When disembarking, the shipowner sent someone to ask the distinguished guests whether they wanted to disembark first or last.
Except for the merchants who want to transport goods, everyone else chooses to leave first.
The boatmen helped Lu Xu unload the cart and mules from the ship, and helped them hitch the cart on the shore.
When Lu Zhou got off the boat, he always felt like someone was standing on the deck staring at them.
He looked back and saw that there were indeed a few familiar faces, including the scholar named Li.
Seeing Lu Zhou looking towards the boat, Lu Xu smiled and said, "What would you do if you were Li Juren?"
Lu Zhou was startled and thought for a moment: "Make money first and then take the exam."
Lu Xu was very satisfied, "That's right! You've all passed the imperial examination, and Daqi doesn't stipulate that you have to go to Beijing immediately if you succeed in the examination. Isn't it just a matter of waiting two more years?"
Daqi will try out once every two years, which is quite frequent. Even if he can't wait for two years, Lu Xu feels that this temperament will not make a big difference.
Lu Xu asked Lu Zhou again: "What if you were that Zhang Juren?"
At this moment, Lu Zhou thought about himself a little. He also fell ill on the road. If he didn't pay attention, he might become like Zhang Shusheng, who had a high fever and fell into coma without even knowing that the money was lost.
Lu Zhou: "Since it wasn't Li Juren who stole the money, we shouldn't have allowed the book boy to quarrel with others."
Lu Xu spread his hands and said to Yan Junqi: "Look, we Lu Zhou all know it."
Lu Zhou smiled sheepishly, thinking, if his brother were that Scholar Li, he would most likely not know how to read, but chose to let the whole family eat and drink first. If he were that Scholar Li, he might still be able to read, but before reading In the future, I might do something else to make a living.
For example, writing Spring Festival couplets, writing fans, writing tributes to other people's homes, writing letters, or helping other shops keep accounts, etc.
These can both practice calligraphy and make money.
He can also do other things, such as raising chickens and feeding pigs, which is not difficult. In addition, he can make money by washing clothes, or helping people plow the land, doing part-time work...
In the past, brother Junqi would also help his father cut reeds and weave mats. Now every summer and autumn harvest, if the brothers are not busy, they will go home to help harvest wheat and rice...
These are all things his brother taught him personally.
The husband said that reading is not just about reading, he understands, so he has been following in the footsteps of his elder brother and Brother Junqi, and often feels that he may not be able to catch up in his lifetime.
Lu Zhou thought that it was great to be able to come out with his brother this time. After coming out, he realized that there are so many different kinds of people in the world. Not only geniuses can pass the examination, and not everyone who passes the examination is like Brother Jun Qi.
Some of them are young and some are very old.
Some people are noble, some are philistines, some are impatient, some are steady, some always want to make peace with others when trouble comes, some know a lot, some know very little...
Moreover, someone actually stole it!
Lu Zhou's aura of success was shattered.
Lu Zhou thought that they were actually no different from the uncles and relatives who farmed in the village.
The more he learned, the more he felt that it was better to be his brother.
So Lu Xu suggested that they go their own way and not go with the scholars, and Lu Zhou didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
It would be more comfortable for them to walk on their own, as there would be no trouble of not being able to eat here or staying there, not all the people should leave when it was time to leave, or being chased if they wanted to stay a little longer.
Lu Zhou couldn't help but ask: "Brother, when you went to the north, weren't there more people in the caravan? Were they like this too?"
Lu Xu sneered: "If you dare to go like this in Shuozhou and the northern border, you will have been snatched away by wolves!"
Lu Zhou: "..."
Also, Shuozhou and Beijing are more difficult than going to Beijing to take the exam, but my brother has to go there two or three times a year, and he is pioneering wasteland.
As a result, Lu Xu's image in Lu Zhou's heart unknowingly became even more majestic.
Lu Xu and Yan Junqi were chatting about what to eat at night. As they chatted, they saw Lu Zhou looking at him with admiration.
Those eyes were bright, as if they were studded with stars.
Lu Xu was baffled and couldn't help but feel a little worried as a parent. He would take their children out more often in the future. Look at Lu Zhou's little appearance. He can be deceived at first sight!
They walked along the avenue at their own pace and asked for directions, but they still failed to reach the capital before the year.
During the Chinese New Year, they stayed in a small village. The only scholar in the village heard that Yan Junqi was the first person to be elected, so he came to Yan Junqi every day through the snow with his book for advice.
This man is already in his early thirties, and his child is almost as old as Lu Zhou. But when Yan Junqi comes to ask for advice, he is as respectful as a teacher and never sits down.
Lu Xu asked Lu Zhou to follow and listen. Every time Lu Zhou saw him standing next to Yan Junqi and bending down to ask for advice, he was shocked by the hunger for knowledge in his eyes.
