Heavy rain poured down, and amidst the torrential rain, there were occasional streaks of lightning. Thunder rumbled, shaking the city in the darkness.
Changzhou was a large city on the Jiangnan river route. During the Tang Dynasty, it had the reputation of being one of the top ten prefectures in the world. However, even though it prospered because of the sea route, it naturally could not compare to big cities like Bianjing, Jiangning, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. In such a heavy rain, there were only a few faint flickering lampposts in the city. Only when lightning flashed occasionally did the landscape of the towering buildings of the city appear in one's field of vision.
The sudden heavy rain in the afternoon had caught everyone off guard. At this time, there were still figures rushing in the rain near the Changzhou pier. In reality, the real chaos had already ended in the heavy rain in the evening. At that time, many ships had docked, hurrying to load and unload goods and fix the ships. At this time, those still busy in the heavy rain were basically some merchants who could not afford to lose their goods. They had spent a lot of money to hire boatmen who were not afraid of death to transport goods in the rain.
The wind and rain roared angrily in the entire pier. Occasionally, when lightning flashed, it showed that there were about two or three places that were still active. The place on the east side of the pier was obviously the most crowded. The waves pushed the densely packed boats in the river up and down. There were still many people moving things up and down near a cargo ship. In the wind and rain, these people were like ants, swaying left and right in the wind, shouting loudly. There was the light of torches in the cargo ship. Not far away, there was also light in the house belonging to the pier. At this time, they were trying to move some of the things on the cargo ship into the house.
This cargo ship belonged to a large trading company in Jiangzhe. The owner was surnamed Lou. This time, the cargo ship was transporting a ship of goods south. When it was near Changzhou, there were some problems with the ship's hull. Coincidentally, there was also the heavy rain, so they hurriedly docked. Originally, they thought that they would dock at the pier to avoid the storm. However, when night fell, they discovered that the problem with the cargo ship was even more serious. There was a lot of goods on the ship. In order to avoid a bigger problem, they could only hire workers who risked their lives to snatch some of the goods and reduce the weight of the ship.
Of course, in such a stormy weather with insufficient sunlight, the workers could be blown over or fall into the water at any time. However, the river was not deep, and most of these boatmen were good at swimming. Furthermore, it was summer, so falling into the water would not be a problem. If that was not the case, no matter how much money was spent, no one would come here.
At this time, the sky and earth were full of the howling wind in the heavy rain. Nearer to the pier, one could faintly hear the creaking of hundreds of ships rocking on the water. The boatmen carrying the goods swayed in the rain to the brightly lit room on the pier. The room looked a little simple and empty at this time. The drenched boatmen carried the goods in, piled them in the middle, and the merchants' assistants busily counted and recorded.
In front of the window on the side of the room, a few people were looking out into the darkness, watching the ship that was faintly bobbing up and down in the rain. The leader was a brightly dressed woman. Her hair was also wet, and the servant girl behind her handed her a towel. She used it to wipe the water droplets on her face. In fact, there was also rain coming in from outside the window, but there was another man dressed like a scholar standing beside her, blocking a portion of it for her.
"How is the ship? Can it be repaired? It won't sink, right? "
The brightly dressed woman asked. After she finished asking, a man ran in from outside, wiping the water droplets on his face as he replied, "Replying to Miss, it has already entered the pier, so it shouldn't sink. However, the weather is too bad, so repairing it will be difficult. We still have to move some of the goods from the ship down."
"Then continue moving."
"Understood."
The man nodded in response. After saying this, the woman looked out the window again, her expression somewhat gloomy. Many of the goods on the ship were fragile like porcelain. After the current situation, there was bound to be a lot of damage, so she was not in a good mood. The man who had blocked half of her body from the rain turned his head and said, "Shu Wan, everyone is moving. There is no need for you to stand here and watch. It's not good to get wet. Why don't you go in a bit?"
The man and woman were probably husband and wife. The woman glanced at him, her gaze still a little gloomy. Then, she suddenly smiled, turned her head and walked away. The man dressed like a scholar smiled and walked over. The two of them were talking by the wall. The man was obviously trying his best to say something interesting to make the woman laugh. The others — including the servant girls — knew what was going on and tactfully walked away. The woman and the man spoke a few words, then glanced out the window again, clearly still worried about the problem of the cargo ship.
After a while, another ship sailed towards the shore in the heavy rain from one side of the dock. It was a two-story pleasure boat. It seemed that someone with some family background was traveling and had encountered this wind and rain, so they had come to Changzhou. In the storm, the boat traveled relatively smoothly. The fire in the cabin swayed, probably from lit torches, reflecting the shadows of people in the darkness.
