Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 377: Changes in the Whistle

When I came back from Tonghua, it was already early April.

The fields are busy with spring plowing and sowing. In the bay of the Yalu River, rafts are tied to the shore, ready to set off.

This was the first time to launch a raft after the whistle was blown up, and Qu Shaoyang also wanted to know what the results were.

So he personally led people to Karami River Bay and found the second cabinet of a material warehouse.

He told the other party clearly that he wanted to follow the group and it didn’t have to be too far, just to Maoer Mountain.

How could the second waiter at the material warehouse not know Qu Shaoyang?
When they heard that the general manager was coming in person to pick up the raft, the two cabinets were scared to death.

"I dare not, I dare not, you are a valuable person, how can you put yourself in danger?

This raft is floating on the river, and we can encounter any kind of situation, but we absolutely cannot let the adults suffer with us."

Are you kidding? He is an official appointed by the imperial court. If anything goes wrong when releasing the raft, their material warehouse will not be open anymore.

"Second Cabinet, what you said is too exaggerated. I am also a wooden handle, how can I not know what is going on?

Don't worry, I know what's going on. I just want to try it out this time. After the whistle is blown up, will it be smoother to launch the raft than before?"

Qu Shaoyang insisted on following along regardless of what the other party said.

Qu Shaoyang is the one in charge of these things. He insisted on going with them to set up the row. What could the second cabinet manager say?

Helpless, I could only nod and agree.

And so, on the sixth day of April, the raft set sail from the Karami River Bay and drifted downstream.

As the raft drifted down the river, the first dangerous sentry point we encountered was the Xiaomenjianzi sentry point.

In the past, when the raft arrived here, the raft handlers had to hold their breath and wait for the right moment to throw the raft into the waves. If they were not careful, the raft would be destroyed and everyone on board would die.

However, this time, there is no need to worry.

Because the stone beam that spanned the river had been flattened by Liu Dongshan and his men, with only a small part remaining near the Goryeo side.

The Yalu River enters the dry season in autumn and winter, and the water level drops significantly.

When Liu Dongshan led his men to blow up the sentry post, he also specially drilled holes under the ice and blew up most of the stone beams.

After the spring, the ice and snow melted, and the snow water in the gullies on both sides of the Yalu River all gathered into the river.

The river water rose and exceeded the remaining base of the stone beam by a large distance, so the raft passed the small threshold smoothly.

"What's going on with this whistle? Where's the threshold? Why is it gone?"

The guards were all dumbfounded. The surrounding terrain showed that this was the small threshold sentry post.

Where is the threshold? Why is it gone?

Everyone had held their breath and was planning to charge forward, but where was the whistle?

"Hahaha, this is all thanks to Master Qu.

You don't know that last year Lord Qu hired people to blow up all the dangerous outposts on the Yalu River.

From now on, when we launch rafts, we no longer have to worry about those dangerous shoals and vicious guards."

The second cabinet, who was standing at the front of the raft, side by side with the oarsman, was very proud of this situation and laughed out loud.

The boatman was also shocked. He had been rafting on the Yalu River for nearly ten years and had never thought that he would be able to pass the checkpoint so smoothly.

"Master Qu, this is a great thing.

If the next checkpoints are this easy, we can reach Andong in a month."

Blowing up the sentry post not only greatly saved the time of the raft's exile, but more importantly, it also ensured the safety of the raftmen.

It is no longer like before, where you could lose your life at any sentry post. Of course, the journey will be smoother in the future, and rafting does not require such high skills, so the salary may not be so high. For Muba, it can be said to be both good and bad.

But no matter what, blowing up the outpost will do more good than harm.

Qu Shaoyang and several other people stood on the second raft.

When the raft passed the whistle post smoothly, Qu Shaoyang heard the cheers of the woodhandlers beside him and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

It seems that the decision to blow up the outpost was correct.

Apart from anything else, Mu Ba's life safety was guaranteed to a certain extent.

Of course, there are numerous difficulties and dangers on the rafting road, and the sentry post is only one of them. The rest of the checkpoints require everyone to work together to overcome them.

The raft continued to drift forward and safely passed the Lao'ekou, Gucaodiao, Damenjianzi, Jiguanalazi and other checkpoints.

In the past, countless wooden handles were damaged at these checkpoints, but now they can pass smoothly, and everyone is very happy.

In less than half a month, the raft was exiled from Kala Mi River Bay to Maoer Mountain, which greatly saved time compared with the past.

"Brothers, the Maoer Mountain is just ahead, let's rest here today.

Everyone has worked hard these days. Let’s find a nice restaurant and have a good meal later.

In the evening, everyone can go to the flower terrace, find some laughs, and have some fun.”

The second clerk stood at the front of the line, looking at the women waving handkerchiefs amidst the colorful flowers and willows by the river. His heart had already flown away, so he shouted loudly.

When the woodcutters heard this, they all became excited and moved the oars to quickly move towards the shore.

The raft was docked steadily at the pier by the river. Before the captains could get off the raft, the innkeepers, waiters and others on the river bank swarmed up.

"Come to my house, come to my house." Everyone shouted in unison.

The head oarsman and the second rower were not in a hurry to go ashore. Instead, they turned around and looked at Qu Shaoyang and a few others in the second row.

"Master Qu has worked hard on the journey, so why not give him a little favor? I will treat you to a drink tonight.

Thank you, Lord Qu, for doing such a great thing for us." Tou Zao bowed to Qu Shaoyang and said loudly.

"No, no, I've been away for almost twenty days, and there are so many things going on in the mansion, I have to go back and take a look.

You should have a good rest here for two days, eat and drink well, and relax your muscles.

While waiting to come back from Andong, when you pass by Maoer Mountain, remember to tell me about the situation in the lower reaches of the Yalu River.

I will not go on with you.”

They were already at the doorstep, but Qu Shaoyang didn't have the leisure to join them in eating, drinking and having fun.

He had to go back quickly, sort out his experiences over the past half month, and write a memorial to send to the East Road.

We've spent so much money on buying explosives and hiring people, and now that the results are out, shouldn't we report it to our superiors right away?
All these are counted in the performance evaluation, and are crucial to whether we can get an A grade this year.

Everyone on the shore heard the conversation between Touzhao and Qu Shaoyang.

Someone who knew Qu Shaoyang took a look and said, "Oh, isn't this the inspector?"
At that moment, many innkeepers came over to greet him and try to get close to him.

Qu Shaoyang greeted these people, exchanged a few words with them, then quickly left and returned home.

At the beginning of spring, every household is busy.

The Qu and Liu families now own several thousand acres of land and have many long-term workers and tenants, so spring ploughing alone is enough to keep them busy.

As luck would have it, Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan were not at home, so Chen Xiuyun and Lin Ruolan had to take care of all the big and small matters at home and outside.

Thanks to the capable efforts of Jiang Chunfu, Xingjia, Xingye and others, the spring plowing work can proceed in an orderly manner.

(End of this chapter)