Toad Trade

"Excellent, very good! Uncle Liu is truly the best carpenter in Yi Xing Town; his work is absolutely superb!"

Liang Qu was overjoyed. He never expected that Liu Quanfu would exceed the target. He felt like he had struck gold.

One hundred taels? Worth it!

The order of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants may seem like a class hierarchy, but it's not actually that. The first half of the sentence is missing: it's actually a division of the four classes into professions: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

Political status does not equate to actual status; actual status still depends on money.

Especially with the increasing number of tools: saws, planes, chisels, files, adzes...

A carpenter can make all sorts of things, and they are becoming increasingly exquisite.

In a densely populated and prosperous area like Ping Yang County, skilled carpenters like Liu Quanfu earn far more than farmers.

The craftsmanship is evident in the carvings in Liang Qu's house; earning several taels of silver a month is no problem.

That's why he didn't go to Ping Yang County to look for people, but instead chose to look for Liu Quanfu.

Firstly, we live closer and know each other well; secondly, Liu Quanfu's skills are truly excellent.

He and his seven or eight disciples worked day and night for Xiao San, and Liang Qu's one hundred taels was equivalent to twice their wages.

It's normal to pay extra when asking someone to do something you're not good at.

Hearing that Liang Qu was satisfied, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

As Liang Qu's status rose higher and higher, it would be a lie to say there was no pressure when communicating with him.

Moreover, it was his first time on a boat, so he was unsure of himself and even more worried and afraid that all his efforts of more than two months would be wasted.

After some discussion, the total cost of materials, plus the agreed-upon wages, amounted to 167 taels.

The materials weren't cheap. Besides teak, there was also beech and pine. The Dragon Bone was the most expensive piece, and we wore out several planes just from planing the ship's planks.

Liang Qu rounded it up and gave Liu Quanfu 170 taels.

"It's best not to make a big fuss about this. You know I'm going to deliver a gift, and it's not good if everyone knows."

"Understood, understood. Don't worry, Lord Liang, we will not go out and say anything more."

Several apprentices responded in unison.

After working so hard, finally putting the money in my pocket felt incredibly wonderful, all thanks to Liang Qu.

"Uncle Liu, I'll leave the boat with you for now and come back to pick it up tonight."

"Alright, please make yourself at home, Lord Liang. I didn't sleep a wink last night, and this morning I was applying Tung Oil. I'm feeling really sleepy."

"Thank you for your help, Uncle Liu."

"It is Lord Liang has been kind to me."

Liu Quanfu cupped his hands in greeting, yawned repeatedly, and went into the inner room, leaving Liang Qu alone in the courtyard to watch the boats.

Liang Qu climbed up and down the ladder, checking all the details, and there were no problems.

After looking at everything, he went down to the bottom of the cabin, pressed his palm on the Dragon Bone, and slowly applied pressure.

The entire eight-meter-long miniature ship detached from the frame and floated in the air, its weight slightly lifted.

It maintains good structural strength and won't fall apart at the slightest touch.

Everything is ready; all that's left is to go find the Toad Demon tonight to exchange for something.

Liang Qu rarely gets nervous.

He invested a full 170 taels of silver to make the deal with the Toad.

The small multi-story boats that were built were unwanted by anyone except for Toad. They couldn't even be launched into the water because they weren't sealed properly and would sink as soon as they were launched.

If it fails, we'll be stuck with nothing.

"I hope Toad Big Brother can lend a hand."

night.

The entire Yi Xing Town was silent. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Liang Qu carried the boat to the shore and entered the marshland through a Reed Marsh.

The entire ship slowly sank from the water's surface.

The Fat Catfish looked left and right, circled the undercurrent several times, and finally made a desperate decision to charge forward.

A wave of dizziness washed over the Fat Catfish, which was thrown out of the current, flipped several times, and landed on the ground, feeling utterly disoriented.

Inside the Toad Cave, the snoring was deafening.

The white, round belly, like a small mountain, undulates; the moment the Fat Catfish lands, its round belly undulates for a moment.

The earth rumbled, half of the hill collapsed, and a giant claw reached behind and scratched its rear, causing the hill to rise again.

