Volume One: A Farmer at Dawn Chapter 20: Worth Its Weight in Gold

“Despicable!”
“Shameless!”
Manager Jin was fuming with rage, his face flushed and his eyes blazing. He tore the handful of notices in his hand into shreds, crumpled them into a ball, and hurled them onto the ground.
“Butler Ma, send your men out to search the whole county. Tear down every single one of these notices you find. If I see them again tomorrow, I’ll break your legs myself!”
Ma Qing’s eyelids twitched, but he forced himself to reply, “Yes, Manager Jin, I’ll make arrangements at once!”
“Wait!”
Just as Ma Qing was about to leave, Manager Jin stopped him and lowered his voice, “Once you’ve arranged the men, go interrogate each apprentice yourself. Find the mole, follow the trail, and root out the person behind this conspiracy against Ironcraft Pavilion.”
“Manager Jin, your wisdom is truly unmatched. You saw through the problem at a glance. I’ll begin the investigation right away and guarantee the traitor won’t escape our net…”
Ma Qing plastered a sycophantic grin on his face and flattered Manager Jin before hurrying out.
Manager Jin fell into deep thought again.
Since the fifth day of the New Year, the county had been plastered with notices detailing the misdeeds of him and his son.
He had taken in apprentices under the guise of teaching them, using them as free labor, never passing on any skills, and even abusing them frequently.
His son, Jin Ruizhe, bullied the apprentices in all sorts of ways—riding them like horses, swapping their food with the dogs’, making the dogs eat rice while the apprentices ate dog food… The notices listed more than a dozen such examples.
He kept sending people to tear them down, but no matter how many were torn down, new ones would appear the next day.
Manager Jin knew someone was deliberately targeting him.
He could live with his own reputation being ruined, but his son, Jin Ruizhe, was a scholar. If his name was tainted and the county magistrate heard of it, he would never pass the county exams.
These matters were secret; apart from the apprentices, who else could know?
Who was the traitor?
The first person he thought of was Xie Fifteen.
Xie Fifteen had been at Ironcraft Pavilion for two years, had suffered plenty, and knew all these details well.
But the Xie family had only one scholar, and he was just a child.
He was certain that the boy couldn’t have come up with such a scheme, let alone written such notices.
Who, then?
Manager Jin racked his brains but couldn’t come up with an answer, though he was sure the mastermind was a business rival.
He went over every competitor he’d ever had disputes with, but remained at a loss.
“Manager, Moonlit Pavilion has put up a new signboard today. The story is ‘Madame White Snake at Golden Mountain Temple—Eradicating Evil.’”
The young servant, Jin Qi, had been sent out early to all the teahouses to see if there was a new episode of “The Legend of the White Snake.”
After searching for half the day, Jin Qi finally saw a signboard for a story related to “The Legend of the White Snake.”

