Fishing Village Pride

  Three people leaned against the bow of the boat, staring blankly at the emerald green river water, each with their own thoughts. Liu Ziguang thought: With the second miss getting involved, our plan to push him down is going to be ruined, and with the two sisters stuck together, I won't have any chance. The elder miss thought: This dead kid, she wasn't allowed to come but insisted on coming, could it be that she also... No, I mustn't compete with my sister. The second miss's thoughts were simpler: Hmph, not letting me come? I'll come anyway, Nanjing is much bigger and more fun than Xuzhou Prefecture. And then there's 9527, a very interesting guy, just thinking about seeing him makes me happy.

  The atmosphere was slightly awkward, and Liu Ziguang coughed and asked the eldest sister, "Why did you take a boat to Beijing this time instead of taking the train?"

  "The railway is good, but it can't be connected, and multiple transfers are needed. The cost of laying the railway is very high, and the destroyed fields need to be compensated. Currently, the railway system is operated by various merchants themselves, such as the section from Ligu to Xuzhou Prefecture, which was invested in and built by the Ligu Iron Factory. The railways within Anhui and Jiangsu provinces are also mixed, with some built by Huishang merchants, some by Yanshang merchants, and even the rail tracks and trains are not compatible, so it's still more convenient to travel by the Grand Canal."

  "When it comes to the Grand Canal, it was during the Sui Yangdi Emperor Guang's time. It is said that Emperor Yang had tens of thousands of laborers excavate the Grand Canal connecting the Yellow River, Huai River, and Yangtze River so he could travel from Luoyang to Yangzhou by dragon boat to see the peony flowers. To satisfy his own extravagance and indulgence, Emperor Yang exhausted the people's strength and wealth, leading to eighteen rebellious kings and seventy-two routes of smoke and dust, with uprisings everywhere, ultimately burying the Sui Dynasty."

  The big sister thinks Liu Ziguang's basic knowledge is relatively weak and wants to give him a supplementary lesson.

  Liu Ziguang snorted, "You must have learned this history from listening to storytelling. Was the Grand Canal opened just for people to admire the beauty of the lotus flowers? Can't the canal be used to transmit imperial decrees and transport grain, grass, and goods?"

  One sentence made Peng Jingrong's pretty face turn pale: "I'm reading Sima Guang's 'Zizhi Tongjian', not listening to storytelling." After that, she wanted to return to her cabin.

  Liu Ziguang hastily apologized, saying he didn't understand anything and was just talking nonsense, hoping that the elder sister would continue to speak and promising not to interrupt. The second sister also chimed in.

  Peng Jingrong is not a stubborn person, Liu Ziguang said a few soft words and she didn't get angry. She also keenly discovered that Liu Ziguang has a clear mind, not following the crowd. Although Emperor Yang of Sui was tyrannical, he wrote excellent poems and essays, conquered Goguryeo, dug the Grand Canal, and had ambitions to be a great emperor.

  She didn't know that Liu Ziguang used to surf the internet frequently and had read a lot of posts that distorted history, so not only could he defend Emperor Yang of Sui, but also Qin Hui, with some twisted logic.

  The big sister continued: "Sui Yangdi opened the east-west canal. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, when the capital was established in Dadu (modern-day Beijing), it was necessary to excavate a canal to transport grain from the south to the north. To this end, three sections of the canal were excavated one after another, transforming the original Sui Dynasty east-west canal centered on Luoyang into a longitudinal Grand Canal centered on Dadu and extending straight down to Hangzhou."

  The Grand Canal is divided into seven sections according to geographical location: Beijing to Tongzhou District is called the Tonghui River, 160 miles long; Tongzhou District to Tianjin is called the North Canal, 370 miles long; Tianjin to Linqing is called the South Canal, 800 miles long; Linqing to Taierzhuang is called the Lu Canal, approximately 1000 miles long; Taierzhuang to Huaiyin is called the Central Canal, 370 miles long; Huaiyin to Guazhou is called the Li Canal, approximately 360 miles long; Zhenjiang to Hangzhou is called the Jiangnan Canal, approximately 660 miles long. Yangzhou is a famous city on the Li Canal, and during the Sui dynasty, Emperor Yang opened up the canal within the city walls, making Yangzhou a transportation hub between north and south, taking advantage of the benefits of grain transportation, becoming one of the richest regions in Jiangnan during the Ming dynasty.

  Mentioning Yangzhou, the young lady became excited and recited a poem.

  The departed one bid farewell at Yellow Crane Tower, and the misty flowers fell in March in Yangzhou.

