“Ziyu, Qiandong, are you going to Fisherman's Wharf tonight to see the river lanterns?” Zhao Xing asked his two younger brothers after work.
“No,” Qiandong shook his head, “The River Lantern Festival is truly uninteresting. There aren’t many young women, and it’s quite eerie. What’s there to see? It’s far inferior to the Grass Fighting Festival or the Spring Festival.”
“You only care about looking at girls,” Zhao Xing laughed, patting him, then turned to Chen Ziyu, “What about you?”
“I will go, but I might not be able to go with you, Elder Brother,” Chen Ziyu said, “I need to go with my father to sell lotus lanterns.”
The river lanterns for the River Lantern Festival, also known as lotus lanterns, are made from lotus leaves, clay, gouache, cloth, drawing paper, and needlework.
After they are made, the names of deceased relatives are written on the outer surface of the lantern, and a candle is placed in the center.
Of course, lotus lanterns are also used to pray for the living, not solely to commemorate the deceased.
Although there are many people at this festival, the atmosphere is solemn and serious. There isn't much fun to be had, at most, one can eat something and enjoy the scenery.
Seeing that the two of them weren't going, Zhao Xing didn't force them, as he wasn't going for fun either.
He was going to see if he could make a wave of 'ghost money'.
The Luck Dynasty system was prevalent with the Five Elements Luck theory, and professions such as geomancers, diviners, and Feng Shui masters existed.
However, after Great Zhou's Grand Ancestor 'collected all the Luck of the world', he strengthened the Dynasty's control over the Dao of Luck, cutting down the three aforementioned professions and consolidating them all into the 'Divine Temple' tool, where Yin Gods would act on their behalf to increase blessings and prosperity.
In his previous life, these professions were once relegated to 'side professions' in Zhao Xing's eyes, because the Grand Ancestor's cut directly hit the 'main artery'.
In the Luck Dynasty version, these three professions were truly relegated to the 'sewers', becoming 'Jianghu charlatans' and barely surviving until the collapse of the Luck Dynasty, when they rose again.
But this didn't stop Zhao Xing from making a small fortune.
“The Heavenly Stems show it as Seven Killings, but the Na Yin shows it as wealth.”
“For example, Dingmao Na Yin is Fire, and the true Five Elements of the Heavenly Stems belong to Wood. If Yigeng is seen among the four Heavenly Stems, it is the Golden Ghost of the Heavenly Stems. Dingmao Na Yin Fire, however, can control Yigeng Metal, hence the name Ghost Wealth.”
“Operating with Ghost Wealth, while not yielding great benefits, also incurs no losses. This is because during the prosperous era of the Zhou Dynasty, no wandering spirits or wild ghosts could cause trouble.” Zhao Xing glanced at the Yellow Calendar for averting misfortune, then slowly walked towards Fisherman's Wharf.
He first arrived outside an inn at Fisherman's Wharf, where there were many stalls, and quite a few vendors selling lotus lanterns and incense candles were already there.
Zhao Xing casually bought a lantern, just an ordinary, unranked item. Then he walked towards a group of people resting nearby.
This group of people, in twos and threes, were drinking tea shirtless, with hooks, scissors, and other tools placed beside them.
They were a group of “River Dredgers.”
What are River Dredgers?
They are people with excellent swimming skills, specializing in diving into the water to retrieve treasures, usually former fishermen.
The Thirteen Canals of Pinghu connect to the Canglan River, and East Lake accumulates Origin Qi year after year. The river's erosion creates many underwater treasures.
First and second-tier water treasures are not uncommon; finding one is enough to live on for half a year. If one finds a third-tier treasure? Then one can directly buy a house on land and become a landlord!
Coupled with the constant stream of passing boats and travelers, valuable items are often dropped by tourists and merchant ships, and people are hired to retrieve them. This led to the emergence of this group of 'River Dredgers'.
