When it got dark, after nearly two hours of trekking, Fang Zian, Mr. Liu and an accompanying young man arrived at a small fishing village called Wanjia Village on the north side of the Qiantang River estuary. Because Mr. Liu had to

He couldn't ride a horse, so he had to get a donkey cart to pull Mr. Liu Tou along. Fang Zian couldn't go fast on a horse, and Mr. Tou's body couldn't withstand the bumps, so it took more than two hours to get there.

arrival.

Liu Laotou and Fang Zian were very speculative. He really didn't want this young man to act so recklessly and end up with a tragic end at sea. Seeing that Fang Zian insisted on doing this again, he decided to help him.

.If Nawan Dahai can be hired to be the leader on the ship, many foreseeable risks will be avoided. Nawan Dahai has been on ships and on the sea all his life. He has rich experience in sailing at sea and is the most outstanding boatman.

During the casual conversation while walking along the way, Fang Zian also understood why the boss said that the old boatman Wan Dahai could only be hired by him. Although the boss Liu was not a boatman who went to sea, he was a ship builder and a boatman.

There is a close connection between them. In many cases, the information fed back by the sailors on the ship is the first-hand information of the ship repair and shipbuilding craftsmen, which can be used to improve the shipbuilding process. After the shipwrights go to sea, sometimes it depends on whether they can come back alive.

It depends on the skills of ship repair and shipbuilding craftsmen. The relationship between the two is extremely close.

The old boatman named Wan Dahai originally worked for the Lin family boat shop in Lin'an City. The Lin family was a boat trading business, but it was not large, with only three or four boats. Wan Dahai worked hard to sail the boats for the Lin family, and also made money for the Lin family.

He made a lot of money. However, something unexpected happened. A few years ago, Wan Dahai, who had never had any accidents in his whole life at sea, had an accident on his way back to the Song Dynasty. The big ship he was in charge hit a rock and sank while passing through the densely rocky East Beach.

Fortunately, Wan Dahai and more than 30 sailors on the ship were rescued by other ships, but the losses to the cargo and ships were still extremely heavy.

This incident became a stain on Wan Dahai's career. Of course Wan Dahai himself was very annoyed and sad. But what made Wan Dahai even more uncomfortable was what happened later. After returning, the Lin Family Boat Shop asked about the cause of the accident, and Wan Dahai was honest.

The actual report said that the rudder failed when crossing the beach, causing the ship to be unable to control the direction and hit the rocks. Wan Dahai's ship was an old ship and had been repaired before going to sea. Wan Dahai proposed to replace the main rudder, but the Lin family

The young master's family refused, because it would cost a huge amount of money and delay the time of going to sea. After Wan Dahai said that the rudder caused the ship to hit the rocks, Lin Quan, the young master of the Lin family, immediately became angry. He thought that Wan Dahai was shirking responsibility.

Blaming the Lin family for his own mistakes.

Originally, when a boatman went to sea, he had to sign an agreement with his employer, which stated that if the boatman made a mistake or intentionally caused the loss of the cargo on the owner's ship, he would be held responsible for the loss. Now that Wan Dahai said this, he was shirking responsibility. Na Lin

Quan said that the Lin family had no intention of asking Wan Dahai to compensate for the losses, but what he said was to slander the Lin family for not caring about the safety of the boatmen and refusing to pay to repair the ship. Who would dare to slander the Lin family shipping company in the future?

Lin Family Shipping? Therefore, we must ask for an explanation and ask Wan Dahai to compensate for the loss of cargo and apologize.

Wan Dahai was a hot-tempered person, so he was unwilling to bow his head because of this. After a back and forth, the boss and his employer started to make a fuss, which was brought to the Lin'an government office. Both sides insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in to each other. After all, the Lin family had a good reputation and spent money.

To clear the way, many witnesses who repaired the ship were invited to prove that the rudder was not damaged before. In addition, this matter was originally a case of Wan Dahai shirking responsibility, so the case quickly tilted towards the Lin family. Once Wan Dahai lost

If you file a lawsuit, you will have to compensate for ship repairs and cargo losses, which will be tens of thousands of taels in compensation.

At this time, Mr. Liu stepped forward to help Wan Dahai. He came forward to prove that the rudder of the Lin family's big ship was indeed damaged. When Wan Dahai proposed to repair the rudder, Mr. Liu happened to be present.

One. When everyone refused to come forward to testify, Mr. Liu came forward to testify. In order to support his words, Mr. Liu also took out the inspection document after inspecting the damage to the rudder, as well as the rudder replacement document given to the Lin family.

The documents for the materials and labor time were filed and submitted to the Yamen. Faced with such evidence, the Lin family obviously could no longer insist on the claim that the rudder was not damaged. The Lin family later insisted that even if the rudder was damaged, it would not affect the navigation. Wan Dahai

He was even more ruthless. He took several of his close boatmen brothers and drove a small boat to the East Beach under the supervision of the official. They dived and fished out the broken rudder in half, completely turning the entire case around.

