Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 3: The Threshold
A sentry post refers to an area where the river flow suddenly changes, or where dangerous conditions are created by climate change or sudden natural disasters, making it impossible for rafts to pass normally.

The Yalu River starts from Changbai Mountain and flows all the way to Andong. Along the thousands of miles of journey, there are countless dangerous rapids and dangerous outposts, including dozens of them with names.

The threshold sentry refers to a protruding beam in the river, which blocks the river water and causes it to rush down like a waterfall with a turbulent momentum.

When the raft passes the threshold, if you are not careful, the head and tail will separate, causing the raft to overlap or hit the cliff, which is very dangerous.

There are several sentry posts called "menkanzi" on the Yalu River, including the Small Menkanzi Sentry Post, the Large Menkanzi Sentry Post, and the Second Menkanzi Sentry Post.

This small threshold sentry post is the first dangerous sentry post that the raft must pass when drifting across the Yalu River.

"Keep your distance, hold on to the oars tightly, and don't let go." When the raft approached the small threshold sentry, the second oarsman Wang Changliang shouted loudly.

The wooden oar is somewhat similar to a boat oar and is in the shape of a pipa. A piece of steel spike called cat's tooth is nailed on the oar board.

The oars are fixed at the key nodes of the raft, and the direction of the raft can be controlled by rowing.

The foreman shouted in the front, and the men in the following platoons also responded loudly and passed the message back.

Qu Shaoyang followed the instructions, grabbed the oar tightly, fixed his legs firmly on the raft, and looked ahead.

After a while, the second row arrived at the sentry post, and the raft was suddenly lifted up by the waves and almost left the water.

Then, he dived again and fell heavily into the water.

The stirred up waves hit people head on.

The river water in April is so icy cold that it makes people shiver.

But at this moment, how could he care about the cold or heat? He took a deep breath and plunged into the river.

The men and the raft sank into the river waves and were washed far away by the rapid waves. When the men and the raft surfaced again, they were already quite far away from the sentry post.

The river water soaked my clothes and my chest felt like it was about to explode, because I had been holding my breath for too long.

Qu Shaoyang raised his hand, wiped the water off his face, and gasped for breath.

This threshold checkpoint is indeed worthy of its reputation, no wonder it is called the gate of hell. And this checkpoint is only the first checkpoint on the thousand-mile rafting journey.

When all the rafts had passed the sentry post, the two oarsmen in front shouted loudly, asking for the number of people to be reported.

Fortunately, all the people on the ten rafts were safe and sound, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everyone, be alert and be careful, rafting is no joke.

Anyone who continues to be so careless and not taking things seriously may end up falling into the river and being fed to turtles." Erzao shouted loudly.

Many people on the raft are newcomers this year.

Before going up the raft, I had heard people talk about the dangers of rafting, but I didn't take it seriously and just thought it was old people bragging.

But after the small warning just now, everyone realized how serious it was. They perked up and looked intently at the river, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

In the front row, Li Yongfu, the second clerk sitting in the flower shed, had his clothes all wet and his face was pale.

He was not afraid of anything else. The box he was sitting in was filled with a lot of silver and banknotes, which were used to pay salaries and deal with various forces on the road.

If anything goes wrong, this trip will be in vain.

"Hey, where are we going to rest today?" Li Yongfu walked out of the flower shed and asked while wringing the water out of his clothes.

The person who has the final say on the raft is called the touzao, also known as damaozi or dabai.

The head oarsman must be familiar with all the rules and customs in the mountains, especially the water situation, river wind, weather, wild animals, water birds, etc.

The most important thing is that the oarsman must have the ability to read the water and grasp the waterline when the raft is in motion. As the raftsmen say, "If the raft does not grasp the waterline, it will be doomed in one stroke", which refers to this ability.

The water crow is actually a kind of water bird on the riverside. It has silver-gray feathers, is brave and agile, likes to flutter its feathers and wings in rapids and rough waves, and is very good at swimming.

The foreman's real name is Liu Dongshan, and Water Crow is his nickname. Just from this nickname, you can tell how good this person is at swimming.

At this time, the first rower, the old crow, was holding a big pipe in his hand and standing steadily at the front of the row, staring at the water surface without moving his eyes, distinguishing the upper and lower water, the clear water and the muddy water, the civil water and the martial water.

Hearing what Ergui said, Shui Laowu raised his hand and pointed forward, "We'll rest at Paiwozi tonight. It's not too far away, about ten miles away."

This time, they had to travel from Kalami River Bay to Andong Shahezi, a distance of about 1,400 to 1,500 miles.

Generally speaking, if the water level is high and the journey is fast, it will take less than two months to arrive. If the water level is low and there are other delays, it may take three months.

There was even a time when the water level in the Yalu River was low and the raft could not reach Andong that year and had to arrive the following year.

The so-called rafting station is the place where raftsmen stop to rest in the evening. It is usually a river bay with relatively calm water. Some are close to the market town, and some are in the wilderness.

The raft went forward for about ten miles and indeed arrived at a river bay. The foreman directed everyone to bring the raft to the shore.

On the gravel beach beside the river, there were some trees as thick as bowls, or wooden stakes. Everyone untied the rope tied to the raft and tied it to the wooden stakes.

"Lenghu'er, take Dazhuzi and Ermao with you and start the fire and cook."

When they arrived at Paiwozi, everyone got off the raft and the foreman ordered Qu Shaoyang to light a fire and cook.

The rest of the people inspected the rafts one by one, and if there was anything loose, they would tie it up or nail it down in time to avoid accidents during the exile.

Qu Shaoyang responded and took two boys of similar age with him to move iron pots, rice and other things from the raft and set up a stove on the spot.

"You two go collect firewood and pick some wild vegetables. I'll knead the dough and steam steamed buns in the evening." Qu Shaoyang instructed the two young men to work.

Banlazi refers to children of fifteen or sixteen who have to work in the mountains and water fields to make a living.

They can't do heavy work, usually just making fire and cooking.

What can a half-grown child do? The food he cooks is either too salty or too bland, and the steamed buns are also half-cooked.

There is a saying that goes, "A half-baked steamed bun, half raw and half cooked, thrown out to kill the cow."

There is no such thing as an idler in the mountains. When Qu Shaoyang first came here, he was injured and could not go into the mountains to cut wood or do heavy work, so he was assigned the job of cooking.

Unexpectedly, Qu Shaoyang's cooking skills were very good, which won praise from all the bosses and was also valued by the head boss.

So on this rafting trip, Qu Shaoyang was also responsible for everyone's meals, and the other two half-brothers all obeyed his orders.

At this time of year, many wild vegetables emerge in the mountains and forests on both sides of the river.

The two kids went into the mountains and soon picked up a lot of wild vegetables and brought back some dry firewood.

The three of them started to light the fire and add water. Qu Shaoting rolled the steamed bread and steamed it in the pot, then made a soup with wild vegetables, and dinner was ready.

"It has to be Leng Huer, the steamed buns are very hot and the vegetable soup is not bad either.

In the past, when we were rafting, we had rice with small grains and salted beans for every meal, and we had plenty of them.”

Everyone sat around the stove, eating their meal contentedly. Erzao Wang Changliang couldn't help but sigh.

"I say, where did you learn to cook? You cook better than those old ladies."

(End of this chapter)