Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 13 "Eating a meal"
Hulutao is also a famous dangerous shoal and dangerous spot on the Yalu River, and everyone felt a little scared.

When they were still some distance away from the gourd, the foreman gave instructions to everyone.

"Everyone, pay attention. Look carefully at the water level, keep your distance, control your speed, and be extra careful."

Everyone at the back was worried, moving the oars to adjust the direction, trying to go along Wu Shui to slow down the raft.

"Hey, first oar, second oar, look quickly, what's going on in front?"

Qu Shaoyang was a tall and strong man with good eyesight, and he could see from a distance that something seemed wrong in front of him.

There seemed to be something floating on the river, and a lot of people gathered on the river bank in the distance.

When Qu Shaoyang shouted, Shui Laowu also saw it and his face suddenly changed.

"It's bad, there must be an old pile of people ahead.

Leng Huer, hurry up and tell the back to hurry to the shore, we can't go any further."

The old raft was building a pile of scattered wood, which would float all over the river. Their raft could not go on, otherwise it would easily cause an accident.

When Qu Shaoyang heard this, he immediately sent a message to the back, "Hurry up and get to the shore, there is a raft of wood being piled up ahead."

After hearing this shout, the people behind suddenly panicked and hurriedly moved the oars towards the river bank.

The river was flowing fast, and it was impossible to reach the shore immediately. After great efforts, the raft was finally stopped.

At this time, it was only about a mile away from the place where the stack was being built in front.

At the big bend of the river, there stands a huge rock.

At this moment, under the rock, wood was piled up in layers and in all directions, several meters high, like a big mountain.

There were a lot of floating wood all around, blocking the river surface.

Fortunately, Shui Laowu saw the opportunity early and immediately ordered the raft to dock, otherwise, the raft would have been in trouble.

In this situation, it was certain that the gourd would not be able to pass today, so the foreman immediately gave orders to stop the raft and tie it to the ground with wooden pegs.

After a busy period of work, everyone finally managed to dock all ten platoons.

Then, the leader led everyone along the narrow path along the river and headed straight to the Shilazi in front.

When I got closer, I saw that the place was packed with people in three layers inside and outside.

Some of them were holding net bags in their hands or carrying a long stick about ten feet long.

These are the people who eat in line along the river.

There are many dangerous checkpoints during the rafting process, which often catch the boatmen off guard.

Once the rafts hit the reef, the raft in front will be stuck, and the rafts at the back will be stacked up layer by layer under the huge impact of the river water. This is called stacking.

Once the rafts are piled up, not only will there be casualties, but they will also block the river, affecting the rafts being lowered from other timber yards behind, thus delaying the delivery deadline.

If the timber cannot be transported away in time, it may take a long time for it to be washed away by the river water.

By then, the wood will be carried away by the water and become a bargain for others, or it will be exposed to the sun and rain and gradually rot, causing serious losses.

Therefore, some people who specialize in eating queues emerged.

These people may be very good at swimming and can go into the water to retrieve floating wood, corpses, and clean up the river.

Or if you are bold and careful, you can find the most critical support point among the hundreds of logs on the mountain.

Then he held the opener stick and used some strength to move the woodpile apart.

The latter are the night watchmen on the Yalu River.

During the rafting season every year, there would be night watchmen riding donkeys around the various sentry posts on the Yalu River, or they would simply settle down near some dangerous sentry posts.

Just wait for the wood rafts to be stacked and then start the shift. If you succeed, you can get a big bonus.

As the saying goes, if you don’t open a restaurant for three years, you can make a living for three years after you open it. Fortune and wealth are sought in danger. Hulutao is very close to Maoer Mountain. The old people here stacked together. Within half a day, the news spread everywhere, and more and more people came to eat.

"Who's going to start the shift? Two hundred taels."

In the middle of the crowd, there was a man in his forties, dressed very elegantly. His face turned red and his neck became thick with anxiety. He kept waving the life and death documents in his hand and shouting loudly.

The people who were eating nearby heard the noise but remained calm and no one said a word.

"Hey, Lao Cao, is this your platoon? What's going on?"

Li Yongfu and Shui Laowu pushed through the crowd and walked to the middle. They saw that they knew the people inside. They were another group of woodworking gangs from Hengshan Mountain.

"Hey, Brother Li, Brother Liu.

Oh, don’t mention it. Yesterday afternoon, our eighth platoon member became disobedient as soon as he got to this gourd set.

Before the two platoons in front could even make a sharp turn, the platoon behind them crashed into the rocks on the river bank.

Of the eighteen platoon members, four were killed, three were seriously injured, and the rest were slightly injured."

This man surnamed Cao was also the second in command of the Wood Gang. He was quite familiar with Li Yongfu, Shui Laowu and the others. As soon as he saw the two of them, he started to complain.

"We finally fished out the bodies of the dead platoon members and buried them nearby. But what should we do with the pile of wood? We can't just leave it there forever.

I raised the price from 80 taels to 200 taels, but still no one responded. I worked for nothing this season." Cao Ergui said, almost crying.

It has been a day since the accident, and more gangs are coming down from behind. If they don't find a way to move the woodpile, their losses will be even greater.

After hearing what Cao Ergui said, Shui Laowu and Li Yongfu both shook their heads.

The raft hasn't reached Maoer Mountain yet and has only gone halfway along the way. If it starts piling up here, there might be problems later.

This trip is definitely in vain.

"Three hundred, three hundred taels. I'm risking my life today. Even if I lose money on this trip, I'm going to clear this pile of wood."

Cao Ergui gritted his teeth, stared with bloodshot eyes, and shouted at the top of his voice.

Three hundred taels is a considerable amount, enough for an ordinary family to eat and drink for several years.

Those who were eating nearby were getting restless and looking around.

"Three hundred taels, the price cannot go up any more. Is there anyone who wants to increase the price?" Cao Ergui continued to shout at the top of his voice.

At this time, someone finally lost his patience, picked up the car and wanted to go forward.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he moved, he was stopped by the person next to him. "Where are you from?"

The man on the other side refused to give in and replied viciously, "You eat the food of Master Ma of Dongshan, and you speak with such thorns. Be careful or I will smash your head."

Not everyone can do the job of keeping watch. You need someone with support behind you.

Generally, one has to "get tickets" from a nearby gang and get permission from the gang's chief before one can start working.

After the piles are opened, you have to take the silver and money to the gang to share the bonus.

Among these people who are on duty, whoever has a strong backer will be able to get a better job.

When he heard that it was Master Ma from Dongshan, the other person immediately fell silent.

The one who spoke first came forward carrying the night watchman's stick, took the life and death document from Cao Ergui's hand, and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Once the document of life and death is signed, life and death are entirely in the hands of fate.

If you are lucky, you can pick up the woodpile and go home to enjoy the flowers and scenery.

If one is unlucky and the pile is not opened, and the person dies, then his death is in vain.

(End of this chapter)