Chapter 13

The Chen family of five appeals to everyone for recommendation votes, to help Sanjie, as it concerns our lifelong happiness...

---

Fortunately, Sanlang was a naturally optimistic person. Along the way, the reflections of the green bamboo and the dancing water birds made for a truly beautiful scene. Lying on the deck, he listened to the gurgling water under the ship and watched the ever-changing clouds in the high sky, quickly adjusting his mood.

One must always look forward. Since there was no other choice, he had to find ways to improve himself.

Since he was completely unfamiliar with this world, he might as well start with a SWOT analysis. Thinking of this, Sanlang got up, picked up a piece of charcoal, and drew a cross on the deck. In each of the four quadrants, he wrote a Latin letter.

The first represented Strengths, the second represented Weaknesses, the third represented Opportunities, and the fourth represented Threats.

Let's start with the strengths. His fragile little heart needed some comfort. Sanlang thought for a moment and wrote down "Knowledge"... to avoid being understood by others, he used English.

The reason why his adoptive father had stunned the couple was simple: knowledge is power. In this era, knowledge is called knowledge. Why shouldn't the knowledge from the information explosion era also be called knowledge?

He came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine, and had been influenced by his grandfather for about ten years. Later, during his rebellious teenage years, he refused to follow the path set by his parents and joined the military, unfortunately being assigned to the most arduous and exhausting reconnaissance unit. After being discharged, he worked and started businesses, struggling for over a decade in various industries. Before coming to this world, he had already owned a small company with over two hundred employees. Although it wasn't a huge success, he could be considered experienced and versatile.

In English, knowledge inherently carries the meaning of experience. With this knowledge and experience, he believed he could always find a way to make a living.

Next, let's fill in the weaknesses. Sanlang wrote down two words: "Ignorance" and "Impulsiveness."

Ignorance wasn't scary. He was still young, and as long as he kept an open mind, listened, observed, and thought more, he believed he could overcome this in a year or two.

The most critical issue was impulsiveness, a problem carried over from his previous life. He had always been praised for his intelligence, and whatever he learned or did, he mastered quickly and excelled. But why had he wasted so many years? The reason was simple: impulsiveness.

In his youth, he impulsively joined the military. After joining, he had a chance to attend a military academy, but he ended up sending several well-connected hooligans to the hospital for standing up for justice, leaving one of them disabled. They spread lies, accusing him of jealousy, and although the military leadership protected him, his chance to attend the military academy was lost.

In a fit of anger, he was discharged and returned to civilian life. With his personality, he naturally faced many obstacles, but eventually, he smoothed out his rough edges and his life got back on track. Even he thought he wouldn't be impulsive anymore, but when he saw a minivan fall into the water, he jumped in to save people without a second thought...

"Ah, hopeless..." Sanlang rubbed his face in distress. Impulsiveness itself isn't the devil; the lack of understanding of the law is the devil. No matter what, he must not make the same mistake again. It seemed that the most urgent task was to find a criminal code and learn what he couldn't do in the Song Dynasty.

After analyzing internal factors, it was time for external factors. In the box for "Opportunities," he wrote "Good Era." Since he had read medical books from a young age, he naturally read ancient texts. Although his historical knowledge was fragmented, he knew that "the fifth year of Qingli" was during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty... In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was exiled to Baling Prefecture, and the next year, the government was harmonious and all neglected matters were revived, so he rebuilt the Yueyang Tower. Even middle school students know this.

So, this year, Teng Zongliang rebuilt the Yueyang Tower? Unfortunately, he couldn't attend the ceremony. Fan Zhongyan should still be alive... This means that the Northern Song Dynasty was just entering its golden age, with the most benevolent emperor, making it the best era. Although fate had played a cruel trick, being sent to this era and to the Land of Abundance was a hundred times better than being sent to the Five Dynasties or the Yuan Dynasty. What more could he want?

There was another fortunate event that he couldn't tell others: in the ancestral hall, he heard his adoptive father mention the names of his four brothers, "Chen, Ke, Xun, Zao," so he should be called Chen Ke... He had no memory of this name, but he knew the name of the sixth brother, "Chen Zao," very well. Chen Zao, also known as Chen Jichang, was famous for the "River East Lion Roar"! What a close call, what a close call, almost becoming a laughingstock... As for the sixth brother, "Having a fierce wife is like having a treasure," huh, was he being a bit schadenfreude?

People's happiness often comes at the expense of others' misfortune, even if it's just the future misfortune of the sixth brother. Thinking of this, Sanlang felt much more relaxed...

The last item was "Challenges." Without hesitation, he wrote down "Money." Even in the best era, without money, one could still starve to death. From his adoptive father's gentlemanly demeanor, he knew he was a "man who regards money as dung."

