Chapter 271

Liang Qu's seclusion failed.

The world is not just about killing, it's about human relationships.

The invitation in his hand was heavy and thick, the gold-stamped patterns showing its extraordinariness, and the ship and wave logo of the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce was engraved on the bottom right corner of the red booklet.

Read the content.

The servant who delivered the invitation ground the ink, respectfully handed over the brush, and held the small inkstone.

Liang Qu took the brush, licked the ink, wrote "Respectfully accompany the last seat" at the bottom of the invitation, and handed it back to the servant.

"Respectfully await Master Liang's arrival."

The servant collected the invitation and the calligraphy, bowed and retreated, and was led away from the hall by Fan Xinglai.

Liang Qu sighed at the empty courtyard.

"Sigh, have to go out again."

Four days ago, the River Patrol returned in triumph.

The next day, he received the invitation at home.

Pingyang County Magistrate Jian Zhongyi was going to hold a grand banquet on the third floor of the Tianbo Building to welcome the soldiers and boost the morale of the people.

Today is the day of the banquet, so Liang Qu received another invitation.

A formal banquet requires sending three invitations.

The first invitation is sent three days in advance to the home of the intended guest. The second invitation is delivered on the day of the banquet. The third invitation is sent one hour before the banquet starts.

After it is sent, if you want to go, you fill in "Know," or more politely "Respectfully accompany the last seat," and if you don't want to go, you fill in "Thanks" or "Respectfully decline," and the servant will collect the invitations and send them back.

Right now is the third invitation, one hour before the banquet starts; in other words, Liang Qu is about to attend the banquet.

He originally wanted to stay home and go into seclusion, soaking in the water to collect all 1,400 points of water essence in one go.

Heaven does not follow human wishes.

Oh well.

Wasting two hours anyway, it's just on the way to the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce to see if there are any underwater precious plants for sale; maybe if he's lucky, he won't have to hold back for the next seven days and can fill it up in one go.

Liang Qu returned to the bedroom to change clothes and tidy up his outfit.

He found a stack of silver notes from the box, originally wanting to count them, but then thought better of it and simply stuffed them all into his bosom.

A huge sum of over 5,000 taels in total!

The bulk of it was given by Xiang Fang Su for buying his hot pot recipe, the small part of over 200 taels was the rent given by the Big Beaver, and the tiny part was the salary from the River Patrol and the daily fishing income.

Unprecedentedly wealthy.

Liang Qu changed his clothes and shouted at the window: "A-Xing, prepare the horse!"

"Alright!"

Fan Xinglai put down the broom and ran to the stable, groomed Chishan's fur, put on the harness, and led Chishan to the side door.

Liang Qu took the reins and mounted the horse.

Tianbo Chamber of Commerce.

The horse's hooves stepped on the stone slabs, moving slowly, pulling a long, slanted shadow.

It was already dusk, and the Tianbo Building was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, with the aroma of cooking wafting everywhere.

Commoners in short shirts gathered at the entrance, lining up to receive celebration rice and grain, not much, just one jin per person, but it was enough to be a surprise.

"Don't forget the Emperor's grace! Don't forget the Emperor's grace!"

The manager distributing the rice shouted at the top of his lungs.

The people in line nodded repeatedly, and those who received it didn't look back, rushing home to cook.

Liang Qu shook his head.

This operation involved two Martial Saints, and the higher-ups must have known in advance, but the rewards would definitely not come down so quickly.

He turned his head and saw a large red list posted at the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce, with celebration text written in a flying dragon and dancing phoenix style.

The county magistrate's seal of Pingyang County and Jian Zhongyi's private seal were stamped on the bottom right corner of the celebration text, proving who the author of this article was.

"Vast, the flat marsh is boundless, and no one is seen in the distance.

The river water winds like a belt, and the islands are tangled. Dim and miserable, the wind is sad and the sun is dim.

The reeds are broken and the grass is withered, cold as a frosty morning. Birds do not fly down, and beasts flee the group..."

Good literary talent.

Liang Qu himself couldn't write poetry or essays, but he didn't lack basic appreciation skills.

