The two of them left "Furong Pavilion" and never dared to enter the splendid and high-end store on the street. I turned along Zhuque Street and entered the small alley. After walking for half an hour, I couldn't help but feel hungry.
Fan Dazhi rubbed his belly, looking listless. Unexpectedly, in such a huge imperial capital, two teenagers who walked out of a small mountain village could not find anything to eat. Living in Luoyang is not easy.
The two of them were sighing with emotion when an old man walked by in the alley, holding a wonton bag and shouting in a mellow voice - "Selling wontons, ah...
Fan Dazhi suddenly became energetic and hurriedly ran to ask about the price and took out two big coins from his arms. The old man took it, took off the wonton picker, quickly set up the iron pot, turned on the charcoal fire, and handed two small mazzas to the two of them. He rolled up his sleeves, set up the small chopping board, and took out the dough and meat fillings with skillful movements. Wrapped in wontons.
This wonton picker carries cooking utensils such as a charcoal fire, bellows, pots, bowls, and rolling pins at one end, and a small box at the other end. When you open it, there are layers of drawers containing dough, condiments, and more. It is simply a mobile kitchen. .
He An and Fan Dazhi were watching with interest when the water was boiling. The old man put the wrapped wontons into the pot, rolled the wontons twice in the water, put them into two large bowls with a spatula, put in salt, shrimp skin, and seaweed, then sprinkled some chopped green onions, and finally poured a little sesame oil on them. The steaming aroma filled the air, and Fan Dazhi and He An couldn't help but move their fingers...
The two of them each held a big bowl, sat on the pony, leaned against the alley wall and ate wontons.
He An picked up a wonton and saw that the skin was as thin as a cicada's wing, the meat filling was fragrant and tender, and the soup in the bowl was as white as jade and garnished with green onions. It really whetted the appetite. He couldn't help but praise: "My uncle is really good at his craftsmanship. I didn't expect this." The wontons are so delicious.”
The old man selling wontons grinned and said quite proudly: "People in this area say the craftsmanship passed down from our ancestors is delicious. If you two guys like it, I'm in this alley every night and you can come over at any time." "
While talking, Fan Dazhi had finished eating and asked for a large bowl.
Back at the inn, the two discussed some books left by He Kui and practiced a few Suiyun Sanshou moves. Not long after, Fan Dazhi had sweat on his forehead. He waved his hands and said: "I won't practice anymore. I won't practice anymore. I can't beat you every time. Alas... I just ate too much... Xiao An... remember, I actually I didn’t lose to you, I lost to my own fat body!”
He An was speechless. Fan Dazhi was extremely incompetent as a sparring partner. The two of them had been studying and playing together for so many years, and he was very aware of the other's lazy nature. The opponent also knows the changes, position, and strength of each move he makes. In fact, neither of them can do anything to the other.
"If you have the chance, you must find a master to try it out. Is the kung fu I have practiced for so many years good enough?" He An thought to himself, and sat cross-legged on the couch again, closing his eyes and starting to practice the mental techniques taught to him by He Kui. .
He gets up early to read in the morning, writes and posts in the afternoon, goes out to stroll Zhuque Street in the evening, and then goes to the alley to eat two bowls of wontons. He An feels that such a life is leisurely and comfortable.
What's rare is that Fan Dazhi has restrained a lot of his thoughts, and these days he is studying and doing homework with him in a well-behaved manner.
An autumn rain has passed in Luoyang, the weather has become cooler, and the day for the Zhixingyuan selection examination is coming soon.
In the past half month, candidates from all over the country have arrived. Although the number has dropped by more than half compared to previous years, there are still four to five thousand people.
On the other side of Luoyang City, although Longmen Academy is enrolling students in its first year, the number of candidates registered is more than 10,000. Since Longmen Academy is under construction in full swing, the examination venue and later admission studies are temporarily located in the Royal Villa of Longmen Villa, which was specially approved by the emperor.
