The dock in front of me is a small ferry rather than a pier. It should be used for general ferry crossings across the river. Five or six boats of different sizes are docked on the shore. There weren't many people, just a dozen boatmen sitting there chatting leisurely.
"The black sail thieves will definitely pay attention to places like this. We should continue riding on our way."
Ding Shaoan said looking at the dock from a distance.
Jiang Fan smiled and walked towards the dock on horseback.
"Young man is ignorant!" Ding Shaoan was slightly angry, but he had no choice but to follow with the others.
"Boss! Maybe hire a boat?" Jiang Fan dismounted and strolled up to several boatmen.
An old man wearing a bamboo hat looked at the group of people and said with a smile: "Are these guests going to the other side?"
Jiang Fan waved his hand: "We are going to the east, about fifty miles away. How much money is it?"
The old man in a bamboo hat looked at the crowd, and counted with his fingers: "Brother, it's enough for you guys to hire two boats, but it's more than a hundred miles back and forth, so the journey is longer. How about charging you three thousand dollars for two boats?"
"The price is fair, okay. In that case, please ask the captain to set sail immediately."
Looking back at Ding Shaoan: "Brother Shaoan, can you borrow some money for me?"
Ding Shaoan was furious: "Boy! You are the employer, how can you ask me to lend money?"
Jiang Fan said nonchalantly: "The rivers and lakes are here to help. When we get there, we will give you back double the amount."
"No!"
Xiong Daque suddenly said: "Give...give it to him."
Boss Ding Shaoan was not happy, but in the end he paid the shipping fee in pain.
A group of eleven people hired two boats and sailed down the river with the current and wind. In a short time, they had traveled more than forty miles.
Jiang Fan was sitting on the bow of the boat. He seemed a little bored and chatted with the bow of the boat: "Boss, there were not many people at the ferry just now, and the business is probably not very good."
The bowman of the boat shouted to the boatman to paddle, and said with a smile: "What I said is that we usually cross the river from Hecang County Pier. Opposite here is the eastern suburb of Bao'an County, and we are close to the villages and towns in the outer city. Make some money."
Jiang Fan said: "There are only two villages and towns in the eastern suburbs of Bao'an County. Since business is scarce, why not go to Hecangjun Wharf to make a living? It is easier than here anyway."
The captain said: "There are many people and boats there, and you have to pay a large sum of money. Calculating, it's not much better than here."
Jiang Fan smiled: "Is this the reason? Or..." He suddenly knocked the boat gang with the scabbard: "Are you here just to wait for me?"
The bowman was stunned for a moment: "Brother, what do you mean by this?"
Jiang Fan said: "Boss, you boatmen are not weak at all. Everyone is also good at kung fu. Isn't it a pity to be a boatman?"
The captain sighed: "Brother, just tell me, where did we reveal our secret?"
Jiang Fan said: "As you said, there is not much business here. There are usually only one or two ferries. It happens that I know them all. They have very strange faces."
The captain of the boat smiled: "Just based on this?"
Jiang Fan said: "That's not the case, but the one letting birds in the forest is not suitable. What kind of trust eagle is placed in this place? Plus you guys obviously know kung fu, tell me, how can there be such a coincidence? "
Seeing this, the man on the boat didn't try to hide it, and simply took off his hat: "Brother, everyone can see such an obvious thing, why do you still want to board the boat?"
Jiang Fan said: "Hey! Don't we really need a boat? Besides, if we don't board the boat, you will still have to do it on the dock even if you don't have enough manpower. I am very considerate of others. It is inconvenient for everyone to do it at the dock. Now we You have all boarded the pirate ship, so you should rest assured. So, is it time for you to get off the ship?"
The bowman said: "Brother, these people are all good at underwater. Aren't you afraid of us going down to dig the boat?"
Jiang Fan said with a smile: "No, in the middle of the river, the current is fast and it is not easy to build a boat. Besides, you are just spies. It is enough to pass the message. You should be alive. How many of you can do this?" No, now that we have boarded the boat, there is no need to worry about us running away or building the boat on the river. Take those horses and go, so that we can take care of the pursuers who are waiting for you."
The captain of the boat laughed loudly: "My brother is a sensible person. In this case, I will take my leave. Although I don't know why I am willing to take risks, I would like to advise you that you can't run away on the river, so it is better to capture him as soon as possible."
Jiang Fan smiled: "Not necessarily, maybe you will have to watch me go a hundred miles."
The captain of the boat shook his head and said, "It's just a fool's errand. Look, our people have already arrived, so I won't accompany you."
After saying that, he led the people to jump into the river and swam towards the boat with the horses.
"Why not kill it!" Xiong San said, looking at the sailboat faintly visible in the distance.
Jiang Fan said: "No need, they are just messengers. Save your energy."
Ding Shaoan said: "Since you already knew something was wrong, why did you have to board the ship? Isn't this asking for death?"
Jiang Fan pointed to the river: "According to this distance, no matter how fast the big ship is, it will take a quarter of an hour to catch up with us, but we don't need to go any further."
He turned around and saw a small sandbank on the river. Surrounded by rivers on all sides, with silver sand paving the ground and a small jungle in the center, the environment is very beautiful.
"Is that Bailuzhou?" Ding Shaoan frowned: "What exactly is here?"
Jiang Fan said: "Fishers, what else can you find on the sandbank? Birds of a feather flock together and people flock together. Even as a fisherman, I only know these fishermen."
Two large ships on the river, with their black sails bulging, rode the wind and flowed down the river at extremely fast speeds.
On the first ship, a woman in black tights put down her hand on her forehead and frowned slightly: "Our people jumped into the river."
"Miss, have Boss Wang and the others been discovered?" said a middle-aged man in his forties.
"It's normal for them to be found. What's abnormal is that these people didn't kill anyone. What are they going to do?"
The middle-aged man looked at the river from a distance, and his expression suddenly changed: "Miss, ahead is the head of Bailuzhou."
Bailuzhou? The woman said: "It's just a tidal flat. Are they going to fight us to the death here?"
The middle-aged man hurriedly asked: "Is it possible that the lady doesn't know about Bailuzhou?"
The woman was stunned for a moment: "How about Bailuzhou?"
The middle-aged man said: "That's right. The young lady has only been adopted by the gang leader for three years. I'm afraid she hasn't heard of the legends of this place."
He pondered and said: "Miss, you should remember that the leader of the gang had strictly ordered not to go near Bailuzhou. It is rumored that there is a group of strange egrets here, all of them are extraordinary, and they only live here."
"My adoptive father said, it's just a group of egrets, why are they not allowed to get close to them?"
The middle-aged man said: "This subordinate doesn't know, and the gang leader never allowed me to ask. I just vaguely heard that these egrets seem to be raised by others."
The woman said: "It is not new for fishermen to raise egrets for fishing, but why is Egret Island a forbidden area?"
The middle-aged man said: "No matter what, if they are going to Bailuzhou, we'd better ask the gang leader to make further arrangements. The gang leader is very taboo about this place."