In Xie Gu Village to the west of Taowan County, a small boat carrying four people was sailing along the water net that flowed from the north to the south from the Wei River.
There were eight seats on the boat, and the other four seats were empty. There were baskets of kiwis in the baskets.
The villagers of Xie Gu Village picked kiwis to sell in Chang 'an. In the past, they used the village's ox cart to get there. If the villagers had oxen, they could only walk.
If they were willing to spend two coins, they could walk to the middle of the county. There was a black river there, and they could wait for a boat on the black river. If a boat came, they would pay two coins.
Now, they changed to a small boat. They went out of the village and followed the black river to Chang 'an.
"Xiao Jiu, what are you doing? Put on your clothes. "
Because they were following the river, the four people walked slowly. One of the older people scolded a seventeen or eighteen-year-old person.
"Uncle Big Head, don't you know that I'm a good swimmer? It's tiring to wear a life jacket made of bamboo. Nothing will happen to the boat. "
The person who was scolded muttered, but he still put on the life jacket that he just took off.
"The rules are set. You have to wear the life jacket before boarding the boat. If you don't wear it, you won't be allowed to use the boat." Uncle Big Head said slowly.
"Uncle Big Head is right. We have to listen to him. Don't think that nothing will happen just because other people don't see it. Will Li Dongzhu harm us?"
Someone a few years older chimed in.
The fourth person was a twelve or thirteen year old girl. She smiled: "Brother Xiao Jiu, how can you be compared to me in swimming? I'm still wearing it. "
"Hmph!" Xiao Jiu snorted and did not answer.
He knew that the girl was good at swimming. Two years ago, there was a heavy rain, and the nine year old girl saved eleven villagers who were washed away by the water.
Last year, she swam directly to Chang 'an from the black river, and then swam back from Chang' an against the current.
The key point was that she brought a basket of forty eggs, and came back with five kilograms of salt.
The basket was lined with paper, and the salt was placed inside.
When she came back, the salt was not wet, which meant that she was treading water all the way.
With this kind of swimming, why would she need a boat? She could swim by herself.
"Uncle Big Head, you said that this boat is short of one person? We are going one way, four coins. No matter how many people there are, six coins for each trip.
How long would they have to wait before they could earn the money back? I still prefer the big goose boat. It's smaller than this one, but it has a roof. "
The little girl adjusted the life jacket on her body and looked at the boat.
It was her first time on such a ship. The last time she went to Chang 'an, she saw the goose boats that other people played in the river. She was very envious, but she didn't want to spend money.
This time, she was the one who begged to come and sell the kiwis. Otherwise, there would be kiwis in her seat.
The reason she gave was that everyone had fallen into the water and she could save them.
This reason was very strong. It was only because the villagers agreed that she was allowed to board the boat.
Uncle Big Head did not know. He estimated, "There should be at least ten or eight. The village sent six. The chief is in charge of the box to collect the money."
"Li Dongzhu is not afraid that we won't pay. There are people in charge of going from the village to Chang 'an, and from the village to the neighboring villages, one coin each time, and no one cares."
The person who was two years older than Xiao Jiu explained the operation model of the ship.
If you leave the village or neighboring villages, you will get one coin, and if you return, you will get one coin.
If you go to Chang 'an, you will get four coins, and if you return, you will get two coins.
The chief of each village was in charge of this matter. There was a box. If anyone wanted to use the boat to throw money into the box, the chief would send the money to the Li Family Zhuangzi once a month.
There was no one specially sent to take care of it. The villagers relied on themselves.
"There are village officials. The village officials help to take care of it." The little girl laughed when she talked about the village officials. She saw that the stupid village officials did not know how to feed the pigs.
"Isn't it enough for the chief to take care of it?" Uncle Big Head emphasized that there was no problem with the chief.
The chief was an official. Wasn't it just sending an official to take care of it?
The little girl looked around and said, "Brother Xiao Jiu, why don't you be a peddler? When there is water on the river, you can take the goods and run from village to village."
She thought of a good idea. She heard that in Jiangnan's water villages, peddlers either carried poles to sell things or ran around on the boat.
"I promise there will be, but I won't do it. I want to work with the Li Family Zhuangzi. Li Dongzhu can always find work for everyone."
Xiao Jiu shook his head. He was a good swimmer, but he did not like to stay on the water all day.
He looked at the rotating wheels on both sides of the boat and said, "Actually, this boat can be propped with a pole. The water is shallow, six to eight feet deep and about three feet wide."
"It's too tiring to use a pole to go against the current. It's suitable for calm water and short distance ferries." Uncle Big Head said.
"Use it with the current. Don't use it when it's against the current." Xiao Jiu said.
"Why do we need to use a pole when it's against the current? It will be washed away by the current. However, the speed of the pole is fast. This kind of boat is not suitable."
The little girl retorted and felt that it was reasonable.
The four of them pedaled the boat and chatted. They did not feel tired at all.
The same situation occurred on the small rivers of the capital government. Some people did not have anything to sell. They just asked their neighbors what they were selling and gathered a bunch of things to set off.
They simply wanted to ride this kind of boat and experience it once.
There were many small docks built around Chang 'an City for the boats to dock.
Naturally, there were several canals connected to the Ba River. Entering the Ba River from the west and northwest was considered following the current. Entering the Ba River from the south was considered going against the current.
Some boats were not controlled well and would bump into each other. Everyone was trying their best to separate.
Li Yi stood on the other side of the bridge and shook his head. "There should be a traffic rule. If a small boat bumps into a small boat, it's fine. If a big boat bumps into a small boat, the small boat will break."
"It's because they are not familiar with the operation. There are many small boats on the river. They all know how to avoid a big boat."
Li Chengqi stood on the side and knew the situation. Many people were operating a boat for the first time. The more nervous they were, the more mistakes they would make.
He came back specifically to deliver the shrimps, golden hook shrimps.
The shrimps caught by the navy were all very small. They were sent to the shore and boiled in a big pot with a little salt.
After they were cooked, they were spread out to dry. At the same time, the shrimps would have skin on the outside. This skin needed to be processed separately and beaten down.
The dried shrimps would be placed in a bag and beaten. After a dozen rounds, the skin and the head would fall off.
The shrimps would pass through a sieve and a dustpan.
The shrimps' skin and head that were beaten off could be added to feed chickens and ducks.
Li Chengqi's seafood catching and processing had reached a large scale there. The local people helped to process it.
This kind of dried shrimps were transported to Chang 'an by boat when there was water in the Yellow River. The price of shrimps in Chang' an dropped by 30%.
"Brother Yi, I didn't expect the people of Chang 'an to like eating shrimps so much. They said that the people by the sea don't eat shrimps. They only eat big shrimps and fish."
Li Chengqi talked about shrimps. They were all small things and were far inferior to shrimps.
"Many people in the mainland like to eat seafood. This is the importance of transportation and business. Especially mussels, which are made into mussels. The people by the sea also prefer it."
Li Yi liked to eat golden hook shrimps as a snack.
"The road from Luoyang to Chang 'an is basically repaired. The people of Chang' an no longer have to worry about lack of food. The imperial court also doesn't have to go to Luoyang to eat."
Li Chengqi looked in the direction of Lantian County. The road from Luoyang was the same as Lantian County. From there, it would be transported to Chang 'an.
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