Chapter 112 Temporary Residence in the Prefectural City
He and Chen Baoyue were going to the prefectural city. In Xiuning County, such a big house was only occupied by Grandma Guo and Guo Xiaohua, one old and one young. Guo Baiwen couldn't put his mind at ease.
While packing my luggage, I asked around at several households and specifically asked for a small black dog to guard the house.
But seeing that the puppy was only about ankle-high, Guo Baiwen was thinking of hiring a doorman or cook to live at home so that they could take care of each other.
But Grandma Guo said that it's impossible to see the true nature of the people hired from outside in a short time.
It would be better if only she and Guo Xiaohua lived together. The public security in Xiuning County is not bad, so there is no need to worry so much.
no way.
Fortunately, after checking in for a thousand consecutive days, the system rewarded him with two monitoring devices that do not require electricity or network access.
In addition to the previously updated charging function, after it is fully charged in the charging slot, it shows that it can standby for 500 days.
I figured I'd be back during the next Spring Festival, then I could renew it.
So one was placed in the inward-facing position at the main entrance of the south courtyard, and the other was placed at the small door of the side room in the back courtyard.
He would stand facing the entrance and exit doors, checking on them from time to time, which made him feel a little more at ease.
However, he turned around and asked the Zhao family father and son to keep an eye on things during their daily patrols. He also spoke to Yang Qiaomai about it privately.
Once he and Chen Baoyue have settled on a place to stay in the prefectural city, they will send the address back as soon as possible.
His parents-in-law were also worried that he and Chen Baoyue would be going out to work. When the two left Chen's shop, Chen Baoyue pulled out a heavy money bag from somewhere and waved it in front of him.
“My parents said that there are many places where money is needed when traveling, so they gave us this money to take with us for the journey.”
This bag must have at least seven or eight taels of silver; it sounded quite heavy.
Chen Baoyue originally wanted to give him the money, but Guo Baiwen waved his hand and refused, saying, "You should keep this money. If you don't need it later, you can return it to your father-in-law and the others."
So it's settled then.
With the departure date drawing ever closer, the two, having learned from their previous experience traveling to the prefectural capital, meticulously prepared a great deal of travel gear this time.
During this period, Grandma Guo would occasionally bring back some braised food or cooked food when she came back from the shop every day.
It seemed they had made up their minds to fatten them both up before going out.
On the third day of the fifth lunar month, two days before the Dragon Boat Festival, the two of them packed their bags and hired a horse-drawn carriage to set off.
Before leaving, Grandma Guo and Xiaohua agreed that in two days, once Guo Baiwen and the others had settled in, they would send a letter home with their address.
They can take advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday to visit the prefectural city.
The coachman cracked his whip, urging the horses onward, glancing at the bushes and flowers lining the roadside as he called out, "Giddy up!"
The carriage sped along the road, and although the journey was very bumpy, fortunately the prefectural city was not too far from the county town.
Just past noon, the city gates could already be seen in the distance.
The early summer afternoon sun was already quite strong, and the water in my water bag was all gone.
The coachman even pointed out a well on the road, indicating that people could draw water directly from it.
But Guo Baiwen thought it was bad to drink raw water, so after thanking the coachman, he endured it until now.
Finally, I can have a hot cup of tea.
After settling the bill for the carriage and driver, Guo Baiwen wiped the sweat from his forehead and followed the route he had taken to the prefectural city, finding a teahouse that looked familiar.
There was a wooden sign on the wooden shelf by the door that read 'Red Bean Soup, Plum Juice'.
It looks like the shop sells homemade sweet soups in addition to tea.
Guo Baiwen ordered a bowl for himself and Chen Baoyue. It was past lunchtime, and there weren't many people sitting in the teahouse.
On the stage in the middle of the teahouse, a storyteller was enthusiastically recounting the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Guo Baiwen and his companion were sitting far away, so they couldn't hear very clearly.
