Chapter 194: Big Sacrifice
The moonlight is dim in the Jianghuai swamps.
A piece of "drifting wood" floats on the surface of the river, moving slowly along with the waves.
Suddenly, a huge wave came and hit the "floating wood" and sank it into the water.
The fat catfish held its white belly and swayed, blowing bubbles from its mouth, its long whiskers swaying to both sides along with the waves.
Unable to move, he rolled in the water along the waves, regained his balance, and stared at the fat catfish silently.
After a while, the fat catfish felt the one-man show was boring, and it pointed with its ink-like fins and long whiskers.
Unable to move, he turned and went to the lotus field, inviting Yuantou to attack with his fists.
The four animals gathered together, bumping their heads against each other, each making their own movements, bubbles rising from time to time, and finally separated. The fat catfish ran to the old giant clam and gestured.
"I should guard the lotus root carefully and not worry."
After getting the reply, the fat catfish shook its head and took the lead, unable to move and folding its limbs, followed closely by the fist and the round head.
The old giant clam has no hands, otherwise it would touch its shell up and down.
"How strange! I have never seen such an intelligent animal."
The longer the old giant clam spent with the water beasts under Liang Qu, the more he was amazed at the wisdom they displayed, which was completely beyond what their current strength would allow.
Just one would be fine, but more than that cannot be explained by coincidence.
An ancient relic that can bring enlightenment?
The old giant clam felt that he still knew too little about this world.
I regret not reading when I was young!
……
The fat catfish braked first, and the three beasts stopped one after another.
The fist failed to brake in time and hit the immobile butt, causing a kick.
The fat catfish pointed forward, and the three beasts all lay prone on the ground, moving little by little through the dense aquatic plant forest.
After crawling out of a certain range, the fat catfish and the three beasts poked their heads out slightly.
In the distance, a monster larger than anyone present was napping in the water grass.
It is covered with large red scales, has four legs, a long tail, and long thorny fins on its back. Its muscles bulge under the scales, and its body is extremely strong and sturdy. When it breathes, the water surges and the aquatic plants fall down.
The fat catfish pointed its fin at the red water beast and patted its own white belly.
Unable to shake his head, he tapped his scales with his claws before reaching out to the red water beast.
Roundhead looked left and right and chose to withdraw from the argument.
Strong, cute, and plump.
Liang Qu gave the three beasts a new order, requiring them to find a qualified water beast whose strength should be one level higher than theirs.
He was worried that the four animals would not understand the meaning of these three adjectives, so he said that the one that could not move, like a crocodile, represented strong; the one with a round head, like a porpoise, represented cute; and the one that looked like a fat catfish, represented plump.
Every time a judgment is made, the four beasts must gather together to make the decision.
The two beasts were arguing about whether the water beast in front of them was more like being unable to move, or more like a fat catfish.
Apparently, something was wrong with Fat Catfish.
Endless argument.
The two beasts decided to put their dispute aside for the time being and wait for the decision of the gods.
The fat catfish brought a stone and pressed it under the water plants as a mark, then left the territory of the red water beast.
……
Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
Gongs are blaring and birds are flying.
"It's time to collect the summer taxes! It's time to collect the summer taxes! Pay the grain at the wharf! Pay the grain at the wharf!"
"It's time to collect the summer taxes, it's time to collect the summer taxes!"
The shrill sound of the gongs came in waves like a tide, making people feel overwhelmed.
Liang Qu opened his eyes while he was sleeping, and suddenly stood up after hearing the shouting.
"Pay taxes? Oops, I forgot to buy food!"
Liang Qu lifted the thin quilt, put on his trousers, and was about to tie his belt when he suddenly fell back.
"I was confused when I was sleeping. I am an official now and don't have to pay taxes."
Liang Qu supported his head.
A false alarm.
I came back too late yesterday and trained with the mirage worm for an hour. I didn't expect that I would sleep until noon.
Although the time period of eight or nine o'clock is not considered late, most people get up at the crowing of the cock, and sleeping until noon is something only a prodigal would do.
Suddenly waking up and no longer feeling sleepy, Liang Qu stood up and suddenly received the message from Fat Catfish.
"Have you found a suitable sacrifice?"
Liang Qu looked delighted. He didn't expect to see good news when he woke up.
The River God Festival will begin soon, so the sacrificial offerings must be prepared as soon as possible.
He immediately put on his clothes, washed up, took Fu Bo and Tiemao, and went out, where he saw Chen Qingjiang and his father Chen Renxing pushing a cart to pay taxes.
Say hello.
The two men who were pushing the cart only then noticed Liang Qu.
"A Shui! Are you going out?" "Yes."
