Chapter 591: Being a Guest
With the enrollment of new students in the provincial school, the rents in the Kangxue Street area have increased.
But their landlord, the Yu family, did not raise the rent and continued to rent it to them at the previous price.
In the words of homeowner Yu, if it weren't for them, his house would not be rented out even at the lowest price, let alone being able to sell it at a reasonable price in the future.
Just like the Xiao family across the street now.
The rent in Kangxue Street has increased a lot now, and many people still can't rent a house. Although the Xiao family is in prison, they have also listed their house in a pawnshop.
But basically, people just need to ask around and find out that even if the rent is reduced to one or two taels per month, no one will rent it.
In particular, most of the people who rent houses in Kangxue Street are scholars, and scholars attach great importance to their reputation.
If you are like the Yu family, which is only rumored to be haunted, the tenants who move in may say, "A gentleman does not speak of strange things." But if you choose to live in the Xiao family, even if you act uprightly, outsiders will speculate whether you have the same interests as the Xiao family.
Or maybe he was also suspected of being interested in the Yan family next door.
Wei Chen followed them into the alley, looked out, and praised, "This location is great, quiet in a bustling place, perfect for studying. Hey, this place looks familiar, I think I heard about it when I came here."
Bai Shanbao invited him in and said with a smile, "This alley has been haunted, so Brother Wei may have heard of it."
"Oh, I remember now. I heard that a family pretended to be ghosts and spooked people in order to occupy their neighbor's house, but they were caught by three children..."
"You're back--" Bai Erlang, who was finally freed from his studies, ran out of the study like crazy when he heard Bai Shanbao's voice. When he ran to the gate of the courtyard, he found that there was one more person, so he quickly stopped.
Bai Shanbao introduced himself to Wei Chen, "This is my junior brother, Bai Cheng, the second oldest child in the family. This is our new friend, Wei Chen, Lord Wei."
Wei Chen immediately smiled and said, "I'm the only son of my parents, so you can just call me Wei Da..." He paused slightly, looking at the three people standing together with some suspicion, and asked hesitantly, "Um, what about the three children who are said to have discovered that the Xiao family is haunted..."
"That's us," Manbao said, "but the rumors are a little untrue. We are not children anymore."
Wei Chen smiled awkwardly, but he was also a little curious, "How did you first discover that the Xiao family was haunted?"
"We didn't notice it," Bai Shanbao said with a faint smile. "We thought he was a real ghost, so we wanted to talk to him. But he was so timid that he started screaming instead. Then we knew he was fake."
Wei Chen: ...
Bai Shanbao took him to meet Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang was very surprised that Bai Shanbao made friends so early and even brought his friends home as guests.
If this is Manbao, then it is reasonable, but Shanbao...
Mr. Zhuang looked at Bai Shan's face again and again with suspicion, and when he looked up at Wei Chen, he smiled kindly.
Forget it, I’ll ask later. Now let’s just greet the guests first.
One of the great advantages of having a cook at home is that they no longer have to worry about not having enough food for unexpected guests.
Because she can add dishes at any time, in addition to the dishes, the kitchen also has some snacks that the little masters like to eat. Not only Bai Erlang, but also Manbao and Bai Shanbao like them very much.
The cook spent a day and finally bought enough ingredients for the kitchen, so she spent half the afternoon making some snacks.
As soon as the guests arrived, she served them snacks.
Since coming to Yizhou, the three of them haven't eaten the snacks made by the cook for a long time.
Manbao counted on his fingers and sighed, "It's been more than a month."
"Yes, it's been more than a month." Bai Shanbao also sighed, then gave way to Wei Chen and offered a piece of dessert to the gentleman, then he took a piece and ate it contentedly.
Wei Chen took a bite and said with a smile, "Your dim sum is indeed delicious, not inferior to those sold outside. How come it took over a month?"
"My cook just arrived yesterday."
Wei Chen understood after a little thought. They had just started school, so it seemed that this cook was brought in later.
Then he was shocked by the wealth of Bai Shan's family, and thought to himself: Even in his family, his father didn't say that he would assign him a cook. Is it the Longzhou Bai family?
Wei Chen felt a little embarrassed. It seemed that he had to write a letter to ask his father about the Longzhou Bai family.
Mr. Zhuang was a very friendly person and had a lot of experience. Although he didn't ask specifically, after talking to Wei Chen for a few words and asking about his family, he guessed his background.
Mr. Zhuang smiled slightly, "So your father is the governor of Longzhou."
Wei Chen didn't expect that he would recognize his father as soon as he mentioned his name. He felt a little embarrassed and asked, "Mr. Zhuang, do you know my father?"
Mr. Zhuang paused and then smiled, "I have seen him before, but that was a long time ago. I didn't expect you to be this old now."
Wei Chen smiled a little embarrassedly, knowing that he might have met an acquaintance of his father, but he was unaware of it.
Mr. Zhuang asked, "You've just entered the prefectural school. Are there any things you're not used to?"
"No, the school hasn't officially started classes yet."
Mr. Zhuang nodded. "We'll have to wait a few days. Some students have come a long way, so they don't bring many books with them, so it's inevitable that many are missing. So these two days are the time given by the prefectural school to sort them out. Actually, there's no need to worry so much. Ask the school officials about the books they'll be teaching this year, and buy these few first. We can slowly add the rest later..."
Mr. Zhuang was a student at the provincial school for quite a few years. Although a long time has passed, the school is more stubborn than the court and is difficult to change, so even after many years, most of the provincial school has not changed.
Even the scenery hasn't changed much, let alone other things.
So Mr. Zhuang’s experience is worth listening to.
Mr. Zhuang did not tell Bai Shanbao about some of his experiences because he wanted him to experience them personally, but he would mention them to Wei Chen. It might not be of much use, just a reminder.
Some of these things were new to Bai Shanbao, so he felt a little unhappy. After dinner and seeing Wei Chen off, he complained to Mr. Zhuang, "Sir, why did you tell him but not tell me what the senior officials like?"
Mr. Zhuang asked with a smile, "If I tell you, will you try to please those school officials?"
Bai Shanbao paused and said, "No."
"That's good, isn't it?" Mr. Zhuang said with a smile. "Your personality is different from his, so it's a waste of time to tell you all this. By the way, why did you think of bringing your friends home?"
"Since we are friends, you can naturally bring us home as a guest."
Mr. Zhuang glanced at him with a half-smile and said, "A friend you've only known for a while?"
Bai Shanbao smiled with his head down a little embarrassedly, but he did not tell the teacher that he was targeted by the school officials in the academy.
Mr. Zhuang didn't ask any more questions, but sighed, "Although the prefectural academy is still a school, it's involved in officialdom, so social etiquette has become a subject of study. While it can't compare to the intrigues of the imperial court, there's still plenty of competition, making it a small court."
The next update will be around 8pm
(End of this chapter)
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