Early the next morning.
Under the tearful farewells of the father-in-law and mother-in-law, Song Che and the young man got into the carriage together and rushed to the west port of the city.
Although the weather is cold, the morning market pier is still busy with traffic, all of which are hard-working people rushing to make a living. In modern terms, it is "cow and horse".
All the store clerks in Yunshuifang came to the pier to see him off.
Unexpectedly, He Qiu also came. He was wrapped in a velvet robe, and the boy behind him was holding a jug of wine.
"Why bother with such a big battle? It's not like we won't come back."
Seeing the people standing on the pier in the cold wind, Song Che said this verbally, but he was filled with emotion in his heart.
He Qiu personally poured a glass of wine, and while it was steaming hot, he held it to Song Che with both hands: "With a glass of water and wine, don't forget your old friend."
Song Che took the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp, smiling: "Less arrogance, more tenderness."
He Qiu smiled lightly, for the first time, nodded and said, "Have a nice trip, gentlemen."
Why say goodbye sadly? The cold wind will say goodbye naturally.
Song Che and all the shop assistants boarded the ship, left Suzhou Pier, and went straight up the Jiangnan River to Yangzhou.
In the winter months, the water in the canal flows slowly, and the wind happens to be blowing from the north. Even if you don't hire a tracker, the speed is not slow after raising the sail.
The weather was so cold that for several days everyone stayed in the cabin and gathered around the stove to keep warm.
The closer you get to the north, the cooler the temperature becomes, and snow falls less often.
It is difficult for the Japanese invasion to subside within a few months, and many people will freeze to death in this cold winter.
On the third day, late at night.
The ship has sailed into Yangzhou, and according to the current speed, it will reach its destination early tomorrow morning.
In the cabin, listening to the howling cold wind, Song Che couldn't sleep.
Yangzhou is the territory of the Yang family, and once entering this realm, it heralds the coming danger.
After thinking about it, I became more and more worried. He got up, put on a coat, left the cabin and walked towards the bow of the ship.
Here, the river wind is biting and the weather is freezing. The exposed flesh ached as if being cut by a knife.
The captain of the ship was full of energy, holding the steering wheel with his hands, and his powerful eyes seemed to be able to pierce through the night.
Song Che couldn't help but play the song "Sailor", "He said that in the wind and rain, this little pain is nothing. Wipe your tears and don't ask why..."
"Hey, Mr. Song, are you up for the night?" Seeing Song Che coming, he said hello.
Song Che shook his head, "If you can't sleep, come out for a walk."
The boss of the ship advised: "You'd better not suffer this fate. You have tender skin and tender flesh, and your body is precious. If you blow the cold wind for a while, you will definitely need to open the ice the next day."
Song Che smiled and said, "It doesn't matter."
On this passenger ship, there are people he regards as life, and he must wait until it is safely docked.
The captain laughed and threw a wine bag over, "This wine is guaranteed to ward off the cold."
Song Che opened the cork and took a sip. The alcohol content may not be high, but the strong taste made him stick out his tongue. This was not wine at all, it was clearly a combination of chili pepper and mustard. He quickly threw the wine bag back to the boat boss.
The boat boss laughed and drank like water, his face not changing at all. Just like this life of running a boat, it is not that it is not hard, but it is hard.
"How about I take the helm for you?" Song Che asked.
The boss of the boat waved his hand, "If you are sailing with the current, you can still have fun, but if you are sailing against the current, the river and wind direction will change, and you will not survive."
He added: "If I really can't sit still, why don't you help me keep an eye on the front. I'm old and my eyes get blurry at night, so I can't see clearly things that are too far away."
Song Che happily took out the telescope and looked ahead. It was so dark that even clairvoyance was no different from presbyopia.
"Is there any danger at the head of the river?" he asked.
The boat boss said: "There is no danger in the river. We are just worried about water thieves."
"Water pirate?"
"Yes, they specialize in fishing for fish at night. Usually when they see a fishing fire, they will approach slowly in a small boat, climb on the boat, kill people and steal the goods. They are ruthless and will throw the people directly into the river after killing them without anyone noticing. , even the government can do nothing,"
The boat boss said, and pointed to the mouth of the gorge ahead, "This place is called 'Bixia Bay', and water thieves often appear - but don't worry, uncle, based on my experience, I can handle them even if they come."
If you want to say this, Song Che's heart will be hanging.
Some things are just so weird. The more you worry about something, the more it will happen.
He stepped on the bow of the boat and looked forward with his binoculars. In the dim night light, he could indeed see a river bend. The small hills rising on both sides were natural cover. He could do anything in the river bend without being discovered.
He frowned and never relaxed for a moment.
Soon, the passenger ship took advantage of the wind and successfully turned into the river bend.
But at this moment, in the field of view of the telescope, at the big bend of the river, two black shadows suddenly appeared!
The water waves reflected the night light. Although it was unclear whether it was true or false, the two black shadows were indeed moving.
Song Che took out a bolide from his sleeve and shot it at the two black figures——
"call out!"
The bolide drew an arc against the river surface, giving the darkness a brief illumination. With this light, Song Che also saw clearly the true appearance of the two black shadows——
It's a fishing boat!
There were at least six people on each boat, all wearing black clothes and covering their faces.
Where is the water thief here? He's clearly a killer!
Seeing that they had been exposed, the men in black no longer hid their motives. They blew up a fishing fire and used their swords as oars. They could also hear long-awaited shouts:
"Pull across quickly!"
"His grandma! It's really unlucky, what are you talking about!" The boss of the boat jumped up and cursed, and hurriedly called out to the sailors: "There are water thieves hijacking the boat, lower the sail quickly, turn the stern into the bow, and turn the countercurrent into the smooth current. Let's get rid of them. !”
The sailors quickly mobilized to lower the sails.
But there were six people rowing together on the other side, and it was a light boat. No matter how fast the big boat was, they couldn't get rid of them.
"No need, keep going as usual, I have my own way to deal with them!" Song Che called to the sailor, hurriedly entered the warehouse and took out two fire gourds from the wheelbarrow.
Blow them up!
"Husband, what happened..." Shen Wenjun and everyone else looked horrified after being woken up.
Song Che comforted him: "It's okay, there was a little accident. Everyone go back to the cabin and find the handrails to hold on to. I will be able to fix it soon."
Shen Wenjun bit his lip and said "be careful" before returning to the cabin with everyone.
"Quickly extinguish everything that shines on the ship!"
Song Che shouted a greeting, stepped onto the bow of the boat alone, observed the field of view with a telescope, and stood ready with a fire gourd in his hand.
Soon the passenger ship turned off all the lights, hiding its figure in the dark night.
The boss of the boat and the sailor got on the bow with their knives in hand, and no one who was running the boat on the water was a coward.
"Uncle Song, it's obvious that this job is not just a business trip." The boat boss said bitterly as he looked at the approaching two fishing boats full of killers.
Song Che was full of confidence and patted the fire gourd in his hand: "Don't worry, with the killing weapon in my hand, if one hundred people come, one hundred people will die!"