  A lonely sail in the distance, a shadow on the blue sky, nothing but the Yangtze River flowing to the horizon.

  "What a great poem! It's indeed a famous verse by Du Fu!" Liu Ziguang couldn't help but applaud and praise.

  The two girls laughed together, and the second young lady scratched her nose with her finger and said: "General, are you ashamed or not? You said Li Bai's poem was Du Fu's. Are you really illiterate?"

  Liu Ziguang's face turned slightly red, he had learned it in elementary school, but had almost forgotten it. Now it was the Ming dynasty, and Tang poetry and Song lyrics were all out, there weren't many famous quotes from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was hard to pretend to be a talented scholar. Ah, right, Chairman Mao's "Qiu Yuan Chun Xue" hadn't been asked yet, he would hurry back and recall the poem carefully, and make sure to remember it by heart, and wait until next winter when it snowed again to shock them.

  Peng Jingrong pointed at her sister's waist with her finger: "Don't talk nonsense."

  The second young lady giggled: "Don't mention it anymore, he's not even my brother-in-law."

  "Keep talking nonsense and I'll tear your mouth apart." The two girls started chasing and hitting each other.

  Hehe, after a while of frolicking, the big sister continued to give Liu Ziguang a general knowledge lesson. "The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has only been able to reach Xuzhou Prefecture in the north since the Qing dynasty entered the pass, and further north is the chaotic Shandong region, where the Weishan Lake bandits are rampant, and passing ships are very unsafe. Of course, even without water bandits, the imperial court prohibits goods from going north to Qingguo. Our boat will go through the Huai River into Hongze Lake, then enter the Yangtze River, pass through Yangzhou and go upstream, entering Nanjing from the Water West Gate."

  "Then our Great Ming Dynasty is the strongest country in the world, right?" Liu Ziguang asked with a patriotic and foolish expression.

  "No, to the north there is the Manchu Qing, to the west there is Western Xia, and to the south there is Taiwan's Zheng family. All of these are enemies of the tiger and wolf. Since our dynasty crossed the river to the south, the imperial court has been in disarray, with eunuchs holding power and literary and military officials mostly coming from wealthy and influential families. Some rely on eunuchs, while others have their own systems. The Huang family of Haizhou salt merchants, the Hu family of Anhui ticketing agencies, the Yuan family of Hubei grain merchants, the Cao family of Suzhou weaving and manufacturing, the Qi family of Jiayu locomotive manufacturing, and our own Peng family of Ligu, all strive to arrange for their sons to hold positions in the imperial court. Now the imperial court is being manipulated by eunuchs and powerful families."

  "That iron factory also has a backer in the imperial court? How can they still be shortchanged by the Ministry of War?" Liu Ziguang was puzzled.

  "If Father had made the right choice back then, things wouldn't be like this now. The current Emperor is only fifteen years old and extremely arrogant. Perhaps Empress Dowager and the Ninth Prince took advantage of this point. Back then, Father chose Chu Wang, who is now Peng City's King, as the object of support. At that time, he was still a prince and the crown prince, but unfortunately, he ultimately lost to Empress Dowager and the Ninth Prince. Therefore, our family not only has no power in the imperial court, but also has many enemies."

  "Ah, I see," Liu Ziguo nodded thoughtfully. The current Ming dynasty has already entered the embryonic stage of capitalism, and the bourgeoisie is beginning to seek political power.

  "The last question, why not make firearms and cannons, I mean, with gunpowder weapons." This was something that had always puzzled Liu Ziguang, who had once asked others, but the people he asked all said they didn't know what gunpowder was.

  As expected, the big sister and others said in surprise: "Gunpowder? A medicine that can catch fire? I only know that strong fire oil and alcohol ignite very fiercely, but I really don't know about medicinal ones."

  This world is really different from the Ming Dynasty recorded in history, it's completely distorted.

  The wind was strong at the bow, Peng Jingrong felt a bit cold, and she pulled her sister back to the cabin to rest.

  The scenery along the coast was dull, and Liu Ziguo followed them into the cabin. The three of them chatted idly. Unlike before, their status was now equal, so they communicated freely. The two ladies told many folk stories from this era, such as the old tale of Tianluo Niangzi, which made Liu Ziguo feel drowsy. He turned around and started telling ghost stories to the two girls, like the classic "Midnight Bell", but with an improved version: the phone bell became a door knock, the video tape became a paper folding fan, and the TV became a shadow puppet show cabinet. The two listeners were scared and didn't dare leave the cabin even during the day, but they still wanted to listen, saying it was more enjoyable than listening to "Liaozhai". Later, when the boat stopped for the night, everyone on board came to listen to Liu Ziguo tell stories.

