"My family is considered wealthy, with hundreds of acres of land, but studying is also very difficult. Not only do I suffer, but my family suffers even more."
When Zhang Modong said this, he couldn't help but choked up because he was drunk.
"My wife had to work day and night even if she didn't win the exam before. She has won many exams, but she traveled thousands of miles to take the exam and went through hardships and hardships, but she still had to live and die."
"Qian Juren was with me. He was forty-three years old and fell ill on the road. I still remember that he was so thin that he was so sick that his bones were torn to pieces on the boat. He held my hand with tears in his eyes and gasped, "Good friend, can you still survive?"
Fight for it, but I have to travel far away."
"I'm afraid I'll be like him in the future."
"If you fail in one term, you can bear it, but what about the second and third term? How many decades does a person have?"
"The talents given by Yang in the previous dynasty have not been successful for twenty years, let alone us?"
Zhang Modong showed his true feelings, and both of them felt the same way. In ancient times, it took two or three months to travel thousands of miles. Many people fell seriously ill when they arrived in the capital, and some even died.
Therefore, when people over forty years old take the exam, they are really "working hard" and "gambling their luck". After all, only two or three hundred people will be selected from tens of thousands of exams, and even those with talent may not be guaranteed to win.
The candle popped, and Yu Lu's eyes flashed, he woke up, and quickly comforted him. After a while, Zhang Modong came back to his senses, raised his glass and wiped his tears: "I lost my temper, I didn't want this wine to be so powerful..."
"Wine is very good. It can relieve the pent-up energy in your heart. Otherwise, you will get heart disease sooner or later. Come on, let's drink two more glasses!" Fang Xi raised his glass and said.
"No, no, I drank too much."
Just as he was talking, an old man with the guise of "Iron Cutting Straight" slowly came up. Probably because there were not many people on the second floor, the fortune teller glanced at it and went straight to the table.
"Are you guys coming to the capital to take the exam? I'm good at nothing else. I'm good at fortune telling. I can tell my future and my ranking. I don't want to give you money!"
When the old man arrived, he raised his hands politely, bowed his hands, and spoke directly.
Such a loud tone made everyone laugh. The imperial examination is a ceremony for the imperial court to recruit talents. Life and death are determined by fate and wealth. If it had been in the past, the three of them would have immediately waved their hands and told him to go elsewhere.
Now after what happened just now, even Yu Lu was moved. Fang Xi even said directly: "How much does a fortune tell?"
Compared to the past, Fang Xi is much more stable, but the foundation is still there. In the past, she was able to do frivolous things. Now she is still young and her personality is still a bit flamboyant. Now she plans to join in the fun.
Yu Lu was a little helpless and glanced at Fang Xi because he didn't speak in front of Zhang Modong, which made Fang Xi lose face.
The old man stretched out a slap directly.
Fang Xi raised her eyebrows and took out a silver ingot from her sleeve: "Oh, is it five taels?"
"No, five hundred taels!"
In fact, Fang Xi's question already contained a hint of ridicule. Unexpectedly, the old lion opened his mouth and actually said a jaw-dropping amount.
Five hundred taels of silver?!
There was just a "pop" sound, and the silver ingot fell on the table. It rolled but did not fall. Fang Xi was shocked. He thought this person was a liar before, but now he no longer thought this person was a liar. How could a liar do that?
With such arrogance, he is obviously a lunatic!
A fortune telling costs five hundred taels of silver? If you weren't crazy, how could you dare to speak like this?
Do you really think that the reality is what is reported in the supplement of the Beijing News, and it can easily be one hundred or two thousand taels? You know, the prince's annual income is only two to thirty thousand taels.
Fang Xi immediately took back the money: "Crazy, how can there be such an expensive fortune telling!"
But the old man actually sneered and said, "Of course it's not worth it for others to tell fortunes, but I just want this!"
He is indeed crazy!
Now, even if Fang Xi doesn't chase people away, Yu Lu will chase them away.
"You old man, you're talking nonsense. The three of us don't intend to tell fortunes. If you want to tell fortunes, please go somewhere else!" Yu Lu, who was gentle and calm to others, turned away coldly.
Fang Xi even said: "Let's go quickly. The three of us are short of money and can't afford five hundred taels of silver."
As a result, the two drove them away, but Zhang Modong suddenly said: "Old sir, please stay."
"Brother Zhang..." Fang Xi was surprised: "You can't be..."
Impossible, right? Fang Xi found it incredible that Zhang Modong actually believed such nonsense?
Zhang Modong didn't even look at the two of them. He stared at the old man in front of him and asked: "Five hundred taels, but do you want to take it out at once?"
The old man smiled mysteriously and took out a folding fan from the bag on his back, but did not open it directly. He only waved it towards the three of them: "This folding fan is worth a hundred taels. Do you want to give it a try, sir?"
Zhang Modong was silent for a moment, then actually took out a stack of small-denomination banknotes, counted out a hundred-tael banknote, and handed it over.
The old man took it and clicked it once to make sure it was correct, then put the folding fan into Zhang Modong's hand.
Zhang Modong opened it directly and looked at it. With a "pop" sound, the folding fan unfolded, revealing a fan with a white background and words on only one side.
"What is the unparalleled national scholar?"
These six words just appeared on the fan. Yu Lu and Fang Xi looked at them and were a little confused. What did these six words mean?
Could it be that anyone who can master this fan can become an unparalleled national warrior? This is too childish!
But looking at Zhang Modong's expression, it didn't look like he was disappointed. Instead, he looked at the words on the fan and showed a hint of joy.
"Old sir, what's left?" Zhang Modong raised his head and asked the fortune teller.
The fortune teller smiled: "You can't just calculate the rest, it needs four hundred taels!"
Four hundred taels of silver, this is not a small amount, Zhang Modong looked embarrassed.
"Why, you can't come up with four hundred taels of silver? That little old man is about to leave." The fortune teller pretended to leave, but Zhang Modong said hurriedly: "Wait a minute, I don't have enough money for myself, but the three of us can buy it together!"
After saying that, he looked at Yu Lu and Fang Xi and said sincerely: "Brother Yu, Brother Fang, I still have four hundred taels of silver short, so why don't we buy it together? What do you think?"
The fortune teller smiled and said: "Originally we cannot buy together, but during the Chinese New Year, I will give you a discount. If you give me another four hundred taels, I will give you the remaining folding fans. If it is not right, you can ask me for money with the fans."
As soon as these words came out, both Yu Lu and Fang Xi's hearts sank.
Without their grandson's reminder, they probably wouldn't have thought so much, and out of kindness, they might have lent Zhang Modong some money in the end.
Zhang Modong said it was a joint purchase. Based on his personality, he would probably refuse and borrow some.
But after their grandson reminded them, it was difficult for the two of them not to think in that terrible direction.
The two of them looked at each other, as if they had some understanding. Yu Lu shook his head and said, "Zi Buyu has strange powers and chaos. Brother Zhang, I don't believe in fortune telling."
Zhang Modong advised: "Then just lend it to me, and I will return it to you when you get back. How about that?"
With Zhang Modong's net worth, he really wouldn't have lost four hundred taels of silver.
And with Yu Lu and Fang Xi's wealth, they could indeed afford the money, and they did carry hundreds of taels of silver notes as backup.
After all, people in the capital always have various expenses, and the two families are not short of money. Moreover, no one in the capital is safe to leave valuables in the room, whether it is a residence or a hotel. Naturally, you have to carry the banknotes with you.