CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: GHOST MONEY AND RIVER SALVAGERS

"Ziyu, Qian Dong, are you going to the Fisherman’s Pier to watch the river lanterns tonight?" After work, Zhao Xing asked his two younger comrades.

"No." Qian Dong shook his head. "The River Lantern Festival is really not that interesting. Not even a few young maidens, and it’s terribly eerie. What’s there to see? It’s far inferior to the Grass Fighting Festival or the Spring Festival."

"You only care about seeing girls." Zhao Xing laughed and slapped him lightly on the back, then turned to Chen Ziyu, "What about you?"

"I will go, but I might not be able to go with you, Brother." Chen Ziyu replied, "I have to go with my father to sell lotus lanterns."

The river lanterns of the River Lantern Festival, also known as lotus lanterns, were made from lotus leaves, clay, gouache, cloth, and paper sewn together.

After crafting, they would write the names of deceased relatives on the outer layer of the lantern and place a candle in the center.

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

Although the festival attracted many people, the atmosphere tended to be solemn and serious. There wasn’t much fun to be had aside from eating a bit and enjoying the scenery.

Seeing that the two of them weren’t going, Zhao Xing didn’t insist, as he wasn’t going for fun anyway.

He was hoping to make some quick "ghost money."

In the Fortune Dynasty System, the Five Elements Theory of Qi Fortune was popular, with occupations like magicians, diviners, and feng shui masters.

However, after Great Zhou’s Grand Ancestor "gathered the Qi of the world," he strengthened the country’s rule of fortune and reduced the importance of those three occupations by consolidating them into a single tool, the "divine temple," where Yin Gods executed fortune and increased blessings and prosperity.

In his past life, Zhao Xing saw these occupations as mere "subsidiary professions" because this move by the Grand Ancestor directly cut their "main artery."

In the Fortune Dynasty version, these three occupations had fallen into disrepute, reduced to "scam artists" barely surviving until the collapse of the Fortune Dynasty, when they began to rise again.

But this didn’t stop Zhao Xing from making a bit of extra money.

"The Heavenly Stems indicate Seven Killings, but the Nayin indicates wealth."

"For instance, if Ding Mao has fire in the Nayin, the real Five Elements of the Heavenly Stems are wood. Among the four branches, seeing Yi Geng means metal ghosts in the Heavenly Stem. Ding Mao’s Nayin fire can suppress Yigeng Metal, hence it’s called ghost money."

"While pursuing ghost money might not bring great benefits, it also involves no losses. This is because during the prosperous Zhou Dynasty, no ghost or wandering spirit could cause trouble." Zhao Xing glanced at the Calendar of Evil, then slowly walked towards the Fisherman’s Pier.

He first arrived outside an inn at the Fisherman’s Pier, where numerous stalls were already set up with many vendors selling lotus lanterns and incense.

Zhao Xing casually bought one, just an ordinary item with no rank. Then he walked towards a group of people resting nearby.

This group of people, three to five in number, were drinking tea with their shirts off, surrounded by hooks, scissors, and such.

They were a group of "river salvage men."

What did river salvage men do?

They had excellent swimming skills and specialized in diving to retrieve treasures, usually former fishermen.

The Pinghu Thirteen Canals connected to the Canglan River, and the East Lake accumulated primordial energy over the years. The river’s scouring often gave rise to many aquatic treasures.

First-order and second-order water treasures were not uncommon. Finding one could keep you fed for half a year. If you found a third-order treasure? You could directly buy a house onshore and become a landlord!

With the endless stream of visiting ships and tourists often losing valuable items, they often hired people to retrieve them, giving rise to this group of "river salvage men."

Though they appeared dirty and unrefined, they earned far more than Zhao Xing, a mere clerk in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Zhao Xing walked to one of the stalls, made a slight bow, and said, "Brothers, do you take on jobs?"

A middle-aged man who looked like a foreman nodded, saying, "We don’t take on free jobs, only treasure hunting and searching. If you, sir, want to try your luck, we offer long dives, short dives, and one-off deals."

Elite river salvage men didn’t accept jobs involving retrieving corpses or bones, as they didn’t want to earn that kind of inauspicious money.

Zhao Xing nodded and directly stated his requirements, "I need to hire a skilled hand for short diving, starting from the end of You hour and ending before midnight, about three hours. There is no limit to the number of dives. I’ll pay two taels and five qian, including tea and snacks, and whatever is found belongs to me, no shares."

Three hours were enough. After those three hours, the ghost fortune wouldn’t be apparent, making it hard to gain anything. The real chance of finding a treasure was within the "Ding Mao hour" in those three hours.

The foreman, seeing that Zhao Xing was well-informed and offered a fair price, nodded and called out, "Xu the Eighth."

"Hey! Coming!" Not far away, a sturdy man was chatting with a vendor wife, showing off his muscles and making her giggle.

Upon hearing the foreman’s call, he immediately patted the wife’s hand and ran over with a grin.

"Boss."

"This gentleman wants to try his luck with a short dive, for three hours, paying two taels and five qian. Are you up for it?" the foreman asked.

"No problem." Xu the Eighth grinned and patted his chest hard in front of Zhao Xing. "Sir, just by looking at me, you can tell I’ll bring you good luck!"

Zhao Xing used Five Elements Observation to look at him. His lung qi was ample, making him appear twice as large as an average person. Indeed, he was a skilled hand. Zhao Xing then nodded, "He’s the one."

The foreman took out a bamboo slip with carved characters and said, "The payment must be made upfront, and an additional tael as a deposit. If he returns safely, the deposit will be refunded with this object. If he has an accident, you’re not responsible, and the deposit will be considered a goodwill payment from you, sir."

"Very reasonable." Zhao Xing nodded. Then he paid the money and received the man.

Holding the voucher, Xu the Eighth gathered his gear and followed Zhao Xing.

"Sir, do you need to rent a boat? I have friends who can give you a ten percent discount. If you have friends, a five-person group can get a twenty percent discount."

Zhao Xing said, "It’s just me. A small boat will do; no need for a big boat."

Xu the Eighth wasn’t disappointed. He could still get a referral fee for a small boat, "Sir, which lake district are you heading to? Or one of the thirteen bay areas? Yesterday, a Luminous Pearl was found in the West Lake District. I think it might be lucky to try there."

Zhao Xing smiled, "No rush, let’s stroll around first."

Seeing that, Xu the Eighth didn’t say more. This patron seemed to have a plan. He was even glad that Zhao Xing wanted to wander for a bit, giving him a break from diving.

At the eve of Chushu, it got dark later, and it wasn’t until the end of You hour that night fully fell.

Standing on high ground near the Fisherman’s Pier, one could see lotus lanterns floating everywhere in the river, forming a connected string of twinkling lights.

The commercial street had some foot traffic, mainly vendors selling food and drinks or lotus lanterns. Other entertainment was lacking compared to other festivals.

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing’s gaze fell on a familiar figure, "The temple guardian from Caoxi True Monarch Temple? And there are several people with him, likely clerks from the divine temple. I wonder what their assessment task is?"

There was still time before the hour he was waiting for. Since he had come mainly to enjoy the spectacle, he moved closer to eavesdrop.

Using primordial energy to enhance his ears, soon the bustling street noise faded, and all he could hear was the conversation around the temple guardian.