The moment someone at the wharf shouted that something had happened, it drew no small number of gazes. Even the servants at the nearby tea stall slung their towels over their shoulders and cocked their ears to listen.
Liang Qu frowned. "Uncle Chen Yi, a major event? What major event happened?"
"I don't know. It looked downright terrifying. A Blue-Clothed Master came to your door in person! He was dressed head to toe in silks and satins! And there was someone kneeling at your doorstep! A Shui, did you get yourself into some kind of trouble?"
Liang Qu had yet to react when Chen Qingjiang was the first to bark a rebuke, spitting at Chen Yi. "Pah! What trouble could A Shui possibly cause? Chen Yi, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"How would I know? But I saw those clothes clear as day. They hung smooth as flowing water, blue even bluer than the sky, and one look told you they weren't cheap! I'd say a foot of that cloth cost at least one tael of silver! One tael!"
Chen Qingjiang was far better at fishing than Chen Yi and had even fathered two sons. Though the two belonged to the same clan, Chen Yi had always been a notch below him in every respect. After being scolded, Chen Yi lowered his voice, but he still refused to back down. He raised a finger, turned in a circle for everyone to see, and exhausted every word he knew describing the splendor of the visitor's clothes.
The fishermen around them erupted in an uproar.
"One tael of silver? Wouldn't one set of clothes cost four or five taels?"
"Good heavens, that wasn't clothing—it was silver!"
"Did A Shui offend some great figure?"
Seeing this, Chen Qingjiang shouted, "What are you