HomeGuardians of the DafengChapter 16: Xu Qi An's Diary

Chapter 16: Xu Qi An’s Diary

“Today is the Year of the Rat, Month of Bingxu, Day of Jiawu… What a mess. In the past, I would’ve been completely confused. Fortunately, I inherited the original owner’s memories.

“According to my calculations, it should be the Year of the Rat, October 18th in the solar calendar. Well, I’m going to start keeping a diary. After all, I’m not exactly a proper person.

“Second Uncle was right; I need to change my way of living.

“In this dog-shit society, rising too high isn’t necessarily a good thing. Throughout history, many high-ranking officials have had their property confiscated. Who can live a comfortable life? After some research, I’ve concluded it’s the middle class.

“More affluent than ordinary people, yet not involved in high-level power struggles. Taking small losses in daily life is bearable; people in this class live the most comfortably.

“Also: Today, I found one qian of silver in the marketplace.”

“October 19th, Overcast. I must have money. In this world, gold is more reliable than silver. Although merchants have no status, I suppose there are pros and cons. I plan to resign in a few days. I won’t be a constable at the yamen anymore. With a monthly salary of two taels of silver and one dan of rice, when could I ever afford to sleep with a top courtesan at the Imperial Music Bureau?”

“October 20th, Overcast. I won’t rush to resign; I’ll set up my business first. Today, I saw colleagues using their badges to extort merchants. It didn’t sit well with me. But I know this is the norm in society. Heh, if it were the old me, I would’ve immediately spoken out in righteous anger. Life has worn away my edges. When you can’t change anything, learn to stay silent.

“Also: Today, I found one qian of silver at the yamen.”

“October 21st, Sunny. Today, Chief Wang took me to a brothel. My impression of brothels has changed; it’s a place for listening to music, watching plays, and the union of body and soul. I’m still in the Essence Refining realm, so I can’t lose my virginity. I’m quite melancholic about it.

“After looking around, I didn’t see anyone prettier than my aunt. Aunt is the type of voluptuous beauty who carries herself with natural dignity, a beautiful married woman from a good family. The women in the brothel are too flirtatious, with a strong air of worldliness.

“Looking at it this way, little sister Lingyue and Aunt are quite attractive.

“Then, I found one qian of silver in the brothel, just enough to pay for listening to music and eating… Have I been having a streak of good luck lately?”

“October 22nd, Listened to music at the brothel.”

“October 23rd, Listened to music at the brothel.”

“October 24th, Listened to music at the brothel. Chief Wang asked why I was so happy? Because freeloading makes me happy.”

“October 25th, Xu Qi An, oh Xu Qi An, how could you fall so low? This can’t go on. Have you forgotten your goal? Let’s set a small goal first: earn 100 million.”

“October 26th, Listened to music at the brothel.”

“October 27th, Listened to music at the brothel. Today I didn’t find any silver; I paid one qian for the services. Tsk, what a den of iniquity. I’m never coming back.”

“October 28th, This world has gunpowder and firearms. They even have soap, and it works surprisingly well. So much for my soap-making plan. I hate alchemists. Oh right, glass!

“I could make glass. It’s a great product; these ancient people surely haven’t seen it before.”

“October 29th, Oh, they have glass too. I need to find another way. Today I found Second Uncle’s secret stash at home, one qian of silver.”

“October 30th, Listened to music at the brothel.”

“October 31st, Today I came up with another money-making plan. I could improve my paper-making. With the flourishing culture in the Da Feng dynasty, if I can make better paper, I’ll be rolling in money, eating the best food, and sleeping with the most beautiful courtesans.

“Let me think, the paper-making process is… (entire section crossed out).

“Alright, no need to dwell on trivial matters like paper. I have a better idea: making cement.

“I know the components of cement: calcium carbonate, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, iron oxide… mixed according to specific physical and chemical standards. Hmm, today I found one qian of silver in the marketplace.

“??? What’s going on? Am I finding money too frequently? This makes me uneasy.”

“November 2nd, The cement plan failed. Theoretical knowledge and practical skills are two different things. Damn, it’s too real.”

“November 3rd, I’ve used up all my savings these past few days. Tried to borrow money from Second Uncle, but that poor fellow had no money either. When Xu Xinnian found out, he first expressed his disdain, then mocked me, and finally gave me five taels of silver… Despite being a bit sharp-tongued and proud, my cousin is not bad. ‘If heaven hadn’t born me, Xu Xinnian, the Da Feng dynasty would be in eternal darkness’… That’s how I retorted. Xu Xinnian left in a huff, his face red.

“Ah, Second Brother, if we weren’t sworn brothers, I’d make you the female lead.”

“November 5th, Today I went to a teahouse with fellow constables from the yamen to slack off. It was my first time hearing a storyteller. I suddenly thought, that if I could write out the martial arts novels, the Four Great Classical Novels, and web novels from the future, I could make money while lying down. I’m such a clever little one.

“Found another qian of silver today. Now I have money for the brothel tomorrow.”

“November 7th, I was too damn naive. A novel has hundreds of thousands of words; how could I write it all out with a brush? Well, I could make charcoal pencils, but… but I can’t remember the content of the novels!

“It’s been ten days since I transmigrated, and I’ve achieved nothing. Ahhh, I’m going to crack!”

“November 8th, Rainy, just like my current mood. I seem to know a little about everything, but when it comes to actually turning that knowledge into silver, to creating something from nothing, I find I’m still lacking in many ways. I’ve truly experienced the failure of exam-oriented education.

“Today I chatted with Second Uncle. He told me a lot about officialdom, and combining that with what I’ve seen and heard as a constable at the yamen, I suddenly realized this world is worse than I imagined. Corrupt officials run rampant; those who only take small bribes are considered good officials. Honest officials are rarer than virgins in brothels.”

“November 9th, Cloudy. Why hasn’t Miss Caiwei from the Imperial Observatory come to find me yet? Doesn’t she want to obtain the legendary alchemy secrets? That girl’s looks are no worse than little sister Lingyue’s. With her cute and lively oval face, and those big beautiful eyes, using my refined flirting skills, I might be able to win her over. It doesn’t matter if she’s the Astrology Chief’s disciple; what matters is finding love in this cold society.

“Come find me soon, I don’t want to struggle anymore.”

“November 10th, I still can’t let go of the novel plan. So I told my two little sisters the general plot of ‘Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai’. The story was quite rudimentary, as I’d forgotten many details. After hearing it, little sister Lingyue’s eyes were red, but Lingyin didn’t cry. I punched her once, and then she cried. I think this is what she should experience at her age.”

“November 11th, Today I drank with Registrar Li. In his tipsy state, he said the Northern Garrison King’s consort is the most beautiful woman in the current dynasty. I asked him how beautiful it was, but he couldn’t describe it because he had only heard it from the County Magistrate.

“In the evening, after work, I quietly asked Second Uncle. His expression was very strange. He tried his best to describe the consort’s beauty with his limited vocabulary. I extracted the key points: Holy crap, they’re huge.

“This sparked a bit of interest and anticipation in me about the consort…”

“November 12th, To this day, I’ve achieved nothing. I’ve disgraced my country and all transmigrators.”

“November 13th, It’s been a month since I came to this world. My salary has been paid. I plan to work hard and take the business plans slowly…”

“November 14th, Listened to music at the brothel.”

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