The loud trumpet sound coming from the deck forcibly pulled the gold prospector Old Yu out of his dreamland full of gold.
In the first half of last night, the wind was strong and the waves were rough, and the ship was bumping constantly. Old Yutou's old bones were almost broken by the bumps.
In addition, as an old gold digger, Lao Yutou has developed a habit of alertness for a long time, and his sleep has always been very light.
Last night, Lao Yu was so worried that he only slept for an hour.
During this more than 40-day voyage, Lao Yutou didn't get a few good nights' sleep. Fortunately, the ship passed through the Kok Kwang Sea safely, and there wasn't much left for the rest of the voyage.
Lao Yu rubbed his face, which was as rough as black coal after being burned by the hot sun all year round, and smoothed back his white hair.
He casually picked up the cigarette rod clamped on the sleeping platform of the cabin, pinched a small ball of tobacco leaves from a tobacco leaf bag embroidered with a large gold ingot, pressed it on the cigarette holder, took out the fire stick and blew on it, and then
He took two deep puffs of tobacco leaves, then slowly puffed them out with a satisfied expression as if his soul had returned to its original place.
Lao Yu glanced at the gold ingot pattern on the tobacco leaf bag, and seemed to think of something. He hesitated for a moment, took another deep puff, and put away the huozhezi.
Business was important, and he didn't know whether the three-yin junior official slave was dead. Old Yutou left the room in a hurry and ran towards the lower level of the cabin.
The criminal law of Tianluo Kingdom stipulates that official slaves are untouchables, with a slave mark on their face, not allowed to eat three meals a day, only scraps of soup, living next to the pig house and dog pen, unable to read, barefoot all year round, wearing a single cloth to cover their shame, and their illnesses cannot be cured.
...
According to the number of slave marks on their faces, official slaves are also divided into single-seal official slaves, double-seal official slaves and three-seal official slaves. If a commoner gives alms to an official slave, he will be severely punished!
Not just anyone can buy an official slave, and a qualification certificate issued by the local government is required.
If the master's family wants to take the purchased official slave out of Tianluo Kingdom, the master's family will need to conduct more strict inspections.
Lao Yutou was originally from Dongning Prefecture. Decades ago, he took the ship Manjin and went north to the Manjin River to pan for gold. He traveled between Dongning Prefecture and the Manjin River route all the time. He could not be said to be rich and wealthy.
There is also a house in Dongning Mansion, with three children.
The officials in the government office knew Lao Yutou very well. In addition, Lao Yutou spent some money, so that the three-yin junior official slave was taken by Lao Yutou on the ship to Manjin River.
Some things can be accommodated, but some rules are deep-rooted. For example, official slaves are not allowed to eat three meals a day, and can only eat leftovers at each meal, etc. Otherwise, they will definitely bring bad luck!
Old shipowners who have been sailing on the sea for many years have witnessed all kinds of incredible strange things in the sea, and they have no doubts about these rules that have been passed down for thousands of years.
Relying on his decades of friendship with the shipowner, Lao Yutou negotiated some good deals and spent some money to get a small room by the window adjacent to the pig house from Sanyin's junior official slave. He said it was a room, but it turned out to be just a room.
A place to keep some poultry.
"If Lord Dragon is merciful, the little official slave will survive," the captain of the ship comforted Old Yutou.
"I'm talking about Lao Yutou, you are running all over the place for such a three-yin petty official slave. Could it be that he is your illegitimate son?" the ship boss joked.
"Ouch, just get around me. I have been living in Manjinhe all year round. I don't know where Linjiang County is. How could I be related to the Lin family? Brother, you also watched me come here.
Yes, my brothers and I have been struggling for a living in the Manjin River for decades. Now that we are old, we bought such a small official slave. It was also a few old brothers who tightened their belts and scraped together their share of the money. If this kid died in
Halfway through, my brothers and I have worked in vain for the past few years." Lao Yu said with a bitter face.
"A few years ago, when my ship Manjin went out to sea, the cabins with so many gold diggers couldn't fit in, and even the corridors were crowded. Now, apart from the cargo, there are fewer and fewer gold diggers."
The ship boss also said with some emotion.
After decades of friendship, the shipowner still recognized Lao Yutou's character, but there were rules for sailing, and Lao Yutou took too much care of the junior official slave with the third surname, which made the old shipowner feel a little guilty.
Turning a corner, I reminded Lao Yutou to pay more attention.
.....
Lao Yu turned down a small staircase and came to the kitchen.
A chubby cook was making breakfast. Seeing Lao Yutou's irritable look, he joked: "Lao Yutou, are you here to see your son so early?"
"You stinky boy, why are you making fun of the elderly~" Lao Yu pulled a face, pretending to be angry.
