Becoming a God from a Water Monkey

Chapter 349: A Phoenix Emerges from a Crow's Nest

The silvery white reed flowers swayed in the wind. Fishing boats came and went on the open lake surface with their sails side by side, creating a busy scene.

“The days go by so fast.”

Liang Qu stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the Yixing Town right in front of him, feeling filled with emotion.

Leave in late August and return in mid-October.

It was midsummer when I left, and autumn when I returned. On the low hill behind the town, a tall building had been erected without anyone noticing.

The pavilion has not yet been topped off and the beams and pillars are uneven, but the five-story, eight-sided pavilion has taken shape and can be seen at a glance by fishermen boating on the lake. Under the hazy mist, it adds a bit of humanistic atmosphere.

"Confucian Temple Kui Pavilion?"

Liang Qu had excellent eyesight and by observing the styles of the buildings he had some vague guesses.

There are three temples in every county town: the Temple of Literature, the Temple of Martial Arts and the Temple of the City God, which aim to encourage the people to respect virtue and pursue martial arts and prosper.

If the place is near a river, a river god temple or dragon king temple should be added.

Liang Qu had heard before that Pingyang County intended to build the Confucian Temple and the River God Temple in Yixing Town, but he did not expect the plan to happen so quickly.

When the boat approached Shangrao Port, the water beasts playing in the water dispersed.

The fat catfish and the porpoises followed the instructions and ran into the swamp to catch big, fat crabs with yellow roe in preparation for the crab feast.

If you can't move or use your fists, follow the underground river and go home first.

Liang Qu rowed forward alone.

The continuous influx and settlement of people from all over the country have led to rapid development of Pingyang County and its nearby townships.

Compared with August, dozens of new foot shops have opened along the coast of Shangrao Port, and there is no shortage of boatmen chatting and drinking under the awnings.

Two families even hung up wooden signs that read "Eat your fill for eight copper coins, eat well for twelve copper coins". A large pot was set up at the door, with the dark red soup bubbling and the fishy aroma of meat wafting everywhere.

Before mealtime, the hungry cooks would come and put down their copper coins to get some rice, and then eat happily around the iron pot.

When the villagers saw Liangqu's iconic barge passing by the shore, they were surprised and came forward to greet it.

Liang Qu nodded one by one.

Some fishermen even rowed over, caught big fish from their baskets, and warmly greeted Liang Qu, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.

"Master Liang! Take the fresh big crucian carp home and make soup!"

"What's so delicious about crucian carp? It's full of small bones. I have big silver carp here. I want to drink some fish head soup!"

The teahouse owner on the shore laughed: "There is no shortage of fish in the big lake. Mr. Liang was born and raised in Pingyang. Why would he care about your two fish? Luanzi, go and pack two pounds of cold cut mutton!"

"Ah, there's no need for that." Liang Qu declined everyone, "I appreciate your kindness, really..."

In the foot shop, the clerk who was busy wiping the table looked at Liang Qu's back and asked curiously, "Boss, who is that person? Why is he so arrogant? Is he here to deliver fish?"

The diners eating around looked at each other in bewilderment, and suddenly there was a burst of laughter in the hall, shaking the roof tiles slightly.

"Old shopkeeper, where did you recruit this stupid boy? Is he an illegal resident who escaped from the mountains?"

"If you don't know Master Liang in Yixing Town, it's like riding a donkey to chase chickens. You don't know your place!"

"Hey, kid, you're pretending to be smart, but you're really stupid." The old shopkeeper who just went out to say hello turned around, patted the waiter on the back of his head, and then raised his thumb, "Remember, Mr. Liang is the one in our town!

With your small body, if it weren't for Master Liang, how could you save up the wages? All the money will be taken away by the gangsters! Every year, we have to borrow and pay taxes on the two acres of paddy fields in our family, and we won't have a bite of food left until we die! In the future, you should be more careful. Even if you don't recognize the yamen runners, you must recognize Master Liang!"

After that, the old shopkeeper bowed and apologized to the many diners: "A young yellow ox does not know a tiger. I am a country bumpkin who ran out of Nanxun to make a living. I have never seen a big shot. Please don't judge me like that."

Naturally, everyone took the old shopkeeper's words as a joke.

No one would take such a small matter to heart. They would just joke around a bit and then eat their meals.

The young man held the back of his head in his hands, as if thinking about something.

All the nearby towns and villages say that Yixing Town is a good place, with no skinning ghosts or scalping victims, and even the price paid to large households who borrow grain seeds every year is lower than that in neighboring towns.

It turns out that the source is here.

At the pier.

Liang Qu politely declined the good intentions of the fishermen and shopkeepers, tied up the boat and went ashore, picking up the rhinoceros-skin suitcase and the cash box.

