Chapter 1: Determined to Become a Profligate Young Master

“So disgusting!”
Carrying the slop, Ying Shuo stuffed two blades of grass up his nose, feeling as if he were smelling manure.
“Wait, wasn’t I supposed to transmigrate and become someone important? Everyone else becomes princes or emperors, so why did I end up a destitute scholar?”
The Qin Yang Dynasty he had crossed into was almost identical to the China of history.
His original body came from a peasant family. Even when his parents were alive, they were dirt poor—only during the New Year could they afford to eat steamed wheat buns and gnaw on a piece of meat.
On ordinary days, wild vegetables with coarse cornbread were already considered lucky.
As for delicacies like rice and boiled eggs, those were treats reserved for landlords and government officials.
Remembering the steaks, barbecues, and fine liquor he’d enjoyed in the modern city, Ying Shuo wished he could slap himself awake.
“If only this were just a dream!”
Suddenly, a harsh, shrewish voice rang out, “Ying Shuo!”
“What are you good for? Look at Old Man Xu—he’s over fifty, yet he can carry two buckets of water for ten miles without losing his breath.
“But you? A young, strapping lad who wastes an entire morning carrying two buckets of slop, panting like you’ll pass out.
“Compared to you, Old Man Xu is as nimble as a deer!”
Inwardly, Ying Shuo cursed at Aunt Liu: “If I didn’t owe your family ten taels of silver, would I have to suffer this wretched woman’s abuse?”
Aunt Liu was broad and fleshy, her face a mass of jowls; suddenly her expression changed as she eyed Ying Shuo’s handsome face and appraised his body from head to toe.
She grinned, revealing crooked teeth. “Actually, paying back what you owe us is easy!”
“All you have to do is keep me company…”
Before she could finish, Ying Shuo immediately hugged himself protectively.
His looks were the only asset he had left—he couldn’t let them be ruined here!
“I’ve delivered the slop, as agreed—ten copper coins!”
Seeing his reaction, Aunt Liu didn’t press her luck. She casually tossed five coins on the ground.
“This isn’t right!” Ying Shuo instantly saw there were only five coins.
“What’s wrong?” Aunt Liu didn’t look back as she strode into the manor, replying over her shoulder, “You’ve owed us money for so long—shouldn’t we collect some interest?”
“Charging you five coins interest is already generous!”
“You!” Ying Shuo was indignant, wanting to argue his case.
But the Liu family’s two gate guards instantly crossed their arms, blocking his way.
“Hm? Not satisfied?” Aunt Liu lifted her brow mockingly.
“I’ll tell you this—you have at most five days. If you can’t pay back what you owe, don’t even think about getting the travel permit for the imperial examination!”
“Just resign yourself to a lifetime of hard labor for me!”
What?
At these words, Ying Shuo almost fainted from rage.
The only reason he owed the Liu family money was because his predecessor had been set up: after getting drunk, he’d unknowingly written an IOU and sealed it with his fingerprint.
In fact, none of it had ever happened!
But the county magistrate in Qingfeng County was a bully who sided with the powerful and often mingled with the Liu family. He insisted Ying Shuo owed them money and even confiscated his travel permit.
All for the sake of extorting money from him!