The man had to work at home in the morning and could only come in the afternoon or evening. Every time he asked for advice until dark, he was very embarrassed and delayed Yan Junqi from finishing his meal.
On the third day, he learned that Lu Xu planned to leave after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, so he started carrying firewood for them every time he came.
Lu Xu asked him why he went to study in a nearby county. The man said shyly: "There is no teacher in our village. My father passed away early and my mother is in poor health. I don't dare to travel far to study. At this age, I can only Become a scholar."
Yan Junqi said: "Farming and studying are not easy. If it weren't for the support of my family, I wouldn't be able to pass the exam."
He took out his own book from the book box and lent it to the scholar, "These are the notes I took when I was studying in the county school. They contain what the county school teacher taught me and some of my own insights. If you don't mind, take them and read them first. "
The scholar's eyes were red and he was grateful.
On New Year's Eve, there was little food in the small village, so the scholar brought them three bowls of dumplings in the snow.
The thick noodle skin and tofu and cabbage filling were very delicious to Lu Zhou.
He felt that staying in this small village for the past ten days had been extremely fruitful and fruitful.
It turns out that as long as you like it, it’s not a big deal to take the exam until you are thirty. Even if you have no fame in your life, it will not affect your pursuit of knowledge.
On New Year's Eve, the three of them sat in bed under quilts and kept vigil. After eating the snacks, Lu Xu encouraged them to take turns telling stories, chatting about the future, and while chatting, they somehow ended up talking about the library in the imperial city.
Lu Xu said: "We, Zhouzhou, are actually quite suitable to be librarians. We can keep books all our lives and be happy. We can read whichever book we want and show whichever book we want. We can also get money. Which yamen does it belong to?"
Yan Junqi: "Secretary Department."
Lu Xu patted Lu Zhou: "Then you will take this exam from now on!"
Lu Zhou smiled bitterly. Although the Secretariat Department is a leisurely yamen, how can it be easy to get into?
He bit his lip and asked cautiously: "Brother, will you be disappointed if I fail to pass the Tongsheng test in my whole life?"
Lu Xu was startled, then smiled and rubbed his head, "Do you still remember what your brother said when you were about to study?"
Lu Zhou nodded.
Lu Xu said: "I didn't let you study just to let you pass the examination. It doesn't make any difference to me whether you pass the top scholar examination or not even the junior college entrance examination. My brother hopes that you can study happily. Back then, I I think so, and I still think so now. I was your brother back then, and it will be the same in the future. To me, you have only one identity, and that is my brother."
Lu Zhou's eyes flashed and he muttered "Hmm".
Lu Xu put his arms around his shoulders and patted him hard on the back. The thick quilt made a thumping sound, "You are my younger brother! What happened if you couldn't pass the Tongsheng test? If anyone dares to laugh at you, just tell me and I will take care of you." Go and beat him up!"
Lu Zhou burst into tears and laughed. He didn't understand why his brother could say that he was more proud of his younger brother than being the number one scholar. However, he was so happy.
If the number one scholar and brother Lu Xu can only choose one or the other...
Then he'd better not be the number one pick.
Well, my brother is right.
There is nothing more proud in the world than being Lu Xu's younger brother! He already had the best.
In early February, they finally entered Beijing safely.
The three of them looked at the towering city walls of the capital from a distance, and felt a surge in their hearts.
We have finally arrived, the center of Daqi, the heart of Daqi, the most prosperous capital city that every Daqi person longs for!
Lu Xu handed their documents to the city guard, but the city guard did not accept it. Instead, he walked around their mule cart to inspect it. Without saying a word, he used his gun to open the curtain of the cart, put on his shoes and stepped on the clean bedding on the cart. .
Seeing this, Lu Zhou wanted to stop him, but was stopped by Lu Xu.
Seeing them rummaging around in the car, not checking it properly at all, and even kicking over the water cans in the car, Yan Junqi said, "What are you looking for?"
The city guard heard the sound and glanced at him, "Do you want to tell you about the weapons, secret letters, and evidence of colluding with the barbarians?"
Yan Junqi: "The barbarians have surrendered to Daqi, how can they collude with each other? Do you mean that the barbarians pretended to surrender and deceived your majesty and officials?"
The city guard was excited, could this be nonsense? ! He just said, why does this kid talk so much? ! He was about to get angry, but Lu Xu stepped forward quickly and said, "Sir, you really love to joke. We come from a small place. Please stop teasing us. We came to Beijing to take an exam, and all we brought with us is luggage."
Chengwei snorted coldly: "You said luggage is just luggage? Who knows whether you brought poison or not."
Lu Xu took out the silver and stuffed it into his hand, "It's really luggage. You see, it's all clothes and bedding. This is our document. It has the seals of the county government and the county governor. Take a look."
