Cuicui's fight into the bamboo grove and the old fer- ryman's long delay in coming down to the landing suggested to Nuosong that his prospects here were not good.

Although the old ferryman was constantly intimating that Nuosong“had a chance for success in this,"the old man's hes- itant explanations were very inept;they made No.2 think of his elder brother,and he misinterpreted them.He felt a little aggricved and a little angry.On his third day back home, someone arrived from Middle Stockade to sound him out. During an overnight stay in Shunshun's house on River Street, the man asked Shunshun where No.2 stood-did he still want the new mill or not?Shunshun referred the question tö No.2

himself.

No.2 answered,“Papa,if this is for you—if adding a mill and a woman to the household would make you happy,then you give the go-ahead.If this is for me,then I need to think it over and wait a few days before answering.I still don't know

if I ought to take the mill or the ferryboat;perhaps my fate

will only allow me to operate the boat!"

The man who'd come to sound them out marked these

words and set out for Middle Stockade to report on his mis-

sion.When he came to the ferry at Green Creek Hill and

saw the old ferryman,he recalled No.2's words and couldn'

help smiling to himself.On learning that the man was from

Middle Stockade,the ferryman asked him what business he

had in town.

The Middle Stockade man knew enough to be circum-

spect in his words;

“Nothing much,I just went to Fleetmaster Shunshun's

house on River Street and sat a spell.'

“They say one doesn't go to the Temple of the Three Bud-

dhist Treasures without a good reason.If you sat down there

you must have had something to say!'

“We did exchange some pleasantries.”

“What did you talk about?”The other man said nothing

further,so the old ferryman went on:"I hear that someone

from Middle Stockade wants to give away a mill by the river-

side,together with his daughter,to Shunshun down on River

Street.Has there been any progress in that matter?”

The man from Middle Stockade grinned."It's a done deal

I asked Shunshun.He's quite willing to join families with

the man from Middle Stockade.Then he asked the young

man...

“And how did he feel about it?”

“He said:A mill and a ferryboat lie before me.Originally I wanted the ferry,but now I've decided on the mill.A boat is always on the move,whereas a mill stays in place.'That fellow

has a head on him.”

This man from Middle Stockade was a rice broker,good at weighing his words.He well knew what the “ferryboat” referred to,but he didn't let on.When he saw the old ferry- man start to speak,the Middle Stockade man broke in first:

“Everything depends on fate.Human actions hardly have a hand in it.It's too bad that Shunshun's No.1—such a hand-

some lad—had to drown in the river!”

This stabbed the old ferryman right in the heart.He swal- lowed the words he was about to speak.After the man from Middle Stockade had come ashore and gone on his way,the old ferryman stood dejectedly in the prow of his boat,dazed. Ruminating about how distant No.2 had been the time before,he felt very upset

Cuicui was quite happily occupied under the pagoda. She went up to the high blufs,wanting Grandpa to sing to her from below,but he paid her no attention.She went down to the stream,sulking,until she saw that Grandpa for some unknown reason looked very dispirited.When Cuicui approached and Grandpa saw her dusky,happy face,he put on a semblance of a smile.But there was someone transport- ing goods awaiting the ferry on the other side,so Grandpa

said nothing.He pulled the boat south across the stream in

silence,until midway he broke our loudly into song.Afrer

ferrying the passenger,Grandpa jumped up on the dock and

went up to Cuicui with a wry smile on his face again.He

wiped his forehead with his hand.

Cuicui said,

“Whats the matter,Grandfather,are you sufering from

heatstroke?Lie down and rest in the shade!Ill take care of

the boat.”

“Yes,you take care of it.Fine.Excellent,this boat is yours

to take care of!”

He felt like he really did have heatstroke.He was sick at

heart.Though he put up a strong front before Cuicui,when

he was alone in the house he found a piece of broken porce-

lain,cut himself in a few places on his arms and legs to let out

some blood,then lay down to sleep.

Taking up her post on the boat,Cuicui fele strangely

euphoric.She thought."If Grandfather won't sing for me,rll

sing myself.”

She sang a good many songs.Lying in bed with his eyes

shut andlistening dlosely,the old ferryman grew anxious.But

he knew that this illness would not be the end of him;he

would still be able to get up tomorrow.He decidcd to go to

town the next day and look around on River Street.He also

mulled over many other matters

When the morning came,however,though he left the

bed,his head still hung heavy.Grandpa was truly ill.Cuicui, knowing just what to do,boiled up a pot of fever-breaking herbal medicine and made Grandpa drink it.She also went out back to the garden to pick sour garlic sprouts for steeping in rice broth,as a cure.She frequently took time out from minding the boat to return home and look in on Grandpa and ply him with questions.But he had nothing to say;a secret pained him.Yet,after three days in bed,he was well. He scemed strong as ever as he paced in front and back of the house,but something was worrying him,so he prepared to journey to River Street.Cuicui couldn't understand what could be so imporrant as to make Grandpa go to town so soon.She begged him not to go.

The old ferryman rubbed his hands together,wondering whether he ought to tell her what his business was.Standing before Cuicui,with her bright eyes and dark,oval face,he had to sigh

“I have something important to do,”he said,“and I have

to go today!”

Cuicui smiled disdainfully:“What's so urgent?Surely it's

not...”

The old ferryman knew his granddaughter's temper; he could hear the unbappiness in her voice,so he stopped insisting on going.Laying on the table the bamboo tube and embroidered cloth shoulder bag he'd prepared for the trip,he said,with a fawning smile,“All right,I won't go.Since you're

afraid I might fall down dead,I won't go.I thought Id go to town in the morning,before it got too hot,and finish my business—but I don't have to go.I can go tomorrow!”

