Chapter 508 Beijiang
The Chen family's merchant ship set out from the Guangzhou wharf, went upstream along the Pearl River, reached the Sanshui area (where the West River and the North River meet), turned into the North River, and continued sailing upstream.
On the way, we passed Duanzhou, the hometown of Qian Yingyang, and Qingjiao County, the hometown of Liu Wenhuan, and went north through Feilai Gorge, which combines the wonders of the Yangtze River Canyon and the fairyland of the Lijiang River mountains and waters.
The great writer Su Shi once wrote in "Xiashan Temple": "The sky opens up a clear and distant gorge, and the earth turns into a condensed green bay. I walk without slowness, and my clothes are pulled together, and my steps are weak."
The first two sentences use magnificent brushstrokes to outline a scene of otherworldly natural beauty, with quiet canyons and emerald bays, displaying a fairyland-like tranquility and harmony.
It depicts the beautiful scenery of Feilai Gorge.
After passing through Feilai Gorge, we continued northward to Jiang Qian’s hometown, Yingshi County.
Sun Shan secretly felt sorry that time was limited, otherwise it would have been fun to visit relatives and friends.
Sun Shan thought of his roommate Zhang Chaoyang who was studying at the Zhangzhou Prefecture School. Because his mother passed away, Zhang Chaoyang did not take part in the provincial examination. Sun Shan had not seen him for three or four years and wondered how he was doing.
I also thought of Zhu Pengyun, who was also studying at Yuelu Academy, and wrote to him. I wondered whether he had passed the provincial examination.
Sun Shan looked at the beautiful scenery of Feilai Gorge. Although the scenery was beautiful, it just added a bit of sadness.
Feilaixia Reservoir
Feilai Gorge
The Chen family merchant ship continued to head north and would stop in Zhangzhou Prefecture for a day to load and unload cargo.
Sun Shan was overjoyed. He hadn't seen Hong Chengcai and Hong Erdi for a long time. He wondered how Hong Dalang and Mrs. Hong were doing.
Sun Shan and his companions got off the boat with their luggage. Manager Chen had already arranged an inn for them.
He said to the students with a pleasant face: "Dear students, we will rest for a day in Zhangzhou Prefecture today. We will set off early tomorrow morning. Please stay in the inn first and wait for dinner. Someone will notify you."
After a pause, Manager Chen said apologetically, "Dear candidates, in order to ensure a safe trip, please try not to go too far. It would be best if you just walk around nearby. It would be difficult if you miss tomorrow's boat. We don't have enough time to go to Beijing for the exam this time. I hope you can understand."
It was false that Manager Chen was worried that Master Juren would not be able to make it to tomorrow's schedule, but it was true that he was worried that Master Juren would encounter an accident.
If something happened on the way, the Chen family would have a hard time explaining it.
Sun Shan and others quickly agreed, saying that they would stay in the inn and not go too far.
Chen Dongling, the young master of the Chen family, is about thirty-five years old.
According to Sun Shan's nominal cousin He Shujun, Chen Dongling is the third son of the Chen family's eldest master, and he also went to Beijing with them to take the exam.
He Shujun also revealed that Chen Dongling was a bastard.
Speaking of illegitimate sons, Sun Shan suddenly remembered that he had never heard of illegitimate sons and daughters in the He family.
Old Master He San has one wife, He Lixi has another wife, not to mention Uncle He.
I have never seen a concubine in the He family.
When Sun Shan asked this question, He Shujun rolled his eyes and repeatedly said that Sun Shan was not the son-in-law of their He family at all, but a fake.
Not to mention the son-in-law, even outsiders know that the He family does not allow concubines. Unless a man is childless by the age of 40, he can take a concubine and give birth to a child.
The He family's daughters-in-law are very capable. I have never heard of any daughter-in-law who cannot give birth to a son.
Therefore, the He family had very few illegitimate sons and daughters.
As a result, Sun Shan had never seen it.
Chen Dongling, the young master of the Chen family, said to Sun Shan and others, "Everyone, please forgive us if our Chen family has not been able to entertain you well. I hope you will try not to go out. There are all kinds of people on this road, and there are endless scams. It is hard to guard against them.
