Chapter 94

Chen Qingjiang hugged the large carp, grinning from ear to ear.

The carp's appearance was no different from an ordinary carp, with two short feelers at the corners of its mouth, only its back was scattered with green light, which looked green at first glance, but under the sunlight, it was multicolored.

The size was even more astonishing, as big as half an adult's body, at least fifteen jin!

"Green-Backed Dragon Carp!"

Liang Qu's eyes popped out.

This fish was more expensive than the one-jin-two-liang Ox-Horn Pomfret; one jin of meat cost three taels of silver. The one in front of him was at least forty-five taels!

The people surrounded inside heard a term they had never heard before and turned their heads one after another, only to find that it was Liang Qu leaning on the outside, and they hurriedly made room.

Liang Qu's appearance was also unexpected to Chen Qingjiang. He shouted excitedly, "Ashui! Why are you here? You're a Wu Shi now, help me take a look, is this big carp a treasure fish?"

Liang Qu took off his coat, draped it over Chen Qingjiang, and affirmed, "It's a treasure fish, a Green-Backed Dragon Carp, very rare. One jin of meat can fetch three taels of silver; this one of yours is at least forty or fifty taels!"

"My goodness, forty or fifty taels? Isn't that enough for me to earn in a lifetime?"

"More expensive than the Ox-Horn Pomfret Ashui caught last time?"

The onlookers heard this and their blood surged. In a year, they couldn't earn eleven or twelve taels without eating, drinking, or paying taxes.

A treasure fish right now was worth five or six years of hard work?

"Forty or fifty taels?"

Chen Qingjiang was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth, his face even redder, unable to tell if it was from the cold or excitement, more exaggerated than being drunk.

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse!" Liang Qu waved his hand to disperse the crowd, letting everyone step back. "He's fallen into the water, he needs to go back and change his clothes quickly, don't block the road!"

Hearing Liang Qu mention a cold, Chen Qingjiang seemed to react, his whole body shivering.

The people around heard Liang Qu's words and didn't dare not obey, retreating early to make a path.

They watched Liang Qu take Chen Qingjiang away, their eyes full of envy, and gathered again to discuss it.

"The Old Chen family has really soared!"

"That's right, Ashui became a Wu Shi, and along with it, the Chen Qingjiang family's life has improved. Damn it, I heard Ashui gave some kind of bait; once cast, you can catch fish in handfuls even in winter, earning four or five qian of silver a day—silver, not copper coins! This time he even caught such a big treasure fish."

"My goodness, that much?"

"Yes, why not? I followed him last time and saw it with my own eyes. As a result, after he left, I went to cast the net, and there was nothing—it was all the bait's problem!"

"What kind of bait is it? Can we go and ask for some?"

"That bait was prepared by Ashui's master. Chen Qingjiang doesn't even have the recipe himself, he just takes it to use every day. You dare to go and ask for it? Watch out for Master Liang cutting you!"

"What's this called? What chicken and dog something?"

"What chicken and dog, it's 'When one person attains the Dao, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven'!"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Speaking of this, I remember that Liang Guangtian, it's really funny. He wanted to go to the door to collect debts before, but was beaten out by Elder Chen with a stick."

"Hahaha, I saw it, he looked like a dog!"

"Dog, dog, dog, dog your mother's dog!"

Liang Guangtian, who was peeking at the excitement in the alley, was so angry that he flicked his sleeves and cursed loudly before disappearing into the alley.

Liang Qu helped Chen Qingjiang home, smashed the ice layer on the surface of the water vat in the courtyard, put the treasure fish in, and called for Sister-in-law Adi to come out.

Adi heard the sound and rushed over. Seeing Chen Qingjiang's flushed face and shivering appearance, she was startled and hurriedly asked what was going on.

"Uncle Chen saw a treasure fish when he went out on the boat today, and he didn't even want his life, jumping into the water to catch it. The fish is up, but half his life is gone. Sister-in-law Adi, hurry and change my uncle's clothes, then boil some hot water and use a towel to dampen it and apply it—watch out for a cold."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Adi heard this and hurriedly took Chen Qingjiang, helping him into the house in a flurry of activity.

