Chapter 690 Arrival in Texas
Sun Shan and others stayed in Dongchang for two days. Chen Dongling also bought a lot of fine gourds and said he would transport them to Beijing for sale. There are many Shandong people in Beijing who have a special liking for gourds, so there must be a big market for them.
Chen Dongling also said that gourds don’t sell very well in Guangnan, and we Guangnan people don’t like them very much.
Sun Shan nodded in agreement.
Among his relatives and friends, no one was seen playing with gourds.
Some people do play with beeswax, but of course their favorite are jadeite and jade.
There is a stone pillow in A Nai Huangshi, which is white and no one knows what it is made of. It should not be valuable.
Huang said that it was given to her by Doctor Sun. She has been sleeping on it until now and it has been worn smooth. It can be considered an alternative cultural relic.
After bidding farewell to Dongchang, the Chen family merchant ship continued to head north, passing Linqing and stopping in Dezhou.
The Chen family's merchant ship stopped and started along the way, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive, so of course it must have made a lot of money.
The group was accommodated in an inn. When they walked in, they saw a bustling and lively scene.
I saw many scholars in long gowns gathered together chatting and laughing.
Seeing Sun Shan and others come in, everyone bowed politely. No matter whether they knew each other or not, they might know each other after the imperial examination.
The places that Manager Chen arranged for them to stay in were all places they had stayed in countless times, so safety was guaranteed.
The inn is divided into small courtyards.
Sun Shan and his companions moved into the rooms in the small courtyard, after which Manager Chen and Chen Dongling went to meet their business partners.
Sun Shan and others stayed in the inn and had free time.
After packing up, Brother Chen San naturally went out to play, while Sun Shan was either lying on the bed or reading. He was a person from a completely different world from them.
Fortunately, I know him well and understand why he is so cautious. If it were an outsider, they would definitely say that he is not sociable and likes to be alone.
Dezhou is a state (county) under the jurisdiction of Jinan Prefecture, very close to the center of Jinan Prefecture.
Sun Shan had been to Jinan in his previous life and drank a bottle of Baotu Spring water, which best represents Jinan.
At that time, when he saw others filling it, he tried to fill it too. After taking a sip, he felt that it was not as good as the mineral water bought outside.
Fortunately it is free, otherwise it would not be worth it if I paid for it.
Of course, when it comes to Jinan, Xia Yuhe by Daming Lake is more impressive. Everyone went to drink spring water without Gui Geer and began to prepare delicious food for Sun Shan.
Today's meal is quite rich, so I made chicken soup.
Speaking of chicken, I think of Dezhou Braised Chicken, but I haven’t heard of Dezhou Braised Chicken yet. It seems that the ancestor of Braised Chicken has not yet been born.
Sun Shan looked at Gui Ge'er in confusion and asked, "Gui Ge'er, why are you eating so much today?"
Gui Ge'er's temperament is becoming more and more like Su's. He is nagging and is becoming more and more stingy.
I figure out how to save money every day.
Gui Ge'er said that he wanted to save more money for Xiao Xiaoshan, Xiao Xiaoyun and others as tuition, betrothal gifts and dowry.
Except for being not so stingy towards Sun Shan, he was quite stingy towards other people.
Gui Ge'er said cheerfully: "Brother Shan, I just went out to buy vegetables and saw an old lady selling golden thread jujubes. The locals said that if you eat Leling golden thread jujubes, you will be able to pass the imperial examination.
The top scholar in Dezhou once said that whenever he couldn't write an article, he would pinch a golden thread jujube and eat it. After that, his ideas would flow and he could write immediately. Haha, Brother Shan, I'll buy some jujubes for you to eat.
After you eat it, you will be like the top scholar in Texas, with no article you can’t write and no question you can’t answer.”
Sun Shan saw that Gui Ge'er actually bought a small bag of red dates.
