The ancient carriage and horse shop was a bit similar to the current transportation company. The next day, when the sky was dimming, Zhu Ping'an left the guest room, carried his luggage and left the inn and went straight to the carriage and horse shop.
When you arrive at the carriage and horse shop, you give the engraved horse card you received yesterday to the person in charge of the carriage and horse shop, and then you are assigned to a carriage. The quota for a carriage is four people, and there is already a potbellied merchant on the carriage.
, when he saw Zhu Pingan coming up with his luggage, he even took the initiative to help. He chatted with Zhu Pingan for a few words with a smile, and got to know him briefly. When he learned that Zhu Pingan was a scholar who came to Anqing Mansion to take the government examination, he became pregnant.
There was more respect on the faces of the merchants.
After a while, another young man who was well-dressed came up from the carriage, holding a folding fan and looking like he was drunk.
After the man got in the car, he felt that Zhu Ping'an's luggage was too big and took up a lot of space, and then he felt that the fat businessman's body smelled too bad...
Without waiting for the fourth passenger in the carriage, the convoy had already set off. There were five carriages in total, with about seventeen or eight passengers. Each carriage had a charioteer, and the entire convoy had five strong men acting as guards.
, and also temporarily served as a replacement chariot and horse.
After the carriage set off, the well-dressed young man in Zhu Ping'an's carriage complained that the horse and carriage shop only equipped the carriage with one horse, saying that his family only used two horses and three horses to pull carriages...
The fat businessman just smiled in an easy-going way, with a little disdain in his eyes.
The emperor drives six, the princes drive five, the ministers four, the officials three, the scholars two, and the common people one. Two horses and three horses. Who are you?
Zhu Ping'an just raised the corners of his mouth slightly, looking like a simple and honest scholar.
The ancient horse-drawn carriages had poor shock-absorbing measures, and the road was uneven, causing the carriage to shake violently. This made Zhu Pingan give up his intention of reading in the carriage, and just closed his eyes to recollect the poems and books he had read in silence.
Not to mention that the merchant was good at dancing with his upper sleeves. After walking on the carriage for less than an hour, the fat merchant mingled with the young man who looked too drunk. However, along the way, the two of them mostly talked about drunken women and modern times.
Same, it’s easy for men to talk about this topic.
Zhu Ping'an is not a pedantic person. He has experienced a lot in modern times and does not have any objectionable feelings.
The carriage traveled during the day and rested at night. Of course, there was also almost an hour's rest time for meals.
The carriage and horse guild will provide simple food. Of course, you need to spend money to buy it. You don’t need to spend more. You only need five cents to get two cakes and a bowl of broth, which can fill your stomach. After eating,
I sat on the grass leaning against the carriage and asked about the horse-drawn carriage. I was told that I would have to rest here for half an hour before continuing on my way.
It was still early, so Zhu Ping'an opened the schoolbag he was carrying across his body, took out a book, and started reading slowly.
"Hey, you are still a scholar. What is the use of studying? It can neither be used as food nor as money. Looking at you dressed like this, you must not have much money. You are really useless as a scholar."
The young people in the car seemed to be full of disdain for scholars. When they saw Zhu Pingan sitting on the grass and leaning on the wheel of the car, reading, he couldn't help but sneered.
Zhu Ping'an shifted his gaze from the book to the young man who looked overly drunk, glanced at it, hummed casually, and lowered his head to read the book again.
The overly drunk young man seemed not to have expected what he said to the boy who was reading. The boy just hummed and then stopped. Could it be that this boy was stupid because of his reading? Wasn't my contempt obvious enough?
"There is a poor scholar near my residence. Do you know what a scholar is? Looking at you like this, I know that you are still far away from being a scholar. But even if you pass the exam, what will happen? You have no money to manage relationships, and you only have the airs of a scholar.
, what else can you do? Those who are successful in the examination are all from famous and wealthy families, and the imperial examination is just to deceive poor scholars like you."
"What's the use of reading...what's the use..."
The over-drunk young man continued to attack Zhu Ping'an and was full of resentment towards the scholars. This man was like Tang Monk, chattering incessantly. The fat businessman resting aside tried to persuade him twice but failed to stop him. This felt like the Monkey King in Moonlight Box.