Moreover, Longmen Academy takes exams on the same day as Zhixingyuan, and even uses the same test questions as Zhixingyuan as the selection criteria. These actions of the emperor made many ministers in the court discuss this matter, and the expressions on their faces became interesting. The atmosphere in the court also became tense as the exams for the two Kyoto universities approached.
Tomorrow, the eighth day of August, will be the day of the Zhixingyuan selection examination. He An and Fan Dazhi sorted out the few classics they had recently studied.
Fang Yizhi came to see the two of them in the morning and explained the rules of the exam. The admission test to Zhixingyuan is divided into two parts, one is the literary test and the other is the martial arts test. The literary test is a test of works such as a collection of classics and history, and you have one day to answer questions. The martial arts test is to challenge the martial arts teachers. There are ten teachers in total. Candidates can choose by themselves. During the competition, the teacher will disperse the exercises and only examine the candidates' comprehensive basic skills such as moves, body coordination and flexibility, and ability to adapt to situations.
"Dazhi, tomorrow is the literary test, and I still feel unsure. No wonder my uncle once said that the more a person studies, the more he feels that he knows too little... You can remember many things faster than me, and you can memorize them better than me. , remember not to doze off in the exam tomorrow!" He An joked to Fan Dazhi.
"What are you afraid of? If I don't pass the exam, the worst I can do is go back to accompany my father and sell wine. Actually, I think there's nothing wrong with selling wine. I can eat a lot of good food every day, and it's not like here in the imperial capital Luoyang, where everything is so expensive. ." Fan Dazhi put his hands in his sleeves and said nonchalantly.
"Now that we have all come out and seen the prosperous world outside, are you really willing to go back to our small village? Of course your father won't say anything, but others... Dazhi, your father gave you this name, isn't it? I hope you can be successful in the future?" He An encouraged Fan Dazhi.
Someone outside the window heard the conversation between the two clearly, and saw He An and Fan Dazhi going out one after another. They went to visit Zhuque Street and eat wontons in the alley as usual, and then they drifted away.
This man returned to Zhixingyuan with ease and walked into an antique courtyard. Under the jujube tree full of fruits, he reported everything he had seen and heard recently to Wei Zhilin, who was wearing a loose Confucian uniform. Wei Zhilin had no expression on his face and just nodded with his beard twisted.
After the reporter left, Wei Zhilin frowned and stood in the autumn wind and murmured to himself: "I don't know what the teacher's purpose is in asking me to pay attention to the two teenagers... I should wait until the teacher's retreat is over and have the opportunity to ask him in person!"
The sun had just risen, and there was already a long queue at the entrance of Zhixingyuan. Today is the test for the entry-level disciples of Zhixingyuan. He An and Fan Dazhi crowded in the queue and moved forward slowly. The two of them were not assigned to the same examination room. They followed the flow of people and found the corresponding examination room with the number plates in their hands.
There are about a hundred people in each examination room. Each person has a table and a chair. Pens, inks, paper and inkstones are all prepared. He An opened the test paper. There were ten questions in total, all of which examined insights such as a subset of classics and history. He Kui has been teaching all kinds of classics since he was a child. He does not stick to the line, explains the profound things in a simple way, and draws on the strengths of other schools. Although he is still young, he has a lot of experience. After pondering for a moment, he dipped in ink and answered the question slowly, looking quite confident.
Fan Dazhi was in another examination room. When he got the test paper, he quickly glanced at the questions and felt calm. It was very simple! He didn't type on spare paper, he just polished his pen and wrote directly. I only wrote a few words, but I felt that the wolf hair was heavy in my hand, and the hair was too abundant, so that when I wrote, my pen was rough and it was very difficult to use.
Fan Dazhi has been writing since he was a child and likes to write in small characters. Although his handwriting is just like his person, Fan Dazhi, who is fair and fat, likes to write in small characters. Perhaps influenced by Fang Yi's powerful, elegant and neat regular script, although Fan Dazhi has a lazy personality, he has been meticulous about writing for more than half a year.
He saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he secretly plucked out some hair on the tip of his pen and tried writing a few words on the manuscript paper. As expected, he felt much more comfortable writing, so he continued to pluck out the hair.
The teacher in charge of invigilating the examination is Lu Zhengqing, who is in his forties. He attaches great importance to rules and teaches strictly. The students of Zhixingyuan secretly jokingly named him the "number one villain".
At this time, Lu Zhengqing was patrolling the examination room with a serious look on his face. He saw all the candidates writing quickly, scratching their ears and cheeks, or putting their hands on their foreheads as if thinking hard.
Suddenly I found a little fat man buried in the crowd, gritting his teeth and pulling out the brush hairs. After pulling out some of the brush hairs, he immersed himself in painting, then wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to pull out the brush hairs. The ink smeared on his forehead, face, and nose was all black, but he didn't even know it, and he was so busy writing.
Lu Zhengqing saw all this and couldn't help but feel angry secretly. At the same time, he made up his mind, who is such a naughty boy who he doesn't know his name? Which teacher recommended taking the test? Once I find out, I won't let him go leniently.
Fan Dazhi finished writing in one breath and found that it was still early to hand in the paper. The other students were still immersed in answering questions. Amidst the rustling sound of writing, Fan Dazhi touched his arms. The meat buns he bought in the morning were still warm. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he secretly took them out and ate them.
It was already past noon, and the sun shining through the window was dazzling. Fan Dazhi lay on the table in boredom after eating. After a while, he felt sleepy and fell asleep at his desk.
Sunshine's footsteps climbed down the eaves. Dazhi was sleeping soundly when a rapid ringing of the bell woke him up. It's over, hand in the paper!
He packed up his things and walked to the invigilator. When Lu Zhengqing saw the name Fan Dazhi on the test paper, he thought to himself: "Good boy, I will remember you!" By the way, he glared at him, and Fan Dazhi trembled in fright. The teacher's eyes were so fierce that he quickly turned around and left.
Fan Dazhi left the examination room and found many people staring at him along the way. He was secretly wondering in his heart, and he even thought sullenly: Could it be that this young master has become handsome again recently? Or is the aura too strong?
After finally meeting He An, the other person pointed at his face and laughed, then realized that ink was smeared all over his face when he pulled out the pen hair. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and quickly found a sink to wash his hands and face.
When they talked about the test questions, they both felt that it was easier than they imagined. How did they know that since they were young, they had been taught by their uncle He Kui, who was the most talented in the world, and that there was no other teacher at Zhixing Academy who could compare with them.
The entrance examination of Zhixingyuan is over, and the candidates are walking out of the examination room one after another.
A woman with a purple headscarf on her head stood outside the examination room and waited anxiously. Finally, I saw a girl jumping out of the crowd, and I couldn't help but be overjoyed. The girl also saw her and came forward happily: "Aunt Xue! I kept you waiting for a long time!"
"Chanjuan, how did you do in the exam today? If you don't do well in the exam, your parents will definitely blame me for not supervising you strictly in the future!" the woman said with a smile.
"It's not difficult at all, don't worry, Aunt Xue!" the girl said happily with a bright smile.
"You are a naughty girl who only wants to play. Your parents have pampered you since childhood, and you are used to making Aunt Xue happy. You must not be careless about things like exams..." The woman still said with a smile.
"Hey... Aunt Xue still doesn't believe me! Many of the questions were taught by my teacher before. I answered them very early... She is very attentive!" the girl said coquettishly.
"Okay, okay, Aunt Xue is teasing you. Aunt Xue believes that Chanjuan is a smart child. How could she fail in the exam? Let's go. There is an alley in the street in front. There is a very good Xuji Restaurant there. Xue Auntie, please have a good meal to celebrate!"
The woman took the girl's hand and spoke kindly, and the two of them walked forward along Suzaku Street with the crowd.
If He An were here, he would definitely recognize that this girl was the one he had fought with over the butterfly hairpin that day.
