Chapter 1

A cool breeze blew, and the night was shrouded in a misty haze, enveloping the quiet county town.

The hazy moonlight illuminated the clear little river, where the water flowed slowly under the arched bridge. On the banks stood two- or three-story black-tiled houses, their walls stained with water marks and covered in green moss. Some were even overgrown with ivy, leaving only a row of windows facing the river.

It was already the middle of the night, and apart from the croaking of frogs in the river and the barking of a dog at the end of the alley, there was no other sound. Only from a narrow window on the east side did a dim yellow light shine, and faint voices could be heard...

Looking through the open window, one could see a table, a stool, and a bed. On the table, a blackened oil lamp barely illuminated the space around it. On the long stool sat a chipped earthenware bowl containing about eight or nine soybeans. A man in his forties, wearing tattered robes and with disheveled hair, squatted beside it, tending to a small clay stove while speaking to a teenager lying on the bed opposite.

He spoke in a hoarse voice with a Wu accent: "Chao Sheng, just hold on a little longer. Once I finish boiling the medicine, you'll be cured."

The teenager on the bed sighed inwardly, thinking, 'Is this the thirtieth time he's said this?' But knowing his father was worried about him, he didn't blame him. He turned his head slightly and saw the unfamiliar yet kind face, covered in sweat and anxiety, and felt a warmth in his heart. Knowing his father would be busy for a while, he slowly closed his eyes and recalled the incredible events of recent days.

He was originally a young deputy director, at the peak of his career, but upon waking up, he found himself in the body of this dying teenager. During the teenager's weak state, he had somehow merged with him, gaining the teenager's consciousness and memories, and becoming this teenager from five hundred years ago.

Was he Zhuangzi or the butterfly? Was he his original self or the current Shen Mo? He was completely confused. It seemed he was both, yet neither, or perhaps he had become a completely new Shen Mo.

The situation was absurd, yet it had indeed happened, leaving him unable to face it for several days. But then he thought, since he was an unmarried orphan with no ties, wasn't it the same to make a living anywhere? Besides, trading his deputy director position for a younger body seemed like a good deal.

However, the sudden influx of the teenager's emotions made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Survival of the fittest, so he must adapt. Shen Mo told himself.

Once he opened his heart and accepted his new identity, memories of the teenager flooded in. He knew his name was Shen Mo, with the nickname Chao Sheng, and he was thirteen years old. He was the only son of Shen He from Yongchang Fang, Kuaiji County, Shaoxing Prefecture, during the Ming Dynasty.

Speaking of Shen He, he came from a branch of the prominent Shen family in Shaoxing. His family was relatively well-off, and he had received a good education from a young age. At eighteen, he passed the county, prefectural, and provincial exams, becoming a scholar who received monthly grain stipends. A scholar was a literatus, but not all literati were scholars, as only a few top performers received state support.

Becoming a scholar who received state support was a great honor for Shen He's parents.

However, fate turned against him. From the age of nineteen, he failed the autumn exams four times. This was common in the culturally rich Jiang-Zhe region, especially in Shaoxing, where almost every household had children studying. The competition was fierce, and many excellent scholars competed each year.

With limited spots and fierce competition, someone like Shen He would have passed the exams elsewhere, but in Shaoxing, he could only be a supporting character year after year. After his parents passed away, he mourned for five years. By the time he returned to the exams, he was already in his thirties, past his prime.

But Shen He had dedicated his life to studying. What else could he do if he didn't take the exams? He was unwilling to accept failure and tried two more times, but the results were the same. Not only did he waste his best years, but he also depleted his family's wealth, living a very hard life, eating only coarse food and never seeing any meat.

Last summer, Shen He's wife fell ill from heatstroke, and her weak body collapsed. To treat her, he sold their three-story house. The buyer took advantage of his desperation and bought the house, worth a hundred taels, for only forty taels. Shen He, being a scholar, was too proud to borrow from friends and relatives, so he sold the house and rented a cheap small building in a remote alley, settling his family there and seeking medical help for his wife.

Despite spending a lot of money, Shen He's wife's condition worsened, and she passed away in the fall. Shen He used the remaining money to bury her but found that he couldn't even afford the cheapest small building. The two of them had to live in a makeshift hut.

