Chapter 707: Old Acquaintance

Ordinary wooden boxes cannot last long in water and rot within a few days. Those that can survive until now have more or less undergone special treatment and have some value.

The second one.

A pile of rouge and powder boxes. The wood used was actually quite good—sandalwood and nanmu—but unfortunately, the box had leaked somewhere, and everything was ruined.

The third one.

Stuffed with dried goods and medicinal herbs. After identifying them, most were aimed at the Galloping Horse Martial Artist realm.

The box was actually well-preserved and hadn't let in water, but unfortunately, when the items were touched, although there were no mold spots, there was a damp feeling. When snapped, they weren't brittle but instead had a slight toughness.

Xiang Zhangsong asked: "Can they be used?"

Hu Qi rummaged through them and smelled them again; the medicinal scent wasn't strong: "Barely."

"Forget it." Cao Rang waved his hand. "It's not worth using for ourselves, and if we sell them, the medicinal effect won't be enough, and we'd be harming people."

"That's true. Feed them to Ah Fei as a hard-work fee. Next, next!"

"Whoa!"

Xu Zishuai opened the lid and leaned back to avoid it.

The fourth box contained a pile of white bones and rotten skin, the foul odor shooting straight into the sky—the foulest one in the box so far.

Liang Qu held his breath, pulled out a wooden chip from the second box to stir it, and a skull with a narrow head and fangs rolled out. It looked like a cat in size, and at the bottom was a rotten cotton quilt, black and the same color as the silt.

Lu Gang picked up the skull.

"Not human; it should be some kind of rare beast."

Four boxes in a row were of low value, and the fat catfish in the river was quite disappointed.

"It should be like this." Xu Zishuai realized he had been wishful thinking. "There are many rich people and many capable people in the Imperial Capital. I heard there are specialized salvagers who fish for corpses and treasure. If there were really good goods, they would have been fished clean long ago."

"Not necessarily." Liang Qu shook his head and denied it. He came to the last small box. "This box is the smallest, but the heaviest. I think it might be filled with some kind of mineral, or maybe silver. I specifically left it for last."

Liang Qu was a small millionaire with quite a bit of gold and silver on hand, and he was quite sensitive to their weight.

Silver!

Once these words were spoken, everyone's spirits lifted.

"Pry it open and see."

Click!

The box was opened, and a layer of rippling, ghostly waves appeared. A little silt settled to the bottom, and bright, silvery-white objects were soaking in the clear water.

Under the sunlight, they were actually somewhat dazzling.

Xu Zishuai's pupils dilated.

Treasure silver.

It really was silver!

Five rows and four columns, twenty large ingots per layer—one thousand taels!

Lifting another layer, another thousand taels!

Three layers in total—three thousand taels!

"Treasure silver from the Great Qian era." Lu Gang picked up an ingot. The seal on the bottom of the ingot was not Great Shun, but Great Qian Treasury Silver.

"Perhaps it was lost when the nobles of Great Qian fled the capital back then?"

"It doesn't matter; Great Qian silver is still silver."

Liang Qu pressed his thumb down, and the fingerprint replaced the seal on the bottom of the silver.

After rubbing it slightly, a brand-new ingot without a seal was freshly baked!

"Well done, I'll record a merit for you!"

Liang Qu was in a great mood and personally went into the ice cellar to cut a large piece of dragon meat to feed Ah Fei.

Three thousand taels was not a small amount, especially as a windfall, directly filling the cost of settling the Time Insects.

Assets warmed back up to sixty thousand.

The fat catfish chewed in large mouthfuls, holding its head high toward the little Xiao Xiao Shenlong above its head, its sidelong glance full of disdain.

Ah Wei left, and now a Third Prince has come.

It's nothing more than another treacherous eunuch!

"Pfft, pfft, pfft."

The little Xiao Xiao Shenlong spat out a mouthful of water.

South of the Imperial Capital.

Cangzhou.

