Chapter 3: Tongcheng

"Who the hell changed me into these clothes? You think I'm some extra? Do you have any idea how much I make in a day? Get your director out here — how the hell did I end up in Hengdian?"

Pang Yu, his face covered in blood, roared at the top of his lungs. The street full of people watched the bellowing Pang Fool in fear, while a few older women whispered among themselves.

"Isn't this just madness? That doorway is clearly a paper shop, yet he insists it's Hengdian."

"Beaten stupid. What shop sells anything called 'heng'? Might as well call it a 'shudian'."

"Good that he's stupid now. Serves him right for all the harm he's caused."

Pang Yu shouted for two minutes, but not a single person stepped forward to explain. His head was still a little dizzy, and his body swayed. He reached up to clutch his head, when suddenly he felt his collar tighten — someone had grabbed him by the back of the collar, and then a furry thing pressed against his spine and, with a slithering sound, slipped right into his clothes.

"What the hell!" Pang Yu jumped in fright, frantically groping at his back, but he couldn't catch the furry thing. He flailed and shook his clothes but couldn't shake it out. Spotting a sash at his waist, he untied it, jumped a few times, and finally shook the furry thing onto the ground.

On the ground lay, unmistakably, a dead rat!

Pang Yu cursed in fury, "Who the hell is so rotten they'd scare someone with a rat?"

"You still know what 'rotten' means?"

Pang Yu looked up. Before him stood a rather tall, elegant woman with lightly traced brows, dressed in a long white skirt with plain fabric and narrow sleeves. In her right hand she still clutched some kind of paper, likely what she had used to grab the rat moments before. Her face was now completely flushed, and she glared at him with pure fury.

Already bewildered and panicked by his current predicament, Pang Yu felt a surge of anger at her words and cursed back, "I never even messed with you."

The beauty put her hands on her hips. "You dare say you didn't mess with me? You clearly just threw a rat at my... took advantage of me." Unable to bring herself to say the word 'backside,' she stammered, her face reddening.

"Like I'd need to take advantage of you. Plenty of people chase after me — from eighteen to their thirties. Your looks are only middling at best. You can't even do your makeup right. Even if you offered yourself, I wouldn't take you. Stop the toad trying to eat swan meat." Pang Yu flatly denied everything, then curled his lip. "You're putting on a pretty good act, though. Your looks are a bit better than the extras — you're probably a special guest actor. But not by much. Tell me, did you sleep with the assistant director or not?"

"Sleep with...? You..." Hearing Pang Yu turn around and deny everything, and even try to turn the tables on her, the woman was so furious her brows shot up. Gasping for breath, she looked down and searched the ground, picked up the stick Shopkeeper Zhou had just thrown aside, and swung it straight at Pang Yu.

Shopkeeper Zhou shouted anxiously from behind, "Daughter, don't! Stop hitting him!"

Seeing the woman about to get violent, Pang Yu immediately turned and ran. But his head ached and swam, and he stumbled along, unable to run fast. Just as he saw the woman about to catch up and his heart raced with urgency, a shout came from behind.

"Young master, run!"

The family servant lunged forward, grabbed Pang Yu, and burst through the wall of onlookers. With the woman in hot pursuit, the two of them ignited their inner cosmos and vanished down the main street in a flash.

Ten days later, early morning. The Pang Family Courtyard.

"This road really does run far. All you investors, all you enemies and friends — you'll never find me now." Pang Yu murmured, then draped a face cloth over his face.

Pang Yu's head was wrapped in cotton bandages. He sat listlessly in the inner eastern wing room, breathing in the smell of medicinal herbs that filled the whole house, tilting his head back to look at the roof beams and tiled ceiling above. Sunlight pierced through the deep, dark gaps between the tiles, scattering in patches across the stone floor of the eastern wing.

"What sin has the old Pang family committed! Yu'er was beaten, and the medicine storehouse collapsed. Has Heaven decided our Pang family shall not live!"

A woman's voice wailed outside. Pang Yu recognized it as his cheap mother — a simple, hardworking woman whose main job was being Pang Yu's mother, with a side job as a permanent laborer at the Pang Family Raw Medicine Shop.

A man's voice scolded in a low tone, "What use is crying? Truly a woman's perspective. Yu'er wasn't beaten to death — he just caught some wind in his head and did a few crazy things these past two days. He'll likely be fine in a few days. The storehouse collapsed because the beam was rotten and it met a big storm, that's all."

Pang Yu also recognized this as his cheap father, the current Shopkeeper of the Pang Family Raw Medicine Shop, the second-generation link in the Pang family's three-generation single-son chain, with Pang Yu himself being precisely the third generation.

His mother's voice said, "This is all the silver the family has left. What are you taking it for?"

"The medicines for those several physicians — they got soaked and can't be used. I have to go buy new ones to give them."

"Husband, just dry the medicines and give those to them. If you take this silver, we won't be able to feed ourselves for the second half of the month."

His father was silent for a moment, then said, "The Pang Family Raw Medicine Shop has been running for three generations. What we sell is medicine — it's for curing people's illnesses. Giving people soaked medicinal materials — at best, it won't cure the illness; at worst, it costs lives. Our old Pang family cannot do things that harm our conscience."

