Chapter 49 Falling Sick
Gu Mingda did not answer, but hid backwards, protecting the test paper.
The middle-aged man stretched out his hand and wanted to grab Gu Mingda, but he missed the golden time. Two patrolling sergeants ran over and held him down.
"Be honest! You can't pass the exam yet you're still thinking about harming others!" one of the soldiers scolded.
Another sergeant looked at Gu Mingda inquiringly.
Gu Mingda waved his hand and said, "It's okay, my paper is fine."
The sergeant nodded at him, then dragged the middle-aged man to the other end of the examination room.
The environment in the examination room was very depressing. The air seemed to be stagnant. Gu Mingda glanced outside and saw that the previously cloudless sky had now turned gray. He quickly finished his pancake and began to copy.
After blowing the ink dry, Gu Mingda handed in the paper on the spot without hesitation.
He watched with his own eyes as the test papers were safely delivered by the soldiers, and then sealed and the names were covered, and only then did he feel relieved.
Under the guidance of the police, he carried the examination basket and left the examination room.
He was still very careful on the way home. Accidents still happened occasionally, but they never happened to him. When he finally entered the house he rented and his heart just settled down, he heard the sound of dripping water coming from under the eaves.
An unexpected rain fell suddenly and unexpectedly.
Zhang Yunniang looked anxious: "Husband, are you wet?"
Gu Mingda smiled and shook his head.
Zhang Yunniang breathed a sigh of relief and asked about what happened during today's exam. When she learned that there were so many unexpected events, her heart ached again.
"It's okay, it's all over. I'm back safe and sound," Gu Mingda said softly.
When the other families in the yard saw the rain, they all went out with umbrellas to pick up their own candidates.
Only Mrs. Cai, who was sleeping soundly in the house while her husband was away, did not hear the sound of rain at all.
Little Cai has always been lazy. Otherwise, she would never have done such an extraordinary thing as pushing all the work to her five-year-old adopted daughter.
When she woke up from her deep sleep, the other scholars who were taking the exams in the house had already been taken back by their families.
The original drizzle had turned into heavy rain, the whole sky was dark, all I could see was rain, and I couldn't even see the road clearly.
Little Cai hurriedly took out an umbrella and prepared to go out, when she heard Mrs. Qi, who lived next door, sighing:
"Fortunately, I left early to pick you up, otherwise we might both be stuck there in such heavy rain. Drink this bowl of ginger soup quickly to drive away the cold."
Qi Tongsheng agreed with a smile.
Madam Qi looked at Xiao Cai again, a little surprised, and said, "Madam Zhang, you're going to pick someone up now? It's raining so hard, your umbrella will be broken when you turn around. You should wait a little longer until the rain is lighter before going out."
Little Cai responded awkwardly. She was extremely panicked at the moment. Zhang Guangzong had a explosive temper. It was raining so hard and she overslept and didn't go to pick him up. She didn't know how he would deal with her later.
She kept hoping that the rain would be lighter.
But it seemed as if God did not hear her prayers. The rain got heavier and heavier, until it became extremely difficult to walk from the bedroom across the yard to the kitchen.
Autumn rain is already cold, and now it is approaching winter. Just standing under the eaves, I can feel the cold air rising up.
Little Cai was so cold that she put on an extra coat and dared not stand on the eaves. She hid in the house, pacing around the room anxiously, occasionally opening the window to look outside, but the rain showed no sign of slowing down.
At this time, Zhang Guangzong was sitting in a teahouse outside the examination hall, staring at the tea in front of him that was no longer hot, and cursing Xiao Cai countless times in his heart.
"Waiter, add some more hot water to my kettle." Zhang Guangzong said to the waiter.
The waiter reluctantly added some hot water to the teapot and asked, "Sir, just hot water? We also have hot food in our store, would you like to order one?"
Zhang Guangzong shook his head.
He didn't have much money on him, and he had been expecting Xiao Cai to come and pick him up. But as he waited, the rain got heavier and heavier, and there was no sign of anyone. Zhang Guangzong had been taking exams all day and had only a quick bite at noon, so he was already starving.
Things in the teahouse near the examination hall are already more expensive than those sold elsewhere, and now that it is raining heavily outside, the prices have shot up even more due to this extreme weather.
A pot of tea that costs five cents elsewhere in the city is sold for thirty cents in this teahouse today.
A pot of hot water and a few pieces of coarse tea, sold at this price, is no different from robbery.
Tea is so expensive, Zhang Guangzong can imagine how sky-high the prices of hot meals in this restaurant will be.
"Sir, your noodles are ready!" The waiter smiled and handed a bowl of hot noodles to the customer at the next table.
