Chapter 143: 234 chapters, so beautiful, so, it turns out to be

234 chapters, so beautiful, so, it turns out to be...

234 chapters, so beautiful, so pretty, it turns out to be……

――――Liu Guozong

First, I made another round of money……

In a certain place, there was a corrupt official who, having been demoted for corruption, lived at home, filled with resentment and unable to bear it, feeling miserable. To dispel his boredom, he walked back and forth each day carrying a birdcage along the riverbank.

The small birds by the river initially avoided the corrupt official, but after a long time, seeing that he meant them no harm, they all voluntarily drew near and became friendly.

The corrupt official was delighted: 'When I was in office, people around me bowed and scraped, showing utmost respect. Now that I've fallen from power, I seem like a plague god, and everyone avoids me. Yet these river birds treat me with such affectionate playfulness, even more endearing than the dancing girls and lovely ladies when I was at the height of my fame.'

Ah, truly 'Man is not as good as a bird.' the corrupt official sighed.

One day, the corrupt official simply hung his birdcage on a low branch of a riverside tree, sat on the riverbank, and enjoyed watching the birds that surrounded him, singing and chirping.

Just as the corrupt official entered a state of self‑forgetfulness, a miracle occurred. Among the flock of small birds circling his cage, one actually flew into the cage and could not get out.

The corrupt official felt a surge of joy and exclaimed, 'Ah, I didn't expect to receive a gift even in this open riverside—consider yourself unlucky.' He said this, then quickly walked to the cage and carefully took down the hanging birdcage from the branch.

'Ah, it's a Golden Thread Bird. Golden Thread Birds fetch a high price on the market and still can't be bought.' The corrupt official lifted

With this unexpected gain, he thought happily and returned home gleeful.

The next day at noon, the corrupt official again brought his birdcage to the riverside. The Golden Thread Bird that had flown into his cage yesterday had already been quietly taken to the market and sold this morning.

The corrupt official was satisfied but not content, because the Golden Thread Bird he sold had not yet fully grown feathers, was still rather immature, essentially a chick; it fetched a decent price, but the income was small.

In order to catch a larger Golden Thread Bird, the corrupt official deliberately tampered with the seam opening of his birdcage. Although the seam was enlarged slightly, it showed no trace of human workmanship—not even a bird, nor a person, could spot the flaw without close inspection.

This corrupt official was a veteran adept at disguise in the bureaucracy, widely known far and wide; deceiving these low‑intelligence birds was, for him, truly child's play.

While the corrupt official was mulling things over in his mind, he also hung the birdcage he was carrying back on the same low branch as yesterday.

However, the corrupt official was not sitting on the riverbank today.

That spot was a bit conspicuous and would give away his target.

The corrupt official thought, if the birds that had been friendly to him yesterday, now their 'little sisters' (or 'little something') were caught and sold by him, they would surely scold him as a heartless corrupt official or a clever impostor. To avoid this, he today deliberately hid in the reed thicket below the riverbank, watching the birdcage on the low branch with eagle‑like eyes.

Second, it is so large, so beautiful, so pretty……

Soon, the flock of birds flew back. 'It's still the same flock; I can't see anything missing, nor anything unusual,' the corrupt official thought to himself with quiet delight.

The small birds surrounded the tree holding the birdcage, chirping for a while, then flew up and down, circling a few times; their sounds and flight patterns seemed somewhat different from yesterday, yet nothing appeared particularly special. Shortly after, the whole flock burst away in a flurry.

The corrupt official watched those small birds gradually fly away, feeling very disappointed.

However, just as the corrupt official was feeling disappointed, a miracle appeared.

He saw that behind the flock there was an unusually large bird that suddenly turned its head and flew back, heading straight for his birdcage. When it reached the cage, it circled around it a few times, chirping nonstop, its voice sounding somewhat hoarse.

'This must be the mother or father of yesterday's chick, coming to look for its "son" or "daughter." Your offspring have already turned into cash in my pocket; you'll never find your dear one again,' the corrupt official said gleefully.

