Chapter 39: Ghost Wealth and River Fishermen
"Zi Yu, Qian Dong, do you want to go to Fisherman's Wharf to watch the river lanterns tonight?" Zhao Xing asked his two younger brothers when he was leaving the office.

"No." Qian Dong shook his head. "The River Lantern Festival is really boring. Not only are there not many young ladies, but it's also a bit creepy. What's the point? It's far inferior to the Grass Fighting Festival and the Spring Festival."

"You only know how to look at girls." Zhao Xing smiled and patted him, then turned to look at Chen Ziyu, "What about you?"

"I will go, but I may not be able to go with my brother." Chen Ziyu said, "I want to go with my father to sell lotus lanterns."

The river lanterns of the River Lantern Festival, also known as lotus lanterns, are made of lotus leaves, clay, gouache, cloth, drawing paper and needle and thread.

After the lamp is made, the name of the deceased relative will be written on the outer surface of the lamp, and a candle will be placed in the center.

Of course, lotus lanterns are also used to pray for the living, not just to commemorate the dead.

Although there are many people during this festival, the atmosphere is rather solemn and there is not much fun to do there. At most, you can go there to eat something and enjoy the scenery.

Seeing that the two of them didn't want to go, Zhao Xing didn't force them. After all, he wasn't going there for fun.

He was trying to see if he could make some 'ghost money'.

In the Qiyun Dynasty system, the theory of the five elements of qiyun was prevalent, and there were professions such as sorcerers, fortune tellers, and geomancers.

However, after Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty 'took control of the world's fortune', he strengthened the rule of the dynasty's fortune and dealt a heavy blow to the above three professions, compiling them all into the tool of 'temple', where the Yin gods would run the fortunes on their behalf and increase blessings and fortunes.

In the previous life, these professions were once reduced to "secondary professions" in Zhao Xing's eyes, because Taizu's sword directly cut the "aorta".

In the Dynasty of Fortune version, these three professions belonged to the absolute sewer and became the likes of "charlatans". They could only survive until the Dynasty of Fortune collapsed, and then they rose again.

But this did not prevent Zhao Xing from making a little fortune.

"From the Heavenly Stems, it is the Seven Killings, but from the Na Yin, it is Wealth."

"If Dingmao is Fire, the true five elements of the Heavenly Stems are Wood, and Yi and Geng are seen in the four stems, it is the Stem Head Metal Ghost. Dingmao is Fire, but it can control Yi and Geng Metal, so it is called Ghost Wealth."

"Although I can't get any big benefits from doing ghost money, I can't lose much either. This is because the Zhou Dynasty is prosperous and no ghosts or wild ghosts can cause trouble." Zhao Xing took a look at the almanac for warding off evil, and then slowly walked towards the Fisherman's Wharf.

He first came to an inn at Fisherman's Wharf, where there were many stalls and many vendors selling lotus lanterns and incense sticks.

Zhao Xing bought a lamp at random, which was just an ordinary item. Then he walked towards the group of people who were resting nearby.

The group of people gathered in groups of three or five, drinking tea with their bare chests, with hooks, scissors and other items placed beside them.

They are a group of "river fishers."

What is a river-fishing person?

They are people who are very good at swimming and specialize in diving into the water to retrieve treasures. They are usually former fishermen.

The Thirteen Channels of Pinghu connect to the Canglan River. The East Lake has accumulated vitality over the years, and the erosion of the river will give birth to many underwater treasures.

Level 1 and 2 water treasures are not rare, and catching one is enough to last for half a year. What if you catch a level 3 treasure? Then you can go ashore and buy a house, and become a landlord!

In addition, there are a constant flow of ships passing by, and valuable items are often lost on tourist and merchant ships, and they will ask people to salvage them, so this gave rise to a group of "river salvage people".

Don't be fooled by his dirty and unpresentable appearance. He earns much more than a minor official like Zhao Xing in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Zhao Xing walked to the stall, bowed and said, "Brothers, are you willing to take the job?" A strong middle-aged man who looked like a foreman nodded and said, "We don't take free jobs, only treasure hunting. If you want to try your luck, we have long-term, short-term and one-time deals."

Elite river fishers will not take unlucky and wasted jobs like fishing out corpses and bones, as they are not willing to earn this kind of money.

Zhao Xing nodded and stated his needs directly: "I need to hire a good short-distance fisherman, starting at the end of the evening hour and ending before the midnight hour; about three hours, no limit on the number of times I go into the water; pay 2 taels and 5 cents, including tea and midnight snacks, but all the catches are mine, no dividends."

Three hours are enough. After these three hours, the luck of ghost wealth will not be obvious and it will be difficult to gain anything. In fact, the only time when you can really get treasure is the 'Dingmao time' among those three hours.

Seeing that Zhao Xing was well-informed and offered a good price, the foreman nodded and called out to the back, "Xu Lao Ba."

"Hey! Here they come!" Not far away, a sturdy man was chatting with a young woman who was setting up a stall, showing off his muscular body, making the woman tremble with excitement.

When he heard his eldest brother's voice, he immediately touched the other person's hand and ran over happily.

"Big brother."

"This young man wants to try his luck and make some quick money. He can provide a loan of 250 grams of silver for three hours. Do you have any problem with that?" asked the foreman.

"No problem." Xu Lao Ba bared his teeth and patted his chest towards Zhao Xing. "My lord, you can tell by looking at my appearance that I, Xu Lao Ba, can definitely bring you good luck!"

Zhao Xing looked at this man with the Five Elements Observation. He had sufficient lung energy and was two or three times bigger than others. He was indeed a good fighter. Then he nodded and said, "This is the one."

The foreman took out a piece of bamboo with inscriptions on it and said, "The payment must be made in advance, and an additional deposit of one or two taels is required. If he returns safely, the deposit will be returned with this item. If he has an accident, you don't need to be responsible. This deposit is considered as his charity."

"Very reasonable." Zhao Xing nodded. Then he handed over the money and the person.

After getting the certificate, Xu Laoba took his weapons and followed Zhao Xing.

"Sir, do you still want to rent a boat? I have an acquaintance who can give you a 10% discount. If you have friends with you, you can get an 20% discount for five people."

Zhao Xing said, "I am alone, so I can just rent a small boat, no need for a boat."

Xu Lao Ba was not disappointed. He could also share some of the commission from Xiao Zhou. "So, young master, which lake area are you going to? Or the thirteen bay areas? A night-shining pearl was dug up in the West Lake area yesterday. I think we can try our luck there."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Don't worry, just take a stroll."

Seeing this, Xu Laoba said no more. It seemed that this host had a plan in mind. He also hoped that Zhao Xing would stroll around more and go into the water less often so that he would feel more relaxed.

It gets dark later during the Beginning of Autumn, and it is not until the end of the You hour that it becomes completely dark.

Standing on the high point of Fisherman's Wharf at this time, you can see lotus lanterns floating in the river everywhere, dotted like stars and connected together.

The commercial street is still quite popular, but it mainly sells food and drinks or lotus lanterns. Other entertainment activities are much less than other festivals.

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing's eyes suddenly fell on a familiar figure. "The master of ceremonies at the Caoxi Zhenjun Temple? There are quite a few people around him, they seem to be officials in the temple. I wonder what their assessment is about?"

It was still early for the time he was waiting for, and he had come to watch the fun, so he immediately moved closer and listened attentively.

The vital energy filled his ears, and soon the only sound in the noisy street was that of the master of ceremonies guarding the temple.

(End of this chapter)