As Shu Jing walked forward, she gradually left the bustling streets and the surroundings gradually became deserted.
Looking along the street, there are tall buildings everywhere, but there are basically no shops. There are only bungalows. Under the night sky, the lights are on, and through the windows you can see people reading by candlelight.
This is an area where "locals" live in large numbers. To be more specific, this can be considered the "slum" of the library.
The "second generation of scholars" who fail the assessment will be driven to this area, given a simple house and some gold coins, and let them fend for themselves.
If you are lucky, you can find some channels, get some necessities, open a small shop, and make a living while studying for the exam.
Those with average luck, or most people, put on bright and beautiful clothes in the morning, tidy up and dress beautifully, go to the bustling commercial district to earn a living, and come back in the evening to read by candlelight.
Those who are unlucky or think they can't get into the library will either gradually sink into despair and live a day-to-day life, or start raising travel expenses, pack up their bags, leave the library, and find another way to make a living.
The Library of All Things did not ignore this area. On the contrary, it strictly monitored this area for the sake of public security in the entire city.
Along the way, Yang Yu saw many magicians who looked like police officers, patrolling the streets and maintaining law and order.
“The streets here are safer than you think.”
I said this casually, but all I got in return was Shu Jing's bitter smile.
“At least it’s safe until bedtime.
It’s better not to go out late at night. There are not many magicians on duty and it’s a bit dangerous.
Especially for travelers like you, there is a high chance that you will be targeted.
Now that the entrance exam is not far away, some people with ulterior motives will pretend to be adventurers or people like you who are adventurers, to rob passers-by. No, sorry, although you are adventurers, you are definitely different from those adventurers.
After all, you treated me to such delicious cake and parfait."
"It's okay. Adventurers vary in quality, so it's normal to be misunderstood."
Forgiving Shu Jing's offense, everyone chatted along the way, and soon they arrived at a simple hotel.
Every area here belongs to the library, and the "locals" have no actual land ownership rights. Opening a hotel in such an area requires a bit of wisdom and skill.
Shujing's great-grandfather took advantage of this opportunity.
At that time, the library did not explicitly stipulate that "residence cards" could not be traded. If someone wanted to leave, they could exchange the residence card for a certain amount of travel expenses, or they could keep it with them so that they would have a place to stay when they returned to the library in the future.
Shujing's great-grandfather worked hard to make money at that time. He bought the residence cards of many people who wanted to completely distance themselves from the library at a price slightly higher than that of the library, and established the current hotel.
Of course, once this method came out, it immediately attracted many people to follow suit, and eventually forced the library to amend its regulations. If someone wanted to leave, they had to hand in their residence card and exchange it for an exit card, thus eliminating the need for hotels to be built in the area.
As for those residence cards that have been traded to other people, the holders must register and hand in all residence cards when their residence cards expire or they are admitted to the library.
Therefore, whether Shu Jing was admitted to the library or not, this hotel would not exist for long.
Before that, this hotel still accepted poor travelers who were unfamiliar with the city, came in a hurry, and did not have much spare money, at a much lower price than other hotels.
Standing at the door of the hotel was a woman who was also dressed simply. When she saw Shu Jing coming back, she yelled at the top of her voice: "Shu Jing, where have you been? I almost thought you were kidnapped and was about to send someone to look for you!"
Shu Jing looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, Mom. On the way back, I met some unfamiliar people who asked for directions, which delayed me a lot of time. They had no good place to go, so I brought them back."
The proprietress carefully looked at Yang Yu and his female companion, grabbed Shu Jing's hand, pulled Shu Jing back to her side, gently strangled Shu Jing's neck, and put one hand on Shu Jing's head, "You kid, don't bring some weird customers back to me casually! I told you not to worry about the store's affairs, go back and concentrate on your studies!"
The two quarreled for a while, and then pushed Shu Jing into the store. The proprietress then turned to Yang Yu and the others and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, dear customers, this kid has caused you trouble. As you can see, our store is rather shabby. If you are not satisfied, you can change to another one."
"It's not a bother. Rather, it helps me a lot. As for the accommodation, as long as the price is right, we don't mind." Yang Yu walked to the front desk with Iyas and Bai Jin and said casually, "One double room and one single room."
Walking to the front desk, the proprietress smiled and said, "A double room is 300 yuan, and a single room is 180 yuan. Food and drinks are not included."
After talking with the landlady for a while and confirming the check-in time, the landlady personally sent Yang Yu and his friends to the room.
The room here is not big, only about ten square meters at most, and only has some very basic daily necessities. During this time, the proprietress kept smiling, and that smile was not of fear or terror, but of a hint of gratitude.
After settling down in this hotel, Yang Yu went to Bai Jin and Iyas's room. When he saw them, Yang Yu got straight to the point.
"Iyas, I need you to come with me tomorrow. Bai Jin and He Meng will stay in the hotel. I will say hello to Shu Jing tomorrow and let you stay with him to study."
"Why?"
Bai Jin couldn't help but widen her eyes. Although her illness was cured, her personality of talking nonsense when stimulated did not change.
"Why is it that only Iyas is going with you? This isn't fair!"
Bai Jin raised her head and looked at Yang Yu with empty and meaningless eyes.
"Hey, I get it. Has this day finally come? You finally couldn't hold back your inner desires and wanted to abandon me to other men, and then elope with the tall Iyas.
Or do you two want to keep it secret from me and have a date? There are indeed many things worth having fun in a town like this. But you don't want to bring me along as a light bulb!
As expected, you are a beastly man. You let me recover from my illness and then kicked me away. Do you really want to experience that unprecedented sense of guilt? "
Hello, Miss Bai Jin, you're sick again.
I originally thought that after that day, Bai Jin would become more frank and would not say such things again, but it turned out that Yang Yu was worrying too much.
He felt helpless. As expected, she had accidentally seen him kicking the game table that day.
(End of this chapter)