Chapter 1: Not Steaming Buns, Just Fighting for Dignity

The weather at the end of October was already bitterly cold, but Gu Lianshan didn't feel it in the slightest. With a face full of joy, he drove the ox cart, swaying leisurely out of Bei'an City.

He was dressed in thick, sturdy short-garb, humming a little tune to himself. His tall, robust frame was currently leaning against the front of the cart, one hand holding the ox whip while the other lightly swung a bamboo tube.

Sitting on the cart, Gu Tang covered her ears, unwilling to endure her father’s off-key humming. She stared at the system panel floating before her eyes, blank-faced as she completed the day’s check-in task—

【Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing today’s check-in. Received: five sheepskins.】

Gu Tang:...

Fine. She had just sold three sheepskins in Bei'an City a moment ago, and now she had gained five more. All things considered, she was still making a profit.

【Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully checking in for thirty days. Received: one lucky draw.】

At this, Gu Tang finally revealed a smile.

Very good. Adding the two she had already accumulated, she had finally gathered enough for a triple draw.

She couldn't remember who she’d heard it from in her past life, but they said that a multi-draw had a slightly higher success rate than a single draw.

If it were her past life, Gu Tang certainly wouldn't have cared about this "slight" difference.

But since she was even more unlucky in this life than the last, she had no choice but to pin her hopes on that "slight" difference.

Suppressing the urge to draw right then and there, Gu Tang decided to wait until she got home, wash her hands, cleanse herself, and offer incense to the gods and Buddhas before proceeding.

Gu Lianshan was completely oblivious to all of this; he couldn't see the system panel, nor did he know anything about the system.

At the moment, he was happily fiddling with the bamboo tube in his hand, looking so enamored with it that it was hard to watch.

Inside the bamboo tube was green plum wine from Bei'an City, brewed from green plums. It was pungent, slightly sweet, and carried a rich, fruity aroma.

A catty of green plum wine could sell for anywhere from one hundred to five hundred wen.

Better quality batches could even sell for two or three taels of silver per catty, which was incredibly extravagant for a farming family.

Driving the ox cart along the road, Gu Lianshan was quite greedy; every now and then, he would pull the stopper from the bamboo tube and take a swig.

The pungent liquid slid down his throat, the rich fruity aroma filling his mouth, and after a few gulps, he felt like he was floating.

The taste was absolutely divine!

Gu Tang caught him right in the act, her little face drooping: "Dad! You dare to drink while driving the cart? Be careful you don't drive us into a ditch!"

"I'm just tasting it, I haven't had much."

Gu Lianshan brushed her off casually and continued to pour wine into his mouth.

He was in an excellent mood, his expression radiating uncontainable delight. The tune he had been humming stopped, but before long, he suddenly burst into song at the top of his lungs—

"Mountain facing mountain—"

Gu Tang was startled by this sudden outburst, and her face immediately darkened!

It sounded exactly like an old drake having its neck wrung!

"Dad, please, stop singing! The cart hasn't gone into a ditch yet, but your tune has certainly fallen into one."

Having lived two lives, she found that her father in this life and her father in her previous life shared roughly the same temperament.

Both had rough, gravelly voices, yet they had a peculiar fondness for singing soft, delicate ditties that made one’s skin crawl.

"What do you know? I'm happy, and when I'm happy, I like to belt out a few lines."

Gu Lianshan chuckled, feeling better the more he thought about it, and said with a rather smug tone

"Look at how smug your eldest uncle was a few days ago, acting like he was on top of the world! It’s just green plum wine, isn't it? Today, my daughter bought me a catty! Let’s see if he can get his daughter to buy him one!"

Gu Tang didn't say anything; she knew her father was nursing a grudge.

Three days ago, her eldest uncle, Gu Liansheng, had gone to a classmate's banquet and returned home drunk only when the sky was turning dark.

As soon as he returned, he showed off in front of the whole family, claiming he had eaten a top-tier banquet where the hundred-wen-per-catty green plum wine was served freely. He also boasted that the host respected scholars and held him in particularly high regard.

