The journey from Anqing Prefecture back to Xiahe Village is hundreds of miles long, which is definitely not something that can be reached in a day or a night. We will make detailed plans after returning to the inn.
It was windy and rainy, and Zhu Ping'an was soaked to the skin when he returned to the inn.
"Oh, sir, why don't you bring an umbrella when you go out? Come in quickly." The shop assistant who was taking shelter under the eaves at the door was shocked when he saw Zhu Ping'an walking in the wind and rain. He quickly opened the door and asked Zhu Ping'an to come in quickly.
There were not many people eating in the lobby. Because of the wind and rain, most people did not come out of their rooms. The food that I ordered before I left had already been packed away, which was understandable.
"Why are you soaked, Mr. Zhu? Change into clean clothes quickly. I'll ask the waiter to send a bowl of ginger and sugar water to your room. Just let me know if I have any other instructions." The innkeeper saw Zhu Ping'an walking in wet, and hurriedly stepped forward to hand him a dry towel. He also arranged for the waiter to prepare ginger soup and other things. This was the first top official in the prefecture to stay in his inn, which made him very proud among his colleagues in several nearby inns, so he had to take good care of him.
Zhu Ping'an was wet and cold, so he took the dry towel from the shopkeeper and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, shopkeeper."
While wiping his head and face, he walked towards his room. As soon as he returned to the room, the waiter had already brought ginger sugar water and some simple food, and the bath water was also ready. After thanking the waiter, Zhu Ping'an drank the ginger sugar water, took a hot bath, changed into dry clothes, and then ate the food brought by the waiter, stretched his waist, and felt a lot more comfortable.
It was windy and rainy outside, so he couldn't travel immediately. After Zhu Ping'an packed his things into his bag, he sat at the table and read for a while.
The books in the bag were a little damp, and although he tried his best to protect them, the pages still stuck together. Zhu Pingan spent a long time to put the books back in place. Fortunately, the calligraphy book given to him by the old man was made of good quality paper, and the font was not affected at all.
The sound of wind accompanied the sound of Zhu Ping'an turning pages, the thunder and lightning responded to the dim oil lamp in the house, and the night accompanied Zhu Ping'an's proud writing in the sky.
Zhu Pingan quietly enjoyed the calligraphy by the window, but he didn't know that hundreds of meters away in Zuijun Tower, the hormonal male noise was almost breaking the roof. The continued fermentation brought by Mulan's poem, and the female schoolmaster Mo'er pulled off the veil to reveal her pretty face...
By evening, the words on the book could not be seen clearly without candlelight. At this time, the drunk uncle and several villagers staggered upstairs and knocked on Zhu Ping'an's door.
As soon as Zhu Ping'an opened the door, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol mixed with an earthy flavor. The uncle and several villagers outside the door seemed to have fallen in the mud, with mud all over their faces.
“Tsk tsk, it’s such a pity that you left so early, Zhu’er… The female schoolmaster of Zuijun Tower would be too tall if she was one inch taller, and too short if she was one inch shorter; she would be too white if she put on powder, and too red if she put on rouge; her eyebrows were like emerald feathers, and her skin was like white snow; her waist was like a bundle of silk, and her teeth were like pearls; her sweet smile could confuse Yangcheng and enchant Xiacai…” The left half of Uncle Zhu Shouren’s face was covered with mud and water. At this moment, he was showing his white teeth and making clicking sounds, feeling sorry that Zhu Ping’an left early and didn’t get to see the female schoolmaster’s true appearance.
Well
Why are you reciting "The Lustful Ode of Dengtu" again
Zhu Pingan was a little speechless, but compared to his friend, his uncle was still relatively good. His fat friend was now lying on the ground like shit, snoring...
"That's right, gu... Mei, it's such a pity for you. But, hehe, it's a good thing for us..." A villager spoke with a thick tongue and gestured with his claws and teeth. People who didn't know the truth would think that something interesting had happened between him and the female school teacher.
“The female schoolmaster originally wanted to invite you to her room to play the piano and drink wine, but you were not there, so we were invited... We are your fellow villagers, and it is also thanks to Brother Zhu that we went to drink for you. Haha, the piano is beautiful, the wine is beautiful…” Another villager leaned against the door frame, grinning foolishly. Although he was just listening to the piano and drinking a little wine, being in such close contact with the female schoolmaster was enough to brag in front of others.
Brother Zhu must be referring to my uncle, because only my uncle would behave like this.
"All expenses for today will be shared by everyone. Brother An, please don't leave. Follow us and prepare for the exam..."
"Zi'er, uncle will review your lessons with you tomorrow..."
Zhu Ping'an could only laugh as he watched his uncle and fellow villagers, who could barely stand, half covered in mud and half drunk, threaten to review their lessons and prepare for the exam with him.
They kept disturbing us until midnight, when we finally sent them away with the help of the shop assistants.
"Uncle will review your lessons with you tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow at Zuijunlou, we will prepare for the college entrance examination..."
When Dabao and others who were so drunk that they couldn't tell east from west and south from north were carried away by the shop assistants, don't keep talking.
On the second day, the weather was fine, the wind stopped, the rain ceased, and the red sun rose in the east.
Zhu Ping'an rubbed his forehead, smiled bitterly, and walked out of a store.
TV dramas are really harmful. It is a long journey of hundreds of miles from Anqing Prefecture to Xiahe Village, and the terrain is complicated. In ancient times, it was not as safe as it is today. Even in the prosperous Jiajing period, there were always thieves who wanted to attack single travelers. I saw in TV dramas that when escorting darts, the escort agency also has the business of escorting people, such as in a movie about Jinyiwei. I looked for the escort agency in Anqing Prefecture, but I couldn't find it after searching for a long time. I asked passers-by, but they all shook their heads and didn't know the escort agency. Only one person pointed to a place and said there was a "biaohang" there. I don't know if it is what you said.
Zhu Pingan knew that Biaohang was the prototype of the escort agency. The escort agency did not appear until the Qing Dynasty, but Biaohang existed in the Ming Dynasty, as recorded in Jin Ping Mei. Thinking that the TV series might have just got the name wrong, Zhu Pingan went to this "Biaohang" to inquire and see if they had any business going to Kaoshan Town recently.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a joke.
First of all, the Ming Dynasty's shipping companies only transported valuables, not ordinary items; secondly, they never had the business of transporting people along the way. Even if they brought people along, the people they brought along had to be the owners of the valuables. Without knowing your background, how could they dare to take you on the road? What if they let a wolf into the house
Rich people will naturally have bodyguards to escort them, while poor people will travel in groups of three or five and will not need an escort agency at all.
So, when Zhu Ping'an went to ask, people just looked at him as if he was an idiot.
However, it was not a complete failure. The person from the bidding agency told Zhu Ping'an that he could go to the carriage and horse agency to ask.
Zhu Ping'an came out of the bidding office awkwardly and went to the carriage and horse shop. It happened that the carriage and horse shop would have a team of carriages heading to Kaoshan Town in the near future. With Zhu Ping'an, the number of people was almost complete. Zhu Ping'an paid a deposit of five cents of silver and received a wooden card with a horse engraved on it.
Everything is ready. We can go to the carriage shop tomorrow, take a carriage to Kaoshan Town, and then we can go home.
I miss home so much.
(I will report to the institute today and go through the entry procedures. The update time may be during lunch break or in the evening.)