Wearing the cannon fodder little koi in the imperial examination essay

One day in late June, a building boat slowly docked at Dongcheng Wharf outside Jinling City.

The Lifu bearers who were waiting at the wharf saw a long-distance ship coming into the port, and cheered up one by one. At the moment when the ship entered the port and the deck was lowered, everyone swarmed with their own things. And to.

The sage stopped taking the exam once in Qiuwei. After four years, there are more students who took the exam this year than in previous years. Therefore, these people who are living at the bottom are also moved by the news. , Come to the wharfs of Jinling City, the Changting Pavilion of the outer city post station and other places to find work.

Earlier, Yu Su and the others had learned from the crew that when the building ship was about to enter the port and berth at the Jinling Dongcheng Wharf, Song Xinglin and the others packed up their belongings and looked out from the not-so-large window. Appreciating the style and features of Jinling City, but also want to see the bustling scene of disembarkation.

When Song Xinglin saw crowds of people on the pier, those who disembarked, those who boarded, and those who carried burdens rushed towards the deck, Song Xinglin was surprised and frowned, subconsciously took Yu Su's hand, and looked at his sister and Wang Shuisheng beside him. .

"Senior Brother Wang, I didn't expect that Jinling City's wharf is so big and there are so many people. It's also crowded with people who are busy getting on and off the boat. We are newcomers and we don't know the place well. If we accidentally get separated, it will be difficult to find someone. It is the last port where the big boats stop, how about we wait until the crowd of disembarking people has dispersed, how about we go down again?"

When Wang Shuisheng heard it, he also felt that it made sense, so he nodded in agreement, "Okay, I will listen to Junior Brother Song."

Song Xinglin nodded, "Okay, then when I disembark later, I will protect my wife, and my sister will trouble Senior Brother Wang to take care of you."

Wang Shuisheng had no objection, he only quickly glanced at Song Xiahe, who had flushed cheeks, and nodded in agreement without thinking, "Junior Brother Song, don't worry."

The two brothers and sisters reached an agreement on this, and waited in the cabin for more than half an hour, and saw that the number of disembarking people outside only increased, but some people had already started to board the ship, and it seemed that they were passengers who were going to return on the old ship. , Song Xinglin frowned, but he also knew that he couldn't wait any longer.

Just in time to hear that on the pier below, a lot of laborers were carrying back and forth yelling business, Song Xinglin looked at the few boxes he had placed on the bright side, thought for a while, waved to the two porters, and asked the price Finally, he ordered two people to come on the boat to carry the box, the porter responded respectfully with a smile, and he was able to get on the boat in a short time.

Speaking of coming to the exam, Wang Shuisheng brought a basket and a bag on the road, unlike Song Xinglin and Yu Su, not to mention it was like moving house, but he brought all the good things with him, not to mention, pretending on the surface There are also many things.

No, fearing that there will be too many people at the pier, Song Xinglin simply gave the porter a few boxes on his face. He got up from his own guest and greeted Wang Shuisheng.

"Brother Wang, let's go."

Carrying his own burden, Wang Shuisheng, who had already carried his huge pannier on the back of the porters, didn't show any pretense anymore, nodded in response to Song Xinglin, immediately protected Song Xiahe, and followed Song Xinglin, who was behind the porters, and the group slowly walked towards the deck go.

After finally squeezing off the boat, there were more and more people on the pier.

Yu Su's hand was tightly held by Song Xinglin, she didn't struggle, she knew how crowded it was, she followed the pace of the young man, frowned at the commotion and people coming and going, and because she had been on the boat for a long time, When communicating with others, he only spoke official language, and after getting off the boat, Yu Su didn't adjust for a while, and directly spoke official language and said worriedly.

"Little brother, this is the east port of Jinling City. I asked the boat lady when I was on the boat. The boat lady said that the Gongyuan is in the south of the city, so it's not too close. How can we get there?" As for these superficial salutes, the porters are only responsible for picking things to the pier below for cutting.

Yu Sucai raised an objection, Song Xinglin couldn't wait for him to answer when he heard the words, the porter in front turned around with a smile.

"Guest officer, don't worry, these days, all the students who come from other places to take the exam are going to the Gongyuan, and they are going to find a place to stay around there, so that the exam will be convenient when the time comes, so this pier Come on, there are a lot of bicycles and horses are soliciting customers, but the guest officer also wants to find a bicycle?"

