The boat left Ganzhou Wharf and traveled downstream for less than half an hour before the river opened up.
The mountains on either bank lacked the vast, majestic wildness of the north. They were a pale green, lightly veiled in a layer of mist.
The river wind struck his face, damp and clammy, utterly unlike the dry, cold sea wind at Tianjin Wharf.
Chen Mo stood at the bow in a daze, the hem of his clothes snapping in the wind.
Li Jinrong emerged from the cabin carrying a small dish of peanuts, tossing them into his mouth as he walked and crunching them loudly.
He stopped beside Chen Mo, craned his neck to look at the mist-shrouded river ahead, and held the dish of peanuts out to him. "Want some?"
Chen Mo waved a hand and did not take any.
"Uncle Chen, I need to tell you something." The fat man chewed on a peanut and secretly glanced at him.
"Mm?"
"Once we unload the cargo, are you really not going to meet my cousin?"
"No."
The fat man drew the dish back and pinched another peanut between his fingers, tossing it into his mouth. "I've already talked you up over there, told them what an extraordinary man you are, how capable you are. If you don't go meet her, where am I supposed to put my face?"
"Put it wherever you please."
The fat man choked on that, a peanut lodging in his throat. He coughed twice before finally swallowing it down.
"Fine."
He brushed the salt grains from his hands. "Since you, sir, don't think she's good enough for you, forget it. I'll send my uncle a telegram later, tell him you already belong to someone, and have them seek someone more worthy."
Chen Mo ignored him.