Since the academy had to be moved to the provincial capital after preparing for the college entrance examination, Chen Cui announced the news to everyone after returning to the academy, and then prepared to go to the provincial capital for an inspection.
Fortunately, this is not a big deal. Wei Shu and his friends are going to the provincial capital to prepare for the exam soon, so they can just take a ride with the Wei family. Wei Shu also said that the small courtyard he usually rents is also spacious and there is no need to prepare anything else.
It’s just that the daily life of the academy is a little difficult to handle - other people can choose not to participate in the daily life of the academy, but she, the dean, and Mu Erpang, the irreplaceable No. 1 training target, must participate.
The daily report is released every day, so Chen Cui had no choice but to let Mu Erpang go with her. It happened that her fat son had been studying too hard recently and his chin had become thinner, so it was a good opportunity to take him out for a walk.
Lao Buyu was the only one left in the academy. He had nothing to do alone, so he might as well go together to investigate the site selection. He could also continue giving lectures to Mu Erpang on the way.
As for Zhou, she originally said that she would stay to look after the house, but Chen Cui did not let her. She would follow Mu Yunchuan to the capital later, and the farthest she had been was the county town. Now was a good time for her to broaden her horizons.
Moreover, Zhou could live in the same room with her, and she was a smart and considerate person, so it would not be a problem at all to bring her along.
The reason to persuade her was very simple. Chen Cui said to her with a little distress: "Not counting the time for traveling, we have to stay until Ashu and Xiaoxi finish the exam and read the results. It will take more than ten days. We are already staying in the house rented by the Wei family. It is not good to let their servants take care of the food and drink for so many of us every day. There are also some daily necessities in the academy. Although we can't take them all at once, it is better to stay at home for a thousand days than to go out for a day. We have to pack some things to avoid spending money to buy them when we get to the capital. They are all men, and their minds are not delicate enough. They just wait for me to think about it..."
When she heard that she could be of use, Zhou didn't refuse any more. She said she would take care of it and went to pack up her things.
The academy examination was extremely important and its difficulty was greatly increased. Wei Shu and his friends were a little nervous at first, but now that everyone in the academy had gone to the provincial capital, the atmosphere became relaxed.
Earlier, Wei's parents asked Chen Cui to send a gift, and specially got a huge carriage from the capital. It was more than enough to load the goods, let alone carry so many people.
Wei Shu asked his servants to clean up the place. At the end of June, a group of people set out from the village and went directly to the provincial capital.
On the way, Wei Shu said, "Hanshan, you haven't been to the city yet. There is a snack street not far from the yard I rented. There is a crab soup dumpling shop that sells very well. There is a long queue every day. Every time I ask the servant to buy it for me, it is always a little cold when I get it back, and it doesn't taste so good. This time we are all here, let's go and queue up together."
Wei Xi said, "I remember there seems to be a famous bookstore in the city. It is said that any rare or incomplete books can be bought there. It's a good opportunity for us to go shopping together."
Mei Ruochu said, "When I came to Cuiwei from Hongle, I heard that there are many scenic spots and historical sites there. When we get tired of reading, we can go hiking."
After listening to them, Mu Erpang, who had never traveled far in his life, lit up his eyes.
In other academies, if students only think about eating, drinking and having fun before a big exam like the college entrance examination, they will definitely be scolded.
But Shen Cui feels that hard work should be spread out in daily life. For example, the teenagers in her family are all very hardworking, so cramming before the exam does not seem that important.
Not to mention that they were very sensible. After chatting and having fun for a while, they consciously took out their books to read, and the topic of discussion became the contents of the books.
Chen Cui ignored them and continued doing her needlework.
Later, when it was getting dark, the Wei family's servants arranged for them to stay in a hotel and rest.
Shen Cui was about to pay the bill, but Wei Shu didn't let her. He smoothed things over for Shen Cui and said, "Xiao Xi and I were originally going to have a superior room each, but now we still have two rooms, one for us with a big bunk bed, and one for you and your sister-in-law. This saves us money compared to before!"
Chen Cui laughed and was too lazy to argue with him. She just asked the shopkeeper for another table of dishes and paid for the lunch.
