[{"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-19":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},151705,261,"Chapter 19: A Lesson","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-19",19,"\u003Cp>Because every day Hua Changxi would help Du Ruo deliver medicinal herbs to the Second Bureau, Du Ruo turned a blind eye to Hua Changxi’s habit of waking up late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Hua Changxi’s days in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall settled into a routine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She got up at nine in the morning, went to the storehouse to collect several dozen types of herbs from Yu Gui, and returned to the Sixth Bureau to wash them; after finishing washing her own five hundred herbs in the afternoon, she first reported at the Second Bureau, then helped Du Ruo deliver herbs; at seven in the evening she went to bed on time, and then began to cultivate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Realm: Qi Refining 108\u002F1000]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Hundred Herbs Classic (Perfected): Taste Herbs 1101\u002F]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Stainless Art (Perfected): Wash Herbs 6022\u002F]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the ten days, all the figures steadily improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During that time, when Taste Herbs broke through 1000, another voice sounded in Hua Changxi’s mind: The Divine Plant chapter of the Hundred Herbs Classic has been unlocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Divine Plant chapter was even more profound than the Spiritual Plant chapter; it recorded all kinds of plants, spirit beasts, and spiritual treasures that could enhance, weaken, consume, consolidate, or repair the primordial spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, the number of divine plants was far smaller than that of spiritual plants; the Spiritual Plant chapter recorded at least tens of thousands of types, while the Divine Plant chapter recorded only a few thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I haven’t even seen a single spiritual plant yet, and now divine plants have appeared.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi marveled at the profundity of the path of cultivation, and at the same time, her desire to quickly raise her realm grew stronger and stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as her realm was high enough, she was sure she could fully push open the gate to the path of cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When first entering the workplace, newcomers are always bullied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among her dorm mates, there were friendly people like Lu Qingluo, and there were also those who disliked Hua Changxi’s early bedtime and late rising, showing open hostility toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a dead pig! We’re talking so loudly, and she can still sleep like that!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speaker was a young unmarried woman named Wang Yunchu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the female menials in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, the ratio of married women to unmarried young women was roughly fifty-fifty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, in each dormitory, the older, more experienced women had more say, but in Hua Changxi’s ten-person room, because there were seven unmarried women and only three married ones, the two groups had banded together, and the unmarried women outnumbered the married women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the unmarried women, Wang Yunchu had a stronger personality and was more willing to step forward when trouble arose, so she became the leading voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apart from Lu Qingluo, Hua Changxi was indifferent to everyone else in the dormitory. A couple of days earlier, when Wang Yunchu saw Hua Changxi washing herbs for Lu Qingluo again, she also asked Hua Changxi to wash some for her, but Hua Changxi flatly refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That refusal naturally offended Wang Yunchu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why is the room so dirty and messy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a day of hard work, hungry and tired, Wang Yunchu returned to the room and saw Hua Changxi sleeping soundly. Already dissatisfied with Hua Changxi, she grew even more annoyed. Seeing the room unswept and everyone’s clothes piled up everywhere, she immediately found a reason to vent her anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hua Changxi, get up now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qingluo, seeing Wang Yunchu shouting at Hua Changxi, quickly tried to mediate: “Sister Yunchu, Changxi is still young…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yunchu cut her off: “Young, my foot! Everyone who comes to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall is the same kind of menial. She’s young, but we’re not the ones who made her become a menial.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, she walked to Hua Changxi’s bed, reached out, and directly pulled off Hua Changxi’s blanket. Seeing that she still hadn’t woken up, she began to shake Hua Changxi’s body with her hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was immersed in the satisfaction of being wrapped in warm currents while breathing and exhaling, when suddenly she felt her body shaking, and the warm current flowing inside her began to destabilize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hua Changxi, get up! Don’t play dead with me! I’m telling you, this isn’t your home! You…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she could finish speaking, Wang Yunchu saw Hua Changxi’s eyes snap open with a swoosh, a cold light shooting out like a sharp sword straight at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Wang Yunchu could recover from the cold, sharp glare in Hua Changxi’s eyes, the next moment she felt heaven and earth spin, and then sharp pain shot through her arm and body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the earthen bed, Hua Changxi stood in a lunge. Wang Yunchu had been pulled by her arm and thrown down onto the bed. Now her right hand was twisted behind her back, and Hua Changxi’s knee was pressing heavily into her lower back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Hua Changxi’s expression was indifferent, and the cold light in her eyes was nothing like that of a girl in her teens, causing the others in the room to panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you disturb my sleep?