“Damn the Liu family! There are only five months left before the capital’s exams. I must reserve three months for travel; I’d already thought it a miracle if I could repay ten taels within two months.
“But now you force me to produce ten taels in five days? That’s as good as killing me!”
In these times, ten taels of silver equaled a whole year’s earnings for an average family!
Thinking of this, Ying Shuo glared at Aunt Liu with venom.
Since you want to force me to my death, I’ll make sure to take a bite out of you before I go!
“What are you looking at? Don’t give me that look, boy…”
“Don’t come any closer!”
“Beat him to death!”
Aunt Liu, seeing the fury in Ying Shuo’s eyes, had meant to mock him further.
But Ying Shuo suddenly lunged, wild and fierce as if he meant to devour her alive!
Luckily, the two gate guards were at her side!
The sturdy guards quickly subdued the defenseless Ying Shuo, pinning him to the ground.
“I’ll never let you off, even if I die!” Ying Shuo, face bruised and battered, still struggled with all his might.
Aunt Liu merely sneered, “Oh my, Ying Shuo, you’ve grown a backbone?”
“Too bad you have no power—courage alone means nothing! I won’t let you die; you still owe me hard labor!”
With that, Aunt Liu kicked him, slammed the gate, and departed with a mocking laugh.
“Ow!”
Ying Shuo was sent tumbling down the steps by Aunt Liu’s kick, rolling several times and splitting his head open.
He wiped at the blood with his hand, accidentally smearing it across his ancestral jade pendant.
A strange warmth flowed through him, and at the same time, a screen appeared in his mind.

[Congratulations, Host, on becoming the Prodigal of a Poor Household.]
[As long as you squander money, act eccentric, and behave arrogantly, you will earn mysterious coins.]
[Mysterious coins can be used for lotteries and shopping.]
Scrolling down, there was even a Mystery Center, Mystery Shop, and Lottery Center!
His coin balance was also displayed—currently five, a starter bonus.
“Oh, a golden finger?” Ying Shuo’s eyes gleamed, and he eagerly tapped into the Mystery Shop.
[Insufficient mysterious coins. Unable to access the Mystery Shop for purchases at this time.]
Ying Shuo: “???”
What the—! Are you kidding me?
He had no choice but to open the Lottery Center instead.
Thankfully, the Lottery Center was operational—a wheel of fortune.
“Half a catty of pork jerky, a pound of beef jerky, half a tael of silver, one extra mysterious coin… a hundred taels of gold! And a tattered book called the ‘Classic of the Green Pouch’?”
Ying Shuo ignored the rest, focusing solely on the hundred taels of gold!

“Heaven help me—one chance in thirty. It’s possible! Surely all my bad luck was spent crossing over…”
Ying Shuo knelt on the spot, pressed his palms together, and prayed to the heavens. The gate guards, watching the scene, thought he’d gone mad.
“There we go, another one’s lost his mind. If he can’t work, will they dock our pay?”
“Nonsense! If I can beat him stupid, I can beat him back to his senses!”
With that, the two of them broke into mocking laughter.
Ying Shuo paid them no mind.
Once I win a hundred taels of gold, why would I care about your ten-tael debt?
By then, you’ll be begging me for mercy!
With this beautiful hope, Ying Shuo spent two mysterious coins on a spin.
“A hundred taels of gold, a hundred taels of gold…”
The wheel spun rapidly.
Soon, the pointer landed on a pound of beef jerky.
Ying Shuo accepted it with equanimity; after all, a pound of beef jerky was worth its weight in gold to him right now!
He hadn’t eaten meat in over a year!
He chose not to claim it yet, storing it in the Mystery Center, then began his next spin.
The wheel spun again.
Ying Shuo kept praying for a hundred taels of gold.
The pointer stopped, and what appeared before him was…
“The Classic of the Green Pouch? That tattered book? No thanks!”
Just as Ying Shuo was fretting, the book emitted a green light and promptly merged into his mind and body.
He was flooded with intricate medical knowledge, profound and unfathomable, and at the same time, his injuries began to heal rapidly.
A gentle force welled up within him, nourishing his body, and Ying Shuo felt boundless strength course through his limbs.
“Green Pouch medicine? With such mastery, I could easily be a living medical sage!”
Ying Shuo’s gloom turned to joy; in this age of primitive medicine, being skilled in the healing arts was a prized talent, allowing him to travel the land without fear.
Ordinary people eat grains—who doesn’t suffer illness or injury?
“Move! Out of the way!”
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the street.
A crazed horse was rampaging down the road, with a delicate young lady clinging to its back.
It seemed the horse had been startled, and the rider, unable to control it, was charging wildly through the street.
To make matters worse, the horse was heading straight for Ying Shuo!