  Life on the ship was harmonious and enjoyable, and the big sister no longer showed her strong and decisive demeanor, but instead had a sweet and innocent appearance like an ordinary 18-year-old girl. Everyone's feelings deepened rapidly during the journey.

  The boat arrived at Hongze Lake, with strong winds and high waves. The sky was somewhat dark and drizzling with a light rain. The captain ordered the boat to stop and add coal for dinner. It's said that there's a famous small fish pot made by a fishing family in a nearby town, so everyone went to try it.

  The origin of Xiaoyu Guotang is very early and has a long history. According to legend, when Zhu Yuanzhang was young, he fled to the banks of the Huai River during a famine year. When he gathered with poor children who were fishing, herding cows, cutting grass, and begging for food, they put together what each person had obtained and cooked small fish in a pot (without fishing gear, caught by hand). They stuck flatbread made from miscellaneous grains or wild rice flour on the side of the pot. This simple and primitive method of cooking was used to fill their stomachs. Although the method was simple, it tasted crispy, fresh, and tender. Later, it gradually became a common dish for fishermen and farmers along the lake, known as Xiaoyu Guotang. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he got tired of the palace banquets and specially invited fishing women into the palace to make this Xiaoyu Guotang for him. From then on, this dish was called Sanxian (the sweetness of the lake water, the freshness of the fish, and the fragrance of the wild rice) Xiaoyu Bing in the palace, while among the people it was called Huangdi Bing or Zhujia Fan. After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the recipe gradually disappeared from the palace but continued to be passed down among the people.

  Authentic lake fishing household; small fish pot collapse;, the fish is; small fish;, usually one or two inches long, the pot is an iron pot, quick fire burns easily and quickly cooks, the surface is relatively thin, stuck to the side of the pot will always fall down, collapsed; come down, after cooking the top is thick and the bottom is thin, so it's called pot collapse. The traditional method is: use freshly caught small fish, wash them clean, remove scales and gut, take out internal organs, and then boil with clear lake water. At the same time, mix some flour paste, stick a layer of pancake on the middle and surrounding areas of the pot, the bottom of the pancake is flat with water, or half an inch into the water, fire burns water boils, soup splashes everywhere, so after cooking the bottom edge of the pancake has a splash of fish soup. Suddenly lift the lid off the pot, the pancake sticks to the fresh fish, the fish brings the pancake fragrance, fresh and fragrant.

  Deliciousness hits you in the face. Small fish, small but fresh; pot-stirred crispy pancakes, fragrant and savory; fish soup fresh and refreshing. With a scoop of pancake dipped in fish soup, savoring the freshness of the small fish, suddenly feeling the fragrance of the fish and tenderness of the meat, the freshness of the soup and crispness of the pancake, enough to make the taster's mouth water and praise with chopsticks. All these are just an ordinary meal for a fishing family on the lake, not only saving time and effort but also taking care of everything in one pot. (The above introduction is a repost, interested readers can go to Hongze Lake to try it out, small fish pancake is very popular.)

  Liu Ziguang and his companions were on a paddlewheel ship that was specifically for traveling between Ligu and the capital, similar to a 21st-century government plane. Along the way, there were fixed places for adding coal and eating. The Hongze Town restaurant was not a specialty restaurant, but an ordinary fishing family. Because the small fish pot was particularly good, passing boat families always liked to come and try some, and they didn't even need to pay, just giving some firewood, rice, oil, and salt was enough. The captain of the iron factory's ship happened to be one of the regular customers. So he brought Liu Ziguang and two young ladies to try something new. The fishing family only had a mother and daughter, so they couldn't accommodate too many guests, and the servants didn't follow them.

  A small fishing boat was moored by the shore, and a simple yellow mud hut with thatched roof emitted wisps of smoke in the fine rain. The captain hurried to deliver a basket of freshly caught small carp and a small bag of flour to the kitchen where the fisherman's mother and daughter were cooking.

  Liu Ziguang and the other two put away their oil-paper umbrellas and hid under the shed in front of the thatched cottage. The shed was supported by several wooden poles, with a table and benches underneath. The diligent fisherman's daughter saw the noble guests arrive and came out of the thatched cottage to wipe down the furniture for them. When the three men saw the fisherman's daughter, who was as lovely as a lotus flower emerging from the water, they couldn't help but feel a shock in their hearts - Is there really such a beautiful woman in this world?!