On August 29th, the sky was clear and the air was fresh, with a gentle breeze.

Xu Yan, who had been preparing for the exam at home for several days, bid farewell to his parents and rushed to the provincial capital with his little servant Shuangxi to prepare for the exam.

Ningbo Prefecture governs five counties, with its seat in Yin County.

There is Yan Mountain in the east of Yin County and Siming Mountain in the southwest, with a circumference of more than 800 miles.

Dinghai County is located in the northeast of Yin County, and it takes only two hours to get from the county seat to the provincial capital.

Xu Yan set out in a carriage early in the morning and arrived in the city at noon.

Compared to Dinghai County, the prefectural capital was clearly much more prosperous. After entering the city, Xu Yan paid the driver and, with the little servant, found a random shop to eat at, then decided to find an inn to settle down.

The Xu family is not short of money, so Mr. Xu naturally wants to find an inn that he likes. After choosing among many options, he chose the Tailai Inn on Chengxian Street.

The inn has an extremely advantageous geographical location, right next to the provincial school, making it very convenient for taking the provincial examination.

It was noon, and the inn was bustling with people. As Xu Yan entered the gate with his servant, a waiter in shorts approached them.

"Are you two guests going to stay at the hotel?"

When the waiter saw Shuangxi carrying a package on his back and dressed in a green robe and a small hat, and Xu Yan wearing a Taoist robe made of fine Huzhou silk, he knew their identities.

"Yes, prepare two upper rooms for me."

Xu Yan said lightly.

Unexpectedly, the waiter said with an embarrassed look on his face, "I'm so sorry, sir. Business has been so good lately that all the rooms are booked. Now there's only one upper room left."

It turned out that the provincial examination was approaching, and the number of candidates staying at Tailai Inn increased greatly, so there were no vacancies.

"Is that so..."

Xu Yan was naturally a little disappointed. There were inns with good facilities in Ningbo City, but there were no inns with such a prime location as the Tailai Inn.

He thought for a moment and then said in a gentle voice, "Can you give me a room? It's really inconvenient for the two of us to live in one room."

The waiter sighed and said, "Sir, it's not that I don't want to help. Now even the upper room where the shopkeeper lives has been sold, and there is really no more room. Why don't you find another shop?"

Shuangxi saw this and said quickly, "Master, please take one room. We can squeeze in and live there. I'll sleep on the floor. I hope you can sleep comfortably."

Although Xu Yan felt a little sorry for Shuangxi, he thought carefully and realized that this was indeed the best solution. He nodded and said, "In that case, please take us to see the room."

The waiter was overjoyed upon hearing this and bowed, "Sir, please come this way."

The Tailai Inn has three floors. The waiter led the way in front. After arriving at the second floor, he turned right and stopped in front of the second-to-last room, took out the key and opened the door.

Pushing open the door, the waiter walked in first: "Sir, please come in."

Xu Yan and the little servant walked into the house one after another.

Xu Xiaolangjun looked around. Although the room was not big, it had everything including a desk, wardrobe, bed and chairs, and the environment was quite tidy.

When living outside, you naturally can't be as particular as you are at home. Xu Yan is already very satisfied with this environment.

"So I booked this room."

"Young Master is truly forthright. This room is seven qian of silver per night, payable upon arrival. No credit."

The waiter was very happy to see Xu Yan book the room so readily.

"Seven taels of silver a night? So expensive?"

Xu Yan suspected he had misheard, his eyes widening like cowbells. Seven coins of silver was equivalent to a month's salary for a border soldier.

The rooms at Tailai Inn are nice, but certainly not worth the price.

Doesn't this waiter think that he is a nerd who is oblivious to the world outside and only focuses on reading the books of sages?

"Sir, you're joking. If it were any other time, our room wouldn't be that expensive. But now that the provincial exam is approaching, and our location is so prime, it's truly hard to find a room. If you had come a little later, this room would have surely been reserved. You wouldn't have been able to get one for even seven ounces of silver, let alone seven cents."

Although the waiter's words were nice, he actually had Xu Yan in his pocket. After all, this was the only inn near the prefectural school, so even if they raised the price, there was nothing you could do.

Xu Yan thought about it for a moment and felt that what the waiter said was not completely unreasonable. Besides, his Xu family was not short of money, so there was no need to go through so much trouble for a few coins.

"Well, Shuangxi will give him five taels of silver and book a five-day reservation. The meal fee will be deducted from the money."

Hearing the young master's order, Shuangxi naturally took out a five-liang silver ingot from the package and handed it to the second servant without hesitation.

The waiter took the heavy silver and bit it gently with his teeth. Seeing a clear tooth mark, he chuckled and said, "Young master, you are so generous. If you need anything, just let me know. I will be here at your beck and call... Then I will not disturb your rest."

After saying that, he bowed and walked out, closing the door behind him.

After the child left, Xu Yan shook his head and sighed, "Alas! I never thought that I, Xu Yan, would be the one to be taken advantage of."

Unexpectedly, Shuangxi not only did not comfort him, but laughed and said, "Master, what are you talking about? This is not the first time you have done this."

Xu Yan almost choked to death and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Seeing that the young master was still unconvinced, the little servant pouted and said, "Young master, have you forgotten that when you went to Suzhou for study last year, you rented a three-story house in Wuqufang, inside Changmen. You also said that the prosperity of the world lies in Wuzhong, and the prosperity of Wuzhong lies in Changmen. The monthly rent for that house is fifty taels, and food and drink are not included. You didn't even blink when you asked me to pay. But seriously, that house is really luxurious. You sleep on a six-poster canopy bed made of huanghuali wood, and the room also has a three-dimensional Luohan bed made of chicken wing wood, a rectangular kang table made of beech wood, an ironwood southern official hat chair, and a red sandalwood clothes hanger carved with a ruyi cloud pattern..."

The young servant boy reminisced with rapt attention, but Xu Yan was completely bewildered. Why didn't he remember this part? Could it be that the memories he inherited from Xu Xiaolang were incomplete?

But seeing how seriously Shuangxi said it, it doesn't seem to be false. It seems that this Xu Xiaolangjun is really a complete prodigal son.

"Well, can't this young master be frugal and manage the household?"

Xu Yan tried hard to restore his image.

Shuangxi shook his head like a rattle: "If the young master can be frugal and manage the household well, even a sow can climb a tree."

Xu Yan's face was filled with black lines, and he really couldn't say anything.

Forget it, forget it...Since the image of myself as a prodigal son is already deeply rooted in everyone's mind, there is no need to force it to change.

Besides, there is no conflict between a talented person and a prodigal son.

Zhang Dai, a famous rich second-generation in the late Ming Dynasty, was notorious for his spendthriftness, but that did not prevent him from leaving a name in the literary world.

The most important thing for a person is to live happily. Since you have a fortune, why should you be a miser who counts every penny?

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