Chapter 2

In the rear garden of a large mansion on South Street in Songjiang Prefecture during the fourth year of the Zhengde era,

“Heyo~ heyo...”

In the biting cold, a group of laborers, bare-chested, were drenched in sweat as they strained to pull up a massive rock, several tons in weight. The numerous wooden pulleys groaned under the strain, “creak~ creak~,” but with the laborers’ desperate efforts, the heavy rock slowly lifted off the ground.

At this moment, a specially prepared flat cart was immediately pushed under the rock. The laborers then slowly loosened the ropes, carefully placing the rock onto the cart. They then began to pull the cart’s ropes, slowly moving it out of the garden.

“Be careful, this rock is worth several hundred taels of silver. If it breaks, not only can you not afford to pay, but I’ll have to jump into the river too!” A young man in a moon-white robe walked into the garden and, seeing the laborers pushing the cart, immediately broke into a bright smile and said.

The young man looked more like a teenager, as he appeared to be only about fifteen or sixteen years old, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, making him very handsome. However, there was a maturity in his eyes that did not belong to his age, making people feel that he was older than he actually was.

“Don’t worry, Young Master Zhou. These dozen brothers are all strong and will definitely not damage your property!” The foreman, seeing the young man’s enthusiastic and friendly demeanor, also laughed heartily.

“Hey, don’t call me Young Master anymore. Now, who in Songjiang Prefecture doesn’t know that our Zhou family’s business has collapsed, and I’ve sold everything we had? I’m now penniless. In a few days, I might have to ask you for a living!” The young man, known as Young Master Zhou, laughed again.

The foreman hurriedly exchanged a few pleasantries, but seeing the young man’s cheerful appearance, he secretly wondered: Everyone says Young Master Zhou was a prodigy who passed the scholar examination at a young age, but now that the Zhou family’s business has collapsed and they are heavily in debt, no matter when I see him, he always has a smile on his face. Could it be that, after his father’s death and the family’s bankruptcy, Young Master Zhou has gone mad?

Zhou Chong, whose real name was Wang Jie, did not care about the foreman’s suspicions. He thought he would surely drown after falling into the sea, but unexpectedly, when he opened his eyes, he found himself in the Ming Dynasty, several hundred years ago, and had become a wealthy young master. Unfortunately, he was not born to be a young master, and just a few days after taking on this role, he received the tragic news that his father’s ship had encountered a storm, resulting in the ship’s destruction and his father’s death.

The death of his father was not a big issue, as this new Zhou Chong had no real memories of his father. However, the ship had been carrying a significant amount of cargo, and the Zhou family’s business had been heavily in debt for this voyage. Now, with the cargo lost, the creditors were all at the door demanding repayment.

Zhou Chong was the only son and heir of the Zhou family, and his mother had passed away long ago. He had two younger half-sisters, but they were from his father’s concubines. Now, he was the only man in the family who could take charge. Faced with this situation, Zhou Chong had no choice but to step forward.

Zhou Chong’s father, Zhou Hai, was a newcomer to Songjiang Prefecture, having moved there about ten years ago. Zhou Hai was a merchant who owned many shops and, with the relaxation of the maritime ban, had secretly engaged in smuggling. This was not unique to the Zhou family; many wealthy families in Songjiang Prefecture were involved in smuggling to some extent.

Zhou Hai had accumulated a vast fortune through his business, becoming one of the wealthiest men in Songjiang Prefecture. However, he did not want his son to follow in his footsteps. In the Ming Dynasty, the proper path was to study and pass the imperial examinations. Therefore, he had his son, Zhou Chong, study from a young age and hired renowned tutors to teach him. Zhou Chong lived up to expectations, being exceptionally intelligent and quick to learn, earning him the title of a prodigy. He even passed the scholar examination at the age of fourteen.

Just as everyone thought the Zhou family would produce a scholar and possibly even an official, the young Zhou Chong fell seriously ill, fainting several times and nearly dying. When he finally awoke, the original Zhou Chong had been replaced by the soul of a young man from the 21st century named Wang Jie.

