Chapter 510: The Old Pen of the Juren Master
Sun Shan chatted with the Hong family for an entire afternoon. Seeing that it was getting late, it was time to go back.
Madam Hong said reluctantly, "Ashan, you must be careful on the road. Even if you follow a large caravan, you must be more careful."
Hong Dalang took out 20 taels of silver and reminded him, "Ashan, you must pack your luggage carefully, especially your imperial examination documents. You must keep them well and don't lose them."
Sun Shan didn't want it, saying that Hong Xiucai had already given it to him.
One family cannot receive two payments.
Hong Dalang insisted, "What belongs to my father belongs to my father, and what belongs to me belongs to me. I give it to you by my uncle, so you must accept it."
Sun Shan had no choice but to thank him and accept the money from Hong Dalang.
This time, he only brought necessities and no local specialties. Sun Shan packed the pen he was currently using in a box and gave it to Jianzi.
Just like an elder's advice to a younger generation: "Jianzi, this pen is the one that Uncle Shan used for the provincial examination. I give it to you. I hope you will pass the examination and make a breakthrough in the future."
Sun Shan found that parents with children all liked the things they used when they were studying.
Things like pens, inkstones, books, paper, and even the ordinary words written by oneself, were all scrambled for.
Especially the three elder sisters in the family, who found a lot of worn-out brushes that had been used before in Sun Shan’s study.
Sun Shan couldn't bear to see it and said it couldn't be used, but the sisters insisted so that the boy in the family could share in this blessing.
Sure enough, when Hong Dalang, Mrs. Hong Da, and Hong Chengcai saw the pen given by Sun Shan, especially when Sun Shan said that this pen was the one he had used during the county examination, a "horrifying" light flashed in their eyes.
Hong Dalang didn't even say a polite refusal. He directly snatched the box and asked Jianzi to hold it. He said excitedly: "Jianzi, this is the pen used by the Juren Master. You must keep it well. In the future, you must pass the imperial examination like the Juren Master. Do you understand?"
How would Jianzi know all this? What's more, what Sun Shan gave him was a pen. If it were candy, biscuits, or chicken legs, he could just chew them, but what's the point of playing with a pen?
He has quite a few in his little study.
But facing the looks of his grandfather, second grandfather and father, Jianzi could only hold the box tightly and said to this uncle Shan whom he had not met for many times: "Uncle Shan, thank you."
Sun Shan touched Jianzi's head, tapped his forehead, and said with a smile, "Jianzi, study hard."
Sun Shan bid farewell to the Hong family and returned to the inn.
I saw my companions chatting in the dining room.
Sun Shan asked Gui Ge'er to take out the cakes sent by the Hong family and share them with everyone.
Everyone thanked him and continued talking about their trip to Beijing for the exam.
Of course, it was the experienced students who talked, and people like Sun Shan who were going to Beijing for the exam for the first time listened.
Everyone was chatting and laughing, and the whole place was having a great time.
The next morning, after breakfast, everyone boarded the ship one after another under the arrangement of Manager Chen.
Fortunately, I brought a few people with me. If Sun Shan and Gui Ge'er were the only ones to carry the luggage, it would take a long time.
Sun Shan discovered that the scholar who was traveling with him also brought several servants with him, doing the same work as Sun Dali, Gui Ge'er and Sun Dingnan.
Sun Shan wanted to help carry the luggage, but Gui Ge'er quickly stopped him, "Brother Shan, other scholars don't do this kind of rough work, so you shouldn't do it either. If you do, you won't be sociable."
Sun Dingnan agreed and said, "Ashan, if you want to work, you can only do it behind the scenes, not in front of others. If the juren masters don't work, you, a juren master, will do it. That's not like a juren master."
Sun Dali carried a large sack on his shoulder and said, "We can do it. Ah Shan, you should get on the boat and stay with the scholar. We can do the heavy work."
