Tide (I)

The green hills of Qi and Lu stretched on without end, where creation had gathered all its divine beauty.

Qingzhou Ancient City, the fourth month of the mortal world.

In the rear courtyard of the Zhao residence, a gentle and graceful woman leaned alone against the railing, gazing at the lotus pond where tiny lotus leaves had just begun to peek above the water.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind her. The woman came back to herself. "Husband, you're back."

"My dear, the world has changed." Zhao Mingcheng sat down beside her, his face filled with sorrow.

She gently brushed back her hair and poured Zhao Mingcheng a cup of hot tea. "Warm your stomach. Early spring is warm one moment and cold the next; don't catch a chill."

Zhao Mingcheng took a sip of tea. It was not that he particularly mourned Great Song, but after the Human Reform League had taken control of the realm, there was simply no need for landlords or old scholars.

This left people like Zhao Mingcheng with only two choices: open a small shop or farm in the countryside. There was no longer any path to officialdom through the Four Books and Five Classics.

He sighed. "Our family only has sixty mu of poor farmland left. How are we supposed to live from now on?"

"Husband, I still have some jewelry. Take it and pawn it for some money." She did not wallow in self-pity.

Zhao Mingcheng shook his head with a bitter smile. "Where would we even find a pawnshop now? If we want to pawn something, we can only go to the state-run museum pawnshop. A few pieces of jewelry aren't worth much. Keep them."

The Human Reform League's blow against the old economic system had been one of systematic destruction.

A business