After Zhou Hai’s accidental death, the Zhou family faced a dramatic change. If it had been the original prodigy Zhou Chong, he would have been unable to handle the situation and might have been driven to suicide by the creditors. However, this new Zhou Chong was different. He was originally Wang Jie, who had lost his parents in a car accident during high school. He had worked hard and eventually graduated from a second-tier university with a degree in computer science. He had a decent job at an IT company in Shanghai, even buying a small house with a mortgage. Life seemed promising.

Unfortunately, Wang Jie had a falling out with his boss over the harassment of female employees and his status as an “outsider.” In a fit of anger, he beat up his boss, lost his job, and was detained for a while. After his release, he struggled to find a new job for months. Desperate and with mounting debts, he turned to the gray market, doing jobs like security, debt collection, and smuggling. These jobs, though not respectable, paid well and even better than his previous job.

Wang Jie’s goal was simple: pay off his mortgage, save some money, and then find a legitimate job or start a small business. He also wanted to find a girlfriend, get married, and have children. This was his ordinary dream.

However, during a smuggling job, a conflict between the buyer and seller erupted, and Wang Jie, despite his martial skills, was kicked into the water and drowned. When he awoke, he found himself in the Ming Dynasty, as the prodigious young master Zhou Chong, but with a servant’s fate. Within days, he became a bankrupt young master.

With his past life’s experience, Zhou Chong, though lacking the original Zhou Chong’s talent, handled the family’s debts with great efficiency. He had already paid off a lifetime of debt in his previous life, so he remained calm. The creditors, though fierce, were nothing compared to the relentless banks of his past life.

First, Zhou Chong arranged his father’s funeral and then inventoried the family’s assets and debts. He discovered that the debts slightly exceeded the family’s assets, meaning that after paying off the debts, the Zhou family would not only be left with nothing but would also owe more.

Although this discovery was disheartening, life must go on. Zhou Chong sold or mortgaged the family’s properties, including the mansion’s contents, such as the rock from the garden, which was worth several hundred taels of silver, and the women’s jewelry, managed by his half-sister’s mother, Lady Zhao.

Thinking of this, Zhou Chong walked toward the inner quarters. His father had four concubines: Lady Wang, who had his eldest sister, Zhuo’er; Lady Zhao, who had his youngest sister, Duo’er; and two young sisters, Lady Han, who were in their twenties and had not yet had children.

Lady Wang, though the first to enter the household, was unsuitable for managing the household due to her simple and honest nature. Lady Zhao, a former courtesan, was shrewd and capable, and had been managing the inner quarters since her arrival.

The Zhou family’s mansion, once the most luxurious in Songjiang Prefecture, was now in disrepair. The antiques and vases used for decoration had been sold to pay off debts, and even the marble carvings on the roof had been removed and sold. The entire mansion, except for the land and the people, had been liquidated to pay off debts.

Despite selling everything, the debts were still not fully paid. The remaining debts, though not large, were still a burden. The Zhou family had no income, as all their shops and land had been sold.

Worse still, Zhou Chong now had to support four concubines and two half-sisters, a total of six mouths to feed, which was much more challenging than supporting himself alone.

These troubles would have overwhelmed anyone, but Zhou Chong, though initially saddened by the loss of his brief life as a young master, remained optimistic. For him, this was a second chance at life. He had already died once, and now he was given a new life in someone else’s body. It was only fair that he would lose some of the original Zhou Chong’s possessions.

Moreover, he still had a large mansion, far better than the small apartment he had in his previous life, and the land was his, free from the worries of a 70-year lease. He also had a family, including Lady Wang, who treated him like a son, and two adorable half-sisters, one a four-year-old and the other a thirteen-year-old, who adored him.

Thinking of his past, where he lost his parents at fifteen and never felt the warmth of a family again, Zhou Chong felt deeply grateful. This second chance at life, with a warm, albeit incomplete, family, made him feel very content.

Zhou Chong quickly walked through the front courtyards, the only sound being the biting cold. The servants had been dismissed, making the mansion feel empty and lifeless. If it were night, a timid person might be afraid to stay here.

However, as he approached the small courtyard where Lady Zhao lived, he suddenly heard sobbing from the main hall.