Then came the sound of footsteps leaving through the door. His cheap mother began to sob quietly in the courtyard.

Pang Yu's eyes were lifeless. What kind of life had he been reborn into? Over these ten days, aside from treating the wound on his head, he had constantly tried to verify exactly which outdoor set in Hengdian he was on. Even three days ago, still unwilling to give up, he had hired an ox cart and ridden ten li out of the city — everything he saw was still the scene of ancient times. As far as he understood, even if Hengdian wanted to mess with him, they wouldn't invest in building such a massive set.

Coupled with the fragments of residual memory in his mind, he had finally accepted the fact that he had transmigrated.

This was Tongcheng County, Anqing Prefecture, in the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, under the jurisdiction of Nanzhili. Tongcheng County lay just beyond the southeastern end of the Dabie Mountains. The northwest of the county was mountainous, gradually transitioning to hills and open plains toward the southeast, stretching all the way to the banks of the Yangtze River. To the southwest, Tongcheng led to Huguang; to the northeast, it led to Luzhou and Fengyang — it was a key overland transport route from Huguang to Lianghuai. At the same time, it benefited from the Yangtze River, allowing downstream travel to the wealthy regions of Jiangnan. Whether in commerce or agriculture, it had uniquely favorable conditions and had always been fairly prosperous. Apart from the occasional passing bandits, it had been very peaceful for many years.

The old Pang family ran a modestly sized medicinal materials shop. Because Tongcheng was close to the Dabie Mountains, the mountains were extremely rich in all kinds of medicinal materials. Besides supplying shops in Lianghuai, they also purchased nearby materials to sell to Anqing Prefecture, and along the Yangtze River shipping route, they sold as far as Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and other places. Though they weren't vastly wealthy, before the storehouse collapse, they had been a comfortably well-off family. Pang Yu was the only son of this old Pang family.

The original Pang Yu was seventeen years old. From a young age, he had no success in studies and no love for the family business. Fortunately, after the mid-Ming dynasty, runner positions had become a profession. Although the Pang family was not on the Service Register, they could pay to buy in. So the family spent money and pulled strings, and Pang Yu became a runner in the county yamen.

Once he became a runner, he was first assigned to the Household Office. Because he wasn't very sharp, the Household Office sent him back, and he stayed in the Runner Squad doing odd jobs. With nothing to do, he idled about and caused plenty of trouble. Finally, he ran into a certain Shopkeeper Zhou — one swing of the stick, and the old Pang Yu became the new Pang Yu.

What the hell was all this? Why was he in such a strange place?

Pang Yu shut his eyes and slapped himself hard across the face twice. He hoped that when he opened his eyes, he would be back in his office in his previous life. Even facing that group of furious investors would be better than this.

Carefully, he pried his eyelids open. Nothing had changed, except there was now an extra face in front of him — it belonged to the Pang family's Bangyong, Pang Ding.

Pang Ding held a wooden stick two fingers thick in both hands. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and said, "Young master, the master says today we still need the family discipline. However many strokes you say, that's how many it'll be."

Pang Yu pulled off the face cloth covering him. The thing he was most satisfied with about his current situation was having this Bangyong. Modern life was interesting, sure, but where would you find someone this obedient — hit him whenever you wanted, scold him whenever you wanted, and send him to do something and he'd run like the wind.

Unfortunately, ill fortune plagued the old Pang family. Not only had Pang Yu been beaten, but a few days ago, a torrential rainstorm had also collapsed the Pang family's medicine storehouse. Inside was a large quantity of newly collected medicinal materials that old man Pang had prepared to wholesale to Anqing Prefecture. This was a devastating blow to the Pang Family Raw Medicine Shop. If the medicine shop went under, they wouldn't be able to keep this Bangyong anymore.

"Beating you is not the goal — it's merely the means." Pang Yu decided to enjoy himself a bit first. He smugly propped up his feet and savored the pleasure of lecturing someone. "What is the goal? It's to make you understand where you went wrong, so you won't repeat it in the future. Otherwise, why would I beat you? Am I the kind of person who enjoys beating people?"

"You are."

Pang Yu sat up, grabbed the wooden stick, and made as if to strike. Pang Ding immediately begged for mercy, "I meant the young master likes beating people outside, not beating me."

Pang Yu rubbed his forehead. His head still felt a bit woozy. Thinking back to that Zhou father-daughter pair — they were truly fierce. And this Pang Ding in front of him had dodged just as fast as the wind. "So tell me, do you know where you went wrong or not?"

Pang Ding hung his head dejectedly. "I didn't help the young master block that stick, and let the young master get beaten."

"Ah, from now on you must remember: whenever something happens again, you take the brunt of it first, and let the leader... let the young master — me — get away first. Even if you get hurt or sick or something, you've got the young master — me — to back you up, right? Look at this time — if the young master — me — had really been beaten to death, the master would certainly not want you anymore and would have to throw you out. Tell me, where would you go to make a living then? It'd end up bad for you and bad for me, right? Now that you've recognized your mistake, having this basic understanding shows your nature isn't bad — you can still be reformed. Once you correct your shortcomings in the future, you'll still be a good comrade."

