"Stop! Stop right there!"
Zhu Qi ran forward desperately, chasing the agile scholar who stole his purse.
However, the man ran too fast and in a blink of an eye he was already seven or eight feet away from Zhu Qi.
"Give my purse back to me! You thief!" Zhu Qi was already out of breath from running.
With a "bang", Zhu Qi fell to the ground.
At this moment, two scholars in plain clothes rushed out from the front.
One of the scholars in gray rushed towards the bag thief and knocked him to the ground.
Zhu Qi was lying on the ground. When he heard the collision, he struggled to raise his head and look forward.
Seeing a scholar in gray clothes coming to help, he immediately felt relieved.
"Did you fall badly? Can you get up?"
Zhu Qi only heard a hearty voice ringing in his ears, and a deep blue robe swayed before his eyes.
Then, the owner of the azure robe helped him up.
"Thank you, brother." Zhu Qi had just fallen heavily to the ground and struggled to stand up, thanking the scholar in the azure robe.
The blue-robed scholar said gently, "It's just a small favor, don't worry! My dear brother, please rest assured. My cousin has already caught up with the thief and got your purse back."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qi ignored the pain in his legs and looked forward, only to see the gray-clothed scholar who had knocked down the thief earlier walking towards him with a purse in his hand.
"The purse should be intact, check it out!"
As he spoke, the scholar in gray had already walked up to Zhu Qi and handed him the purse.
Zhu Qi took the purse in his hand as if it were a treasure, opened it and examined it, "It's all here, all here! Nothing is missing!"
Zhu Qi's voice trembled a little.
"It's good that there is no shortage!" the gray-robed scholar said loudly.
"Humph! What a pity that we didn't catch the thief and let him get away!"
Zhu Qi looked at the gray-robed scholar with gratitude, his eyes moist. "It's great that we can get the purse back! It doesn't matter if the thief is not caught!"
"I'm so grateful to you two, brothers! My family is poor, and I only brought five taels of silver with me this time. If I lose it, I might not even be able to take the exam!"
"I cannot express my gratitude for your help. Please accept my greeting!"
When Zhu Qi said this, he bowed with both hands and bent his waist deeply.
"Stop this!" The man in gray and the man in blue said in unison, and quickly reached out to help Zhu Qi up.
The blue-robed scholar said, "We are both here to take the imperial examination. It can be considered as fate. Brother, there is no need to be so polite."
The gray-robed scholar echoed, "That's right. As fellow scholars, we should help each other."
Zhu Qi's face flushed with excitement, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "I, Zhu Qi, am so lucky to have met you two. I, Zhu Qi, will definitely be friends with you two."
"My name is Zhu Qi. May I ask your names?"
The man in blue smiled and said, "Okay! Let's be friends! My name is Xiao Yong, his name is Baili Xin, and he is my cousin."
Xiao Yong and Baili Xin supported Zhu Qi, and the three of them talked and laughed along the way.
Xiao Yong and his companion first took Zhu Qi to a nearby pharmacy, bought some ointment for bruises and applied it to Zhu Qi's injured knee. Then the three of them went to a barbecue restaurant for a big meal.
Xiao Yong and Baili Xin introduced themselves to Zhu Qi, saying they were locals from Beijing and had also signed up for the Enke exam. If Zhu Qi encountered any difficulties in Beijing, he could ask them for help.
After all, my home is in Beijing, which gives me many more conveniences than students from other places like Zhu Qi.
After lunch, the three of them returned to the inn where Zhu Qi was staying and chatted lively for a long time.
In just a few hours, the three of them had become good friends.
…
At the same time, Tianxiang Restaurant.
Liang Chaozong and Yao Jinse sat in a private room on the top floor drinking tea.
"Husband, I see that students have gathered in the capital recently. Among so many scholars, there must be some outstanding ones." Yao Jinse said softly.
"Why don't we take this opportunity to find a few suitable ones and bring them under our wing?"
Liang Chaozong's eyes turned: "Well, this is indeed a good idea!"
"They specifically pick those who come from poor families but are well-educated."
Yao Jinse's face showed an unconcealable pride.
Liang Chaozong looked at Yao Jinse with admiration: "Then, Madam, what do we think should be done?"
Yao Jinse used her delicate hands to pinch a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mouth, then smiled flatteringly and said, "In my opinion, the Royal Barbecue Restaurant's method is quite good!"
"We could follow suit and provide free meals to students in the days before the exams. This would give them a good impression of being kind and generous."
"After the results are announced, how can we pick on those candidates who are quite knowledgeable but unfortunately failed the exam?"
"Okay!" Liang Chaozong responded loudly, his eyes shining with excitement.
At noon the next day, Tianxiang Restaurant followed the example of the Royal Barbecue Restaurant and posted a large notice.
It says that all candidates who come to Beijing to take the imperial examination can have one free meal in the store every day.
Not only that, they also built several simple tea stalls in the open space around Yongping Lane to provide free tea to students from morning to night.
Students can sit in the teahouse to drink tea and rest.
However, although the notice of Tianxiang Restaurant was posted, only a few students came into the restaurant to receive the charity meals.
On the one hand, Royal Barbecue Restaurant has taken the lead in providing charitable meals, and students have already recognized the barbecue restaurant in recent days.
The barbecue restaurant’s loving meals, mainly meat, are exactly what students who overuse their brains need.
On the other hand, Tianxiang Restaurant is the top-notch and most luxurious restaurant in the capital. It is usually a place frequented by dignitaries, and ordinary people dare not enter it at all.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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