Chapter 001: The Son of a Dog Butcher

In the third year of the Jingyou era, during the height of summer, at noon.

The streets of Tianchang County were sparsely populated, with few pedestrians. Although the shops along the street were open, they had no customers. The shop assistants, knowing that there would be no business at this time, either dozed off at the counters or lazily fanned away the flies.

The distant chirping of cicadas could be heard, somewhat noisy but not unpleasant.

A well-built, handsome man in a coarse blue robe had been hesitating under a willow tree opposite the county office for quite some time, seemingly unsure whether to enter the county office.

Two bailiffs stood at the entrance of the county office, chatting intermittently and occasionally bursting into laughter.

"Isn't that Hu Lang, the son of the dog butcher Hua Xingyi from East Street? What is he doing under the willow tree?"

"Didn't you know? The dog butcher Hua Xingyi is sick and can no longer butcher dogs. He doesn't even have money for treatment. It seems Hu Lang is here to beg the county magistrate for some money to treat his father."

"If Hua Xingyi can't butcher dogs, isn't there still his son Hu Lang? Why doesn't he butcher dogs to earn money for his father's treatment?"

"He? Hu Lang? Heh heh, you don't know. I heard he only reads the classics, hoping to one day achieve fame and return home in glory. Asking a scholar to butcher dogs, isn't that a joke?"

The two bailiffs were joking, seemingly laughing at Hu Lang being the son of a dog butcher, or at his inability to butcher dogs. However, regardless of what they were laughing at, they didn't take the matter seriously. What did other people's suffering have to do with them? It was just something to talk about when they were bored.

Hu Lang didn't know the bailiffs were talking about him. He idly snapped a willow branch and beat the tree trunk, thinking about the events of the past half month, which left him with many mixed feelings.

He was not actually Hu Lang but a private detective from the 21st century. He had died during a case investigation and his soul had traveled back in time to the Northern Song Dynasty, possessing the body of a man named Hu Lang. This Hu Lang was a bookish scholar, usually very reserved and lacking in interests.

Now that Hua Xingyi was seriously ill, Hu Lang was trying to borrow money to buy medicine. However, the neighbors knew he was a bookworm and believed he would never amount to anything, so they refused to lend him money. In desperation, he decided to seek help from the county magistrate, Zhou Siping.

Normally, the county magistrate wouldn't deal with such matters, but Hu Lang, who had traveled through time, heard from his sister Hua Wan'er that he was engaged to Zhou Siping's daughter, Zhou Ting. However, he didn't know why a son of a dog butcher would be engaged to the county magistrate's daughter.

Regardless of how the engagement came about, now that Hua Xingyi was ill, he thought it shouldn't be a problem to ask his future father-in-law for some money.

However, when Hu Lang arrived at the county office, he didn't dare to enter. First, he was not very familiar with the situation at home and feared being exposed by Zhou Siping. Second, he didn't know what kind of person Zhou Siping was. If he was like the neighbors and refused to help, it would be very embarrassing.

In his previous life, he was a well-respected detective and had never begged for help. Now, doing such things was quite difficult for him.

But thinking of his sick father, Hu Lang felt very uneasy. Although he was not actually Hua Xingyi's son, since he was using his body, he felt he should do what a son should do.

The weather was unbearably hot, and Hu Lang's back was drenched in sweat. He wiped the sweat with his sleeve, threw away the willow branch, and thought, "Damn it, I'm going all out today."

With this in mind, Hu Lang quickly walked to the county office. Upon reaching the entrance, he bowed to the two bailiffs and said, "Please inform County Magistrate Zhou that Hu Lang wishes to see him."

The two bailiffs looked at each other with interest after hearing Hu Lang's words. Then one of them asked, "Do you have a grievance?"

Hu Lang was momentarily confused and replied, "No, I don't have a grievance."

The bailiff sneered, "If you don't have a grievance, how can you just see the county magistrate?"

Hu Lang was taken aback. He didn't expect it to be so difficult to see the county magistrate. However, since he had already decided to go all out, he wouldn't give up halfway. He stepped forward and said firmly, "County Magistrate Zhou is my father-in-law. Can I not see my own father-in-law?"

After hearing this, the two bailiffs burst into laughter. They had never heard that the county magistrate's daughter was engaged to anyone. Now, this fool Hu Lang was claiming that Zhou Siping was his father-in-law. How could they not laugh?

Seeing their reaction, Hu Lang was very angry. While the bailiffs were still mocking him, he suddenly said coldly, "If you don't believe me, why don't you report this to County Magistrate Zhou? We'll see if I am engaged to Miss Zhou Ting. If not, you can drive me away. But if I am, what about the two of you?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear. If what Hu Lang said was true, then the two bailiffs would be offending the county magistrate's son-in-law. Although the son-in-law wasn't a powerful person, offending him would mean offending the county magistrate. As mere gatekeepers, they dared not offend the county magistrate.

Hearing this, the two bailiffs stopped laughing. They hadn't expected this bookish Hu Lang to say such things. They had seen Hu Lang before and always thought of him as a fool, a bookworm.

But today's words were not something a bookworm could say.

After a moment of hesitation, the two bailiffs exchanged glances, and one of them hurriedly ran into the county office.

Soon, the bailiff returned and came to Hu Lang. His attitude didn't improve, but he said, "The county magistrate agrees to see you. Follow me into the office."

Seeing the bailiff's expression, Hu Lang was disappointed, but he was also relieved that the county magistrate agreed to see him. He quickly followed into the back courtyard of the county office.

When Hu Lang entered the living room, he found someone already seated, a slightly plump man with a stern look. He didn't stand up when he saw Hu Lang but said coldly, "Nephew Hua, what brings you to see this county magistrate?"

His tone wasn't very friendly, but Hu Lang still felt hopeful. From these words, he could tell that Zhou Siping had acknowledged his engagement to Zhou Ting. Since he acknowledged it, borrowing money should be easier.