"Brother Shui! When I heard that you were back, I thought someone was playing a prank on me, but I didn't expect it to be true!"

Liang Qu turned around and said, "Song Bao? How come you have time to come to the fishing shed today?"

Lin Songbao, who had not been seen for a long time, was wearing a black martial arts uniform. He helped carry out the gangplank from the fishing pen, got on the boat, and pointed to the workers who were digging pits and carrying mud on both sides of the pier.

"There have been a lot of merchant ships coming and going at the port recently. My father said he wanted to expand the port and build a deep port and a dock, so he asked me to come over and take a look at it every day during dinner time."

"That's perfect. I have a big boat, but I'm worried about where to put it after it's built."

"What a big ship! I'll ask my father to reserve one more seat." "It's a Fu ship that's less than six meters long."

Chishan stepped onto the springboard and reached the pier, shaking his muscles and hair.

Liang Qu hung the box on the Red Mountain and looked Lin Songbao up and down: "Is Popi closed?"

Lin Songbao chuckled and said, "It broke in early September."

"Then hurry up, Libo and Jiechang are both in the second level now."

Lin Songbao was stunned: "So fast?"

"There was a flood in Huazhu County, and all the fish rushed out. There were quite a few precious fish among them. Baozhi, the two of them go out to pick up fish every day and eat all the dead ones. Come, give me a hand."

Lin Songbao took the big wooden box.

Liang Qu carried Fu Bo on his back and led him up Chishan towards home, pointing to the low mountain in the distance: "What's the situation with that tower?"

"The construction started a long time ago, I think it was during the auction, it appeared in October, it was said to be a pavilion in the Confucian Temple, dedicated to Wenchang."

"Kuige?"

"Yes, Kuige!"

"Mr. Liang is well!"

Liang Qu nodded slightly, turned around and looked at the passers-by, quite confused: "Why are you all so happy that I'm back today?"

"Long time no see." Lin Songbao said without hesitation, then pondered again, "Hmm... maybe it's because of the autumn harvest?"

Liang Qu was stunned: "What does this have to do with the autumn harvest?"

"The rent has to be paid back after the autumn harvest. This year, many people went to pay back the grain. As a result, several large grain borrowers all lowered their interest rates. We all appreciate your kindness."

"Accept my favor? I didn't ask the big investors to lower their interest rates?"

The more Liang Qu listened, the more puzzled he became. He knew about borrowing grain.

The villagers could not always have enough food to eat, and due to illness, many of them had to borrow food from wealthy families to survive.

Not to mention that there were many disaster victims from other places in Yixing Town, and borrowing food was quite common.

However, there is no borrowing without reason, and interest must be charged.

"But Brother Shui, you are now the boss of this town, the most powerful one! You have a title, a seventh-rank official, and you are a martial arts master. The two martial arts masters in this town all rely on you.

Usually when Chen Jiechang and Li Libo come out to teach ruffians a lesson, everyone thinks it is you who instigated them.

You can't interfere with other places. Yixing Town is so small. The rich people know your temper and they will naturally do things according to your wishes. How dare they act recklessly?

Brother Shui, haven’t you noticed that even scoundrels are rare in this town now? The old Niu Er, Pan Wu and the like are all honest now.”

Liang Qu looked around and thought carefully, and it seemed to be true.

"Everyone in the surrounding villages says that our people are lucky. A phoenix was born in a crow's nest."

Liang Qu suddenly realized.

No wonder when he came back today, the fishermen brought him fish, the farmers brought him food, the shop owners brought him side dishes, and the tea sellers asked him to sit down and drink tea.

Liang Qu didn't do many things at all, but his status was getting higher and higher, so even if he stayed in the town and did nothing, no one dared to ignore him.

During the conversation, Liang Qu and Lin Songbao came to Liang's house.

"Wang!"

Before the door opened, a black head popped out from the top of the wall.

Wulong climbed up the wall and flipped over in no time, landing head first on the ground with a heavy fall. However, Wulong had thick skin and tough flesh, so he shook his head twice on the spot and hopped around Liangqu.

After two months, Wulong has grown a lot bigger, his ears are mostly erect, and he is fat and black.

Liang Qu picked up Wulong with one hand, opened the door with the other, and walked around the screen wall with the dog in his arms, finally returning to the familiar courtyard.

Fan Xinglai from the backyard rushed over upon hearing the noise, was overjoyed to see Liang Qu, and hurried forward to help move things.

Liang Qu unloaded several large boxes from Chi Shan and said, "I've been away for two months. Has anything happened at home? Has anyone come to see me?"

"Master Yang sent someone to look for you, asking you to take some time to go there after you come back. It's not a big deal. As for your family... nothing should have happened, right?"

Fan Xinglai sounded uncertain.

Liang Qu noticed something strange.

"should?"

(End of this chapter)