SFS Chapter 259: Sky-high Crossing Fee
Chapter 259: Sky-high Crossing Fee
After another day of traveling, Shen Zhiqiu and his party finally reached Dama River after noon.
When they crossed the Shahe River before, they relied on the relationship with Shopkeeper Bai and received a relatively low fare. But when they got here and asked about the price, they were dumbfounded.
The situation is obviously similar to that of Dashaha River, and the river width is also about the same.
But the captain of the ferry raised the price on the spot: one tael of silver for an adult and five cents of silver for a child, and the cost of livestock and other gifts was additional.
It's not that they can't afford it, it's just that the gap is too big. Shahe and his men only spent 14 taels in total, and now all of them have spent more than 200 taels.
The gap is really huge.
But if you don't take a boat, you have to take a detour, and the boat captain also said: "The Dama River is more than 300 kilometers long."
The width is between 100 and 200 steps. Even a strong laborer who can swim can swim across, but what about the elderly, women and children?
Moreover, the current of Dama River is quite fast, so it is dangerous even for a strong man to swim across it.
The most important thing is that there are no trees or bamboo forests in this area, so it is impossible to make a raft.
Even Shen Youyou felt a little distressed. "A good cook cannot cook without rice." What can she do when she has nothing?
When they crossed the Dasha River before, it cost more than ten taels of silver, and more than 200 people including luggage crossed.
At that time, because of the letter written by Bai Zhantang, they cut in line and were allowed to pass first.
And it usually costs only about ten or twenty coins to cross the river by boat.
They spent more than ten taels because they had a lot of luggage, including an old cow and a cart shed, and they needed someone to use a special wooden raft to transport them.
Mr. Shen was at a loss for a moment, and pulled Shen Zhiqiu aside: "This river doesn't look much wider than the previous one, why do they charge so much?"
Shen Zhiqiu sighed: "People say that the river is fast flowing."
He said this, but he obviously knew the price was ridiculously high. But having come this far, could he really take the risk just for a little money?
And it is impossible to take a detour. Let’s put it this way, they arrived in Kyoto a few days late because they walked, which is understandable, but who can really wait for you for several months?
By the time they get around, the day lily will be cold.
What's more, don't think that you can save money by taking a detour. That's not the case. If so many of you walk for a few more months, even if you don't pay for accommodation, at least you have to eat, right?
If you add up the money for food and compare it with the money for crossing the river, even a fool would know which to choose.
Shen Mazi said angrily: "I see that this boat owner is just asking for a higher price. It's really frustrating. If it doesn't work, we can just rob him of the boat. It's not impossible for us to row over."
Shen Zhiqiu didn't even look at him. He knew that he was just saying that in anger. How could he be really strong?
It's not like there's no one to watch over you on the road to escape famine. Here, if you dare to rob, there will be people who will catch you.
Old Lady Fang kicked her eldest son from behind, which meant, "If you can't come up with a solution, don't make trouble."
It’s not that Shenjia Village doesn’t have the money to cross the river. To put it bluntly, they are just unwilling to be taken advantage of.
"Dad, we have to cross the river. Don't think about it. Just go and negotiate. I see that the boat owner seems to be fearless. He must have someone behind him. So be careful when you negotiate. Don't let him pull us to the middle of the river and then suddenly raise the price."
The man who received them had a shifty look, and when he looked at them, he kept glancing at the women.
It was obvious that he was not a good person, and the tone of his voice was like, “You can’t cross or not. If you don’t go through me, no one will dare to let you cross even if you go around to other ferry crossings.”
In fact, Shen Youyou thought about dismantling the flatbed truck and building a raft. It was not because she was stingy and refused to pay, but because she could not swallow this humiliation.
But he was afraid that if these people were determined to catch him and his group, and he and his group said that they would take a detour, it would be a problem if they sent people to follow and cause trouble: "Forget it, don't ask for trouble."
Shen Zhiqiu shook his head. There was no other way but to bargain, and not let the other party realize that they could take out so much money at once.
When Shen Zhiqiu went to negotiate the price with the captain again, everyone in Shenjia Village looked unhappy, but no one was crying or cursing.
But a few old ladies were very upset: "Uncle Qi, you said we earned two hundred taels, but we haven't even warmed up yet and have to spend it. Could it be that these people knew that we made money in Xinle County and deliberately waited for us here?"
Mr. Shen no longer rides on the ox cart, but sits directly on a stone:
"What? They have clairvoyance, and they can see what we did at the Xinle Temple Fair. Don't speculate. Even if someone saw it, it must have been someone in the Shahe River ahead."
Old Lady Hua was also sitting next to Shen Youyou: "Why do they always cross the river here? We haven't crossed so many rivers before."
Shen Youyou explained: "We have encountered many rivers before, but some of them have dried up due to drought, and for others we walked along the riverside.
But these two rivers are really blocking our way. "
What can I do? I want to settle down in Kyoto as soon as possible, but I have to take a boat even if it’s expensive!
Not long after waiting, Shen Zhiqiu also came back. It seemed that the deal was done. He greeted everyone:
"Pack your things and get ready to board the boat. Carry the carts and other things onto the raft. We agreed that we will carry them onto the boat by ourselves. We will only check these luggage and charge us half the price. However, except for the baby in your arms, everyone else will be counted as a person."
They were not afraid of working, and when they heard this, they started to unload their things, first carrying the luggage and then the cart.
Seeing the situation that Shen Youyou saw, the strong laborers wanted to hold a baby as big as Shen Yuanbao in their arms.
But the captain would definitely not allow it.
I can only say, "You have to spend money when you make it. If you don't spend it here, you may run into other problems later. Today is the day we lose money. If you are really unhappy, just think of it as a loss to avoid disaster."
Li Jingshu also quickly followed suit to comfort him: "Yes, when we get there, it's the same as working hard to make money. Let's settle down first. Once we have a local hukou, everything else will be easy."
"Yes, I understand!"
Although the answer was still weak, it did give me some psychological comfort.
Especially Shen Youyou's words "Spend money to avoid disaster!"
They really can't stand any disaster, so let them be broken, and just let them go to the ground safely.
Although the boat was quite frustrating, after everyone got on board, they no longer had the mood of crossing the Dasha River for the first time and discussing whether the water was turbulent or clear.
But at least they got through safely, and there was no price increase halfway through, as Shen Youyou had worried about.
Therefore, up to now, the more than 200 taels of silver earned in Xinle County have not only been spent, but more than 20 taels of public funds have also been taken out and paid back.
Who knows why the proportion of adults in their group is much higher than that of children?
Finally, at around seven or eight in the evening, we found a place to stay, which was the Dingxing County Post Station.