The midday sunshine in early spring is gentle and warm, making the blacksmith shop warm.

Zhao Hao and the Gao family father and son ate their meal while chatting about family matters.

After learning about the misfortune of Zhao Hao's family, Gao the blacksmith offered to help them out.

Looking at the food and clothing of his father and son, and the shabby blacksmith shop, how much money can Gao the blacksmith have? Yet he is willing to help others in need.

Although there was an intention of repaying a favor in it, Zhao Hao was still quite moved.

"To be honest, Brother Gao helped me make a lot of money yesterday, which has solved my urgent need."

"That's great." Gao the blacksmith was happy for Zhao Hao for a while, and then asked with concern: "That also requires a long-term livelihood. Does your father have any plans?"

Zhao Hao knew that he was asking in a tactful way, why was Zhao Shouzheng still idle at his age?

Then he smiled and said, "My father is studying in the Imperial Academy and will take part in the imperial examination this autumn."

"Ah, your father turned out to be a minister. How disrespectful." Gao the blacksmith was quite surprised. After thinking carefully about Zhao Shouzheng's attire and behavior, he shook his head and said, "I didn't see that at all."

"Oh?" Zhao Hao asked curiously, "The word 'husband' is not written on his face, so it's normal that the old man can't see it, right?"

"How could that be?" Gao the blacksmith shook his head and said, "An official has an official's manners, and a husband has a husband's dignity. You can tell at a glance that there is no difference."

"Huh, is there such a thing?" Zhao Hao only knew that being an official had to have official status, but he didn't know that even a scholar or a student had to have corresponding dignity... and even an old blacksmith knew about it. Apparently, it had become a rule tacitly accepted by the entire society.

"Young Master, you didn't know that?" Gao the blacksmith widened his eyes in shock. After a while, he realized, "Young Master is from an official family, with bells ringing and drums eating and drinking. Your daily food, clothing, housing and transportation are far better than those of ordinary candidates, not to mention scholars, students and other men."

Gao the blacksmith filled in the blanks on his own, saving Zhao Hao the trouble of explaining. He put down his bowl, bowed and said, "Please enlighten me, old man."

"What are you talking about? I just heard it from others, how can I know the real situation?" Gao Tiejiang waved his hands quickly. He couldn't refuse anymore, so he chose his words carefully: "Then I will tell you what I saw in Nanjing City these years, just for fun."

"Please speak, old man." Zhao Hao pretended to listen attentively.

"Let's not talk about those who are still officials. You must know more than me." Gao Tiejiang first ruled out the incumbent officials.

I really don’t know… Zhao Hao said silently in his heart, but in order to maintain the image of a son of an official in trouble, he had to force a smile and said, “Okay.”

"Let's just talk about those who are not officials. I've seen those retired gentry and those who are in mourning at home. They all go in and out in sedan chairs carried by four people. In addition to the sedan bearers, there are also umbrella bearers who specialize in holding umbrellas. These five people all wear red vests and red bamboo hats. They are followed by their own servants and servants. There are more than ten people following them. They are no different from the officials in office. Of course, they can't compare with the officials in office."

Zhao Hao's eyes widened when he heard this, thinking that this was too good to be true. He then asked, "What about the candidate?"

"The juren also ride in sedan chairs, but they can only ride in cloth sedan chairs carried by two people, and the bearers cannot wear red. They have servants and long attendants holding umbrellas, so they have to support four or five people in total." Gao Tiejiang stroked his beard and said, "The juren are all new nobles, and they are very particular about etiquette. I heard that the gentlemen in the countryside all ride in sedan chairs with four people, and some even hold the cards of "Xiaolian" and "Xiangkui", but they can only fool the villagers. But they dare not go into the city, and have to change back to a small sedan chair with two people, otherwise they will be criticized."

"Is that so?" Zhao Hao was more determined to help Mr. Zhao pass the imperial examination after hearing this. But he suddenly felt nervous and asked with some difficulty: "The juren has money, but how can a poor scholar maintain his dignity?"

In the Ming Dynasty, the tribute students, the imperial students, and the scholars were basically considered to be of the same class. Zhao Hao was not in a position to ask about the "poor imperial students", so he asked about the "poor scholars" instead, which was the same.

"You can ride in a sedan chair, but they don't have a regular income, and the cost of studying is high. If they don't have money at home, life is hard. So no one will laugh at them if they walk instead of riding a car on weekdays. But if they don't rent a sedan chair to ride when they meet their teachers or officials, they will still be laughed at."

"But no matter how frugal you are, you can't skimp on a servant boy." Gao the blacksmith looked at Zhao Hao and whispered, "It will rain more often starting from March. If you hold an umbrella yourself, you will be laughed at by others and you will feel bad."

"So the scholar can't hold an umbrella by himself?" Zhao Hao suddenly remembered that Zhao Shouzheng always refused to carry an umbrella when he went out every day. He originally thought that it was just Mr. Zhao's laziness, but he didn't expect there was another reason.

"Of course, and the umbrellas of the gentlemen are all tin-topped, which is different from those of us ordinary people." Gao the blacksmith said with envy: "On rainy and hot days, the book boy opens his umbrella, which is shining with silver light. You can tell at a glance that the scholar has come."

Zhao Hao nodded slowly and involuntarily, thinking about where to hire a book boy...

.

Just as he was about to ask Gao the blacksmith if he had any connections, he suddenly caught a glimpse of two familiar figures peeking around at the alley.

"Huh?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel a little strange. Why did his uncle and cousin come?

Having just eaten and drunk enough, he said goodbye to Gao the blacksmith and his son and left the blacksmith shop.

"What are you doing?!" Zhao Hao, who was standing behind the two men, suddenly shouted in a low voice.

"Oh my god..." Zhao Shouye was so scared that his legs went limp and he almost fell to the ground, but Zhao Xian almost jumped up.

"You little brat, don't you know that scaring people can be fatal?" Zhao Shouye turned around and saw that it was Zhao Hao. He couldn't help but laugh and cry.

"Isn't this just a joke to my uncle?" Zhao Hao smiled and bowed to his uncle, then grinned at his cousin and said, "What brings you here?"

"How can this child talk like that? As his uncle, shouldn't I come and see you?" Zhao Shouye's attitude today was much gentler than usual.

"Then please come in. It's a simple place, but I hope you don't mind it, uncle." Zhao Hao said as he led the two of them into the house.

Zhao Shouye was stunned by the patched and dilapidated scene before him.

After a long while, he said sadly, "You really live here? Your father went to the government office and told me the other day, but I didn't believe it."

"This is much better. If it weren't for the neighbors helping to repair it, it would be uninhabitable."

While Zhao Hao was making tea for his uncle and cousin, he asked casually, "My father said that my uncle doesn't live in the official residence?"

Zhao Shouye coughed awkwardly when he heard this, and evaded the question by saying, "Alas, for some reason, I am temporarily staying at your brother's grandfather's house. It's just temporary, just temporary."

Zhao Hao looked envious and said, "That's great. We should definitely stay longer to save a lot of money."

He really spoke from the heart. One does not know how expensive firewood and rice are until he manages the household. He has faced the crisis of running out of food several times in recent days.

When the uncle saw that Zhao Hao did not have any mocking expression, he remembered that he and his son had originally planned to live off each other, but they were both tragically broken off from their engagement, which led to their current situation.

I couldn't help but feel no embarrassment at all, and instead felt somewhat comforted.

ps. The second update is here, please vote for recommendation and comment, ლ(°◕‵ƹ′◕ლ)~~~~~~~