Treasure Fish!

Treasure Fish!

Three fish baskets full of catch were carried off the boat, drawing the attention of the fishermen. Especially when the most eye-catching Spotted Head Fish appeared, it sparked a small wave of discussion.

"Whose boat is that? They must've run into a fish school, right? What incredible luck. Oh, and there's even a Spotted Head Fish!"

"Don't know them. They look strangely familiar. There are only a few well-known skilled hands around the wharf, but that boat doesn't look like one of theirs?"

"Isn't that A Shui's Small Sampan? The one that leper insisted on trading for."

"Who's A Shui?"

"You forgot? Liang Dajiang's boy, the unusually handsome one."

"He's still alive? Didn't he become an orphan? Last time I saw him borrowing grain, he got thrown out."

"Shh. He's living just fine. What nonsense are you talking about?"

Hearing this, the fishermen present were somewhat surprised. Clearly, none of them had expected an orphan to survive on his own. It was truly rare.

"Pah, pah, pah. He's a poor, hard-fated child too. Still, it looks like he can support himself now. That's not easy."

"Our wharf may be producing another skilled hand! Too bad he isn't my kid. Mine are completely useless."

The fishermen sighed with feeling and exchanged a few envious remarks. Once they saw the fish baskets carried into the Fishing Wharf shop, they dispersed.

Orphans had a hard time surviving. Though it was uncommon for one to make it alone, it was none of their business. They were merely watching the excitement. Could he really amount to anything in the future?

On the other side, Lin Baosong weighed the fish and did the accounts. "Including the Spotted Head Fish, it comes to one hundred and thirty-two copper coins. How about I count it as one hundred and thirty-five?"

"Give me one mace of broken silver and ten copper coins."

"One mace of broken silver?" Lin Songbao fell into thought.

Prices had been stable these past few years. Officially, one tael of silver could be exchanged for roughly a thousand copper coins. However, silver held its value. A thousand copper coins definitely could not buy one tael of silver; it took around twelve hundred.

Exchanging one hundred and twenty-five copper coins for one mace of broken silver meant he would make a slight profit.

With that in mind, Lin Songbao agreed. He put away the string of copper coins he had taken out and replaced it with a piece of broken silver and ten copper coins.

"Put it away."

"Mm."

After leaving the fish shop, Liang Qu followed his usual routine and went to a Small Restaurant for a meal. It was still the same three dishes, and he pondered as he ate.

"I already have two taels and three mace. I'm still short four taels and seven mace before I can gather enough money for the Martial Arts School. If I can save a hundred coins every day, I'll only need two months. But that would stand out too much. Even if I do it, there needs to be a gradual improvement."

With Fat Catfish's help, Liang Qu's daily catch was already greater than that of ordinary fishermen. But if he had been earning thirty copper coins a day just several days ago and suddenly shot up, it would be far too suspicious. He needed to give people time to get used to it.

As for why he had suddenly sold over a hundred coins' worth of fish today—who had never gotten lucky and run into a fish school?

It was like catching Yellow Croaker. Once or twice did not matter. Only when it happened too often did he need a suitable excuse.

"Besides, the autumn taxes are due at the end of autumn. Tax money is another problem. Two months is nowhere near enough. If I can't pay, I'll be seized for corvée labor. Fuck this damn feudal society."

Liang Qu had a clear plan for his future. He had to learn martial arts.

Not only because he had come to this world and wanted to see how vast it was, but also because a Zhao Residence hung over his head.

That damned old bastard was like the Sword of Damocles.

Liang Qu viciously scraped up the last mouthful of rice. After paying, he returned home and flopped onto his bed.

"If only I could catch a Treasure Fish like that Tiger Head Grouper."

He remembered that someone at the neighboring wharf had caught a five-pound Tiger Head Grouper last month. A Martial Master had taken it at the market, paying the astronomical price of three taels and five mace of silver.

Such fish had miraculous effects in tempering the body. One fish could save a Martial Artist over a month of effort. It might be even more precious than the Treasure Lotus Root he had discovered.

Just as Liang Qu wondered whether he should spend some time having Six-Whiskered Catfish search for one, a burst of noise suddenly came from outside, only to quickly subside.

"Ah, someone's arguing again."

That was how small places were. If any household argued a little too loudly, every neighbor on both sides would hear it loud and clear.

Liang Qu thought that once he had money, he would definitely buy a huge courtyard—ten courtyards in and ten courtyards out—then hire ten beautiful maids, all with slender waists, long legs, fair skin, and pretty faces, serving tea in soft, sweet voices and inviting him to drink. He would live like a lord too.

Bang, bang bang.

The knocking interrupted his fantasy. Liang Qu rose in surprise. It couldn't be Zheng Xiang again, could it?

"Who is it?"

"Me."

The visitor was speaking in pointless riddles, but Liang Qu hurriedly got up and opened the door. He knew that voice far too well; he could not possibly forget it.

