[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-proles":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-proles-lord-of-the-proles-chapter-38":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Proles",{"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},2290336,4478,"Chapter 38: The Song Before Sleep","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-38",38,"\u003Cp>Li Banfeng told the driver to take the cart to a desolate stretch beyond the outer ditch and unload the goods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chunsheng had already paid the full fare; the driver asked no questions, simply set the cargo beside the trees and drove off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng glanced around to confirm no one was nearby, then strained his muscles and lifted the four-poster wooden bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the cultivation base of a Traveling Cultivator was quite impressive—he could carry such a massive bed and still free a hand to pull out his keys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This solid wood bed was genuinely heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fellow Chunsheng earlier had carried the entire bed onto the cart by himself—he clearly wasn’t ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng placed the bed inside his Personal Dwelling; the Dwelling itself was small, only six or seven square meters, and with a one-and-a-half-meter bed inside, the space felt slightly cramped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng then brought in the phonograph, wondering where to place it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Put it opposite the bed, so he could listen to music while lying down?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enjoying the melody while watching steam puff out—quite comfortable indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after one song ended, he’d have to get up to change the record; after two cups of water boiled dry, he’d have to get up to refill them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had to keep getting up while listening to music, it would lose its charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng placed the phonograph beside the bed, so he could lie down, reach out, and change records, refill water, extinguish the flame, or wind the spring—all without rising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This idea was good—it was settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After moving in the phonograph and laying out the bedding, he dusted off the furniture with a feather duster, neatly folded the clothes the boss had given him, and placed them beside his backpack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still needed many things: a wardrobe, a storage cabinet, a set of table and chairs…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng’s eyelids felt heavy; he was tired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After descending the mountain, he and Fatty had rested one day at the inn, then returned to Lǐgōu the next day; now, twilight had just passed and night had barely fallen—he shouldn’t be this exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be residual poison still in his body?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That shouldn’t be it! Didn’t Estate Cultivators recover the fastest?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how tired he was, he had to go see Fatty; after all this time in this place, if there was one person who counted as Li Banfeng’s friend, it had to be Qin Fatty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the street-corner bun shop, Qin Fatty was still devouring food, stacks of steamer baskets piled high beside his table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you take so long?” Qin Fatty mumbled through a mouthful of buns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I negotiated the price with Manager Feng,” Li Banfeng pulled up a chair and told the shopkeeper to bring two more baskets of buns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bun shop was small, but the buns were exquisitely made—beef filling, bite in and gently suck, and your mouth filled with savory broth, paired with crushed garlic, a true local delicacy, simple and pure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng ordered a pot of wine; he didn’t know which wine was good here, he’d never heard any of the names, so he simply told the server to bring the best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Fatty felt a pang of guilt—he hadn’t sold his pills yet, and even the wine here was a luxury for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Qin, don’t worry, this round’s on me,” Li Banfeng poured a cup, sipped, and the wine was strong—it lingered in his mouth for a long time before he swallowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Banfeng so generous, Qin Fatty lowered his voice: “What price did you sell it for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng held up six fingers: “Six thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to hide this from Qin Fatty—if he ever wanted to sell to Manager Feng, he’d likely get the same price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Fatty shook his head: “Brother Li, I’m not saying this to criticize you, but you sold it too cheap. This isn’t an ordinary item—you truly don’t understand the local market.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night had fallen, and no one else remained in the bun shop; Qin Fatty whispered as low as he could: “Just now in this shop, I met an acquaintance and asked about the market—I actually found out something:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Pulu Province, wealthy families buy thousands upon thousands of pills every year, and at year’s end, they award them to their sons and daughters who’ve earned merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A whole family works themselves to the bone all year, desperate to earn a few more pills to boost their cultivation, but what if you haven’t earned merit? You have to buy them on the open market at high prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Market prices differ from those at pharmacies: pharmacies sell for ten thousand, but on the open market, you’ll pay at least twelve thousand, fifteen, eighteen, even twenty thousand. You sold it for six thousand—you lost big.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng shook his head: “If I can sell this pill, it’s money. If I can’t sell it, what good is it sitting with me? I don’t lack a few days of cultivation, and I don’t know any wealthy heirs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Fatty sipped his wine: “How about this—after we rest a couple days, I’ll take you around Medicine King Ditch. We can’t reach the ultra-rich, but I know plenty of sons from modestly wealthy families.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng ate a bun and smiled: “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m returning to Yuezhou tomorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yuezhou?” Qin Fatty had never heard the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yuezhou—it’s a place in the Outer Provinces. That’s where I’m from.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re leaving so soon?” Fatty felt disappointed, but after eating two more buns, he grew resigned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then again, you’re from the Outer Provinces—you’ve seen the world, so of course you’d look down on Pulu Province.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One day, I’ll go to the Outer Provinces too. If I never see such a place, my whole life will have been wasted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a wonderful place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was Yuezhou really a wonderful place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng thought Yuezhou was indeed wonderful, but if forced to say exactly why, he couldn’t articulate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They ate until the bun shop closed, then said their goodbyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Fatty said: “You know where I live—when you come back to Pulu Province, be sure to find me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The alcohol began to take effect, and with his full-body fatigue, Li Banfeng lay down, about to fall asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet going to sleep felt like something was missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hadn’t he walked twenty li today?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what else needed doing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng half-sat up, pulled out the winding key, inserted it into the phonograph, and wound it fully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah—that was what was missing. He’d forgotten his bedtime music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d specially chosen a record, wrapped in stiff paper with a colorful illustrated cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cover showed red and yellow flowers, with a woman in a flowing gown dancing at the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng slid out the record, placed it on the phonograph’s turntable, flipped the switch—and amid crackling static, beautiful music began to play:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern wind brings coolness!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nightingale sings its delicate tune!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the moon, all flowers dream—only the night-blooming cereus exhales its fragrance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Night-Blooming Cereus!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d heard this tune before, but never had he liked it as much as tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the song ended, Li Banfeng had already fallen asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He used a wind-up spring, not a steam engine, because he feared he might fall asleep mid-use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the spring, he didn’t have to worry about extinguishing a flame—he could sleep soundly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I sing for you, I think of you, Night-Blooming Cereus~~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The song ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The needle reached its end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spring fully unwound; the phonograph stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the pitch-black Personal Dwelling, only Li Banfeng’s deep, even breathing remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash splash splash~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phonograph emitted a sound of water, as if someone were pouring water into its horn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fssss~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A match was struck, igniting the wick inside the oil tank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fssss~ fssss~ fssss~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A swirl of mist spewed from the right-hand speaker, and the turntable began to rotate slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The needle returned to the start position, and amid crackling static, the phonograph played again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Across the horizon, beyond the sea~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeking, seeking a kindred soul~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little sister sings, brother plays the lute~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother, we are one heart!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beautiful melody echoed endlessly through the Personal Dwelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hiss hiss hiss~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The copper lotus petals slowly unfurled; within its center, a whirlwind stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whirlwind swept past the phonograph, slightly distorting the song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several seconds, the melody gradually stabilized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The copper lotus petals trembled slightly, then closed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phonograph resumed its sweet tune:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life, ah~ who doesn’t cherish youth~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little sister is thread, brother is needle~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother, we are woven together, never apart!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the song, Li Banfeng slept deeply, his face glowing with a contented smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: You’ve all been asking if this novel has a female lead. Shala tells you: yes, she’s here! She’s here, puffing steam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1486,"2026-06-20T03:43:13.043Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e1933da7bacf1af215527bd3317d2b59c98c334cf6f4f0a1ca2dfe0f125a0728","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-39","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-37",863,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-proles-cover.jpg"]