Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 663

The decision had been made earlier, and now Zhu Zhenghong was even more determined and serious.

He hurriedly said, "Butler, quickly arrange the boat. You will personally escort Doctor Sun and the others through the lock tonight!"

Then he asked Yuan Qing, "Is there anything else I should pay attention to?"

Yuan Qing was a little stunned. He didn't expect things to turn out this way, but he didn't show it on his face. He said, "Please clean the boat inside and out. There must be no strange smells. Everyone on the boat must shower and change clothes.

To the southeast of the boat, place a pot of asparagus fern and a bottle of clear water; the Guanyin statue should be placed in the southeast room, and all fabrics used in the room should be bright red fine cotton, not silk or satin..."

Yuan Qing made up a bunch of nonsense, the main point of which was that he had many trivial requirements, but he didn't pursue expensive things, so as to avoid making people feel that he was being taken advantage of.

Moreover, Guanyin Bodhisattva, who saves people from suffering and has compassion for all living beings, how could she ask believers to provide valuable things?

Since he had already made the arrangements, Song Ying took out a jade-white porcelain box and handed it to him. "This is a specially made ointment. Apply it to the Yongquan acupoint on the soles of your feet twice a day for six quarters of an hour each time."

Zhu Zhenghong signaled the maid to take it. They said the ointment was being prepared early in the morning, but he hadn't seen it yet. He thought it was an excuse, but he didn't expect that they were really making the ointment for him.

Mrs. Zhu asked anxiously, "Can you please leave me a prescription? If the illness recurs and we can't find Doctor Sun for a while, we can get the medicine ourselves according to the prescription."

Yuan Qing nodded: "I can give it to you, but we have to wait until we pass Nanyang smoothly."

Although Zhu Zhenghong was very serious and looked like he respected ghosts and gods and wanted to send them away sincerely, they still had to hold back.

After a pause, he continued, "The prescriptions are all adjusted based on the condition of the patient. Before you get the medicine, you must ask the doctor to add or subtract ingredients based on the condition."

Although Mrs. Zhu was a little worried, she had to agree.

After agreeing to board the ship at the dock at 2:15 p.m., Song Ying and Yuan Qing went back, saying that they had to make some arrangements for the Guanyin statue.

It was almost noon and not long before the afternoon. Zhu Zhenghong decided to contact his superiors two days ago just in case. Although time was tight, he still made it in time.

-----------------

At 3 p.m. in the autumn afternoon, the sun's warmth had faded. Idle people who were basking in the sun on the pier rolled up their sleeves and were about to leave when they suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar.

Turning around, they saw a horse-drawn carriage slowly approaching. People were very curious. In the past, it was not uncommon to see cars coming and going on the dock, but now the gate was closed. Even if they went north, they were not allowed to pass to the next gate.

In this situation, it is a bit strange that a carriage is coming.

When the carriage stopped and the steward of the Zhu family trotted over, the people suddenly realized that it was someone from the Zhu family. No wonder.

"Doctor Sun, you are finally here. The boat is ready." Butler Zhu said with a smile.

Yuan Qing stepped onto a stool and got off the carriage. Looking up, he saw a three-meter-long boat docked not far away.

The hull of the boat is painted in the color of Xiangfei bamboo, and the side panels are carved with peony branches. The stamens are inlaid with thumb-sized mother-of-pearl, which emits a colorful halo when the sun shines on it.

The roof of the boat is covered with black tiles with cloud patterns, and a gilded bird-scare bell is hung on each eaves. When the river breeze blows past, the tinkling sound can scare away ducks three meters away.

Looking from a distance, it looks exquisite and gorgeous.

"Is it clean?" he asked.

Butler Zhu nodded and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll personally see to it. It's cleaned spotlessly inside and out. Anyone who comes up later will have showered and changed clothes."

Yuan Qing raised his eyes and looked at the sky: "Then let's get on board first."

Butler Zhu made way, the curtain of the carriage was lifted up, and a camphorwood box that was half a person's height was slowly pushed out from inside.

The box glowed with a dark brown glow, and its four corners were covered with engraved copper work. The lotus pattern engraved on the surface of the box was faintly visible in the sunset glow, as if it could breathe.

Then, a burly man came out from inside. His coarse cloth shorts could not hide his muscular body. He gathered his energy into his dantian and together with the driver who had been sitting on the shaft of the cart, they put the box on the poles, one in front and one behind. With a loud shout, they both worked hard and lifted the box with great effort. However, their feet were a little unstable and they staggered for several steps before they could stand firm.

Housekeeper Zhu was shocked and quickly asked the servants who came with him to help. He then asked Yuan Qing, "How big is the Guanyin statue you bought?"

"It's only about three feet tall, but it's made of bronze, so it's heavier."

After moving the "Guanyin Statue" onto the boat, the Chu Dajiang brothers came back and carried a few boxes from the carriage onto the boat.

In response to this, when Butler Zhu looked over, Yuan Qing explained, "Our ceremony also includes some traditional rituals."

After all the gifts were loaded onto the ship, Yuan Qing and Song Yingcai boarded together.

Then, Steward Zhu brought two water transport soldiers aboard and pointed at one of them, saying, "This is Captain Luo from Pingshan Guard. He's here for a routine inspection. Don't worry, he's already bathed and changed his clothes."

Yuan Qing frowned and said nothing.

Captain Luo first stared at their faces for a while, then walked over to the box and said, "Open it."

"No!" Yuan Qing flatly refused. "This Guanyin statue has been blessed. It must be opened after we get it home. Now that it's opened, my Guanyin statue will no longer be effective!"

Captain Luo glared and was about to scold him, but Butler Zhu hurriedly said, "Captain Luo, for the sake of our master, please let it go. There are indeed many taboos in matters concerning the gods."

When Zhu Zhenghong was mentioned, Mr. Luo's expression softened a little.

Seeing this, Yuan Qing said again: "You can open the rest of the boxes and check them."

As he said this, he signaled Chu Dajiang to open the other boxes.

Captain Luo just glanced at it without checking. He snorted and his eyes fell on the half-man-high camphorwood box again. "Since it's Master Zhu who's doing the guarantee, there's no problem. I'll take you through the gate."

As he said this, he walked towards the deck outside.

Yuan Qing pretended not to notice the other dawdling canal soldier. His eyes only paused when he glanced at the open boxes, and then he went out.

Chu Dajiang and Chu Dahe closed the open boxes one by one, and when they turned around, they saw the dawdling canal soldier approaching the large camphor wood box.

Chu Dajiang's expression turned stern. He took two steps forward, but stopped abruptly when he was close. He just put his hand on the camphorwood box and said, "General, is there anything else?"

The transport soldier glanced at the box and smiled, "Nothing."

After saying that, he also went out.

Chu Dajiang and Chu Dahe looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief.

The canal soldier went out and, while no one was paying attention, leaned close to Captain Luo's ear and whispered, "The two porters were guarding it, so I only opened a crack and took a quick look. There is indeed a statue of Guanyin inside."

Luo Bazong frowned, "Are you sure? Are there any Tibetans in any corner?"

The soldier shook his head. "There's only a Guanyin statue inside. You can see to the bottom at a glance. There's definitely no one there."