Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

Chapter 121 On the Voyage

Because the place they were going to was far away and it would take a day to travel by water, so they had to take a big ship. One advantage of a big ship is that horse-drawn carriages and donkey-drawn carts can also be on board.

However, once enough people have boarded, the rest cannot board. When their group arrived, there was still room for horses and carriages on the boat.

There are two floors on the ship. Half of the first floor is used to store horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts and goods, and the other half is for people who cannot afford the rooms on the second floor. It is a cabin, but there are no seats.

Everyone sat on the ground. This kind of thing cost thirty cents per person, which could be stored in a horse-drawn carriage. A donkey cart cost sixty-eight cents, including water and feed for the livestock.

The second floor is the room, there are luxury rooms and ordinary rooms. The ordinary rooms are separated by wooden boards to form a space big enough to put a bed.

Even sleeping with two people is a bit of a stretch, forget about washing and brushing your teeth, but meals are included, and it still costs 128 per person.

The deluxe room is a smaller version of the bedroom, where you can sleep comfortably. Meals are included, and the boatman will also provide you with hot water for washing. There are more than one or two people in a room, so three people are allowed to share a room. After all, most people who can afford to stay there have maids and servants to serve them.

When Song Sanniang and her companions were away from home, they all understood the principle of not showing off their wealth, and they were all from the countryside. If Song Sanniang was not there, they would have just bought a thirty-cent boat ticket and stayed in the cabin.

Because Song Sanniang was there, everyone bought tickets for an ordinary private room. Qin Haodong and his two brothers stayed in one room, and Song Sanniang and her two companions each had their own room.

Everyone stored the donkey cart and went upstairs. It was now noon, so everyone went to their rooms and put their luggage away. Soon the boat set sail.

Not long after everyone stayed in the room, they heard a boatman shouting back and forth in the corridor, "It's time for lunch, everyone. People in ordinary rooms can come out and pick up their meals. People in premium rooms will have their meals delivered to your doors later." He repeated this several times, and only stopped shouting when he saw people coming out of the rooms one after another.

Song Sanniang and her companions arrived at the place where they were getting their meals. Some people were queuing up to get their meals. There were several rows of wooden barrels placed side by side.

One wooden barrel contained bowls and chopsticks, one wooden barrel contained rice, one wooden barrel contained steamed buns, one wooden barrel contained fried pork and cabbage, one wooden barrel contained braised carp, and one wooden barrel contained radish and pork bone soup.

The guests who wanted to eat went up to get their own bowls and chopsticks and followed the people in front of them. When it was their turn, they asked the cook who was serving the food whether they wanted to eat or steamed buns.

If you want to eat, the cook will give you a bowl of rice. This bowl is a big bowl that can hold all the food. If you want steamed buns, she will give you two big steamed buns.

There are only two dishes, and they will be served to you. However, each person can only take one dish. If you don’t have enough, you can drink soup.

The cook of this soup was quite generous. She put a few pieces of radish and two bones with some meat in each person's bowl.

After serving the food, everyone squatted down anywhere and started to eat. It was impossible to sit down at a table or chair to eat. The productivity was insufficient, so it was not easy to build ships, and it was even harder to build large ships.

Of course, we try to save space wherever possible. Besides, we never know when the ship will encounter wind and waves, and tables, chairs and benches placed outside the cabin will be thrown out.

Everyone was used to eating the food cooked by Song Ersao and her friends in the restaurant, and their tastes had become picky. They simply couldn't swallow the food on the boat.

The rice had a musty smell, probably because it was stale. The pork and cabbage were old and tough, and the cabbage was overcooked, looking like vegetable paste.

The braised carp was very fishy, ​​and even the cooking method of braising it could not cover up the fishy smell. Everyone gritted their teeth and ate most of it, then poured the rest into the slop bucket and put the bowls and chopsticks into the recycling bin.

No one was planning on going into the room so quickly. After all, it would be evening soon and everyone would be on the boat for a long time. So everyone was on the deck, looking at the river view. There were all kinds of boats sailing on the river.

There are luxurious and classical pleasure boats, simple sand boats loaded with cargo, majestic official ships flying official flags, and small fishing boats used by small fishermen to fish together.

Song Sanniang was attracted by a nearby pleasure boat. The architecture of the pleasure boat was like a pavilion, with a delicate and exquisite four-corner pavilion connected to the boat body with auspicious cloud relief carvings on all four sides.

The carved railing at the stern echoes the carvings on the cabin and bow. The embossed auspicious clouds around the hull add a sense of richness and splendor to the entire ship.

The boat was decorated with colorful silks everywhere, and from time to time there were bursts of melodious piano sounds, stringed instruments, women's graceful singing, and men's loud cheers.

The gauze curtains on the boat concealed the people on board, making them look shadowy, which aroused everyone's curiosity and made people want to see the people inside clearly through the gauze curtains.

The people on Song Sanniang's boat also looked at the pleasure boat curiously, and everyone started discussing it enthusiastically.

"Wow, this pleasure boat looks so luxurious, doesn't it? Whose noble family does it belong to?"

"Yeah, it doesn't look simple. It really broadens my horizons."

"Haha, we got to listen to such a nice little song for free, so this trip is a good deal."

"That's right. The singing voice of the young lady is really beautiful."

I could only hear the faint singing of the woman on the boat, like an oriole.

"The moonlight blocks out the cold stars, the painted fan flutters the fireflies,

Looking in the mirror, tears condense like autumn frost.

Night lights cherish shadows, gathering and dispersing like duckweed,

Dreaming of seeing an old face with a faint fragrance in his sleeves,

The sound of tears, no one listens"

The tune is sad and desolate, and the woman's singing is full of the beauty of sadness and loneliness.

Music can affect people's moods. When Song Sanniang listened to this piece of music, she couldn't help but feel a little depressed. Fortunately, the woman on the boat finished her song and soon sang a cheerful song.

"The sound of running water, the chirping of yellow birds, the reflection of hanging silk,

The breeze is blowing, the flowers are blooming, and I am walking along the winding path to find a quiet place.

The new willow trees on the road cast shadows, and the streams flow quietly, wandering in the countryside,

Going out for a walk and enjoying the scenery, all you can see are beautiful waters and green mountains, and the mighty waterfalls are like silver waves hanging in the sky.

The bright and shining moon shines brightly, the beautiful spring day brings the sound of orioles, the lush green cypresses and pines bring the visitors together in harmony. "

When this melodious song of "Spring Outing" was finished, everyone on the boat cheered, even people on Song Sanniang's boat cheered.

But unfortunately, this boat was moving very slowly, and the people on it were obviously traveling for pleasure. Song Sanniang's boat soon raised its sails, began to speed up, and gradually left the pleasure boat behind.

Song Sanniang watched the small silhouette of the pleasure boat disappearing before her eyes, and recalled two lines from Liu Xiyi's Eight Songs of Jiangnan (Part 2): "The pleasure boat is light in the mist, the blue sun is dim in the sun. The brocade sail is wet by the waves, and the silk sleeves brush against the clothes."

Only when the pleasure boat was out of sight did Song Sanniang and the others return to their rooms.