When it was time to set off, the whole village came to the river to see Yan Junqi, Lu Xu and Lu Zhou off.
The pier next to their village was the same place where Lu Xu first moved stones to build it. Many years later, it has been built into a neat stone pier. You can get on the boat from here without stepping on the mud.
Lu Rui, who had promised to protect his sister and grandma for his brother, stood at the front, watching suitcases and boxes of luggage being loaded onto the ship. When he saw his brother also getting on the ship, Lu Rui started to cry loudly.
Lu Xu often goes out in the past few years, for as little as one or two months and as long as three or four months. The family has finally gotten used to it, but he hasn't gone out much in the past six months. He spends time with his family in Guanyang every day, and Lu Rui spends most of his time every day. Being around each other, the first separation is like tearing out one's heart.
When he cried, La Yue and Wen Zhen also cried. When they cried, Yan's mother and Yuan Maniang also cried. The elders in the family all had tears in their eyes. Lu Zhou, Lu Xu and Yan Junqi on the boat also had red eyes.
Grandpa Lu waved his hand, "Let's go, let's go, to avoid delays on the road and make it difficult to stay at night."
Yan Junqi lifted up his robe and knelt down, bidding farewell to his mother and the elders of the Lu family.
He was already holding a ceremony, and he no longer had to kneel to anyone except the emperor, but Yan Junqi still saluted seriously and bowed solemnly three times.
He didn't know how long he had left this time, and whether the elders who saw him off today would still be alive when he came back next time.
Looking at the elders who took good care of him, Yan Junqi couldn't help but get a lump in his throat.
Grandpa Lu, Grandma Lu, Li Zheng and other elders waved to them and watched them leave with tears and smiles. The young people in the village chased the boat all the way on the shore until they left the village and the boat was far away, and they could no longer pursue it. Can't catch up.
Lu Xu and the others were standing on the bow of the boat, and they could still hear Lu Rui, La Yue, and the others shouting loudly for their brother. Lu Wen roared to reassure them that he would take care of their family.
Yan Junqi touched the peace charm Grandma Lu had sewn for him in his arms, his vision blurred.
There is a custom in the villages near Yinma Town that when children travel far away, the eldest elder in the family is asked to make a peace charm.
The last time Lu Hui went north to join the army, Grandma Lu didn't have time to make it for him, and she was worried about it for a long time.
As soon as she heard that Yan Junqi was going to the capital to take the exam, she quickly sewed the peace charm and hung it in a temple in the town for three days to pray for blessings and consecration.
She is old and slow in doing things. She only made one this time, not even her two biological grandchildren, Lu Xu and Lu Zhou.
As the sun rises and the road goes further and further, Lujia Village gradually blurs into a dot in the landscape, until it can no longer be seen.
Yan Junqi stood at the bow of the ship for a long time, even losing sight of the mountains next to Lujia Village, before moving to the cabin.
This ship is the cargo ship of their Guanyang Alliance. It usually travels between Guanyang County and Jianyang County. It will stop at small towns along the way to rest in the evening. People in small towns will occasionally take their ship to and from the county.
This time, Lu Xu and the others wanted to take a boat to Jianyang County first, then change cars from Jianyang County and continue southwest to Beijing's official road.
The shipowner knew that Lu Xu was going to take the boat, so he specially made half of the cabin available for them, and also brought Lu Xu a lot of dried fish as snacks.
Lu Zhou went on a long trip for the first time. He sat by the cabin window and looked out. After a while, he nervously checked to see if their luggage was still safe.
Lu Xu stood with Yan Junqi on the deck for a long time, went into the cabin and chatted with the shipowner about the situation along the way, and was now taking a nap next to him.
Yan Junqi came back from the deck and sat down next to Lu Xu. He had calmed down.
Lu Xu felt a familiar breath and opened his eyes, handing him the dried fish.
Yan Junqi shook his head and asked Lu Zhou if he was dizzy.
Lu Zhou shook his head.
I don’t know if it’s because they were born by the river, but none of their brothers and sisters get seasick, and very few children in the village get seasick.
However, every time Yan Junqi went to the state capital for exams, he felt uncomfortable on the way.
Lu Xu asked him, and Yan Junqi didn't feel uncomfortable this time.
Lu Xu thought it was probably because of the boat.
This medium-sized boat, which can carry twenty or thirty people, combines the lightness and speed of a small boat with the stability of a large ship. The cabin is also spacious. Although there is some shaking, the frequency is very comfortable.
They could reach the official road from Guanyang by land, but it was a long journey, bumpy day and night, and they had to climb mountains and wade through rivers. The water route was much more comfortable than the land route.
