Farewell to ferryman

Fan remembers their kindness, though he has a bad memory and cannot even remember his own age.

He admitted that for a while he was tired of the hard work and considered leaving to be a migrant worker in the city like other villagers. However, he could not bear to part with his ferry pole and leave the villagers.

"As long as the ferry is there, I will be there. I feel attached to it," Fan said, adding that it is his responsibility to bring everybody home safe and sound.

His loyalty to the job has come at a price. His daughter left the family at 17 and disavowed him as he could not afford her high school education.

"I feel very sad every time I think about it," he said.

Fan has not seen his daughter in years, nor has he heard from her as he does not have a cellphone. The last time they saw each other was at her grandmother's funeral several years ago.

He misses her very much. Occasionally, he squints longingly at a faded passport photo of his daughter." She is 24 now," he said.

In recent years, the number of passengers has dwindled drastically, even during the Spring Festival holidays, as newly built cement roads have spread to every village in the province.

Ferries may have lost their luster as a means of transportation. Only one or two passengers showed up at the ferry requesting his services one morning.

However, he has not gotten used to the change. At noon, he returns to his old dirt-walled house, gulps his lunch in five minutes, and then rushes back to the ferry－an old habit that he developed over his years of work.

Still, he has to work late in the evening because the Spring Festival is usually celebrated by feasting, and drunk villagers are not fit to drive or ride a motorcycle.

For many years, he dreamed of a bridge across the creek so that he could be unshackled from the toil. He even bragged about donating 2,000 yuan to the project－the most his impoverished family could afford.

His dream will come true soon. A bridge spanning the creek is under construction and is expected to be opened this year.

There are 12 ferrymen in Pucheng county, which the river runs through. Last year, the county launched a project to replace ferries with bridges. By the end of this year, six ferries will give way to bridges, including the one at Fan's post.

"I am happy to leave the ferry," said Fan, who will become a sanitary worker in the village. "But before I say farewell, I will ferry well."