But he didn't come here to listen to storytelling. When the waiter brought over tea, he was able to linger at each table longer since the shop wasn't busy.
Guo Baiwen slipped seven or eight coins into his hand. "Brother, I want to ask you something—"
That night, they chose an inn that was relatively close to the family's school to stay at.
As Chen Baoyue packed her things, she didn't forget what had happened during the day, "Husband, are you planning to rent a courtyard outside the academy?"
"That's right, it wouldn't be good to have you squeezed into the dormitories of the prefectural school with me."
“Actually, renting two rooms should be enough,” Chen Baoyue said hesitantly, recalling the rent the waiter had mentioned earlier. “Wouldn’t renting the whole courtyard be too big?”
Although I wandered around the city when I came to take the exam last time, I still don't know as much as the locals do.
Guo Baiwen had asked the waiter at the teahouse during the day, and then, in the evening, he asked the waiter at the inn while asking for hot water.
Someone said there are three alleys near the academy. You can go to one end of the alley and ask an older woman or man to find out about the empty courtyard.
One person said that their inn has long-term rental courtyards. Although the price is a bit higher, the interior is fully furnished and has its own separate kitchen. It is cleaner and tidier than the courtyards rented outside.
Guo Baiwen booked a room for two days, planning to visit the place during those two days.
“I’ll go out and take a look tomorrow. I’ll probably be staying at the academy for three to five years,” Guo Baiwen explained. “It’s better to settle on a suitable place from the beginning than to have to travel around looking for a suitable place to live later with my belongings.”
If the long-term rental courtyard that the innkeeper mentioned is really as the waiter described.
If the price is a little higher, it's not out of the question.
Chen Baoyue thought about it and agreed. Grandma Guo and Xiao Hua might come over during holidays, so finding a spacious courtyard would be helpful. In case there were any classmates from the academy, they could be treated more attentively.
So the next day, the two of them went out to check out the house without having breakfast.
Besides the elderly people in those alleys, the two also stumbled upon a house broker soliciting customers along the way.
This is truly like offering a pillow when you're sleepy.
After running around for two days, we finally found a suitable courtyard in Baide Alley, which is two streets away from the academy.
Although it's a rather old two-courtyard house, the housekeeper leading the way said it's at least thirty or fifty years old.
However, because the original owner cherished it very much, even though it was an old house, everything from the tiles and walls to the tables, chairs and benches inside the rooms and the things in the yard were well preserved.
The two of them had looked at quite a few houses over the past few days, and they really liked the size and layout of this yard.
However, before settling on the house, they wanted to meet with the owner first. They discovered that the landlady was an old lady who looked a lot like Grandma Guo. Her children and grandchildren had all moved to the prefectural capital this year, and she was unwilling to sell the house that held so many years of history for her.
I've been looking for a tenant who will take good care of the house, which is why it's been delayed until now.
Upon meeting, both parties were very satisfied and decided to purchase the house together.
I rented the place for three years and paid six months' rent upfront, so I didn't need to pay a separate deposit.
After settling on a place to stay, Guo Baiwen immediately sent a letter to Xiuning County.
Worried that Grandma Guo wouldn't be able to read the characters, Guo Baiwen specially pasted another piece of paper on the back of the letter, carefully drawing a route map showing how to get to the courtyard after entering from the south gate of the city.
You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to do things one step at a time.
After finishing all these matters, Guo Baiwen and Chen Baoyue cleaned the yard carefully together.
The reports from the prefectural school were also processed. After submitting the teacher's recommendation and the registrar's introduction, his enrollment was confirmed and tuition was paid. The guide even took him on a tour of the prefectural school.
Unlike the county school, the prefectural school currently has ten teachers, all of whom are successful candidates in the imperial examinations.
Although three of them have temporarily gone away to study, and it is now unknown who their tutors will be after they return to school, the teaching resources of the prefectural school are indeed much better than those of the county school in Xiuning County.