By the end, the conversation somehow shifted to her father, and her uncle lectured him in front of the entire household.

He said her father spent his days idling about, associating with low-life thugs, and that those "brothers" he called out to wouldn't ever treat him to green plum wine.

Gu Tang knew her father didn't care about those words at all; he just treated them like hot air.

What her father cared about was the attitude of his parents, but unfortunately, the two elders felt that the eldest uncle was in the right.

In the end, her grandmother, Madam Feng, even added: "That green plum wine is precious; it’s not something for someone who isn't a scholar to drink."

This remark was like adding fuel to the fire, sending her father into a towering rage.

Her father had always been a bit of a rogue; when his temper flared, he would curse anyone, and he immediately got into an argument with the elders, leaving harsh words for her uncle and grandmother.

He declared that he absolutely had to have a proper meal of green plum wine; he wanted to see why someone who wasn't a scholar couldn't drink it.

He had spoken his mind, but as soon as he returned to his room, his head had drooped.

Gu Tang’s parents were a couple who had remarried. Her father’s late wife had left behind a son and a daughter, and her mother, Madam Zhang, had also brought a son and a daughter with her.

After the couple married, they had a son and a daughter of their own.

The daughter was Gu Tang, and the son was her younger brother, Gu Ping'an, who was two years younger than her and eleven this year.

Counting them all up, Gu Tang had two older brothers, two older sisters, and one younger brother.

In total, there were six siblings.

Because her father was not favored by the Gu elders, the six of them were not valued by the family either.

In such a large household, and with a scholar to support, the food they were given daily was truly never enough to fill their stomachs.

Especially for their branch of the family, which was already disliked; let alone eating their fill, even taking an extra bite was considered a sin.

All the children in their room relied on her father’s secret, under-the-table ways of earning silver to make ends meet.

Don't let his rough, devil-may-care appearance fool you; he never dared to waste a single cent of the family's money. Green plum wine at a hundred wen a catty was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of.

It was precisely because he couldn't bear to spend the money that he was even angrier. Seeing her uncle’s arrogant face, he had been bickering with him for three days straight.

Her uncle knew her father couldn't afford it, so he acted as if he had caught him in a trap, asking every day when he would buy the wine, which made her father’s face turn black with rage.

A month was enough for Gu Tang to integrate into this family. Seeing her father being bullied by her uncle for three days, she had also built up some resentment.

Early this morning, she used the excuse of being unwell and needing medicine to have her father borrow the ox cart and take her into Bei'an City.

After entering the city, she first sold the bupleurum roots she had gathered over many days, then secretly sold three sheepskins she had obtained from her check-ins, earning a total of three taels of silver.

As soon as she got the money, Gu Tang spent one hundred wen to buy her father a catty of the lowest-grade green plum wine.

Even if she knew they would be scolded by her grandparents upon returning, she didn't care. She just wanted her father to show off properly once he got home and vent his frustration.

But they hadn't even reached home yet, and her father was already drinking. Judging by his tone, his anger had mostly dissipated.

Gu Lianshan’s anger had indeed faded, but his words were becoming increasingly unbridled.

"Your grandfather and grandmother are so biased, it’s beyond belief! They applaud even when your uncle passes gas, calling it fragrant. It’s just a meal of green plum wine, and they’ve praised it to the heavens."

"And all that talk about being a 'scholar'—the whole family has been tightening their belts to support his studies for thirty years, and he only managed to pass the *tongsheng* exam at twenty-nine!"

"Even that was just dumb luck. If it hadn't been for the non-stop rain that year, causing most of the scholars to miss the date, would it have ever been his turn to pass?"

"He spends his days at home just opening his mouth to ask for silver. He should earn some himself! He’s a useless bastard who can't even earn a single coin. And your grandparents still say they’re counting on him to bring glory to the family—it’s pure nonsense..."

The new book is out, please show your support, dears~

(End of chapter)