Red Dragon Fish

The Fang Zhou lowered its sails and moored in a deep enough Deep Water Area to maneuver. Bags of rice and grain were thrown into the sampans that were moored with the boat and carried up the mountain one after another.

The able-bodied men and soldiers on the mountain worked together to transport the grain into the temporary granary in batches, while the officials nearby recorded the quantity of grain entering the warehouse.

Local militia patrolled the area to prevent disaster victims from gathering in groups and looting or stealing grain.

Several days later, the temporary Relief Point had formed a relatively complete order and operating model.

When Xiang Fangsu and his group walked around the camp, they often heard the name Liang Qu.

Aside from complaints about not getting enough to eat on the ship and the risk of being thrown overboard, there were also many accolades such as being a descendant of the legendary Lord Chi.

Xiang Fangsu asked, "How many Relief Point have we passed along the way?"

Ran Zhongshi opened the documents he carried with him. "There are four in total. All four of them have been visited by A Shui. The current Relief Point has sent 3,216 disaster victims, which is quite a number."

"A Shui did a great job," Ke Wenbin praised without reservation. "To be able to send more than three thousand people over, A Shui must have at least a large fleet under his command."

With a fleet rescuing people, the rescue effort is definitely underway. If they could also produce a disaster Feng Shui Map, no one would dare to complain.

Xiang Fangsu agreed, "Wei Lin sent Wei Shao, but I haven't heard his name much along the way. Maybe A Shui did a better job than Wei Shao."

Whether something is outstanding or not depends on comparison.

Liang Qu's Galloping Horse horses were already a success, no less than Wei Shao's.

Ran Zhongshi closed the document. "Send the supplies to us quickly, as the Patrol Inspector said, we should be able to meet with A Shui tonight!"

Outside the ship's window.

Young and strong men and villagers waded through the water to irrigate the Rice Paddy.

Liang Qu withdrew his gaze, licked the ink, and continued writing.

"From mid-August to September this year, there was more rain than sunshine. Even if there was a day with a sliver of sunshine, it was not enough to withstand the continuous downpour."

On flat ground, the water was several feet deep, and in low-lying areas it was more than ten feet deep, a vast expanse of water where only willow branches and house corners could be seen.

The summer rice crop failed before it was even harvested, and the seedlings were damaged by the lack of planting. The people exhausted their resources in every possible way, but the floodwaters continued to rise without receding, and there was no sign of them drying up again. They feared the autumn harvest would be in vain... One disaster had damaged two crops, and the people were in dire straits.

Liang Qu copied the manuscript word by word, sentence by sentence, from the text sent to him by his subordinates.

I haven't read many books, so I have to look at past templates to write something decent.

With slight modifications, a comprehensive disaster report was freshly produced.

After writing the title, Liang Qu put down his pen, just as a commotion broke out outside.

Liang Qu shouted, "What's wrong now?"

The Dou Shou stood on the mast and shouted, "Sir, it seems there's been a fight in Sweet Spring Town! There are quite a few people!"

"So many things to do every day!"

Liang Qu dried the ink, closed the book, put it in the cabinet, and, along with Fubo, a large bow, and a quiver of arrows, boarded a sampan and hurried to the town.

The sampan swayed, and the shops in the southeast corner were surrounded by villagers.

Villagers, armed with sickles and rakes, waded through the water and rushed up to the second floor to loot and vandalize.

The doors on the second floor were wide open, and pieces of furniture were occasionally thrown out of the windows. Two people were even squeezed out of the windows, carrying small bags of rice. The rice rolled down the eaves and was submerged in the water, leaving a pool of blood and a large number of rice grains floating in the water.

Liang Qu shouted.

"Enough!"

An overwhelming pressure swept over the small building. The people waving wooden sticks felt a tightness in their chests and their faces turned pale. It was as if their hearts were being tightly gripped, unable to pump out any blood, and they were in excruciating pain.

The uncontrollable civil unrest was abruptly stopped, and many people looked at Liang Qu with fear in their eyes.