“Moonlit Pavilion?”
That teahouse was low-tier and had never told “The Legend of the White Snake” before. Why were they telling a story about Madame White Snake today?
“Never mind, let’s go listen. Maybe it’ll help me cool off.”
Manager Jin was a die-hard fan of “The Legend of the White Snake,” which was all the rage in the county. He had never missed an episode.
But the teahouses, eager to make money, would drag one episode out over three days during the holiday, and every show was packed.
He waited anxiously for updates, sending Jin Qi to inquire every day.
He bought tickets and went into Moonlit Pavilion, taking a seat in a private booth. Sunflower seeds and tea were served, with Jin Qi attending at his side.
“Bang!”
The storyteller struck his gavel and spoke in a clear, steady voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, today’s tale, though included in ‘The Legend of the White Snake,’ is also the story of Madame White Snake ridding the world of evil demons and sacrificing herself for righteousness. Enough of the preamble; let’s begin.”
“Now, at Golden Mountain Temple, Monk Fahai had a lay disciple named Jin Buhuan. He was once the chief benefactor of Golden Mountain Temple, and later, favored by Fahai, was accepted as a lay disciple and taught magical arts.”
“Jin Buhuan was born to a farming family. As a child, his family was poor, and his father intended to send him to the palace to become a eunuch. On the way, he stopped by the blacksmith Li’s shop for some water. Li, taking a liking to the boy, took him in as an apprentice and taught him the craft of blacksmithing.”
“Blacksmith Li had lost his wife early and never remarried, living with his daughter. He treated the apprentice as his own son and taught him every skill he knew…”
Manager Jin’s eyelid twitched violently.
The character Jin Buhuan had the same name as him, the same occupation, and even the master’s surname matched.
The coincidence made him a little excited.
To be the protagonist of a story—perhaps the heavens were smiling upon him.
“This Jin Buhuan was quite clever, and under Blacksmith Li’s careful tutelage, became a master of the craft. But who would have thought his heart was twisted? He developed impure thoughts for his master’s daughter…”
The villain?
Manager Jin’s excitement vanished in an instant.
He looked around; no one was paying attention to him. He reassured himself that no one had connected him to the villain in the story.
But as he listened, his anger grew.
The villain was utterly depraved—he assaulted his master’s daughter, murdered his master when discovered, disposed of the body, inherited Li’s estate, sold off the property, moved to the foot of Golden Mountain Temple, married, had children, and opened a new blacksmith shop called Iron One Pavilion.
He took in apprentices under the pretense of teaching, using them as free labor, never passing on any skills, and even abusing them.
His son, Jin Ruizhe, was even worse… Wait. Something wasn’t right.
How could these plot points be exactly the same as those written on the notices, down to the names of the son and the shop?
A rush of blood.
Jin Buhuan stood up and pointed at the storyteller. “You…”
The storyteller paused and said, “Yes, sir? May I help you?”

Jin Buhuan was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Nothing. Go on.”
The rest of the story left the audience seething with anger.
Jin Buhuan, protected by Fahai and armed with magical arts, became a tyrant, committing all manner of evil, until the people could bear it no longer.
Madame White Snake, hearing of his crimes, matched wits with Fahai, lured him away with a ruse, and slew the wicked Jin Ruizhe.
Jin Buhuan, however, used a secret technique taught by Fahai to escape and fled to Golden Mountain Temple.
Madame White Snake, undaunted by Fahai’s great powers, pursued him there.
“To know whether Madame White Snake catches Jin Buhuan, tune in next time.”
With a bang of the gavel, the storyteller ended the first installment.
“What kind of story is this? Why are my name, my son’s name, and my shop’s name in your tale? I’m going to the county office to sue you!”
Jin Buhuan understood at last.
The notices were mere trifles—this was the true executioner’s blade.
So, the mastermind must be the manager of Moonlit Pavilion.
The storyteller was startled and quickly called for the manager.
He had no desire to end up in court over a story.
“Oh, it’s Manager Jin! What a rare honor!”
Manager Niu of Moonlit Pavilion greeted him with a beaming smile, but Jin Buhuan snorted coldly, “Manager Niu, unless you give me a satisfactory explanation today, we’ll settle this at the magistrate’s office!”
“Manager Jin, it’s a coincidence. Don’t take it personally.”
Manager Niu smiled as he explained, “I think the storyteller named the villain Jin Buhuan because it means ‘the prodigal son never changes’—hoping the villain will put down his knife and become a better man…”
By now, everyone understood.
The villain’s name matched Manager Jin’s exactly.
Thinking back to the notices posted these past few days, which detailed the misdeeds of Jin Buhuan and his son, and seeing how closely they matched the story,
it was clear—the scoundrel really had done those things.
“And why did you use my son’s name and my shop’s name?”
Jin Buhuan pressed again. Manager Niu smiled lightly, “You misheard, Manager Jin. The Jin Ruizhe in the story uses the character for ‘auspicious snow,’ while your son’s name uses the character for ‘wisdom.’ They’re not the same.”
“And as for the shop, in the story it’s Iron One Pavilion—the ‘one’ as in the number one, not the ‘craft’ in your Ironcraft Pavilion. Taste the difference…”
“Taste your mother’s egg! You’re deliberately slandering me. Come with me to the magistrate!”
Jin Buhuan lunged to grab Manager Niu.