Mr. Liu's honest speech at the critical moment was the fundamental turning point of the entire case. After the Lin family was proven to be lying, the case had actually come to light. Because the boatman and the owner agreed that if the accident and damage were caused by the oldness or damage of the boat itself,

The boatman is not responsible for any losses. That is something that the owner must guarantee. So in fact, after Mr. Liu came forward to provide proof, the Lin family had no hope of getting any compensation, and it had been proven that they were only doing it for money.

A sinister owner who didn't care about the life and death of the boatmen. As for the later statement that although the rudder was damaged, it would not affect navigation and would not break, that was actually a last-ditch effort to slander Wan Dahai's sailing skills.

The appearance of Mr. Liu's leader also caused him to fall into isolation. He had already criticized the new method of building ships, and his boss began to get tired of his nagging. The Lin family bribed so many people and gave money to let him

They don't want to come forward. When Mr. Liu did this, everyone was in an embarrassing situation. Naturally, they didn't dare to take the money and sent it back one after another. Therefore, all the people involved were very resentful and cursed behind their backs.

Mr. Liu had originally planned to quit his job, so he left the boat-building business he had been doing his whole life and returned to Wantou Village to retire.

The same is true for Wan Dahai. Although he won the lawsuit, the Lin family's boat experts were so powerful that they smeared him everywhere, saying that he had raised a white-eyed wolf and was a traitor who would bite him. Wan Dahai was so angry that he went home to retire and never left the mountain. To the outside world, it was because of his health.

The old man is actually frustrated. He has worked as a boatman all his life and sold his life for the Lin family for decades. In the end, the young master of the Lin family gave him such a comment and started to make trouble with the Lin family.

It was like this. Others were pointing fingers behind his back, saying that his skills were not good enough. Wan Dahai simply gave up.

Wan Dahai and Liu Laotou are already very familiar with each other. They have been friends for decades. After this incident, they have proved that the other party is a trustworthy old brother. Wan Dahai even let his youngest son

Wan Xiaoyu recognized Mr. Liu as his godfather and came to take care of Mr. Liu from time to time. He might have gone fishing at sea during this period, so he didn't come. Otherwise, Wan Xiaoyu would come to take care of Mr. Liu every now and then.

The boss is very filial. Wan Dahai comes here several times a year. He tells Boss Liu that as long as something happens to him, he will help him even if he loses his head. It is for this reason that Boss Liu dares to make peace with Fang Zion.

He said that no one could invite Wan Dahai to come out except him.

After Fang Zian heard this past story, he felt very sad. The two old people were ordinary workers at the lowest level. They worked hard all their lives, were simple and kind, but in the end they both ended up in a miserable life. Fang Zian could also feel it.

Whether it is Liu Laotou or Wan Dahai, they both love their profession extremely and value their reputation extremely. They cannot accept that their profession is questioned, so they do not hesitate to fight for it, which also shows their character.

Bravery and persistence. This is the epitome of many ordinary workers, and it is the underlying force that allowed the society of the Song Dynasty to gradually prosper and develop and maintain a basic moral standard.

At the same time, Fang Zian felt relieved. With this relationship, Mr. Liu would take the lead, and Wan Dahai probably wouldn't refuse.

Wanjia Village is located on a highland at the intersection of the Qiantang River and the sea. To the east is the vast sea and to the south is the Qiantang River. When Fang Zian and others arrived outside the village, they could already hear the sound of the waves and the blowing wind.

It is also mixed with the fishy and salty smell of sea water.

Carrying a lantern, I followed the path to the high slope at the east end of the village. A small courtyard was located here, overlooking the dark sea under the stars.

The house was dimly lit, and it was obvious that the family had gone to sleep. Mr. Liu ignored his head and walked forward and banged on the courtyard door. A dog barked loudly in the yard, and soon the lights came on in the house, and from the fence

Looking through the door, a tall old man wearing a single coat strode out of the house holding a harpoon, and cursed angrily: "Which bastard dares to harass you in the middle of the night? The harpoon in my hand is not very sharp.

.You will not pay for your life if you kill him!"

An old woman poked her head through the crack in the door and shouted: "The child's father, please don't mess around. I don't know who he is, so I'll ask him clearly."

The old man turned around and shouted: "Go into the house and lock the door. Is it Li Waizui and his group or who else? The dogs are getting bolder and bolder. It's just a nuisance during the day, and in the middle of the night.

Dare to come."

Mr. Liu shook his head and laughed loudly: "My in-laws, is this how you welcome me? I came all the way here, and you treat me to a harpoon?"
Chapter completed!