When he opened the door, Liang Qu saw Chen Qingjiang, his face dark, stuffing a small cloth bag into his hands before turning and leaving without a word.

"Uncle Chen! What is this?"

Liang Qu did not even manage to catch up before that departing figure had returned home. He could only open the cloth bag. Inside was rice grain, and quite a lot of it—five or six jin at least.

In an instant, he understood everything.

In order to sell for a little more money, Uncle Chen had to travel more than ten li to town every day to sell fish. He was an honest and kind man, and likely had no idea Liang Qu was already capable of supporting himself. He must have thought Liang Qu was still living in hardship.

"This really wasn't necessary."

Liang Qu sighed. He dared not forget the kindness of a single pancake.

Without that pancake, he might have starved to death at home long ago. It was only because martial arts and the autumn taxes both required money that he had never found the chance to do anything in return.

The argument just now must have been between Uncle Chen and his wife?

Liang Qu felt deeply ashamed.

After delivering the rice, Chen Qingjiang returned home, where the atmosphere remained silent.

His wife, A Di, sat alone in the corner sulking. She did not spare her husband a glance, only lowered her head and sorted tangled threads. Under normal circumstances, she would not have refused to send rice. But their younger son had fallen ill some days ago. The illness had been cured, yet their savings were gone. After autumn, they still had to pay taxes—taxes for three people!

Wasn't this slapping their own faces swollen just to pretend they were fat?

For a time, the two sat facing each other without a word.

The candle flame flickered indoors, painting the walls a dim red.

After a long while, Chen Qingjiang abruptly rose. The wind he stirred pressed the candle flame low, and its wavering light nearly caused A Di to prick her hand. She raised her head angrily, only to find her body suddenly becoming light.

A Di's mind went blank, and she flushed with shame and anger. "What are you doing now?"

Chen Qingjiang held his wife in his arms and lowered his head to blow out the candle. In a muffled voice, he said, "Sleeping!"

"Da Wa and Er Wa are sleeping!"

"Two little piglets. What's there to be afraid of?"

A Di's mind went completely blank. Her face reddened, and none of her earlier anger remained.

This was how one dealt with women.

At the doorway, Liang Qu heard the sounds coming from inside and withdrew the hand he had been about to use to knock. His expression turned awkward.

He had originally thought it was not good for the couple to quarrel over him and wanted to come apologize. Instead, he had stumbled into something this embarrassing.

He lifted the bag of rice in his hand. Liang Qu could only bring it back home and wait until another day.

For the next half month, Liang Qu sold fish at the wharf, gradually increasing his daily catch.

His earnings rose gradually from forty copper coins to eighty, establishing the image of a young and promising Fishing talent.

Ordinary fishermen earned around sixty or seventy copper coins a day. Only experienced, strong fishermen like Chen Qingjiang could make eighty coins, while merely a handful of exceptional skilled hands could earn over a hundred.

Liang Qu was only fifteen or sixteen, and an orphan at that. To achieve this much left the fishermen who had seen it at the wharf greatly astonished.

For a time, he gained a modest reputation and received no small amount of envy and jealousy.

There was one strange thing, though.

These past few days, Liang Qu had wanted to return the rice to Uncle Chen's family, but he had failed to find anyone after several attempts.

It seemed that as soon as day broke, the entire family went out to work. They perfectly missed each other every time. It was utterly baffling.

That should not have been the case. Could it be that Sister A Di went out to work too? With no one at home, did they have to bring the children along? Pondering this, Liang Qu walked to the wharf and unexpectedly saw someone he did not want to see.

The Matchmaker. His performance over the past two days had successfully caught the Matchmaker's attention, and she had come to his door again and again, wanting to arrange a marriage!

"I already told you, I have no plans to marry for now."

Liang Qu quickly jumped onto the sampan, untied the rope, and rapidly rowed away.

There was a certain haste to his retreating figure. The fishermen on shore merely assumed Liang Qu was embarrassed and laughed at him.

"Don't make things hard for A Shui. He's still a virgin!"

"He probably doesn't even understand how wonderful women are!"

"What a shame. Why not introduce her to me instead?"

"You old lifelong bachelor, go play with your balls!"

Liang Qu had not expected that displaying his "Fishing talent" at the wharf would turn him into such a prized catch on the marriage market. He rowed until the wharf was no longer visible before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Once he reached the Lotus Root Waters, he smacked the water's surface with his oar.

The massive Zhu Po Long slowly surfaced. Upon seeing the boat, it wagged its tail and placed a pair of claws against the gunwale.

Seeing no one around, Liang Qu took his fishing net and an air-filled pig bladder before diving underwater.

Man and beast searched the water for A Fei's figure.

Liang Qu's daily limit for fish catches was around one hundred and fifty copper coins, but he could only put eighty coins' worth in the open. Thus, he spent his remaining time searching for Treasure Fish, while Fat Catfish had even less time to rest.

But Treasure Fish were hard to find. He had discovered none for several days, until just now, when A Fei's Mental Link brought news.

It had found a Treasure Fish!