The torrential rain was mixed with lightning flashes from time to time, and thunder came in bursts, shaking the city in the dark.
Changzhou is a big city on the Jiangnan River route. During the Tang Dynasty, it had the reputation of being one of the ten prefectures in the world, but even if it prospered because of the route, it was naturally inferior to big cities such as Bianjing, Jiangning, Suzhou and Hangzhou. In such a heavy rainstorm, only some lampposts in the city flickered faintly, sparsely. Only when the lightning flashed occasionally, did the city outline the overlapping and majestic landscape of the city buildings in the field of vision.
The sudden heavy rain caught everyone by surprise in the afternoon. At this time, there were still figures rushing around in the heavy rain near the dock in Changzhou. In fact, the real chaotic situation ended in the heavy rain in the evening. At that time, many ships docked, rushed to load and unload goods, and fixed the ships. At this time, they were still busy in the heavy rain. Basically, some of them had an accident. Merchants who couldn't afford the losses spent a lot of money to hire boatmen who weren't very afraid of death, and carried the goods here in the rain.
The entire pier was roaring with wind and rain. Occasionally, when the lightning flashed, there were probably two or three places that were still active. The number of people on the east side of the pier was obviously the most. Seeing that the wave pushed the densely packed boats in the river up and down. Surging, there are still many people moving things up and down near a cargo ship. In the sound of the wind and rain, these people are like ants, blown by the wind, and shouting loudly. There was the light of torches in the cargo ship, and the house that belonged to the dock not far away was also lit up. At this time, they were trying to move some things on the cargo ship into the room.
This cargo ship belongs to a large commercial firm in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The owner's surname is Lou. This time the cargo ship transported a cargo of goods southward. When it arrived near Changzhou, there was some problem with the hull. It happened to encounter heavy rain and hurriedly docked. I originally thought that I would stop at the pier to avoid the strong wind and rain, but it was only after night that I realized that the problem of the cargo ship was more serious, and there were a lot of goods on board. Next, reduce the weight of the hull.
Of course, although there is not enough light in such windy and rainy weather, the workers may be blown by the wind or fall into the water at any time, but the river is not deep after all. Going down may not be a problem, if not, I am afraid that no one will come after spending a lot of money.
At this time, the sky and the ground were filled with the sound of the wind whistling in the heavy rain. When you were closer to the pier, you could vaguely hear the screeching and chaotic sound of hundreds of boats shaking on the water. The boatmen were carrying their cargoes and swaying through the rain. , go to the wharf and the fire-lit room, that room also seems a little rough and empty at this time, the boatmen who are soaked in the body carry the goods in, yard in the middle, there are merchants' guys busy counting records on.
In front of the window on one side of the room, several people were casting their gazes into the darkness outside, looking at the hull of the ship that was vaguely ups and downs in the rain. The head was a brightly dressed woman whose hair was already wet. The maid at the back handed over a towel, and she wiped the water droplets off her face with her hand. In fact, there was always rain coming in outside the window, but another A man dressed as a scholar stood beside her, blocking part of her.
"How is the boat? Can it be repaired? It won't sink, will it?"
It was the bright and beautiful woman who asked the question. After the question, a man next to him who ran in from the outside replied while wiping the water droplets on his face: "Miss Hui, you have already entered the pier, so it shouldn't sink, but The weather is so bad and repairs are difficult, so the cargo on the ship has to be removed."
"Then move on."
"Know."
The man nodded yes. After saying this, the woman looked out the window again, her face gloomy. Many of the goods in this ship are fragile items such as porcelain. After the current events, a lot of them must be lost, and she is in a bad mood. The man next to her who blocked the half-length rain for her turned back and said, "Shu Wan, everyone is moving. You don't need to stand here and watch all the time. It's not good to let the rain get wet. Why don't you go in some?"
The man and woman were probably a couple. The woman glanced at him, her eyes still gloomy, and then she smiled suddenly, turned her head and walked away, and the man dressed as a scholar walked over again with a smile, and the two were talking by the wall. , the man was obviously trying to say something interesting to make the woman laugh, and the others - including the maid - walked away knowingly. After a few words with the man, the woman looked out the window again, obviously still worried about the cargo ship.
After a while, another ship sailed towards the shore in the torrential rain on the side of the pier. It was a two-story painting boat, and it seemed that some people from the family were traveling, and they came to Changzhou after the wind and rain. During the storm, the driving was relatively stable, and the firelight in the cabin shook. It should have been lit by torches to illuminate the shadows of people in the dark.
