Xue Ren quickly replied, saying that Qin Zhao and Jing Li were welcome to visit at any time, and that there was a vacant room in the house left by Ayi's parents where they could stay temporarily.
Note: All the houses in the county town have heated kangs, so it will never be cold.
—After reading the letter, Jing Li wanted to rush to the county town immediately.
But no matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do. Qin Zhao had more than a dozen students in the village, and he couldn't just ignore them like that.
Jing Li could only wait patiently for Qin Zhao to finish explaining the "Sound and Rhythm Primer" and complete the handover matters with the village chief before he could leave.
As for the vegetable garden at home, Qin Zhao actually had planned to go to the county town for the winter a long time ago. The vegetables grown in the field have just been eaten up by now, and the rest have been distributed to his neighbors as a reward for their help in taking care of the wheat in the field.
In fact, you don't need to take too much care of the wheat after winter. This is just to prevent any accidents.
By the time everything was arranged and Qin Zhao and Jing Li were about to set off for the county town, Laba Festival had already passed.
Before leaving, the village chief came to Qin Zhao's house to deliver something.
A document proving the native place and a written affidavit from the recommender.
These two items are the written materials that must be submitted when registering for the county examination.
The county exam was in early February, and registration would begin in January. Qin Zhao left the village at this time, intending to return after the county exam. Therefore, before leaving, he had to bring all the documents needed for registration.
The village chief said, "During the reign of the previous emperor, there was a law that required those who moved to the territory to pay taxes for twenty years before they were allowed to take the imperial examination. Fortunately, many years ago, due to the war on the border, many people migrated, so the higher authorities abolished this rule and only required the local village chief to sign a certificate of native place."
"I have already found the village head for you. He has heard about your deeds a long time ago and is willing to sign a certificate for you."
Qin Zhao bowed to him and said, "Thank you, Village Chief."
"No need to thank me." The village chief stroked his beard and smiled, "The agreement has already been signed, and I'll be the guarantor. When I went to see the township head two days ago, I mentioned to him that our town hasn't had a juren in many years, so please don't let us down."
Not to mention juren, even xiucai were rare.
The fact that the village chief could say this proves that he indeed has high expectations for Qin Zhao.
The village chief continued, "However, you still need to find five candidates to guarantee each other. Candidates in our town usually recommend each other. I heard that you never attend literary gatherings. Have you thought about who to guarantee for you?"
Qin Zhao hasn't thought about this yet.
He didn't care about interpersonal communication, and apart from Chen Yan'an, he didn't know any other candidates who were going to take the county examination together.
Oh, there's one more person.
Strict practice.
Ever since that guy was rejected by Qin Zhao, he had come several times in the past few months with excuses, but was rejected every time. In anger, he began to spread rumors about Qin Zhao in the town, trying to ruin his reputation.
But with Fang Tianying around, these rumors didn't take off.
This person is definitely unwilling to protect Qin Zhao.
"You don't have to worry about these." The village chief said, "There are more scholars in the county town. There is more than a month left, you can go and get to know a few of them. I will also ask Chen Yan'an to help you find them, and we can meet in the county town before signing up."
With Qin Zhao's reputation in the town, there must be many people who want to protect each other with him.
However, mutual guarantee is not as simple as signing a document. If any of the mutually guaranteed candidates cheats, the other four will be punished collectively and disqualified from the exam.
Therefore, the mutual guarantor must be someone with good character and trustworthy.
Qin Zhao said: "I understand, don't worry, Village Chief."
"If it was Chen Yan'an, I wouldn't put pressure on him, but it's different for you." The village chief stopped smiling and said seriously, "Bring back a first-place winner, and I'll hold a big banquet in the village to welcome you!"
Qin Zhao also smiled and said, "Qin Zhao will remember this and do his best."
The day after the village chief delivered the documents, Qin Zhao and Jing Li set out to leave Linxi Village.
Afraid that Jing Li would be cold on the road, Qin Zhao specially rented a covered ox cart, put a charcoal basin and a quilt in the cart, and swayed towards the county town.
The mountain road was steep and the carriage canopy was not tightly covered, so it was always leaking air.
Jing Li couldn't stand the slightest bit of wind, and he kept going to Qin Zhao's arms because of the cold. The latter held him firmly and touched his forehead. The temperature was not abnormal: "Why is it so cold? I must ask Mr. Xue to check your pulse when we go to the county town."
Jing Li responded weakly, buried her face in his arms and refused to move.
The two set off early. Qin Zhao was worried that Jing Li would catch a cold in the carriage, so he urged the driver to speed up, and they actually arrived at the county town before 3 p.m.
They had already agreed with Mr. Xue in advance to meet at Ayi's pharmacy.
The ox cart stopped directly in front of the alley where the drug store was located.
The driver helped unload the luggage from the car, while Qin Zhao wrapped Jing Li in his robe and half hugged and half embraced him to help him get out of the car.
There were customers buying medicine in the store, Ayi was busy at the counter, and Xue Ren was bored and sat in front of the drugstore smoking his pipe.
When he saw the two of them in this state, he was amused: "A few months ago, he was the one who supported you, but now you are the one who supports him. What happened to the two of you? One of you must be sick?"
Qin Zhao shook his head: "Sir, you are joking."
Seeing that Jing Li looked unhappy, Xue Ren did not delay any longer and led them in.
"What's wrong with Jingli? Is he sick?" After seeing the guests off, Ayi walked over and asked worriedly.
Jing Li had been freezing in the car for most of the day, his hands and feet were frozen, and he didn't want to say a word.
