Chapter 507: Chatting on the Boat
After packing up, Sun Shan led Gui Ge'er and Sun Dingnan out of the room and onto the deck.
As for Sun Dali, he followed the orders of the old lady Su from Sunjia Village and never left the cabin, because there were valuables kept there and Sun Dali was afraid that they would be stolen.
The students who were traveling together on this trip gathered on the deck.
Sun Shan walked up to them, greeted them one by one, and introduced himself.
There were five students from the He family, two students from the Chen family, and Sun Shan, who was half a member of the He family, on the boat.
As for Sun Shan's classmate Lu Yuming, he followed the Lu family students and took the same boat with the Luo family students.
Chen Mibo, a student of the Chen family, saw Sun Shan and said with a smile, "Brother Sun, you are here. Haha, I didn't expect to be traveling with you this time."
A student of the He family named He Shujun also said with a smile: "You never thought that you would be traveling with Ashan, and I never thought that Ashan would be my future brother-in-law. Haha, we are really destined to be together."
Sun Shan also smiled and said, "Since we parted at the Luming Feast, I never thought that we would go to Beijing together to take the imperial examination. Haha, Brother Chen, please take good care of me on the way."
Chen Mibo, He Shujun and Sun Shan are of the same age, and all of them passed the provincial examination and became Juren.
The three of them had met at the Lu Ming Banquet, but at that time they just glanced at each other and had a slight impression of each other, but were not familiar with each other at all.
As for He Shujun, you can tell from his name that he is of the same generation as He Shuqiang.
He Shujun is He Shuqiang's cousin, and the grandson of He Erlaotaiye. He has a very close relationship with He Banyun. It is completely reasonable and legal for him to call Sun Shan his brother-in-law.
During this trip, Old Master He San specifically asked He Shujun to look after Sun Shan. He is almost one of their own, so he must be taken care of more.
Chen Mibo held a paper fan in his hand, shook his head and said, "Brother Sun, this is a long journey, with many mountains and rivers. We must take care of each other."
Another student from the He family said, "Who says it's not true? The journey is so long, and we have to take a boat, walk, ride a car, and take a boat, and go around in circles. I don't know how many times we have to go through the process before we can reach the capital. Oh, it gives me a headache just thinking about this problem."
A student from the Chen family said, "It's not that difficult, you just get used to it. I didn't have to rush like this three years ago. Just bear with it and it will pass."
When Sun Shan heard what the student from the Chen family said, he knew that this was not his first time to go to Beijing to take the exam.
Sun Shan, Chen Mibo and He Shujun all looked at him, hoping he could explain how they had come this far.
The three of them are newbies.
Chen Mibo's eyes rolled around, one hand dangling on the body of the Chen student, and asked with a smile: "Third brother, please tell us how you walked this way. Is it hard? By the way, how did you feel when you walked there? How long did it take? Is there a shortcut?"
Brother Chen San pulled Chen Mibo's hand away, shook his head and said, "Hard work? Of course it's hard work. By the way, can you all take the boat? Is there anyone who gets seasick?"
Sun Shan shook his head. He had been on a boat before and was sure he wouldn't get seasick.
Chen Mibo and He Shujun also shook their heads.
Suddenly, one of the students from the He family said, "Don't talk about seasickness. I used to be seasick, but now I feel like I'm going to get seasick."
After saying this, he covered his forehead with both hands, and it really looked like he was suffering from seasickness.
When the He family student said this, everyone laughed.
Brother Chen San smiled and said, "Oh, seasickness is really painful. Last time, I went to Beijing with my cousin to take the imperial examination, but he was seasick all the way. When we arrived in Beijing, he was already exhausted and his ambitions were mostly gone. When he entered the examination hall, he did not perform very well and ended up failing."
Third Brother Chen shook his head and continued, "After my cousin finished his exam, he stayed in the capital and did not return to Guangzhou. He said he wanted to prepare for the exam in the capital. I don't know how he prepared for the exam. I will ask him when he arrives in the capital."
He Shujun clapped his hands and said with bright eyes: "Brother Chen, your brother did the right thing. Instead of rushing back exhausted, it is better to stay in Beijing and continue studying hard. Haha, I think if I fail the exam, I will also stay in Beijing to prepare for the exam like him."
This statement was met with unanimous eye rolls from everyone.
It's so unlucky to say that you failed the exam before you even take it.
Fortunately, all those present were successful candidates in the imperial examinations. They were well-mannered and knew that it was better not to believe in unlucky words.
If the elders in the family heard it, they would definitely punish He Shujun.
A group of people stood on the deck, chatting and laughing, looking at the river along the way, and their sadness of separation dissipated a lot.
Sun Shan bowed to Lu Yuming who was on the parallel merchant ship.
Lu Yuming also greeted Sun Shan and others.
It was difficult for everyone to speak unless they shouted.
However, shouting loudly would be unbecoming of the group, so everyone could only look at each other in silence.
At noon, the Chen family arranged lunch.
The food was pretty good, one vegetable, one steamed fish, two Cantonese sausages, and all you can eat rice and rice porridge.
But this is a special meal for scholars.
The situation of servants or accompanying relatives is much worse.
Sun Shan saw that Gui Ge'er was eating vegetables and pickles, but no meat.
He put sausages into the bowls of Gui Ge'er, Sun Dali, and Sun Dingnan and said, "You guys eat sausages, I don't like them."
Sun Dali waved his hands and said, "Ashan, you eat, you don't have to give us any. Just give me enough rice, I don't need to eat meat."
Having enough rice to eat is a luxury for most people, so what Sun Dali said is from the heart.
Sun Shan shook his head and said, "You eat sausages, and I eat fish. I don't like sweet sausages. Haha, if it's Changsha sausage, I won't give it to you."
Everyone laughed after hearing this.
Gui Ge'er picked up the sausage and stuffed it into his mouth. It was sweet, oily, fragrant and delicious.
Gui Ge'er knew that Sun Shan was not lying and that he really did not like sweet sausages but liked smoked sausages.
When he was studying at Yuelu Academy, Sun Shan liked the academy's fried bacon and smoked bamboo shoots the most.
Cantonese sausage, sweet and oily
Sun Shan asked again, "Didn't my aunt and mother prepare a lot of side dishes? You can take some out and eat them."
Aunt Sun and Mrs. Su were afraid that the food on the road would be bad, so they asked Sun Shan to bring several cans of fried salted fish, peanuts, pork cubes, and small fish.
Sun Dingnan quickly finished a bowl of rice, shook his head and said, "I'll eat those when there's no more food. The food on the boat is pretty good now, so we can't eat too much."
Gui Ge'er and Sun Dali also thought so, and decided to wait until they were at their wit's end before eating the things they brought with them.
We are just starting now, so we can’t just eat and drink too much.
Since they all said so, Sun Shan didn't say anything else.
After dinner, I rested in the room.
After waking up, he planned to read a book. I don't know if it was because he had just started the journey or he was not used to reading on the road, but Sun Shan couldn't continue reading.
I thought about how every time he went on a long journey, he never read books on the way.
After all, a day's journey is tiring and uncomfortable enough, so reading is impossible.
Sun Shan put the book aside, thinking that he would have to go on a long journey without reading. After getting used to it for a while, he forced himself to read.