Chapter 1: Ten Years of Hard Study Unnoticed, One Triumph Brings Worldly Fame
“Master Fan, hurry back! Congratulations on passing the provincial exam! The whole house is buzzing with the news!”
The voice echoed in his ears, pulling Fan Jing back to reality.
He raised his hand to wipe his dry eyes and looked down, only to find a scraggly old hen cradled in his arms.
Instinctively, Fan Jing tightened his grip.
He felt as if he were holding a bundle of dry sticks—far from comfortable.
A closer look revealed the hen’s eyes were dull and weary, carrying a world-weariness in their gaze.
Even its clucking was low and sorrowful, like a starving refugee whispering in despair.
Its feathers were dull and lifeless, without a hint of sheen; the small, bead-like eyes held a faint glimmer of relief.
Fan Jing scanned his surroundings and was struck as if by lightning.
“What place is this?”
If he guessed correctly, he was standing in a market in ancient times.
People bustled about—laborers, peddlers, and merchants shouting and hawking their wares in a continuous cacophony.
What on earth was going on?
Fan Jing clasped his head, a throbbing hangover making him groan in pain.
Then, memories flooded in, forcefully invading his mind and churning rapidly.
Like a film playing frame by frame, Fan Jing glimpsed the memories of the original owner.
He swallowed hard.
I am a real estate businessman from a provincial city in the twenty-first century, once riding the wave of fortune, only to be mercilessly cast down when the tide turned.
Never did I imagine that a single bout of heavy drinking would transport me into the body of an old scholar from the Ming Dynasty, named Fan Jin—Fan for surname, Jin for given name.
Wait—Fan Jin?
Fan Jing’s face paled with horror.
He hurried to the edge of a ditch, eyes wide, staring fixedly at his reflection.
The man was gaunt and yellow-faced, with graying whiskers, wearing a tattered felt hat and coarse linen robe—the very picture of frailty and muddled eyesight.
As he stood stunned, the familiar voice from earlier hurried over.
The man reached to snatch the clucking old hen from Fan Jing’s arms.
Fan Jing instinctively sidestepped, scolding, “Why are you taking my chicken? You’re not even buying it.”
The moment he spoke, he recognized the man.
It was the village ne’er-do-well, Wang Ergou.
Yet unlike the domineering, swaggering rogue he remembered from the original owner’s memories, this Wang Ergou acted with abject humility before him.
He seemed like a lapdog cowering before a lion, wagging his tail in desperate supplication!
Humbly bowing, Wang Ergou’s excitement was barely containable as he shouted, “Master Fan, you’ve passed the exam! Your family sent me to spread the news!”
His expression was as if he himself had triumphed.
---
Fan Jing steadied himself, gradually acclimating to his new identity.
He thought for a moment: since fate had brought him here, he might as well embrace it.
From now on, I am Fan Jin.
Rolling up his sleeves leisurely, his eyes glinting with newfound resolve, Fan Jin teased, “Brother Ergou, since when have you become so kind?”
“If I’m not mistaken, just last month you were spreading rumors that I, Fan Jin, was a toad trying to catch a swan, weren’t you?”
This was a thinly veiled reproach.
Wang Ergou’s expression shifted.
Biting his lip, he suddenly seemed drained of strength, collapsing to his knees and kowtowing repeatedly to Fan Jin.
“I beg Master Fan’s mercy! It was my blindness and ignorance… I didn’t know you were a great man…”
“Please, treat me like a fart and let me go!”
Kneeling with a loud thud, Wang Ergou slapped his own face mercilessly until his cheeks were red and swollen, blood trickling from his mouth.
Curious villagers gathered, whispering and pointing at the two.
Fan Jing’s expression darkened.
Feigning kindness, he helped Wang Ergou to his feet, the sharpness in his eyes vanishing instantly.
Fan Jin tugged on Wang Ergou’s sleeve with a warm smile, “Brother Ergou, what’s gotten into you?”
“You brought such joyous news with goodwill; how could I bear to blame you?”
“Get up quickly, lest the neighbors misunderstand.”
Fan Jing had no desire to earn a reputation as a brash upstart now that he held some standing.
Given his present status, controlling a troublemaker like Wang Ergou would be effortless—there was no need to sully his name in public.
Once a scholar, now a successful candidate—everything was different!
Intimidated by Fan Jin’s stern rebuke, Wang Ergou stumbled and grew uneasy.
The crowd, having heard the news that Fan Jin had just passed the provincial exam, dared not linger. They muttered congratulations and gradually dispersed.
Would they really laugh at a newly minted scholar?
“Lead the way,” Fan Jin said calmly, handing over the hen, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression inscrutable.
Hearing this, Wang Ergou sprang up like a fish leaping, quickly taking the gaunt old hen.
Everything was carried out as instructed.
Before long, they reached the entrance of Baibiao Village.
From afar came the sounds of festive revelry—drums and gongs, boisterous voices, and the crackling of firecrackers filled the air.
Occasionally, the animated chatter of villagers rose above the din.
Determined to integrate into this ancient society and the original owner’s social circle, Fan Jin took the initiative to step forward.
---
As Fan Jin approached, the dense crowd parted to make way for him.
Faces young and old radiated genuine smiles, bows of congratulations abundant.
One face after another met his gaze, each laced with flattering deference.
After a few pleasantries, the two made their way to the family home.
Fan Jin paused, lifting his eyes to see a proclamation posted squarely in the courtyard.
The congratulatory notice read: “Good news! Master Fan Jin of this honorable household has ranked seventh in the Guangdong provincial exam, earning the title of runner-up and having passed the capital exam!”
Fan Jin was speechless.
He knew well that “runner-up” typically meant second place.
Here, the term was clearly an obsequious exaggeration.
As the announcer stepped forward to offer auspicious words, an elderly woman emerged from the inner room and pulled Fan Jin aside.
Fan Jin recognized her as the original owner’s mother.
Softly, she spoke, “My son, the good news has spread. The neighbors have brought chickens, eggs, wine, and rice to celebrate.”
“But there remains a difficulty...”
Before she could finish, Fan Jin raised his hand to stop her and said slowly, “As for the silver to pay the announcer, I have it all planned.”
In the years the original owner pursued his studies, the family had long since fallen into poverty.
This very morning, they had run out of food; the whole household was starving.
Otherwise, his mother would not have forced herself to sell their only laying hen at the market to buy a few measures of rice for porridge.
Fan Jin’s mother hesitated, unable to continue.
If the hen couldn’t be sold, where would the money come from?
Was silver expected to fall from the sky?
Fan Jing understood immediately and pointed a finger at a burly man nearby.
“Look, the money to pay the announcer has come on its own two feet!”
Ten years of hard study went unnoticed, but one success made him famous throughout the land.
Passing the provincial exam today meant Fan Jin’s financial woes were over.
A beautiful wife, concubines, fertile fields, and a grand estate were all within reach.
The man was none other than Hu the butcher—Fan Jin’s father-in-law by marriage.
Hu butcher carried seven or eight pounds of prime pork belly in one hand and four to five thousand coins in the other, his face alight with excitement as he came to offer congratulations.
Upon seeing Fan Jin, Hu’s arrogant demeanor vanished, replaced by respectful humility.
He sneaked a glance at his son-in-law, whose appearance remained unchanged but now bore a dignified aura that could not be mistaken for a petty rogue.
“Honored son-in-law, I’ve heard of your success in the exam. I’ve come specially to congratulate you!”
With that, he handed over the heavy pork and the coins.