When the flag formed by the two rice seedlings appeared in the eyes of some of the villagers, they all ran toward the small bridge and shouted from a distance.
"Stop the boat." Following Zhang Xiaobao's order, the boat stopped right below the bridge. If it went forward a bit more, it would enter the bridge.
Once the boat stopped, the people upstream and downstream who didn't know the situation all broke out in a cold sweat for the boat. They knew the rules. On the entire river, from Jingdou all the way to Dingping County, as long as you felt the boat could stop steadily, then it could stop anywhere. However, it could not stop at this small bridge.
One reason was that the bridge was smaller than other bridges and could only allow two boats to pass through. If one boat stopped, it would delay the boat behind it. The other reason was that it was not allowed to stop. The reason was that it was not allowed.
As long as a boat slowed down a bit, there would be bailiffs on the shore who would rush over with bows and arrows, aiming at all suspicious places around them. Especially in the water, there would be people patrolling along the shore with spears.
There were a few people who stopped to look at the scenery, but they were all fined and taken to the yamen of Sanshui County for questioning. In the end, they found out that they were just looking at the scenery, but they were still warned not to look at the scenery at the small bridge next time.
The people on Zhuangzi understood that that position happened to be a blind spot for the hidden sentries on Zhuangzi. They couldn't see anything, so no boats were allowed to stop. They couldn't even go slower than normal.
However, there was a boat that stopped today. The two children on the boat were still waving their hands, as if they didn't know the rules at all.
When a boat stopped, the other boats would give way to each other and move to the other side. At this time, they were probably moving slowly, wanting to see what would happen to the two unlucky children on the boat.
As expected, the bailiffs guarding this side took out their bows and rushed over on their horses. The villagers on Zhuangzi also rushed over.
There was a kind-hearted person on the boat following behind. He shouted at the boat that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were on, "Hurry up and go to the front to wait for the bailiffs. Don't move. Otherwise, the bailiffs will really shoot. Don't provoke them."
After shouting this, he muttered, "Whose child is this? Why did he cause trouble for the adults? Alright, let's go to the yamen and talk."
The other boats had the same thought. Seeing that the people on both sides had gathered together, a shocking scene appeared in front of them. First, the bailiffs put away their bows and dismounted from their horses. At the same time, the villagers who ran over did not hold any weapons in their hands and stood there respectfully.
"Greetings, Young Master. Greetings, Young Lady." Their voices, which were not too different from each other, rang out beside the ears of the people on the boats.
Zhang Xiaobao was still waving his arms and shouting to the villagers, "Good, my family is good. When we change places, we will take you with us."
Cheers rang out from the villagers once again.
The bailiffs who dismounted from their horses also stood on the shore. The person in the lead stepped forward and clasped his hands, "Song Yang, on behalf of the brothers, greets Young Master and Young Lady. Young Master, is everything okay with the master?"
"Good. Last night, my father was talking about the brothers in Sanshui County. He said that if the people in Huayuan County had the ability of the bailiffs in Sanshui County, it would save him a lot of trouble and he would be more considerate."
Zhang Xiaobao turned around and shouted at the bailiffs. These bailiffs didn't cheer like the villagers. They stood straight and puffed out their chests as much as they could to let the young master and young lady see their graceful bearing.
Zhang Xiaobao had already winked at Zhang Xiangru many times. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiangru was not as experienced as Erniu and did not know what the Young Master meant.
Zhang Xiaobao had no choice but to speak by himself, "Cuckoo and I are going to Little Luoshui, so we can't talk to you anymore. When we come back, we will stay here for two days."
"Farewell, Young Master. Farewell, Young Lady." A clever villager took the lead and shouted. The others, including the bailiffs, also followed suit and shouted.
As Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's boat passed through the bridge, the bailiffs were arranged to ride horses and follow the boat on both sides.
Those who were anxious for the two children or waiting to watch the show were all dumbfounded. Who was so arrogant? Not only did the boat stop at the small bridge, but the villager and bailiffs who came over were also so respectful.
"I know who they are. They are the Young Master and Young Lady of Zhang Family and Wang Family. No wonder." The people on one of the ships knew a little more. Thinking of the situation just now, they immediately guessed what kind of person could be treated like this.
The people on the other boats suddenly realized that they were in their own home, so they could stop. No one dared to say anything even if the bridge was torn down. The bailiffs' reaction was not strange. The entire Sanshui County was the territory of the Zhang Family and Wang Family, and the bailiffs were supported by them.
The people who were worried about the two children were relieved. Those who were waiting to watch the show did not dare to say anything, in case the villager and bailiffs heard them. At that time, they would be the ones to be arrested.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan continued to ride the boat forward. They looked at Zhang Xiangru at the same time and felt that this newcomer was not easy to use. They did not know how long it would take for her to reach the level of Erniu.
