Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 22: Stone Whistle
"Lenghu'er, please cook less food this morning. It will be enough for everyone to eat half full.

We are going to cross Digualongshao today. There are rocky ridges under the river, and it is unbearable to be bumped along."

When I got up this morning and was about to cook, Water Crow came over and gave me some instructions.

"Oh, I see." Qu Shaoyang nodded in agreement and cooked porridge and pancakes half as much as he usually would for breakfast.

"Hey? Lenghu'er, why is there so little food this morning?"

When the guys were having breakfast, someone noticed that there was little porridge in the pot and that there were only a few pancakes, all of which had been cut, so he asked curiously.

"Oh, the foreman told us to cook less food today when we go to the Sweet Potato Ridge Post. We just need to eat a little and not go hungry." Qu Shaoyang explained.

Those who are on rafts all know Digualong Sentry Post, which is also a famous and dangerous sentry post on the Yalu River.

So after Qu Shaoyang said this, the other party said nothing, and obediently took the bowl of porridge and half a piece of bread and left.

"Hey? Do you have any more fish hair? Give me some."

Someone suddenly remembered that Qu Shaoyang had fried fish hair a few days ago, and asked.

"No, you all wanted fish hair with porridge in the mornings these past few days, and you ate it all yesterday."

The fish hair fried by Qu Shaoyang is very delicious, and the guys ask for it every morning when they drink porridge.

There was only half a jar in total, and there were about 20 to 30 people in the queue, so it was quickly gone.

Without the fish hair, we can only eat the pickled cabbage heads. No one cares and just eats a little.

After breakfast, the foreman and his men checked the rafts carefully to make sure there was no loose part.

After making sure that the raft was in good condition, he untied the stupid rope and rowed away.

After drifting downstream for about thirty miles, the Digualongshao was just ahead.

This Digualongshao is a dangerous rapids section of twenty to thirty miles long.

The river here is wide and shallow, and there are countless densely packed reefs under the river, just like sweet potato ridges.

When the raft passes through the sweet potato ridge, it will be very bumpy. If there is a strong wind, the ups and downs will be even greater.

The raft took a long time to travel the distance of twenty or thirty miles. The raftmen were shaken so hard that they felt dizzy and vomited. They felt as if their internal organs were about to shift out of place and they wished they could vomit out all the bitter bile.

This is also the reason why the water crow doesn't let the big guys eat too much.

I ate less in the morning and it took me some time to digest, so I didn’t vomit too much.

Even so, by the time the raft passed the sweet potato ridge, there were several wooden handles that were so vomited that they could not straighten their backs.

"Oh my god, I'm so shaken, my whole body hurts."

Li Yongfu, the second counter clerk, also vomited several times. In the end, his face turned pale. He held onto the flower shed and spoke weakly.

After passing Digualong Sentry Post and walking a little further, you will pass by a market town.

Seeing that everyone was still not recovered, the Water Crow decided to stop here and let everyone have a good rest.

The raft was docked at the riverside pier, and the innkeepers came with their waiters to greet them.

Li Yongfu led everyone to the store where he usually lived and told the shopkeeper to bring out the best wine and food.

The innkeeper loved to hear this, so he immediately went to prepare food.

Everyone didn't eat enough in the morning, and they vomited when they passed the sweet potato ridge, so their stomachs were empty.

At this moment, he had no time to think about the woman and went into the house and lay down on the kang.

When the food and wine came, everyone started eating and drinking.

After eating and drinking, some people started to have other ideas.

The inn certainly has supporting services, and those in the nearby villages who rely on people will also try their best to attract people. There is no need to go into details about all these. Everyone rested in the inn for a night, and the next day, the woodcutters were all refreshed, so they packed up and continued on their way.

Under the leadership of the water crow, the woodcutters worked together and passed the spinning wheel, the old sow pen, the rotating lake, the three-seam wall, the horse stop and other checkpoints.

"Everyone, pay attention. There is a stone spike sentry ahead. Once you enter the sentry post, be brave. Don't be afraid. Charge towards the stone spike."

There was still some distance to the sentry post when Water Crow started shouting in front.

"Lenghu'er, take three incense sticks and light them."

Upon hearing this, Qu Shaoyang immediately entered the flower shed, took out three incense sticks from under the altar, lit the incense sticks according to the instructions of the head monk, and handed them to Shui Laowu.

The water crow held incense in both hands, knelt in front of the raft, and prayed sincerely.

"God of the Mountain, please protect us, give us back our manliness and courage, and let us pass the sentry post."

Although the wooden handles at the back could not hear what the water crow was saying, when they saw the leader kneeling down, they knelt down too.

The water crow kowtowed three times in a row, then inserted the incense into the gap of the raft and stood up.

At this time, the raft just arrived at the Shijuezi Sentry Post.

In the middle of the river, a huge stone stick stood majestically. The stone stick looked like a man's thing.

The river water rushed down and hit the rock, rolling up huge white waves and making a huge roar.

The stone block blocked the flow of the river. According to normal experience, it was impossible to rush through it.

But the water crow remained calm. He controlled the wooden oar and steered the boat directly towards the stone hoe.

With a "bang", the raft moved back and miraculously entered the main current.

This is the magic of the stone whistle. Only by rushing towards the stone whistle without caring about your life can you pass it smoothly.

No one knows who first discovered the secret of this place, but later members of the Pai Gang would burn incense and worship whenever they came here.

They prayed to the mountain god to give them back the strength and courage of men so that they could pass the checkpoint without hesitation.

The front row, under the control of the Water Crow, passed the checkpoint smoothly.

Seeing this, the people on the raft at the back gritted their teeth and imitated the water crow, charging straight towards the stone hoe.

Sure enough, the raft was really swept into the main stream after the collision.

When all ten rafts passed the sentry post, everyone felt their hands and feet go weak. After the collision just now, they were really afraid that the rafts would be broken apart.

"Oh my god, what kind of life are we living every day?

There is water on all sides, and the sky is all above you. Every sentry post is a gate to hell. If you are not careful, you will fall into the river and feed the fish."

Ermaozi was young, he knelt on the raft and started crying.

"Why are you crying? Man, who do you see crying all day? Hurry up and get up, don't embarrass yourself there."

When the old man next to him saw this, he raised his foot and kicked Ermaozi.

Ermaozi wiped his tears with his hand and stood up. "I just feel like, when will this day end?"

"It's almost there, it's almost there. In another ten days or half a month, we'll be able to reach Andong. We'll have food to eat and fun to do. I'm just afraid you'll be so happy that you'll lose your mind."

Ermaozi was still young after all, just a child, and Lao Muba couldn't blame him too harshly, so he softened his tone and coaxed him.

The raft set out from Widow Mountain on April 9th, but the journey was delayed due to weather and other reasons.

It is now the end of May, and it will probably take another ten days or so to reach Andong City.

(End of this chapter)