[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty":3,"chapter-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-52":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Literary Genius in the Song Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336435,4568,"Chapter 52: Gratitude Repaid","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-52",52,"\u003Cp>“Go back and prepare well for the county examination—it’s only a month away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Pan looked at Lu Beigu and said, “Also, hurry with the household registration transfer—don’t delay it until after the county exam, or it’ll affect your admission to the prefectural school.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Sir. Your student remembers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After parting with Li Pan, Lu Beigu slung his book satchel and bundle over his shoulder, not heading straight back to the county school, but first going to a rice shop in town to buy some rice, then to a meat stall near South Street to buy lamb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butcher at the stall had a fearsome appearance, his face flushed red like cured meat steeped in a pickling vat, a yellow-bean-sized black mole on his left cheek, three stiff hairs on it twitching with each muscle spasm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his right cheek ran a deep, dark purple scar, stretching all the way to his eye corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he saw this man, Lu Beigu thought he had found the real-life prototype of the “Township Tyrant” beaten to death by Lu Zhishen’s three punches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ten pounds of lean meat, cut into mince—no trace of fat allowed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butcher blinked, then replied, “Understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He went to the meat counter, selected ten pounds of lean meat, and finely minced it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Song people loved lamb most, and considered pork merely average.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Lu Beigu himself, what he truly preferred was beef—but beef was rarely sold on the market. Cattle, like horses, were state-controlled assets; unless a plow ox died of illness or old age, beef was almost never available.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, even in the grandest restaurants, dishes like “Stir-Fried Beef” could not be ordered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, Lu Beigu had never dined at a restaurant, but from memory he’d heard that the top restaurants in Hejiang County cooked no better than the school dining hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, although Song Dynasty iron woks were unquestionably advanced technology compared to neighboring states,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Song people themselves had not yet fully mastered how to exploit the stir-frying potential of iron woks—they still needed time to develop the technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These goods cost Lu Beigu 350 copper coins; he placed the several strings of cash he’d broken from a five-kuan jiaozi note into his satchel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these items, Lu Beigu went to the fisherman’s home who had rescued him from the river that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu was a man who repaid every kindness. Previously, one matter had followed another, and he’d had no time to act—now was the moment to do so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was easy to find, since the rescue had happened right at the fisherman’s riverside doorstep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lu Beigu approached the courtyard, he smelled the familiar stench of fish; under the eaves outside hung several drying nets, a bamboo fish basket lay tipped over by the door, two palm-sized crucian carp still leaping inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gently knocked on the wooden door, and an old fisherman’s hoarse voice answered from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened. The interior was not small—it was a standard Hejiang County courtyard, roughly 200 square meters in size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old man, I apologize for the intrusion. Do you remember the man you pulled from the water? I’ve come to repay my debt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu bowed and offered the bag of rice and the lamb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old fisherman froze, then waved his hands frantically. “Young master, what are you doing? This old man merely did what any man would—how could I possibly deserve such gifts!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Had you not saved me, I would have drowned in the river.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu insisted, “A small token, merely to express my gratitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man, unable to refuse, accepted them and said, “Young master, come inside and sit. I’ll have my wife brew some tea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sat inside and chatted for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old fisherman’s name was Feng Si; his family had fished for generations. Neighbors called him Old Feng. He had a daughter, but she had married and no longer lived here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, a rustling came from inside, and an elderly woman with white hair emerged carrying a coarse porcelain teacup, her face flushed with nervous smiles. “Young master, don’t disdain it—our home has only coarse tea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu took the cup, saw the murky tea with coarse stalks floating on top, and paid it no mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sipped, then smiled: “Old man, did you go fishing on the river today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did! I did!” Old Feng rubbed his hands, wrinkles spreading across his face. “Good luck today—I caught several large mandarin fish. My wife took them to market. Shame, only got 1,200 iron coins for them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One thousand two hundred iron coins sounded like a lot, but in copper coin value, it was only about 100 copper coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t you exchange them for copper?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah.” Old Feng sighed helplessly. “Fish aren’t rare. They only give iron coins. Take it or leave it—take the loss if you must.