After dinner, the boys went back to their rooms to review their lessons, and Chen Cui dragged Zhou for a walk around the neighborhood before curfew.
The place they passed by was also a county town, but it was much more prosperous than Yongning County next to Shuiyun Village.
The clothes worn by the common people are also quite different, with more styles and better materials, and are more fashionable than those worn by the common people in Yongning County.
After walking around for fifteen minutes, Zhou memorized a lot of clothing styles that she had never seen before, and started writing and drawing after returning.
After taking a rest, the group set out again the next day, still traveling during the day and resting at night.
Three days passed like this, and early in the morning of the fourth day, the group arrived at Qingzhou Prefecture.
The scale of the provincial capital is much larger than that of the county town. Just one city gate can accommodate dozens of people at the same time. It is very grand and majestic.
After entering the city, the road paved with blue bricks is flat and wide, with pedestrians coming and going in an endless stream, various buildings lined up one after another, and various wine banners and flags fluttering in the wind...
Not to mention people like Mu Erpang and Zhou who had never traveled far, even a modern person like Chen Cui was dazzled by it.
After entering the city, the carriage drove for about three quarters of an hour before arriving at the small courtyard rented by Wei Shu.
The "small" actually refers to Wei Shu, but in fact it is a large square courtyard with ear rooms, side rooms and back rooms, which is much larger than the old house of the academy.
So it’s no wonder that Wei Shu guaranteed that there was room for them.
Although it was Wei Shu who rented the yard, he said that the specific arrangements would be decided by Chen Cui.
The side room was left for the servants to live in, and the main room was of course still used as a classroom. The tables in other rooms were put together to serve as desks. As for how to live... there were no kangs in the city, everyone slept on beds, so it was not convenient for all the children to live in the same room. Shen Cui let Wei Shu and Wei Xi live in the main house, Mei Ruochu and Mu Erpang, Lao Buyu live in another wing room, and Shen Cui and Zhou lived in the back room.
The lighting in the back room is poor and the sound insulation is not very good, but the two of them don't need to study hard, so the impact is not very big.
The Wei family's servants are responsible for hygiene here on a daily basis, so there is no need for additional cleaning. It is just like moving in with just your luggage, so after everything is arranged, everyone goes to put away their luggage.
After a simple tidying up, the boys gathered in the main room again and began to review their lessons. They did not go as they had agreed on the way on the road to eat, drink and have fun as soon as they entered the city.
Time gain cannot be activated here, and Chen Cui does not need to stay in the academy every day, so she familiarized herself with the situation everywhere.
Wenchang Street, where the courtyard rented by Wei Xi is located, is located in the central area of the city. It is well connected and very convenient. The neighbors nearby are all wealthy people in the city or scholars preparing for exams, not peddlers, so it is relatively quiet on a daily basis.
But a good location comes with a high price.
The monthly rent for this courtyard is about eight taels of silver. If it is rented temporarily during the provincial or academy examinations, the rent will double, which is completely beyond Chen Cui's budget.
Although Wei Shu and his friends had been to the provincial capital several times, they were all here to take exams. Apart from this area, they really didn't know any other places.
But they didn't need to worry about this. Chen Cui asked the servants of the Wei family to go out and inquire around, and they found a dental clinic that was quite reputable and honest.
The "yahang" is the intermediary nowadays. Most of the people doing this business are locals who have settled here for many years. They have more connections than these outsiders.
Chen Cui's requirements were neither too much nor too little. She did not need the house to be new, spacious, or well-furnished, but it had to be close to the local school so that the boys could stay there after school. The travel time should be controlled within two or three quarters of an hour, and it had to be quiet, not near a busy commercial street. The final budget is capped at five taels of silver, the lower the better.
The provincial school is naturally located in a good location in the city. It is really a bit unacceptable to rent a quiet courtyard near the provincial school that can accommodate several people for five taels of silver.
Fortunately, the Yaman didn't think she was too troublesome and said he would go back and look for it, and would come back to tell her when he found it.
Another five days passed, and Shen Cui still hadn't received a reply, and the college examination began.
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