Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 1 Opening

Spring of the 12th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty

In April, the snow on Changbai Mountain had long melted, and the peach blossom water gathered along the gullies and flowed into the river bay.

The wood that had been piled up in the river bay for the whole winter had been strung together into rafts.

As long as all the raftsmen gather together, they can go downstream along the Yalu River all the way to Andong City and exchange them for silver.

At the Karami River Bay below the Widow Mountain, a dozen rafts were moored in order by the river. On the front row was a red flag with big black characters "Qian Xiucheng's Raft" written on it.

The smoke from the woodcutters' cooking rises like clouds over the river, bringing a touch of warmth to people in the slightly chilly and slightly warm early spring.

After breakfast, the fog dissipated and the sky cleared. It was time for Qian Xiucheng's ten old rows of cabinets to start working.

"Everyone, the chief cabinet has something to do in the South China Sea and cannot come here in time, so he entrusted me to preside over today's opening ceremony."

Li Yongfu, the second counter keeper, stood by the river and spoke loudly to the group of guys.

"The auspicious time has arrived, and we are offering sacrifices to the Water Lord. We are placing a pig's head, lighting incense, and pouring wine.

Lenghuer, go light the firecrackers." Li Yongfu waved his hand, signaling everyone to get to work.

The one who was named, Leng Huer, was a young man of about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was tall and strong, with regular features, thick eyebrows and big eyes, which showed his cleverness.

Seeing the touyao placing the pig's head on the altar and lighting three incense sticks, Lenghu immediately lit a string of firecrackers.

Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers, red confetti flew and the pungent smell of gunpowder immediately filled the entire Jiangwan.

The foreman Liu Dongshan, nicknamed "Water Crow", led all the men in the platoon, knelt in front of the altar, kowtowed and made wishes.

"Lord Water, old boss, please bless us. May our rafting be smooth this season and arrive safely in Andong.

When we come back, we will definitely repay you for your kindness."

The other platoon members followed the leader and made wishes loudly: "Lord of Water, old boss, please bless us."

"Lenghu'er, kill the chicken." The second cabinet member shouted.

Lenghu agreed and picked up the big rooster with its wings and legs tied on the altar. He held the rooster's head with his left hand, leaving its neck exposed, and held the knife in his right hand.

He raised his knife and cut the blood vessels on the chicken's neck, letting the chicken's blood drip into the wine bowl.

Lenghu threw the rooster aside, picked up the wine bowl and handed it to the leader Liu Dongshan first.

The first rower took a sip, followed by the second rower, the side rower, the rower, and the donkey. Everyone drank the Chicken Blood Tongxin wine in turn.

After the raft sacrifice ceremony was over, the head oarsman, the raft men, and the river donkeys, all dressed in linen clothes and trousers, wearing conical hats, straw raincoats, and leather sandals, walked towards the raft by the river.

The relatives and friends of the team, the "dressers", and people from nearby villages who were watching the fun, all followed suit, some crying, some shouting, and expressing their reluctance to leave.

A dog from an unknown family followed the crowd, barking and chasing after them, and the river bank suddenly became very lively.

The foreman stood on the raft, watching coldly as several fellows said goodbye to their families. He became so impatient of waiting that he coughed.

"Gentlemen, don't be so clingy. If anyone can't bear to leave his wife and children, don't go to the queue and leave."

The guys on the raft then reluctantly boarded the raft.

At this point, there is one last procedure to start the rehearsal.

The first oarsman bowed to the second clerk Li Yongfu and said, "First oarsman, second oarsman, side oarsman, sixteen rowers, ten river donkeys, all go to the row, everything is ready."

Li Yongfu, the second counter, waved his hand and shouted, "Open the queue!"

The foreman shouted loudly, "Old platoon, start the row—"

All the platoon members shouted in unison. "Old platoon, start the platoon—"

The rope tied to the tree stump on the shore was untied, and the old boat shook violently and was rushed forward by the current.

The foreman directed the other men to manipulate the oars in various ways, and everyone worked together to adjust the raft. "Hold the oars, hey!

Walking in the middle of the river, hi!
Let’s go through the dangerous rapids, hi!
Fighting the wind and waves, hi!
Ben Laoyang, hi yo! "

Everyone shouted slogans and concentrated on controlling the oars in their hands. The raft slowly left the river bank and entered the main stream.

The raft set sail, cutting through the waves. It rose and fell on the waves along with the cold river water, and disappeared in the misty distance in the blink of an eye.

After the raft entered the midstream, the foreman "Water Crow" tied the rope to the raft. He stood firmly at the head of the raft with his legs slightly apart, looking ahead with his sharp eyes.

"Lenghu'er, burn incense."

Leng Hu, who was standing behind the toupee, immediately lit the coarse incense that he had prepared long ago and inserted it in front of the seat of the water god in the flower shed.

A flower shed is made by sharpening one end of a wooden pole, inserting it into the gap between wooden rafts, and setting up a frame.

The top is covered with tree bark, some are covered with reeds or rain cloth, and the inside is covered with pine needles.

In the flower shed, there is a wooden carved "Water God" (a little man) or a tablet of the old boss, and incense is burned on it all day long.

The shed contains some vegetables, food, and tools, and is where the men sleep and rest.

After offering incense, the head boatman shouted, "Water God, old boss, we pay our respects to you.

This trip to Nanhai (Anton) requires us to pass through 9981 checkpoints. Please keep us safe!"

On the raft, all the men knelt down in unison towards Anton. As soon as the first oar was struck, everyone kowtowed.

"Okay, everyone go do your own work.

Lenghuer, you are Bian Zhao, you need to help me and Er Zhao, and mainly take care of the first five rows.

You are young and it is your first time to be on the row, so you must be smart, keep your eyes and ears open, and be quick on your feet.

Say what you should say, and keep your mouth shut about what you shouldn't say. We have many taboos in the Pai Gang. If you cause trouble, I'll kick you into the river, and you'll never be able to join the Pai Gang again."

The tousha nodded towards the young man next to him and gave him instructions.

"Oh, I got it." Lenghu responded and hurried to the end of the raft. He propped up the oar in his hand and jumped onto the raft behind.

His movements were light and agile, and he was not affected by the rolling waves in the river at all. He was very steady.

"This kid Leng Huer is born to work for us. Look at him. The first time he got on the platoon, he walked so lightly and steadily.
This kid needs a few more years of experience, and I can hand over my position as the leader to him."

The water crow glanced at the young man who was walking on the raft as if it were flat ground, and couldn't help but praise him.

"Tsk, you're praising the kid again now, right? Wasn't it when you first despised him when he first joined the Mu Gang?"

When Li Yongfu, the second counter clerk who was sitting in the flower shed drinking tea, heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head and smiled, and complained.

"You wanted to drive me away because you thought I was too young and couldn't do much work, didn't you? So, you can also make mistakes sometimes?"

After hearing what the second cabinet said, Shui Laowu immediately laughed.

"When that kid first came to the mountain farm, he was stupid and ignorant. I saw that he was young and was afraid that something might happen to him in the mountain farm, so I chased him away.

I wasn't seeing things. This guy went up the mountain to plant trees and was hit by a huge tree that fell from the mountain.

Fortunately, he was lucky enough not to die on the mountain, so he managed to survive."

After Shui Laowu said this, Ergui also remembered.

"Yes, you know what, Lenghu'er's personality has changed a lot since that incident. He has become much more stable and smarter.

When he first came to the mountain, he was really stupid, otherwise how could everyone call him stupid tiger? "

(End of this chapter)