Hearing this, and seeing that the lady picker was sincere and honest, the four unfamiliar people didn't think too much, looked at each other, nodded to each other to express that they had no objection, Song Xinglin responded in official language.

"So that's the way it is. The boy will thank the uncle first, and I have to trouble the uncle to lead the way. Let's take the boy to find a car and horse."

Song Xinglin and Wang Shuisheng saw that they were scholars, and scholars are naturally noble, the young scholar in front of him actually called these mud-legged uncles, which made the porter very happy.

Nodding repeatedly, he agreed, smiling and carrying the burden to carry Song Xinglin not far away, to the river bank where rows of carriages and horses were parked, the already heavy burden seemed to be lighter in an instant, and the porter walked vigorously. After a while, he led the people to the place and found a familiar driver.

Just because of Song Xinglin's uncle, this sincere porter enthusiastically and proactively helped Song Xinglin bargain with his acquaintances, and finally watched this enthusiastic uncle lead his partners to carry their boxes and cages into the car, and put them neatly Well, when Song Xinglin and Yu Su settled the bill with each other, the couple couldn't bear it, and forced to give a bunch of extra money as a thank you, but in exchange for the two porters who were busy wiping their sweat, they thanked them repeatedly.

The day at the end of June is the scorching heat, hot.

They were sitting in a private car that did not belong to any car dealership. This private car belonged to a wealthy suburban household who raised horses at home. Seeing a business opportunity, they drove the family carriage to solicit customers privately. The driver was the owner. The uncle porter just now is a member of the village, so the uncle took the guests to take care of the tribe, and the tribe also lowered the price for Yu Su and the others under the uncle's greetings.

Of course, such a private carriage is not as refined as a carriage with people in it. Even the curtains and doors of the carriage are simply covered with a piece of linen.

It's hot now, and horse racing is not allowed in the city all the way into the city, and the coachman can only drive the carriage slowly, but it's just to save some foot strength and not have to walk on the back of the salute. There is no wind.

After getting in the car, Song Xinglin, who was sitting by the car door, simply lifted the linen curtain covering the door to let the air circulate, and sat in the car by the door, facing the heat, while fanning his guests. While chatting with the old man who was driving with his legs crossed outside.

"Master, this is the first time for this boy to come to Jinling for the exam. I am not familiar with the place, so I wonder if the old man can tell me about the geographical situation and humanistic customs of Jinling City?"

The uncle who drove the car was also a chatterbox. Seeing that the guest was brought by the younger generation of the clan, this little scholar had a good attitude. He didn't despise himself as a driver at all, and even called himself uncle. So, the scene just now happened again, uncle Always enthusiastic, he snuffed out the tobacco stick in his hand, said goodbye to his waist quickly, and then drove the car leisurely while introducing Song Xinglin behind him.

"I'm afraid this master scholar doesn't know. In our Jinling City, there are as many as thirteen gates in the city of Zhongshan, the dragon pan, and the stone city! There are lakes and rivers in the city, and there are mountains and scenery. Among them, the master scholar is going to take the examination The Gongyuan is located on the north bank of the Qinhuai River in the south of the city. Speaking of the ten miles of the Qinhuai River, it is called one..." Barabara...

People in Jinling talked about Jinling for a day and a night, but fortunately, the uncle also knew what Song Xinglin and the others wanted to hear most, so naturally, they picked up the three-acre land surrounding the Gongyuan.

Yu Su and the others in the car listened carefully to the old man's shaking of his head retelling, one by one, as if they were on the scene, they had a clear understanding of the situation around the Gongyuan in an instant.

It was precisely because he knew that Yu Su was indifferent to the ten-mile Qinhuai River, which the uncle said was the favorite place for scholars and scholars, and immediately decided secretly that they must not choose that place as their destination.

After Yu Su listened to the old man's vivid retelling, she waited until the young man put down the curtain and stopped talking, and then she spoke to everyone in the carriage.

"Little brother, Senior Brother Wang, I just heard what the old man said, and I think the houses near the Qinhuai River within ten miles must not be cheap, and we came so early, and the exam will only start in mid-August. Since we want to live in such a If it takes a long time, how about finding a clean small courtyard near the Gongyuan, just like disliking the courtyard exam? By then, you and Senior Brother Wang will also be clean when studying, and my second sister and I can cook for ourselves to save money. "

As soon as this remark came out, Song Xinglin, who was a brainless favorite, agreed without saying a word, even Wang Shuisheng who was next to him agreed.

Thanks to the help of Junior Brother Song and his wife during this scientific examination, otherwise, I am afraid that I would not be able to make it to where I am today.

