Chapter 11: The World Bows Before Me

Fan Residence.

On East Gate Street, three burly men exchanged uneasy glances.

Although Butcher Hu was well aware that his son-in-law was no longer the same man he once was, he had never imagined that he had achieved such heights.

The bustling scene of the street where the Fan Residence stood, the flourishing hub of human activity, was unlike anything he had ever witnessed in his lifetime. Just watching the continuous stream of carriages and horses passing by left him in awe.

As for Hu Daniu and Hu Ernniu, their reaction was even more pronounced. Merely glancing at the massive plaque overhead and the two imposing white jade lions guarding the mansion’s entrance made their legs weak; they trembled like quails out of fear.

There was no trace of the usual image of the butcher brandishing his cleaver, mingling with riffraff on the streets and bullying the innocent.

“Father...” Hu Daniu swallowed hard and struggled to speak, “Is this really our sister’s home?”

The two brothers’ legs shook uncontrollably as they spoke.

The grandeur of the residence alone was enough to reveal just how prosperous their brother-in-law had become and the extent of his wealth and status.

It truly proved the saying: fortunes can change dramatically over time.

Who would have thought that a man half-buried by the earth would one day leap like a carp through the dragon’s gate?

Life’s twists and turns were indeed mysterious and unpredictable.

“What nonsense are you spouting!” Butcher Hu forced himself to stay calm. “If it’s not our virtuous son-in-law’s mansion, whose else could it be?”

Having been entrenched for years among society’s lowest rungs and mingling with all sorts of folk, including local gentry like the Zhang and Zhou families who were his regular clients, his perspective was naturally broader than his two worthless sons.

He even had connections with officials at the county office, gaining some insider information.

The more he understood, the clearer he saw the significance of a county scholar, and he was determined to flatter and please his son-in-law.

He had heard that his son-in-law was a county scholar’s father-in-law; in Nanhai County, who wouldn’t show him utmost respect?

Hu Ernniu laughed awkwardly, “We’re just afraid of making a mistake recognizing the place…”

Summoning their courage, the three men followed the servants’ directions and entered in single file.

Yet the further they went, the more their eyes felt inadequate, much like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, faces gripped with awe and hearts filled with endless amazement.

Hu Ernniu even blurted out his honest thoughts: “Having witnessed such wealth, I can say I’ve lived this lifetime without regret…”

Hu Daniu nodded firmly in agreement.

Meanwhile, their hearts churned with conflicting emotions.

Originally, Butcher Hu had insisted that his youngest sister remain unmarried until thirty and marry a man of status. The two brothers often mocked their old man behind his back, calling him delirious and doomed, yet he stubbornly persisted.

Rather than seeing Fan Jin as a toad longing for swan meat, it was more accurate to say that Butcher Hu shared a similar unsavory character—both were scoundrels of a kind.

When Butcher Hu eventually arranged for his sister to wed Fan Jin, it only confirmed their suspicions.

To them, it was tantamount to pushing their sister into a fiery pit.

Back then, with the Hu family’s resources and their sister Hu Yingying’s figure and beauty, they could have easily chosen any wealthy family in the vicinity. Why insist on marrying into a scholar’s household?

As for Fan Jin—incapable of hard labor, obsessed solely with books—they looked down on him even more.

So the brothers conspired to demand a family split within three days of their sister’s return after marriage, fearing entanglement with the Fan family.

Yet their old man seemed possessed, a mere butcher deluding himself that his family could rise through marriage—a gamble of epic proportions.

Consider this: Fan Jin married a woman in her thirties, which only indicated how lowly his family’s standing was at the time, barely above contempt.

Anyone with wealth wouldn’t marry a butcher’s daughter past her prime.

Still, Butcher Hu refused to relent.

Others saw a married daughter as water spilled out, but he pitied his daughter and often secretly supported and aided the Fan family.

Even the money for the Fan family’s old hen’s chicks was borrowed from Butcher Hu.

Trying to change one’s fate through studying was far from easy.

A simple calculation made it clear.

Out of over three hundred students in a county, only thirty would qualify for the provincial exam, and among those thirty, only one would pass the metropolitan exam. That meant only one scholar per ten counties.

Though not precise, this illustrated the extreme difficulty of the imperial examinations—harder than ascending to the heavens.

In Nanhai County, where Butcher Hu lived, only a handful of county scholars emerged over decades—averaging one lucky candidate every ten years.

And many of those so-called lucky ones came from long-established families with a tradition of scholarship.

What standing did the Fan family have? They did not even qualify as a humble household.

Tracing back eight generations, they could not produce a single scholar. Yet his blind mother left everything to Fan Jin, wasting her youth and years.

Fortunately, over time, Butcher Hu gradually accepted his fate and gave up his ambitions.

He buried his lofty dreams deep within and silently regretted.

Had he not done so, he wouldn’t have been so vehement in discouraging Fan Jin when he passed the county exam at fifty-two and sought to enter the provincial exam.

He called Fan Jin a worthless pauper with a sharp mouth, telling him to look in the mirror before dreaming of swan meat.

All this stemmed from Butcher Hu’s fear that the Fan family’s rare chance at advancement would be dashed again by the brutal reality of the imperial exams.

He even planned to use his connections to find a teaching post for Fan Jin, so he could earn money to support his blind mother and care for his wife and children.

Though not wealthy, at least he would have the dignity befitting a scholar.

Yet, just as Butcher Hu had resigned himself to giving up, Fan Jin remained as resolute as ever, his will as hard as iron.

He sought every way to take the provincial exam. Even when everyone opposed him, he stood unyielding, like Mount Tai unshakable, thunder unable to make him retreat.

Finally, dawn broke on his life. He shone brilliantly in the provincial exam, placing seventh and completely turning his fortunes around.

Remembering this, Butcher Hu grew even more respectful toward his “virtuous son-in-law,” convinced that he was no ordinary man and that mending relations between their families was urgent.

“What are you dawdling for, you two good-for-nothings?”

“If you don’t win the virtuous son-in-law’s forgiveness, I’ll skin you alive...” the old man urged Hu Daniu and Hu Ernniu.

At that moment, Fan Jin was also reflecting on the past.

He greatly admired the original owner’s spirit.

No one else could have had such courage, perseverance, and gambling spirit.

To risk a lifetime, to stake the fate of a family without hesitation.

Just as Director Qi said, “Life demands risk and struggle; if you never gamble, you never stand a chance of winning.”

Fortunately, they all gambled right and won.

Fan Jin clenched his fist and leaned back in triumphant strategy.

For two lifetimes, he refused to be a mere wealthy man; money was as light as a feather to him.

What he sought was the entire world bowing before him.