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi’s voice carried no warmth. She pushed Wang Yunchu’s twisted arm further toward her head while tightening her grip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afraid that the scream would attract attention from the next room, just as Wang Yunchu cried out, Hua Changxi grabbed the pillowcase and stuffed it into her mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wuwuwu~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her arm twisted behind her back and her body pinned down, Wang Yunchu was in so much pain that sweat broke out on her forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi expressionlessly watched Wang Yunchu, then swept her gaze over the others in the room. \"Still yelling?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yunchu kept making \"wu wu\" sounds while frantically shaking her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi loosened her grip, then pulled the pillowcase out of Wang Yunchu's mouth. \"Speak. Why did you disturb my sleep?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of answering, Wang Yunchu yelled, \"Hua Changxi, let me go!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hua Changxi let out a cold laugh and tightened her hold again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, I'll talk, I'll talk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yunchu relented. Once Hua Changxi loosened her grip, she said without much confidence, \"You didn't clean the room. I came to remind you to do it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's gaze turned icy again. She snorted, \"If I remember correctly, I cleaned the room just the day before yesterday. There are ten people in this room, each taking turns one day. Why is it my turn again?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yunchu: \"You go back to your room so early every day. The rest of us have to work until dark. Since you come back early, can't you take on more of the cleaning?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, you're still a newcomer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go ask around in the other dormitories—whenever a newcomer arrives, don't they handle all the cleaning for the first two months?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi sneered, \"Who are you people to me? Why should I take on the tasks that you should be doing yourselves?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And as for other newcomers covering all the cleaning, it's because they hope to get help from the old-timers. What help have you ever given me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You want something for nothing without putting in any effort. You shouldn't be working as servants—you should go home and be ancestors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi flung Wang Yunchu aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she was free, Wang Yunchu scrambled off the kang and quickly distanced herself from Hua Changxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi sat on the kang, looking at the people in the room. \"I don't like to bully others, and I dislike being bullied even more. Anyone who bullies me will get it back tenfold.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We're all servants working in the chores hall, and I know it's not easy. But your hardship isn't my fault. Don't take out the anger you've pent up on me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have a bad temper. Don't think you can push me around just because I'm young.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember this: don't come provoking me again, and especially don't disturb my sleep.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because she cultivated, her constitution had improved a lot, but she still got tired after work. She wasn't a saint, and she had neither the obligation nor the desire to help others for free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To fit in with the group, she didn't mind doing a bit more, but only if she was willing. She strongly disliked Wang Yunchu's mindset that since she could do it, she should naturally take on more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, Hua Changxi said nothing more. She disdainfully tossed aside the pillowcase that had been stuffed in Wang Yunchu's mouth, lay back down on the bed, closed her eyes, and resumed cultivating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others in the room looked somewhat unsettled when they saw Hua Changxi, after her outburst, continue sleeping as if nothing had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's just hurry up and tidy up, then get some sleep.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone patted Wang Yunchu on the shoulder to comfort her, and after that, the voices in the room were deliberately much lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yunchu stared at Hua Changxi's sleeping face, her eyes filled with both resentment and fear.\u003C\u002Fp>",1517,"2026-05-29T04:10:26.746Z","2026-06-01T04:29:08.487Z",1,"deepseek-v4-flash","2f0c4aedd3e3dc5f3235c2f624529d9146a4e986d2d2dbf7de7b921ef4f7e0a3","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-20","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-18",547,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-cover.jpg"]