On the tenth day of July in the thirteenth year of Zhengde, not long after the begging festival, Xu Jin set off to Nanchang to catch the exam, spent five taels of silver to charter a small passenger boat, and went west along the Xinjiang River to Yugan County.

Xu Jin's original plan was to buy a carriage in mid-July, go to Leadshan County by land, meet the Fei brothers and then rush directly to Nanchang.

However, the plan can't catch up with the changes, and recently received a letter from the old man in Yugan County, saying that Xiaowan's mother was sick, and Xie Xiaowan was worried that she couldn't sleep at night, so Xu Jin decided to set off in advance, detour to Yugan County, take Xiaowan back to her mother's house to visit her mother-in-law, and then set off from Yugan County to Nanchang.

A few days ago, Xu Jin also sent a letter to Leadshan County to inform the Fei brothers to change their itinerary and let them go to Nanchang on their own.

At the Chengnan Wharf in Shangrao County, Xu Jin and Xie Xiaowan waited on the boat and waved goodbye to the eldest brother Xie Yidao on the shore.

It is said that the brother-in-law Xie Yidao is currently on an errand in the Yamen, due to the recent floods, resulting in an increase in homeless people, the public security in Shangrao County has obviously deteriorated, and there are cases of theft and brawls every day.

The passenger boat left the wharf of Shangrao County and went down the Xinjiang River, first passing through Hekou Town, Leadshan County, then entering Yiyang County, passing through Guixi County, Yingtan County, and finally arriving at Ruihong Town, Yugan County.

Ruihong Town is located on the edge of Poyang Lake, the river water network is vertical and horizontal, the water traffic is very convenient, it is the surrounding cargo distribution center, the land is only about 100 miles away from Nanchang, if you take the waterway, you can also reach Nanchang through the tributaries of the Ganjiang River.

The original name of Ruihong Town is actually called Hongya Township, according to legend, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang of the Ming Dynasty fought in Poyang Lake, and the result was a series of defeats, leading the army to retreat to Hongya Township, tired and sleepy fell asleep on the warship, when I woke up, the sun was rising in the east, the sky was full of red clouds, and it was a sleep of red sky.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that this was a good omen, so he ordered the sailors to fight, and today it was really a good wind, Zhu Jun used fire to defeat Chen Jun, and Chen Youliang himself was shot in the eye and fled. Later, in order to commemorate this great victory, Zhu Yuanzhang renamed Hongya Township as Ruihong (Red) Town.

Xu Jin and the others abandoned the boat at the wharf in Ruihong Town and landed ashore, planning to buy a carriage in the town to travel, because there are still several miles from the town to Xiaowan's mother's village, and this time they also carried a lot of luggage, most of which were all kinds of gifts to their parents' family.

It is said that since getting married, Xu Jin is still the first time to take Xie Xiaowan back to his parents' house to save his relatives, naturally he can't be shabby, not to mention that when he married Xiaowan, the nerd Xu Jin was still seriously ill in bed, so he didn't come to the door in person, but the patriarch sent a villager from Xujia Village to send a dowry gift (a bucket of rice), and then brought the person back.

Because of this, Xu Jin felt that it was necessary to make up for Xiaowan and go back to his parents' house in style.

Erniu and the boatman quickly moved the ship's luggage to the dock and piled up a large pile.

"I wish the first court of the Xu case to try to pick up the first case again!" The boatman received the final payment of two taels of silver, smiled and said some auspicious words, and set off on the ship's return.

"It's so deserted!" Xu Jin glanced at the cold and depressed wharf, and couldn't help but be quite surprised, saying that Ruihong Town was quite prosperous in the later generations, and even had the name of Yugan Xiaonanchang, but he didn't expect it to be so desolate and desolate now.

Xie Xiaowan said with a look of surprise: "How can this be, the town used to be lively." ”

It is said that Xie Xiaowan's mother's home is in Beipo Village, a few miles away from the town, and when her father and brother return from fishing, Xiaowan and her mother take the catch to the town to sell, and then buy some food and daily necessities to go home after selling the money.

Not only the villagers of Beipo Village, but also the people of the nearby ten miles and eight townships will come here to catch the market, and Ruihong Town is a water transportation hub, and there are many cargo ships and passenger ships passing by, so it is very lively every day. Xie Xiaowan didn't expect that she had only been married for a year, and Ruihong Town had become so cold and depressed, she was inevitably shocked.

"Erniu, go to town and see if you can buy a carriage!" Xu Jin faintly felt that something was wrong, so he dispelled the idea of going to the town for a walk.

"Okay!" And the two oxen took the silver purse on their backs and ran into the town.

At this time, several children in ragged clothes and thin yellow muscles leaned over in cringe, staring directly at the pile of luggage next to Xu Jin and the others.