Although he was moved and guilty by Chen Xiliang's decision to abandon his wealth to clear his name, Sanlang still had some reservations about his final decision... If he were in his place, he could have extracted every last bit of value from that couple and made them keep quiet. Ah, who could blame a gentleman for not talking about profit? Perhaps in his adoptive father's eyes, money was the least important thing...

He could foresee that in the future, the family of five would suffer from hunger and cold, living out various inspiring stories like "studying by the light of fireflies and snow," "stealing light by drilling a hole in the wall," and "dividing porridge to eat." But this wasn't the life he wanted. He had already suffered enough in his previous life. Just as he was about to start enjoying life, he was thrown here. Was he supposed to suffer again?

"No, absolutely not, I want to enjoy life!" Sanlang shook his head vigorously and vowed to himself, "Living the most satisfying life is the only way to make up for this second chance at life!"

After making his vow, he suddenly felt something strange. Opening his eyes, he saw Chen Xiliang, Chen Erlang, Wulang, and Liulang standing in a row behind him, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Uh, just bored..." Sanlang quickly used his foot to erase the words on the deck: "I was just designing a signature..." He had seen the process of signing a contract and knew that a signature was a kind of ghostly scribble.

"Oh..." Indeed, he fooled the three brothers.

Chen Xiliang, however, felt it wasn't that simple. He looked at Sanlang's strange behavior with concern and decided to find a time to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

---

As the boat approached the county town, it was already dusk. This was the first time Chen Sanlang, now Chen Ke, had seen a town in the Song Dynasty.

Standing at the bow, he looked into the distance and saw a small town nestled among greenery and surrounded by clear water, a picturesque scene. As they got closer, he saw the thousand-year-old banyan trees along the riverbank, the charming stilt houses by the river, the neatly arranged docks, and a tall archway standing on the dock.

In the twilight, he saw that the archway was inscribed with seal script. Chen Ke was trying to decipher it when Chen Xiliang softly said, "It says 'Ancient Shu's Rear Gate.' This is the southern gateway of the ancient Shu Kingdom. Because the agricultural god Qingyi taught the people farming and sericulture, the people revered him, hence the name 'Qingshen County.'" As a father, he always seized every opportunity to teach his children.

"Oh..." Chen Ke nodded, but before he could speak, the boatman said, "Sir, you are a scholar, aren't you? It looks like you're moving to the county town."

"Yes," Chen Xiliang nodded, answering both questions at once.

"Have you found a place to stay yet?" the boatman asked enthusiastically.

Chen Ke became wary of this excessive enthusiasm. From his experience, when someone offered help without a reason, it was usually a scam.

"No," Chen Xiliang replied honestly, "Do you have a place to recommend?"

"I have a small house in the county town, but as you can see, I make a living by running a boat, and I live on the boat with my wife. I was thinking of renting out the house. I don't want to make money; I just don't want it to be empty," the boatman smiled. "When we dock, why don't you come and take a look? If it's suitable, you can rent it. You won't find a cheaper one in the whole town."

"Alright," Chen Xiliang said, "I'll find a inn to settle my sons first, then I'll go with you to see the house."

"Why stay at an inn?" the boatman said enthusiastically, "Just stay at my place."

Sanlang couldn't help but widen his eyes. Were people in the Song Dynasty so热情好客 (hospitable)? But, who looks at a house at night? Isn't that like looking at a beauty under a lamp, unreliable? Besides, going to see a house without asking about the price... was that appropriate? Given his understanding of his adoptive father, he was afraid it would end badly.

But now he was a ten-year-old child, and he had no right to speak when adults were talking.

The boat docked at the pier, and workers unloaded the cargo. The boatman enthusiastically found a cart, helped load the luggage, and even offered to push the cart for them. This made Chen Xiliang, who was already grateful, feel even more indebted, and he thanked the boatman repeatedly along the way.

Chen Ke held his younger brothers' hands and followed his father and brother through the thousand-year-old town, curiously looking around. The county town was small, with streets neatly arranged along the river, and several north-south streets running through it. The cobblestone roads were ancient and elegant, making one feel very grounded.

By now, it was dark, and the shops on both sides of the street had their wooden shutters up, with light seeping through the gaps, soft and warm. After the main street, they entered the alleys, and to Chen Ke's surprise, every household had lanterns hanging at their doors, even though it wasn't a festival. The various shapes and brightness of the lanterns illuminated the night path for the latecomers. Although not very bright, it was touching.

---

There has been a lot of debate in the book review section about Chen Xiliang's age. According to the information I have, he has two birth years: 1014 and 999, a difference of 15 years. The reason for this is simple: after a thousand years, the capital has fallen twice, and the records have become chaotic.

I chose the former for storytelling purposes. Although this person is famous in history, he never reached the center of national power and had no significant impact on history. Therefore, his age and the timing of his appearance do not affect the course of history.

When I say I have done serious research, it is about the characters' backgrounds, personalities, social customs, institutional systems, and historical truths... Of course, I don't have the ability to do it perfectly, but I try my best.

<a href="