Chapter 38: Golden Toad Invites Wealth, Wenchang Strengthens Rank

"You brat, are you acting as my teacher now? That is truly overturning the heavens!" Father Xu felt his paternal authority was under threat.

Xu Jia, however, fanned the flames even more: "As the saying goes, the accomplished one is the teacher. Father, look at how I have revised it before you speak!"

He immediately took up a brush, dipped it in red ink, and began to critique.

"Look at this opening statement; although there is no problem, it is slightly lacking in force and fails to speak with substance, making it somewhat hollow. How does one speak with substance? One must borrow allusions. Of course, an opening statement should be refined and clever, so the allusions used must be intercepted from the Classics and Books to correspond with the topic."

"Next, this transition here is slightly stiff. To be smooth, the sinews and bones must be connected; argue the affirmative, argue the negative, two sides to one topic. The four or five scattered sentences must grab the reader's attention, so the words must be startling."

"Then, based on the affirmative and negative arguments above, conduct a small discourse. The argument must be clear and the evidence explicit. You must also include an allusion here, but you cannot use ones from the Four Books and Five Classics again."

After all, in his previous life, Xu Jia had possessed thousands of disciples and had even recorded "lecture videos."

Although he was not lecturing on Feng Shui, Inner Elixir, or morality now, the ideologies of the three teachings had long been unified on Blue Star, known as "National Learning." He spoke eloquently when it came to writing essays.

Coupled with the fact that Xu Jia had good comprehension and used those guidebooks as a foundation—taking their framework, discarding the dross, and keeping the essence—his vision already had height. With the spiritual wisdom of a Presented Scholar's essay to enlighten him, he now felt he possessed at least the level of an ordinary Recommended Man.

He immediately took Father Xu's sour-smelling essay—which was at the level of a Xiucai—added some seasoning, increased the heat, and performed a rescue until it was barely presentable before stopping.

"How do you think my revision is?" Xu Jia turned his head and asked.

"Good!" "Good!" "Good!"

He saw that Father Xu's ears had already turned red, and then he said the word "good" three times in a row.

It was truly shame and annoyance rising to his head.

Yet it was impeccable, and he still felt the shame and annoyance of his paternal authority being threatened.

Seeing that he was about to explode, Xu Jia secretly controlled the heat, and just then Xiao Hong came to look for him: "Young Master, the porridge I boiled for you is ready."

Xu Jia stood up, no longer provoking the annoyed Father Xu: "This is just my personal opinion. If Father has other brilliant ideas, or if this is the level of the past and not the level of the present, you can also say so. However, I am hungry now and am going to eat; let's chat again later."

Father Xu did not make a sound. Waiting for Xu Jia to walk out of the study, he grabbed the revised essay. Following Xu Jia's line of thought, he had already constructed an essay in his mind and took up his brush to write.

After half an hour, the essay was finished. Father Xu looked at it, and compared to the essay he had written before, it had indeed "improved" a lot.

"This brat!"

Father Xu let out a long sigh: "The accomplished one is the teacher, what a 'the accomplished one is the teacher.' Who can keep him in check?"

He then laughed at himself: Is this the difference between an Immortal and a mortal? From Xu Jia's essay logic, he had indeed seen a strand of "spirituality."

It was just like how the ancients saw Li Bai's poetry and recognized him as a "banished Immortal"; the immortal aura within the text did not seem like a scene from the human world.

Of course, Xu Jia did not have that feeling of Li Bai, but the history of the two worlds had been different since the Qin Dynasty. Apart from pre-Qin essays, the Great Chu later on flourished in "Chu Ci," which corresponded to the "Han Fu" of the Han Dynasty on Blue Star. Therefore, the historical context of the essays was different, and the literary principles had some discrepancies, thus there was "novelty."

In other words, Xu Jia could even "plagiarize literature."

But what Xu Jia cultivated was "Truth," and he should not act falsely. Moreover, Xu Jia knew that many ancient emperors, generals, and ministers of Blue Star were serving in the Underworld, such as Cao Cao, who was the Fengdu Beiyin Taifu, a higher official rank than Xu Jia's in the Underworld. If he plagiarized their essays, he feared it might be "inappropriate" in the future.

