The Novel Zhou Yao Wrote
What was Zhou Yao doing? Zhou Yao was working on a novel. From talking with the sisters Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian, he had learned from them that novels were enormously popular in the Great Zhou State and the neighboring countries.
That gave Zhou Yao an idea. In ancient times, scholars always ranked first among the four classes: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Zhou Yao had wanted to keep a low profile, but alas, his abilities wouldn't allow it!
Zhou Yao was a transmigrator, and he had always loved reading. His head was packed with knowledge, and the historical novels and poetry he knew from before simply didn't exist in this era.
That made Zhou Yao immensely happy. He was a man destined to do great things. To put it plainly, ancient society was one where the strong preyed on the weak and people devoured one another. The weak had no voice at all, and many people struggled even to survive.
That was why so many people applied themselves and studied no matter how difficult things got. Many were still taking the imperial examinations in their seventies and eighties, all so they could rise above the crowd and finally escape life at the very bottom.
Now Zhou Yao had men under his command, the Brocade Guard, and military power in his hands. What he lacked was prestige among scholars and officials.
Prestige was a valuable thing in any era! If Zhou Yao gained a good reputation among scholars and officials, it would be an enormous help and a tremendous boost to his future endeavors.
That was why a novel would be the best stepping stone. In this era, everyone who could afford to read novels was wealthy: high officials and nobles, prominent families, and merchants. Zhou Yao was targeting these people in particular because they had money to spare and were educated as well!
Ordinary people simply couldn't afford novels, and Zhou Yao wouldn't target them, because they had no money to buy them in the first place.
Zhou Yao thought about what kind of novel he should write. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Ah, he knew what to write! Hahaha...
Then Zhou Yao picked up his brush and wrote the title "Dream of the Red Chamber" in large characters. That was right: he was writing Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels. Zhou Yao believed that once this novel appeared, it would surely cause a sensation throughout the literary world of the Great Zhou State.
Then Zhou Yao picked up his brush and began to write...
Chapter 1: Zhen Shiyin meets the Stone of Spiritual Understanding in a dream; Jia Yucun, amid worldly hardships, longs for a fair maiden.
"All men know that immortals are good, yet cannot forget rank and fame..."
"All men know that immortals are good, yet cannot forget gold and silver..."
"All men know that immortals are good, yet cannot forget their beloved wives..."
"All men know that immortals are good, yet cannot forget their children and grandchildren..."
Chapter 2: Madam Jia passes away in Yangzhou City; Leng Zixing tells of Rongguo Mansion.
Chapter 3: Brother-in-law Ruhai recommends a tutor; Mother Jia receives her grandson and takes pity on an orphaned girl.
Chapter 4: A hapless girl meets a hapless young man; a muddle-headed monk judges a muddled case.
Chapter 5: Jia Baoyu's spirit wanders the Realm of Great Void; the Fairy of Disenchantment performs the songs of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Chapter 6: Jia Baoyu first tastes the pleasures of clouds and rain; Granny Liu makes her first visit to Rongguo Mansion.
Chapter 7: Delivering palace flowers, Jia Lian teases Xifeng; at a feast in Ning Mansion, Baoyu meets Qin Zhong.
Chapter 8: Jia Baoyu encounters the golden locket through a curious turn of fate; Xue Baochai happens to recognize the Stone of Spiritual Understanding.
Chapter 9: While reprimanding a wayward son, Li Gui receives a scolding; angered by unruly boys, Mingyan causes an uproar in the schoolroom.
Chapter 10: Widow Jin, greedy for gain, submits to humiliation; Imperial Physician Zhang discusses an illness and probes its cause.
Zhou Yao wrote the first ten chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber in one sitting. Before transmigrating, he had read Mr. Cao Xueqin's masterpiece carefully many times.
Dream of the Red Chamber held many warnings that were like a thunderclap to the deaf. How many young women had shed tears over its love and hatred, its passions and feuds, only to be filled with indignation afterward?
After finishing the first ten chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber, Zhou Yao looked at the pages he had written and blew on them. Once the ink had dried, he straightened the pages and put them together, then nodded in satisfaction.
After finishing their needlework, the sisters Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian came to find their husband, Zhou Yao, and saw him sorting his papers.
The elder sister, Yang Aijin, smiled and asked, "Husband, what are you writing?"
"Have you finished your work?" Zhou Yao asked.
"Husband, we've finished today's needlework."
"I'm writing a novel! Once it's finished, I'll take it to the bookshop in the county town and see whether it can be printed and sold. That way, we can earn a little extra income!"
Hearing their husband Zhou Yao say that he was actually writing a novel, Yang Aijin and Yang Ailian, who had loved reading novels since childhood and could be said to be quite obsessed with them—
It was just that they had had no chance to read novels at all these past few years. Hearing their husband Zhou Yao say today that he was writing one made the sisters very curious.