Chapter 646: You Lad Took a Kickback!

Sea Hai Fangzhu stirred the water flow and offered another step down.

Wei Lin no longer refused.

Ten times the trade.

A subtle number that both sides could accept.

"Deputy Commander Wei is magnanimous!"

"Deputy Commander Xu is generous!"

"For our Pingyang, for our Great Shun, let's create brilliance again!"

Sui Sui Hongyan formed a ring with her thumb and index finger, put it in her mouth, blew a loud, sharp whistle, and clapped vigorously.

Wei Lin raised his head and stared.

The applause gradually stopped.

Commander Zuo Heng pinched Sui Sui Hongyan's shoulder and laughed loudly.

Twenty times.

Going to suffer.

If the Duke of Liang doesn't exert force, relying solely on Wei Lin, he definitely won't be able to take it down.

"Seeing Ran Zhongshi, I'll leave it to you! Don't forget to build the bathhouse; repair it before the New Year!"

Xu Xu Yuelong patted the waist token.

"Where are you going?"

"Wind is tight, pull out!"

Xu Xu Yuelong entrusted the heavy responsibility and handed all affairs over to his deputy, Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi, while he himself carried his fishing rod and bait, hurriedly taking a boat on a long journey.

He swore not to dock until the fish basket was full!

Liang Qu swept his peripheral vision toward Wei Lin, whose face showed no joy or anger, only his gaze fixed on the small boat moving further and further away.

"Ignore him, get to work."

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi was accustomed to it, patted Liang Qu on the shoulder, held the brush, licked the ink, and registered the storage.

He wasn't worried about venting anger.

The two deputy commanders had always only targeted each other, unless someone without eyes actively went up to them.

The farce subsided.

Sea Hai Fangzhu was happy and cheerful.

The next day.

Waiting for five days, trading for five days, time flashed to the end of the twelfth month.

The morning was exceptionally cold, and the water vats in the courtyard were covered with thick ice three inches deep. River officials carrying treasure chests passed through the inner courtyard, raised their hands to chisel through the ice layer, and several crucian carps with blue backs floated on the water to breathe.

The pier.

The ships mobilized by the King of Xu Yue, Su Guishan, and Weng Weng Lijun were all squeezed dry.

Sea Hai Fangzhu counted the harvest, her translucent tentacles curling around Liang Qu, sticking to his face and rubbing affectionately, her joy overflowing.

Cold, slippery, soft touch like jelly.

After a while.

Taking advantage of no one paying attention.

Sea Hai Fangzhu curled around Liang Qu, dived into the water, and took an object from the "carriage" on the giant crab's back, handing it to Liang Qu.

"Master Hai Fangzhu, this is..."

Liang Qu hugged the tube-shaped object in his hands, which was packed with fish eggs the size of fists, dense and numerous.

"Diamond Squid eggs. I kept them for myself to eat. The remaining small half-tube is for Little Water, thanking Little Water for the introduction."

Tentacles patted his head.

Hey!

Sea Hai Fangzhu is really not bad.

Generous and enthusiastic.

Got a kickback!

"Many thanks, Master Hai Fangzhu!"

Liang Qu hugged the squid eggs, quite pleasantly surprised.

A complete squid egg tube is more than three zhang long; the one before his eyes is only two meters long, less than a zhang, indeed leftovers.

But the small half-tube before his eyes has at least two or three thousand fish eggs. One squid egg has twenty or thirty units of essence; adding them up cannot be underestimated.

Not taking it would be a waste.

Back on shore.

Xiang Fang Su and Ke Ko Wenbin surrounded him, their gazes scrutinizing, full of suspicion.

"You lad, did you take a kickback?"

"Kickback? What kickback?" Liang Qu flatly denied. "We are all colleagues, don't spit blood. I am clean and white; what kickback could I take?"

"If you didn't take a kickback, why is your face red?"

"Glowing with health!"

"Don't talk nonsense! I clearly saw Sea Hai Fangzhu stuff something to you! It wasn't small!" Ke Ko Wenbin gestured with his hands. "Short, thick, like a tube. Those who see it have a share, those who see it have a share! Where did you hide it?"

"Are you not working and just being lazy? Staring at me all day? Are you a sodomite?"

"Get lost, I have eyes in six directions and ears in eight! Any kickback cannot escape my magic eyes!"

"Fine, fine, fine!"

Liang Qu went back into the water and hugged out a bundle of squid eggs that hadn't warmed up yet, about a hundred or so.

The crowd was not polite at all, reaching out to take them, pinching them, shaking them, and swinging them, the unformed little squids swaying back and forth.

