Chapter 28 Fisherman Bai Zimo, Truly Deserved

After offering chicken, fish, meat, and eggs!

After serving pastries and wine!

After burning incense, paper money!

After setting off celebratory firecrackers!

After bowing to the ancestors!

Thanking the boss for bringing back the new boat a week later! Inviting the friends from the Flower Street Courtyard to join the maiden voyage!

Xie Tiancheng waved his hand grandly.

“Get on board!”

“Wooooo…”

That was the sound of the ship’s whistle as it left the dock!

Bai Zimo and his friends boarded the newly purchased thousand-ton cargo ship. However, unlike his excited friends, he had also brought his fishing rod.

The title “Fisherman” was truly well-deserved. Everyone around the Flower Street Wharf now knew there was a kid who loved fishing a lot. He fished in the day, fished at night. He fished on weekdays, fished on weekends. He fished with boys, and he fished with girls!

“Zimo, you’re still fishing.”

Xie Tiancheng chuckled, “At this rate, you’ll be like an old man, casting rods every chance you get!”

“Fishing is good, fishing never hurts, fishing is safe. Wang He, would you like to try it too?”

“I don’t want to!”

For most boys, fishing is fun, but only for a while, and you have to catch fish for it to be fun.

Sitting there for long hours waiting for a bite was simply a torturous task.

“Wang He, let me borrow the binoculars!”

“I haven’t had enough yet!”

Xie Tiancheng laughed aloud.

“Just give them to him. Zimo always plays with Dahua and Siyi, and you can’t be generous for one day?”

Xie Wanghe: “……”

Am I not ashamed?

…………………….

Ma Siyi had now become Bai Zimo’s little follower. Dahua spent most of his time with Siyi as well. The key was that the two of them could make money by hanging out with Zimo.

With me, they could only do chores—what can I do about it?

At that moment, the boys’ competitive spirit was in full swing!

“Dad, can I try the ship’s wheel?”

“Try it? Sure!”

“Son, in two years, when the Grand Canal is dredged, we can sail this boat all the way north to the capital!”

The northern section of the Grand Canal was not yet navigable. It only reached from Yuhang to Jining.

“The local environment shapes the local people, we must not forget the Grand Canal. You all should learn about the history of this canal!”

“Who wants to talk about it?”

Dahua eagerly said, “It must be Siyi!”

Siyi, although a shy and reserved girl, was now at the top of her class.

“Back in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Haihe, Huaihe, and Yangtze rivers were already connected for navigation.”

The Huanghe Ancient Road was the predecessor of the Yongji Canal. These rivers, like blood vessels in the human body, connected the entire country. They also promoted the development of both the northern and southern economies and maintained national unity.

“Emperor Sui Wen and Emperor Sui Yang dredged the rivers and dug new channels based on these ancient waterways.”

This eventually formed the shipping network centered around Luoyang.

“By the Yuan Dynasty, they straightened the canal, essentially forming the route of the modern Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.”

The ship’s hold erupted in applause. The darling of Flower Street—Ma Siyi, was admired not only because she was pitiful, but also because she was beautiful and smart!

_____

“Son, enough, step aside, let me take the helm!”

As the ship sailed south, more ships appeared on the river. Xie Tiancheng quickly took over the wheel!

If anything went wrong, there would be no place to cry, today was the maiden voyage!

“Dad, I’ve never seen what the sea looks like!”

“Uh!”

“When can we take this ship to see the sea?”

“Haha!”

“Take this ship to the sea? Don’t be fooled by how big it looks now, once it gets to the sea, it will be a tiny boat.”

“To sail in the sea, we need a ship that can withstand strong winds and waves! Do you know what a ten-thousand-ton giant ship is?”

“Then when I grow up, I’ll buy you a ten-thousand-ton giant ship! How about we sail to the sea?”

“Haha, good kid, you’ve got ambition, I’ll be waiting for that day.”

Xie Tiancheng laughed heartily.

Changing ships was a man’s romance. If he could, Xie Tiancheng would want to keep upgrading, keep creating miracles.

“To buy a ten-thousand-ton giant ship, your wealth would need to reach the ceiling.”

“How do I reach the ceiling of wealth?”

“How would I know? If I knew, I would have bought it myself. Does anyone here know?”

Bai Zimo responded, “To make wealth reach the ceiling faster, you have to make the floor height one meter!”

Pfft!

Hahaha!

The whole ship’s hold erupted in laughter!

……………………….