Chapter 150 Big Fish
The sun has risen, and the morning breeze blows through the reeds, making the scene desolate.
After half a day and one night, Liang Qu had arrived in Fengbu County.
Moving along the shore, he passed by several villages and small markets, and the scenery he saw was completely different from that in Pingyang County.
The price of grain in Pingyang County rose sharply, and many people were suffering, but after all, it was not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster.
There were no floods or droughts, and the crops grew well in the fields. With the help of several surrounding prefectures, they could barely make ends meet.
Everyone knows that if we can get through this period and harvest a wave of rice, life will be much better in the future.
In addition, the wealthy people who came here built houses one after another, and they erected mansions on the flat land. The scene changed every day, and everyone could feel the vitality contained therein.
Fengbu County was dead silent.
Most of the people in the villages that Liangqu passed through were elderly people who were about to die.
The large number of young and middle-aged people in Pingyang County did not appear out of thin air. The counties adjacent to the border contributed the most.
There were originally only one or two hundred people in many small villages. The ghost mother killed half of them and scared away the remaining half, leaving only the elderly who could not walk long distances.
The situation is better only in big towns and counties, where the property is valuable and people are not easily scared away.
"Brother, can you tell me what your village is called?"
After finally seeing a bustling small market, Liang Qu asked the three beasts to dive, and he rowed forward to stop a fisherman who was returning to his boat.
When the fisherman saw Liang Qu was wearing official uniform, he hurriedly knelt down, but Liang Qu grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"That's not necessary. I just want to ask you a question. Just tell me the truth, brother."
The fisherman trembled and said, "To answer your question, our place is called Shiqiao City."
"Shiqiao City...Do you know where Wuzhen is?"
"I know." The fisherman nodded repeatedly and pointed to the west. "Go west for more than 20 miles by water and you will almost be there."
"Then we are on the right track." Liang Qu nodded and asked, "Brother, there is something I don't understand. I rowed all the way here, why are all your boats parked at the pier?"
This thing is very strange.
Usually the docks are built by private individuals or the government. If you want to dock there, you have to pay. For example, in Yixing Town, the fee is two cents on ordinary days and four cents during the flood season.
It had to be paid before Liang Qu became successful.
But there are those who are brave enough not to fear any accident and just stay in the reed marsh, regardless of the wind and rain.
Or some people who are in trouble, such as parents or children who are sick, sometimes take the risk of parking outside to save the money for a bowl of wine.
Everyone has his or her own way of living.
But Liang Qu walked along the way and passed through several reed marshes, but he never saw such a situation at all.
"Sir, you really embarrass me." The fisherman was really terrified by Liang Qu's address, and trembled, "Sir, you don't know, all of our boats are fishing grounds, if you park outside, won't you be beaten to death?"
Liang Qu was stunned: "I passed by so many villages along the way, and all the fishing boats were from fishing pens?"
"All of them!"
How can it be?
Liang Qu's first reaction was disbelief.
When Yixing Town was still Yixing City, there were hundreds of fishermen in the entire city. Only about 30% of them needed to rent fishing boats and rely on the fishing grounds for their livelihood, while the rest had their own boats.
Why is it so exaggerated to 100%?
But how could ordinary people dare to tell lies when they saw him in official uniform? There must be a hidden story behind it.
Liang Qu thought for a moment and said, "Isn't this fishing station of yours run by one person?"
"Your Excellency has a keen eye. All the fishing grounds in Fengbu County belong to the Whale Gang."
“How to divide it?”
"Four six."
"Take 60%?"
"Sixty percent belongs to others."
This, is this possible to survive?
Liang Qu raised his eyebrows slightly.
Fishing depends a lot on the season and luck. Experienced fishermen can earn over 60 or 70 coins a day, but that's only during those seasonal months. In the winter, earning a dozen coins a day is considered good.
Those who earn a little money have to give away 60% and then add two taxes.
This is what it means to carry two mountains.
"Brother, tell me about this Whale Gang."
Liang Qu took out a small piece of silver from his bosom, about seven or eight cents, which could be exchanged for several dozen copper coins.
The fisherman swallowed hard when he saw the silver, but he didn't dare to take it: "Sir, I can't do that, I can't do that!"
"Here you go! Just some money for the drinks."
The fisherman couldn't refuse, so he carefully took the silver beans and held them tightly in his hand. He looked around and sighed.
"Speaking of the Whale Gang, we have to start with the leader of the Whale Gang."
After a while, the fisherman left happily with the silver beans in his hand, leaving Liang Qu alone thinking.
Liang Qu took out the album from his arms, opened it and read it word by word.
In the past half month, six fishermen in Wuzhen have gone missing and eight have been confirmed dead, with a total of fourteen people involved.
But according to the fishermen, Wuzhen has been plagued by water monsters for a long time.
But no one has come to take care of it. The inspectors in the county government and the three judicial officials simply don't care about anything on the water.
