Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 76 Participate

Lu Shouye started calculating: forty coins a day, twenty days would be eight hundred coins, almost a tael of silver.

Upon seeing that this was a big spender, the innkeeper's smile became even more genuine: "Alright, sir, you're very generous. Twenty days' room will cost eight hundred coins in total."

"Waiter, hurry. Take these two gentlemen to the back courtyard and choose the quietest room at the back. Also, handle that young master's book box with care."

The waiter came over as soon as he heard the call and led the two of them to the backyard with great enthusiasm.

Upon entering the lower room, although the room was simple, it was clean.

Two narrow beds were placed diagonally opposite each other, with a small table squeezed between them.

Lu Shouye first placed the book box steadily on the table, then closed the door and pulled Lu Chuan aside, saying, "Chuan'er, I've thought about it. If someone really wants to share the room, I'll discuss it with them."

"If people complain about Dad's snoring, Dad will stay in the cowshed at night and watch over our old yellow ox. He can sleep soundly there anyway, and it will save you room to study."

"Father, what are you saying?" Lu Chuan felt a pang of sadness. He grabbed his father, his expression solemn. "I study so that our family can have a better life. If you're going to sleep in a cowshed, what's the point of studying?"

"You go ahead and sleep. If I can't even stand this little noise, how will I cope when I enter the cramped examination hall for the prefectural examination?"

Looking into his son's determined eyes, Lu Shouye's lips moved, and finally he smiled憨厚ly: "Okay, Dad will listen to you. Dad will try to sleep on his side tonight and make as little noise as possible."

After settling his luggage, Lu Shouye hurriedly rummaged through his bundle: "Chuan'er, everything is expensive in this prefectural city. We'll eat the dry rations we brought for the next twenty days in the house. If we run out of water, Dad will go to the back room and ask the servants for some hot water."

"You rest for a while, Dad will go and bring in the bedding rolls from the car."

Lu Chuan helped his father with all the chores.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the rooster in the backyard of the inn crowed for the first time, Lu Shouye suddenly opened his eyes.

He didn't dare to speak loudly, and even his movements as he got up were very quiet.

Although he had settled in for twenty days, the expenses in the city were high, and he really couldn't bear to spend the little money he had.

Lu Shouye quietly put on his shoes, without alerting Lu Chuan, and slipped out through a crack in the door.

In the early morning, before the fog had completely dissipated, early-rising peddlers were already carrying their wares and walking through the streets and alleys.

Lu Shouye squatted on the street corner for a while, and seeing a dock not far away where cargo was being unloaded and people were bustling around, he mustered up his courage and went over.

"Boss, do you need any more labor? I have plenty of strength."

Lu Shouye stopped a foreman wearing a silk mandarin jacket who was directing the dockworkers.

"We're unloading stones from the south, two hundred catties per load. We carry them from the bow to the hold. Twenty coins a day for lunch, no food provided. Want to work?"

"Yes, yes," Lu Shouye readily agreed.

Twenty coins, though not much, can cover half a day's room fee and save some money.

For the entire morning, Lu Shouye mingled among the group of shirtless laborers.

The two hundred pounds of stone weighed down on his shoulders, and the carrying pole creaked under the weight.

The sun in the prefectural city was scorching, and sweat streamed into his eyes, stinging them painfully. He could only wipe it away haphazardly with his sleeve.

As the laborers nearby rested, one of them, noticing the man's unfamiliar face, struck up a conversation: "Brother, looking at your age, don't you have a son to support you? Why are you suffering like this here?"

Lu Shouye stopped, panting, a smile spreading across his face: "Hey, my son is a scholar, he came to the prefectural city to participate in the literary gathering. As his father, I can still move my hands and feet, so I have to earn some money for him."

At noon, Lu Shouye received the twenty copper coins.

He went straight to the general store and bought two of the cheapest coarse flour pancakes, then went to the inn's back kitchen to ask for a bowl of boiled water before hurrying back.

Before entering the house, he deliberately patted the dust off his body at the door, then went to the well to fetch water and carefully washed the red marks on his shoulders to make sure there were no bloodstains before pushing open the door.

Lu Chuan was sitting at the table, pen in hand, deep in thought as he looked at a scroll of scripture.

Upon seeing his father return, Lu Chuan quickly stood up: "Father, where did you go this morning? I didn't see you after I got up, and I was just about to go out to look for you."

"Hey, where could Dad go? He just wandered around West Street and took a look at the sights of the city."

Lu Shouye took out a biscuit from his pocket, handed one to Lu Chuan, and said with a relaxed smile, "I asked around and found out that Shengwen Garden, the venue for the literary gathering, isn't far from here. It's only a two-hour walk away."

"Chuan'er, eat quickly, then study hard. Dad will take a nap next to you."

Lu Chuan took the pancake and looked down at the wet mud at his father's feet.

He felt a pang in his heart, but he didn't say anything. He just silently broke the pancake in half and handed the softest part in the middle to his father.

"Father, I'm going out tomorrow to meet with some fellow students and inquire about the rules of the literary society. Please stay home and rest; don't overwork yourself."

"Okay, Father understands." Lu Shouye replied honestly, then lay down on the hard wooden bed, and soon began to snore.

He was truly exhausted.

Seeing his father's exhausted appearance, Lu Chuan couldn't swallow the half-eaten pancake in his hand.

Lu Shouye slept very soundly and didn't even wake up to eat dinner.

Lu Chuan sat alone at the table with the missing leg, checking the invitations, writing materials, and other supplies he needed to bring the next day.

He took out a stack of letters.

He wrote a letter home, telling his younger sister that he always carried the amulet for safety, and telling his mother how high the city walls of the prefecture were, but when the pen touched the paper, he couldn't write a single word.

Finally, he simply wrote four large characters on the paper: "May all things be well".

He folded the letter and placed it under the inkstone, turned off the light, and lay down fully clothed.

That night, Lu Shouye's snoring was indeed much quieter, perhaps because he was so exhausted that he didn't even talk in his sleep.

The next morning, Lu Chuan changed into a plain blue shirt.

"Chuan'er, we need to leave early."

Lu Shouye wiped his face and placed the clean cloth shoes in front of the bed early on. He then took out two warm hard-boiled eggs from his pocket. "These are what your father bought on his way back yesterday. Eat them while they're hot. If you have food in your stomach, you won't feel anxious."

Lu Chuan did not refuse and took it, tapping it open on the corner of the table.

The father and son walked east along West Street for about two hours before finally seeing the renowned Shengwen Garden.

It was built by a great Confucian scholar of the previous dynasty after he retired and returned to his hometown. The garden walls are high and the water is drawn from the Ying River. There are two stone lions, each as tall as a person, standing majestically in front of the gate.

At this moment, all kinds of luxurious carriages were already parked outside the gate, and the horses tied with red ribbons occasionally snorted.

There are many rules to follow when entering the park.

Four guards dressed in dark brown outfits stood on either side of the entrance, their eyes sharp as hawks, coldly scanning everyone who approached.

Anyone entering the park must first present their name card and then have their invitation checked.