Sniff, sniff.

"What the hell, strangely fragrant."

"Like fish eggs."

"This item is the egg of a Diamond Squid. Looking at the entire ocean, it is also a delicacy..."

Whoosh!

A figure flashed by, a breeze brushing his face.

"Master Su!"

The crowd stiffened.

Su Guishan's gaze moved downward: "Where did these fish eggs come from?"

"Sea Hai Fangzhu thanked me for the introduction and specifically gave them to me."

"Didn't you say there were none left?"

"The last small half-tube, Sea Hai Fangzhu kept it for herself to eat."

Liang Qu showed a proud look.

A small half-tube?

Su Guishan's gaze was meaningful.

"See you next year."

"See you next year!"

Sea Hai Fangzhu stretched out her tentacles and waved gently.

Splash!

The salamander crawled, dragging the heavy, bumper-harvest "carriage" back into the water, the giant ray flipped over, splashed water, and dived underwater.

The long sea merchant fleet traveled toward the distance and disappeared.

The finless porpoises of the River Patrol Office danced with joy, spraying water to celebrate.

The villagers were still not satisfied.

A magnificent sight never seen in a lifetime.

In a few days, they had accumulated a lot of talking points, enough to tell their grandchildren in the future.

"Get to work, get to work! Finish organizing everything before dark! The King of Xu Yue's belongs to the King of Xu Yue, and the other prefectures' belong to the other prefectures. Don't mix them up!"

"If there are treasure fish, categorize them first!"

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi clapped his hands.

The bustle paused, and the registrars and officials of the River Patrol Office could not rest, counting the brand-new supplies exchanged back.

Too many things were bought back, and many had not yet been categorized, organized, or recorded in the exchange book.

Especially many treasure fish, treasure plants, and minerals, belonging to the deep sea, never seen before.

Fortunately, the buyers didn't recognize them, but the demons selling them did. When they took them out to do business, they wouldn't be muddled. When exchanging, they asked a question, recorded it, and pasted a label on each one.

Evening.

The sunset was orange-red, and figures intersected.

Chen Chen Zhaoan, a village elder of Yixing Town, led people to find Liang Qu.

"Village Chen Xianglao? Something up?"

Liang Qu put down the work in his hands.

"Official Liang, not a big deal, just coming to ask, this winter, do you want to hold the River God Festival?" Chen Chen Zhaoan said.

In the past, if a great demon appeared, it would definitely be held.

But Yixing Town was no longer the remote little village it once was.

The best way to break ignorance is undoubtedly to broaden one's horizons. Relying on teaching alone is not necessarily effective; one must see it with one's own eyes, and see it often.

It was only a dozen miles from Pingyang Prefecture City, and the River Patrol Office was even closer, just a few steps away. Merchants coming and going from the south and north, and martial artists with extraordinary skills, were endless.

Holding a River God Festival now was more like an excuse for a lively event, rather than just awe of the River God.

Therefore, Chen Chen Zhaoan specifically came to ask.

"Hold it! Why not hold it?" Liang Qu didn't hesitate. "Can it be finished before Minor Cold?"

The higher the favor.

The stronger the water control ability.

The White Ape and the Dragon had already fallen out, breaking the jar, so there was no reason not to hold it.

"Minor Cold is in five days. The time is too tight; I'm afraid it won't be as prosperous and lively as in the summer."

Chen Chen Zhaoan estimated.

"No matter, let's handle it simply."

The end of the first month is the New Year.

Calculate the journey.

Liang Qu estimated that around the middle of the month, he would receive orders to rush to the Imperial Capital, and the River God Festival would be too late to catch up.

Chen Chen Zhaoan had no objections.

"I don't know what requirements Official Liang has this year?"

After a little thought.

"Slaughter two more big fat pigs. Everyone has been busy for a year; before the New Year, their stomachs should save some oil and water. In addition, set up a hot porridge shed, paired with two vats of pickles. It's cold this year; don't let me see anyone in town freeze or starve to death.

Chen Xianglao, take some time to book three more large bathhouses, book them for three days. If you run into people from our town, let them in to take a hot bath and wash away the bad luck of the year.

Remember to tell the shopkeeper to burn the water hot enough and change the water diligently, lest they catch a cold after washing. Oh right, Village Chen Xianglao, do me a favor. Not counting those who moved later, register the local people from our original Yixing City, aged fourteen or fifteen to twenty, and hand them to me. Mark those with good character and willingness to endure hardship with a cinnabar pen."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 647 =====

(End of Chapter)