It's like saying not to hit the classroom with colorful children, and like the modern hundred-yuan guy who keeps talking about a hundred dollars but doesn't give me good or bad, it makes people unable to continue reading.
So, Zhu Pingan raised his head, looked at him quietly, and slowly said:
"There are three thousand things prosperous in this world, please go ahead. I will worship the peach blossoms with my wine. I will let you have a pair of gold and jade horses, no match for the red beans and cinnabar between my brows."
The young man was stunned and didn't understand what he meant.
It's strange that you understand. This is the classical Chinese version of the modern popular saying "You start playing, I just want to be a quiet and beautiful man".
Zhu Pingan glanced at him again, shook his head slightly, and spoke to himself without giving him a chance to speak:
"Although you have been belittling reading and ridiculing the use of reading, how can you hide your identity as a scholar?"
"That's right, I'm talking about you. Looking at your slightly blackened lips, I guess you have the habit of licking the tip of your pen with your lips when grinding ink and writing."
"Looking at the wear on your right sleeve, it should be from reading and writing."
"You have such deep resentment against studying. It must be because you failed in this scientific examination."
"You are yearning for and resenting a rich and famous family. I'm afraid you were born in a poor family. Well, maybe you are quite interested in a girl from a certain family. However, Luohua is ruthless and has failed in this scientific examination, so your hope is slim.
"
"I smell heavily of alcohol, probably because I drank to relieve my worries. Well, there is also a very strong smell of powder. It's slightly pungent, so it's probably not of high quality. I guess the person you've been with recently must be a not-so-romantic woman.
"
"The three armies can seize the handsome men but not the ambitions. Get up from where you fell. If you fail, just make a comeback."
Every time Zhu Ping'an said something, the face of the over-drinking young man withered. In the end, the young man took off his disguise and changed from an arrogant young man to a frustrated scholar.
"Alas, Han Chuang has been failing every year for thirteen years." The drunken young man sighed in despair, without any fighting spirit. "After failing the exam this year, I vowed never to touch poetry and books, and to go home and sell myself.
The wealthy family just wants to have enough food and clothing."
He was also a poor person who was hurt by the imperial examination. Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but think of those scholars who were down and sad when looking at the results. Now that he had met them, he couldn't watch a scholar sell himself into slavery.
So, Zhu Pingan stood up, closed the book, shook his head slightly, and said, "Although I am young, I also understand that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You cannot reach a thousand miles without taking small steps. Persistence always has the hope of success.
If you give up, you won't have a chance."
The down-and-out scholar glanced at Zhu Pingan, sighed, and said, "You are still young. This is just the first time you have failed the exam. How can you understand the pain I feel after failing the exam eight times?"
Zhu Ping'an looked into the distance with his hands behind his back and said calmly:
“Where there is a will, things come true; if the cauldron sinks the boat, the hundred and two passes of Qin will eventually belong to Chu;
If you work hard, you will be rewarded by God. If you lie down on the firewood and taste the courage, three thousand Yuejia can swallow up Wu."
Hearing this, the down-and-out young man seemed to have been struck by lightning. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhu Pingan. He silently read the couplet that Zhu Pingan said again, and his eyes shone brightly again.
Where there is a will, things come true; if the cauldron sinks the boat, a hundred and two Qin passes will eventually belong to Chu;
If you work hard, you will be rewarded by God. If you lie on the firewood and taste the courage, three thousand Yue Jia can swallow Wu.
"Little brother is a great talent. This little brother failed the exam. He will definitely be admitted to high school in the future. He will not be as good as him, but he will also be taught. He is hanging on the wall, and Anqing Mansion will come again in the future." The down-and-out scholar became high-spirited again.
, bowed to Zhu Ping'an with a long bow and thanked him.
"I am not a great talent. I am just picking up people's wisdom. I heard this from an elder named Pu Songling."
Zhu Pingan had a silly smile on his face, waved his hand, and said seriously.
"Then I have to thank you, little brother." The man insisted and thanked him again.
After the carriage set off again, the atmosphere inside the carriage suddenly became harmonious.