Chapter 31: The Tide of Rebirth, We Support You! (Part 1)

  He ate two slices of watermelon with relish and wiped his mouth silently, saying: "Young Master..."

  "You've already addressed me as 'County Magistrate Li'." County Magistrate Li smiled warmly and said, "From now on, just call me Mr. Li." Only students who had entered the imperial academy were allowed to address the county magistrate as "Mr.", and now he was allowing Shen Mo, a young student, to do so, which was indeed a great honor.

  With a silent and grateful expression, he smiled and said: "The master has called his disciple here, I wonder what instructions there are?"

  "Oh, it's about the matter of Yao Changzi." County Magistrate Li nodded and said: "I've sent a letter to Shanyin County asking for their assistance in the rescue. However, because the Tiger Head Society has great power and is deeply entrenched, Shanyin County is also very afraid. Their county magistrate, Lv Zhi, only agreed to mediate and doesn't want to easily tear off the facade."

  He nodded silently, not saying a word. Then Li County Magistrate continued: "Later, they sent a message over, saying that we must release the person first, and then they will let go." He said with his eyebrows tightly locked: "Well, if it were before, I would have secretly released him at night, but now the county is in an uproar, and the common people are all shouting to make Yimeng County look good. If this official rashly releases the person, it's no different from admitting weakness, and the people won't agree."

  Shen Mo nodded, but in his heart he was rolling his eyes and thinking: "This is utter nonsense." It's clear that this Mr. Li has become a political novice, deceiving himself with empty words. In fact, if they had released Wang Erhu under the pretext of rescuing the righteous men of the county, no one would have been able to say anything about it.

  The reason why Magistrate Li said so is that he himself did not want to release him.

  He didn't bother to investigate the reason, nor would he argue with him. It's a timeless truth that you can't outsmart your elders. He could only be patient, keep smiling, and wait for this old fool to reveal his true intentions.

  "The two sides were at an impasse," said Li Xianling with a pretentious tone, "so the county magistrate of Shanyin suggested following the old rules."

  "Old rules?" Shen Mo asked softly: "The student does not know."

  "The Huai Mountain is shaded, and the lips and teeth are interdependent. It's hard to avoid bumps in between, sometimes involving two county yamens, which can't be judged or mediated effectively." County Magistrate Li explained: "The two counties let the disputing parties discuss a way out, compete with each other, and the loser must satisfy the winner's demands."

  "Oh..." Shen Mo nodded slightly and asked in a low voice: "What are the specific details?" He felt that this might also be a way to resolve the issue.

  "A literary duel or a martial duel." County Magistrate Li took a sip of turtle jelly, and explained to Shen Mo: "A literary duel is a battle of wits, not strength. You can solve riddles, exchange couplets, and pose difficult questions. As long as you don't resort to violence, anything goes. A martial duel, on the other hand, is a battle of strength, not wits. We'll sign a life-and-death agreement, go outside the city, and find a place to fight it out. Life or death will be decided then." With a smile all over his face, he said: "I'm giving you the right to choose first. You can decide which one you want."

  "Is there even a need to vote?" Shen Mo said weakly: "I can't beat them." This is simply a naked rape of public opinion.

  "That's choosing a literary duel." Seeing Shen Mo nod, Li County Magistrate said in a deep voice: "You've chosen the method, how to compare is up to them, you can only follow along."

  He nodded silently and said, "I'll go next."

  Magistrate Li patted his palm and laughed: "Alright, you can go back now. Wait for this official's notice at any time."

  Shenmo continued to nod silently and said in a low voice: "What about the safety of the eldest son?"

  "Don't worry." County Magistrate Li waved his hand and said, "Before the result of the trial comes out, he won't be harmed. That's the rule."

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  News of the upcoming contest between Shanyin County's Hu Touhui and Kuaiji County's Xiao Tongsheng spread quickly throughout all of Shaoxing.

  At that time, on the streets, in the ferry boats, in tea houses and wine shops, regardless of men, women, old or young, people were all passionately discussing this matter... Compared to how the emperor cultivated his Tao, or how extravagantly the prime minister lived, although this matter was insignificant, it won out for being within reach, more vivid and lively.

