Lou Runfa looked like a kid who knows what's good for him: "That's natural. I am also the future head of the Lou family after all. I haven't already secured the spot for the school exam. Haven't you heard of the Lou family?"
Wei Feng shrugged: "No." He smelled a fishy smell on this man, and he didn't look like the eldest young master of the family.
Lou Runfa despised: "You go straight along this street and turn left at the end. The first fish restaurant you see is owned by my Lou family."
Wei Feng: "Oh, that's indeed not small. What other properties does the Yi family have?"
Lou Runfa shook his hair: "No more."
Wei Feng blinked, did you hear it right just now? He probably said no, right? So what's going on with this confident look?
"What's that look in your eyes?" Lou Runfa said angrily: "Isn't our family's business huge?"
Wei Feng said sternly: "It's indeed not small. Based on the area, it's worth several 'Qidian Bookstores'. I'm afraid your family won't be able to take care of it without sending three people, right?"
Lou Runfa: "That's natural. When we are busy, my parents and I can't take care of it."
Wei Feng: "..."
Lou Runfa: "Okay, I won't talk nonsense to you anymore, I have to go back to the store to help."
Seeing him taking out his wallet, Wei Feng had a headache. He raised his hand to stop him. Lou Runfa immediately looked happy: "What? You won't take my money this time?"
Wei Feng pressed his temples: "Since your family runs a fish restaurant, just come tomorrow and bring a fish to pay the bill."
This guy came very frequently, and at first he had a lot of money. After reading for an hour, he paid honestly. Later, after reading almost all the books in the store, he still came every day.
It's just that he can catch up quickly, always finishing within a quarter of an hour or two. In addition, he was short of money, so he clamored for the shopkeeper to charge him by the hour. Buji didn't agree, so he shamelessly kept harassing her. In the end, Bu Ji was so troubled that he lost his temper and had no choice but to call Wei Feng.
Wei Feng didn't care about this little income. For the sake of old customers, he let him go. But with less money, this guy wasn't as agile as he was at the beginning. Wei Feng squirmed every time he watched him pay. The pinching made me feel uncomfortable for a long time, so I simply gave him a free meal several times.
Lou Runfa stared: "How did you know I would be back tomorrow?"
Wei Feng curled his lips and said, "What day won't you come? Let's go, let's go. I don't know if you, the one who was so happy to pay at the beginning, are possessed by a ghost."
He raised his hand to push the person away. This was also a move he would only make after the two of them got to know each other well.
Lou Run muttered and walked away: "All the funding from the state trial has been spent on your store..."
He didn't mumble loudly, but Wei Feng still heard clearly. Jiang Guozhou's top three students received financial aid, which wasn't much. It was mainly used to support poor students.
Although the cost of boarding and lodging all the way to the academy to take the exam is borne by the post office, there are inevitably other places to spend money when traveling. Prices in Feiniao Town are high, so various states and counties will more or less provide some subsidies to students.
Moreover, regardless of whether these candidates are admitted to the academy or are not admitted back to local officials, they are no longer commoners. This subsidy can be regarded as winning over people's hearts in advance.
That night, the fragrance of fish soup wafted from the backyard of Fuyuanzhai. Lou Runfa sent the fish to the study room before dinner. It was a rare ice fish.
Wei Feng ate once at Shengyinlou. It was steamed at that time. Today he tried to make the soup which was also very delicious. He gave everyone a bowl and everyone tasted it carefully. Only a certain silly dog swallowed the soup with the bones in one gulp. I didn't even have time to taste it.
——
Five days passed by in a hurry, it was the twenty-fifth day of August, the beginning of Mao hour.
As a bell sounded from the academy, the entire Bird Town seemed to be awakened and suddenly became noisy.
In order to allow the disciples taking the Academy Examination to have a good rest, all the shops and vendors were much quieter today. It was not until after the bells that the noise started.
The inns arranged by the post house for students from all over the country are all near the entrance of the academy. There are four main entrances on all sides of the academy, but everyone knows that the first entrance should be to the east gate.
"Cao'er won't go?"
Wei Feng took Cang Gou and Bu Ji out of the study room and walked towards the east gate. For the first time, Cao'er was not with Bu Ji. The Academy Examination is allowed to observe the ceremony, which means fair, just, open, and accepting everyone's opinions. supervision.
Bu Ji shook his head: "She said that the owner of the restaurant asked her to take care of something, so she won't follow her today."
After this period of visiting the store and interacting with people, Bu Ji spoke more fluently and no longer had to pause to think before speaking, but it was obvious that he was not used to not having Cao'er following him.
In order to help him relax, Wei Feng randomly found a topic: "I don't know if I can pass the Academy Examination."
Sure enough, Buji asked: "What is a line scroll?"
Wei Feng: "Xingjuan is to write good articles, poems, etc. that you usually write on a scroll. The candidates send the scrolls to the houses of some great scholars or senior officials. If the great Confucians or senior officials see the candidates they admire, they will go there. Recommended by the examiner, their influence is enough to make the candidate’s ranking rise a lot.”
Bu Ji was about to nod when he heard a sneer coming from the side: "This is enough to be played in the Imperial College. What kind of place are you in the academy that allows you to manipulate it?"
Wei Feng followed the sound and saw a man wearing brocade clothes and a servant. His clothes were as gorgeous as Xu Qingdao's. He was walking not far from Wei Feng just now. He had obviously heard their conversation.
"What are you looking at? Don't you believe what I said? Or do you still want to fight?" The man saw Wei Feng looking at him and said slyly, even wanting to lift up his sleeves.
Wei Feng looked at him seriously and said, "Believe me." Then he and Bu Ji speeded up their pace in tacit agreement, and the man just sneered again behind him.
Those who are so arrogant on the street are either self-sufficient or have bad brains, and he doesn't want to mess with either.
In less than two-quarters of an hour, they had arrived near the east gate. At this time, the place was already crowded with people. There were no pedestrians in the middle of the street, and most of the people were piled on both sides of the east gate.
Before the Maozheng hour, only candidates can enter and exit the main entrance. After the Maozheng hour, only ordinary people watching the ceremony can enter.
The candidates were lining up at the door, waiting for their identities to be checked. The largest number of people were the top three in the imperial examinations from various places. Most of them were dressed as scholars. Next to them were the recommended students from the Ministry of War. One was much stronger and more powerful. These two teams had the largest number of people.
On the far right, there are no fixed features. There are people wearing linen clothes and people wearing rich clothes. The only thing they have in common is that there are no large gatherings. They are either alone or three or two people standing side by side.
This group of people were either recommended candidates from various states or counties, or children from aristocratic families, so it was impossible for them to chat together. Wei Feng and Bu Ji knew where to queue at a glance.
They had just stood still for a while when a strange voice came from behind them: "You two bumpkins are also candidates?"
Wei Feng looked back and saw that it was the young man in brocade robes just now.
(End of chapter)
