Chapter 19: The Alligator Gar (Part 1)

  "How much per kilogram?"

  The old shopkeeper looked at the young man in front of him, a slender youth with a tender face but an unusual air of maturity that gave people a very solid feeling, and vaguely had a momentum that didn't look like a fisherman at all. He couldn't help but say: "One copper ring is one catty, ten copper rings... hmm, eleven catties, silver rings are also acceptable, one silver ring is also eleven catties."

  Lei Xingfeng knew that the money here was in a decimal system, with ten copper rings equal to one silver ring and ten silver rings equal to one gold ring. The currency on this continent was also relatively stable, with ordinary people mostly using silver rings at most, and basically using copper rings as their main currency. Of course, the vast majority of ordinary people still traded in kind.

  Zhou Xin said in a low voice: "Lei Gege, I brought money..."

  Lei Xingfeng stopped him from continuing, in the Tyrant Night Camp, he received a lot of gold rings, most of which were given to Lei Xingyao, but several bags of gold rings were stored in the wheel storage space, originally prepared for Lei Xingyao, but later forgot, as for them, the gold ring was nothing.

  In the blink of an eye, a leather pouch appeared in Lei Xingfeng's hand. The pouch was exquisitely made with light brown leather and had a drawstring at the opening. He reached into the pouch and pulled out a handful of items, which clinked onto the counter - six or seven gold rings. With a flick of his wrist, the pouch vanished.

  The old shopkeeper's eyes suddenly widened, he wasn't an inexperienced fisherman, he knew that only cultivators had similar techniques. Looking at Lei Xingfeng again, his eyes were filled with respect and no longer held arrogance. He exclaimed in surprise: "It's a golden ring! This...no problem, one golden ring can buy 110 kilograms of rice."

  Although Uncle Zhou is a fisherman, he's not foolish. He said, "Old shopkeeper, you're selling it too expensively."

  The old shopkeeper's expression didn't change, he indeed sold it at a high price, but this was normal, he was selling it according to the normal ratio. In fact, the actual value of the gold ring was quite high, one gold ring on the market could exchange for not just ten silver rings, but eleven silver rings plus several copper rings, because gold rings were easier to carry and were favored by those big merchants.

  "Alright, how much did you say?"

  "An ounce of gold plus ten catties of rice."

  The old shopkeeper didn't say much this time and nodded bluntly: "Alright, that's the deal. One gold ring for 120 kilograms of rice. How many will you buy?"

  Lei Xingfeng said: "That's all." He pointed at the gold ring on the counter.

  The old shopkeeper counted and said: "Seven gold rings, eight hundred and forty kilograms of rice, right?"

  Lei Xingfeng nodded and said, "That's right."

  Zhou Xin was still counting on his fingers, but he still couldn't get it clear. Uncle Zhou patted him and said with a smile, "Don't count anymore, you can't figure it out."

  Lei Xingfeng said: "Put the rice in the store first, and we'll come back for it when we leave."

  The old shopkeeper nodded and said, "Alright, I'll send a helper to help you deliver it to the ship."

  When leaving, Uncle Zhou said: "Old boss, give us new rice, don't take out the old rice, this is rice bought with golden rings."

  The old shopkeeper smiled and said: "Don't worry, I'll give you the best rice!"

  As soon as they left the house, Zhou Xin couldn't help but say: "Lei Gege, where did you put that wallet of yours? I don't see it anywhere!"

  "Uncle Zhou knew a bit more and asked somewhat awkwardly: 'Lei Xiaoge, are you a Wheel Master?'"

  Lei Xingfeng smiled and said, "Uncle, if I were a wheel master, would you ignore me?" He knew the pressure that a cultivator gave to ordinary people. He didn't have a superior mentality, especially towards ordinary people. He was very calm, especially when it came to Zhou Dashan and Zhou Xin, who could be considered his lifesavers.

  "Of course not," said Uncle Zhou, "you, you're really a wheel master?" He still couldn't quite believe it.

  Lei Xingfeng said: "Hmm, really, but I want to stay here for a while, Uncle, you won't drive me away, will you?"

  Zhou Xin Zhang opened his big mouth, after a while, he exclaimed: "Wow, Master Wheel... you, you're really amazing, wow..."

  Uncle Zhou hastily pulled Zhou Xin and said, "Xiao Xin, speak softly, don't shout randomly... Hehe, Le Xiao Ge, please stay, hehe, I'm afraid our place is too simple, and we can't treat you well."

  Ordinary people have the most contact with small wheel masters and hundred wheel masters, they generally refer to practitioners as wheel masters. As for true men, they cannot come into contact with them, even if they do, they cannot understand the hierarchy of levels, as long as they are wheel masters, they are already very respectful.

  Lei Xingfeng said: "Xiao Xin, don't be so surprised, don't you have a Wheel Master here?"

  "There are, yes, we have wheel masters here. This water stronghold has a wheel master guarding it, but they all live in the best houses in the water stronghold, with those shopkeepers offering sacrifices to them, and won't need to live on the lake like us."

  Lei Xingfeng didn't want to get entangled in this topic, and said: "Is there anything else you want to buy? Hehe, I'm treating this time, just buy whatever you want."