It was not very strange to come to the pier at this time. After all, there were occasionally people who were alone. The place where the pleasure boat stopped was not far from here, so it attracted some attention. It was not easy for the boat to dock in this kind of weather. The workers on the boat used bamboo poles to prop themselves against the shore and adjusted with all their might for a long time before they managed to stop the pleasure boat with difficulty. The people who came down from the boat were also very tired. Because the wind and rain were too strong, the planks that were stretched down weren't stable. They swayed and could only jump down. The group of people wore straw raincoats. There were women and children among them, so they were supported or caught by the men who went down first. After a while, dozens of people came down and hid under the eaves not far away, lighting torches.
Although the wind and rain were quite heavy, a few of the children were quite happy. They were running around under the eaves while shouting strange words like "Mighty Dragon of Heaven". Some of them craned their necks to look at them, but they were then called back by their parents. They probably counted the number of people, and then they discussed leaving the dock.
In this kind of weather, no one had time to care about other things. The people in the room only looked over. In the end, they were still concerned about the problem of their own cargo ship. The woman called Lou Shuwan chatted with the scholar for a while. Then, she began to frown and inquire about the ship and the cargo. However, when she cast her gaze toward the eaves outside the door, a bolt of lightning happened to flash past. She was slightly stunned.
The three torches under the eaves were lit in the hands of the people, swaying violently in the wind. There wasn't much light. Some people were talking and smiling. They untied their straw raincoats and then tightened them. When the lightning flashed past, they could faintly see the smiles on their faces. To be able to talk and laugh in this kind of weather, it showed that they were in a good mood. However, one of the faces seemed to slightly evoke the woman's memory.
"Hmm? Shuwan, what are you looking at? "
Lou Shuwan opened her mouth. Then, her gaze turned to the man beside her. She became indifferent and impatient. "Nothing."
She couldn't see clearly in this kind of weather, but it wasn't an important memory. She shook her head and returned her thoughts to her family's business. This delay really made her unhappy. This damn rain. Then, she felt that the man beside her was too long-winded. She didn't like it.
*****
Although she was in a bad mood, it was useless to be anxious about the current situation. Not long after, after confirming that the cargo was almost moved and the condition of the ship was slightly stabilized, they left the dock and returned to the inn in the rain. The Lou Family's business was mainly in Hangzhou. Changzhou was just passing by. They stayed in one of the best inns in this area. The weather was sudden, so there weren't many people staying overnight. They went out at night and came back at this time, so it seemed deserted.
She ordered the servant girl to bring hot water for a simple bath. Then, Lou Shuwan called an accompanying steward to discuss the problem of the cargo ship. The summer wind and rain came and went quickly. It couldn't last for a few days, but the ship was broken and couldn't leave. Most of the cargo on the ship was not a problem. Only a small part of it couldn't afford to be delayed because they had promised someone else. So, they had to consider renting a ship. After discussing this matter for a while, when the steward left, the scholar, who had also freshened up in another room, came over. He must have known that she was arranging business matters, so he had been waiting outside for a while.
She had something on her mind. The scholar closed the door, chatted with her for a while, and then came to hug her, wanting to have sex. She was unhappy and frowned slightly, but she didn't refuse. However, as soon as she took off her coat, she heard someone knocking on the door of the lobby below. Then, it seemed that many people came in. She was curious, so she pushed the scholar away and put on her coat again. She opened the window and looked out. About 20 people were taking off their straw raincoats in the lobby. Two children were running around. They were the people she saw on the dock.
"What's the matter?"
The scholar came closer and also looked out through the window. The woman frowned slightly, and her gaze swept across the people in the lobby. After a while, she pushed the scholar away, "Go to sleep. I don't want to tonight … I recognize someone in there."
"En?" The scholar's interest was piqued, and he looked down. "It looks like the family of an official."
In this kind of weather, umbrellas were useless. Although this group of people were wearing straw raincoats, they were all wet from head to toe when they found this place. A few of the women found it difficult to change their clothes, so they found thin cloaks to put on. From the clothes of these women, it could be seen that this group of people's family was quite well-off.
At this time, the lobby was a mess. The shopkeeper and waiters were busy arranging rooms, and the people who came in were busy ordering people to boil water and carry their luggage. For a moment, it was very lively. Of course, the servant girls and masters among them could be clearly distinguished in a moment. One of the girls had her hands on her wet hair and was talking to the people around her. It seemed like she was also making arrangements. She had a bit of Lou Shu Wan's usual expression. This girl was tall and her appearance was also extremely beautiful. The scholar looked at her a few times, and Lou Shuwan pointed at her.
"This woman's surname is Su. I've seen her before, and I know her. Her home is in Jiangning for a few years. I didn't expect to meet her here. "
"Do you want to go out and meet her?"
"There's no rush …" Lou Shuwan said, and then thought for a while. "But … she has a boat, and it seems that she's also heading south. If that's the case …" Thinking of this, she looked down again. She saw that the waiters seemed to have arranged rooms and were leading people up. She closed the window, slightly tidied up her clothes, and then pushed the door open and left …
*****
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