The snoring continued.

The Fat Catfish, dizzy and disoriented, bumped its head on the ground several times. Once it regained its senses, it aimed carefully, stirred the water, and shot off like an arrow.

A small circle collapsed White Hill, and a dark figure emerged from the undulations, rising from the ground and launching repeated attacks.

They relentlessly attacked more than ten times.

The enormous snot bubble burst with a deafening roar, the water surged and trembled, and the Fire Bird's feathers, like wild grass in a storm, all lay flat.

The Toad opened its eyes blankly, and after a moment of confusion, it sat up and could see a dark shadow rushing towards it in the distance.

"Little Brother! It's been so long! The last time we met was..."

The Toad patted its belly, leaned back in a more comfortable position, tilted its head back, counted for a while, and then lowered its head again.

"It was yesterday."

The Fat Catfish waved its Long Whiskers convey information; even after evolving a second time, it was still insignificant in front of the Toad.

"Ten days? Little Brother, you're bad at math. Since we last met, the frog has only taken one nap, and that nap lasted a whole day."

The Toad stretched out its claws and rummaged through the pile of debris next to it, pulling out a few sticks.

"These are called Counting Rods. A clam takes a nap and that's one rod, so it's one day. Little Brother, you've got it wrong."

The Fat Catfish stared at the long stick in front of it, lost in thought, before finally remembering why it had come here.

The Toad listened and then sat up.

"Did you bring your boat, Little Brother?"

The Fat Catfish shook its head.

The Toad laid out Counting Rods.

"Only ten days, that goes by so fast."

The Fat Catfish was puzzled, yet it also seemed to make some sense. It led the giant Toad to the Dark Current Entrance.

On the other side of the undercurrent.

Liang Qu stood on the deck.

The ship beneath them was completely submerged in the water and was very stable.

Small has its advantages; if it were a large ship, it might not be able to pass through the undercurrents intact.

Liang Qu received a message from the Fat Catfish in his mind: a massive surge of water swept up the Miniature Tower Ship and slowly approached the secret passage.

A third of the ship's hull plunged in, a suction force came, and the entire ship disappeared without a trace.

No matter how many times he observed it, Liang Qu felt that the Dark Current Passage was ingeniously crafted, and then quickly sent the remaining masts that had not yet been installed in.

The mast was too long and could easily break during transport if loaded onto the ship, so the Toad's side had to piece it together themselves.

Finally, there's more...

Liang Qu glanced to the side and tossed a hexagonal, pillar-like object into the undercurrent.

The Six-Sided Lock was made by Liang Qu himself.

It's a very simple thing, just six pieces of Wooden Head with a few joints cut into them.

The only difference is that the Six-Sided Lock we just saw was a super-sized version, requiring an entire tree to be used for one pillar.

I wonder if the Toad will like this gift.

On the other side, the undercurrent suddenly surged and roared, casting a dark shadow.

The Toad, with its sharp eyes and swift claws, caught the boat in its claws, which was exactly the size of its webbed hand.

Then several masts jumped out and pierced its belly, causing it to bounce and roll off.

"A warship!"

Having studied Ship Model for many years, the Toad could recognize the types of ships at a glance.

"What a small multi-story ship."

Fearing the Toad would be displeased, the Fat Catfish quickly offered an explanation.

"The best things come in small packages? It seems to be a bit more refined than a regular ship?"

The Toad flipped the boat over and skillfully inserted the mast into the pre-drilled hole.

Seeing that the Toad was busy playing with the boat and had completely forgotten about the exchange, the Fat Catfish had to remind it of the original terms of the deal.

"Go ahead, go ahead, you can take everything except the boat, but you can only exchange one boat for one item."

The Fat Catfish nodded vigorously and rushed into the Toad's nest to rummage through the burrow.

The Toad played with the ship with great affection, its claws dangling from its shell.

Most of the ships it had collected in the past were damaged to some extent, but this one was the only one that was intact.

Especially assembling the mast myself was a novel experience for the first time.

Thud! Another object hit its belly.

The Toad picked up the uniquely shaped Six-Pillar Body structure.

Things on the ship?