Cuicui replied,softly and gently,"Yes,tomorrow will be fine.Your legs are still weak!A day's rest will do you good.”

Seeming not really willing to give in,the old ferryman shrugged and stepped away.As he crossed over the high door threshold,he nearly tripped headlong over the stick he used to make straw sandals.When he'd steadied himself,Cuicui put on a pained smile and said:“Grandfather,you see,you still don't know how to take advice!”The old man picked up the stick and threw it into a corner of the room,adding; “Your grandfather may be old,but just wait a few days,and Fll hunt you a leopard!"

In the afternoon it rained,but the old ferryman said good-bye to Cuicui and went to town anyway.Since Cui- cui couldn't go with him,she insisted that the yellow dog accompany him.Once in town,he was detained by a fiend who wanted to talk about the price of salt and rice.Then he went to the army barracks to see the new mules and horses purchased by the head of the likin tax bureau before he finally got to Shunshun's house on River Street.There he found Shunshun playing cards with three other men.Unable to speak to him in private,he just stood bchind Shunshun and

looked at his hand.After a while Shunshun invited him for a drink,but the ferryman begged off,on the excuse that he had

been sick.The card players weren't ready to go home and the old ferryman wasn't about to leave,cither.Shunshun seemed unable to figure out why he had come;he just concentrated on his hand.It was another man who took note of the old ferryman's discomfort and asked if he had something to dis- cuss.That made the old ferryman rub his two hands together nervously,as was his habit,and say,not really,he just wanted to exchange a word or two with the Heetmaster.

The fHectmaster finally understood why the ferryman had been standing behind him,looking at his cards for so long. He turned around and smiled at the old ferryman.

“Why didn't you say so?You didn't say anything,so I thought you must be trying to learn a few tricks of the game.”

“It's nothing,just a little something I wanted totalkabout. I didn't want to spoil the fun-didn't dare interrupt you.”

The Heetmaster threw his cards down on the table.Smil-

ing,he went into the back room,with the old ferryman fol- lowing behind.

“What's on your mind?”the feetmaster asked,with an expression hinting that he knew what the boatman was about to say,and also bearing a touch of pity.

“I heard a man from Middle Stockade say you were pre paring to link your family in marriage with the militia cap-

tain there.Is it true?”

The feetmaster could see the old ferryman's eyes fixed on

him,begging for theanswer he wanted.“Yout ve heard ight,”said.

the Hcetmaster.But the implication was,“What's it to you?”

“That's a fact?”the old ferryman asked.

“True enough,”the other said,unconcernedly.But the

implication,again,was another question:“Fact is,what busi-

ness is it of yours?”

Pretending to be completely unruffled,the old ferrymar

asked,“What does No.2 say?”

The Heetmaster replicd:“No.2 has taken a boat down to

Taoyuan and been gone for several days now!"

As it happened,No.2 had gone downriver to Taoyuan

only afer quarreling with his father.The deetmaster might be

extremely open-minded,bur that didnt mean he was willing

to have the girl who had killed his first son,even if indirectly,

become the wife of his second;that was very clear.Local

custom held that these things were all up to the younger

generation--the elders were not to interfere.No.2 was trul

fond of Cuicui,and Cuicui loved No.2 also.The fleetmaster

was not opposed to this sort of love match.But for some rea-

son,the old ferryman's concentration on the matter had made

both father and son misunderstand his motives.Whenever

the feetmaster thought ofhis recent family tragedy,he asso-

ciated it with this old and meddlesome boatman.There was

no outward sign ofit,but inwardly there was a big hitch.

Without letting the old ferryman continue,the Heet-

master told him,somewhat bluntly:

“Uncle,no more of this.Our mouths are for drinking, not singing the young folks songs for them!I know exactly what you mean to say,and you mean well.But I'm asking you to understand my position.We should talk about matters that are up to us,not try to pull strings for our youngsters.”

After this final blow,the old ferryman still had something to say,but the Heetmaster wouldn't let him speak another word;he pulled him back to the card table.

The old ferryman was speechless.He looked at the Heet- master,who was smiling and telling lots of jokes,but the way he threw down his cards showed his distress.Without another word,the old ferryman donned his conical hat and left.

It was still early,so the dejected old man went back into town to find Horseman Yang He was drinking.The old ferry- man pleaded that he was still sick,but couldn't help drinking a few cups ofliquor anyway.Feeling hot fiom the walking by the time he got to Green Creek Hill,he washed himself in the stream.He was tired,so he asked Cuicui to keep on tending the boat while he went home and slept.

As dusk fell,the weather became quite oppressive.The stream was covered with red dragonflies.Mist was already gathering and hot winds were noisily rustling the bamboos in the mountain groves on cither side of the stream.It looked as ifit would rain that night.Cuicui was with the boat,warching the dragonfies as they fitted across the creek.Her heart was ill at easc,too.Seeing Grandpa so deijccted,she grew worricd

and hurried home.She thought he would already be in bed,

but he was siting on the doorstep,weaving straw sandals.

“Grandfather,how many shoes do you need?Aren't there

fourteen pairs up by your bed as itis?Why don't you lie down

and rest?”

Instead of answering,the old ferryman stood up and

looked at the sky.He said,softly:“Cuicui,there'll be a heavy

thunderstorm tonight!Let's tie up our boat under the cliffs

The rain tonight is going to be heavy.'

Cuicui said,"Grandfather,I'm afraid!"But what Cuicu

feared didn't seem to be the coming thunderstorm

Acting as if he hadn't understood her,the old ferryman

said,“What's there to be afraid of?What will be will be

Don't be scared.”