Sun Shan said that he, a juren, also had to work. Aren’t juren just from the countryside?
Sun Dali is an honest man, and honest people's words are often hurtful because they are too truthful.
Sun Dali said honestly, "Haha, Ashan, your thin arms and legs not only can't do the work, but also hinder our work. Haha, Ashan, you'd better get on the boat, we can move these things."
Sun Shan was so heartbroken by Sun Dali's words that he turned around and boarded the boat silently.
Although what Sun Dali said was true, is it polite to speak like that?
I really want to put a sack over his head and beat him up.
Sun Shan brought three coolies with him this time, and the other candidates were similar, but the situation was different with Chen Dongling.
This Mr. Chen not only brought slaves, but also maids.
Sun Shan saw two pretty women busying around on Chen Dongling's boat.
The other candidates were used to it, and Sun Shan no longer paid attention to it.
The merchant ship continued northward, crossed the Beijiang River, entered the Zhenjiang River, and finally stopped in Nanxiong Prefecture, switching from water to land, crossing Meiling, an ancient fortress site of the Dayuling Mountains to the east of the Five Ridges.
We will continue to travel by land, either on foot or by horse carriage, to Dayu County.
At this moment, Sun Shan and his gang had to move their luggage off the boat and enter the inn, waiting to cross the mountains and rivers early tomorrow morning to enter Yuzhang Province, the hometown of Yu Wangnan, the cold-faced scholar and his classmate from Yuelu Academy.
Speaking of Yu Wangnan, Sun Shan almost forgot about this person. He didn't know how he did in the provincial examination, whether he passed or failed.
However, Yu Wangnan is much better than me in academic performance. Since I can pass the imperial examination, I believe he can too.
If I have the chance to meet you in Beijing, I will go and meet you.
Chen Dongling came over and said to the students, "Everyone, have a good rest today. We will cross the mountain and pass Meiguan early tomorrow morning. Everyone should be ready."
Sun Shan's nominal cousin He Shujun had never been to Meiguan before, so he asked anxiously, "Brother Dong Ling, is the road to Meiguan easy to walk? Does it require a person to walk? Can we take a horse-drawn carriage?"
Another newbie, Chen Mibo, also asked: "Brother Dong Ling, are we going to climb a mountain tomorrow? I'm not good at climbing mountains. I even find our Baishi Mountain difficult to climb."
Chen Mibo wailed when he thought about climbing the mountain tomorrow.
For someone like him who doesn't like to move around, climbing a mountain is a very painful thing.
If Sun Shan didn't need to pay attention to his image, he would definitely roll his eyes at Chen Mibo.
Baishishan is actually Baiyun Mountain. This mountain, whose main peak, Moshingling, is less than 400 meters high, is said to be difficult to climb. Then for Chen Mibo, there is no mountain in the world that is not difficult to climb.
Sun Shan looked at Chen Mibo. He wasn't fat, so why was he so weak?
Chen Dongling shook his head and said, "Dayu Mountain is not difficult to climb. If you have a good rest tonight, you will be able to climb it tomorrow. Don't worry."
He was not sure whether to feel at ease or not, but since Chen Dongling had said so, Chen Mibo had no choice but to shut up.
As soon as Chen Dongling left, Chen Mibo asked, "Third brother, tell me the truth, is Dayuling easy to travel? Is there a car?"
Third Brother Chen patted Chen Mibo on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Brother Bo. Meiguan is easy to get to. Some places can be reached by car, and some places require walking. But it's not difficult to walk. Don't worry. I was able to crawl over it, so you can definitely do it too."
Chen Mibo felt relieved when he heard that he could take the bus. He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll have a good rest tonight and get enough rest."
After saying that, he said goodbye quickly and went back to the guest room to sleep.
Sun Shan also followed behind and went back to the customer service department to sleep. No matter how easy it would be to climb the mountain tomorrow, it would be a good idea to get enough rest.