Now I owe a lot of favors, and anything else is hypocritical.

He has already made up his mind in his heart that he will repay his brother and his brother well when he gets ahead in the future. He has no objection at all, but he is firm on one point.

"Then trouble my younger siblings. I will listen to their arrangements, but there is one thing, younger siblings, you must pay for my room and board expenses. You can no longer refuse like in the past."

Hearing this, Yu Su and Song Xinglin hurriedly wanted to wave their hands, but Wang Shuisheng was determined. Before the husband and wife could speak, Wang Shuisheng said stubbornly.

"If Junior Brother Song and his siblings refuse to accept them, then I, the senior brother, will stop bothering. I will get off the car later and find a place to stay by myself."

As soon as these words came out, Yu Su and his wife had no time to make a sound, but Song Xiahe who was on the side became anxious, looked at Wang Shuisheng and then hurriedly looked at his brother and sister-in-law.

Seeing this, Yu Su sighed in his heart, met the eyes of the young man next to him, the husband and wife glanced at each other, and seeing the young man nodded, Yu Su agreed.

"Sure, I'll take the money, but Senior Brother Wang, the money will have to wait until we rent the house and finish our living expenses, right? Otherwise, if you want to give it to Senior Brother Wang right now, our husband and wife can't take it."

Wang Shuisheng just didn't want to blindly take advantage of it, he was satisfied when he saw that the younger brother and his wife took the money, and he didn't care about it any more, he just bowed his hands and said that everything was done at Su's convenience.

Yu Su is funny, it's convenient for her to do it...

Well, how will you charge then?How much?Looking at the anxious second sister who had withdrawn, Yu Su had an idea in his heart.

But what Song Xiahe doesn't know at the moment is that her little second sister-in-law has already started planning for her. Now that she is relieved, she is more concerned about...

"Second sister-in-law, it's getting late now. I'm afraid it will be noon when we get near the Gongyuan. We have to unload the car and eat. Do we have time to find a middle-aged man and a house? In a short while, we I am in a hurry to find, can you find what suits you?"

This is a big problem, but fortunately, Su has already thought of it.

"Second sister, don't worry, it's definitely too late today, and if you're in a hurry to find a house, you won't be able to find anything good. That's my plan. For this one, let's find a place that is close to the Gongyuan first. Let's stay at the inn for two days to rest our feet, and to rest up from the fatigue of the journey. Taking advantage of these two days, we will find a reliable middleman and look for a small clean courtyard carefully. Everyone sees this as a good idea. it is good?"

That was naturally good, not only Song Xinglin nodded in agreement, but also Wang Shuisheng and Song Xiahe felt that there was nothing wrong with them, so they nodded immediately as they had made a plan.

Since they planned to find an inn to stay for two days, and they were not familiar with it, Song Xinglin came forward again, lifted the curtain and asked the enthusiastic driver outside. A street away from Gongyuan, I went to a mid-range inn called Fushunlai, which the uncle said was honest and the price was fair.

Almost as soon as the carriage stopped at the gate of Fushunlai, the waiter who was standing by the gate of Fushunlai enthusiastically greeted all guests.

"The door is full of distinguished guests, and the small shop is full of splendor. Ask the guest officer, how many are you? Do you want to stay at the top or stay in the shop?"

Song Xinglin, who was helping Yu Su out of the carriage with a cat waist, met such an enthusiastic waiter as soon as he came out. Out of his trust in the driver, he didn't choose any more, and said to the enthusiastic waiter: "We four, stay here!" shop."

The waiter was delighted when he heard the words, and looking at the outfits of Song Xinglin and Wang Shuisheng who got out of the car behind him, the waiter who had already trained his super-sightedness was even more enthusiastic, "Ah, it's my poor eyesight, but it's actually two talented masters coming to the door. Please come in quickly, two masters, please come in quickly."

Wearing a straight-embellished scholar's gown, and staying in a hotel in Jinling City at such a critical moment, everyone knows that this is a scholar who is here to rush for the exam!

The well-rounded waiter, who thinks he has experienced a big scene and was trained by the shopkeeper, politely invites people to the store. Seeing this scene, Song Xiahe of the Gu family kept looking at his cage in the carriage and shouted, "Wait a minute , our salute."

The waiter in the shop heard the sound, turned his head and smiled enthusiastically at Song Xiahe: "Don't worry, girl, the younger ones will move in after the salute. Don't worry, girl, you will never lose it."