Chapter 522 Going Out
Mr. Zhuang turned around and saw Bai Shan with a bitter face. He shook his head and tapped him on the head with the book. He smiled and said, "If you can't concentrate on studying, take a break. You're not only making things difficult for yourself but also for the book."
Bai Shan said worriedly, "Sir, do we have to take the provincial entrance exam this year? I think I can postpone it for a year."
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "Take the test this year. If you don't pass, that's fine. You can try again next year. Besides, it's time for you to get out and explore. It's not good to always stay in Qili Village with me to study."
Manbao really wants to go out. Ever since she knew she could go to Yizhou, Manbao has promised Keke many things, such as digging grass, picking flowers, catching insects and fishing. She will find a way to find anything that has not been included before.
So she comforted Bai Shan, "Shan Bao, don't be nervous, we will all be with you. If you are tired, I will play the flute for you?"
"No," Bai Shan shuddered and said, "I'd better read a book."
Manbao felt very sorry.
"By the way, I'm about to take the entrance exam for the provincial academy, so you're not allowed to call me by my nickname outside anymore."
"I know, I know," Manbao said impatiently, "You've told me several times that I won't call you by your nickname, and you can't call me by mine either. By the way, isn't Lord Yang going to write you a letter of recommendation? Did you go get it?"
"It's been taken back."
The letter of recommendation given by Yang Heshu was to the academic official of the provincial school. With his letter of recommendation, Bai Shanbao could take the exam directly without having to go through layers of recommendations from academic officials.
Every county magistrate has a recommendation quota, but it is neither expensive nor invaluable, yet rare nonetheless.
In fact, the most valuable recommendation right in the hands of the county magistrate is the quota that allows him to directly recommend students to the provincial school. With that quota, students can enter the provincial school without passing the exam.
This was the spot Yang Heshu had said he would give to Bai Shanbao.
However, a county magistrate only has one quota, so many county magistrates are reluctant to use it.
Generally speaking, when the county magistrate gives this position to someone, the person must be either talented, wealthy, or have relatives.
Yang Heshu is still single and has no son. As for wealth, he has never been short of money, so the quota in his hand has been kept unused.
Bai Shanbao had Yang Heshu's letter of recommendation, so he could not only take the exam directly, but also receive some care when he went to Yizhou Prefecture School.
It was just the third day of March, the busy farming season, when Mr. Zhuang took his three disciples out.
Old Madam Liu and Mr. Bai each brought out a carriage, driven by Zhou Silang and Daji.
Mr. Zhuang refused the servant they wanted to give him. He had already planned that when he went out to take the exam this time, no matter whether he succeeded or not, he would take his three disciples out to travel. Things like food, clothing, housing and transportation should be taken care of by themselves.
Yes, they did it themselves.
As Mr. Zhuang already considers himself quite old, it is natural for his disciples to do the hard work when the teacher has something to do.
The provincial school examination is in April, and Luojiang County is only a day's journey away from Yizhou. If you are worried about the slow speed of the carriage, you can set off in the early morning and arrive before the city gate closes at night.
But will Mr. Zhuang be in a hurry?
He left home a month in advance in order not to be in a hurry. He also took a long detour. After leaving Luojiang County, he first walked north a little, then went west, and then went south from west to Yizhou, turning a one-day journey into more than an unknown number of days.
The reason I said I didn't know was because it was the third day after they came out, and the only way they knew where they were was by asking passers-by they met on the road.
Anyway, the three children didn't know the way, Zhou Silang didn't know it either, Daji might know it, but he wouldn't tell anyone unless his masters asked, and Mr. Zhuang wouldn't tell anyone even if they asked, and just let them ask passers-by on the road themselves.
But this official road is dilapidated and there are no pedestrians.
They walked a long way forward when they vaguely saw smoke coming from a cooking stove ahead. Bai Shanbao immediately stood on the shaft of the cart, holding onto the roof and tiptoed forward to look. After confirming that it was smoke from a cooking stove, he shouted, "There's a house ahead!"
Bai Erlang, who was dying and extremely thirsty, immediately climbed out of the car and stood up to take a look.
Manbao also climbed out, and seeing that he was shaky, he said, "Alright, alright, don't stand up, what if you fall?"
Zhou Silang, the driver, nodded repeatedly, "Right, right, right, Second Young Master, you have to stand firm. If you fall, I won't be able to protect you."
Bai Erlang sat down on the shaft of the cart and said, "Whoever falls, I'm very strong."
Daji and Mr. Zhuang, who were driving the bus and riding in the bus, were both thankful that Zhou Silang came along, otherwise it would have been too noisy to have three chatterboxes with him.
Since the three of them had come out, they simply didn't go back into the car, but squeezed on the shaft and chattered.
The annoying thing is that Zhou Silang also talks a lot. He moved his butt to make some space for them and started chattering with them.
There were shady green trees on both sides of the official road, blocking their view. They only had time to see the smoke rising into the sky. They thought the place was still far away, but who knew there was a turn ahead. After turning and walking forward for a while, they saw a teahouse ahead. The smoke they saw just now was rising from the teahouse.
Not only the four people in the carriage behind them, but also Daji and Mr. Zhuang in front breathed a sigh of relief. It was already past lunch, and if they couldn't find a place to rest, they would have to look for water in the nearby woods.
Two carriages stopped outside the teahouse, and a young man dressed as a waiter ran up to help them lead the horses. He asked with a smile, "Would you like to feed the horses?"
Daji jumped down and nodded, "Feed them. Give them two buckets of medium-quality grass."
"yes."
Daji helped Mr. Zhuang out of the car. The three people behind him had already jumped out and ran up to support Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang had been sitting for a long time and his legs were a little numb, so he reached out for them to help.
After walking a few steps forward, I found that there were many people in the teahouse. Some were dressed as farmers, and there was also a group of people who seemed to be passing by like them.
Manbao took a look at their carriage and found that the boy had pulled the carriage to the other side, then unloaded the carriage and pulled the horses to the left side, where there were five tall horses standing there.
Manbao secretly exclaimed, thinking that the people at that table must be very rich. The horses looked very good, and there were five of them.
Bai Shanbao's family is so rich, but they only have three horses.
The four masters and apprentices entered the teahouse, smiled and nodded to the people sitting inside as a greeting, then found an empty table and sat down.
Daji went to look at the horses, while Zhou Silang ran to the shop owner and asked, "What kind of food do you have in your shop?"
The next chapter will be around 1:00 PM
(End of this chapter)
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