Xu Tong pinched his beard and said: "It is not impossible to take a boat, but is there a way for my carriage to cross the river together?"
Hearing this, the postman looked bitter and said: "Sir, the carriage cannot cross the river, and of those people who follow you, only a few can go with you, and most of them have to stay, or Either wait for the bridge to be repaired or walk downstream to cross the river.”
Mr. Liu on the side turned to look at Xu Tong, waiting for him to make up his mind.
Xu Tong thought for a while and said: "With a few more boats, can't we all send them across the river? At the worst, I will give you a few more taels of silver."
The things on the car were all the benefits he had received from his tenure as governor this year, so he was naturally unwilling to hand them over to others easily.
"My lord, I don't know something." The postman said, "The boats in Tianhe Village are all ferries and fishing boats. These small boats can't hold the big car you brought, my lord. If the ferry makes more trips, you can only carry your luggage. After crossing the river, my lord, you have to find a cart again to load your luggage."
Xu Tong frowned.
Mr. Liu, who was standing next to him, knew Xu Tong very well and knew that he was unwilling to separate from his luggage, so he whispered: "Sir, it is better to take the land route. Although it is longer to travel dozens of miles, it will be delayed for a few days at most. I can’t delay your return to Beijing.”
Xu Tong said nothing, tapping the wall of the tureen in his hand with his fingers.
The postman on the other side stood respectfully, not daring to interrupt casually. He only told the few ways he knew to cross the river, and then waited for the adult in front of him to choose.
"Take the water route." Xu Tong suddenly said.
Hearing this, Mr. Liu was stunned.
Based on his understanding of Xu Tong, he should choose to take the land route. After all, crossing the river by water is fast, but it is inconvenient to carry luggage, and the carts that follow must be left on the other side of the river.
"Sir, what should I do with the luggage in the car? It's not easy to find so many big cars across the river," Mr. Liu said.
Xu Tong said: "The luggage and the officer will cross the river together, and the cart will take a detour and go downstream to cross the river."
Mr. Liu hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, since the big car has to cross the river from the lower reaches, why do we have to make a ferry to cross the river? Why don't we go with the big car from the lower reaches."
"An empty car is always faster than a car full of luggage, and I will suffer less bumps." Xu Tong explained casually.
Mr. Liu bowed and praised, "Your Excellency is wise."
Xu Tong picked up the bowl, took a sip of tea, and said: "Tomorrow, you will cross the river by boat with me and my wives, and you will pull the ceremonial cart and hand it over to my chief attendant."
"Yes." Mr. Liu bowed and agreed.
Xu Tong picked up the lid of the cup, stirred the tea in the cup, and said: "I'm tired, you can go down!"
"My dear, please excuse me." The postman bowed respectfully and walked backwards out the door.
"Student, please leave." Mr. Liu also bowed, followed the postman, and exited the room.
Coming out of Xu Tong's room, the postman said with a smile on his face: "Sir, please wait a moment. I will go get a lantern and take Mr. Liu back to his room."
The inn has more than one house. As a second-rank official, Xu Tong naturally lives in the best room in the inn. Mr. Liu is just a staff member and lives in another courtyard.
Mr. Liu thought of the darkening sky outside and nodded.
"Mr. Liu, please wait a moment. The little one will come as soon as he goes." the postman said.
The postman turned around and went to the room to get a lantern. Mr. Liu walked down the stairs and came to the door.
After a short time, the postman came over with a lantern in his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Liu, please wait. I will give you some light now."
As he spoke, he walked ahead and used a lantern to illuminate the path under Mr. Liu's feet.
Walking to the gate of the side courtyard, Mr. Liu said: "Okay, you can go back and give me the lantern."
The postman handed over the lantern in his hand and said at the same time: "When the lantern is finished, please leave it in the room. I will leave first."
Mr. Liu took the lantern and walked towards the yard with the lantern in one hand.
The faint light of the lantern shone on the ground, so that his feet would not trip over the debris on the ground, and soon he returned to his room in the inn.
"Master, why did it take you so long to come back!" Mrs. Liu came up to greet him.
Mr. Liu picked up the lantern, blew out the candles inside, and then said, "Your Excellency, I was discussing tomorrow's itinerary, and was delayed for a while."
As he spoke, he put the lantern aside.
"The food is cold. I'll heat it up on the stove in the inn." Mrs. Liu stretched out her hand to pick up the food on the table.
Mr. Liu waved his hand and said, "No, I'm not too hungry. I have to go on a journey tomorrow, so I should rest early."
"Then, master, please rest first. I'll get a basin of hot water to soak your feet." With that, Mrs. Liu was about to walk out.
"Madam, wait a minute." Mr. Liu stopped Mrs. Liu and said, "Your Excellency, you are going to cross the river by ferry. You want me to accompany you. Please pack our things and we will rush to the ferry in Tianhe Village early tomorrow morning."
Mrs. Liu turned her back to the door and said, "We don't have much to bring. When we arrive, Mr. Xu will bring more than thirty cartloads of luggage. To transport so much luggage across the river, it will take a lot of boats."
"You, a woman, don't need to take care of this kind of thing." Mr. Liu said, "After packing, go to bed early. We have to go on the road tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he took off his coat and got into bed.
Mrs. Liu packed up the remaining food on the table and reorganized her luggage before going to bed.
The night passed.
After dinner in the morning, Xu Tong got on his sedan chair and went to Tianhe Village where the postman pointed.
More than thirty carts carrying luggage followed Xu Tong's sedan and went to Tianhe Village together.
Tianhe Village is originally a small village, with more than 20 families. Every family makes a living by fishing, so every family has no shortage of fishing boats.
The sedan stopped on the dirt road outside the village.
Mr. Liu rushed over from behind, stood respectfully beside the sedan, and said, "Sir, this is Tianhe Village."
Xu Tong opened the sedan curtain and took a look outside.
There was a small village in front of him. There were a few children playing at the entrance of the village. Now when they saw so many people suddenly coming, they all ran back to the village.
"You go to the village to commandeer a few boats. I will wait for you at the ferry in front." After saying that, Xu Tong lowered the curtain of the sedan and shouted, "Go to the ferry."
The bearer lifted up the sedan chair and swayed toward the ferry in front.
Requisitioning is for nothing and no money will be given.
As soon as Mr. Liu heard the word requisition, he understood what Xu Tong meant.
The people were afraid of officials, so Mr. Liu, under the banner of Xu Tongzheng, a second-rank official, brought out several fishermen from the village who knew how to sail boats.
The fishing boats were all docked at the ferry, and he took the fishermen from Tianhe Village back to the ferry.
When he arrived at the ferry, the ferry had already reached the middle of the river, and there were servants brought by Xu Tong standing on the boat.