The whole article begins by describing the difficulty of war, mourning the fallen soldiers, and condemning the atrocities of the Ghost Mother.

Then the tone changes, expounding on the great achievements made by the River Patrol this time, saying that the people will surely live and work in peace and contentment in the future.

Reading the whole article, it is inspiring.

The last time the Ghost Mother Sect caused trouble, it made the surrounding large counties panic, causing many refugees, so a shot of adrenaline like this was indeed needed.

And next to the celebration text, several new policy notices were listed.

The first one was about the refugee problem.

The notice stated that before the autumn harvest in October this year, as long as the refugees came over and had not committed major crimes of murder, robbery, or rape, all past deeds would be forgiven, and they would be registered in the household register to start over.

Many refugees came to Pingyang County at the beginning, and most of them were settled, but many ran into the mountains and forests, choosing to be hidden households.

Even more chose to be bandits, adding a lot of burden to the passing trade routes.

This move was clearly to further expand the population, reduce turmoil, and enhance the circulation of merchant caravans.

The next two were about the second round of farming this year, including borrowing money from the government office if there were no seeds or tools, and repaying it after the harvest.

The fourth was about the townships around Pingyang County, preparing to clearly coordinate four large towns, listed in the four corners of southeast, northwest, to prepare for the future establishment of a prefecture and integration.

Yixing Town, where Liang Qu is located, belongs to the planned East Town, the future "East District."

The above four have little to do with Liang Qu, but the fifth one is quite interesting.

Pingyang County is preparing to build a temple.

Great Shun states and counties all have Confucian temples, Martial temples, and City God temples; those near the Great Marsh and the sea mostly also have to build a Water God temple and a Sea God temple.

Previously, it was only in Chaojiang County, but not in Pingyang Town; even after Pingyang Town was changed to Pingyang County, there wasn't one, and now it is clearly to be added to perfect Pingyang County's functions as a county.

The meaning of the notice is that they hope the people can actively sign up; as long as they come, they will definitely be given food, not working for free, meaning relief through work.

"Water God Temple..."

Liang Qu's thoughts fluctuated; I wonder if his favorability for sacrifice can increase after the temple is built?

"Well written, if I had this level, I wouldn't have been pulled by the ears and beaten by my father back then."

Ke Wenbin stood silently beside Liang Qu, sighing at the celebration text with his arms crossed, clearly evoking some sad past events.

Xiang Fang Su, who followed, nodded: "It's not easy for Magistrate Jian to get to where he is today."

Liang Qu raised his eyebrows and asked: "Magistrate Jian comes from a prominent family, why is it not easy?"

He remembered clearly that Jian Zhongyi was a direct descendant of the Jian family in Qingzhou.

With such status, how could it be related to "not easy"?

Ke Wenbin saw that there was no one around and whispered: "It's just rumors, listen to it for fun, don't take it seriously."

Liang Qu became curious: "Tell me in detail."

"The Jian family has three Grandmasters, you know that, right?"

Liang Qu nodded; he had heard about it at the auction.

"Magistrate Jian is a direct descendant of one of those Grandmasters, gifted from childhood and very much loved, but, in the big house, when the doors are closed, there are always some frictions; Jian's biological mother and that ancestor..." Ke Wenbin signaled with his eyes.

Liang Qu lowered his voice: "Incest?"

Once these words were out, Liang Qu himself was a bit hesitant.

Separated by several generations, does it count as incest?

"I never said that."

Ke Wenbin stepped out, drew a line on the ground with his toe, signaling to distance himself from Liang Qu and draw a clear line.

Xiang Fang Su patted Liang Qu on the shoulder: "Actually, it's just some rumors, not to be taken seriously. It's just that during the imperial examination back then, I heard my father say that the top graduate should have been Magistrate Jian, but the current Emperor considered the impact not good, so he changed it to the second place."

"Living too long, big families are prone to messy things, it's not surprising, we don't understand, we don't understand." Ke Wenbin said twice that he didn't understand, put his arms around the two of them, "Let's go, let's go, let's go up and eat!"