Although the boat looked shabby on the outside, the structure inside was different from other boats. The space was bigger and the water was deeper. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were ready to go in and rest, so that they could deal with the following situation. Unexpectedly, the people patrolling on the water also came over. The two boats were one in front and one behind.
The bailiffs on the boats only had knives on their waists. They did not see bows and arrows. People who did not know the situation thought that these two boats did not have any fighting power. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan knew that the weapons on the boats were definitely illegal. No matter how high the status of Sanshui County was, it was impossible to allow the use of strong crossbows.
It was a little smaller than the ones used to attack cities. It could only shoot three four-foot-long arrows at a time, and the string was half twisted. When necessary, it could be pushed out and twisted twice. On this river, such a crossbow was almost invincible. The two boats also found the boat with the flag of two rice seedlings and quickly approached.
When the bailiffs on the boat saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan standing at the bow of the boat, they immediately saluted as before. The person on the boat at the front asked, "Little Master, Little Miss, where are you going?"
"Let's go to Little Luoshui to have a look." Zhang Xiaobao said to Zhang Xiangru after seeing that it was useless.
"Then Little Master and Little Miss, take care." The person on the boat responded. The two boats passed by the small boat one after another. Who knew that as soon as they passed by, they changed direction and followed closely behind.
"Xiao Bao, you have been enjoying this kind of treatment in the past, right? Do you feel very calm? "Wang Juan saw the boats behind them and asked Zhang Xiaobao.
"Yes, calm. I am also calm when there is a rumbling sound. Don't you think it should be like this? I don't believe that you haven't accepted any bribes. "
Zhang Xiaobao also saw the two boats behind them. They were supposed to be patrolling, but at this time, they were following behind to protect him. When he heard Wang Juan's question, he replied.
Wang Juan thought for a while and said, "I really haven't accepted any bribes. I only accepted a cigarette and two fish. I couldn't eat them, so I threw them away. You can't guess what kind of cigarettes they gave me. It was a hardcover Hercules. The price was three yuan and five yuan a box. I don't smoke, so they bullied me."
"A single fish? How much money is that? A box is two thousand yuan, and there are ten boxes of one fish. That's 100,000 yuan. One fish is two eyes, and one eye is 100,000 yuan. Two fish is 400,000 yuan. You threw them all away? Amazing. "
Zhang Xiaobao also cupped his fist and said to Wang Juan.
Wang Juan was stunned, "What do you mean?"
"What else could it mean? If you open the box, you'll find that there are 20 rolls of five hundred yuan in each box. One box is ten thousand yuan, and one fish is one hundred thousand yuan. Starting from the gills under the eyes, there is a line of money. If I'm not wrong, the fish should be about two feet long. Two fish means four hundred thousand yuan for you. What's the case?"
What kind of case is this? "Zhang Xiaobao knew a lot about this. A hundred years ago, he gave 100 yuan as a gift. Later on, it was five hundred yuan each. He gave them as cigarettes. It was a very old method, but it was usually very useful. For example, filling a bottle of Erguotou with Maotai was a national banquet.
Unfortunately, they met a special person and threw them away. When checking whether the fish was bad or not, why didn't they check the eyes and break the gills?
Wang Juan finally understood, "I know what is going on. But they are fine. Why did they give me gifts? And so expensive? "
"Isn't it up to you whether they are fine or not? How would they know? Fortunately, you accepted them. If you didn't, someone might have a heart attack. Just like the boat behind us, if you ask them to go back now, they might not be able to recover for a few days or even longer. They will always think that the Zhang Family and Wang Family are not satisfied with them. "
Zhang Xiaobao told Wang Juan about this psychological need and comfort.
"I understand now. So that's how it is. It seems that sometimes accepting gifts is also helping others, right? No wonder they accepted so much money from us. It turns out that they are helping us. "
The "people" Wang Juan was referring to were those who had been with Zhang Zhong when he was taking the imperial examination.
Zhang Xiaobao just smiled at this and didn't say anything.
The boat continued to move forward. After a while, they encountered two patrol boats. The two boats behind immediately turned around and headed in the direction Between the Clouds and the Water. These two boats seemed to have contacted the boat that left. After passing by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's boat, they also turned around and followed behind.
Wang Juan didn't say anything at this time. Since others wanted to get a kind of recognition, she would give it to them.
Zhang Xiaobao yawned and went into the cabin first. Wang Juan looked around and followed him.
"Xiao Bao, do you think they will really do what you said?" Wang Juan saw Zhang Xiaobao lying on the blanket. She moved two pillows over and threw one to Zhang Xiaobao.
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