It didn't matter to Lu Xu that he was used to walking on the trade route. With Lu Zhou and Yan Junqi, he would rather go farther and slower, and also wanted to make it easier for them.
Lu Xu took out the preserved fruit from the box and handed it to Yan Junqi, "Take one piece to feel comfortable. Do you want some tea?"
Yan Junqi shook his head, "Save some food."
Lu Xu: “I’ll buy some on the way after eating.”
Lu Xu used to take nothing with him except clothes and money every time he went to the north. Especially when I got acquainted with it later, I started off with a little baggage.
This time it was him who prepared everything for Yan Junqi and Lu Zhou, including food and drink, and even several kinds of tea.
Lu Xu: "The water in some places is bitter, so you can only drink it by making tea."
As soon as he went out, he wanted to use it.
Yan Junqi did not refute his good intentions. He had already inquired with the county magistrate. They took the official road from Jianyang County and had to pass through several big cities along the way. If they were short of anything, they could buy it in the city.
His mother brought him a lot of money, and Lu Xu also brought a lot of money. It seems that Lu Wen also gave Lu Zhou a lot of money.
The whole family was afraid that they would not have enough money to spend on the road. In the twelfth lunar month, they even gave all their private money to Lu Xu and Lu Zhou, but they didn't ask for it.
Lu Xu borrowed the ship's stove to boil water and make tea. As the head of the Guanyang Alliance, it was particularly convenient for him to borrow something.
In the evening, the ship docked at Shiquan Town. Lu Xu tied up their suitcases and entrusted them to the ship owner to take care of them. He took Yan Junqi and Lu Zhou off the ship to find an inn.
There are more and more ship merchants traveling from north to south in Guanyang. Now every town has government-run and private inns. As long as you are willing to spend money, you can live well every day.
When traveling a long distance, you should enjoy it while you can. When it comes time to sleep in the wilderness, you can't even spend money to stay in an inn.
Lu Xu thought very broadly, saving when he should and spending when he should. He makes money just for convenience at times like this.
Shiquan Town is similar to Yinma Town, and is a bit larger than Yinma Town. The pier has a hut specially provided for overnight boating. The boatmen and boat owners who want to watch the boat can rest here at night, and they can also buy food and go back to the boat to spend the night.
Coming out of the pier, the town is more lively, with vendors selling food and daily groceries taking up most of the street.
Now is the time to prepare winter clothes, and many shops are selling cotton and leather.
On their way from the dock to the inn, Lu Xu saw several shops hanging the flags of the Guanyang Alliance.
Lu Xu didn't bother him and took the paperwork to the inn to register for accommodation.
The shopkeeper recommended: "The private room upstairs is for two people, and there is a bunk bed downstairs. If the three of you don't mind sharing a room with others, it would be more cost-effective to live in a bunk room."
Lu Xu: "Is the Tongpu still available? Let's reserve a separate room."
Shopkeeper: "No, there are many merchants this season, so all the shops in the store are occupied, but there is only one person living in one room now."
Lu Xu: "It's better to have two private rooms."
"Okay!" The shopkeeper asked the waiter in the store to lead them the way. The boy who was fifteen or sixteen quickly ran to open the door and brought them a pot of hot tea into the room.
"We live here and you live inside." Lu Xu arranged.
Lu Zhou responded and entered the room with his luggage.
Then Lu Xu asked the boy about what delicious food there was in the town. The three of them went to have dinner together and walked around Shiquan Town. Lu Zhou didn't feel anything was wrong until he went to bed at night.
Lu Xu thought, look, his mother was just worried. It scared him so much that he paid attention to Lu Zhou's reaction all night, but Lu Zhou didn't react at all!
The young man never thought about why his brother didn't live in the same room with him.
After eating in the morning, they took a boat from Shiquan Town to continue southbound, and in the evening they went to the next town to spend the night.
After five or six days of this, we left Guanyang and entered Jianyang. The ship stopped at the dock in Jianyang County.
The shipowner often comes to Jianyang and is familiar with it. He handed over his goods to his assistant, went to the city to accompany Lu Xu to buy a car and a mule, and placed all Lu Xu's luggage before taking care of his own goods.
Lu Xu and the others went to stay at an inn, and the mule cart and luggage were temporarily stored in the house rented by the shipowner.
This time they bought a car with a roof, which was a little more expensive. The car was new, strong, sheltered from wind and rain, and spacious. He felt that the money was well spent.
Lu Xu was not in a hurry to leave right away. He bought two thick quilts and several cushions in the county town the next day.
The road now is bumpy no matter how smooth it is. They sat on a wooden board all the way to the capital, and their buttocks were about to be broken.
The luggage already takes up half of the space, and with quilts and mats stuffed into it, the spacious carriage is also full.