Don't look down on them for being dirty and unpresentable; they earn far more than a minor agricultural official like Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing walked to the stall, cupped his hands, and said, “Gentlemen, are you taking on work?”
A burly middle-aged man who looked like a foreman nodded and said, “We don’t take on unlucky jobs, only searching for items and treasures. If Young Master you want to try your Luck, we have long-term dredging, short-term dredging, and one-shot deals here.”
Elite River Dredgers do not take on unlucky jobs like retrieving corpses or bones; they are unwilling to earn that kind of money.
Zhao Xing nodded and directly stated his needs: “I need to hire a skilled person for short-term dredging, starting at the end of You Shi (5-7 PM) and ending before Zi Shi (11 PM-1 AM); approximately three hours, with no limit on the number of times in the water; I will pay two taels and five qian, including tea and supper, but whatever is found is all mine, with no share.”
Three hours was enough; after these three hours, the Ghost Wealth Luck would not be apparent, making it difficult to find anything. In reality, the only time truly likely to yield treasure was the 'Dingmao moment' within those three hours.
Seeing that Zhao Xing was clear about things and offered a good price, the foreman nodded and shouted to the back, “Xu Laoba.”
“Aye! Coming!” Not far away, a sturdy man was chatting with a stall-owning young woman, showing off his strong muscles and making her giggle.
Hearing his elder brother's voice, he immediately touched her hand and scurried over.
“Elder Brother.”
“This Young Master wants to try his Luck, short-term dredging, three hours, two taels and five qian for the person, do you have any problem?” the foreman asked.
“No problem,” Xu Laoba bared his teeth and patted his chest towards Zhao Xing, “Young Master, you can tell by my appearance that I, Xu Laoba, will definitely bring you good Luck!”
Zhao Xing observed the man with his Five Elements viewing method; his lung Qi was abundant, two or three times that of others, indeed a skilled person. He then nodded: “He’s the one.”
The foreman took out a carved bamboo slip and said, “Payment needs to be made in advance, and an additional one tael deposit is required. If he returns safely, the deposit will be refunded with this item. If he has an accident, you don't need to be responsible; this deposit will be the Young Master's charitable donation.”
“Very reasonable,” Zhao Xing nodded. Then it was a hand-over of money, a hand-over of the person.
After taking the voucher, Xu Laoba picked up his tools and followed behind Zhao Xing.
“Young Master, do you still need to rent a pleasure boat? I have a contact who can give you a ten percent discount. If you have friends, five people can get a twenty percent discount.”
Zhao Xing said, “I'm alone, a small boat will suffice. A pleasure boat is not necessary.”
Xu Laoba wasn't disappointed; he could also get a small referral fee for a small boat: “Then, Young Master, which lake area do you want to go to, southeast, northwest? Or the thirteen bay areas? Yesterday, a luminous pearl was dug out in the West Lake area; I think we could try our Luck there.”
Zhao Xing smiled and said, “No rush, just wander around for now.”
Seeing this, Xu Laoba said no more. It seemed this master had a plan in mind. He even hoped Zhao Xing would wander more, so he could go into the water fewer times and relax a bit.
It got dark late in Chu Shu (end of heat) season; it wasn't until the end of You Shi that it completely darkened.
Standing high up at Fisherman's Wharf at this time, one could see lotus lanterns floating everywhere in the river, twinkling like stars, forming a continuous expanse.
The commercial street still had some activity, but it was mainly selling food, drinks, or lotus lanterns; other entertainment options were much fewer than on other festivals.
“Hmm?” Zhao Xing’s gaze suddenly fell on a familiar back, “The Temple Guardian Ritual Official of Caoxi True Monarch Temple? There are quite a few people next to him; it seems they are officials from the Divine Temple. I wonder what their assessment content is?”
It was still early for the time he was waiting for, and he had come to watch the excitement anyway, so he immediately moved closer and pricked up his ears to listen.
With Origin Qi infused into his ears, soon, in the noisy street, only the area around the Temple Guardian Ritual Official had sound.