As the southern gateway to the Imperial Capital, the Jinglan Canal runs through the entire territory of Cangzhou. Merchant ships coming and going must pass through this place. Except for the two ends, it has almost the most prosperous port on the entire canal.

The river was covered in thin mist, and merchant ships could be faintly seen breaking through the fog, sailing back and forth.

On a small pavilion by the river, a copper pot hotpot was bubbling. Pickled Chinese cabbage was rinsed and mixed with chili to make a sour soup base. Fresh, crystal-clear fish meat was dropped in, and after rolling twice, it was scalded into an enticing milky white, the fragrance overflowing.

The sound of hooves approached from far to near, rushing to the front of the pavilion.

Ssh!

The steed snorted.

The visitor was dressed in arrow sleeves, dismounted, covered in hot sweat, and ran to the front, panting.

"My lord, I have not failed the mission! I discovered that after the examinations, Lord Liang departed from the capital to return home. At the speed of the treasure ship, it is expected to arrive in Cangzhou in about three days. At that time, you can invite him for a talk!"

"Excellent!" The middle-aged man in the wind pavilion was visibly happy. He put down his chopsticks, took a silver banknote from his bosom and placed it on the table, and personally added bowls and chopsticks for the visitor. "You've worked hard. After running all the way, you must be empty in the belly. Come, come, come, hurry and taste this freshly made pickled cabbage hotpot!"

"This... one takes money and eliminates disasters for others; my lord need not be so polite."

"Eh, Cangzhou is a place of outstanding people. You and I may still have cooperation in the future. Don't be so restrained. Sit down and talk to me, talk about what you saw and heard in the capital. I have traveled and practiced everywhere, but I haven't been to the capital for a long time, and I don't know how things have changed."

"Thank you, my lord!" The visitor felt it wasn't just politeness. Giving a thousand taels to explore news in the capital was truly wealthy and generous. He needed to serve the employer well, so he simply accepted the silver banknote, sat down opposite, picked up his chopsticks, and lifted the fish meat. "I don't know what my lord wants to know?"

"You haven't said how Lord Liang is coming, and if he passes through this Cangzhou grand port, suppose he doesn't dock for supplies, how should I distinguish which ship is his among the many ships on the river?"

"Ah, look at my memory, I forgot the key thing." The visitor wiped his mouth and added, "This matter is easy to recognize. I went to the capital this time and heard that Lord Liang became a martial examination instructor, and the Emperor personally bestowed a treasure ship, over twelve zhang long. The treasure ship is made of small Creation Wood, seamless throughout, which is quite rare. When passing through here, my lord, send someone to pay attention, and you will recognize it at a glance."

"Then do you know what kind of people are on the ship, so I can set up an equal number of banquets to avoid being rude?"

The visitor didn't feel it was strange.

Liang Qu became famous all over the world in one day. It was perfectly normal for big shots to want to inquire about his whereabouts and make friends.

He immediately said what he saw and heard.

"So that's how it is, people from the sect..."

The middle-aged man tapped his index finger on the stone table, and then asked a few more questions.

They chatted for a while.

He seemed to feel that the employer was quite easy to talk to.

"My lord, actually I also have a question."

"Ask."

"Since you want to set up a banquet, why not just let me send an invitation to the capital? Or even inquire about Lord Liang's itinerary privately? Could it be that you two are old acquaintances and want to give him a surprise?"

After a long while.

"My lord?"

Clatter.

The bamboo chopsticks hit the ground, stained with yellow soil.

The gray, misty fog spread, carrying a faint blood mist, dissipating onto the river surface.

In the small pavilion, only one person and one pot remained.

Swish, swish, swish.

The fish were restless, competing for food, but after eating for a long time, they couldn't eat even half a scrap. It seemed there was only fragrance, but no food.

The chopsticks tapped the edge of the pot.

The middle-aged man raised his hand to take the silver banknote, folded it, and put it into his bosom.

"I know him, he doesn't know me. How can we be considered old acquaintances?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 708 =====