"It was too cold on the road, I froze." Qin Zhao asked, "Do you have ginger soup?"
Ayi nodded: "Yes, I will cook it now."
Xue Ren added: "My dear grandson, add some more herbs to keep out the cold. I taught you that. They both have to drink it."
Ayi: "I understand, Grandpa Xue."
The temperature in the county town was higher than that in the small mountain village, but although the medicine shop was small, it was warm enough. Jing Li and Qin Zhao squeezed into a chair and sat for a while, and their numb limbs finally warmed up.
He leaned in Qin Zhao's arms and sighed, "This is the most difficult winter I have ever experienced."
Before the time travel, he never felt so sleepy in the winter. Although his body was cooler than that of ordinary people, he was not so afraid of the cold.
It must be the prototype of the koi that caused this.
Qin Zhao rubbed his hair soothingly. Xue Ren was smoking his pipe with a smile beside him. The smoke drifted to the two of them. Jing Li suddenly felt a little nauseous when he smelled it, and he tilted his head and coughed twice.
"Oh, sorry." Xue Ren quickly put out his pipe and came to Jing Li's side. "What's wrong with you? You can't even smell the cigarette?"
"It's been like this since the twelfth lunar month." Jing Li said aggrievedly, "Sometimes the charcoal fire is so strong that it smells uncomfortable."
Xue Ren raised his eyebrows.
Qin Zhao also said: "He has lost his appetite for several days, but he can't find the reason. He wanted to come to Mr. Xue to check his pulse."
Xue Ren grinned: "Mr. Qin, you are embarrassing me. Your medical skills are not worse than mine, and the herbs you listed are of great help. If you can't diagnose the problem, what can I diagnose?"
Qin Zhao shook his head: "I am just showing off my skills, I am far inferior to Mr. Xue."
Xue Ren was amused by his words and said, "Alright, I see Xiao Yu'er is really distressed. Stretch out your hand, Grandpa Xue will feel your pulse."
Jing Li reluctantly pulled his hand out of Qin Zhao's arms. Xue Ren placed an wrist pillow on the small table beside him and asked Jing Li to put his hand on it.
Xue Renkou felt Jing Li's pulse for a while, then looked at his mouth, tongue, and eyes, and asked, "You have a poor appetite recently, and you are afraid of cold?"
Jing Li: “Yeah.”
"Do you still feel sleepy all the time and can't stand smells that are too pungent?"
Jing Li nodded: "Yes."
Xue Ren let go of his hand and fell silent.
Qin Zhao felt a little strange after hearing what Xue Ren said. He put Jing Li's hand back in his arms and stroked the back of his hand thoughtfully.
This symptom sounds like...
"It looks like she's pregnant." Xue Ren gave the answer slowly.
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li: “???”
"How could I—cough cough cough!" Jing Li was so scared that he coughed repeatedly, sat up straight, and said incoherently, "But I clearly... I am a man, how could I—"
Qin Zhao also said: "I have checked his pulse these days, and the pulse is not..."
"I just said it looked like it, but I didn't say it must be. Xiaoyu'er's pulse is indeed that of a man, not Shuang'er. How could I not see that?" Xue Ren tilted his head to look at the room. Ayi was still boiling ginger soup in the backyard. He lowered his voice and said, "You can fool Ayi, but you can't fool me."
Shuang'er looks no different from a man, but her physiological structure is completely different, so there are slight differences in the manifestation of her pulse.
This difference is not easy to judge, and an inexperienced doctor may not be able to tell it apart at once.
Therefore, Ayi still thinks that Jingli is also Shuang'er.
Xue Ren stroked his beard and said slowly: "From the pulse, Xiao Yu'er has no problem with his body. I can't find any reason why he is unwell. But from the appearance..."
"Fear of cold, nausea, sleepiness, loss of appetite, isn't this pregnancy?"
Xue Ren spread his hands and looked at the two of them innocently.
Qin Zhao lowered his head and looked at Jing Li, both of them had the same confusion in their eyes.
Qin Zhao shook his head: "Sir, stop joking. How can a man be pregnant?"
"It's hard to say for sure." Xue Ren pretended to be deep and said, "There are many strange things in the world. What if Xiaoyuer has a special physique and it just happens not to show up in the pulse?"
Jing Li remained silent.
He had never considered this possibility before. Even though he knew that there were men in this world who could reproduce, he had never thought of himself as such.
That feeling is... so weird.
Before Jing Li could think clearly, Ayi came back with two bowls of ginger soup.
Ginger soup with added medicinal herbs is very effective in dispelling cold. After Jing Li finished drinking the ginger soup, he finally felt a little refreshed.
Ayi still had to look after the store, so he asked Xue Ren to take them home to rest.
The house left by Ayi's parents was connected to the medicine shop. Passing through the corridor connecting to the backyard, Xue Ren took them to a clean side courtyard.
Mr. Xue has lived and eaten here for several years, and he has considered himself half the owner. He said bluntly: "It's here. Ayi has already cleaned it up in advance. If there is anything missing in the room, please tell us. You are welcome."
Qin Zhao thanked him, but Jing Li seemed absent-minded and obviously didn't hear what Xue Ren said.
Seeing him like this, Xue Ren said, "Why worry so much? Isn't it a good thing to have a child?"
"But..." Jing Li was still a little dazed, "... I am obviously a man..."
"If you really don't know what to do, I have an idea." Xue Ren waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "Just wait for ten months and see if he can give birth. Then you will know, right?"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li: “…”