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the founding of the Song Dynasty, Sichuan continued the Later Shu policy of circulating iron coins. But iron coins had low value and great weight—sometimes buying a bolt of cloth required 20,000 iron coins, weighing hundreds of pounds. The people of Sichuan deeply resented them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was no choice. Decades of warfare during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms had reduced most regions’ economies to primitive states. The Song court, on one hand, genuinely lacked copper; on the other, it remained wary of Sichuan’s potential for self-sufficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the iron coin problem in Sichuan worsened instead of improving, especially after the court established a new iron coin mint in Ya Prefecture’s Baizhang County, flooding the region with more iron currency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the reign of Emperor Renzong, the exchange rate between iron and copper coins had stabilized at 10:1, but iron coins still held far less purchasing power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, sellers with scarce goods could demand copper coins; but for ordinary goods, even if they didn’t want iron coins, they had to accept them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This awkward dual-currency system had not improved with the introduction of jiaozi. The people of Sichuan remained deeply troubled, to the point of severely hindering economic development. Everyone wanted to hoard copper coins and spend iron coins—but in practice, things always turned out the opposite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu did not know whether his plan could change any of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he held great hope in the pairing of Zhang Fangping and Fan Xiang—after all, these two were the Song Dynasty’s most economically astute technocrats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Zhang Fangping resumed his post as Director of the Three Departments and Fan Xiang rose to Deputy Transport Commissioner and Director of Salt Regulation, and if they could properly implement the new salt certificate system, bringing in large quantities of copper coins, then perhaps the daily hardships faced by Sichuan’s people might be alleviated—thanks to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu nodded, his gaze sweeping over the worn fishing gear and dried fish in the corner, then asked casually, “How do the fish from Anle Creek compare to those from the Yangtze?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re nowhere near as good!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Feng grew enthusiastic, gesturing wildly. “The Yangtze fish are thick-fleshed and delicious—especially past Wuxia Gorge, there’s a kind called shi fish—truly succulent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two chatted idly about everyday matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, someone else entered through the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a butcher—broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his greasy apron stretched taut over a round, protruding belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doorway was dim; Lu Beigu couldn’t make out his face until he stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Wasn’t this the butcher from the meat stall just now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father-in-law.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butcher’s voice boomed, shaking dust from the rafters. His palm, large as a fan, slammed against the doorframe, his short fingers still caked with dark-brown blood crusts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Feng frowned but had no choice but to step forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butcher, clearly Old Feng’s son-in-law, shouted: “Do you have any silver? The shop on South Street was seized by the pawnshop—it’s now being sold. Front shop, back courtyard. I want it. If I wait too long, someone else will buy it first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You wretched scoundrel! Even if I sold my bones, how many copper coins would I get?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Feng shoved his son-in-law’s belly, scolding: “Do you think slaughtering pigs and sheep brings easy money? Always dreaming of buying shops—how many shops don’t cost a hundred taels? If you’re capable, get the money yourself—don’t come begging to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu stared at the minced lamb on the table, his expression strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Self-supply and self-marketing,” he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Feng’s son-in-law was a burly brute, yet dared not defy his father-in-law—only kept whining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying things like, “Isn’t this for your daughter?” and “The stall’s too cramped now—I can’t even turn around.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Feng ignored him, just kept pushing him toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when shoved too hard, the butcher suddenly raised his fan-like hand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu thought he was about to strike Old Feng—had he landed even one blow, Old Feng might have died on the spot. He couldn’t let his savior be killed before his eyes—he leapt to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the butcher’s palm never came down. Instead, he clapped his hand over his eyes and collapsed onto the floor, wailing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father-in-law, it was my wife who forced me to come for money! She said—if I don’t bring it back, she’ll beat me half to death when I get home!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu stared, dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d expected either the “Township Tyrant” from Water Margin or the butcher Hu from Fan Jin Passes the Exam—but this one was a man cowed by a “River East Lion’s Roar”—as if Chen Jichang himself lived in Meishan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1595,"2026-06-20T21:44:14.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1fc8581afb9ae8b56c066926b017024d0857eb350b7dc6a565ab7f47d35335f3","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-53","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-51",56,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-cover.jpg"]