Compared with the freighter passenger ship on the shore, it is indeed like a small boat, but compared with the awning boat, it is a huge beast. It is a pity not to use it for loading.
"Yes, they are boat people. They live on boats, fish and hunt." Seeing that her guess came true, Song Siyuan suddenly realized: "Then I know that along the coast of Fujian and the middle and lower reaches of the Min River, there are also people living on the water. The locals call them egg people."
"During the previous dynasty, the government was very discriminatory against Dan people, describing them as beggars and lowly people. They were not allowed to go ashore. Once they went ashore, they had to pay heavy taxes on everything. This forced them to live in the water for generations so that they could survive in the South China Sea. Picking pearls." Ren Peacock handled the goods on the side of the stall and explained: "I know a little bit about what you are talking about, but these boat people were not deported and brought to court. They took the initiative to wander on Dongting Lake. They are doing better now. They had their own fishing boats, but a few fifty years ago, their homes were just tied to sheepskin rafts, and countless sheepskin rafts were connected to form small floating islands on Dongting Lake." Speaking of which, the history of the boat people still needs to be It goes back to the last years of Zhu Ming Dynasty and the previous dynasty entered the pass.
At the end of the Zhu Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chong hanged himself on the mountain behind the capital. The Nanming Dynasty was subsequently established and occupied Pian'an south of the Yangtze River for decades. Dongting Lake was under the rule of the Nanming Dynasty and was part of the front line against the bannermen.
In the following years, the Nanming forces continued to retreat to southern Yunnan. When the previous dynasty destroyed the Nanming Dynasty, countless Nanming generals refused to surrender to the new dynasty, so they built ships as camps and entered Dongting Lake. They relied on the 800-mile Dongting swamp to protect their own territory. whereabouts.
At that time, Yueyang City was indeed prosperous, but the Dongting Lake basin was uninhabited for hundreds of miles. These Nanming generals were well versed in the nature of water. The flag soldiers ran away when they came and continued to cause chaos after leaving. Their soldiers were strong and powerful, cunning and cunning, and they were more difficult to deal with than water bandits. The previous dynasty sent troops to pursue them, but it was a waste of people and money and yielded nothing, so it finally gave up looking for these people.
Because they did not obey the new dynasty and did not respect the rule, they were still dominated by the old dynasty of Zhu Ming Dynasty. The new dynasty had no choice but to label these people as lake bandits and asked the local government to hand them over and destroy them as appropriate. There is no place to sleep on, which means that they will be trapped in Dongting Lake forever. Once they come ashore, they will be hanged and beheaded with the same crime as the gangsters.
Originally, the new dynasty still had a chance to persuade them to submit. After the local government issued a notice, they directly pushed the Nanming generals to oppose the government, cutting off their escape route.
In order to claim credit, these officials also issued notices prohibiting the people from trading with the lake bandits, and violators would be exiled, blocking their way ashore for supplies.
These Nanming generals were originally enemies of the government. In order to obtain supplies, they had no choice but to plunder the people. Once they walked out of this path, there was no turning back. They also established their reputation as robbing water bandits. Later, no one regarded them as slaves anymore. The generals of the Southern Ming Dynasty were just a group of subjugated water bandits who had lost their old dynasty and did not attach themselves to the new dynasty.
Over the past hundreds of years, Dongting boat people have been unable to have contact with the shore, and their lives have been extremely difficult. They have gradually divided into two groups. One group is water bandits, who make a living by robbing civilian ships, killing people and stealing goods. If the local officials have any dirty things, they will not If you want to do it yourself, you can also ask them to drag them into the lake and kill them.
The other group is the boat people, the boat owners they met just now. These people threw away their surnames and place of origin. The men took the surname Zhu and the women took the surname Ma. They started fishing and hunting business on Dongting Lake. They fished and set nets in Dongting Lake. If they caught fresh fish, they would approach the fishing boat and use a lower They sell it to fishing boats at a reasonable price, and at the same time buy some salt and seasoning from the boat owners. If a boat runs aground and stops sailing, they can also help the boat owners repair the hull and supply various supplies. Although they cannot get rich, they can still survive.
No matter which group dies, the body will be put into a canoe and burned, and the ashes will be scattered into the lake. They will never stay near the river bank for the rest of their lives.
This situation did not change until the death of the previous dynasty. The previous dynasty was gone, and these people did not need to persist. They either built a house on the shore, or continued to fish and hunt in Dongting Lake like ordinary fishermen.
After talking about the past stories of the boat people, they had almost wholesale goods. Ren Peacock came from the southwest and knew what the mountain people in the southwest were lacking, so he bought some turbans and flowers made of foreign yarn, hairbands and hairpins, hairpin earrings, kerosene soap, needles and thread, etc. The things are not worth much, but they are all in-demand goods that the mountain people need!
"Yao Meier, you have to walk around the streets to buy so much. Do you need a pole basket?" Some bosses saw that they were carrying so many things, and they got business in their hearts. They yelled for them to go back and take a look. Yue Guanchao saw that these things were indeed Yes, I simply bought two bamboo baskets and poles, and put on a disguise. It looks no different from a salesman.
After the groceries were done, they changed their looks again. Song Siyuan took Ren Peacock's clothes. As for Yue Guanchao and Yue Erpao, they could only deal with the clothes that the innkeeper didn't want first. After they were completely busy with their outfits, the sun set. As the sunset gradually turns to darkness.
The night in Xiangdi has arrived. Yueyang is close to Dongting Lake. The lake wind blows day and night, making it humid, cold, foggy and cool. Whenever the weather is good, it will be a sunny day with beautiful lakes and mountains. After night, the moon is bright and high, and gray clouds can be seen high in the sky. Stars are all over the sky. .
Song Siyuan opened the window of the room facing the lake. After the lake darkened in the distance, she saw thousands of giant ships crossing the lake like bright yellow stars. The whistling of steam whistles gradually approached the shore from far to near. It became noisy even closer. She took the Pick up your camera and take a photo before the ship docks.
"Song Qianjin, this camera of yours can really capture people's souls!" Lan Ruling saw Song Siyuan lying by the window and walked over to watch her take pictures of the lakeshore.
"It is true that people can be photographed, but this is just an image. It does not absorb people's souls, and there is no evil in it." During the Republic of China, many people in remote areas did not dare to take pictures for fear of sucking in the souls. Lan Rulingguo She didn’t dare to get close to the camera, but she probably still thinks so now!
"Do you want to touch it?" Song Siyuan took the camera off her neck and handed it to Lan Ruling's hand. At first, he was blowing and hitting it like a hot potato. After he was sure it was just an ordinary object, he started to handle it with peace of mind. button.
"Have you ever photographed many foreigners with this camera?"
"Here we go again!" As soon as Ren Peacock heard Lan Ruling's words, he knew that this woman was interested in Song Siyuan again, so he curled his lips and stopped trying to persuade her.
Song Siyuan heard Lan Ruling mention her old foreign man again and again, and she became curious about the foreigner's identity: "Lan Ruling, tell me about your family, maybe I can really help." You, Western newspapers with missing persons notices, publish your story. If he is really still alive, maybe he will contact you." Song Siyuan gave Lan Ruling new hope. The woman put down the camera and pulled He sat at the square table with her and talked about his family affairs.