Gui Ge'er continued, "Brother Shan, I use red dates to make chicken soup to bring out the essence of the red dates. If you drink it, your brain will become more flexible. Haha, Brother Shan, you will definitely pass the exam this time."
Sun Shan suspected that the lady selling dates made up this story just to sell dates and attract many scholars to buy them.
Just like their Guangnan’s No. 1 Scholar Congee and No. 1 Scholar Soup, they pay attention to the meaning.
When the exam is approaching, many parents take their children to eat, placing their hopes on them.
Whether eating dates can help you pass the imperial examination is one thing, but drinking chicken soup made with jujubes is still very refreshing.
Before going to Beijing for the imperial examination, Gui Ge'er received special training from Su and Yun Jie'er, and his cooking skills made a qualitative leap, and the meals he made tasted better than before.
Sun Dingnan and Sun Dali praised it highly.
After lunch, Sun Shan was reading a book in the inn. Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside. Sun Shan stretched his neck but could not see anything.
The sound came from the door of the inn, and I didn't know what happened.
Sun Dali was sleeping on his luggage, and when he heard the noise, he leaned even tighter on his luggage. He looked around nervously, fearing that someone would come in and rob him the next second.
Sun Dingnan and Gui Ge'er were counting the money. Gui Ge'er reported the money and Sun Dingnan wrote it down. Then they put them together and calculated how much money they had spent on the journey.
Hearing the sound, Gui Ge'er and Sun Dingnan looked outside the yard and saw some people who stayed in the inn coming out and walking towards the door.
Gui Ge'er said quickly, "Brother Shan, you stay in the room. I'll go out and take a look."
Sun Dingnan also followed behind.
As for Sun Shan, he chose to stay in the room. Although he was curious about the excitement, in order to save his life, he decided to wait for Gui Ge'er to come back and report before going to see.
Sun Dali is more pure. He doesn't care about anything else and just focuses on guarding the luggage.
To say that Sun Shan went to Beijing to take the imperial examination was the same as not having come, because there was a test paper to prove that he had been there.
Sun Dali is even more outrageous than Sun Shan. It is really the same as if he did not come.
He was either on the boat or in the inn. He didn't go anywhere else. Even the food he ate was Sunjia Village-style. There was no evidence at all that he had been there.
After waiting for a while, Gui Ge'er came back hurriedly, his eyes shining.
He said with a gossipy look: "Brother Shan, there is a girl outside, selling her body to bury her father. Oh, there are so many people watching. Some of them even fought over the money to pay for the girl's father's coffin. One said he would pay, the other said he would pay, and they were fighting back and forth. It was so lively."
Sun Shan was stunned. He didn't expect that the plot of the TV series would actually happen in real life. He asked curiously, "Is the woman who sold herself to bury her father very beautiful?"
Gui Ge'er's eyes were even brighter, and he nodded quickly and said, "Brother Shan, you are really smart. That woman was dressed in white, looked weak and frail, and spoke in a gentle voice. Oh, she was really beautiful."
Then Gui Geer added, "Brother Shan, what's the point of being pretty? You can't even afford to bury your father. Humph, if you can't afford a coffin, you can make a straw mat to bury him, and then dig him up and bury him in a coffin when you have money. Alas, it's really useless to raise a daughter like this, leaving your old father's body exposed on the street. This is very unfilial."
Gui Ge'er curled his lips, looking as if he was heartbroken that he had raised his daughter in vain.
As if he had thought of something, his face turned pale and he asked in panic, "Brother Shan, tell me, do you think my daughter is so useless that she can't even get a straw mat to bury me? She has to go out and ask others for help?"
Gui Ge'er thought of Li Jinhua in Sunjia Village, who was pregnant with his daughter.
Sun Dali, who was holding his luggage tightly, suddenly said, "Gui'er, don't worry. Even if your daughter can't afford to bury you, you still have your wife. Jinhua will definitely bury you well and won't let your daughter drag your body around the street to beg for help."
Sun Shan: ...
The topics they talk about are so outrageous and a bit scary, what should I do?