The further north they went, the colder the weather became. They built a stove and kept warm by the fire, which made it much warmer. They could sit and read without feeling cold and even drink hot tea.
Although it wasn't cold in the carriage, the three of them felt a little wilted after traveling for such a long time. They couldn't concentrate on reading, and the scenery on the official road became increasingly bleak. They could only go out and stretch their bodies during breaks. It wasn't the first time that Wang Yu missed trains and planes so much.
Chen Yanwen leaned back on the couch and took a sip of tea. He turned his head to look outside and sighed, "We're almost there, right? We've been walking for about forty days, right?"
"Well, the steward said it will arrive in two or three days."
"That's great, but the capital is really cold. It's only November and it's already so cold."
On the afternoon of the fourth day, the group finally saw the gate of the capital. Although the weather was cold, there were many people coming and going at the gate. Wang Yu said goodbye to the steward, gave him a purse and said, "Please have some tea, everyone. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to reach the capital so smoothly."
The steward didn't refuse and simply said, "This is our farewell today. I wish you all success in the imperial examination next year."
"Okay, thank you for your kind words, Steward."
After bidding farewell to the caravan manager, the three of them went into the city to find an inn. The capital city was indeed bustling, with busy streets filled with people and cars. There were shops on both sides with a wide variety of goods, and there were also many people with exotic faces.
Wang Yu and his friends found a nearby inn, asked for four rooms, and booked two nights at 200 wen per night. They planned to find a house to rent tomorrow, as it would not be a good idea to stay in the inn all the time.
After such a long journey, the three of them went straight to bed after dinner and had no energy to go out for a walk. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future anyway.
The next day, after a good rest the previous night, the weather was gloomy and cold. The three of them put on thick cotton coats and went out to have breakfast. Then they asked the waiter where the brokerage shop was and went straight to the destination to explain their purpose.
After listening to their request and taking a look at their attire, the agent said, "Are you students going to take the imperial examination next year? Several students have been looking to rent accommodations lately. I have a few places here that are quiet and surrounded by students. You can be close together and get to know each other."
After saying that, he took the key and led them there. It was a small courtyard, but quite neat and clean. There was a main hall in the middle, two side rooms on the left, and a side room and a kitchen on the right.
The agent showed them around and explained, "These four rooms all have underground heating systems, which makes burning charcoal and firewood very convenient in winter. There's also a well in the yard for easy access to water. Most importantly, the family next to you is also a student preparing for the imperial examination."
After saying that, he pointed to the house on their right.
The three looked around and thought it was a good place, so they asked the rent. The agent replied three taels of silver a month. Fearing they might find it too expensive, he added, "This courtyard is a little more expensive than the others, but it has underfloor heating, so it's warm in the winter. Those without underfloor heating have to use charcoal stoves."
When Wang Yu heard this, he thought it was a good idea and signed a contract for half a year. He gave 18 taels of silver, Song Boyan gave 4.5 taels, and the rest was divided equally between Wang Yu and Chen Yanwen. Zheng Shu and Achang were their family members. The house was fully furnished with beds, tables, chairs and benches, but it was a bit cold because the heating was not on.
After booking the house, the three of them went out to eat, but they still had to hire someone to cook and do chores. They were all grown men and didn't know how to cook very well, so it wasn't appropriate to eat out all the time. So they hired a sister-in-law to cook, wash clothes, and do chores, and asked Sister-in-law Liu to clean up the yard first. They only brought clothes when they came, and they went to buy bedding and pillows.
On the way back, they asked Achang to buy some firewood and charcoal to light the floor dragon first. Mrs. Liu was still cleaning the house, so they asked Achang and Zheng Shu to help clean it up. They went back to the inn first and went back the next day. Today went smoothly and the house had been rented.
The three of them went to the inn and prepared to write a letter home, and sent it to the post station to have someone deliver it back.
The next day, the three of them checked out and went back to the rented house. The house had been cleaned up. It was indeed comfortable with the floor heating, and the heat was transmitted up from the soles of their feet. Wang Yu looked at the gloomy sky outside the window and thought it was going to rain.
After packing up his things, Chen Yanwen came to find Wang Yu: "Xiuzhi, I'm afraid it's going to rain. Should we still go out?"
Wang Yu looked at Song Boyan who had also come out of the house and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it's going to rain soon. I'll just rest in the house."
Mrs. Liu, who was cleaning up in the kitchen, came out to find Wang Yu and the others. "It's probably going to snow at this rate. We need to stock up on food and firewood."
Wang Yu and the other two looked outside. Was it going to snow? The weather in the capital was cold and the snow was heavy, so it was reasonable to stock up on some food. Then they gave Sister Liu some silver and told her to buy as much as she wanted.
Mrs. Liu knew that they were all newly arrived scholars and probably didn't know much about the market in the capital. There was no point asking more questions, so after taking the money, she went out to buy vegetables with Achang and the others.
It really started snowing in the middle of the night. When the three of them got up in the morning, they saw a thick layer of snow in the yard. The snow was still falling, heavy snow.
Chen Yanwen, who was leaving, rubbed his hands and said, "This snow is so heavy."
Wang Yu saw white air coming out of his mouth. Chen Yanwen and Song Boyan probably had never seen such heavy snow. It also snowed where they were, but it was rarely so heavy and dense. The snow was as big as cotton. Fortunately, they arrived early, otherwise they would have been delayed on the road for a day or two because of the snow.
Mrs. Liu had also prepared breakfast. Seeing that they had gotten up, she brought the food to the main room. "I made white porridge and scallion pancakes this morning. I pickled these pickles myself. You can try them."
In the past, when she cooked at other families' homes, she never used the things she pickled herself. After all, they were not very good food and she was afraid that the host would dislike them.
But yesterday, after the three of them had eaten the meal she cooked, they kept praising her for its deliciousness. She thought that she was also very good at pickling pickles, so she pickled some radishes yesterday and just marinated them overnight.
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