Eternal madness

Chapter 52 The Helmsman

Late at night, at Baiwei Beach, in the Hunlongzhai Water Village.

Yuan Kuifeng was drinking with Yuan Kuilong.

“Brother, I saw it all clearly: Song Yongchang was deliberately picking a fight with the Lin family,” Yuan Kuifeng said, picking up a wine jar and pouring a full bowl for Yuan Kuilong. “He went all out against He Shengjun at the dock. If it weren’t for my quick thinking, things would have been very difficult to handle.”

"You're amazing, girl!" Yuan Kuilong praised repeatedly. "But I just don't understand, what kind of grudge does Old Song have against the Lin family just because of Old Liang's matter?"

Yuan Kuifeng hiccuped, his tongue feeling a little numb: "Old Song definitely wasn't doing this for Old Liang. He's got something else on his mind, but I still don't quite understand what it is."

Yuan Kuilong put down his wine bowl and said, "This matter must be clarified."

"Don't rush, drink your wine first!" Yuan Kuifeng instructed his men to prepare a couple more dishes. "Let me tell you, it's not easy for us brothers to meet in this mortal world!"

Yuan Kuilong looked at Yuan Kuifeng and said, "I didn't want to meet you either, but we were born from the same mother!"

Yuan Kuifeng raised his eyebrows and said, "You surnamed Long, you dare to look down on me?"

"My surname isn't Long, it's Yuan!"

"Does having the surname Yuan make you so great?"

"Don't you also have the surname Yuan?"

boom!
Yuan Kuifeng swung the wine jar and smashed it to pieces on Yuan Kuilong's head.

"Just because my surname is Yuan, you look down on me?"

Yuan Kuilong turned around and shouted, "Quick, get a rope! She's drunk and acting crazy!"

Upon hearing about the rope, Yuan Kuifeng thought it made sense. She gave Yuan Kuilong a push, and Yuan Kuilong spun around in place, spinning very fast.

Yuan Kuifeng grabbed a hemp rope and, using the force of the rotation, tied Yuan Kuilong up: "You, surnamed Long, explain yourself clearly, why do you look down on people surnamed Yuan?"

"Damn it..." Yuan Kuilong tried to break free of the rope, but failed several times.

This hemp rope has an unusual origin; it was made by a master craftsman and then planted three times in the bowl, making it a genuine blood vessel.

Logically speaking, Yuan Kuifeng was no match for Yuan Kuilong; the two were on different levels. Yuan Kuilong was a fifth-level mastermind, while Yuan Kuifeng was a fourth-level expert in ingenious strategies.

However, once Yuan Kuifeng got drunk, she became incredibly strong in a fight. Yuan Kuilong was afraid of hurting his younger sister, so he held back and ended up getting tied up.

They've tied him up; once Yuan Kuifeng sobers up a bit, he'll naturally release Yuan Kuilong.

Unexpectedly, the alcohol had a strong effect today. Yuan Kuifeng grabbed a knife and walked up to Yuan Kuilong: "Hey Long, where did you put my brother? If you don't tell the truth, I'll chop you up!"

Yuan Kuilong shouted, "Quickly bring the grain depot here, let her chop away as she pleases!"

When drinking with Yuan Kuifeng, Yuan Kuilong usually brings Zhao Yingde along, but Zhao Yingde isn't home today.

Yuan Kuifeng raised his knife: "You surnamed Long, aren't you the grain depot?"

"The grain depot doesn't belong to the Long family, it belongs to the Zhao family!"

"What's so great about you, surnamed Zhao? Why do you look down on people surnamed Yuan?"

Just as Yuan Kuifeng was about to strike with his sword, a woman walked up to him.

"Sister Feng, we're back from the grain depot, but the ship has run into trouble. You need to go and take a look right away!"

Yuan Kuilong roared, "You surnamed Feng, I made you the leader of the water stronghold, not someone to slack off. Hurry up and go to the dock to see what's going on."

Yuan Kuifeng thought it made sense, so she let go of Yuan Kuilong, and the two siblings went to the dock together.

A grain ship was anchored in the middle of the river, dozens of meters away from the dock. Zhao Yingde, the grain handler, dropped anchor and stood at the bow, shouting, "Master Long, Sister Feng, my rudder is broken. The ship can't turn, so we have to stop here for now."

In the dead of night, with the river shrouded in fog, Yuan Kuilong couldn't see anything clearly: "If you moor the boat here, how will you get back?"

"Honey, we don't need the boat anymore. Please get two small boats to bring us back."

Yuan Kuilong shouted, "How can we abandon such a big boat? Quick, find some boatmen to tow it!"

Yuan Kuifeng shouted, "Why are you looking for a tow rope? The bow is not in good shape, how are we going to pull it back from this far away? It's just a rudder shaft, right? I'll make one myself!"

Yuan Kuilong said, "You've drunk so much you've forgotten your own name. How can you still be a helmsman?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Get someone to set up the bed and choose the materials."

