Chapter 360

The courtyard was spacious, with massive trees interwoven to form a framework of platforms supporting towering ships.

Masts stood like a forest; all passersby paused beyond the walls, tilting their heads upward to gaze at the grandeur of the six-zhang Fuchuan.

Standing beneath the ship's prow.

The wood was faintly fragrant, the tung oil bitter and acrid, the autumn osmanthus scent sweet.

The three blended together, forming a unique new aroma.

The craftsmen all halted their work, watching Liang Qu circle the ship, step onto the unvarnished deck, and inspect each cabin's structure one by one.

Liu Quanfu gripped the rope and followed closely, voluntarily explaining the ship's internal cabins while reporting progress and estimated completion time.

"We received the materials from your residence in September and began constructing the Fuchuan according to the blueprints.

To be honest, the cutting of the materials you sent was flawless—perfectly fitted, seamless. I've been a carpenter for decades and have never seen such exquisite craftsmanship!

The hardest part of woodworking is precisely this stage.

The rest is simply following the blueprints step by step; even someone who isn't a carpenter, if careful and clever, could manage it.

As you can see now, the main framework is nearly complete, leaving only a few areas needing sanding and plank insertion, then final coating with tung oil. In the past, we'd apply it and use the ship the same day—ten hours sufficed for drying, but that ship never went into water.

Now it's different: tung oil must fully dry and harden, requiring at least one solar cycle. The bulk of the remaining time will be spent waiting for materials to dry, so progress is now predictable. Rest assured, Master Liang, we will finish before early November!"

Liang Qu was extremely satisfied.

As an official of the River Office, one must understand some aspects of water conservancy and shipbuilding.

One need not know every ship's structure by heart, but one must clearly grasp how much manpower, how much timber, and how long it takes to build a large vessel, to avoid assigning absurd tasks later.

Aside from ships built partly with magical materials, a normal large ship, with sufficient materials and labor, takes at least three months.

The "Record of the Mission to Liuqiu" recorded that the great vessel, from imperial order to completion, took exactly three months.

But that was an eight-zhang vessel, considerably larger than Liang Qu's Fuchuan.

Considering Liu Quanfu was not an expert, even with the beaver's help, completing it in two months was already quite impressive.

"Master Liu can deliver the ship by November—much faster than I imagined."

Liu Quanfu smiled: "Thanks to the River Office sending master craftsmen to assist—many hands provided in September, personally guiding us. Otherwise, we'd have been scrambling."

Liang Qu turned: "Master craftsman? What master craftsman?"

Liu Quanfu froze: "You don't know?"

Liang Qu shook his head.

"Lou Yingji, Master Lou! Didn't the court assign a shipbuilding master to every seventh-rank or higher River Office official to help build their personal vessels? You didn't know?"

Was this a thing?

Liang Qu, himself a Director of Waterworks, didn't know his own official benefits?

"That day, Master Lou arrived with over a dozen assistants. We were puzzled, but he was indeed a River Office shipbuilding master—every unclear point in the blueprints, he understood perfectly.

Master Lou also told us his son now serves as River Chief in Pingyang County. Do you have any recollection of him?"

"River Chief…"

Liang Qu chewed the term.

He had nine River Chiefs under him; he remembered correctly—one was a young man named Lou, age twenty-one.

"Master Liu, how old is this Master Lou?"

"He said he was born in the Year of the Ox, destined to toil, worn out from raising his sons. Judging by his face, he's about forty-five."

Liang Qu raised an eyebrow: "Then I recall him."

"Exactly!" Liu Quanfu exhaled in relief, worried he'd been deceived. "Master Lou taught me many things. Court masters are nothing like country craftsmen—I've never heard of half these techniques. So skilled, absolutely…"

Liu Quanfu droned on.

Liang Qu now understood the full context—his mind was clear.

There was no "helping build a ship"—this Master Lou was simply eager to curry favor.

Forty-five. Twenty-one.

They were almost certainly father and son.

The Master Lou in Liu Quanfu's words likely spent considerable silver to place his son under Liang Qu's command.

Those above were watching Liang Qu.

Those below were watching too.

Whom one served, and what kind of superior one had, determined one's future prospects.

Though River God and River Chief assignments occurred before the flood, Liang Qu had already risen sharply after eliminating the Ghost Mother Cult, skipping two ranks.

How corrupt.

Society's rot had seeped in unnoticed.

When Ran Ran Zhongxi drafted the list, he likely quietly accepted numerous kickbacks.

Liang Qu silently noted the Lou River Chief, descended from the Fuchuan heavy with tung oil scent, looked back at the vessel, and felt deep satisfaction.

Everything proceeded in orderly fashion.

A rough calculation suggested early November would be the peak period for reward accumulation.

He would likely receive a heavenly treasure worth five merits, half the "Blue Dragon Killing Scripture," plus the Fuchuan.

All major events converged at one moment—like eagerly awaiting red envelopes during the New Year.

Rising steadily!

Good!

Jianghuai Daze.

Water rippled, long grasses drifting far; eels poked from mud holes, exhaling bubbles.

Behind the rocks, Long Pingjiang and Long Pinghe concealed themselves, watching a large fish in the river that appeared to be fishing for crabs but constantly glanced left and right.

After that day's crab raid and satisfying meal, the brothers discovered the strange fish—once obsessed with grabbing the biggest crabs—had returned the next morning, clutching the basket.

But its intent was too obvious: not only had it returned to the same spot, it now angled its eyes to fish for crabs, occasionally turning its head…

This wasn't fishing for crabs—it was fishing for dragons!

Long Pinghe fumed: "Big brother, that fish is too brazen! Let's steal from it again!"

For days straight, they'd seen the fish deliberately luring them—it was infuriating.

Long Pingjiang looked hesitant.

"That doesn't seem right…"

…

The next morning.

Autumn water rustled, the basket empty.

The fat catfish floated lifelessly on the surface, yellow leaves stuck to its pale belly.

Second time's the charm…

Nothing worse than a dead heart.

Tetai stood atop a pond stone, emitting a shrill, piercing laugh.

The fat catfish flew into a rage, lashed its tail and whipped Tetai into the water.

Three hundred brick slaps a day—useless!

"It's come to this."

Liang Qu sighed, brought out an iron pot to comfort the fat catfish. "Today's crab feast! Can't catch them? Let it be. Try the freshly cooked crab roe noodles!"

On the eighth day of crab-catching, the entire pond was filled with baskets—more than enough for guests.

The Langyun Tower's chefs arrived before dawn: three master chefs, twenty apprentices, all working together to dismantle crabs and prepare ingredients, silver flowing like water.

The giant pot of crab roe noodles was just lifted from the kitchen, offered first to the host for tasting.

The dragon incident wasn't Fat's fault.

The fat catfish perked up, its two long whiskers flicking, forgetting the pain at the back of its head, rushing to the pond's edge, mouth wide open.

Liang Qu scooped a bowlful and dumped it straight into its mouth—the hot, salty, savory aroma exploded.

The fat catfish scraped the bowl's bottom clean with its whiskers, then clamped its mouth shut and chewed vigorously.

All troubles vanished!

No fists, no punches—everything's fine.

"Chief Li, time to eat!"

The river beaver, who'd noticed the meal distribution but hesitated to approach, slapped its flat tail on the ground, immediately dropped the half-chewed timber post, grabbed its wooden bowl, and sprinted over.

Each river beaver and river otter received its own portion.

As all the beasts feasted heartily,

a frog poked its head above the water, lifting a lotus leaf.

"What delicious thing are you eating?"