Chen Jiechang and Li LiBo, who were trying to maintain order in the crowd, hurriedly squeezed out of the shop when they saw Liang Qu arrive.

Liang Qu pointed at the small building. "What's going on?"

"They're robbing grain!" Chen Jiechang gasped for breath, clutching his purple forehead. "They rushed in and started hitting everyone they saw. Li Bo and I both got hit twice with a stick."

Li LiBo pushed aside the crowd and pulled a floating plaque from the water, on which the words "Rice Shop" were clearly written.

Liang Qu understood.

The most serious problem caused by the Water Calamity is, of course, the food shortage.

Chen Jiechang and his group had just arrived and didn't know much about the situation. Liang Qu had already encountered many instances of vandalism and looting along the way.

This was mostly due to the sharp rise in rice prices, which aroused public anger, or perhaps some people, having nothing to lose, incited others to take risks and riot to seize grain.

Liang Qu shouted, "Where is the rice shop manager?"

"Here!"

Lu Xinqing jumped from the second floor, carrying a bruised and swollen old man in his hand. Kou Zhuang followed closely behind, also carrying an unconscious middle-aged man. They landed, splashing a lot of water.

The old man struggled to open his swollen, purple eyelids, and upon seeing Liang Qu's official robes, he burst into tears, crying, "My lord, you must do justice for the people! These unruly people! Unruly people!"

"Whether a person is a troublemaker or not is not for you to decide. Are you the rice shop manager?"

The old man nodded repeatedly.

"Then let me ask you, how much is the rice sold at this rice shop?"

"Ten coins per catty!" the old man shouted. "My master is kind-hearted; he's giving me a fair price!"

Upon hearing this, even those intimidated by Liang Qu's imposing manner stood up and shouted, "Bullshit! Twenty coins per pound of rice! That's more than double the price! How dare you say it's ten coins per pound?"

The old man retorted sharply, "Not ten coins? You over there with the pockmarked face! I'm asking you, was it sold to you for ten coins? You heartless bastards, are you just robbing us too?"

Liang Qu looked up, while the young men with pockmarked faces in the crowd lowered their heads, not daring to refute him.

It's actually true! Li LiBo was completely baffled. "What's going on? How come some are selling for ten coins and others for twenty coins?"

"Hmm."

Just then, the middle-aged man who had been brought out by Kou Zhuang opened his eyes in a daze and woke up from his coma.

The rice shopkeeper hurriedly broke free from his restraints and hugged the middle-aged man, saying, "Master, Master, are you alright?"

Upon seeing the man regain consciousness, Liang Qu stood on the sampan and questioned, "Are you the owner of this rice shop?"

Lin Zishi was in a daze and didn't reply immediately. After a moment of confusion, he looked around and realized his situation. With the old man's help, he managed to get up and bowed to Liang Qu.

"This humble citizen, Lin Zishi, greets Your Excellency. I dare not deceive Your Excellency; this rice shop belongs to me."

"I'm asking you, what exactly is the price of this rice shop?"

"As for rice, it's ten or eighteen coins per pound."

Lin Zishi began to speak slowly.

It turns out that both price increases and stable prices are true, it just depends on the individual.

On the first day after the flood, Lin Zishi gathered his neighbors and promised that as long as they could help guard the Lin family's rice granary, the rice in the store would be sold to them at a fair price. However, for outsiders, the price would indeed increase to eighteen coins per catty, double the original price.

In this way, Lin Zishi felt that his family could avoid being robbed at the rice shop, protect themselves, and also make a profit.

But man proposes, God disposes. Today, someone led a large group of disaster victims from other places to forcibly rob rice shops.

The other side had a large number of people and was too powerful for the neighbors to stop in time. The people nearby could not stop them and immediately turned against them, joining the disaster victims in looting.

Chaos ensued, and villagers who arrived later joined in the scramble for rice, completely forgetting their earlier promises.

Buying rice at a fair price is nowhere near as cost-effective as simply snatching it.

Liang Qu then questioned a few more outsiders.

