Night ship

A hard journey in life is like sailing a boat at night.

[-]. Ferry

During the reign of Dachao Tianshu, there was a Taoist who went north by boat.

The surface of the river is vast and the black waves are choppy. There is only one boat, one lamp, and one person.

It has been several days since I got on the boat from Yuhang County, from the initial bumps and discomfort, to the boredom to the day and night. "Uncle Shou, where are we now?" The young man in the canopy suddenly put down the scroll and asked in a low voice.

The old man who rowed the oars was not a real boatman, but he changed his job to be a boatman because of the troubled times and his livelihood was difficult. If you ask this question several times, you will inevitably feel perfunctory, so you will say, "My lord, I will soon arrive in the capital, so I won't miss my official appointment."

Tao Sheng thought about it, and thought he was funny. Thinking about it, he laughed too. Tao Xuean, Tao Xuean, it is still winter, and there are still several months before the imperial examination. What is the reason for entering Beijing in such a hurry? ...Besides, the current situation in the court is so chaotic, it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad.

"Could it be that there is a beautiful woman in the capital?" The old man wandered around in the market, and he couldn't help asking with a strange voice.

"No...no." Tao Sheng blushed suddenly, "It's because my uncle said that he had something important to discuss with him." But he remembered that a few days ago he received a letter from his uncle whom he hadn't contacted for a long time, encouraging him to be promising in his official career , asked him if he could come to Beijing to prepare for the exam as soon as possible, his uncle spoke earnestly, and hinted that he intends to betroth his cousin Ziqin to him in high school in the future.

He was a little surprised by his uncle's attitude. This uncle, who is an official in the capital, is not as friendly as their family. He didn't know why he suddenly valued him, the youngest son who didn't even care about his parents.

But his uncle's words finally brought him back from the countryside.

That year, Tao Xuean was only 17 years old, still a teenager. After experiencing countless unbearable winter nights under the fence of others, and the secret ridicule of neighbors, he finally sailed north this year, changing his life.

But at that time, he had a bright future and a beautiful family like a flower. He had been looking forward to it for a long time, and it seemed to be within his reach, but it seemed to be a very distant thing. Even Tao Sheng himself couldn't see it clearly.

The boatman felt that the young man was pedantic and boring, so he stopped teasing him.

Only then did Tao Sheng feel relieved, bowed his head and continued to study his Four Books and Five Classics.

In the middle of the night, there was another snowstorm, and the boat just sailed to a big pier. The boatmen were lazy, so they suggested that they rest here for one night and go on the road tomorrow.

Tao Sheng thought for a while, and it was indeed wrong to continue on his way, so he agreed.

There are many boats docked by the riverside, the picturesque boats are next to each other, silk and bamboo are around the ears, it is very lively, the boatman smiled and asked if the young master should go ashore for a drink, maybe there are candidates for this year, and he can make friends with similar interests, Tao Xuean is shy by nature Besides, this kind of ostentation must be the sons of the country gentry, not the same-minded people, after thinking about it, I still give up.

The wind and snow rustled and became more and more ferocious, and at the end it was howling like tigers and wolves. Tao Sheng read a book under the oil lamp for a while, hearing the noise outside the boat and then silence, and ignored it.Suddenly there was a splash in the river, and what fell from the boat not far away was not other heavy objects, but a living person.

But no one came to salvage.

Tao Sheng was anxious, thinking that the one who fell into the boat of Yingying and Yanyan must also be a girl. In such a cold day, how could a family of girls bear it?

"Shoubo, we need to save people!"

When the old boatman was woken up by him, he complained in his heart, and said, "How can I save it? Why don't you use my bamboo pole for rowing to try your luck." Seeing that the boatman refused to help and went to the doctor in a hurry, Tao Sheng didn't care much, so he just Stretching the stick into the water and stirring it around in the water, the old boatman looked amused and said, "If you are like this, you can only pick up a sesame dumpling."

Tao Sheng didn't listen to the persuasion, and continued to fish a few times in the water, and suddenly felt that something was still... really biting the hook?The two were in a hurry, busy for a while, and they really caught something.

But it's not a sesame gnocchi, nor a flower girl, but a... monk.

The author has something to say: It’s been a long time since I wrote a short story to practice