Fishermen often encounter water monsters when they go out on boats. Some die, while others come back alive but their boats are lost, and they have to rely on the fishing grounds for their livelihood from then on.
It just happened less frequently in the last one or two years, but somehow it started happening again in the past half month.
Liang Qu overlapped the previous page.
I thought I just needed to deal with a monster.
Liu Jie, the leader of the Whale Gang, has something special. …
"Looking in the mirror, I am shocked to see my face has become thinner, and my brows are filled with sorrow and resentment.
The alliance was sworn, but the fate of the beauty was ruined. "
The slow beat of Erhuang echoes the graceful singing of the Huadan, and the sleeves clenched in the hands are thrown away, and they flutter down like snow.
It diffused out like a sweet floral scent, carrying people's souls to an extremely distant place.
"My heart was broken by my infatuation, and I was sick all day long.
Xie Zhaolang and I made a vow before the lamp, but who knew that we could not break up our love."
The actress fell down so gently that all hands were in a gesture of supporting her, with a feeling of heartache and regret.
There were people everywhere in the theater.
This is the concubine that Liu Jie, the boss of the Whale Gang, wants to marry. She will perform only one last time and then leave the theater and get married.
"She is so beautiful! Even if I have ten concubines at home, they can't compare to her, Master, don't you think so? Master?"
Du Wenchang listened to the music with his head shaking, and his whole body was trembling. When he turned around, his master was nowhere to be seen.
"Good to listen to, good to look at, reward!"
evening.
The farewell play is over.
The actress who had washed off her makeup took small steps, clutching a thin handkerchief in her soft hands, and followed the legal advisor into the county magistrate's inner courtyard.
Du Wenchang's heart skipped a beat and his whole body felt hot.
It is really like flowing water under a small bridge, like soft wind, soft water, and soft catkins.
But he angrily scolded: "Master, how come you don't know the slightest bit of etiquette? How could you bring Boss Liu's unmarried woman into my room? Isn't that ruining his reputation? Send her back quickly!"
"Absolutely not!" Liu Jie followed and stepped over the threshold. "This little Chun'er just told me that when she saw your face, she felt that you were very handsome. If she couldn't serve you, she would regret it for the rest of her life! I am helping her to achieve her goal."
"Oh my, this is really true." Du Wenchang shook his head, the oil from his neck mixed with sweat and flowed down, "Boss Liu is really polite, is there anything I can help with?"
"Patrol position..."
"Boss Liu is really making things difficult for me. Although this inspector is only of the ninth rank, it is not something that a mere county magistrate like me can appoint or dismiss! It all requires the approval of the Ministry of Personnel."
"My Lord, you have misunderstood. It's not me, it's my son! What do you think of him?"
Liu Jie knew from the beginning that he had no hope and could only settle for the next best thing.
"My son."
Du Wen squinted his eyes, as if thinking.
Liu Jie had been seeking the position of inspector for seven or eight years, but he never wanted to give it.
The reason is simple. At present, Liu Jie has money but no power, so he is naturally at the mercy of others and has to pay tribute to them every year.
But this man is very ambitious. If he gets a high-ranking official position and has hundreds of gang members under him, it will be difficult to deal with him in the future.
But it’s not good to refuse outright, that’s not how business works.
Du Wenchang kneaded the Huadan's soft hands.
"I will recommend it, but whether it succeeds or not is not up to me."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Also, don't blame me for not reminding you. Pingyang County now has a river and mooring office, and the situation on the water is not as good as before. You know how you got into this situation yourself, so be careful about the little things on the water. If something really happens, don't come to me."
It's such a loss to get involved in such a mess with just a little filial piety money every year.
Liu Jie's expression was stern. "Thank you for your reminder, sir. I will not let the sir from the Hebo Office down! I will make sure he returns with a full load!"
"Okay, okay, I've been busy with official duties all day and I'm tired."
"My Lord, take a good rest."
Liu Jie withdrew respectfully.
……
Underwater, the fat catfish staggered back from a distance, turning left and right, with a very proud expression.
Liang Qu knew what was going on when he saw its smug look.
This fat guy is becoming more and more arrogant.
"did you find it?"
The fat catfish nodded, pointed to one side with its whiskers, and danced with its hands.
Liang Qu understood and quickly called back the three beasts. When everyone was present, they moved towards the direction pointed by the fat catfish.
The man and three animals followed the fat catfish and soon found a narrow wooden house in the reeds.
There was no one around, and Liang Qu easily saw what was inside through the narrow gap in the wooden house. It was exactly the same as he had initially guessed.
No wonder the monsters look like humans.
"Damn it, you assigned me such a big job, give me a raise! You have to give me a raise!"
Liang Qu decided to go back and protest to Xu Yuelong.
It's not a Class E mission, it's Class D at the start, it takes three or four days round trip, so it's counted as twenty small achievements!
midnight.
Fishermen went out to fish one after another.
Liang Qu was lurking underwater to practice, and the sound of reeds being folded could be heard on the shore.
"The fish are coming!"
(End of this chapter)
