When Man Bao left the palace the next day, Ming Da had already dug out a statue of Lao Tzu from the storeroom, and followed Man Bao's example in offering crystal bracelets.
Knowing that they were going to go to Shangzhou on leave this time, old Zhou Tou felt a little uneasy. He hesitated for a while, but he still brought the eldest and fifth children with him. He felt that if he had more sons, he would be more confident.
Mrs. Liu is also going back to Longzhou. The Zhang family's old man in Longzhou is going to celebrate his birthday. This time it is a big birthday, and she wants them to gain a firm foothold in Longzhou again, so she went back.
She didn't ask Bai Shan to go back with her. She said: "We haven't been in Longzhou for many years. Although we still have a walk with relatives, after all, we haven't seen each other for many years, and many relationships have faded. I don't know what's going on now, so you You don't have to go back with us."
He said again: "This time you can accompany Manbao to Shangzhou to see how the Xia family is doing. In the future, your child will have a surname following Xia."
This is a major event, and it cannot be sloppy.
Bai Shan respectfully agreed, and sent his grandmother and mother out of the city that day, and they packed up their things and set off on the second day.
The three of them did not take the carriage, but rode their horses and ran ahead.
Shangzhou is not very far from the capital, so even if they were a little slower, they would have arrived around noon the next day.
In the evening, the group stopped at a post station on the side of the road. Although Manbao is not a public office, she is an official, so she can still reduce some fees.
Old Zhoutou also enjoyed the benefits of his daughter being an official when he went out for the first time. While enjoying the flattery of the station officials, he quietly said to Qian: "It's really good to be an official. Now that we are in charge, won’t our family need to spend money to travel again?”
Qian: "...Didn't you hear what Man Bao said, you need to be accompanied by them, they are all busy, how can I accompany you out to stay at the inn?"
Not many of them came, only Zhou Dalang and Wu Wulang followed, and the rest were Daji and other guards.
Because Mrs. Qian didn't follow, they didn't cook on the way. Instead, they took out the dry food that Mrs. Qian made for them and gnawed on it, took out a bamboo tube and drank a couple of sips of water before continuing on their way.
Finally arrived in Shangzhou at noon the next day.
Shangzhou is not very far from the capital, and most business travelers going to Beijing from the south and southwest pass through here, so Shangzhou is much more lively than Mianzhou.
Man Bao led the horse into the city, and saw the peddlers yelling loudly, her eyes looked around and fell on the noodle stall by the roadside.
The stall owner was holding a lump of noodles and a knife, and was peeling the noodles into the pot. After a while, a bowl came out. After cooking, he threw a handful of vegetables into it, and took out the noodles after a while. and green vegetables, the woman on the side added something to the bowl, and it was on the table in a while.
Seeing the foam on his face, Man Bao couldn't move anymore.
Bai Shan pulled her for a while, seeing that she didn't move, he asked, "Are you hungry?"
Man Bao nodded.
Bai Shan looked back at Daji who was escorting the carriage in, and said, "It's noon, let's have lunch here before looking for a place."
Daji has actually asked a guard to arrange for the city, but the other party may not be familiar with Shangzhou, so he hasn't seen anyone yet.
So he nodded after thinking for a while, and then called everyone to park the carriage beside him, and asked Old Zhou to get out of the car, and let them eat first before talking.
Man Bao immediately ran to help her mother, and Bai Shan went to help Mr. Zhuang. Bai Erlang had already gone to the booth to occupy several seats.
After everyone sat down at two tables and ordered noodles, Lao Zhou looked around and said, "Shangzhou seems to be much more lively than our Mianzhou."
Old Zhoutou has only been to Mianzhou three or four times in his life, and the most recent time he passed by Mianzhou was because he was going to Beijing.
But there are not many people, and whether it is hot or not is something that can be seen at a glance.
The stall owner at the side shaved noodles for them, and said proudly: "Our Shangzhou is the gateway to the capital, so it is naturally more prosperous. Where is your Mianzhou?"
He simply didn't know where Mianzhou was. In fact, apart from a few surrounding counties and the capital, they knew very little about it.
Old Zhou Tou also proudly said: "Our Mianzhou is also the gateway to Yizhou City."
"Is Yizhou City very big? I have heard of a Yizhou king who rebelled the year before last. I was frightened. I thought there was going to be another war."
Old Zhou Tou: ...
Why did the king of Yizhou replace them in Yizhou
Old Zhou Tou didn't want to mention Yizhou again, and instead said: "Our Mianzhou is also very good, and our Mianzhou's Guokui is delicious."
The stall owner said: "Our Shangzhou's sliced noodles are also delicious, especially mine. It is a must in Shangzhou. It's a good bowl. You can try it..."
Old Zhou felt intuitively that he was lying. If he was the best in Shangzhou, would he still set up a stall at the gate of the city
Just as he was about to refute, Bai Shan asked, "I heard from the old man, does the old man know Shangzhou very well?"
The stall owner looked at Bai Shan and couldn't help laughing, "Naturally we are familiar. My ancestors are from Shangzhou. Since my father, I have set up a noodle stall at the gate of this city. But the young master is young, so he dare not be a kid. Young master, old man, your grandfather and I should be together for the rest of our lives."
When talking, he stretched out his finger to Lao Zhou's head.
Bai Shan stopped talking.
Man Bao raised his head and said, "This is my father, his future father-in-law."
The stall owner was taken aback when he heard it, and then smiled awkwardly: "Is that so..."
But he quickly reacted and began to praise Lao Zhou head desperately, "Brother is so lucky, your daughter is blessed at first glance, look at this round face, and look at this white and tender appearance, your son-in-law It looks like a talent."
Only then did the old Zhou feel happy, and said proudly: "Of course, my girl is the most blessed."
Bai Shan cleared his throat, and brought the topic back to what he wanted to ask, "Is the old man familiar with people in Shangzhou?"
The stall owner was cutting noodles while talking to Bai Shan, "Is the young master here to visit relatives?"
Bai Shan replied with a smile, "I have a relative in Shangzhou, but I don't know where he lives, but his surname is Xia."
Bai Shan glanced at Man Bao and said, "Single name Yu Yan is a scholar."
The stall owner thought about it hard, but he didn't think about it, and said with a smile: "Our Shangzhou is also very big..."
Man Bao asked, "Then do you know where Songhua Lane is?"
"You know, go down this street, turn west at the third intersection, then turn south, and the west side of the two intersections is Songhua Lane. Where do your relatives live?" The stall owner thought about it. Thinking about it, he frowned and said, "Xia Xiucai in Songhua Lane?"
"There are no scholars in Songhua Lane now, but there was a Xia scholar more than ten years ago."
Everyone's spirits lifted, Bai Shan said, "It's that Xia Xiucai."
The stall owner looked at Bai Shan, then at Zhou Man, and then said with a smile, "I'm afraid there is a misunderstanding, that Xia Xiucai passed away more than ten years ago, and there is no one at home."