In order to get to the capital smoothly, please pay more attention to safety. We are going to the capital to take the exam this time, the main thing is the imperial examination, and everything else is secondary. Please don't think Chen is too long-winded. "
Chen Mibo, a fellow clan member, quickly echoed: "Brother Ling, we will pay attention to it, please rest assured."
Brother Chen San also said: "Brother Ling, I will follow your footsteps and not go anywhere. Haha, we are going to take the exam. Instead of wandering around, it is better to stay in the inn and read more books. Haha, do you think I am right?"
Yes, I can only say yes.
Sun Shan followed everyone and shouted, "Yes, yes, yes, we are not going anywhere."
Chen Dongling chatted with everyone for a few words and then left.
He Shujun, the nominal cousin, revealed more information: In fact, Chen Dongling’s main job was not to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination, but to do business.
He is the one with the best business acumen in the Chen family, so all the business of the Chen family is handled by Chen Dongling.
Taking the exam is just a side job for Chen Dongling. If he passes, he will give up business and go into politics. If he fails, he will continue to do business.
Of course, Chen Dongling is not doing business openly, he is operating behind the scenes.
He Shujun sighed and said, "My grandfather said that our He family and the Chen family were originally similar, but now the Chen family is much richer than our He family. Their business is getting more and more prosperous. My grandfather is so envious."
Sun Shan didn't understand the situation of these noble families. After all, no one had ever told him. Even if he wanted to know, he couldn't find a way to find out.
When I asked Aunt Sun and Uncle He, they didn't understand either. They were marginal figures in the He family and only slowly moved closer to the center after my eldest cousin graduated from high school.
However, it will take a long time to really get close, and it depends on my cousin's ability.
He Shujun revealed the news to Sun Shan because he saw that Sun Shan was about to become his cousin's husband.
Lu Yuming walked over and said, "Brother Sun, do you want to go out?"
Speaking of Zhangzhou Prefecture, Lu Yuming is a local snake, so he is naturally not afraid.
After all, Sun Shan had lived here for several years, so he was naturally not afraid.
But Sun Shan still shook his head and said, "Brother Lu, less trouble is worse than more trouble. The Chen family is right. We should stay in the inn and not wander around. If the merchant ship suddenly needs to start and we can't find anyone, it would be embarrassing to let the Chen family wait."
Lu Yuming understood what Sun Shan meant. Even if he was a local tyrant, he should try not to cause trouble to others.
Especially for side branches like yourself and in-laws like Sun Shan, who are eating and drinking for free in the team, so you should not create trouble.
Lu Yuming nodded and said, "Brother Sun is right. We should listen to Brother Chen's instructions and stay in the inn peacefully. Don't cause any trouble."
Sun Shan also asked Lu Yuming about his last experience in Beijing for the imperial examination, as he needed to hear more about the experiences of people who had gone through it.
Lu Yuming said with a bitter face: "The biggest impression of arriving in the capital is the cold. Oh, it's unbearable. So we must pay attention to keeping warm. The imperial examination will be held in February. It's really uncomfortable to wear thin clothes to take the exam."
Speaking of cold, Sun Shan was also afraid of it, so a lot of the luggage he brought this time included thick clothes.
Aunt Sun made it specially and made it as thick as possible so that when Sun Shan puts on the cotton coat, it feels like he is covered with a thick quilt.
Sun Shan tried on the cotton coat, put it on and went to weigh himself, and found that he had gained a lot of weight.
After chatting for a while, Manager Chen called Sun Shan and others to have lunch.
The food in the inn is much richer than that on the ship.
Gui Ge'er, Sun Dali and Sun Dingnan enjoyed the meal very much.
Especially Gui Ge'er, because it was free, he ate like crazy, which made all the scholars marvel at it.
Sun Shan's face was filled with embarrassment.
However, in order to ease the embarrassment, Sun Shan asked Gui Ge'er to perform the stone-breaking trick with his chest in public.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find any big rocks, so he had to break a wooden stick as thick as an adult's calf with his bare hands.
This bending shocked all the scholars and they no longer dared to say that Gui Ge'er ate like he had just been released from prison.
How can one sustain this strength without eating a lot?
The scholars all expressed their understanding.