"Sedan, come here." Xiaolong waved and hired a sedan.
Young Master Shen reluctantly turned back and glanced at the Governor's Mansion again. The majestic lion was watching him silently, and the lanterns on the opposite tower were swaying in the wind. The two masters and servants headed west, and the night-dark Shanyang County was soon left behind them.
Summer nights are charming. The sky is dotted with stars, like shining pearls at night, so beautiful. The moonlight is so bright and gentle, reflecting the calm river surface. From time to time, frogs chirped from the reeds on both sides of the canal, and naughty fireflies flew around to embellish the silent night.
"Stop the sedan, the young master has arrived at the dock." Xiaolong opened the curtain and shouted, got off the sedan and paid the money. Master Shen got off the sedan and looked around. The lights of thousands of houses in Hexi have gradually been extinguished, and the fields in the distance seem to be covered with a silver gauze against the backdrop of the moonlight.
"Let's rent a boat." Following Xiaolong's shout, a small boat rowed quickly from the other side of the river.
"Master, here we come!" a woman's voice came.
The boatman is a woman in her early thirties, and Master Shen knows she is a fierce woman as soon as she opens her mouth. It is no wonder that she wants to share the meal among men. Otherwise, it is impossible.
"Up and down the river." Xiaolong said after agreeing on the price.
"Master, sit tight in the cabin." The woman turned around and shook the oar.
"Ten miles of red flags on both sides of the boat, singing and dancing rarely stopped late at night. The prosperous scene of Yangzhou for thousands of years has moved to the mouth of the West Lake." Master Shen remembered this poem written by the scholar Qiu Jun when he passed by the thousand-year-old town of Hexia.
"Master, why is our family called Hexia?" Xiaolong suddenly asked.
"Want to know?"
"Think." Xiaolong's eyes flashed.
"Okay, then I'll tell you." Master Shen started talking.
Hexia is located three miles northwest of the county and is a large market town in Shanyang City. It was Wu Jin (1714-1795) who recorded the name Hexia in the annals of history in writing. In Volume 4 of "Shanyang Zhiyi", he wrote a postscript after writing about the flood in Huai'an: "The water flooded the river and the salt In the Hebei area, the water under the river is seven or eight feet deep..."
During the Jiaqing period, Hexia was also mentioned in "Huaicheng Xinjinlu: Biography of Zhang Tingjie" written by Cao Biao, a native of Hexia: "My home is in the suburbs of the north of the county, and the common name is 'Hexia'." It can be seen that the name of Hexia was originally from the masses. The colloquial name was not an official name, but it was gradually recognized by literati and included in books.
Hexia is located on the natural danger of the great river in the north, and holds the key point of the luck road in the west. It is located between the two rivers, so it is named after Hexia. As for why it’s called “down”? Duan Chaoduan believed that Hexia and Hebei were symmetrical and should be called Henan.
Hexia is located on both sides of the river. The terrain is high in the north and low in the south. The terrain of residential buildings becomes lower toward the south. It is customary to call it upper or lower, so it is called Hexia. Judging from today's terrain, this explanation is reasonable.
The place name Hexia has a history of more than 800 years, because the Yellow River came first and then the name Hexia. Before the Song and Yuan Dynasties, from here you could see the desolate countryside in the north and the capital city and Zhuzhou in the distance. It is closely connected with Mokou and Beichen Weir, which are military fortresses and transportation hubs. They are also located on the banks of the Huaihe River. They prospered with Mokou and even surpassed Mokou for a period of time. (Liu Huaiyu)
"Master, I also know a little bit about things going down the river." After hearing this, the woman suddenly spoke, "I heard some things from my grandfather."
"Oh, tell me." Master Shen said curiously.
The woman shook the oar vigorously and spoke loudly.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, when the Yellow River captured the Huaihe River, the last mouth could not be connected to the canal. Hexia once replaced the last mouth and became the north-south transportation hub and military center.
In the Ming Dynasty, many shipyards were set up by province on the west bank of the canal. The Ministry of Industry set up a branch here and sent officials to supervise the construction of unified wide-bottomed ships. A large part of the materials for shipbuilding in shipyards are supplied by the river market.
"Huaicheng Xinjinlu" records that the streets such as Bamboo Alley, Rope Alley, Banchang Street, Nailie Alley, Datong Alley, and Fanzhang Alley under the river got their names from the businesses that operated in those years. Of course, Hexia Market is not limited to this. It also sells local specialties such as Huaihong cloth, mung bean wine, leather drums, gilt bronze wares, etc.
Mr. Wu's shop is located in Datong Alley, Guiyi Street, and specializes in picking bamboo shoots. (Liu Huaiyu)
"Not bad, not bad. You are not an easy girl." Master Shen praised, "You have learned a lesson."
"How can I be as knowledgeable as the young master?" the woman said with a smile.
Master Shen was rowing against the current. The sound of the rushing water and the sound of the paddle hitting the water was particularly beautiful. Thinking about getting married to Miss Xu on May Day, the charming image of Miss Xu appeared in front of his eyes, and he couldn't help laughing.
"Master, why are you laughing?" Xiaolong was confused by the laughter.
"Nothing to smile about."
"Oh, I know, I know."
"What do you know?" the young master asked, touching Xiaolong's head.
"Young master, you must want to be alone."
"Smart guy, do you really think you're smart? Let's get off the boat." Master Shen saw the Royal Pier, and he bowed and walked to the bow of the boat.
"Xiaolong, we, Hexia, have produced many famous people since ancient times. The Han Dynasty writer Mei Cheng was good at writing poems, his son Mei Gao, and the Tang Dynasty poet Zhao Gu were both from Hexia. Does Hexia Gu Meili know that? Zhao Gu called himself My home is next to Meigao's old house." Master Shen knows all the family treasures.
Climbing up the stairs, the master and the servant climbed up the river embankment. Both sides of Huzui Street, the main road of Hexia Street in the north, were quiet. People who had worked hard for a day had already fallen into sweet dreams.
"Master, we are back late, the master and his wife must be angry." Xiaolong said anxiously.
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