Having had his fill of the thrill of lecturing someone, Pang Yu raised the wooden stick and brought it down toward Pang Ding's head.

Pang Ding sucked in a sharp breath and shut his eyes, waiting for the beating. But the wooden stick merely tapped his head lightly and then withdrew. A long moment passed with no further movement. Pang Ding opened one eye to steal a glance at the young master, only to see that Pang Yu had already put the stick away and lain back down on the chair.

"Young master, are you going to hit me or not?"

"Not hitting. Get up."

Pang Ding stood up, bewildered and uncertain. But seeing that the young master truly hadn't moved and didn't seem to be deliberately toying with him, he couldn't help feeling immensely relieved. If this had been before, he'd have been beaten half to death for sure.

Pang Yu lay listlessly on the chair. He hadn't wanted to transmigrate, but he had. The conditions weren't up for negotiation either. The old Pang family sounded like they were about to be unable to put food on the table any day now. If he was going to live here, he'd have to find a way to help the old Pang family get through the current crisis. But he knew absolutely nothing about how to make money in ancient times. He couldn't help muttering to himself, "The Chongzhen reign? Damn, seems like nothing good happened then. How many years did Chongzhen even last?"

"Young master, you mustn't speak recklessly. What you're asking is when the Emperor will pass away — that's a capital crime."

Pang Yu rubbed his forehead. "Capital crime my ass. I'm not afraid of that. What the young master is afraid of now is not understanding this ancient life very well. What kind of career should I even pursue in the future?"

Pang Ding coughed a couple of times. "Young master, you're talking nonsense again. But as for what to do — do you even need to think? It's the easiest thing to understand: earn silver."

"Earn silver — like you need to tell me that. What about the startup capital..." Pang Yu suddenly stopped and whacked Pang Ding's head twice randomly. "Damn you, don't you dare mention silver or money. What use is money? Is the meaning of life determined by how much money you have? The key is to be a good person. I'm going to be a good person in this life. Don't you little brat lead me down the wrong path."

"Who says people who earn silver aren't good people?" Pang Ding muttered under his breath. "Our family's Medicine Shop collapsed. If we had silver, we could save the Medicine Shop's business. Whoever gives our family silver — that's a good person."

"Fine then. I think what you said makes sense. This young master will start by earning silver off you first. Hand over your silver. I, your young master, absolutely cannot be short of money — my mouth's gone bland from eating plain. First, give me some money to improve the meals…"

As Pang Yu spoke, he moved to search Pang Ding's body. Pang Ding, seeing the situation turning bad, Turned Around to flee. Based on his experience, the young master might be bad, but his movements weren't agile enough. Who knew that the moment he lifted a foot to run, something tripped him from below, and he went down flat on his face like a dog eating dirt.

Although Pang Ding fell with a Mouth full of mud, he had Resistance. Following his ingrained experience, he prepared to Turn Around and get up. But Pang Yu had already retracted the tripping leg, pounced nimbly, and pressed his upper body onto Pang Ding's back, using the tips of both feet to prop up his legs so that his upper body's weight centered on Pang Ding's back.

Pang Ding braced his arms and struggled desperately, but Pang Yu clung to his back like a gecko. By supporting himself through his feet to control his position, he suppressed Pang Ding's center of gravity, making it impossible for Pang Ding to get up no matter what. Instead, Pang Ding exhausted his strength in a moment and was finally pinned flat to the ground by Pang Yu like a dead dog.

Seeing Pang Ding completely drained of strength, Pang Yu no longer bothered to control Pang Ding's joints. He mounted him and sat on his back, searching him while Scolding, "I was already prepared the moment I opened my mouth. You think when money's mentioned, you're the only one who thinks of running? I've seen plenty of people try to run."

"Please, young master, don't! I finally managed to save up a little more. Wha — what kind of skill is this you're using? I've never seen you practice it."

"This young master is born talented — what need is there to practice? I'm not afraid to tell you, what this young master practices is called Gracie. Against you, I don't even need to use the serious moves."

In the time it took to speak, the three Copper Coins of hard-earned silver that Pang Ding had saved finally fell into Young Master Pang's hands. Pang Yu released Pang Ding, looked at the small, dull-white lump in his hand, and couldn't help Scolding, "How is it only this much? How much money is this even worth?"

Pang Ding sat up, about to burst into loud wailing, when just at that moment, a clamor arose from the outer hall. It sounded like the voice of his dirt-cheap old mother, and the matter seemed far from trivial.

Pang Yu said, puzzled, "Who is my mother quarreling with?"

Pang Ding forgot to cry for a moment. He listened carefully to a couple of sentences, then said hesitantly, "Young master, don't get angry when you hear this. The neighbors say your head was struck, and our family's medicine storehouse also collapsed — all the medicinal ingredients got soaked in water and ruined. The Liu family says they want to break off the engagement. It seems the quarrel is about this matter."

"Ah? Breaking off the engagement? Does it really have to be this plot device? Let's go listen to the excitement."