Lu Xu spread out the quilt, folded one into a double layer and put it into the car, and the other into a three-layer layer and put it on the seat board in the car.
Lu Xu was very satisfied and urged Lu Zhou to get in the car and try: "Sit on the quilt. When it gets cold in a few days, you can still get under the quilt to keep warm."
Lu Xu bought a thick quilt, and Lu Zhou wondered if it was too thick. Yan Junqi, who had experience running away from famine when he was a child, and had some vague memories of it, didn't think so.
After it snows, the cold air gets into the car, and no quilt is too thick, no matter how thick it is.
Lu Zhou hesitated for a moment, climbed into the car, took off his shoes, and sat down obediently.
Lu Xu also threw him a cushion and urged him to lie down and try it out.
Lu Zhou rested his head on the cushions and curled up his legs under the seat, struggling to lie down. It would be more comfortable if you lean on the car board.
Lu Xu was very satisfied: "Okay! I'm tired and sleepy on the road, so I'll make do."
Lu Xu bought another thick hemp rope, nailed one end to the wooden board of the carriage, tightened all the luggage with the rope, and tied the other end under the seat board to prevent the luggage from shaking during bumps.
The boxes they use to pack their luggage are all square baskets made by Grandpa Lu with thin rattans and covered with lids. They are as strong and flexible as boxes.
If you have to sleep outdoors at night, you can lay the suitcase as high as the seat board in the car and temporarily turn the cabin into a bed, so that two people can sleep in it.
Everything was ready, and Lu Xu could not think of how to make the mule cart more comfortable for the time being, so he fed the mules, bought half a bag of fodder, and set off in the mule cart.
The driving skills Lu Xu had honed on his many trips north finally came into use.
Lu Xu was driving, Yan Junqi was sitting next to him, and Lu Zhou was sitting in the car. The three of them opened the curtain of the carriage, chatting, watching the scenery, and eating while walking.
When Lu Xu wanted to eat something, he asked Lu Zhou to look for it in the box. Lu Zhou dug it out in the carriage and handed it to Yan Junqi from the window, and Yan Junqi fed Lu Xu.
At first, Lu Zhou was still sitting quietly. After half a day, he knelt down on the seat and stuck his head out of the window to look around at the scenery along the way.
"Brother, look at that mountain, does it look like a monkey?"
"Which one?"
"That one over there."
"It doesn't look like it."
"That rock is the nose, and next to it are the eyes."
"Hmm... a monkey with big eyes?"
"Hahaha."
Yan Junqi also laughed, "He's still a snob."
Lu Xu: "Stop reading, the sun is so bright, it's bad for your eyes."
Yan Junqi: "Yeah."
Lu Xu: "Lu Zhou, I brought spicy oil dried tofu, you can look for it."
"oh."
After a while, Lu Zhou found it and said, "Found it."
Lu Xu: "Then let's walk for a while. If we still don't see a place to eat, we can find a spacious place to have a picnic. Can we eat pancakes with dried tofu?"
"Yes. Sister Hanlu also brought us salted eggs."
"Yes, I almost forgot. Check to see if the salted egg is broken?"
"I looked and there wasn't one."
…
Traveling alone, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, may be boring.
Traveling with the people you love, no matter how bad the scenery is, is still interesting and lovely.
Unlike their relaxed style, some candidates have to carry their luggage on their shoulders and climb mountains and ridges on their feet.
Even though Lu Xu was fully prepared, he could only walk on his feet when encountering a continuous heavy rain.
The rain was so heavy that the road was so muddy that the mules could not walk.
Lu Xu wiped the rain off his face, stepped on the mud half a foot deep, and asked Lu Zhou, who was sitting in the car with an umbrella in one hand to protect the luggage by the window, while pushing the cart: "Is it fun?"
Lu Zhou nodded and shook his head, "Brother, let me go down instead."
"Don't come down. You have to dry out your clothes when you come down. Hold the umbrella."
"Um."
At this time, they each held an umbrella outside the window of their mule cart. The umbrella handle was inserted into the window frame from the window. Lu Zhou was holding the umbrella handle inside, Yan Junqi was leading the mule in front, and Lu Xu was pushing the cart behind.
Seen from a height, the mule cart looks like it has two wings.
After walking for another two quarters of an hour, they finally pulled the car up the slope.
Lu Xu held her knees and gasped, "You're finally up."
Yan Junqi: "We can see Jialin City."
"Really?!" Lu Xu ran forward, looking at the small town at the end of the road, and finally got excited: "Let's go! Go into the city and take a hot bath and eat something good."
When they finally entered the city, Lu Xu was dumbfounded.
Are all the inns in the city full? !
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