The second day.
Shen Wenjun and Zhou Yazhao, with their two little maids, used the shop as a workshop, just one word: grinding!
Song Che continued to work in the field. He first went to the porcelain shop and asked his boss to customize 300 half-pound porcelain jars with the words "Zhou Dafa" engraved on the mouth.
Afterwards, we went to the pier again.
Shen Wenjun would think about the He family tragedy before going to bed every night. Even if it was not for the sake of fairness in the world, but just to relieve his wife's knot, Song Che had to figure out the death of He Xianglian's mother.
As luck would have it, a drizzle began to fall in Hangzhou, and the moist sea breeze brought a chill. The entire Qiantang Bay seemed to be wandering in the misty rain.
Song Che found the boatman who had ferried yesterday, drove a small boat and held a paper umbrella, and then went to Meizi Island.
This time he did not go ashore, but asked the boatman to take him to the bay where Dan people were fishing for pearls. If he wanted to find out about the death of He's mother, it would be best to ask the locals.
Song Che was really shocked when he saw ancient people fishing for pearls for the first time. There are usually two people on a boat, mostly husband and wife. The woman is soft-bodied and usually fishes underwater, while the man is strong and strong and usually takes care of the fish on the boat.
Women only tie a hemp rope around their waists. In order to reduce buoyancy and facilitate their work, many pearl divers are topless, but they do not feel ashamed at all. The rope is also very thin, only smaller than the little finger. Such a hemp rope will definitely break if it is strangled on the reef twice.
The distance of the hemp rope is usually calculated, and it will be stretched when it is lowered to the bottom. The other end of the rope is tied to the bow of the boat. There is a copper bell on the bang. If there is a change on the bottom of the sea, or if you want to dive, the pearl diver will By pulling the rope and shaking the bell, the man will quickly pull the woman out of the sea.
Every clam, every pearl, and every villager comes from a difficult source.
After yesterday's shopping, the villagers in Meizizhou all knew Song Che. When they saw him coming again, many of them paddled closer.
"Sir, it's only early in the morning and we haven't opened yet. Why are you here again?"
Even if he is not here to sell goods, he is still willing to say hello. He has yellow corn teeth, wet bun, and a very honest and honest smile.
"I'm not here today to purchase pearls, but to inquire about a person, a person who died unexpectedly," Song Che said, "She was also a pearl diver on Meizi Island. Her husband's surname was He, and she had a daughter named He Xianglian."
The expressions of the villagers all changed, and some timid ones hurriedly rowed away.
"Afraid of a bird! I'm not afraid of that Niu Er! He can still eat us!" But there are always bolder ones. The two young men in their early twenties should be brothers.
Song Che asked the boatman to get closer and then asked in a low voice: "You two, according to He Xianglian, it was Niu Er who killed her mother. Do you know the inside story?"
"It's probably the fault of that bastard Niu Er!" said the older brother: "That happened half a month ago. We all call He Xianglian's mother 'Cui Aunt', and she was born on Meizi Island. The water is famous for its good water properties. We can’t dive more than six or seven feet, but Aunt Cui can dive ten feet in one breath;
As we all know, the bigger the pearls are, the deeper they will be buried. The more skilled you are, the more you will earn. Aunt Cui was able to pick good pearls every once in a while. Gradually, life became richer, and the He family left Orange Island. , it is said that she also bought a small courtyard in Suzhou City, but Aunt Cui still comes to the sea to fish for pearls every day. "
No wonder He Xianglian is fair, tender and versatile. She turns out to have an amazing mother.
The younger brother continued: "Half a month ago, I heard that Aunt Cui picked a 'big pearl' from the sea. It is said to be as big as an egg. This kind of pearl is rare to find in ten years, and it costs at least thousands of taels." price!
We in Meizi Island are fishing for pearls for the Zhou family, and Niu Er is the weakling of the Zhou family. If anyone finds a pearl, he will come to buy it as soon as possible, and the price will usually be much lower;
But there is no other way. The Zhou family is the jewelery master in Hangzhou City. Who dares to offend them? We poor people don’t know how to process, so we can only sell it cheaply;
If Aunt Cui really picks up the big pearl, Niu Er will definitely know about it and will definitely try his best to suppress the price of the purchase. You said it's okay to get dozens of taels per press, but for this kind of rare treasure, you might get hundreds of taels per press, so who would do it? "
Song Che roughly guessed the follow-up: "If Mother He doesn't do it, Niu Er will kill people and steal goods?"
The elder brother said: "That's not true. Aunt Cui was drowned in the sea the next day. It is said that her body has not been found yet.
The He family and his daughter came to Zhoutou to cause trouble for a while. Everyone could actually guess that it was probably Niu Er who killed the man and took the pearl. However, the government could not convict him without any evidence, not to mention that the Zhou family was behind him. "
The younger brother sighed: "Alas! We, the poor people, are born to be cheap and have no chance of getting rich in our lives!"
Song Che pursed his lips and asked doubtfully: "Isn't pearl hunting usually done by two people? Then where is the other person?"
The elder brother said: "If two people are fishing for pearls together, the profit will be divided equally. Aunt Cui's husband and daughter are both in the city. She always goes into the water alone, finds clams and swims up by herself."
Song Che asked again: "I heard that He Xianglian said that her mother was drowned after someone cut the rope. But He's mother was obviously so good in water. Even if the rope was broken, she could swim up. Why did she drown?"
The younger brother shook his head, "We don't know about this. Aunt Cui usually fishes for pearls in the deep water area of Qingping Bay, and we are all in the shallow water area."
"Where is Qingping Bay?" Song Che asked again.
The two brothers pointed to a place at the same time: "Well, that's the bay on the back of Lingyin Mountain."
"Thank you both for clarifying my doubts." Song Che took out a few taels of broken silver and threw it to the two brothers, and then asked the boatman to set it towards Qingping Bay.
Qingping Bay is connected to the cliffs of Lingyin Mountain. The exposed rocks are washed very smooth by huge waves. The waves in the bay are particularly turbulent, "crash..." like rolling thunder.
"Sir, there's a resurgence of tide ahead. We can't go any further, otherwise the boat will capsize," said the boatman.
"Then let's stop here." Song Che could only stand up straight by holding on to the awning of the boat. He took out his telescope and looked around. There were many reefs in the bay, and many clams grew here. The same undercurrent was definitely there. Indispensable, unless the artist is brave, he will really have to make a living.
There are very few visitors to Qingping Bay, and it is blocked by mountains on both sides. It is a good place to commit murder.
"Why did He's mother drown when she was so good at water..." Song Che was puzzled.
At this time, the boatman said casually: "Isn't it easy to drown someone? Those women who stole men and were soaked in pig cages were afraid that they would not drown, so they tied a big stone underneath, so that the corpses would not be able to float when they were swollen. .”
Hearing this, Song Che felt as if he was enlightened, and the hut suddenly opened: "Old man, you are a wise man!"
The boatman waved his hand, "Damn it! I don't know a single word, but I'm still a wise man. I've only had a few more years of hard work than you!"
If He's mother was really tied with a stone, her body would probably be under the bay!
Such extremely vicious killing methods made Song Che's hair stand on end!
"Old man, please leave this bay first."
