Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 298 Tuhe Black Pig
Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Zhao Zhen and his men packed up and moved out. When they left the city gate, they left the four tokens in the hands of the soldiers guarding the city gate and asked them to pass them on to Governor He.

After leaving Tai'an City, Zhao Zhen and his men split into two groups as agreed yesterday. Lin Chong and Tang Bin led their families and newly recruited geishas to the southwest and returned to Liangshan County. Zhao Zhen led Wang Tianba, Mie Gong, Guanghui, Lu Zhishen, Tao Zongwang, Ruan Xiaoer and others to the east to Mengxiong River in Zhangqiu County.

Zhao Zhen's group rode as fast as they could, asking for directions along the way, and they reached Mengxiong River in just half a day. After walking along the river for half an hour, they finally found out where Liu Dalang was, in Duozhuang Township.

Zhao Zhen and his companions set up camp by the river, made a fire and had breakfast. Wang Tianba and Mie Gong were left behind to lead the soldiers, while Zhao Zhen took Guanghui, Lu Zhishen, Ruan Xiaoer and Tao Zongwang to Duozhuang Township.

After finding a restaurant and ordering a table of wine, meat and dishes, Zhao Zhen beckoned the waiter and asked, "Brother Xiaoer, did our villager Liu Dalang catch the pig dragon?"

"Sir, you are a foreigner and you don't know that the pig dragon is the most cunning. I have heard from the villagers these days that Liu Dalang has already made a fishing line as thick as a stick and is now looking for bait to catch dragons. As long as the bait is prepared, he will go to the river to catch dragons."

Zhao Zhen asked, "Is there anything particular about this bait?"

"I don't know. If you want to ask, you can only ask Liu Dalang." The waiter replied.

Zhao Zhen took out some copper coins, rewarded the waiter, and waved his hand to let him go.

Zhao Zhen said: "It seems that we may not be able to catch this pig dragon."

Ruan Xiaoer said, "Sir, tomorrow morning, I can dive into the water and see if I can find this pig dragon."

Zhao Zhen hurriedly said, "Brother, this is not the right place to play. The pig dragon moves quickly in the water and has a hard skin that is difficult to be injured by swords. Although you are a good swimmer, I am afraid you can't be faster than this pig dragon in the water. I will visit Liu Dalang's house after dinner to ask him how to prepare the bait and whether he can help. If not, there is no need to take risks."

After the meal, Zhao Zhen asked for ten pounds of cooked beef and a barrel of wine, and asked the waiter to carry them to Liu Dalang's house.

After knocking on the door, Liu Dalang looked at Zhao Zhen and the others in surprise: "I never thought that the great master would really come."

The waiter said, "Dalang is in for a treat today. The master has sent a lot of wine and meat."

Zhao Zhen said, "Bring some wine and food, and come and see Dalang fishing for the pig dragon." As he spoke, Zhao Zhen took out the token given by Governor He, shook it at Liu Dalang, and then said, "I told Governor He when I came here, and see if he can help."

After hearing this, Liu Dalang invited Zhao Zhen and the others into the courtyard and pointed at the iron rope on the ground and said, "Look, sir, the fishing line has been made. Now we just need the bait."

Zhao Zhen asked, "I wonder what kind of bait do you need?"

"We must use high-grade livestock meat, but it's hard to find. Wang Er's family in the west of the village has a big pig, no less than 500 kilograms. Although it is not high-grade, it must be a different species. I went to his house five times to negotiate to buy his pig as bait, but unfortunately we couldn't agree on the price. I wonder if the great sir is willing to help?"

"How much does he want?"

"150 kan is enough money."

Zhao Zhen said: "An ordinary pig is only three or two strings of cash. His pig has not yet entered the rank, so 150 strings of cash seems to be a bit of a bargain."

"I was asked by the governor to do this. Since I know this method, I have to try it. Liu Dalang can go with me. I will buy the pig and we can go together to catch the dragon. If we can kill the dragon, the county reward money will still belong to you and I will only take the dragon back."

"Besides this fat pig, is there any other choice?"

Liu Dalang was delighted when he heard this. "It is not necessary to use this big pig. Ordinary pigs and sheep can also be tried. I am just afraid that this pig dragon will not take the bait. I have heard that such mutated livestock are the most delicious and rich people are willing to pay a lot of money to buy them. To be on the safe side, I want to use this mutated fat pig. I will lead the way, sir, please go to Wang Er's house to have a look."

After that, Liu Dalang led Zhao Zhen and others to Wang Er's house at the west end of the village.

Wang Erlang was sitting under a big tree at the door of his house to enjoy the cool air. When he saw Liu Dalang and his group, Wang Erlang did not stand up and said, "Liu Dalang, it's not that I don't want to get rid of this pig dragon, but the price you offered is too low. This pig is 150 strings of cash less, so I will never sell it. Besides, if you get rid of this pig dragon, the county will reward you with a thousand strings of cash."

Liu Dalang said angrily, "This method has never been tried. If it works, it's fine. If it doesn't, don't I have to sell my land and house?" "This is none of my business. My family is not a fisherman, so we don't need to go to the river to fish. This pig dragon dare not go ashore, so it doesn't cause much trouble to my family." Wang Er replied.

