Chapter 30: Chi Yanzhou’s Background

Chapter 30: Chi Yanzhou's Background

After all, things that grow in the ground won't run away, nor do they pose the same risk of fighting back and drawing blood.

Within two days, the whole country had plunged into a frantic search for crops.

That sharp-browed, bright-eyed young man naturally joined the search as well.

The young man's name was Chi Yanzhou. His family had produced military officers for generations, but his ancestors had all fallen in battle, leaving the bloodline sparse.

By his generation, the family's honors were gone and their silver had nearly run out.

The family had relocated to Liujia Village, on the edge of the imperial capital.

As outsiders, they were already shunned. When the villagers—men and women, young and old—saw that the family wore fine cloth, used porcelain bowls, and that his mother was so well-kept,

jealousy took root, and they even banded together to steal from the family.

Within two months, the house had been picked clean.

The village women also gossiped behind their backs, mocking his parents as fallen gentry.

"Not meant for wealth, yet they wear silks and fine robes.

No wonder they ended up so destitute!"

His parents were kind-hearted and knew they were living under someone else's roof, so they let it slide.

But less than two years later,

his mother, working in the fields, slipped on a ridge and fell into the nearby river.

Seven or eight women washing clothes on the bank watched coldly, without lifting a finger.

As his mother cried for help, struggled, and choked on water, they even laughed.

Not one of them called for help. They just stood there and watched her die.

His mother drowned.

His father, already in poor health, lost the will to live after her death.

Half a month later, he followed her to the grave.

The family had moved in barely a year prior, and in the ramshackle thatched hut at the foot of the mountain, only fifteen-year-old Chi Yanzhou remained.

From then on, the villagers whispered that he was cursed, that he brought death to his family.

They shunned him day and night. Even the village dogs shot him dirty looks.

Chi Yanzhou had never been a native of the village, and with youthful pride, he wasn't about to take this kind of bullying lying down.

He clenched his fists and trained in the martial arts techniques his ancestors had left behind, day and night in that thatched hut. After just half a month of training, he dared to carry a machete into the mountains alone to hunt.

Luck was on his side—on his very first trip, he fought for his life and killed two wild boars.

Not only that, but he boldly snatched a tiger cub from its den.

If he hadn't run fast enough, he'd have been in the tiger's jaws in an instant.

Chi Yanzhou didn't fear death; he only feared a life without dignity.

He knew Chang'an was full of wealthy people, and that the big households loved keeping exotic beasts.

With the tiger cub in hand, he walked through the night to the city, approached several wealthy families to sell it, and made a demand of each.

In the end, he sold the cub to the family that agreed to his terms. After getting the silver, he returned and sold the wild boars too.

As soon as he had the silver in hand, he packed his bags.

Under cover of night, he slipped out of the village and headed to Chang'an.

With the silver he'd saved from hunting, he'd already bought a small courtyard—on the city's edge, but enough to live in.

The family that bought the tiger cub also arranged his household registration, settling him in Chang'an.

When the family first entered the village,

his father had been cautious and forged three false household registrations, not using their real names.

Now, just in time for the spring exams,

Chi Yanzhou, who had been taught by his father since childhood from the family's books, easily passed the preliminary exam to become a *tongsheng* (scholar candidate).

This whole sequence of moves went off without a hitch, taking less than half a month.

By the time the village chief learned that the village had produced a scholar candidate—but that he was no longer in the village—

he searched furiously, only to discover that the registration he held wasn't even the young man's real one.

The chief's head practically smoked with rage. The whole village cursed and grumbled, wanting to glom onto him for some benefit,

but Chi Yanzhou was nowhere to be found.

That was a slick move.

That was Chi Yanzhou—decisive, unwilling to be bullied, and never one to back down.

At the moment,

he was out looking for work, planning to earn some money to fund his studies and martial training.

If he could keep taking exams and eventually become a military officer, that would be ideal.

But the military exams were inconsistent—sometimes held, sometimes abolished.

Who knew if the new emperor would bring them back next year.

He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Having lived in the village for over a year, Chi Yanzhou knew his crops well.

He carefully took out a brush, sketched the four crops onto paper, and tucked it into his pocket.

After getting ready at home, he grabbed his farming tools and headed into the mountains.

He was dead set on getting that five hundred taels of silver!

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation,

Yun Ran blew on the ink, admiring the wellness recipes she had designed—a full 125 dishes.

Each with its own distinct effects and recipes.

Yuan Bao, standing nearby, was overwhelmed and totally lost.

What were all these? How come he had never heard of any of these dishes?