Chapter 41: The Weaver Girl Gathers Silk from the Lake

The fat ghost walked towards the golden light in a daze, and then his shadow twisted and fell into the soul-guiding lamp.

Zhao Xing did not stop him when he saw this. This ghost money was too far away, and if he wanted to find out the whereabouts of the wealth, he might even have to help the fat ghost fulfill his wish.

It was too much trouble. Zhao Xinglai was trying to make money from a side business, and his main goal was to get rich instantly. If there were too many twists and turns, he might as well go back to farming.

In addition, this also involves the assessment of the temple personnel. If you put yourself in his shoes, he would also not want outsiders to interfere. There is no need to offend others for a little money.

"No rush, there are plenty of opportunities." Zhao Xing didn't even look at it and quickly returned to the stall.

Xu Laoba was finally relieved to see Zhao Xing coming back. He was really afraid that Zhao Xing would never come back and then gossip about him everywhere, ruining the reputation of the river fishermen.

"The master told me to wait, but he disappeared in a flash."

"Oh, I saw someone I know. Let's go to the South Lake District."

He heard this perfunctory remark again, and Xu Laoba didn't dare to ask more questions. Seeing that they were finally getting down to business, he immediately became energetic, picked up his weapon and followed.

When we arrived at the South Lake District, it was still brightly lit, but the light came mostly from the lake rather than the ground.

The atmosphere also became quiet, without so many noisy sounds.

"Huh?" While walking along the covered bridge by the lake, Xu Lao Ba suddenly stopped and looked in a certain direction.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Oh, I saw an acquaintance." Xu Laoba waved his hand.

"..." Zhao Xing looked at him with a smile, "Now it's your turn to deal with me, right?"

But this is really a wrong accusation against Xu Laoba.

"Don't get me wrong, sir. I really saw an acquaintance. Did you see the woman in linen clothes in front? Yes, it's the couple with the girl in white clothes next to them." Xu Laoba pointed in a direction.

"I see." Zhao Xing nodded. Not far away on the shore, there was a small boat with a mother and daughter on it. There were several fishing lights on the boat, and they seemed to be busy with something.

"Lin Sanniang from Pingsiwantou is from the same place as me. Her husband used to do this, but later his husband had an accident, so she took over and became the new river fisherman."

"But ever since her son got married and started a family, she hasn't gone into the water anymore. She hasn't done it for some years. I don't know why she's back to her old job today." Xu Laoba was a little confused.

Zhao Xing took a closer look, and with the help of his bright eyes spell, he could tell that Xu Laoba was not lying. The middle-aged woman's dress and tools were similar to Xu Laoba's.

As for the young girl, she was dressed neatly, and her plain clothes had a hint of brilliance.

"Hmm? A first-class robe?" Zhao Xing turned to look at Xu Lao Ba, "Is her daughter the Weaver Girl of the Weaving Supervisor?"

Xu Lao Ba shook his head: "She has no daughter, that is her niece Lin Baiwei, but she can be considered half a daughter. She was raised by Lin Sanniang since she was a child. It seems that she did enter the Gucheng Weaving Supervisor."

The Weaver Girl was an official in the Weaving Bureau. The Great Zhou Dynasty had always been an open-minded society, and it was common for women to go out to work and become officials.

The profession of the Weaver Girl is mainly about weaving robes, and the Weaver Girl is even a relatively important magic profession.

Zhao Xing nodded slightly: "It seems that Lin Sanniang returned to her old job for her niece."

Xu Lao Ba asked, "How did you know, young master?"

Zhao Xing pointed and said, "Mrs. Lin Sanniang doesn't seem to be going to fish for treasures, but to prepare to pick lake silk."

"Most of the assessments for the weaving supervisor are related to weaving robes."

"It is now August, the end of summer, and the first, second, and last silkworms are all gone."

“Only silk from water silkworms can be harvested, and its quality is superior.”

Seeing Xu Laoba's admiring look, Zhao Xing became interested and said a few more words: "The weaving girls are not of high rank, so most of them can only use this as material. The silk that is white, fine and tough is called Heluo Dharma robe."

"Wearing it will keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, it can drive away rheumatism and cold, and can also help weak children grow up healthily." "For those who are slightly worse, wear the string-five robes, and for those who are next best, wear the fat-light robes."

"The silk from the lake is basically used to make Heluo robes, but the conditions for picking silk are harsh. Basically, you can only find it around the River Lantern Festival, and it must be at night. During the day, the silkworms shrink and it is impossible to catch them."

"So I said that Lin Sanniang returned to her old job for her niece. You river fishermen are more efficient in this matter."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lao Ba couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Young Master knows a lot."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Since we are acquaintances, would you like to go and say hello? I am not in a hurry."

Xu Lao Ba shook his head repeatedly: "Lin Sanniang has to take off her clothes when she goes into the water. What if I, Xu Lao Ba, am not that kind of person? I won't go."

Zhao Xing smiled lightly, feeling relieved about Xu Lao Ba.

Since there was a temple on the shore organizing an assessment, Zhao Xing rented a small boat and went into the water.

There were not many people releasing river lanterns at this time, but there were still a few large ships and a dozen small boats on the water. The surface of the water was dotted with candlelight, and it was quiet all around.

Zhao Xing didn't say anything either, he just listened and watched quietly.

I didn't see a single person, but I saw a lot of wandering souls.

They either lie beside the river lanterns or swim underneath, sniffing the yellow paper incense.

These wandering souls may not all be human. Some may be the souls of aquatic creatures, or they may be combined together in strange shapes.

For example, when Zhao Xing’s boat passed by a place, he saw a wandering soul with a fish head and a human body.

Even those who live long will be cleaned out regularly by the clergy.

He could also hear:
"What are you doing?"

"I want to go over there."

"What are you doing?"

"I want to go over there."

There is a big river lantern not far away, and two strange-looking wandering souls are having a mechanical conversation. They keep repeating these two sentences over and over again: one wants to go over, and the other asks what you are doing. The soul is missing, and only the spirit is left. This is what it looks like.

As I said, these wandering souls have little attack power and are purely a natural phenomenon. Most of them will dissipate within seven days.

"Stop here." Zhao Xing suddenly pointed somewhere.

Xu Laoba immediately paddled over, his eyes lit up: "Sir, this lake is clear, but there are many fish swimming around. I'm afraid they are attracted by treasures. I'll go in and try."

"Hmm." Zhao Xing's clear eyes spell easily allowed him to see the bottom of the lake. There were two first-grade, top-quality Donghu pearls underneath.

The price is average, with the market price being only one or two taels of silver. If the quality is good, it can be sold for more, but it will never exceed two taels.

The main thing is that Donghu has no shortage of this kind of stuff. If it can reach the second or third level, it can be sold at a good price.

As expected, Xu Laoba soon floated to the surface, holding a shiny egg-sized bead in his hand: "Master, I caught two lake pearls!"

"Thank you, come up quickly." Zhao Xing took the beads. Both of them were first-grade top-quality. This almost paid off.

Before I had time to appreciate it too much, there were bursts of tiny sounds in the wind.

"The light is so bright. It's blinding."

"Turtle, turtle, it's really cold there. I'm freezing. I want to stay away from it."

(End of this chapter)