When Liang Qu came out again, he found Shunzi and his little Kui, who had just learned to walk, lying by the water vat, staring at the Green-Backed Dragon Carp in a daze.

Liang Qu smiled knowingly; children have patience, they can stare at anything for a whole day.

"Watch it carefully, don't let anyone come and take it away. If something happens, just shout."

Shunzi nodded solemnly.

Liang Qu patted his head, went out to the village clinic to grab a pack of medicine, and brought it back for Adi to decoct.

Falling into the water in winter is no small matter. Chen Qingjiang looked full of life, entirely supported by that breath of spirit in his heart.

After the medicine was decocted and he changed his clothes, Chen Qingjiang's complexion improved a bit, and he said excitedly, "Ashui, this treasure fish is just right for us to split in half."

"How can that be? This fish wasn't caught using my bait, it should count as Uncle Chen's own."

The Green-Backed Dragon Carp was seen by Chen Qingjiang on the way back, and he caught it himself. Liang Qu had nothing to do with it, so he shouldn't split it.

Chen Qingjiang was very insistent, biting down on the fact that the fish came smelling the bait.

What kind of bait, it was just yellow mud.

Can a treasure fish be attracted by yellow mud? If it had that effort, wouldn't it be the same if it went to the bottom of the river and took two bites of silt itself?

Liang Qu's mouth twitched, unable to point it out to his face, so he could only acquiesce.

Seeing Liang Qu agree, Chen Qingjiang let Adi take out the large scale in the house and simply weighed it—sixteen jin and eight liang!

One jin for three taels of silver, that's fifty taels and four qian!

Adi was so scared she couldn't hold the scale steady.

For more than half a month, Chen Qingjiang had indeed been able to earn a lot of money every day, but compared to the impact of suddenly obtaining dozens of taels of silver, it was simply a drop in the bucket.

Liang Qu felt around in his bosom, took out thirty taels of silver, and placed it on the table.

"Uncle Chen, to be honest, the treasure fish is of great use to me now. I'll give you the silver, and I'll take the fish directly."

"Too much, too much, this must be thirty taels! We agreed on fifty-fifty."

"It's not much. Splitting it is splitting it, but the fish was caught by Uncle Chen himself after going into the water and suffering so much. It's right to have more. Alright, that's it, I'm really in a hurry to use it, I'm leaving, I'm leaving."

Liang Qu said, carrying the Green-Backed Dragon Carp and leaving in a hurry, leaving behind a helpless Chen Qingjiang.

"Ashui cares about you, what's there to be unhappy about?" Adi put the silver away and curled her lips.

"What do you know? Where's the coat Ashui just wore? Go wash it quickly, dry it, and send it back to him later! Wash it clean, don't let it have any smell."

"Do you even need to say? It's been soaking in water since early morning. You hurry up and drink the medicine so I can free up my hands."

"Pfft, this is too bitter."

Liang Qu carried the big fish and returned to the boat under the surprised gazes of the crowd.

In the uninhabited water area, Liang Qu summoned the three beasts. While waiting, he used Qinglang to skillfully gut the Green-Backed Dragon Carp, take out the internal organs, pull out the fish line, and chop off the fins.

Fresh blood flowed onto the boat deck, and the Sky-Water Centipede crawled down from his wrist, lying on it and sucking greedily.

The sound of water rang out from beside the covered boat, and the three beasts surfaced one after another.

Smelling the blood, the Fat Catfish and the Pig-Dragon stared fixedly at the dead Green-Backed Dragon Carp.

The opportunity for evolution was right before their eyes.

Liang Qu divided the internal organs into two pieces, one large and one small, mixed with the carp scales, and fed them to the Fat Catfish and Cannot Move respectively.

A moment later, the Ze Tripod shone brightly.

【Taihua Crocodile can evolve into Horn-Wood Crocodile, evolve?】

【Six-Bearded Catfish can evolve into Tiger-Head Catfish, evolve?】

Liang Qu suppressed his excited mood.

Evolve, evolve them all!