He was tall and imposing, dressed in solemn official robes, and given his previous intimidation, no one dared to conceal anything.

"Someone told me that there were unscrupulous merchants in Sweet Spring Town profiting from the disaster, and that I should go there to do justice to them... I thought there would be benefits, so I came along..."

"They say there are unscrupulous businessmen making money without caring about our lives, so why don't we go and pull off a heist..."

"I was resentful, so I came along..."

When asked, they all said they were instigated by others.

As for who led and instigated it, everyone pointed fingers at each other, forming a large network, so there was no clear source.

It's clearly a case without a clear answer.

"Strange, so complicated..."

Li LiBo was speechless.

Liang Qu's temples throbbed; every time he encountered something unpleasant.

Lin Zishi, a local and an outsider, each possesses unique skills.

"Lin Zishi!"

"This humble citizen is here."

"I order you to sell Price Stabilization. After you have sold all the rice, sell the other grains! Each person can buy half a jin of rice per day at a fair price with their tokens. If you need to buy more rice after that, you can buy as much as you need."

"Sir, my house was destroyed by the flood, and I have no firewood or stove."

"Yes, there's no fire to cook."

Someone shouted, which sparked a response from the crowd.

"Have I finished speaking?" Liang Qu's gaze sharpened, his imposing manner rising again, and the noise ceased instantly. "You must sell affordable porridge twice a day, in the morning and twice a day at noon. To buy affordable porridge, you must first buy tokens, and then redeem the porridge with the tokens."

There are four types of tokens: the large one costs ten coins and can be redeemed for three large bowls of porridge; the medium one... In addition, there is a free ' Card Porridge ' system, where the extremely poor are given cards to redeem porridge. Local Village Elder are responsible for coordinating the distribution. As for you..."

Liang Qu's gaze swept over the crowd, his expression stern. "Each of you shall receive ten strokes of the cane! If there is a next time, you shall be executed without mercy! Don't think that just because there are many of you, you are immune to punishment. Those with the guts are welcome to try!"

Lin Zishi bowed deeply and said, "Your Excellency is wise!"

"Your Excellency is wise."

The people responded in twos and threes.

"Kou Zhuang, Jie Chang, you two stay here to carry out the orders. Li Bo, Lu Xinqing, come with me."

Liang Qu turned around and left.

The rest of the crowd stared at the Kou Zhuang and the "skinny" Chen Jiechang.

The man with the pockmarked face stepped forward with a grin. "Sir, may I choose?"

"Sure," Chen Jiechang said with a smile. "Fifteen strokes or twenty? Thirty strokes are also an option."

"..."

On the sampan, Li LiBo flattered, "Water Bro is amazing! He solved those four kinds of chips in one go..."

"Bullshit! It's all in the book."

Liang Qu pulled out "General Treatise on Dyke Construction" from his pocket and tossed it to Li LiBo.

The book not only contained information on how to repair the dam, but also on the resettlement of disaster victims. He read it through completely, without changing the price of each type of donation.

The document further emphasizes that porridge should not be given directly; a system of issuing a card first must be established.

Li LiBo was overjoyed and immediately began to examine and study the book.

The fiery clouds dimmed, casting long, slanted shadows on the river.

As the sampan docked, Liang Qu was about to board when several shouts came from afar.

Not long after, a group of people rushed over in a panic, and the one leading them was none other than Old Song.

"What happened?"

Old Song's face was flushed, whether from the glow of the sunset or from the rush of blood to his cheeks, it was hard to tell. He pointed into the distance and said, "Lord Liang Qu, go and see! Someone has found a Red Dragon Fish!"

"Red Dragon Fish?"

"A rare Da Bao fish, a sight to behold in the Black Water River, appearing only once every few decades! Its entire body is crimson red, covered in Scale Dragon. It is said that it will appear in the world when a wise man is born."

Old Song paused mid-sentence, looked Liang Qu up and down, and then excitedly gestured with his hands and feet.

"I understand! I understand! Lord Liang is that wise man!"