The city guard weighed the money, put away his gun and jumped out of the car. He casually opened the document and glanced at it. Seeing that there were quite a few stamps on it, he let it go: "The capital is not as good as your hometown. Be careful what you say, okay." Come on, come in."
Lu Xu: "Thank you, sir."
He grabbed Yan Junqi and Lu Zhou and hurried into the city.
Having walked a long way, Lu Zhou still glared angrily at the city guard.
They have the identity of Juren on the road, and they have always been able to travel smoothly. This is the first time that they have encountered such unscrupulous and difficult people asking for money.
Lu Xu smiled and said: "It is indeed the capital city. A person is worth a lot of money elsewhere, but here he is nothing."
Lu Zhou turned around and said, "Brother, they only stopped our car!"
Lu Xu: "They didn't just stop us, they were stealing it. They saw that our car is valuable, we are not rich and powerful, and we have a foreign accent. If we don't blackmail us, who would we blackmail?"
Lu Zhou was shocked. He looked back and looked carefully, and it turned out to be true!
Lu Zhou was angry, "No one cares?"
Lu Xu: "How can you be so rampant if someone is in charge?"
Lu Zhou was silent, but suddenly felt extremely disappointed in the capital.
Lu Xu patted his head and said, "Okay, there are good people and bad people everywhere, so let's just spend money and avoid disasters and troubles. They don't ask for money from poor people. They already have a conscience. Let's find an inn to rest first. , let’s go.”
Most cities in Daqi are centered on the north, followed by the east. Lu Xu asked about it on the road, and it turned out to be true.
The imperial city is in the north, the government offices are in the east, and the honorary officials are in the west.
Officials live in the East City, roughly in order of rank and family background, from high to low, from north to south. At the intersection with Nancheng, there live some petty officials with no rank, as well as wealthy local people in the capital.
The houses in Xicheng are larger and are hereditary for nobles.
Ordinary people, traders and lackeys live in the south.
Those who go to Beijing to take exams or work on errands may live in Dongcheng if they have money, but in Nancheng if they don’t.
Lu Xu walked along the street looking for an inn, and found a relatively prosperous street where Nancheng and Dongcheng intersected.
Three people, two rooms, one room is 300 yuan per night, food is not included, hot water is provided for one morning and one night, and carriage and horse are not included.
Lu Xu's mules and carts cost him one hundred coins a day for fodder.
This time Lu Zhou didn't say it was too expensive and the three of them squeezed in, or that he and Lu Xu lived together. He didn't bother Jun Qi's brother to read books, but took the initiative to move his luggage to his room.
This store does not provide luggage care, and they are not responsible for luggage lost in the car.
Lu Xu felt inexplicably that Lu Zhou seemed to know something.
But Lu Zhou would not take the initiative to tell him unless he asked.
After putting away his luggage, it was still early, so Lu Xu planned to walk around first and then find a quiet yard.
A day's accommodation costs 700 cash, plus the cost of three meals, which is nearly one tael of silver a day. Even though they brought a lot of money, they can't afford to go on like this.
It's only February, and the exam is only in April. After the general exam, there's still the palace exam. After the palace exam, it's already May.
Staying in an inn for two or three months is inconvenient no matter how you think about it.
It's too quiet and remote, and the conditions are not good. The conditions are good, and they all face the street, which disturbs Jun Qi's review.
It's better to find a small house where you can live spaciously and comfortably.
However, Lu Xu did not intend to rush.
Let’s go shopping first today.
Jun Qi started studying seriously as soon as the New Year came. He bought a batch of books when he passed by Yuancheng last month and was reading them like crazy. He was concentrating on preparing for the exam and did not plan to go out.
Lu Zhou was packing up things, sorting out the dirty ones, checking what they needed to add, and whether there was anything broken.
Lu Xu wanted to come out, so he took him out with him.
Even if you want to find a house, you won't be able to find it in a short time. In such a big capital, you have to find your way first.
Lu Xu didn't know if there were any special rules in the capital, so he didn't drive. He only brought a little change and walked with Lu Zhou.
He first asked the inn clerk about where to rent a house, and the clerk recommended him a few Fang Yazi. Lu Xu knew how to find them, so he first walked around in the south of Dongcheng, and then went to Fang Yazi to inquire about the price. .
There were many candidates coming to Beijing in the spring, and Fang Yazi specialized in buying and selling candidates. When Lu Xu asked, they recommended houses of high, middle and low grades.
Lu Xu roughly selected a few small houses to the north and planned to take Jun Qi to visit them tomorrow.
Fang Yazi saw that all they were interested in were mid-range houses, so he recommended: "If you are determined to pass the exam, why not buy it directly? Look at how nice this house is. The roof and beams were renovated just a few years ago." They are all made of good wood and have no moths at all. Houses in Beijing are cheap now, but they will be expensive after the exam is over."
