In this chapter, we learn that a candidate from the county of Gu's family in the Ming province took the imperial entrance exam in the year 2000 and was expelled from the village before he could take the exam. The village has been isolated from the outside world for many years, and no one from the family has ever passed the imperial exam. Gu tells the story of the four fortunes and the four misfortunes, which are related to the same thing: "born with outstanding talents," "become an official at an early age," "suddenly become rich," and "belong to a beautiful lady" .