After the Yangtze River channel enters the Hubei interface from Jiujiang, the river channel becomes narrow. Especially now that it is September, the rainy season has not yet passed, and there are many rapids in the river. Boats must be more careful and laborious when traveling against the current.
At noon that day, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and it seemed that the sky over the Yangtze River was about to face another heavy rain. A steamer emitting thick black smoke was traveling upstream in the surging river, slowly coming from the east.
At this time, in the cockpit of the ship, a thin old man with a face as wrinkled as tree bark was yelling at a middle-aged man operating the rudder.
"I was just confused for a while. Why did you drive the boat to the right channel? I have taught you a long time ago that after passing the ghost, you must go to the left. The water is deeper on the left and shallower on the right. Don't you know this truth? "
"Fortunately, it's only September now. Otherwise, during the dry season after November, a big ship like ours would be in danger of running aground if it went to the right."
At this time, a young crew member who was helping the crew persuaded him: "Boss He, just now after the ghost hour, there were several wooden boats on the left channel that were moving slowly and blocked the channel. Brother Shuisheng then moved the boat to the right. of."
"Humph! I said, Xiao Liuzi, you are now capable, and you dare to help this bastard talk. Slow down, we will follow the wooden boat through this section without delaying anything. Be careful, and the Wannian Ship... Wait, how many wooden boats did you say you had? What wooden boats? How many are there?"
The old man suddenly became alert as he cursed.
"Dad, I just saw something was wrong, so I walked from the left. Our boat is fast, and we have already left those boats behind."
It turns out that this old man named He and the strong man operating the rudder have a father-son relationship. No wonder the old man scolds people mercilessly, while the strong man does not dare to retaliate even after being scolded.
Boss He is the captain of the Yangtze River No. 1 cargo ship hired by Zhou Wen. In the early years, he had made countless shipping trips with Qichang Yangxing's cargo ships, and even went as far as Chongqing. He was familiar with various situations in the Yangtze River waterway.
Of course, it turned out that it was not his turn to be the captain when he was at Qichang Foreign Company.
But he has quite a bit of aura, plus he went to school for a few days as a child and knew a few words, so he rose from an ordinary crew member to the position of chief mate in more than ten years.
It was rare for a Chinese to serve as first mate in a foreign company, so Mr. He was naturally a little complacent. He couldn't control what the foreigners called him, but he didn't like it when his Chinese crew members called him first mate.
It's big, so why do you need a deputy at the back? We don't understand the name given by this foreigner. Do you guys who follow me around and eat and drink dare to add a subtitle?
So, I don’t know when, the Chinese crew members all called him Boss He, and Boss He was so happy that he walked with wind, so much so that he subconsciously forgot his own name.
But the good times didn't last long. Qichang Yang's ships were robbed one after another. Boss He was unlucky enough to be on one of the ships.
That situation is terrifying to death.
Boss He still feels extremely frightened every time he thinks about it. I remember that when a dozen people were blindfolded with smelly goggles and locked in a hot and narrow cabin, Boss He felt as if his heartbeat was about to jump out of his chest. It was so cold under his crotch that he had already peeed in fear. One pair of pants.
Of course, when he later bragged about it to others, it was impossible for him to do anything like peeing his crotch, how he remained calm in the face of danger, how he battled wits and courage with the robbers.
Although the situation was pitiful, the foreigners like Qichang Yanghang still had some conscience and used money to redeem them and the ship.
However, before Mr. He, who had escaped, had time to rejoice and celebrate, he was told that Yangxing's shipping had stopped, and it had stopped indefinitely.
As a result, Boss He, who had been prosperous for half his life, lost his job.
Of course, with his experience and skills, he didn't have to worry about going hungry. He could make a living working for any short-distance shipping company or ship boss.
However, not to mention the miserable life, the key point is that the scenery and status of driving a thousand-ton cargo ship are gone forever.
As he gets older, no one comes to him even if he works part-time.
Boss He thought that his life might be over like this, and he would have to rely on his son who took over his craft to support him in his old age.
Just when his enthusiasm was waning and he was about to bow his head and accept his fate, Yangtze River Company came to his door.
The conditions offered by the people from the Yangtze River Company immediately made the already cold-hearted Boss He feel excited.
captain!
Remember, he is not the first mate, but the out-and-out captain of the ship, and he is also a steamer of the Qichang Yang Company that he is familiar with. I want to ask you whether you want to do it or not?
Dry! Why don't you do it?
Boss He seemed to have taken an aphrodisiac and immediately returned to his prime from the age of 60.
Not to mention that they paid 100 oceans for a round trip to Wuhan, and as long as they agreed, they gave a 50 oceans advance payment on the spot.
Even if he doesn't give him any money, he doesn't want to miss this opportunity to rise again and reflect his own value.
But his wife, relatives and friends didn't want him to take on this life-threatening job.
Who doesn't know that there are so many bandits on the Yangtze River waterway? Under such circumstances, if you drive a cargo ship full of goods and have no defense, wouldn't it be like a child holding gold through the market? How can you still have a good life?
And in recent years, I heard that the water bandits have become more and more unruly, killing people and destroying ships at every turn. Even if you have money to make, you won’t be able to spend it!
However, now Boss He is determined to take over this job.
Not only did the people from the Yangtze River Company repeatedly ensure that they had negotiated terms with the water bandits along the route and paid the tolls in full, but the person who came to recruit also said that he would personally carry out the transportation and so on.
Even if it is dangerous, Boss He doesn't want to turn down this job. He knew that he was already old, so instead of living a miserable life at home waiting for death, he might as well take a chance.
What's more, the person who came to recruit on behalf of the Yangtze River Company was not an unknown person, but the steward at the lobby of the Qing Gang, known as Wan Ye, the leader of ten thousand people.
People of this status are willing to follow the boat and live and die with you. Are you still afraid of a ball?
In this way, Boss He became the captain of the Yangtze River No. 1, and his son He Shuisheng was naturally worried about letting his father venture out alone, so he became the first mate of the ship.
At this time, when Boss He heard that there was a wooden boat blocking the river just now, he immediately became alert.
He had been robbed by water bandits back then, and at least he knew some of the tricks commonly used by water bandits. He immediately smelled something unusual, and immediately turned to the crew member named Xiao Liuzi and ordered: "Go, go and get it" Wan Ye calls."
Then he said to his son: "Shui Sheng, go faster and cross this narrow waterway quickly."
