How far is it from Xiahe Village to Yingtian City? The two places are less than 600 miles apart, which is not too far.
What's more, after arriving in Anqing from Shanghe Village, you can take a boat down the Yangtze River and go directly to Yingtian by water.
Li Bai has a poem that says "I left Baidi in the morning among colorful clouds, and returned to Jiangling a thousand miles away in one day." Baidi City is a full 1,200 miles away from Jiangling. The great poet Li Bai took a boat from Baidi City in the morning and sailed downstream along the Yangtze River. It only took him one day to reach Jiangling City, 1,200 miles away. His speed was extremely fast.
According to this calculation, the distance from Anqing to Yingtian is only 600 miles, and it will take about half a day to get there by boat.
But Li Bai is Li Bai, not everyone is Li Bai, some people are Zhu Shouren.
More than a month ago, Zhu Shouren and his two good friends Hu Wei and Xia Qiang set out from Xiahe Village, heading for Yingtian.
It took them several days to travel from Xiahe Village to Chizhou, a riverside city farther away than Anqing. Then it took them more than a month to finally arrive at the city of Yingtian.
Zhu Shouren was wearing a brand new scholar's robe, standing at the foot of the majestic Yingtian City, with his head held high and his chest puffed out, his head slightly raised, his hand touching his beard, his sleeves flying in the north wind. Whether seen from a distance or near, he had the demeanor of a scholar.
One minute, two minutes...
Ten minutes had passed, and Zhu Shouren still maintained this posture, standing in front of the Yingtian city gate, head held high and chest puffed out, motionless.
"Brother Zhu, Brother Zhu, although Yingtian City is very majestic, we have been here for the Tongsheng Examination for eight times, if not ten times. We should be able to pass it after looking around for so long. Let's go into the city."
Hu Wei, who was standing behind Zhu Shouren, had been waiting for such a long time that he could not help it any longer, so he suppressed his temper and urged him.
I have never seen a person who can procrastinate more than Zhu Shouren. It should have taken him more than a month to walk a journey that should have taken two or three days.
It is obviously faster to take the water route, but he insists on taking the land route, so he has to take the land route.
Every time he arrived in a city, he would rest for a day, sometimes even two or three days, to taste the local delicacies. He didn’t even care about the local snacks, but he would eat the famous local wines and dishes. That would be fine, but he also insisted on experiencing the people’s sentiments, saying that he would definitely get a position if he arrived in Yingtian to assist his nephew. He wanted to enter the role of an official in advance, experience the people’s sentiments, and listen to their opinions… But you can experience and listen to the people’s voices, but what sentiments and voices do you want to experience and listen to in a brothel?!
He spent countless money on eating, drinking, and going out along the way. If he hadn't thought about getting close to his nephew Zhu Ping'an through him, he would have beaten him up long ago. He has never seen anyone more shameless than him.
"Yes, Brother Zhu, even if you never get tired of looking at this magnificent city, and you feel touched and inspired to write poetry, you can't just stand at the door and paint. You might as well go inside the city and talk about it." Xia Qiang also said, urging Zhu Shouren to go into the city.
Like Hu Wei, he had long been fed up with Zhu Shouren, but in order to get close to Zhu Ping'an through him, he endured it.
All the flattery along the way was just to get to Yingtian as soon as possible so that he could introduce her to Zhu Ping'an earlier.
Now we have finally arrived at the foot of Yingtian City. Why are you standing at the door for so long without going in? What are you trying to do
Forget about writing poetry or anything like that.
The poem you wrote is really too disgusting. I have been praising your poem for so long that I feel a little sick of it. Please don't write poetry anymore.
Thinking of this, Xia Qiang hurriedly followed Hu Wei to urge Zhu Shouren to enter the city.
"Ahem, it's not that I don't want to enter the city, but I'm short of money, I don't even have a penny, and I can't pay the entrance fee..."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Shouren couldn't help but cough and couldn't keep his pose any longer. He spoke to them with an embarrassed look on his face.
"What? Brother Zhu, didn't I just give you five taels of silver yesterday? How come it's gone now?" Xia Qiang heard the palace and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He looked at Zhu Shouren with an expression of disbelief. He seriously doubted whether he had heard it wrong.
"Yes, Brother Zhu. Brother Xia gave you five taels of silver yesterday afternoon. I paid for the dinner and the inn. Brother Zhu's silver should still be there. Did you leave the silver in the inn room when you checked out?"
Hu Wei was also surprised and looked at Zhu Shouren in disbelief.
Clearly he and Xia Qiang paid for yesterday's expenses, so how come Zhu Shouren's money is gone? This shouldn't be the case. Did it fall into the inn, or do you think five taels of silver is too little and want more...
"Ahem, last night I studied hard by candlelight, thinking about the fact that the local area is close to Yingtian. Yingtian City was attacked by Japanese pirates some time ago, and it was my nephew who saved the situation. Now the Japanese pirates are getting more and more serious, the world is getting more and more chaotic, and the local area is becoming more and more unsafe. Then, I thought of the lonely and weak woman I met during the day. I was really worried about her spending the night alone, so I went to protect her, talked to her about her ideals in life, and helped her with some physical work... When she was leaving in the morning, she held my hand tightly. I looked at her reluctant and hesitant expression, and I knew I had to do something, so I gave her five taels of silver. Although it's not much, it's also a token of my love."
Uncle Zhu Shouren didn't dare to look them in the eye. He coughed, stroked his beard, and explained slowly with a sigh on his face.
Oh shit!
You looked so serious when you said it, I almost took it seriously!
Obviously, we are all poor students who failed to pass the imperial examination, why are you, Zhu Shouren, so outstanding!!!
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang used great strength to resist the urge to take off their shoes and slap Zhu Shouren in the face.
"Brother Zhu, the weak woman you are talking about is Miss Xiao Cui from Taohua Tower?" Hu Wei and Xia Qiang took a deep breath and asked with burning eyes.
"That's right." Zhu Shouren nodded with a blush.
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang were so angry that they almost suffocated. Yesterday, they passed by Taohua Tower and accidentally caught a glimpse of Cuihua Tower's top girl, Xiao Cui. Zhu Shouren's eyes lit up at that time, and without saying a word, he wanted to go in to find Xiao Cui to experience the local customs. Hu Wei and Xia Qiang had to persuade Zhu Shouren to go away in the name of tasting the local specialty Yangtze River vinegar fish.
A meal is always cheaper than an oiran.
But no one expected that this old fellow Zhu Shouren had no martial ethics. After eating and drinking, he asked Xia Qiang to give him five taels of silver on the pretext of preparing a gift for his nephew Zhu Ping'an. Then he went back to his room on the pretext of studying hard. Who would have thought that he actually ended up in bed with the top girl Xiao Cui in Cuihua Tower... ...
"I... ... we have money, Brother Zhu, just come with us." Hu Wei and Xia Qiang took several deep breaths before they controlled their turbulent emotions and forced a smile through gritted teeth.
"Thank you, Brother Hu and Brother Xia. Don't worry, I will repay you double when I meet my nephew. Of course, I will also introduce you two talented people to my nephew to help him." Zhu Shouren bowed his hands to express his gratitude and made promises repeatedly.
"Thank you, Brother Zhu. What's the point of saying 'return' between us? Money is something that belongs to us. We cannot bring it with us when we are born, and we cannot take it with us when we die."
When they heard Zhu Shouren promise again to introduce them to Zhu Ping'an, the smiles on Hu Wei and Xia Qiang's faces suddenly widened.