Here, Xu Jia ate his food and instructed Xiao Hong: "You can now purchase some pine nuts, Poria, lotus seeds, Solomon's seal, yam, kudzu root, Poria, honey... If you need Flower Money, find my father and let him pay. The more the better."

"Ah?" Xiao Hong was already shocked upon hearing this: "Young Master, what are you buying these things for again? There are so many varieties; I must remember them carefully."

Xu Jia took a brush and wrote a note for her, saying: "I am recuperating from an illness. The Five Elements Pill I often take requires these to be prepared."

"This Five Elements Pill requires Gold Valley vine fruit, Wood Valley tree fruit, Fire Valley grain fruit, Earth Valley root fruit, and Shugu Yushi. Either steamed or boiled, or stir-fried or deep-fried, or shade-dried or sun-dried. Some need to be repeated nine times, others six times. Once each is prepared, grind them into powder, refine them with honey into pills, and store them in a jar."

"Eat some every day, use yellow wine to digest it, and after eating it for a year or two, any illness will be cured!"

"What a strange prescription!" Xiao Hong scratched her head; she had never seen such a thing.

What Xu Jia was refining was actually not a pill for nourishing the body; he was refining "bait" for cultivation.

Among the Taoist arts, there was a school called "taking bait," which was also the source of "Outer Elixir" arts.

Taking this bait to nourish the five viscera with the essence of the five grains was a prerequisite for "Refining Essence into Qi."

This was still a "low-end version," which could only be treated as a "Bigu pill" in Xianxia novels, used just to be full.

To truly refine an Outer Elixir, one needed to reach the Great Heavenly Cycle, and the soul would also need to be able to leave the body to tour the Dharma Realm before one could use lead, mercury, sulfur, and other materials to refine an "Outer Elixir" for consumption.

But this thing was too dangerous to refine; one would be poisoned if not careful.

In his previous life, Xu Jia refined Outer Elixirs using the method of "hiding medicine to assist the lead." Of course, he also cultivated "six-one mud," but it was not an "Alchemical Furnace" anymore; it was an "industrial incineration high-pressure furnace." The pills refined were, needless to say, quite effective.

It was just that they were not really swallowed; they were held under the tongue, and by using internal breath to wash over them, the "Dandanqi" within was extracted. The dregs of the pill still had to be spat out.

Dandanqi could only be locked by gold, so after the pill was formed, it was wrapped in gold foil and stored in a jade box. Xiao Hong took the note Xu Jia had written and hurried to find Xu Mu, as she was the one who managed the household expenses.

Xu Mu was worshipping Buddha in the Buddha hall. She looked at the list; these things were not rare, at least there were no Ginseng, Lingzhi, bird's nest, or Cordyceps.

Although the quantity requested was large, they were all grains and fruits, and the unit price was not expensive. Hearing that it was a prescription for nourishing the body, she approved it. Moreover, Li Dafu had said last time that Xu Jia's prescription was fine, so she nodded and agreed: "Let him toss about. But how much should be bought?"

"Young Master said the more the better."

"Then, except for the honey, buy two catties first, and ten catties of each of the others. If it's not enough, we'll talk later."

These fruits, although not rare, were not cheap either. And since they were produced in different seasons, it would take some effort to collect them all at once.

Here, Xu Jia held another slice of Ginseng. This Ginseng was a good thing, but unfortunately, only half a section remained. He had to ask Xiaopangdun to dig out some good medicinal materials from his home again, since his family was in the medicinal material business.

Holding the Ginseng, Xu Jia went to the study again. Seeing Father Xu drinking tea while reading the essay, he opened his mouth and said: "Father, I'll take three gold bars from the storeroom!"

"What?" The tea was sprayed out. "What are you taking that for?"

"I'm taking them to forge a golden toad to act as a Feng Shui Magic Tool to bring wealth to our family. By the way, I also want to set up a Wenchang Feng Shui formation in this study of yours to draw in some Literary Luck, so that Father, your literary thoughts may flow like a spring, and see if it can help you pass the Recommended Man exam."

"So it's not spent, but forged into gold ware." Hearing this, Father Xu felt relieved. After all, this was not used up, just processed. He then said: "There is no workshop for gold forging in Qingtian Xiang. When girls make jewelry for their weddings, they can only go to the Baoqing Fang in the county. There are silversmiths and goldsmiths there who can make jewelry and charge a labor fee. If you go, they will bully you for being a stranger; I will go on your behalf."