Guo Baiwen walked around inside, paying particular attention to the library and the location of the classroom where he would be studying, before thanking the monk who had helped him guide him that day.
Classes were supposed to start the day after the report, but it happened to coincide with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
The academy has been closed for the past few days, and apart from a few monks, Guo Baiwen didn't see many people during his visit. So he could only rest at home for a few days.
When I got home, lunch was ready.
The yard and bedroom were almost tidied up, but the kitchen was still a bit messy, so the two of them had been eating simple meals for the past few days.
Today's lunch consisted of a bowl of clear broth hand-pulled noodles with a poached egg, a plate of canned pickled vegetables sold on the street, two steamed white buns, and a plate of steamed and sliced salted meat.
As she helped bring the dishes to the table, Chen Baoyue magically produced a letter from behind her back. "It was just delivered this morning. It looks like it was sent from home. I was waiting for you to come back so we could read it together."
Upon hearing this, Guo Baiwen immediately put down his chopsticks and took the letter.
The letter contained only a few words, just four or five sentences. After glancing at it, he couldn't help but smile. As he handed the letter over, he said, "Grandma said that since it's the Dragon Boat Festival, she plans to come to the city with my parents-in-law to visit us."
Upon hearing this, Chen Baoyue raised an eyebrow, took the letter, and glanced at it. "The letter says we'll set off together this morning, so we should be able to reach the prefectural city by evening."
I was originally planning to have a simple dinner, but it seems I'll have to go out and buy some things after lunch.
She put the letter away and was about to start eating when she suddenly remembered, "Does our house not seem to have enough bedding for people to sleep on right now?"
"How about we go out and buy some later?" Upon hearing this, Guo Baiwen was also a little dumbfounded.
"Fortunately, the weather is warm now, so we don't need cotton quilts and such. I'll go out and see if there's any place that sells homespun cloth. I'll buy a bolt and have someone cut it into several strips so I can sleep under it tonight."
It was sunny and windy today. I washed it at noon, and I reckon it will be completely dry before the sun goes down.
So when they estimated that it was about time, the two of them stood at the city gate from Xiuning County to the prefectural city and waited.
While gazing at the carriages and pedestrians queuing outside, he unconsciously pulled out the letter and glanced at it again.
"You mean today, right?"
"That's right, let's wait and see."
As they talked, the rickety donkey cart came in through the tall city gate.
The familiar braying of a donkey rang out, and Chen Baoyue, seeing the driver in the distance, quickly pulled Guo Baiwen forward, calling out, "Father! Mother!"
"Hey!" Chen Damu quickly put away the rope in his hands and patted the door frame of the donkey cart behind him. "We've arrived at the prefectural city. Everyone, get off and relax!"
"Grandma, Little Flower, you're here too! You must be tired from the journey. Are you hungry?"
They helped the people off the vehicle, and the large and small bags on the donkey cart followed the group of people towards the courtyard.
Guo Xiaohua pulled out a few hard-boiled eggs from her pocket, chuckled, and said, "I wanted to eat these on the way here, but the carriage was too small, and eating too many eggs made me fart."
And the farts he lets out are quite smelly.
That's what they said—
Fortunately, while waiting at the city gate, I bought a bag of pastries on the way back, so I can take them out now and give each person a piece to eat.
"Then let's skip the eggs and have some pastries to tide us over."
In the afternoon, while Guo Baiwen was washing the newly made homespun quilt, Chen Baoyue quickly made a lot of egg pancakes. Now she stir-fried two dishes and cooked white rice porridge, along with some braised dishes she had bought on the spot. The family of six closed the door to eat.
After finishing the meal, I soaked my feet in hot water, and the fatigue from the journey immediately dissipated.
Since everyone has come to the city, and it just so happens to be the Dragon Boat Festival, we plan to have a lively and festive celebration together as a family in the city.
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