"Splash, splash, splash..."
A small boat moved slowly along the river channel in Dongwu City. As the oars swung back and forth, waves of splashing water rang out, and the spray scattering around it stirred up ripples.
The boatman was short and thin, wearing a straw hat. His skin was dark, and he looked to be around forty years old.
A moment later, the small boat pulled up to the bank, and the boatman carried his basket of fish ashore.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
The surroundings were silent and deserted. The sound of the boatman's footsteps was especially clear in this remote place.
After walking a certain distance, the dark-skinned, thin boatman stopped every so often and looked around, as if worried that someone was following him.
After proceeding cautiously for a while, he had just entered a residential area when a house beside the road opened its door. A middle-aged woman in hemp clothing saw the boatman and greeted him with a smile.
"Old Zhang, why are you back so early today?"
The fisherman stopped. "There are soldiers searching everywhere in the city for criminals today. I was worried something might happen, so I came back early."
The middle-aged woman nodded. "You really should come back early, then."
After saying that, her gaze fell on the fish basket the fisherman was carrying.
"There aren't many fish today, so I'm not selling them. I'll keep them for myself." The fisherman waved his hand, and the middle-aged woman looked a little disappointed.
A while later, the fisherman entered a small alley and arrived in front of an ordinary little house.
He took a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.
The little house had a courtyard. Two plots of land in the yard were planted with vegetables, while