Lu Xu was noncommittal.
Fang Yazi kept up his efforts, "If you are willing to add more, there is a good house further north. It is not as big as here, but it is close to the Yamen. If you can take the imperial examination in the future, it will be very convenient for you to go to court!"
Lu Xu: "Thanks to Ji Yan, how much does that house cost?"
Fang Yazi: "It's not expensive. The master wants 3,200 taels. If you can give me cash, I can almost get 3,000 taels."
Lu Xu: "..."
Now look at this, it's probably more than 100 square meters, smaller than here, 3,000 taels?
He then pays one-tenth of the agency fee.
He was a rich man from a small place, so he was killed and bloodletted?
"I'd better rent it!"
Unfortunately, Fang Yazi took them to see a few more yards and kept brainwashing them that renting was better than buying.
Lu Xu also knew that renting was better than buying. It wasn't too late to wait until Jun Qi decided to stay in Beijing before buying!
The two brothers thanked Fang Yazi and fled. This agent in the capital was very eloquent.
Lu Zhou thought that his family was already very wealthy. Now that he knew about the prices in Beijing, he couldn't help but feel trembling. "Brother, houses in Beijing are so expensive!"
Lu Xu: "No."
Lu Xu bought two sugar cookies on the street to calm down.
It wasn't that he couldn't afford it, but they had spent a lot of money along the way. Lu Xu didn't think it was cost-effective to pour so much money into the house, in case the money was needed elsewhere.
Moreover, it will put pressure on Jun Qi if he doesn't do well.
Doesn't this imply that after you have bought the house, you must take the imperial examination?
Who can bear this!
Look at their Lu Zhou, he doesn't put any pressure on him and he didn't even pass the junior high school entrance examination.
Lu Xu bought another sugar cake for Lu Zhou and kindly asked him to eat more.
The extremely thin dough is filled with a little syrup and baked in the oven like a pancake. It is thin, crispy and tastes good.
Lu Xu was eating when he suddenly saw a bookstore in the distance, but the people coming in and out didn't look like serious scholars.
Seller of storybooks?
Lu Xu led Lu Zhou over to take a look.
If it's interesting, I can buy a few copies for La Yue and Lu Rui. Their Lu Rui is also eager to read the travel notes. I don't know if there are any in Beijing.
When they went over to take a look, they found that this was really a storybook shop. The covers were all colorful, and this biography and that one were written down, or they were some sort of dream.
Seeing Lu Xu's interest, the shopkeeper introduced to them which ones were new, which ones were classics, and which ones were top-notch ones.
Lu Zhou asked if he had any travel notes, and the shopkeeper found him a few books on customs and legends from various places.
Lu Xu browsed in the shop. The variety of storybooks in this shop was far richer than that in Guanyang. In addition to classic short stories promoting loyalty and filial piety, short stories about celebrities, and unofficial histories of the past, there were also gods, ghosts, love legends, and adventure treasure hunts. Lu Xu flipped through a book, and after being introduced by the clerk, it seemed that it was still a story about solving crimes.
He read a few pages with interest and found that the writing was indeed interesting.
"Are there any more of this type?"
"Yes, over here." The clerk led him to another bookshelf to pick out.
Lu Xu picked five more books after hearing the introduction, and planned to find a way to send them back to Lu Rui and La Yue.
In addition, he also found an illustrated book on the bookshelf. The pictures were all flowers and plants, with names written on each page. It was like a popular science atlas, which was very suitable for girls to read.
Lu Xu wants it too.
He became interested and began to hunt for treasures. He soon noticed a book with a yellow-brown cover. Lu Xu opened a page at random and found that it was still a storybook. However, he had only read two lines and closed the book suddenly. .
Lu Xu subconsciously looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. He turned around and bumped into the boy carrying the book for him. The boy was only seventeen or eighteen years old. Seeing Lu Xu pick another book, he immediately introduced it neatly: "This book The best seller! It tells the story of a rich man who takes shelter in a deserted house on a rainy night and ends up accidentally entering a vixen’s cave.”
Lu Xu: "..."
He thought about the page he just read, and then looked at the clear-eyed young man who only wanted to achieve results, and couldn't help but ask: "You, can you read?"
The little guy shook his head, "But I remember clearly what each book is about! I guarantee I won't be wrong!"
Lu Xu touched the tip of his nose and thought to himself, he didn't know if this was about a rich man taking shelter in a deserted house on a rainy night. The story of how he and the vixen were lingering and pathos was quite graphic.
This is a pornographic book!
No wonder the cover is this color!
Lu Xu was torn whether to take it or not.
The author has something to say:
Lu Zhou: My brother is the best in the world! !
Lu Xu: Should I buy pornographic books?
Also, the color of the book cover is just a coincidence, not all yellow-brown books have the same color (dog head)
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