"The storm was so big last night, that little official slave of Sanyin, there should be some movement now, right?" Lao Yutou had some worry on his face.
"Would you know if you go down and take a look for yourself?" the young man replied with a snickering smile.
Lao Yutou took two big steamed buns from the steamer and was about to go forward. The fat cook saw this and hurriedly stopped him.
"Stop it! Lao Yutou, don't you understand the rules of sailing?" The fat cook was a little angry, "What do you want to do with two big white steamed buns? Put them down quickly!"
"Look what you brat said, I'm hungry, why don't I just take two steamed buns to cushion my stomach?" Lao Yutou knew that he was in the wrong and quickly explained,
"It's no use even if you take the steamed buns. The sliding door of the lower cabin was locked by the owner before dinner last night. No one is allowed to wait there."
"Hey! I bought the official slave with my own money, but it's not okay for me to go and see if it's dead or alive?" Lao Yu glared at the fat cook and argued angrily.
"Old Yutou, I'm not talking about you. You treat that little official slave like your own son. This violates a big taboo for us sailors and also violates the criminal law. The ship is about to enter the port, and the shipowner is doing it for you.
Good, so as not to mislead others." The fat cook persuaded me nicely.
"If you really want to take a look, just lie down under the crack in the deck over there and look down. As for food, there are still leftovers. Don't worry too much. The lives of these untouchables are very hard. They can't eat more than two meals."
You will never die of hunger." The fat cook continued to comfort him.
...
The aroma of steamed buns emanating from the steamer in the kitchen upstairs woke Lin Lu up early from hunger.
Lin Lu heard the conversation between Old Yutou and the fat cook just now, word for word.
Last night's waves, in addition to a blueback snapper, also brought in more cold seawater and water vapor. Now taking advantage of the sunlight to shine into the small room, Lin Lu stood up with difficulty and stretched out his hands through the small wooden window.
, pressed his face tightly against the wooden window, letting the sun and sea breeze caress his cheeks and arms.
Looking at the endless blue sky and sea, the past memories of playing and playing in the river with my friends when I was a child, scenes emerged in my mind.
"What do you think the sea looks like?" Lin Lu floated on his back, looking at the blue sky.
"I heard that the sea is very big, much bigger than the river here. In short, it is very, very big. The sea water is blue, just like the sky. There is a fish in a place called Jiaoguang Sea Area that emits light.
The blue light is called blue spine bream, and it's delicious." Erluzi replied confidently.
"You idiot, have you ever seen the sea? The water is all cyan or yellow, how can it be blue? There are no fish that can shine, you think they are fireflies." Ernie was retorted,
If you feel guilty, just shut up.
"My uncle has been to the sea. He heard that the sea water is yellow and full of sand. Also, the sea water tastes bitter and salty." Da Zhuang took over the words confidently.
"Dazhuang, logically speaking, the water in the sea flows down from small rivers like ours. Why is the water here tasteless? How come the water turns bitter and salty when it reaches the sea?" Tie
Zhu retorted.
"I don't know about this. My uncle has definitely been there before and brought back several kilograms of salted fish. You have all eaten it, right? Isn't it very salty?" Da Zhuang assured, patting his chest.
"That fish is indeed quite salty. What do you mean, the sea water is very salty, so all the fish produced in the sea are also salty?" Er Lunzi asked.
"That should be like this," Da Zhuang hesitated and replied.
"If the tasteless water here keeps flowing into the sea, will the sea water become lighter and lighter?" Tie Zhu asked.
"It should be like this," Da Zhuang replied.
"The sea water is getting shallower and thinner. Will all the fish in the sea die?" Er Lunzi asked.
Everyone was worried about the future fate of the small fish and shrimps in the sea, and fell into silence for a while...
"When we grow up, let's go to the beach to play together. By then, won't we all know? If you want to go together, swim to the other side with me!!" Lin Lu plunged into the water with a sudden force, and other friends followed suit.
....
...
..
The splashing waves wet Lin Lu's hands, pulling him back from memories to the cruel reality.
Lin Lu looked at the magnificent scene of sea and sky through the small wooden window, and murmured softly,
"Friends, the sea is really big and blue. What Uncle Da Zhuang said is right. The sea water is really bitter and salty. What the idiot said is also right. There really are sea fish that glow blue, and they are not salty at all.
It was delicious!"
"Friends, Lin Lu traveled overseas this time to work as a slave. It seems that he is destined to be buried in a foreign land. Now that Lin Lu has seen the sea, it can be regarded as fulfilling our agreement."
............
(If book friends find it interesting, please don’t forget to bookmark and recommend this book) This chapter has been completed!