Gu Ning'an raised his hand and saluted: "It's Gu. I didn't expect Mr. Li to be so diligent and come to work on the river late at night."
Seeing that Gu Ning'an remembered him, Li Xunshan felt inexplicably excited. After unloading the goods on his shoulders, he returned the favor and said, "Sir, just call me Xunshan. I am just a student companion, not a serious gentleman."
"I don't earn much as an escort this night. I want to make more money while I'm young, so I'm going to work as a river worker."
"Sir, you come to the river bank in the evening, but are you here to take a boat ride?"
Gu Ning'an waved her hand and said, "Sir is just a title. Don't you call me sir when you don't even know what I do?"
"I didn't take a boat today. I came to the bank of the river just to see the scenery. Unexpectedly, the river in Gucheng County is a freight tributary."
Hearing that the gentleman with extraordinary temperament in front of him came to the riverside to enjoy the scenery in the middle of the night, Li Xunshan's eyes moved slightly and his tone rose slightly: "Mr. Gu has such an elegant mood and such idle time, I am really envious of you."
"Li Xunshan!"
"Stop chatting! Move the goods quickly!"
"Do you want today's wages or not?"
A roar came, and Li Xunshan quickly turned around and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, Mr. Yang! We met an acquaintance, let's do something, let's do something!"
"Hurry up!" The tall supervisor did not stop Li Xunshan from chatting. He just urged him and went elsewhere.
Li Xunshan half-crouched down, using both arms to lift two bulging sacks onto his shoulders. With a little difficulty, he grinned at Ning'an: "Mr. Gu, I'll work first. I'll be free another day." Let’s talk again.”
Gu Ning'an nodded: "Okay, is the quota for boating full? If not, can it be counted as the next one?"
As soon as these words came out, Li Xunshan was immediately delighted: "It's not full, it's not full! Sir, if you are willing to join the boat, that's fine!"
"Okay, let's talk about the detailed itinerary when you have time." As he spoke, Gu Ning'an turned around and moved aside.
"Tomorrow at noon, I will go to the Fumanlou Inn to discuss with Mr. Sir. Is it convenient for you?" Li Xunshan moved a few steps and glanced back in the direction of the supervisor. When he saw that the other person was not looking at him, he stopped again.
Gu Ning'an smiled and said: "Then tomorrow at noon, I will wait for you in the main hall of the inn."
"See you tomorrow then!" Li Xunshan responded and quickly left carrying the goods before the supervisor looked over.
…
At noon the next day, Li Xunshan arrived as promised.
During the day, this man was still wearing a white robe and a Confucian crown, giving him a scholarly air.
Just looking at his appearance, no one would have imagined that he would be wearing a short linen undershirt at night and carrying hundreds of kilograms of goods by the river.
Gu Ning'an originally made tea and planned to have a good chat with the other party, but it turned out that Li Xunshan didn't have much free time.
After hurriedly deciding to set off with Gu Ning'an tomorrow at midnight, he drank a cup of tea and left in a hurry.
In this regard, Gu Ning'an felt more and more that this man's lifestyle was somewhat incompatible with contemporary literati and scholars. On the contrary, he lived very much like many young people of later generations.
As far as Gu Ning'an knows, many "dream-minded" young people in later generations worked in high-rise buildings during the day after moving to big cities, and took part-time jobs such as running errands and driving at night. .
They work so hard just to take root in their city...
From this side of the world, one can see the "common ground" of people of later generations. This is what Gu Ning'an is interested in this Li Xunshan.
In addition, the place he wanted to go to was to pass through Jiangling Mansion, and sharing a boat with Li Xunshan and the others seemed to him to be an interesting way to travel...
…
The sun was shining brightly, and a few pale white clouds drifted from time to time on the blue sky.
Beside the river with a longing figure, Li Xunshan, wearing a bamboo hat, was squatting on a small wooden boat with a straw in his mouth.
At the stern of the boat, an old beggar in ragged clothes was reclining. In the canopy of the boat, a middle-aged man with a big belly was holding a wine flask and pouring a sip of turbid wine into his mouth from time to time.
"Mr. Gu! Here!" Li Xunshan waved and shouted after seeing Gu Ning'an in the crowd.
Walking to the riverside, Gu Ning'an cupped his hands and said, "It's been a long time."
"No wait, no wait, sir, it's already early. It's us who arrived too early." As he spoke, Li Xunshan picked up the oar and made a gesture of invitation: "Sir, please get on the boat and watch your step. "
Hearing this, Gu Ning'an smiled and nodded, then stepped onto the canoe.
"Everyone is here, let's set sail!"
"Old Wentou, please hold on tight, don't fall into the water!"
Shouting to the old beggar at the stern of the boat, Li Xunshan pressed the paddle hard against the river bank, and the canoe slowly floated away from the bank.
As the canoe gradually sailed away from the river bank, Li Xunshan introduced each other to the three people on board while rowing.
The old beggar lying on the stern of the boat was named Wen. He was also from Gucheng County. He often wandered the streets of various downtowns. This time he collected money to take the boat, saying that he planned to go to Jiangling Prefecture to make a living.
Sitting in the boat canopy, a middle-aged man named Wei Hai smelled of alcohol. He once opened a wine shop in Gucheng County, but after three years of opening it, he successfully destroyed his wine shop and now went to Jiangling. Mansion, claiming to be seeking refuge with his relatives.
Among the four people present, Gu Ning'an had to pass by Jiangling Mansion before he could take the boat.
"In about an hour, we will be able to enter the main basin of the Xiangjiang River." Li Xunshan used his skill to draw out a splash of water, and the splashed water droplets fell on the river, creating layers of ripples.
"Hiccup!" "Okay!"
A burst of wine burps and excited responses sounded from the awning and stern of the boat.
Gu Ning'an smiled and said: "Mr. Li, I realize that you are a student companion, boatman, and river worker, and you are proficient in everything!"
"If you get tired of paddling, just call me and I will take over for you."
Li Xunshan laughed "Haha": "Hey, I can't say I'm proficient. I'm just trying to make a living."
"As for the replacement, it's not necessary. After entering the main stream of Xiangjiang River, it won't be that difficult... Thank you sir for your kindness."
After saying this, Li Xunshan took a deep breath and paddled a little faster. The sweat on his forehead continued to drip onto the board of the boat.
Seeing that the other party didn't seem to believe that he could paddle the thick paddle, Gu Ning'an didn't say anything more. He just planned to take over when Li Xunshan was exhausted.
As for using mana to control ships, he had never thought about it.
After all, if he is in a hurry, he can fly in the air. In this way, even if he cannot use deduction to accurately locate the hometown of "Shi Yi", he can still use the speed of flight to make up for it.
This greatly reduces the time it takes to find Shi Yi's hometown...
But firstly, he has no shortage of time...Secondly, he feels that the teacher must at least be down-to-earth when burying his students...
“Hiccup~~~”
When he was empty, a long wine burp interrupted Gu Ning'an's thoughts.
"Mr. Gu! Why don't you come and have a drink!" The drunk Wei Hai shook the wine bottle in his hand towards Gu Ning'an...