  "Ah, I'll sell this load of dried fish and exchange it for some salt and rice," said Uncle Zhou.

  Lei Xingfeng nodded and said, "Alright, let's go together." The three of them walked along the wooden board street, and soon they arrived at a fish shop. The price of dried fish was extremely cheap, one copper ring could buy four catties of dried fish, which was almost 400 catties of dried fish, and it only cost less than 100 copper rings, which was equivalent to almost one gold ring. They directly exchanged the money for over ten catties of coarse salt and three catties of fine salt at the fish shop, and they had already spent most of the money.

  They also changed some seasonings for cooking dishes and a few ceramic pots. Leixingfeng took the initiative to pay, because they didn't have enough money.

  They bought a lot of things, including some clothes, bedding, and a fishing net, which was something Uncle Zhou had always wanted but couldn't afford. This time, it was also paid for by Lei Xingfeng. With the fishing net, their catch would be completely different. Before, they had been using a thick fishing line with a string of hooks that could only catch a few fish, and most of the fish were actually caught by Zhou Xin wading into the water.

  At the market, he bought some more liquor. Almost all fishermen like this kind of drink, but the price is expensive, so they usually drink self-brewed rice wine. They only buy liquor when they have a good catch. This time, Leixingfeng bought two large jars of liquor at once, each weighing 20 kilograms and costing one gold ring per jar.

  These two jars of strong liquor made Uncle Zhou laugh so hard that his mouth couldn't close, normally he would be very happy if he could exchange for a catty of strong liquor. Strong liquor can not only entertain guests, but also drink by oneself, drive out the cold, and make medicinal wine, it's really a treasure for fishermen.

  In accordance with Lei Xingfeng's temperament, he even wanted to buy a new boat for Zhou Dashu, but Zhou Dashu was unwilling no matter what, and already felt that such an expense was excessive.

  The three of them were busy until evening and returned to the boat. They sorted out the things they bought today, and Uncle Zhou was cooking dinner at the bow of the boat.

  A small boat stopped at the wooden dock outside the market, a row of small boats with fishermen, who had all returned by this time. The whole dock was bustling, and there were many small vendors selling various snacks. The dock was noisy, and many children were running around on the dock, often surrounding the vendors, biting their fingers, and staring at the snacks with envy, of course, they didn't have money to buy them.

  Among the small vendors, the ones selling sugar pellets were the most popular with children. Every child's eyes shone with longing, but the price of sugar pellets was extremely expensive. One copper ring could only buy a small packet, just a few sugar pellets. Very few fishermen were willing to spend this money.

  Just a fisherman's child, often has his own way, for example, there is a child who uses the bright fish he caught to exchange for a small bag of sugar grains, making all the other little children drool.

  Lei Xingfeng sat at the bow of the boat, looking at the bustling dock, and at this moment his heart was extremely calm.

  A large wooden bucket of rice, a clay pot of boiled fish in plain water, a basin of saltwater shrimp, and a small dish of pickled radish, with three bowls of strong liquor poured.

  The aroma of wine wafts up, immediately enticing an old man from the small boat next door. He chuckles and says, "Old Zhou, having a drink..." The term 'old big' is used to address the captain of the ship, prefixed with their surname as a sign of respect, representing someone who can control a boat.

  "Zhang Lao Da, are you hungry? Haha, come and drink together!" The relationship between the fishermen was not bad, and they were naturally generous and rarely hypocritical. If they liked it, they would come, without any courtesy.

  Zhang Lao Da carried a clay pot over and said, "I hunted a green-headed duck, stewed it for quite some time, and the timing was just right." He put down the clay pot, picked up a wooden bowl, took a sip of strong liquor, let out a breath, and praised, "Good wine! Ha ha, Zhou Lao Da, you've become rich, to be able to drink such good wine!"

  The two were familiar with each other, and Zhou Da Shu said: "Zhang Lao Da, any news recently? I just got back today."

  Zhang Lao Da laughed and said, "As a matter of fact, there is some news. Hehe, you know Tian Jia's fourth son? They went to hunt for alligator gar two days ago, and I heard they even invited a wheel master. Not sure if they were successful or not."

  "Saltwater crocodiles? They're really pushing their luck, aren't they? These things are vicious. If you're not careful, the boat will be smashed to pieces."

  Lei Xingfeng curiously asked: "What is a crocodile fish?"

  "Big Uncle Zhou said: 'A very ferocious fish, it eats people!'"

  "Ah, this young fellow looks familiar, Old Zhou, is he a relative of yours?"

  Uncle Zhou responded vaguely, and Lei Xingfeng had already spoken, telling him to conceal his identity as a wheel master, so he didn't dare say anything rashly. Zhang Lao Da laughed and said: "Little brother doesn't seem to be from around here, does he? The alligator gar is quite famous." Then he began to boast about the ferocity of the alligator gar.

  Crocodile fish, similar to crocodiles, but with hind limbs transformed into fins and forelimbs with sharp claws, long mouth with knife-like teeth. The body length is about 6 meters. A grown-up crocodile fish can easily crush a small wooden boat. Ordinary fishermen never dare to provoke the crocodile fish, and when they see it, they will immediately avoid it.