Chapter 1 Mr. Zhang in the Village

Willow River Bay was a small village in Yongzhou during the Western Han Dynasty, not a large one, with just fifty families nested deep in the mountains.

This is indeed what they say: "You live off the mountain if you're by the mountain, you live off the water if you're by the water." For the villagers of Willow River Bay, their greatest source of income was a few tea trees on the cliffs above the village, the leaves of which were highly favored by officials and nobles.

The village houses were scattered, the sounds of chickens and dogs intermingling. Columns of cooking smoke were curling upwards, signaling the villagers were preparing breakfast.

The half-grown lads were the naughtiest, ignoring their families' admonishments, grabbing their breakfast and running off wildly because they were going to be late for school.