Chapter 88 As soon as the stone ox came out, the water was surging
An hour later, the team arrived at the bank of Jinyan River under the scorching sun.
This is a large river in Luocheng, and it is also the only way to go to Nanquan Township, where Yao Lishi's family is located.
There was originally a bridge on the river to communicate between the two sides. However, when Qin Shaoyou and the others arrived today, they were surprised to find that the bridge was gone, and only a few stone pier bases were left, standing alone in the river.
"Where's the bridge?"
Zhu Xiucai looked confused.
"I walked through here half a year ago, and the bridge was still in good condition at that time. Why are there only a few stone piers left now?"
Fortunately, there were several fishing boats parked on the shore, so he and Qin Shaoyou clapped their horses and went forward to inquire about the situation from the fishermen on the boats.
"Excuse me, boatman, why is there no bridge in the river? What happened?"
"There was a flood and it collapsed."
On a fishing boat closest to the shore, a fisherman was cooking something. When he heard the question, he raised his head and answered.
"Flood?"
Zhu Xiucai became more and more surprised: "When did this happen? Isn't the Jinyan River always flowing slowly, and there hasn't been a flood for many years? And it's not the rainy season yet, so how come there was a sudden flood and the bridge was destroyed?"
Collapsed?"
The fisherman sighed and said: "This thing is indeed weird. Just two months ago, the county organized people to dredge the river, and guess what? A big stone cow was cleared out!"
"Big stone cow?"
"Yes, that stone cow was so big and heavy that even the oldest old man nearby didn't know when or who put it into the river.
After the county magistrate heard about this, he sent many people to pull it out of the river.
When the Stone Cow came out of the water, many people gathered around to watch the fun, and we also went.
The stone cow is extremely well carved and looks lifelike, as if it were alive.
The county magistrate rushed to the scene. After seeing the stone cow, he was very happy and said that this must be auspicious. The stone cow is called to bring blessings or something?
In short, according to the wishes of the county magistrate, if this stone cow appears in our county, we will definitely have a good harvest and no disasters every year from now on.
Everyone was very happy after hearing this, and the county magistrate immediately arranged for manpower to transport the stone cow back to the county and then send it to the capital to present good luck to the current emperor.
But at this time, a village elder stood up to stop it, saying that the stone cow was placed in the river channel, mostly for water control purposes, and that it should not be moved away, but should be put back into the river to avoid accidents.
But the county magistrate refused to listen and insisted on having the stone ox transported away. As a result, on the second day after the stone ox was transported away, the water in the Jinyan River suddenly became turbulent and it rained heavily!
On the seventh day after Shi Niu was taken away, the Jinyan River flooded in the middle of the night. Not only did it collapse the bridge here, it also destroyed many farmlands and villages along the river.
The village elders and gentry gathered together and felt that the stone cow must be put back into the river, otherwise the flood would last for who knows how long. So they went to the county town together and went to the county magistrate to make a serious statement.
The county magistrate heard that the Jinyan River was really flooded, and was frightened. He no longer dared to send the stone cow to the capital to report good luck, so he hurriedly sent someone to release the stone cow back to the Jinyan River.
Then, something magical happened.
The day after Shi Niu entered the water, the heavy rain stopped.
After a few days, the flood stopped.
But this collapsed bridge has been left here, and I don’t know when someone will come to repair it.”
Qin Shaoyou and Zhu Xiucai looked at each other, neither of them expected that there was such a story behind the bridge collapse incident.
Even if that stone cow is not a supernatural object, it still has some spirituality, otherwise it would be impossible to suppress the flood.
Maybe it's also related to the feng shui of Jinyan River, so after being taken away, it caused floods, harmed property and harmed people.
Qin Shaoyou glanced at the fishing boat leaning here and understood: "Now that there is no bridge, if I want to cross the river, I can only rely on you to ferry?"
The fisherman smiled and nodded: "We are just buying our strength and earning some hard-earned money. But..."
He glanced at the coffin pulled on the carriage and shook his head.
"It's okay to ferry people, horses, and goods, but dead people, coffins, etc..."
Zhu Xiucai understood what he meant: "We can add more money."
"That's no problem." The fisherman smiled and said, "With copper coins weighing down the boat, there are no taboos."
"Thank you very much."
Zhu Xiucai quickly thanked him.
Qin Shaoyou also raised his hand to express his thanks.
Then the two of them turned around and went to greet everyone to get on the boat.
Qin Shaoyou made an arrangement: "Xiucai, Lao Liao, you two go on a boat with me and guard Lao Yao's coffin. Monk, you take the others to another boat."
There are so many of them that one fishing boat cannot accommodate them, so two boats will definitely be needed.
"Yes." Everyone accepted the order.
Qin Shaoyou thought for a while and then whispered: "Be careful when you get on the boat."
Zhu Xiucai was stunned for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked, "Why, are there any problems with these fishermen?"
Qin Shaoyou said: "It's not that there's a problem, I just feel that the attitude of the boatman just now was a bit weird. He said he was taboo about coffins, but I saw from his look and reaction that he wasn't too taboo. Even if we didn't add money, he would probably do it.
Ferry us across the river.”
"Perhaps he just wants to raise the price and make more money?" Hercules guessed.
Qin Shaoyou said: "It would be best if this is the case. In short, if everyone stays vigilant, you will definitely not go wrong."
"Yes." All the warriors nodded in unison and accepted the order in a low voice.
After arriving at the river, they followed Qin Shaoyou's instructions, divided into two teams, led horses and carts, and boarded two fishing boats.
As soon as they got on the boat, everyone smelled a fresh fragrance.
Zhu Xiucai curiously asked the fisherman: "Boatman, what good food is cooked on your boat? It's so fragrant."
The fisherman was telling Qin Shaoyou that they should keep an eye on their horses and not fall into the water.
Hearing the inquiry, he turned back and said with a smile: "What good things can be found on the boat? It's just a few fresh fish. If the guests want to eat, just eat it and we won't charge you any money."
"No charge?"
"In the past, I would definitely have to charge you money, but now that I have charged you the ferry fee, I will give you this fish for free."
Zhu Xiucai walked to the bow of the ship and saw that there was a stove with a pot on it, and steam was gurgling out.
The fragrance here is stronger, Zhu Xiucai said: "The fish you cooked is really fragrant. Do you have any secret recipe?"
The fisherman said: "The guests are joking, can we have any secret recipe? It's just that the fish is fresh enough. Eat it, these fish are very delicious."
He was holding the boat, but his eyes were looking at Zhu Xiucai, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
Zhu Xiucai smiled and opened the lid of the pot. As expected, there were several fish stewed inside.
But after he saw these fish, he frowned slightly.
In the end, he didn't eat the fish in the pot, closed the lid, and said with a smile: "This fish is cooked really fragrant, but it's a pity that I just had lunch and my stomach is very full. I'll eat it later."
When the fisherman heard this, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes, and he smiled and recommended to Qin Shaoyou and Liao Lishi: "Try it with two guests?"
Zhu Xiucai quietly gestured to Qin Shaoyou.
Even without Zhu Xiucai's reminder, Qin Shaoyou could still see the fisherman's weirdness.
Naturally, he would not eat fish, and said with a smile: "No need, we have just had lunch, and we are not hungry yet. Let's wait until we are done eating, and then we can taste the deliciousness of your fish."
"Okay, okay." Fisherman Shanshan responded without saying more.
Zhu Xiucai quietly gestured to Monk Ma and others on the other boat, asking them not to eat the fish cooked on the fishing boat.
"what happened?"
When Zhu Xiucai came to his side, Qin Shaoyou immediately lowered his voice and asked him.
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