'Hurry up and go in, what are you hesitating for? Opportunity won't wait, time won't come again.' The corrupt official hoped, worried, and silently cursed.

Ah, that bird indeed did not disappoint the corrupt official's expectations; it fell for his 'Cage Plan.' It slipped through the seam he had designed and entered the cage.

The corrupt official's heart surged with wild joy; he ran swiftly to the small tree, took down the birdcage from its branch, and seized the bird that had just flown in before it could recover.

It was truly an old Golden Thread Bird.

So large, so beautiful and pretty. He really hated to part with it, but the corrupt official could not resist the lure of flashing banknotes and decided to sell it.

Moreover, tomorrow he could catch an even larger, more beautiful bird; there are plenty of fine birds in the world. The corrupt official thought how foolish his earlier notion had been.

Time waits for no one, so he hurried to sell this Golden Thread Bird and quickly return to catch that old one.

The corrupt official believed that the old Golden Thread Bird he now held was surely the mother of the small Golden Thread Bird he had sold yesterday, a feeling based on his worldly experience.

Because a mother always loves her children most, while other birds flew away, it alone flew back, seeking the seam to slip into the cage and search thoroughly once more.

This one is surely female; where there is a female there is also a male. Now that the male has lost its young and also missing its 'beloved wife,' it surely has lost its appetite and must return to seek its dear ones.

Thinking of another stack of RMB about to go into his waist pouch, the corrupt official involuntarily quickened his pace and hurried to the market.

Third, a beautiful dream turns into crows……

Before sunset, the corrupt official again rushed to the riverside.

The corrupt official still hung the birdcage on the original low branch and remained hidden in the original reed thicket, waiting for the original flock of birds.

To be precise, he was waiting for the male Golden Thread Bird from that original flock, because the female Golden Thread Bird had already become the RMB he constantly thought of in his satchel.

Not long after, the flock of birds indeed returned.

The birds flew up and down around his cage, calling nonstop. For a long time, none of them fell for his 'Cage Plan'.

Looking at the deepening dusk and the sky growing dark, the corrupt official was anxious, longing for the flock circling his cage and calling to quickly fly away, and then, just like at noon, a particularly large Golden Thread Bird would suddenly turn back from the departing flock, fly straight into his cage, and then a stack of RMB would be loaded into his satchel… the corrupt official thought while daydreaming.

Just as the corrupt official was indulging in his daydream, hey, his daydream came true.

Just as the flock of birds was about to move out of the corrupt official's sight, a very large bird from behind the flock flew back.

That bird flying back was very black in the deepening dusk.

The corrupt official gazed at the large black bird in the sky; it circled his cage a few times, made no call, did not enter the cage, and seemed to have seen through his plot, turning to fly toward the reed thicket where he was hiding.

The corrupt official felt a little afraid. The large black bird circled a few times above his head, emitting several mournful 'croak‑croak‑croak' cries.

'***, it turns out to be an ill‑omened crow.' The corrupt official's heart pounded with fear at the crow's cries; he wondered whether another of his fortunes had been exposed, whether he was really doomed to plunge into the abyss, and he shouted abuse at the crow.

Just as the corrupt official opened his mouth, the crow flung a large lump of filth from its tail, which happened to fall straight into his mouth.

At this moment the corrupt official was furious and exasperated, not even bothering to clean the filth from his mouth; in a panic he grabbed a dry stick and some withered reeds from under his feet and went to chase and strike the crow flying high and far away.

Because he was eager for revenge, the corrupt official ran fast and fierce, watching only ahead and forgetting the ground beneath his feet. By accident, he tripped violently on the reed grass below, his left eye landing on a reed stubble, which pierced it and drew blood profusely….

Later, despite the doctors' full efforts to save him, the corrupt official's left eye remained blind. His remaining right eye could only barely see the food that his family brought before him.

From then on, the corrupt official could no longer distinguish the foreign letters on genuine versus counterfeit RMB and US dollars.

(This story is purely fantasy fiction)