do you like my face?"
Cheng Ying nodded, "Of course, you have the most handsome face I've ever seen. Not to mention I like you, even other people would like your face."
Long Buxi subconsciously reached out and touched her cheek, whispering, "My mother said that it's not a good thing for a woman to be too beautiful, and it's the same for a man to be too handsome."
Cheng Ying said, "Your mother is right. Regardless of gender, if someone is too good-looking and born into a poor family, their beauty becomes a kind of original sin, attracting many wicked people who will prey on them and do disgusting things. However, you are different. You have many Gu worms and the ability to protect yourself. Even if others have bad intentions towards you, as long as they dare to attack you, you have the ability to deal with them. So you don't need to worry about others coveting your beauty."
"And what about you? Did you also agree to be with me because you coveted my beauty?" Long Buxi put down his hand and looked at her, asking.
His skin, which rarely sees the sun, is so white it's almost transparent, and you can clearly see the tiny blood vessels beneath it. When the river breeze blows, his face turns slightly red, as if he can't withstand the wind, making him appear even more handsome.
Cheng Ying was momentarily stunned when she saw his almost perfect handsome face. She said frankly, "I agreed to be with you, mostly because you coerced me, a little because you used me, and a little because of your good looks. You've used my life to blackmail me, so I have to get something out of you to be fair to myself."
Who doesn't like handsome men? She's a normal woman, and of course she likes good-looking men too.
Long Buxi seemed pleased with her candor. He nodded and said with a stunning smile, "You're right."
Cheng Ying looked at him strangely. Why was he suddenly happy again?
This person's temperament is truly unpredictable; one moment he's happy, the next he's unhappy. He's really hard to fathom.
The ferry waited for about fifteen minutes before several people carrying baskets on their backs, eager to get home, boarded the boat.
The uncle in charge of driving the boat saw that it was almost time, started the ferry, and with a roar of the diesel engine, turned the wheel in the cockpit and headed towards the dock on the other side.
The river surface is about 30 meters wide in winter. The water is not as turbulent as the summer floods, and the surface is relatively calm. However, when you get to the middle, the current becomes a bit turbulent, causing the whole boat to rock.
It was Long Buxi's first time on a boat. The swaying of the boat made her dizzy, and she couldn't help but close her eyes and reach out to hold Cheng Ying's left hand, which was placed on her lap.
Cheng Ying looked down at the pale, slender hand that was holding his left hand. He didn't know if it was because the river wind was too strong and made him feel cold, or because he was a little scared since it was his first time on a boat. His hand was trembling slightly.
Cheng Ying squeezed his hand and whispered beside him, "Don't be afraid, the boat won't capsize. If it does, I can swim, and I'll save you immediately."
Long Buxi's hands stopped shaking. She opened her eyes, looked at Cheng Ying with a half-smile, and said nothing.
Cheng Ying could read a message in his eyes: "You think I'm afraid of boats?"
If he's not afraid of boating, then why is he trembling? Cheng Ying withdrew her hand in annoyance.
Several passengers sitting opposite them in the cabin were looking at them with curious and gossipy eyes.
In public, she couldn't be too affectionate with Long Buxi. Even if they were dating, the decade-long turmoil had only ended two years ago, and the people in the countryside were still very conservative. They couldn't stand young people being affectionate or clingy. If they saw such a thing, they would look at the young people with sharp eyes, as if they were looking at monkeys, as if they could tear a piece of flesh off them.
Soon, the ship docked at the opposite pier, and the passengers disembarked one after another and went ashore.
With half an hour to go before the next ferry departed, Cheng Ying couldn't just wait on the boat, so she took Long Buxi off the boat and walked a short distance ashore to a brick house by the dock. There, she called Long Buxi to eat roasted potatoes and kebabs.
This family's house is near the dock. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, they ran a small restaurant in their yard, catering to passing passengers.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, they could no longer do business on their own, so this family went up the mountain to hunt pheasants and rabbits, and roasted their own fruits, vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes and the like in front of their yard.
Passengers who wanted something to eat could give a dime or two and get a lot of food.
During the period of great turmoil, this family kept the stall at home to avoid suspicion, and only secretly roasted and sold a little when someone asked.
Now, two years after the end of the great turmoil, the policies from above change every day, the former Red Sleeve Soldiers have disappeared, and this family has become bolder, grilling meat, vegetables, and potatoes directly by the roadside, attracting passengers and neighbors to come and buy them.
When Cheng Ying was little, she came here by boat with Wan Shuhui to visit a relative. She had eaten some barbecue at that family's house and never forgot about it. Since she had some free time today, she brought Long Buxi over to eat it.
As night fell, a shed was erected in front of the house's yard. A dim, pear-shaped light bulb hung on the shed, and a round barbecue grill was placed under the light. A middle-aged woman, who looked to be around fifty years old, was grilling meat on the grill.
Upon seeing Cheng Ying and the other person, she greeted them warmly: "You two look a bit unfamiliar. Are you visiting relatives, or did you come here specifically to eat my family's roasted dishes?"
Cheng Ying said, "I came here to eat your roasted dishes. I ate at your house a few times when I was a child, and I miss your roasted meat."
The woman laughed. "No wonder you looked familiar. Girls change a lot as they grow up. You must look different from when you were little. You've become more and more beautiful. I didn't recognize you, so please don't mind. Tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll grill it for you. Why don't you and this gentleman come to my yard and have some tea?"
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