"What's going on? Why aren't they moving?" An Jingzhi, who was in the carriage, didn't know what was happening outside. After feeling the carriage stop, he asked Gong Rong outside.
"Master, there was a scholar who fell down in front of us. Master went to help him up. They were talking."
An Jingzhi peeked out the window and saw An Yuping still talking to a scholar who was dressed very poorly.
Not knowing what was said, An Yuping bowed to the person opposite him.
The shabby student opposite glanced at the carriage behind them with an inexplicable look on his face.
After catching a glimpse of jealousy in the other person's eyes, An Jingzhi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Logically speaking, a Juren should not be so poor, unless he lives in a very remote small county town with not much tax revenue, which naturally cannot support such a Juren.
The two chatted for a while, and then An Yuping walked to An Jingzhi's carriage.
"Brother," he pointed at the shabby scholar standing in front of him and introduced him, "Brother Zhang is also a juren coming to Beijing to take the imperial examination. There's still room in the carriage. How about we give him a ride?"
The man bowed to An Jingzhi before shaking his head and saying, "When Heaven gives someone an important task, it first toils their muscles and bones and starves their body. Traveling is also a way to polish oneself. Brother An, there's no need to be polite."
"How can this be?" An Yuping said hurriedly, "Brother Zhang, you have come all this way and your body is exhausted. If you continue like this, I'm afraid you will collapse when you reach the capital."
"Brother Zhang, meeting is fate. We can discuss this with each other along the way."
"That……"
Just when the other party wanted to agree, An Jingzhi said with a smile:
"Brother, what did your elder brother teach you? Don't force yourself. This Mr. Zhang is obviously a man of strong will. He has come all this way, so why would he give up at this last moment?"
"At such a critical moment, one's character is tested. You must not ruin Mr. Zhang's training and test of himself."
"Brother Zhang, then you can continue polishing. We won't disturb you."
As he said this, he looked at An Yuping with a firm look and asked him to get on the carriage.
An Yuping struggled for a few moments and said goodbye to Mr. Zhang next to him.
Gong Rong whipped the horse, and dust was raised on the road, which flew directly into Zhang Juren's face.
If it was an ordinary scholar, An Jingzhi would not mind giving him a ride, but that scholar had a frivolous look and looked upright on the surface, but An Jingzhi could not hide his thoughts.
The other party looked at An Yuping with jealousy flashing from time to time.
What was he jealous of? Of course, he was jealous that An Yuping, who was also a Juren, could ride in a carriage while he could only walk on his two legs.
He clearly wanted An Yuping to give him a ride, but he acted hypocritical and said that if he wanted to work hard, then he should work hard.
He was unwilling to let such a person take advantage of him.
…
"What? This place is full too?"
After arriving in the capital, I looked for a place to stay as usual. I asked at two inns, but they were both full.
"There is still half a year left before the imperial examination, and so many people have already arrived." An Yuping sighed.
"What do you think? Those who live nearby will definitely come to Beijing first to adapt to the life here. Otherwise, if they rush here and fail to adapt to the climate here, wouldn't they have wasted several years of effort?" An Jingzhi had already expected such a result.
It’s not like he hasn’t taken scientific examinations before.
"Let's go and find another one."
I asked four more hotels and finally found two ordinary guest rooms at the sixth one.
An Jingzhi Gongrong could only live in one room, and An Yuping and Shutong could live in another room.
The most expensive inn along the way was only one penny of silver per night, and this inn was ordinary and even smaller.
It costs two cents of silver to stay here for one day, which means that one tael of silver can only allow you to stay here for five days.
An Yuping was a little anxious. "Brother, we have to find a house quickly. The daily rate of this inn is too expensive."
"Do I need you to tell me that? Just focus on your book. Gong Rong and I will go for a walk and rent a place to stay."
An Yuping suppressed his anxiety, took out a letter given to him by the county magistrate before he left, and prepared to visit the county magistrate's classmate.
"Brother, what gift do you think I should bring?"
An Jingzhi paused as he was about to leave. "The gentleman you mentioned is an official in the capital. He would definitely not appreciate ordinary things. We can't afford to give him anything too expensive."
He thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you write an article and send it over? It's perfect. Don't writers like this kind of thing?"
An Yuping's expression brightened and he immediately sat down at the desk, with his servant helping him grind ink.
…
An Jingzhi and his companion went to the surrounding area to inquire about rental opportunities.
Just as he expected, most of the good locations had been rented out, and the rent was ridiculously expensive, at least ten or twenty times higher than that of their ordinary small place. The closer to the imperial examination, the higher the price would be.
I looked around for the whole morning but couldn't find any suitable house.
His stomach was rumbling with hunger, so he took Gong Rong to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
Just ordering a few dishes cost two taels of silver.
Gong Rong was so heartbroken that his frown never relaxed.
After the food was served, he even licked the plate clean. An Jingzhi guessed that if the plate was not inedible, he would have eaten it too.
The main point is not to waste.
It's just a bit dirty.
After finishing their meal, the two asked around and finally found a small courtyard that was a little far away but in a good environment, though it looked a little run-down.
"Five taels of silver is already very cheap. If you rent it somewhere else, it will cost at least seven or eight taels of silver!" The landlord was an old lady, and she spitted when she talked about her house.
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