Chapter 09 Owe the ferry 4 copper coins

Mao: “Xiao said, ‘I knew he wouldn’t agree to take us across. But I have a plan. Let’s act like regular passengers and board the boat without saying a word. When they collect the fare, the ferry will already be in the middle of the river. That’s when we’ll tell them we have no money. In this way, they can neither send us back nor leave us in the river. That way, we can cross.’ He will never take us back from the other side because he needs space to carry other passengers. Let’s go and give it a try.”

We quickly boarded a small boat that had just docked, walking nonchalantly towards the center of the cabin. Once there were 14 people on board, the boatman shouted, ‘Depart!’ The boat sailed swiftly, and within a short time, we reached the middle of the river.”

Journalist: “So you boldly boarded the boat like that?”

Mao: “Yes. Once on the boat, there was a little girl about five or six years old, holding a plate to collect money from the passengers. Each passenger dropped in two copper coins. When she came to us, the ferryman looked at us and said, ‘Gentlemen, please pay her. It’s two copper coins per person, please.’

I said, ‘I’m very sorry, but we don’t have any money. Won’t you take us across?’ The ferryman replied, ‘What? No money? I don’t believe it. Then why did you get on this boat? I don’t carry passengers who don’t pay. Please pay quickly.’”

Journalist: “What did you do when you didn’t have money to pay?”

Mao: “Xiao said, ‘We really don’t have any money. We don’t even have a single coin on us. Please row us across, and a month later, we will pay you double.’

‘One month later? Will I still recognize you then?’ the ferryman asked.

‘If you don’t have money, then leave me an umbrella as payment.’”

I replied, ‘No, we can’t give you the umbrella. Besides, an umbrella is worth fourteen copper coins, and the two of us crossing the river together would only cost four copper coins in total!’

The ferryman shouted, ‘If you don’t pay, you can’t cross the river!’

Journalist: “When the ferryman didn’t let you pass, what did you do?”

Mao: “I said, ‘You say we can’t cross the river? But we’re already in the middle of the river now. Let’s see what you can do to us.’”

The ferryman continued to shout, ‘You’re nothing but robbers! I’m going to send you back.’

Journalist: “Haha, the ferryman wanted to send you back?”

Mao: “Yes, the ferryman threatened us. At this point, other passengers raised their voices in protest. Initially, they listened to our conversation with curiosity, but now they were all shouting, ‘No, no! We need to cross the river urgently. We’ve already paid! Hurry up and row us across.’”

Among the passengers, an elderly person with a gentle demeanor came forward and said, “I’m willing to pay two copper coins on their behalf, and the other passengers can pay the remaining two copper coins. We absolutely cannot go back.”

Several other passengers agreed with the elderly man’s suggestion. But both Xia and I shouted loudly, ‘No, no! We don’t agree. You can’t pay for us!’ At that moment, Xia had a clever idea and said, ‘Now that the ferry has reached the middle of the river, the ferryman can take a break and let me row. This way, we can compensate for the cost of our ferry ride.’

Journalist: “Haha, Xia had a great idea, didn’t he?”

Mao: “But the boatman didn’t agree and said, ‘I would still lose four copper coins, and I don’t need to rest. Since kind-hearted passengers are willing to pay for you, why don’t you let them?’ He accused us of deliberately causing trouble and called us live bandits!

At this point, the passengers became impatient and started shouting, ‘Row the boat!’

The elderly man repeatedly assured the ferryman that when the boat docked, he would pay on our behalf. After the other passengers disembarked, the ferryman immediately moved the boat away from the shore, stopping it about 20 yards away, indicating that he was afraid we would escape. The elderly man remained on the boat and insisted on paying for our fare, but I insisted that we would return within a month and would pay then.

Xia also interjected, saying, ‘Old sir, if you pay the four copper coins, it would be like slapping us in the face and putting us in a difficult position.’

Upon hearing Xiao’s words, the ferryman immediately shouted, ‘Slapping or not, if you don’t pay, I’ll teach you a lesson!’”

Journalist: “It seems like a deadlock. What did you do then?”

Mao: “I immediately replied, ‘If you want to fight, we don’t care.’ By this time, there were already people on the shore waiting to cross, and another ferry had reached the middle of the river. The ferryman was well aware that if the other boat docked first, he would lose those passengers. So, he finally accepted his misfortune, brought the boat back to the shore, and grumbled at us, scolding us.

Once the ferry docked, the elderly man and the three of us jumped off the boat. We smiled at the ferryman and said, ‘Thank you, goodbye.’”

Mao: “The elderly man quickly set off on his way, and we continued along the main road ahead, not knowing where the road would lead us. We only knew that it was a major road connecting Changsha to Ningxiang County.

On the way, Xiao said to me, ‘That old man who wanted to pay for us was very kind. Since we are beggars, we could have accepted his help. But if we had accepted it, we would have taken the easy way out. Whatever we do, we must choose the most challenging path.’”

Journalist: “Oh, it seems that Xiao’s idea was admirable.”

Mao: “I said, ‘It wouldn’t be good to keep many people waiting by the riverbank. If there were no people around, we could have had a good fight with that boatman!’”

Journalist: “So, you finally set off on your journey. How was the road?”

Mao: “Everyone knows that hunger is very uncomfortable. On our way to Ningxiang, we came across a small food shop. The owner asked us what we wanted to eat or drink. We felt awkward directly asking her for food. If we went door to door begging for food, we might not gather enough for a proper meal. So, Xiao suggested that we seek assistance from nearby educated families. I then asked the shop owner if there were any educated families nearby. She introduced us to two or three families, and we decided to target Scholar Liu, an elderly retired scholar, and planned to approach him for assistance.”