[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin":3,"chapter-the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-151":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The First Iron Rice Bowl of Great Jin",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},151837,261,"Chapter 151: The Cage","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-151",151,"\u003Cp>Hua Changxi had already forgotten about the matter of Cao Jun, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture. Looking at the middle-aged man before her who called himself Song Weimin, she said in surprise, \"I've met the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture. When I was captured by that demonic Taoist, it was someone from Jingzhao Prefecture who rescued me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Weimin looked at Hua Changxi and asked again, \"Did he come to see you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi gave a wry smile. \"The prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture is a third-rank official. Why would such a big shot come to see a nobody like me? Are you mistaken about something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Weimin looked at Hua Changxi, who had just reached the age of fifteen, and didn't believe that her disappearance had anything to do with his scheming senior brother. This young lady probably didn't have that kind of ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the steward of the Cao residence had indeed said that before his disappearance, his senior brother had requested the case file from two years ago about the red-robed demonic Taoist who conducted a blood sacrifice of young men and women on the rocky cliff above the underground magma at the site of today's Lingguang Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the young lady before him was one of the few surviving victims, and a cultivator at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This young lady is no nobody. A nobody wouldn't be able to connect with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Weimin had long been waiting in the tea house across from the medicine shop, having witnessed the entire exchange between Hua Changxi and Pang Shaoyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi smiled. \"That should have nothing to do with you, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Weimin could not detect any flaw in Hua Changxi's expression, nor could he extract useful information from her words, so he could only back off. \"I've disturbed you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he turned and left without any hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Song Weimin's retreating figure, Hua Changxi furrowed her brows. This man seemed to have been brushed off by her few words, but judging by his demeanor, he didn't look like someone who would let the matter rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was not afraid of trouble, but she found it annoying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Hua Changxi was feeling irritated by the sudden arrival of Song Weimin, Hua Minghe arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jiu Niang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was a bit surprised, but she quickly stepped forward and invited him into the medicine shop, introducing Pu Cao and A Niu to Hua Minghe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Minghe had visited the Shennong Medicine Shop several times before, but the previous times Hua Changxi wasn't there, so he just stood in the shop for a while and left, never having had a proper look around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You bought a good shop, but it's a bit remote.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His daughter had set up a business of her own, so Hua Minghe carefully examined both the shop and the back courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi laughed. \"Good wine needs no bush. I, your daughter, am an excellent physician and alchemist. People seek me out on their own.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Minghe looked at the smile on his daughter's face and suddenly realized that the confidence radiating from her was truly dazzling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Hua Changxi finished showing Hua Minghe around, she led him into the main room of the back courtyard. The father and daughter had just started to have a private conversation when A Niu entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Changxi, the merchant Zhuo is here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi heard this and said to Hua Minghe, \"Father, please sit for a while. This is an important client; I need to go see him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Minghe nodded. \"Go ahead with your work.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Hua Changxi and A Niu went to the front medicine shop, Hua Minghe wandered around the back courtyard again, eventually discovering the Blue Ox Demon in A Niu's room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the spirit stones, spirit pills, and spirit-gathering array provided by Hua Changxi, Hua Minghe's cultivation path was very smooth, and he was now a mid-stage Qi Sea realm cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he lacked experience, he still recognized the blue ox in the room as a demon beast. From the spiritual pressure it emitted, its strength was even above his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that the demon beast his daughter had tamed was stronger than him was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Hua Minghe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also the assistant A Niu in the medicine shop, who also made him feel immense pressure. The manager Pu Cao, though not threatening, should not be underestimated either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raising a demon beast, hiring cultivators to work—his daughter had already flown so high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Minghe thought of the clients his daughter was dealing with, walked to the back door of the medicine shop, lifted the curtain slightly, and looked with a complicated expression at his daughter chatting and laughing with outsiders. Though he felt deeply gratified, he was more filled with a sense of loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Owner Hua, this time, in addition to ordering a hundred thousand taels worth of pills for martial artists, I also want to purchase a batch of spirit pills.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know your rules, Owner Hua. Spirit pills are not bought with silver.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merchant Zhuo carefully took out a white porcelain bottle from his storage pouch and pushed it across to Hua Changxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi picked up the bottle, uncorked it, and immediately a rich, pure surge of spiritual energy rushed toward her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hua Changxi quickly corked the bottle shut, looked at Merchant Zhuo in surprise, shocked that the Zhuo family could obtain ten-thousand-year spirit milk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merchant Zhuo saw that Hua Changxi was only stunned and didn't ask what was in the bottle, so he guessed she knew it was ten-thousand-year spirit milk. \"These are ten drops of spirit milk aged over ten thousand years. Each drop contains a vast amount of spiritual energy. I want to exchange them for a batch of second-grade healing spirit pills.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi: \"What kind of pills do you want to exchange for?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merchant Zhuo had a few types of pills in mind that he wanted, but he didn’t say so. Instead, he smiled and said, “To be honest, I don’t know much about pills. Boss Hua, just prepare whatever you see fit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi looked at him, was silent for a moment, then waved her hand. Ten bottles of second-grade top-grade pills appeared on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ninghai Pill (condenses spiritual energy in the Qi sea; the more solid the Qi sea, the more spiritual energy it can hold), Huiyuan Pill (restores physical strength), Xuming Pill (keeps vitality hanging on, buying time to seek medical treatment), Xugu Pill (strengthens bones and sinews, heals fractures and sinew injuries), Bingxin Pill (treats fire poison and heat poison), Huixue Pill, Qingxin Pill (calms the mind and spirit), Shengji Pill (promotes wound healing and restores damaged skin), Jiedu Pill (can detoxify second-grade poisons).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merchant Zhuo inspected the pills bottle by bottle. With every bottle he checked, his heart shuddered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Top-grade pills—every single one was second-grade top-grade!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not misjudged her; Boss Hua hadn’t taken advantage of him. The pills she brought out were worth those ten drops of ten-thousand-year spiritual milk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi had obtained ten drops of ten-thousand-year spiritual milk. Each drop contained roughly one million points of spiritual energy, which to her was a bit too little to use for replenishing and restoring her spiritual power. However, if she added the spiritual milk when refining pills, it would definitely raise the pill quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was very satisfied with this trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merchant Zhuo had obtained more pills than he had expected, and he too was satisfied with the trade. He readily paid the one hundred thousand taels of silver, took the ordinary pill withdrawal slip that Pucao had written, and went to the other ten medicine shops to collect his pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nowadays, Hua Changxi used the Shennong Medicine Shop in Feng’an Ward as the headquarters. Although the other shops also sold pills, they only carried small quantities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other ten shops managed by Yu Gui had recruited a batch of pill refiners who made ordinary pills. People like Merchant Zhuo, who bought ordinary pills in large quantities, went to Yu Gui to collect their pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qiuyu, Wang Yunchu, and the others had already resigned from their chores in the Chore Hall. With their addition, Hua Changxi planned to add spiritual pills to the medicine shops’ sales list in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Minghe silently watched the entire transaction. Seeing his daughter conduct a single trade worth one hundred thousand taels of silver, for the first time he truly felt how much the Hua family courtyard was a cage that confined her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having left that cage, she could actually fly higher and farther.\u003C\u002Fp>",1443,"2026-05-29T04:10:26.746Z","2026-06-01T04:29:08.487Z",1,"deepseek-v4-flash","5a0269194f922835d9b922a649750339c3ccfdc77eb116b5ae910a248e90201d","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-152","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-150",547,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-cover.jpg"]