Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 382 381 No Fish to Eat

The servant brought tea and snacks, with several dishes of melon seeds, peanuts, and pastries laid out.

The innkeeper personally poured tea for Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi, and continued the conversation.

"Many years ago, Qianyu City was a complete large island—to be precise, it didn't even have the name Qianyu City back then, and there weren't nearly as many people living on the island as there are now."

Feng Xiuhu had already learned this part from Shi Dajiao, but he didn't interrupt, wanting to hear what different things the shopkeeper could say.

“At that time, floods were frequent, and the people suffered greatly. Whenever the floodwaters reached the area, one could always see the tragic scene of fish pecking at floating carcasses.”

The shopkeeper tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, causing ripples in the teacup. He sighed, "In those years, it was people who suffered, but for fish, Qianyu City was a paradise."

"Second Master, think about it carefully—that big island used to be surrounded by a still bay several miles wide. During the flood season it was a disaster, but on ordinary days it was calm and still, like a fairy pond that God had built for the fish!"

He dipped his finger in the tea and drew the outline of the river on the table.

“The shallow waters on the east side of the island are covered with lantern grass. The water is warm in winter. In spring, the crucian carp will shed their eggs on the grass roots. The eggs hang like golden beads all over the water plants. You can scoop up a whole bunch of fish fry with a ladle.”

"The river mud on the west side of the island is so fertile that it's practically dripping with oil. The insects and decaying leaves swept in by the flood are all buried there. The bighead carp can eat as soon as they open their mouths, and they shovel at the bottom of the river, making it bubble like porridge is boiling."

"The most amazing thing is Fish King Pool on the south side of the island—not far from the water inlet, it's a bottomless whirlpool that turtles and tortoises avoid. But the strange thing is, the fish are actually quite peaceful inside! The older generation says that it's connected to the Fish King's Water Palace, which protects the fish's offspring."

Feng Xiuhu stared at the pattern drawn by the shopkeeper and blinked: "Judging from the location, the water flow on both sides of the island converges near the inlet, so it is normal for whirlpools to form. The low-pressure area in the center of the whirlpool can avoid large waterfowl from preying on it. This is the survival instinct of fish to use turbulence to avoid danger."

The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then turned to look at Shunzi and found that Shunzi also looked bewildered—it turned out that he wasn't the only one who couldn't understand.

"cough."

The shopkeeper cleared his throat awkwardly: "I can't really explain it clearly, it's all from what I heard from the older generation... that's the gist of it."

"But everything changed the day the river was divided into islands. The lantern grass withered, Fish King Pool was filled in, and the bighead carp were so hungry they were gnawing on the moss on the rocks..."

"Fish are mindless creatures; how could they understand how to adapt? Their habitat, which had been changed for countless years, was altered overnight, and the Fairy Pond became a dead fish pond."

"It is said that during the first year of the island's separation, the river was full of silly fish that crashed into the island—silver-scaled fish charged against the rock walls, their blood staining the green moss red; or they were trapped in the crevices of the rocks, wagging their tails and waiting to die; or they were stuck in shallow water tributaries, their swim bladders bursting in the sun, their white bellies covering the newly formed riverbed."

"The older generation says that for the first three years, the river water was always red and fishy, ​​and even the water ghosts found it filthy and refused to drag people away. You can imagine how tragic it was."

The shopkeeper smiled faintly: "So, it's true that the good days of Qianyu City today were bought with the lives of countless fish. And Jiang Liugong, who created all of this, set a rule from then on—Qianyu City will never eat fish."

Feng Xiuhu thought of Shi Dajiao's legitimate business.

But instead of impulsively selling out Shi Dajiao, he asked, "What if I really want to eat fish?"

The shopkeeper was startled and made to cover her mouth, but Feng Xiuhu pushed him away: "Men should not touch each other."

The shopkeeper was both amused and exasperated. He lowered his voice and said, "You can't just say things like that, and you can't just have any thoughts like that. If you don't believe in superstitions, Second Master, go and take a look at the third boat post at the west dock of Caoshiting. Last year, some ignorant outsiders stole fish soup and there's still oil on the post."

Feng Xiuhu really didn't believe in superstitions—mainly because Shi Dajiao had said so beforehand. He was a fishmonger, which meant there must be fish buyers in Qianyu City.

The shopkeeper saw through his thoughts and said with a wry smile, "If you really crave this, Second Master, why not go to 'Shi Wu Yu' for a meal? It's the most expensive restaurant in Qianyu City, and the chef's skills are the best. He can cook all kinds of ingredients to perfection. Whether it's the appearance or the taste, it's exactly the same as real fish."

Feng Xiuhu became interested: "Where is this place?"

The shopkeeper pointed to the west: "Naturally, it's the island in the middle of the river in Qianyu City. That's where the government office is located, and most of the officials have made their homes on the island."

Feng Xiuhu casually guessed, "This 'No Fish Food' place isn't run by some official, is it?"

The shopkeeper first nodded, then shook his head: "Yes and no."

Feng Xiuhu raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

The shopkeeper stroked his beard and smiled: "The big boss behind Shi Wu Yu doesn't actually hold any official position, but her background is incredibly powerful. I don't know her specific name—and I'm not qualified to know—I only know that people call her Madam Xu."

"I heard that this Madam Xu's family used to be high-ranking officials in Taijing. Later, she got married and followed her man to Qianyu City—and her man is the former mayor of Qianyu City."

Feng Xiuhu asked, puzzled: "Ex?"

“That’s right, the former mayor has been dead for several years.” The shopkeeper lowered his voice even further. “The new mayor is now in charge of Qianyu City.”

"Logically speaking, with her husband dead, she would have lost her support. If it were an ordinary woman in this situation, all alone and destitute, she would have returned to Taijing to seek refuge with her family long ago. But Madam Xu is different. She managed to establish herself on her own and even built the most luxurious restaurant in the city. Even the officials in the prefectural government had a deep relationship with her—which is only natural. If she didn't have officials as her backers, how could she have built such a large restaurant?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded silently: "Alright, then I'll go try Shi Wuyu's cooking tonight and see if it's really that good."

The shopkeeper kindly reminded him: "Then you must bring enough money. There's a saying we have, though it's said in jest, that's not without reason: 'A trip without fish leaves you empty-handed, a taste of silver leaves you with nothing, and a half-full meal with gold leaves you with nothing'—you should weigh the pros and cons yourself."

That's indeed very expensive. Feng Xiuhu understood that this place was not for ordinary people at all.

But he really wanted to go and see.

It wasn't that I really wanted to try the chef's cooking, but rather because—if Shi Dajiao were to sell his fish to someone in the city, Shi Wuyu would obviously be the most likely candidate.

This silver plate was well spent; Feng Xiuhu learned quite a bit about things he should and shouldn't have inquired about.

He got up to leave, and Shunzi quickly called to the servant to bring a food box to pack up all the uneaten pastries.

Shunzi knew Feng Xiuhu quite well. While the servant was tidying up, he whispered in Feng Xiuhu's ear, "Brother, didn't Fang Youliu tell us not to cause trouble?"

Feng Xiuhu was displeased by these words: "What trouble have I caused?"

Shunzi muttered under her breath, "It sounds like you're really going to have to go eat fishless. It sounds like a lot of trouble."

(End of this chapter)