The sunset is beautiful, but it is near dusk.
At dusk, the city wall of Huaining County was enveloped by the affectionate sunset, immersed in her arms, and dyed a rose red.
Facing the setting sun, a dusty young man walked over, casting a long shadow in the afterglow of the setting sun. The young man was carrying a bag, his body was covered with dust, and his blue shirt was also stained with a lot of grass debris. He looked up at the nearby Huaining County, and a smile appeared on his honest face.
After rushing all the way and even taking a ride on a horse-drawn carriage from a kind uncle, we finally arrived in Huaining County before sunset.
The young man was none other than Zhu Ping'an, who was going to the county town to take the imperial examination. After Zhu Ping'an broke free from the girl, he headed straight for the county town. On the way, except for meeting a peddler who had been to Xiahe Village and hawking his wares, and spending two cents to ask the peddler to bring a message home that he was safe, Zhu Ping'an could be said to have never stopped.
The country was at peace and tranquility in all directions. At this time, Huaining County was bustling with people, cars and horses, and its prosperity was incomparable to that of Kaoshan Town.
Zhu Ping'an blended into the crowd and slowly walked towards the city gate.
One penny was required to enter the city, but no money was required to leave. When it was Zhu Ping'an's turn, the soldiers saw that he was wearing a long blue robe, so they asked him what he was doing in the city. Zhu Ping'an replied that he was taking the boy's exam. When the soldiers heard that Zhu Ping'an was a scholar taking the boy's exam, they immediately became much more respectful, and their attitude was completely different from that of the pedestrians in front of them. They let Zhu Ping'an enter the city without even charging him the entrance fee.
All things are inferior, only reading is superior. Zhu Ping'an, who walked into the county with his bag on his back, once again felt the connotation of this era represented by this sentence.
Walking on the streets of Huaining County, you will feel the ancient atmosphere. This is a real and prosperous ancient county life, no worse than modern cities. They are two styles, one is modern reinforced concrete, and the other is ancient style ink painting.
At dusk, the city is still bustling with bluestone-paved streets, booming shops on both sides, and pedestrians coming and going in fashionable and clean clothes, perfectly demonstrating the wealth of the people living here.
Zhu Ping'an walked here with his luggage on his back, feeling exhausted. He really felt like a country bumpkin coming to the city.
The most urgent task now is to find an inn, settle down, have a hot meal, take a hot bath, change clothes, and finally have a good sleep.
Zhu Ping'an carried his luggage and walked towards an inn called Yuekelai. The inn was a three-story building with many diners in the lobby. Outside the inn, a neatly dressed waiter with a white towel on his shoulder saw Zhu Ping'an coming and greeted him warmly.
"Sir, do you want to stay overnight or stay at the hotel?"
"I want to stay in a hotel." Zhu Pingan answered with a naive smile.
"Okay, sir, please come in." The waiter bent down and guided Zhu Ping'an into the store. After he entered the store, the waiter shouted, "Boss, this young man wants to stay at the hotel."
"Sir, this is a coincidence. We only have one last guest room left."
Soon, a fat shopkeeper came over. He was a middle-aged fat man in his forties with a greasy face.
"Would you mind letting me see the guest room?" When Zhu Ping'an heard the shopkeeper say that this was the worst first-class room, he couldn't help but think of the room in Stephen Chow's movie he had seen in his previous life where the toilet couldn't be flushed clean and the faucet kept breaking when turned on.
"Of course, sir, please follow me." The shopkeeper was easy to talk to.
Zhu Ping'an followed the shopkeeper to the backyard, which was a room in the innermost corner. After opening the door, he saw that the room only had the most basic bed and table. Although it was very clean, the lighting was not good. Reading in it deliberately would hurt his eyes. Zhu Ping'an was not very satisfied with this house.
"Recently, the number of students coming to the city to take exams has increased. This is the last room in our store, and other inns in the city are almost overcrowded." Seeing that Zhu Ping'an was not very satisfied with the room, the shopkeeper spoke up to remind him.
"How much does this house cost? How many days do you want to stay here? How about one or two months?" Zhu Ping'an casually asked about the price.
"For a short stay, it's one hundred coins a day. For a long stay, it's two taels and five coins a month." The shopkeeper gestured with his palm.
Ahem, such a room is so expensive, almost ten times more expensive than Kaoshan Town. Although Zhu Ping'an made a small fortune today, he was unwilling to be a sucker. His father worked hard to drive the bus all day to earn this much money, and the rent for one day was enough for his mother to sew her purse for two days. No way.
"Sorry to bother you." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his apology.
"That's all right, young master. You can go look for other houses. If you can't find a place to stay, my shop door is open to you. Haha, of course, this is the case if there's still room." The shopkeeper smiled indifferently.
"Thank you, uncle." After expressing his gratitude, Zhu Ping'an left Yuelai Inn with his luggage.
Zhu Ping'an also met many scholars in long gowns while walking on the street. The weather was very cold, and many of these people were holding folding fans, giving a feeling of being able to command the world.
Next, Zhu Ping'an also asked three inns of different sizes. The smaller ones were slightly cheaper, with a lower-class room costing 90 wen a day and renting for 2 liang and 3 qian of silver a month; the larger ones had one with the same price as Yuelai Inn and another that was a little more expensive. Unfortunately, all of these inns were full, leaving only the more expensive inn with a few rooms, but the innkeeper refused to lower the price.
It seems that the market is indeed like this, and other inns should be the same. Zhu Ping'an is preparing to return to Yuelai Inn to rent the last-rate guest room. At worst, he can just read outside.
"Is there a pig ahead?"
At this time, a familiar shout was heard.
Zhu Ping'an turned his head and saw his uncle, who had changed into new clothes, and several other students walking towards him.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and several other students felt much better when they saw that Zhu Ping'an was covered in dust, his blue shirt was covered with grass fragments, and his forehead was red.
"Uncle, do you have any extra money? Please give some to Zhu'er." Zhu Ping'an said this when he saw his uncle Zhu Shouren approaching.
Then I saw my uncle Zhu Shouren looked like he had swallowed a fly.