  The Hu Tou Hui is the largest gang in Shanyin County, with its influence extending to all docks and casinos in western Shaoxing. It's said that there are over 200 brothers in the gang, and its leader, Wang Lao Hu, is a figure so feared that even children stop crying at the mention of his name.

  But what people are more concerned about is the life of that young boy who was almost crushed by the wheelbarrow. They inquired one after another, wondering where this young man came from and what made him so special. Could he really create miracles? With the example of Qingteng from Shanyin, they didn't dare to look down on the young man too much.

  But this support is just talk, everyone knows that people like Xu Wenqing are rare, appearing only once every 500 years, how can they be allowed to appear in Shaoxing City again?

  This mentality is clearly reflected in the odds offered by the casinos... The largest casino in Shanyin offers Tiger Head a payout of 1:1, while offering Xiao Tongsheng a high payout of 1:5. The large casino on the other side of Kuaiji also offers Tiger Head a payout of 1:1, but gives Xiao Tongsheng a slightly more favorable payout of 1:4, as a token of respect for his fellow townsman.

  Note that according to the rules of this casino at this time, the payout already includes the principal amount of the bet, so when calculating profit, you need to subtract the principal amount. In other words, if it's a 1:1 payout, the gambler doesn't even make a penny.

  This means that betting on the Tiger Head Association is temporarily not accepted. In the future, as the situation changes, it may be possible to raise the odds and accept bets, but a greater possibility is that betting on the Tiger Head Association will never be accepted.

  The casino is a den of gold, not a charity hall. They won't do business that's guaranteed to lose... They're well-informed and before giving out odds, they'll naturally conduct an investigation. In the end, they found out that this time's trial was set by Tiger Head and it was three questions in a row. As long as Little Tong couldn't answer one of them, he would be considered defeated.

  Considering the great strength of Hu Tou, it's no wonder that designing three tricky and difficult problems is not a problem at all. How could that little kid possibly win? That's why such a strange opening appeared.

  One-sided odds blocked the gamblers' bets, but did not affect people's enthusiasm. Soon they turned to discuss whether Xiaotong Sheng could solve the first question. Due to lack of basis, the casino temporarily cannot set up a disk, but they have promised that as long as they get the puzzle, they will definitely open reasonable odds for reference by parents and relatives.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Shen Family Grand Courtyard

  Outside, people were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the trial, and they were all guessing about the identity of the little boy. However, Shen Mo, who was on the attic inside the courtyard, remained calm and composed, completely unaware that he had become a hot topic. He sat on a small stool beside his father's bed, fanning him with one hand and holding a copy of "Water Margin" in the other, reading it with great interest.

  Shen He, who was lying in bed, was very tense and couldn't find a comfortable position no matter how he turned over. Finally, he couldn't help but ask: "Chao Sheng, are you sure?"

  "I don't know what to compare it to," Shen Mo said, seeing the part about 'Ximen Qing seducing Pan Jinlian', and casually replied: "I have no idea if I can grasp it." But in his heart, he was thinking: "I wonder if 'Jin Ping Mei' has been published yet? Yesterday I asked Shen Jing, but that kid didn't react at all, probably because it hasn't been published yet." He thought about whether he should write it first and make a fortune... He really couldn't wait to escape his current poverty.

  But then he thought of Shi Nai'an, Pu Songling and Cao Xueqin, all of whom were as poor as church mice, with some even starving their children to death. It was only then that he remembered people didn't have a concept of copyright back then, so whenever a new book came out, pirated copies would flood the market in no time.

  Alas, readers all went to read pirated copies, and no one supported the authors. These writers would only end up starving to death. He then gave up on the idea of writing "Jin Ping Mei" and "Dream of the Red Chamber" together to make money.

  Division line

  I have a runny nose, sore throat and feel uncomfortable all over. I'll go to bed early tonight and hope I'll be better tomorrow.

  It is said that collecting and recommending votes can cure illnesses with remarkable efficacy.