Golden Fishing Village

Early in the morning, Ao Daguo got up and got busy.

Although the Big Dragon Head was not his ship, Ao Muyang trusted him and asked him to steer the ship. According to the rules, he was the boss of the ship, the captain, and the person in charge of the ship.

As for Ao Muyang, the dragon head? He was a spiritual leader. He didn't care about the things on the ship. He cared about the people and how to lead them to make money.

With his son Ao Wuwei, Ao Daguo got on the ship early and hung firecrackers.

After Ao Muyang arrived at the dock, Ao Daguo waved to him: "Dragon Head, you come to arrange the water spirit."

Fishermen love their boats more than their own lives, especially the boat owner, who should cherish the boat more, because the boat is alive and the people are alive. If the boat capsizes and people die, the boat owner is responsible for a lot.

In the Hongyang area, fishermen call boats water dragons and believe that every boat has its own soul.

In order to place their faith, fishermen will seriously create a "boat soul" in the cabin, which is what Ao Daguo calls the "water spirit".

In the past, fishermen used wooden boats, which they could build by themselves. So every time the frame of a new boat was built, the boat owner would dig a small hole with a small piece of wood, put copper plates, copper coins or silver dollars in, and then worship them in a stable cabin. This is the water spirit.

The reason why this thing is used to make the water spirit is because there is a proverb in the fishermen, called one copper, two silver and three gold, to suppress evil and drive away disasters and reassure the heart. Copper, silver and gold are believed to be able to drive away evil spirits.

In addition, Qiantan Town has a unique custom, that is, the water spirits made also have women's things or daily necessities, such as hair, handkerchiefs, etc., which can be tied to the copper coins and put into the small hole.

Similarly, in local customs, things on women who have given birth also have the function of warding off evil spirits.

Ao Daguo had already made this. After Ao Muyang boarded the boat, he handed it over and said, "Dragon Head, you come and place the water spirit."

Ao Muyang nodded, he took the small wooden block, then took the silver needle and steel nail to the bottom of the cabin, and nailed the small wooden block into the cabin with a hammer.

This is also the rule. The water spirit must be placed in the place closest to the water, because the boat is a water dragon, and it can only be spiritual with water.

After Ao Muyang placed the water spirit, he returned to the bow and waved. Ao Daguo took off his cigarette and shouted, "Brothers, fire the cannon and notify the Dragon King that our water dragon will go to the sea to meet him!"

Strings of firecrackers were lit, and in the deafening sound, curls of white smoke rose. Ao Daguo turned the boat key, and the engine of the Dragon Head made a louder roar.

This big ship was happy to go out to sea for the first time. The fishermen in the village came to the boat and waited to go out to sea with the boat.

Ao Fugui and his son each took a plate on board. There was a jiaji fish on board. This fish has a very festive name and is often used as a tribute to the Dragon King before the development of a new ship.

The two held the jiaji fish and worshiped from the bow to the stern of the boat. The fishermen in the village followed behind and worshiped together, praying for the Dragon King to bless them to go out to sea safely and have a big harvest.

The fishermen on board all had a white rabbit steamed with white flour pinned on their waists. This is also a local custom called "beat a rabbit and pin it on the waist". In this custom, the white rabbit symbolizes a good harvest.

Boxes of beer and bottles of white wine were sent to the fishing boat. At this time, people who like to drink can take the wine to drink. Of course, this is still a custom. Ao Muyang must first offer wine to the sky, the sea, and the Dragon King.

The worship activities for the departure of the new ship were very enthusiastic. The few tourists in the village were attracted to the dock. Lu Zhizi was very interested in this folk activity and also watched curiously at the dock.

Ao Muyang poured a bottle of liquor into the air, poured another bottle into the sea, poured another bottle onto the bow, and then returned with three empty bottles, gesturing to the people on the dock to move aside.

As soon as everyone moved aside, Ao Muyang threw the three bottles down one by one, smashing them one after another.

Lu Zhizi asked curiously, "What kind of custom is this?"

Ao Xiaoniu beside him introduced, "It's because the navigation technology was backward in the past. Teacher, you know, navigation was very dangerous at that time, and it was easy for the ship to be destroyed and people to die."

"At that time, there were no mobile phones, walkie-talkies or radios. People had very few ways to communicate. Every time a ship had an accident, the crew could only write the name of the ship, the time of the accident, the place of the accident, their names, hometowns and other things on paper. In short, they wrote a suicide note and then rolled up the paper and stuffed it into an empty bottle, then sealed the bottle mouth and threw it into the sea, hoping that it would be discovered by passing ships or drifting to the coast."

"In ancient times, bottles were very precious, and the most common one was wine bottles, so people would put suicide notes in wine bottles. But this rescue method is unreliable. The wine bottle may be destroyed at any time. If someone finds out, the boat will probably be destroyed by then."

"So, fishermen and sailors' families have always been afraid of seeing wine bottles, because seeing their loved ones throw wine bottles overboard often means that he is in trouble."

"Later, there was this tradition. When a new ship goes out to sea, the captain of the ship will smash the wine bottles to drive away evil spirits and pray for good luck. The more broken the wine bottles are, the better, indicating that the ship will always have smooth sailing and good luck after it is put into sailing!"

Lu Zhizi suddenly realized: "So that's it, this is, well, this is a desperate move! You fishermen have so many customs!"

Ao Xiaoniu laughed and said, "There is another custom related to you, Mr. Lu, you can't take this boat, I mean you can't take it this time."

Lu Zhizi asked curiously: "Why? Because I'm a woman? Aren't your customs very respectful of women?"

Ao Xiaoniu said: "You guessed half of it right. It's because you are a beauty and you are so beautiful. This is also a legend. Do you want to listen to it?"

Lu Zhizizhao waved his hand and said, "Come and listen."

Ao Xiaoniu said: "This is related to the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Do you know the Eight Immortals?"

Lu Zhizi nodded, and Ao Xiaoniu continued: "The Eight Immortals wanted to cross the sea for the first time to go to Penglai Island. They didn't have a boat, so Tieguai Li turned the crutch in his hand into a brand new dragon boat."

"There were many people on the boat and it was very lively, which alerted the Hualong Prince in the East China Sea Dragon Palace. When the Hualong Prince flew to the sea, he saw that He Xiangu was beautiful and could dance, so he made trouble and snatched her away."

"The other immortals were very reluctant, and each raised their magic weapons to kill Dragon Palace and rescued He Xiangu. From then on, Prince Hualong held a grudge. Every time he saw a new ship going out to sea, he would go and take a look. If he saw beautiful people on board, Girl, just make waves.”

After hearing the explanation, Lu Zhizi couldn't laugh or cry: "What should I say? Should I be grateful for this custom? Is this an official certification that the teacher is beautiful?"

A child watching the excitement said, "Teacher Lu, it's okay. Not only can you not get on this boat, but Ao Xiaoniu can't get on either."

Lu Zhizi asked curiously: "Why?"

Ao Xiaoniu, who was still in high spirits before, quickly turned into a gloomy expression. He glanced at the big boat with nostalgia and said: "Who has to ride on it for the first time? Uncle Yang will definitely take me on a boat in the future. I won't go this time." Just joining in the fun.”