Liang Qu stepped forward and lent a hand.
He was very strong. With just one hand, he made the cart loaded with four stone of grain, or six hundred kilograms of rice, move smoothly. It was no problem for Chen Qingjiang and Chen Renxing alone.
"No need, no need. It's not that heavy. It's enough for the two of us."
Chen Renxing hurriedly tried to pull Liang Qu's wrist, but he couldn't move it at all, as it was like an old tree that had taken root.
"It's okay. I just happened to be going to the port. When did Uncle Chen buy the cart?"
"I bought it two days ago, thinking that I will have to pay taxes soon. Previously, I had to move the taxes myself, so a cart would be more convenient. I also plan to buy a donkey! When I pay taxes in the future, I can pull the donkey by myself, so there is no need for my father to come out!"
Chen Qingjiang's face was beaming with joy.
"It's a good thing. I can rent it out to people to grind mills or pull carts, which is also a source of income."
Chen Renxing and Chen Qingjiang nodded repeatedly.
With the help of Liangqu's bait, the two Chen families and the Li family earned more than one or two taels of silver a day from their catch, and each family had a few cents to share. They lived a prosperous life and added many items and furniture to their home.
As for taxes, which was something I was worried about a few months ago, it is now nothing.
This time, Chen Qingjiang prepared four stone of rice. He was not afraid of the officials' difficulties and thought it would be enough.
After sending the two men to the pier, there were many unfamiliar faces of local residents behind the desk. Chen Zhaoan asked everyone to split into teams and line up one by one.
Liang Qu also saw the families of Chen Jiechang and Li Libo. Although they were river officials, they were not ranked and still had to pay taxes.
Seeing Liang Qu's figure from afar, several clerks hurried forward to greet him.
"Mr. Liang."
The county magistrates come and go, but the clerks remain the same. They are all locals, so how could they not know Liang Qu, the "local tyrant".
Liang Qu looked around but didn't see the clerk who collected his money during the autumn tax season, so he guessed that the clerk didn't dare to come.
He turned around and pointed at Chen Qingjiang, Chen Jiechang, Li Libo and others in the crowd.
"Let these people pay first. The loss of one stone and one bushel is almost enough. Above that, the amount should be as much as it should be. Don't make it too difficult for the villagers."
Be strange but not bizarre, seek clarity but not extreme.
Previously, Xu Yuelong told Liang Qu in Fengbu County not to be too clean, but he later realized that there wasn't so much nonsense.
There is only one thing: there are few saints in the world but many ordinary people. If you keep everything spotless, no one will want to play with you next time.
Therefore, Liang Qu did not make things too difficult for the petty official. He allowed for the loss, but he should not go too far and cause the other person's family to be separated.
"Yes Yes Yes."
Several minor officials quickly agreed.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Liang Qu bowed.
"Mr. Liang has worked hard, Mr. Liang has worked hard."
The petty officials bowed repeatedly and watched Liang Qu untie the boat ropes and drift away. They took out the household registration book, turned around and shouted.
"Next one, Chen Qingjiang."
"I'm coming."
Chen Qingjiang didn't know why it was his turn so early. He didn't dare to delay and quickly squeezed through the crowd and pushed the cart forward.
After pouring out the grain, only two stone and six dou were left, when a minor official stopped them.
"enough."
Chen Qingjiang was stunned and quite hesitant.
Not to mention that there was no kicking yet, even if we counted Xiao Shunzi's three fights, it would still not be enough if we played according to the rules.
But when he saw the clerk put a check mark on the booklet, Chen Qingjiang knew that less trouble was better and quickly turned around and left.
"Hey, hey, this official, official."
Liang Guangtian pushed and shoved, squeezed aside a few people around him, and passed by Chen Qingjiang.
The clerk did not even raise his head and spoke in a muffled voice.
"what's up?"
"My dear officials, the one just now was my nephew. Do you think it is okay to..."
The clerk closed the household registration book and looked at Liang Guangtian with a smile.
"Oh, who was it I thought? It turns out to be you, old man. You think I'm a stranger and don't know your relationship with Mr. Liang?"
Liang Guangtian was frightened and said hurriedly: "That was a thing of the past. Every family has its own problems. Who doesn't have some conflicts? Even brothers fight. Actually, we uncle and nephew have reconciled a long time ago."
The clerk hesitated a little.
What Liang Guangtian said makes sense, but...
He didn't dare to ask Liang Qu whether it was true.
Chen Qingjiang was stunned and turned around: "When did you and Ah Shui get back together? How come I didn't know?"
The clerk's expression changed immediately.
"Get to the back of the queue, old man. If you dare to cut in line again, I'll whip you!"
(End of this chapter)