The "crankshaft" refers to the lathe. Zhao Yingde's ship had a rudder shaft that was over six meters long. There were no ready-made lathes for such a large one at Baiweitan. Dozens of people from the water village went to the workshop to get the lathe parts, delivered them to the riverbank, aligned the shaft, and assembled the lathe.

The other bandits selected the materials, brought over an elm log, set it up on the lathe, and several bandits stepped on the pedals, causing the elm log to spin rapidly on the lathe. The so-called lathe was actually somewhat similar to a lathe in another prefecture, except that the turning tool was not mechanically controlled, but held directly in Yuan Kuifeng's hand, cutting directly on the spinning log.

As long as it's a ship from Hunlong Village, the rudder is in Yuan Kuifeng's mind. Don't be fooled by his current drunken state; he doesn't look at blueprints or take measurements, he's singing as he cuts:
"Elm root, sinews connected, unyielding even after being battered by waves. A single inch of twist, a single rudder, a single knife, a boatload of lives on your shoulders! Bring the wine!"

Yuan Kuilong roared, "Stop drinking! Let's get down to business!"

A lathe maker is a craftsman who uses a lathe to make workpieces; one of the 360 ​​trades.

Yuan Kuifeng's knife work was precise and ruthless. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a new steering shaft was formed. The wood was glossy, the grain was straight, and the shaft head was clean, requiring no polishing.

Yuan Kuifeng gave the order: "Get on the helm!"

Someone prepared a boat and dragged the rudder shaft to Zhao Yingde's boat.

With everyone working together, the elm shaft was inserted into the rudder slot. With a "click," the mortise and tenon engaged, and the hull shuddered slightly. The new rudder shaft was installed, and Zhao Yingde personally took the helm and steered the ship back.

"Sister Feng, I'm truly impressed by your skill!" Zhao Yingde got off the boat, quickly opened his skull, scooped out a bowl of wine from his skull, and offered it to Yuan Kuifeng.

Yuan Kuifeng finished his drink, wiped his mouth, and laughed: "Old Zhao, good wine. Come here, I'm going to chop you up!"

Zhao Yingde laughed and said, "Sister Feng, you're joking again."

"I'm not kidding, I'm going to chop you up today!" Yuan Kuifeng went to find a knife, and Yuan Kuilong tied Yuan Kuifeng up with a rope and sent him back to the village.

After Yuan Kuifeng fell asleep, Yuan Kuilong poured Zhao Yingde a bowl of wine: "You took three ships to transport grain, and only this one came back?"

Zhao Yingde drank his wine: "Dad, it's not easy for this ship to come back. Sixty miles from Baiwei Beach, someone intercepted us on the way. They were very accurate. Before we even started fighting, they punctured the bottom of the ship!"

After a while, the two boats sank. Fortunately, the brothers were all good swimmers; thirteen drowned, but I rescued the rest.

Did you fight back?

“We returned it! We sank one of their ships and killed at least ten of their men.”

Yuan Kuilong stroked his beard: "They're really going all out! If the ships are full of real gold and silver, this battle is worth it. Is Lin Shaoming crazy to invest so much for three ships of grain? Commander Qiao is coming, why does he have to make such a big fuss?"

"Honey, I didn't see Lin Shaoming."

Lin Shaoming is the eldest son of the Lin family and the elder brother of Lin Shaocong.

Yuan Kuilong frowned and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Yingde shook his head and said, "I didn't mean anything by it, sir. I really didn't see Lin Shaoming, nor did I see anyone I knew."

Throughout his many years in Hunlongzhai, Zhao Yingde has always been like this: he only talks about things, never about reason.

"Was this really the work of the Lin family?" Yuan Kuilong was a little confused. "Should I have a talk with Old Song? What's his reason for stirring up trouble with the Lin family?"

"Let's chat." Zhao Yingde picked a peach from under his arm and handed it to Yuan Kuilong.

As Yuan Kuilong ate his peach, he still felt something was off: "Some things are useless to talk about; this old guy has plenty of ways to fool me."

"It's fine if we don't talk." Zhao Yingde grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from his chest and gave them to Yuan Kuilong.

Yuan Kuilong, cracking sunflower seeds, said, "There was a fool who ran away with Lin Laosan. What's his name? Laifu. Maybe he knows what's going on here. Where did he go?"

"Yes, where did he go?" Zhao Yingde took a handkerchief off his back and wiped Yuan Kuilong's face.

Yuan Kuilong pushed Zhao Yingde away: "What are you wiping for? Once Commander Qiao leaves, immediately bring that guy named Fu back to me."

"Alright, sir."

Do you know where Old Song is?

"I don't know, I just got back and haven't seen him yet." Zhao Yingde took out a warm towel from his stomach and wiped his husband's face.

Yuan Kuilong sensed something was wrong: "Could this kid have gone to Heishakou again?"

……

Song Yongchang led a dozen or so people across the Lotus Bridge and arrived at Bamboo Raft Road.

When we reached the second intersection on the east side, we saw the police station.

Song Yongchang immediately ordered: "Set it on fire!"

PS: Old Song, are you crazy? You dare to burn down the police station?
(End of this chapter)