Xu Jin frowned imperceptibly, he could clearly read one word from the eyes of these children—hunger. The boys' eyes were green with hunger.

"You're hungry, sister, there's something to eat here, take it!" Yahuan Xiaoyue took some rice crackers from the food box and handed them to a few children with a sweet smile.

It was too late for Xu Jin to stop it, and when the children saw the rice cakes, they immediately pounced on them like hungry wolves and snatched them away, even scratching Xiao Yue's tender white hands.

Xiao Yue screamed in fright and retreated, and even the food box was knocked over, and the rice crackers and preserved fruits inside were scattered all over the ground, and the children saw this and frantically pounced and snatched it, and shoved it into their mouths while snatching it back.

At this time, more ragged people came out of the corner, these were adults, both men and women, with the word "hunger" written in their eyes, staring at the pile of luggage beside Xu Jin with malicious intentions.

Xu Jin's face couldn't help but change slightly, Yahuan Xiaoyue was already so frightened that her face was pale, and she hid behind him and shivered. Although Xie Xiaowan was also afraid, she bravely stood in front of Xianggong.

"Presumptuous, if you offend this official, you will all be killed!" Xu Jin shouted fiercely in his eyes.

As soon as these words came out, the hungry homeless people suddenly stopped approaching, and their eyes were hesitant.

Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief, it seemed that these homeless people were not so hungry that they lost their minds, and the official master still had a certain deterrent power in their hearts.

"Don't be scared by this kid, how can he be an official at such a young age, not to mention that officials are not good things, we are all starving to death, and those who are officials don't ask or listen, rob his mother, it's a big deal to be a water thief." One of the homeless people shouted agitation.

As soon as these words came out, those displaced people began to slowly surround again. Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly scream that it was not good, there were more than a dozen homeless people in front of him, and most of them were adult men, but Erniu was not there.

A good man doesn't suffer a loss in front of him, his luggage and property are small, and personal safety is the most important thing, Xu Jin was about to pull Xie Xiaowan and Xiaoyue away, when he heard a familiar voice shouting: "Brother-in-law, sister!" ”

Xu Jin escaped and saw an ox cart coming towards the dock, and it was the second brother-in-law Xie Erjian who drove the car, and the younger brother-in-law Xie Sangun was sitting behind the ox cart, holding a harpoon in his right hand and a green-skinned king eight tied with waterweeds in his left hand.

Before the ox cart arrived, Xie Sangun, the little tiger, jumped out of the car, rushed over with flying footsteps, scooped up the Wang Ba and smashed it on the face of the noisy homeless man, raised the harpoon and pointed it directly at his throat, and scolded fiercely: "You fuck, dare to touch a hair of Lao Tzu's brother-in-law?" ”

At this time, Xie Erjian also stopped the ox cart and ran over, and without saying a word, he stepped forward with a punch and kick, knocking several male homeless people who took the lead to the ground.

These homeless people immediately fled as birds and beasts, and sometimes fists were the most effective.

Xie Erjian chased a homeless man and kicked his ass a few times, and then he came back lazily, and said with a smile: "Anyway, our father can really pinch and calculate, I guess you will arrive today, let me come to the town to take a look, I didn't expect to really run into it." ”

Xie Sangun picked up the green-skinned king eight on the ground, and came up like a treasure: "Brother-in-law, you see, I also caught a king eight on the road, and the stewed soup will be given to you to taste tonight, but it is fresh and sweet." ”

Xu Jin smiled and touched the brain of the three guns, and said happily: "Second brother, fortunately, you arrived in time, otherwise I am afraid that there will be no luggage left." Is the law and order here so chaotic? ”

Xie Xiaowan also said: "Yes, the town used to be very lively, why is it deserted like this now?" ”

Xie Erjian shrugged helplessly: "It's not a natural or man-made disaster, there is too much rain this year, many nearby villages have been flooded, and homeless homeless people have gone to the town to beg for a living, and these homeless people can do anything in order to get food." In addition, Ling Shiyi, the big thief of Poyang Lake, also visited here some time ago, so the passing ships did not dare to stop. ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but suddenly wonder, no wonder this dock was so deserted.

At this time, Er Niu came back at a trot, and said depressedly: "Uncle Shi, the town is as deserted as a ghost, most of the shops around are closed, and the carriage is not bought, but there is a group of people called Huazi Lao who follow behind the buttocks, if I don't stack a few of them, I guess I won't be able to get out." ”

Xie Erjian patted Erniu's shoulder and said, "Erniu, don't think about the carriage, fortunately I drove an ox cart and put all the luggage on the ox cart." ”

The people carried all their luggage to the ox cart, and as a result, there was a huge cart full of them, and there was no place to sit, so they had to walk behind the ox cart.

Fortunately, Beipo Village is only three or four miles away from the town, and it takes about half an hour to walk.