Liu Dalang was about to start a quarrel, but Zhao Zhen took it and said, "Brother Wang Er, if your pig is useful, I will pay for it. But I need to take a look at it first."

Wang Er looked at Zhao Zhen and saw that he was dressed in a rather unusual way, like a clerk. He stood up and said, "This great official must have heard from Liu Dalang that my sow has grown to be two or three times the size of other pigs in just one year. It must be extraordinary. I have seen a big goat for sale in the county town, which was also two or three times the size of a sheep. It sold for 130 strings of cash. My pig is bigger than that sheep, so 150 strings of cash is not too much."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Of course, if it is really an entry-level item, this price is appropriate."

Hearing what Zhao Zhen said, Wang Er stood up and grinned, "Sir, please follow me."

Zhao Zhen followed Wang Er into the courtyard. As soon as they entered, they saw three pig pens, one big and two small, against the east wall. In such weather, a strong smell of manure hit them in the face.

Compared to when Zhao Zhen brought back the [Big Pulian Pig] from the main world, the smell left on the training ground was much stronger. This was also a common practice in the village, and every household had to raise one or two fat pigs. In addition to farming, raising pigs was another important source of income for farmers, and children in each family had to cut grass for the pigs every day.

It's okay now, but when the weather gets hotter, not only will the smell in the circle be stronger, but flies will be flying everywhere. This is also the reason why Zhao Zhen rarely returns to his old house in Xixi Village after repairing Baishi Manor.

Wang Er led everyone to the pig pen and threw some pig grass into the trough. Zhao Zhen looked inside and saw the mutant fat pig in the pen suddenly stood up, walked to the trough and started eating. In addition to this mutant sow, there were five normal-sized pigs in the pig pen, but they didn't dare to come over to eat.

world log
Tuhe Black Pig (First level, with black hair all over the body, strong limbs, and horizontal wrinkles on the forehead, like eyebrows, also called "two-browed pig". Occasionally swallowed a piece of Huanlong rock debris, mutated and became pregnant.)
Zhao Zhen said, "How about I give you another five strings of cash and take all the pigs in the three pig pens?"

Wang Er said, "That won't do. The small pen in the north is where I raise my sows. This big pig was born from this sow. The small pen in the south is where I bought my new breeding pigs. I've raised them for a year and a half and they're almost ready for breeding. I can't sell them. If this big pig hadn't been castrated, I wouldn't be willing to sell it."

Zhao Zhen heard this and looked at the mutant pig. It clearly had the word "pregnant" on it. After making sure he was not mistaken, Zhao Zhen said, "If pigs want to grow fast, they must be castrated, right? For these six pigs, the pig maker will have to pay you 50 coins."

Wang Er smiled complacently: "It's not that difficult to knock on a pig. After watching it three or five times, I can knock on a pig myself. I can save the money and have a pot of wine."

Zhao Zhen listened, smiled, and said: "Brother, you are a capable man. I like this pig, together with these five big pigs, how about 150 strings of cash in total?"

"How can this be possible? Just this big pig costs 150 strings of cash." Wang Er said with a chuckle.

Zhao Zhen said, "Brother, I think you have been asking for this 150 strings of cash for a long time, right? Is there anyone who really wants to buy it? If I didn't want to catch a pig dragon, I wouldn't be willing to buy it."

Wang Er hesitated for a while. It was just as Zhao Zhen said. Three or five butchers came to buy pigs. The highest price was only 100 guan. The five ordinary fat pigs were no more than 150 or guan. guan for six pigs was still considered high. In addition, the mutant pigs were eating more and more, and it was exhausting to cut grass every day.

Thinking of this, Wang Er said, "In order to catch this pig dragon, I will sell it for less money, which can be regarded as contributing to the village. These six pigs are priced at 150 strings of cash and will be sold to the great official."

Zhao Zhen did not hesitate and took out 15 taels of gold from his purse and handed it to Wang Er. Wang Er took the three gold ingots, put them in his mouth and bit them, with a look of satisfaction on his face.

After writing the sales contract, Wang Er opened the door of the pen and drove out the six pigs inside. Zhao Zhen and others drove the pigs all the way back to the camp by the river.

After instructing the soldiers to place the six fat pigs, Zhao Zhen said to Liu Dalang, "Liu Dalang, this mutant fat pig is indeed rare. I cannot bear to kill it. Let's use ordinary pigs to catch this pig dragon."

Liu Dalang was stunned: "Sir, I am 80% sure if I use this mutant pig. If I use an ordinary fat pig, I am not sure."

Zhao Zhen just disagreed. He tried to persuade him twice. Seeing Zhao Zhen's insistence, Liu Dalang sighed and said, "Let's go fishing for the pig dragon tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I hope you can have a say in front of Prefect He."

Zhao Zhen said, "Don't worry, I will go and talk to Lord He, and I will never let you brothers be punished."

Liu Dalang said, "In that case, let's try it out with these fat pigs tomorrow. I'll go home to pack up my fishing lines and boats and inform my old brothers. I'll come to see you tomorrow at the beginning of the si hour."

(End of this chapter)