"It just so happens I can take this new essay of mine and find someone to critique it."

Xu Jia looked at his new essay and pouted. You call this your new work? Isn't this my line of thought? Also, are you afraid I will embezzle your gold? You don't trust me?

However, Xu Jia did not say much more, only instructing: "This golden toad needs three legs and must be solid; it must absolutely not be hollow. A position must be left in the mouth to hold a copper coin, so this golden toad needs to weigh eight taels and eight qian, no more, no less."

"As for the Wenchang Magic Tool, it requires a nine-story small golden pagoda, using only six taels and six of gold. The pagoda needs to be hollow to place the Talisman. At the same time, Father, you need to find a carpenter to carve a nine-story pagoda out of peach wood, about one foot high. The bottom of the pagoda needs to be openable to store the golden Wenchang pagoda."

"In addition, if there are any potted landscapes like orchids or elegant bamboo, buy them back together. That painting of the mountain backing can stay in my room for now; the back of the study can be replaced with a painting of 'Dominating the Crest'."

Father Xu was curious: "Is this useful?"

Xu Jia said: "Treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor. If your essays remain like this, and I am not the Wenchang Emperor, how can I guarantee you will pass the Recommended Man exam?"

"If you listen to me and can improve bit by bit, there is still some hope."

Father Xu stroked his beard, having already seen through Xu Jia's goading, and immediately asked: "If I listen to everything you say and can pass the Recommended Man exam, I will even enshrine you."

He took the exams from his twenties to his forties, and aside from his own lack of ability, he felt more or less that it was a matter of luck, which was why his talents went unrecognized.

He truly felt that the Feng Shui array Xu Jia had set up earlier was quite good, and he felt much more at ease. Just now, Xu Jia had revealed a level of writing skill that already far surpassed his own; he had to be convinced, for the capable are indeed teachers.

"This Dao of Feng Shui is effective if you believe in it, and ineffective if you do not," Xu Jia said. "Moreover, a Feng Shui array can only serve as an aid; ultimately, it still depends on yourself. Father, you must strive hard, pass the exam to become a Recommended Man, and ideally, even pass the exam to become a Presented Scholar, so you can land an official position and fulfill your ideal ambition of 'he who excels in learning should become an official'! Perhaps you might even accomplish great things and have your name go down in history!"

"You are only at the age of forty, the age of no confusion, which is the prime of your life! By then, you can be promoted by one First Rank each year, and in ten years, you will be the Prime Minister!"

Xu Jia cheered his father on, boosting his confidence.

"Let's talk about it after I pass the exam!" Xu Jia's father was also amused.

He then took the essay and left the study to go get the gold.

After Xu Jia's father took three five-tael gold bars, he pondered for a moment: "I should also have a Jinshou made for his mother!" He then took another one, totaling twenty taels.

The "weights and measures" of this world originated from the unification by Qin Shi Huang, and although they changed in later dynasties, they were basically still in use.

Therefore, in this world, one jin is approximately three hundred grams, one tael is thirty grams, and one qian is three grams.

These twenty taels of gold, in Xu Jia's era, would be about six hundred grams, which, when converted, is worth three hundred thousand.

This was merely a Feng Shui Magic Tool with ordinary effects; when Xu Jia was organizing data in the Yincao Difu, he had collected the refining method for a "flying sword," which required collecting ten thousand weapons that had been on the battlefield, taking their blades, and smelting the essence to create "Waren Gang."

It was truly impossible to collect these ten thousand weapons that had been on the battlefield unless one excavated ancient battlefields, and even then, one had to personally take the blades and forge them into steel through folding.

Even with Flower Money, it would be difficult to accomplish; one would likely need to have military power in hand.

Hence the saying: a family with ten thousand strings of cash will be left penniless upon studying to become an Immortal.

After taking the gold, Xu Jia's father rode a donkey cart toward the county town, accompanied by two servants; although he did not show his wealth, he still needed people to protect him.

He intended to first find a few Xiucai in the county to critique his essay, and after he had a sense of it, he would then go to consult a local Ju Ren to consolidate his knowledge.

Although he felt Xu Jia's line of reasoning was good, he still needed an outsider to confirm it.

Having the gold jewelry made was just a secondary matter.

(End of this chapter)