Chapter 4

"Help, help, spare my life, spare my life! Old Luo, Qian Dazimei, save me, I dare not, I dare not, I will never gamble again! Mother, Mother, I will never gamble again, come out and save me, save me!"

Chu Tian laughed 'ha ha' and took a few steps to stand in front of Zhong Dagou. He lightly tapped Zhong Dagou's calf with the staff in his hand.

There was a 'crack' sound, and Zhong Dagou's calf was neatly broken into two pieces, the fracture was even without any bone fragments. Although it was extremely painful, with proper bandaging, it would heal without any major issues.

Zhong Dagou howled in pain, and Chu Tian and the other big men burst out laughing.

The passersby gathered around, shaking their heads and sighing as they looked at the sobbing Zhong Dagou.

"Zhong Dagou, you deserve this pain. If it weren't for Chu Dangtou, your mother would have been long gone, and you're still calling for her to save you!"

"Zhong Dagou, stop gambling. Why don't you find a decent job to support your mother and find a wife?"

Chu Tian bowed to the surrounding passersby and said nothing. He fumbled in his sleeve for a while and pulled out a piece of silver the size of a thumb, which he threw next to Zhong Dagou. "Zhong Dagou, this is for your medicine. When your leg heals, I'll find you a job at the fish market. If you go to Shuzhou City to gamble again, this time it's one leg, next time it will be three legs!"

Zhong Dagou's body trembled, and he instinctively covered his crotch with his hands. Tears streamed down his face, and he wailed as if his mother had died.

Chu Tian ignored him and pushed through the crowd, walking briskly towards the fish market.

When the sun was high, at the teahouse by the fish market dock, the stewards of various households and the procurement officers of various restaurants and inns were already bloated from drinking cheap tea. Suddenly, several fish brokers hurriedly laughed.

"Chu Dangtou is here, here, the market is open, the market is open!"

"Stewards, bosses, Chu Dangtou is here, the market is open!"

"The best Baiwang River fish, fresh and alive, fish, shrimp, turtles, and crabs, all available!"

"Make way, make way, don't block Chu Dangtou's path!"

More than ten fish brokers squeezed out of the crowd, eagerly approaching Chu Tian. They cleared the way for him and led him to the fish market dock. Chu Tian looked around, nodded, and without a word, stuck his ironwood staff into the dock. One of the big men quickly tied a red ribbon to the top of the staff.

The river breeze blew, and the seven or eight feet long red ribbon fluttered in the wind. Seeing this bright red, the fishermen on the countless boats on the river shouted in unison and began to row their boats.

One by one, the fishing boats docked at the fish market. The fish brokers stood on the shore, shouting loudly, while the fishermen laughed and reported the precious and rare aquatic products on their boats. The stewards of the wealthy families and the procurement officers of the restaurants and inns shouted loudly, bidding for the various fresh river products.

A waiter from a teahouse on the dock eagerly brought over a set of tables and chairs. Chu Tian sat steadily in the chair, picked up the fine porcelain teapot, and sipped the tea while coldly observing the bustling fish market.

Four big men stood in a line behind Chu Tian, glaring at the crowds coming and going.

Other big men carried staffs and patrolled the fish market, which stretched for several miles. If there was a dispute, these big men would roar, and whether it was a steward from a wealthy family or a well-off procurement officer, their voices would drop several octaves, becoming especially gentle and soft.

After more than an hour, fish brokers kept coming over with account books, reporting to Chu Tian how many pounds of large mandarin fish, how many pounds of large silver carp, how many large shrimps, and how many baskets of large crabs had been sold.

Chu Tian listened to the reports of the fish brokers. He didn't take notes, but he memorized every number in his mind, never forgetting. Since he took over the Baiwang River mouth three years ago and became the head of the three fish markets, he had never made a mistake in his accounts.

After more than an hour of busy work, baskets of fresh fish, shrimp, turtles, and crabs were loaded onto cargo carts. The satisfied stewards and procurement officers chuckled and returned to Shuzhou City with their purchases.

Some familiar procurement officers didn't forget to come over and greet Chu Tian.

Chu Tian didn't act superior. Whenever someone came to greet him, he would stand up and greet them with a smile, agreeing to have a drink in Shuzhou City another day. Everyone was smiling and talking pleasantly.

'Ahem,' a light cough came from a short, plump old man wearing a light green silk robe with bats embroidered on the cuffs. He smiled and bowed to Chu Tian. "Chu Dangtou, it's been a while, it's been a while!"

Chu Tian looked the old man up and down and smiled, bowing in return. "Old sir, forgive me, but I don't recognize you. You don't seem to be here to buy fish."

The short, plump old man laughed 'ha ha' and gently stroked his three-inch silver beard, slowly saying, "I'm here to buy fish today. I heard that as long as Chu Dangtou speaks, any fish in the Baiwang River can be obtained, no matter how rare."

Chu Tian smiled warmly and glanced at the two young servants in blue caps behind the old man, saying, "Flattery, flattery, but it's not just talk. If the fish you want is in the Baiwang River, I will deliver it to you within three to five days."

The short, plump old man nodded in satisfaction. He fumbled in his sleeve for a while and 'clap, clap, clap' threw three garlic-shaped gold bars onto the teahouse table next to Chu Tian. Each gold bar was about three inches long and weighed about ten taels.

Shuzhou was a remote state, so gold was very valuable. One tael of gold could be exchanged for twenty taels of silver, making these three gold bars a substantial amount of money.

The surrounding fish brokers drew a collective sharp breath and exclaimed 'oh dear.' This was not an easy sum to earn. While there were many rare fish in the Baiwang River, how many were worth paying in gold?

Chu Tian raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Thirty taels of gold as a deposit? What do you want, old sir?"

The short, plump old man looked at Chu Tian with a smile and said in a gentle voice, "My young master recently joined the Shushan Academy and is planning to invite his classmates to a 'Dragon Gate Feast' for good luck, symbolizing the carp leaping over the dragon gate."

He gestured with his hands and said, "Ten golden-scaled carp, each one meter long, to be delivered to the Shushan Academy within three days. The thirty taels of gold are just a deposit. The price of the fish, you can name it, Chu Dangtou."

Chu Tian narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, "May I ask, who is your young master?"

The short, plump old man puffed out his chest and said calmly, "My young master is none other than Ling Yue, the nephew of the Chu family of Shuzhou."

The surrounding area fell into a dead silence. The name 'Chu family' was enough to shock all the fish brokers present.

Chu Tian, however, smiled and sat back in his chair, waving his hand lightly. "Goodbye, no need to see me off!"

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