Of course, this was Shen He's refined way of describing it. In reality, they built a small, damp, and narrow hut with bamboo and thatch. Although it was cramped and damp, it was still a shelter.

The family's only income was the six dou of grain stipend from the county school. With careful management, they could barely make ends meet. However, Shen Mo, being a growing boy, had a larger appetite than his father, and the grain was not enough. Shen He had to exchange it for cheaper rice, which gave them nine dou. Shen Mo would then gather wild vegetables and catch mudfish to supplement their diet.

As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. A few days ago, Shen Mo was bitten by a venomous snake while gathering wild vegetables on the mountain. When his friends brought him back, he was already in critical condition.

Shen Mo didn't know what happened next. When he woke up, he found himself in a small attic. Although the room was full of spider webs and had a musty smell, it was better than the leaky, damp, and dark hut.

As he watched a spider spinning its web, Shen Mo heard his father say, "Alright, Chao Sheng, it's time to take your medicine." He was then helped to sit up. Leaning against the pillow, he looked at the man who would now be his father. His father's hair was disheveled, his face pale, with wrinkles around his eyes and bruises on his cheeks and jaw. His long robe was dirty and torn, as if he had been in a fight and lost.

Seeing Shen Mo open his eyes, Shen He's eyes filled with excitement and joy. He said, "We must thank Miss Yin for saving us. Without her help, we would have been separated forever..." Tears welled up in his eyes, and he began to cry.

Seeing his father cry, Shen Mo felt a lump in his throat and wanted to comfort him, but he couldn't speak.

Noticing his expression, Shen He quickly wiped his tears and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Seeing Shen Mo look at the medicine bowl, Shen He said, "I almost forgot." He picked up the bowl, scooped a spoonful of the brown liquid, blew on it, and carefully brought it to Shen Mo's mouth.

Shen Mo wrinkled his nose and took a sip, but it wasn't as bitter as he expected; it was slightly sweet. Seeing his expression ease, Shen He said happily, "You never liked medicine as a child, so I added some apricot honey. The doctor said it would help you recover." He then helped Shen Mo finish the bowl of medicine.

After wiping Shen Mo's mouth with a towel and laying him back down, Shen He let out a long sigh, as if he had completed a major task. He straightened up, put the empty bowl and the chipped bowl on the table, and sat on the stool, bending over and breathing heavily.

Shen Mo watched as his father filled a bowl with hot water, picked up three greenish-yellow soybeans from the chipped bowl, hesitated, and then let two fall back into the bowl, keeping only one.

He examined the soybean for a long time, closed his eyes, and slowly put it in his mouth, chewing it gently, savoring it for a long time.

After a while, Shen He opened his eyes, shook his head, and recited a poem: "Cao E brings the green soybeans, Qian Yu makes the best soy sauce; Dongguan has the best cooks, the soybeans are soft and tender in the mouth."

Shen Mo was embarrassed; he never knew that eating a soybean could bring such happiness.

Seeing his unimpressed expression, Shen He took a sip of water and said, "Chao Sheng, you haven't tasted them. The soybeans are tender but not mushy, soft but not falling apart. They are full of flavor, salty yet fresh, and leave a sweet aftertaste... If you had some yellow wine with them, even the Earth God would want to try them."

'Has the Earth God never had anything good to eat?' Shen Mo rolled his eyes, but Shen He thought he was complaining about not sharing, and quickly explained, "I'm not keeping it to myself. The doctor said you can't eat cold, hot, sour, or hard foods. We'll wait until you're better."

Shen Mo nodded weakly, watching as his father ate the other two soybeans at the same slow pace, wiped his fingers on a cloth, and drank the bowl of water, looking very satisfied. "We've had dinner, so it's time to sleep," he said.

Shen Mo's eyes widened, and Shen He said seriously, "The sage said, 'Three times is enough.' The first time is for tasting, the second for enjoyment, the third for hunger, and any more would be gluttony." He winked and smiled, "Go to sleep." He then blew out the oil lamp and lay on the table to sleep.

Because there was only one single bed in the room...

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There's nothing else to say, just one thing: Let's start a beautiful memory, dear ones, let's go!!!