Boss Shen didn't come back from town until a while later. He wiped the sweat on his head with his sleeve and gasped.
"Ren Yazi showed me two places. There is a large two-story house in the west city. It has more than a dozen rooms and is spacious to live in. The price is only fifty taels. It is a mixed bag of good and bad people there, and a gambling house is nearby. The public security is not good."
"No, we'd rather be more expensive than be neighbors with that gambler."
Mrs. Zhang shook her head. The Shen family was honest, and the eldest son and the second son were young. What if they learned something bad from others?
"Well, I didn't think it would work either, so I went to see another one."
Boss Shen nodded in agreement.
"This house is in Dongcheng, close to the academy, and there is a shop in front of it. The previous owner was in the catering business, and the flow of customers was usually very good. Now he is selling the house because he is in urgent need of money. The backyard is too small.
It can barely accommodate a dozen of us."
"How much does this cost?"
Mrs. Zhang was quite satisfied with it and opened her mouth to ask.
"This is a good location. Originally, the owner insisted on holding on to a hundred taels, but he didn't sell it for half a month, so he relented and the deal was made for ninety-five taels."
"Tsk."
Ninety-five taels, which was much different from the money in her hand. Mrs. Zhang shook her head.
"Look at the others, try a few more, and you will always find the right one."
"Why."
…
"You keep the income for these three days."
Xu Ziwen knew that Shen Yanqing was in urgent need of money and would pay the bookshop's income once every three days. After weighing the fifteen taels of silver in his hand, Shen Yanqing gave him a few instructions.
"Let Shopkeeper Xu keep an eye on the bookstore these days. I'm afraid someone will cause trouble."
"good."
Xu Ziwen didn't ask why and nodded in agreement. He had an inexplicable trust in Shen Yanqing.
"In the past few days, there have been fewer people buying materials and more people borrowing books. Other stationery items in the bookshop are selling well."
Xu Ziwen was talking about business. There are only a limited number of rich children in the academy. After all, there are only a few who can afford to spend two taels of silver to buy materials, and there will only be fewer and fewer in the future.
But students from poor families were willing to spend ten cents to borrow books, which made up for this gap.
"Yeah," Shen Yan had expected it early in the morning.
"Pay close attention to what they bring in. If you find any test papers, remember to notify me as soon as possible."
"good."
Seeing his serious expression, Xu Ziwen knew the seriousness of the matter and gave emphatically instructions to Shopkeeper Xu.
Don't tell me, he actually caught someone.
Sun family.
Fuquan sneaked into Sun Hao's room. He looked excited and took out two pieces of paper from his arms.
"Master, I really got the test questions."
"Bring it quickly!"
Sun Hao jumped up from his seat, he knew that his cousin was the most powerful.
Ever since Mr. Wei told him that he would become a disciple after Qiu Wei, he has been very determined. It is useless to rely on his knowledge to make up for it temporarily. If he wants to get the first place in the exam, he can only rely on cheating.
Having made up his mind, he started looking for connections in private, and the only one who could get the test questions was his cousin Liu Hui.
Liu Hui is the Prime Minister's legitimate son's companion, and he is the most valued by his master, and he has access to some secret things. He got these test questions from his master.
Sun Hao became Mr. Wei's disciple, which was also a help to Liu Hui. His status as the prime minister's legitimate son may seem high, but after all, he is a slave. He is not willing to be controlled by others all the time.
"Master Biao, I wish you the best in the provincial examination. See you in the capital."
Fuquan half-bent down, with a look of flattery on his face.
Sun Hao was confident of winning, and his heart was filled with excitement.
"When I become Mr. Wei's disciple, I will never forget my cousin."
There are four subjects in the provincial examination, including the Four Books, the Five Classics, Ce Wen and Eight-part Article. Sun Hao's talent and learning can cope with the Four Books and Five Classics, but when it comes to Ce Wen and Eight-part essay, he has difficulties.
Even though he knew the test questions in advance, he couldn't write the answers.
"Master, why don't you ask your husband the question?"
"Idiot! Isn't that just asking for trouble? When the exam questions come out, everyone will know that I cheated."
Sun Hao's eyes were full of anger and he kicked Fu Quan down.
"Yes, yes, this slave is stupid." Fuquan knelt on the ground and kept slapping himself.
"snort!"
"Go find some knowledgeable old scholars and ask them to solve all these problems."
If Jiang Miao heard about his plan, she would be very familiar with it. Isn't this the modern version of looking for a gunman?
"I understand, Master."
Fuquan accepted the task and thought carefully about other talented people in Furong Town.
"You don't need to be limited to Furong Town. You can go to any surrounding prefecture or city. It's best to have a gentleman with real talents and a poor family background. After completing the questions..."
Sun Hao made a gesture of wiping his neck. Fu Quan understood it wholeheartedly, but was too scared to look at him.
"yes."
"Well, please find an opportunity to bring this test paper to Shen Yanqing's bookstore." Only if Shen Yanqing is unable to take the exam can his top spot be guaranteed.
Sun Hao raised the corners of his mouth, and his eyes flashed with determination to win.
Autumn is approaching, and the old Shen family has a sense of urgency in their hearts. This is a big exam that takes place every three years. If Shen Yanqing passes the exam, the Shen family will also follow suit.
Therefore, candidates must keep up with their nutrition and rest, and buying a house is imminent.
In the past few days, Shen Yanqing took another thirty taels of silver from home. Jiang Miao and Dafang earned twenty taels by setting up a stall. Shen Laoer's carriage and Barbie dolls were made, and Jiang Miao got the Jinxiu Pavilion. Shopkeeper Qin couldn't put it down. , bought it for five taels of silver, which added up to thirty-seven taels.
"The third child is about to take the exam. I can't eat or rest well in the academy. I plan to buy a house first."
Everyone was excited when they heard that they were going to buy a house.
"Boss, I've been searching for a few days, but I still can't find anything better than the house in the east of the city. But that house costs ninety-five taels, and the price at home is only seventy taels. Each of your houses must have some private rooms, so don't save money at this time. Once it’s settled, take it all out and buy a house first.”
Mrs. Zhang looked around and saw sarcastic expressions on Mrs. Wang's and Mrs. Xu's faces, so she hurried back to the house to get the money.
"Mom, I have five taels here, take it and use it."
Jiang Miao gave her five taels, and Mrs. Zhang didn't say much. Most of the people who bought the house were from the third house. Miaoya should have saved some private money.
If the other two houses heard it, they would have to say that his mother was partial.
Mrs. Xu took two pieces of cloth, which she had accumulated over the past two months. She originally wanted to give two pieces of cloth to the child in her belly, but buying a house is not as important as buying a house now.
Mrs. Wang saved three taels, no matter how many coins she saved, she saved them one coin at a time.
Mrs. Zhang took them over.
"There are still fifteen taels left. I will ask the boss to discuss with the owner of the house. Let's move in first and pay the remaining money in a few days. With Lao San's bookstore, the money can be paid back quickly."
"You guys have been packing up your things these past few days and organizing all the things you want to take away. We will move when the house is transferred. Your father and his second daughter-in-law are inconvenient. Erlang went to borrow two ox carts to bring your father. Send it over with Mr. Xu."
"I know, mother."
The moving matter was thus arranged. The owner of the house saw that the house was finally sold and agreed to pay some money in advance.
But the rest must be paid off within ten days, how could Boss Shen not be willing to do so.