At this time, it is not very strange to come to the dock to dock, after all, occasionally there will be orders. The location where the painting boat was docked was not far from here, so it attracted a little attention. It was not easy for the boat to dock in such weather. It was difficult to stop the boat. Afterwards, the people who got down from the top were also very laborious. Due to the heavy wind and rain, the extended board was unstable, and the wobbly ones could only jump down. The group of people wore scorpions, and there were women and children among them, so they went down first. The man who was standing there supported or caught it, and after a while, dozens of people had finished descending. They hid under the eaves not far away and lit torches.
Although it was quite windy and rainy, several of the children were quite happy. The strange words in their mouths called "Dawei Tianlong" were running around under the eaves. I went back, probably counted the number of people, and then discussed leaving from the pier.
In this weather, no one has time to take care of him, and the people in this room just look over there, after all, they are concerned about their own cargo ship. The woman named Lou Shuwan chatted with the scholar for a while, and then started frowning again to ask about the ship and the cargo, but at a certain moment, when she looked under the eaves outside the door, lightning happened to pass by. She was also slightly stunned.
The three torches under the eaves were lit in the hands of everyone, and they were swayed violently by the wind. The light was originally not much. Some people were talking with a smile, unbuttoning their shoji, but then tightening it, and the smiles on their or their faces could be vaguely seen when the lightning flashed. In this weather, you can also talk and laugh, which shows that you are in a good mood. However, one of the faces seemed to slightly evoke the memory of the woman here.
"Huh? Shu Wan, what are you looking at?"
Lou Shuwan opened her mouth, and then her eyes turned to the man next to her, but she became indifferent and impatient: "It's nothing."
After all, I can't see clearly in this kind of weather, and it's not an important memory. She shook her head and turned her mind back to her own business. It's really unpleasant to delay this time. Damn rainy day, and then she felt the man next to her. It's really long-winded, and some don't like it.
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Although they were in a bad mood, it was useless to worry about things right now. Soon after it was confirmed that the goods were almost moved and the situation of the ship was slightly stable, they left the dock and went back to the inn in the rain. The Lou family's business is mainly in Hangzhou, and Changzhou is just passing by, but they live in one of the best inns here. The weather is sudden, and there are not many people staying there. They go out at night and come back at this time, but they seem deserted.
After instructing the maid to call hot water for a simple bath, Lou Shuwan called an accompanying steward to discuss the issue of the cargo ship. The wind and rain in summer come and go quickly. It can't last for several days, but the ship is broken and can't go. Most of the goods on it are no problem, only a small part of them, because they promised others, they can't stand the delay. So you have to consider the issue of chartering a boat. After discussing this matter for a while, when the steward left, the scholar who was also doing the grooming in the other room also came over. He wanted to know that she was arranging business affairs, and had been waiting outside for a while.
There was something in her heart, the scholar closed the door, joked a few words, and then came to hug her, wishing to have a good time. She hesitated in her heart, frowned slightly, but did not push back. However, just after she took off her coat, she heard someone knocking on the door in the lobby below, and then it seemed that a lot of people came in. She was curious and pushed the scholar away, put on her coat again, and opened the window to see that there were about twenty people. People were taking off their clothes in the lobby, and two children were running around, the same people they saw on the pier.
"What's wrong?"
The scholar approached and looked out through the window. The woman frowned slightly, her eyes wandering around the crowd in the lobby, and after a long while, she pushed the scholar away: "Go to sleep, I don't want to... I personally recognize it."
"Huh?" The scholar became interested and looked down with his head. "It looks like an official's family outing."
In this weather, umbrellas are useless at all. Although these people are wearing scorpions, they are actually soaked through when they find here. Several of the women were not able to change their clothes for a while, so they found thin cloaks to put them on. From the clothes of several women, it seemed that these people were quite well-off.
At this time, the scene in the hall was chaotic, the shopkeeper and the second were busy arranging rooms, and everyone who came in was busy giving orders to boil water and carry luggage, which seemed extremely lively for a while. Of course, the maid and the master were able to tell the difference in a moment. One of the women had her wet hair in her hands and turned her head to the people around her. She seemed to be arranging things. The look of this woman is tall and beautiful. The scholar took a few glances, and Lou Shuwan pointed at her.
"This woman's surname is Su. I've met her before, but I know her. Her home is in Jiangning, and it's been several years. I didn't expect to meet her here."
"Want to go out and meet?"
"It's not in a hurry..." Lou Shuwan said, and thought about it again, "but... she has a boat, so she seems to be heading south, if that's the case..." Thinking of this, she looked down again, and saw that Xiao Er seemed to have arranged the room. , leading people up, she closed the window, slightly tidied up her clothes, and then pushed the door out...
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There are chapters tonight.