Zhang Guangzong held his stomach and drank water mouthful after mouthful. He looked at others eating hot food with a comfortable look on their faces, and he felt extremely envious.
The curtain at the door was opened and a gust of cold wind blew in.
Zhang Guangzong was so shocked that he felt cold all over and couldn't help sneezing.
"Forget it. I am suffering here while others are enjoying themselves! I don't care!"
Zhang Guangzong comforted himself like this, and then he looked at the waiter: "Give me a bowl of noodles."
The waiter smiled at him and asked, "Sir, a bowl of noodles with egg and meat is sixty cents. I'll ask the kitchen to make it for you right away."
Zhang Guangzong’s eyes widened when he heard this.
Normally, a bowl of noodles like this would cost at most twenty or sixty cents. Isn't this robbery?
Zhang Guangzong glanced at the teahouse full of people and finally held back from saying what was in his mind. Instead, he asked, "Waiter, do you have any vegetarian noodles?"
The waiter's smile faded slightly and he said, "A bowl of plain noodles costs thirty cents. Do you want any?"
Zhang Guangzong was about to nod when the waiter suddenly said, "Sir, you seem to be a student preparing for an exam, why are you eating so simply? You will have another exam in a few days. It's raining so hard today, why don't you eat something good to replenish your body?"
Zhang Guangzong cared about himself the most. He couldn't help but feel sorry for himself after hearing this. He gritted his teeth and said, "You're right. I want a bowl of meat noodles with an egg!"
The waiter grinned immediately upon hearing this, and thanked the rain in his heart. Eighty percent of the customers in the store now were scholars preparing for exams. With this speech, he didn't know how many bowls of meat noodles he would sell, and who knew how much more money his own teahouse would make tonight.
After eating a bowl of meat noodles, Zhang Guangzong felt warm all over, and his resentment towards Xiao Cai was somewhat alleviated.
After solving the problem of food and clothing, he continued to sit in the teahouse waiting for the rain to stop, and his mind couldn't help but recall what happened in the morning.
Looking back now, he felt that his plan was very clever. It was a pity that he entered the examination room too early and did not have the chance to see Gu Mingda's expression. He could not help but wonder, Gu Mingda was always so smart, so what would his expression be when he knew that he was being dragged down by his companions who had cheat sheets.
As for whether the cheat sheet would ruin the life of an innocent person, Zhang Guangzong didn't care.
Zhang Guangzong thought about how bad his reputation had become in his hometown during this period of time, and he didn't know how much effort it took for someone to be willing to guarantee him. He felt that it was all Gu Mingda who was harming him!
In his eyes, anyone who is willing to guarantee Gu Mingda is an enemy!
The waiter passed by Zhang Guangzong when collecting the bowls and frowned slightly, thinking that this customer was really strange. How could he be smiling so happily when he couldn't go home in such heavy rain?
The rain outside still continued, it was already very late at night, and the teahouse had long reached closing time. A few guests left in the rain, but there were still many guests in the teahouse who were unable to leave.
The teahouse didn't kick the people out, but kept the door open, inevitably collecting some kickbacks.
Zhang Guangzong gritted his teeth and paid another sum of money, then like everyone else, propped himself up and sat on the chair.
A cold night.
The next day the sky was still gray.
But the good news is that the rain finally stopped.
All the guests in the teahouse stood up and left. Most of them had unsteady steps and looked pessimistic.
Zhang Guangzong only felt dizzy. He no longer had the joy of having succeeded in his plan. He was looking forward to going home early, falling on the bed and having a good sleep.
On the way, I happened to meet Xiao Cai who came looking for me.
Little Cai looked at him evasively.
Zhang Guangzong glared at her and had a thousand things to say to her in his heart, but after a whole night of hard work, he was so exhausted that he didn't even have the energy to curse.
Little Cai supported him and walked back to the house, taking one step at a time. As soon as he entered the house, he couldn't wait to jump onto the bed.
"Husband, I'll go cook for you, but I have no money..." Mrs. Cai said cautiously.
As soon as Zhang Guangzong touched the pillow, he began to snore heavily after a while and could no longer hear what Xiao Cai was saying.
Little Cai pushed him gently, but there was no response. Then she looked more closely and saw that Zhang Guang's cheeks were red and he was unconscious.
A quarter of an hour later.
Suddenly, a woman's crying was heard outside Gu's house.
"Sister, brother-in-law! We are relatives. I am a woman and don't know anyone else in the city. My husband is so seriously ill, you must help me!" Xiao Cai shouted at the top of her lungs.
(End of this chapter)
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