The channel at Luoyan Shoal shifts every three years, and throughout Sichuan, only the channel markers approved by the Pilotage Office are recognized. The 900-ton grain ship of the Three Beasts Company, loaded with cargo, is trapped outside the shoal by the tail end of a flood, waiting to rot. The office pilot takes one look at the water and refuses the job. The old foreman in the winch house shoves Lu Zhao, a shoal laborer suspended from pilot duty, forward. First Mate Shi blocks the ladder, scoffing that Lu Zhao has neither a license nor shoes. But Lu Zhao points out that two of the three shoal lights have been moved. The true and false marker posts, the rope knots, and the moss stains do not match. The real channel lies in a strip of dim, bright water forty paces to the left of the main light, with a depth only three inches greater than the ship's draft. The shipowner, He Tong, pins the pilotage form to the railing and pressures him to sign, knowing that whoever signs will be liable for the entire loss. Cen Qing, an inspector from the office, holds up a shrouded patrol lantern and adds a note to his register. Lu Zhao's license number field is still blank.
