Standing outside the inn, looking at the prosperous city of Nanjing, there was a hustle and bustle of traffic. Even the heavy rain did not make this huge city feel bleak for a moment.
Who could have believed that this prosperous city would suffer an inhuman massacre hundreds of years later
Every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of his country.
Zhu Pingan fixed his gaze, turned around with his bag on his back, and walked into the inn in front of him. Inside the inn, there were many diners, and the waiters were busy coming and going. The inn owner was very busy. On a rainy day, some people were too lazy to go out.
Seeing Zhu Ping'an coming in with his bag, the shop assistant took the time to run over and greeted him, "Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay overnight?"
"Stay in a hotel." Zhu Ping'an answered as he took off his bag.
Hearing this, the shop assistant looked apologetic and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, sir, all the rooms in our shop are full these days."
Uh, this won’t make me live in the woodshed again.
Zhu Pingan stopped unpacking his bag, thinking with some annoyance. Looking at the apologetic expression of the shop assistant, Zhu Pingan put on his bag again and smiled innocently, "It's okay, it's okay, I'll go to other inns to have a look."
Hearing this, the shop assistant wanted to say something but hesitated.
"But do you have anything to say?" Zhu Ping'an asked, looking at the shop assistant's constipated look.
"Recently, many students have come to stay here, and with the continuous rain, many merchants have been lingering in the city. I'm afraid all the inns nearby are full. If you want to stay here, you'll have to try your luck in the south city.
Well, it seems like we are really living in the woodshed.
Zhu Ping'an held an oil umbrella and walked along the bluestone paved road, taking one step deep and one step shallow, towards the direction of South City pointed by the shop assistant.
The oil umbrella in Zhu Ping'an's hand was bought a few days ago. It has twenty-one ribs and an umbrella cover made of tung oil cloth. It is not as sturdy as modern umbrellas. It feels like this umbrella will not be able to withstand any stronger winds.
Nanjing was too big. Zhu Ping'an walked for a long time and asked passers-by, and found that he was still in the West City. Looking at his completely wet shoes and his wet blue cloth robe, he couldn't help but miss the modern buses. He also thought that if he could expand his father's ox cart business and make it to several big cities in the Ming Dynasty, he would definitely make a lot of money.
Zhu Ping'an finally arrived in the south city before dark after taking a ride on an ox cart that was carried by a kind old man delivering wine to the south city.
After bidding farewell to the kind old man, Zhu Ping'an walked into the south city.
The prosperity of the south city is better than that of the west city, except that there is an extra smell of wine and rouge. There is a river nearby full of cruise ships, and the river water exudes the scent of girls' rouge. Women's laughter can be faintly heard on the other side of the river. From time to time, males with obscene looks on their faces holding oil umbrellas are seen crossing the bridge to the other side. After walking for a while, Zhu Ping'an suddenly realized.
Damn, isn’t this the famous Qinhuai!
Among the men heading to the other side of the river there were some students and perhaps quite a few of them were well-read.
However, Zhu Pingan stood by the bridge, but he had no intention of crossing the bridge. On the stone bridge connecting the two banks of the Qinhuai River, there was a line of unclear doggerel: A gentleman does not cross the bridge, and if he crosses the bridge, he is not a gentleman.
This sentence made Zhu Pingan feel quite emotional.
This narrow Qinhuai River has grand ambitions on the left bank and snow, moon, wind and flowers on the right bank.
In the wind and rain, Zhu Pingan turned around with his umbrella in hand and looked for an inn to stay in. There were many pedestrians coming and going, and there were many wine shops, but not many inns. Perhaps most of them were taken away by the romantic places on the other side of the river. Not only could they sleep there, but they also had beautiful ladies to warm their beds. How could they compete with them
I asked two inns, and both were fully booked. The room supply seemed to be even tighter than in West City.
On the way to find an inn, I saw a towering Confucius Temple, which corresponded to the romantic places on the other side of the Qinhuai River in the distance, which made me feel a little ridiculous at that time.
Walking further, you will see a huge complex of buildings built along the river with the four words "Jiangnan Gongyuan" inscribed on it.
Well
This is the examination venue for my upcoming college entrance examination.
The Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall is here, no wonder so many scholars and students just crossed the river.
Presumably, the Qinhuai River prospered because of the existence of the Imperial Examination Hall and the Confucius Temple.
Zhu Ping'an asked three inns in succession before he finally found a place to stay. It was not a woodshed, but it was not much better either. It was the attic at the top of the inn. It was not an attic like the ones in Tengwang Tower, Yellow Crane Tower or Yueyang Tower. It was a room formed by the arched building above the inn.
However, Zhu Ping'an was quite satisfied. The price of this attic was one penny cheaper per month than that of an ordinary guest room. In addition, this attic had a large window. Although some places could not be straightened up, the space in the middle area was still quite good. The large window was also bright and the view was good. Through the window, he could see the lights on the other side of the Huai River.
After putting his things in the attic, Zhu Ping'an changed into clean clothes and shoes and socks and went downstairs. He walked to the counter, called the shopkeeper, and paid one month's rent.
This inn is close to the Imperial Examination Hall, and most of the people staying there are students who come to take the Imperial Examination. Most of the people sitting in the lobby for dinner are students, eating and drinking while laughing and chatting, having a great time.
The attic upstairs is so cramped that if you're not careful you'll hit your head. That's why no one has lived there before.
Now when these students and scholars heard that Zhu Ping'an lived in this attic, they secretly laughed at him. Someone kindly reminded Zhu Ping'an that the attic was cramped and inconvenient.
"Although the room is cramped, it's high up, a good omen." Zhu Ping'an explained randomly. It was already dark, and so many inns were full. It was almost curfew, so where could he find one? Besides, he was quite satisfied with the room he had found.
As soon as Zhu Ping'an finished speaking, he heard a fat man slamming the table and standing up.
Nima, what are you going to do? Zhu Pingan looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person who stood up was a fat man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing brocade clothes, with a gold lock hanging around his neck, and two rings on his fingers, one gold and one jade, with a look of excitement and regret.
"Why didn't I think of that? 'High' means high school." The fat man looked regretful and then shouted at Zhu Ping'an.
"Hey, brother, how about we switch rooms? You can live in my room, which is very spacious, and I'll live in your attic. I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you another tael of silver. How about that?"
And that’s not all.
In order to change Zhu Ping'an's room, the fat man ordered a table of wine and food for Zhu Ping'an. He was so sincere and affectionate.
It was hard to refuse such a kind invitation, and Zhu Ping'an had no choice but to agree.
The fat man was so grateful that he immediately went upstairs to pack his things and move, as if he was afraid that Zhu Ping'an would change his mind.
Damn, is this even possible?!
The students and scholars who were watching were dumbfounded.