The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Seeing several people coming, Lin Junhui and Tan Yaoqi stood up to greet them. After the five people sat down one by one, Lin Junhui told the waiter to start serving the dishes.

Zhang Pingan and Jiang Yaozu both bowed and said, "Thank you, Brother Lin. I'm sorry for the expense today."

Lin Junhui smiled and said, "We are all classmates, no need to be polite. Today we have both passed the imperial examinations, which is a great joy in life. Talking about money is vulgar."

Zhang Ping'an's eyes twitched when he heard this. He was indeed a vulgar person and he liked money.

Tan Yaoqi was still the same, his eyes almost reaching the sky, looking at people out of the corner of his eyes, his eyes full of defiance, fanning himself gently with a fan.

Only when Zhang Ping'an saw the fan did he realize that the third floor seemed to be much cooler. He had not sweated all the way. Turning around, he found that there were several large ice basins in the corner of the third floor. In addition, Wangjiang Tower was built by the river, and there was a cool breeze blowing from the river, so the heat was much weaker. It was really a luxury!

After a few people chatted for a while, the dishes began to be served one after another. The waiter announced the names of the dishes one by one: Dear guests, here are ten dishes: large yellow croaker in soup, braised fish lips, stir-fried deer tendons, bird's nest in clear soup, king prawns, magpie climbing a plum tree, eight immortals crossing the sea to disturb the arhat, three-fresh dragon and phoenix balls, Ganlianfu sea cucumber, and rock sugar blood bird's nest, plus a pot of autumn dew white. All of them were served. If you have any questions, please feel free to tell me.

After saying that, he waited in the corner by the window. Outside the window was a long corridor where one could sit and enjoy the river breeze.

Zhang Ping'an had never eaten any of these ten dishes, but he knew that they must have cost a lot of money. It was not easy to transport these yellow croakers, shrimps and sea cucumbers from the coastal areas to Yingzhou City.

After filling the glasses for several people, Lin Junhui raised his glass and said with a smile: "I won't go home until I'm drunk today, don't be restrained." After saying that, he raised his head and drank it all in one gulp. The rest of the people also raised their glasses in return.

After taking a sip, Tan Yaoqi chanted, "The dew is white from tonight, and the wine has a light autumn fragrance. It is worthy of being a famous wine in Shandong Province, with pure quality and fragrant aroma."

Lin Junhui introduced the poem: "Yuan Dynasty poet Xu Youren once wrote a poem praising Qiulu Baijiu: 'Toilsome summer and autumn in preparing the wine, today I have finally achieved my remarkable feat. Sunlight simmers dew into pure liquid, springs flow through the rocks and swallow the trickle. I can't bear to pour the mash into the jar, so I let the sound linger by my bedside. Old with a heart full of lumps and rocks, I have poured out all my energy, three paths filled with yellow flowers and two jade boats.' It truly lives up to its reputation."

Zhang Ping'an and Jiang Yaozu both knew their own limitations and would not show off in front of the other two. They only picked up food to eat and occasionally agreed with the others' praise.

As expected of a dish made by the famous chef of Wangjiang Tower, the top-quality ingredients plus the top-notch cooking skills made it taste very good. Zhang Pingan ate until he was 50% full before putting down his chopsticks.

Master Yang was the least restrained among the group. Qiu Lubai drank two pots in a row, eating and drinking at the same time, feeling very comfortable.

The three of them were so engrossed in their work that they had no experience whatsoever. Lin Junhui lost interest in talking about sex, so he suggested to Tan Yaoqi, "Why don't we go walk along the corridor outside the window and feel the river breeze. It's very pleasant, and we can also meet like-minded scholars."

Tan Yaoqi put away his fan with a "whoosh" and said, "That's exactly what I meant!"

The two of them went to the corridor outside together. The remaining three people felt more at ease. Zhang Pingan picked up his chopsticks and started eating again. As he ate, he commented, "Hmm, this roasted deer tendon is good. It's soft, chewy, and full of juicy aroma."

Jiang Yaozu nodded and agreed: "Well, this three-fresh dragon and phoenix balls are also good."

Master Yang scoffed, "Dragon liver and phoenix marrow taste just like that. A man should drink. This Qiulubai is a famous wine in Lu Province. It's said to cost ten taels of silver a pot. It's a rare opportunity to drink it today, so why not drink it up!"

"Ten taels! So expensive?!" Zhang Ping'an exclaimed in a low voice. Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by the price. When his family didn't grow medicinal herbs, their savings of more than three years could only buy this small pot of wine. Poverty limited his imagination.

"Then Master, you drank twenty taels in one go," Jiang Yaozu exclaimed.

"Why not drink when someone treats you!" Master Yang poured himself another glass.

The three of them had been eating for almost half an hour but Lin Junhui and the others didn't come back. Zhang Pingan couldn't help but worry and said, "Brother Lin and the others have been gone for a long time. Why don't we go out and take a look? They've almost finished eating anyway."

Master Yang then realized that the two men had indeed been out for quite a while, and couldn't help but say, "Then let's go out and take a look."

On the one hand, I was worried that something might really happen to the two of them, and on the other hand, I was a little worried that no one would pay the bill, and this sky-high price meal would bankrupt me!

After the three of them went out and walked around, they didn't see anyone. Master Yang was only a little worried at first, but now he was really worried. His heart was hanging in the air, and he cursed in a low voice: "Where did these two troublemakers go? I don't have any money to pay the bill!"

Jiang Yaozu was almost crying with fear: "Will we be sent to the government as freeloaders?"

There was no point in worrying. Zhang Pingan listened carefully: "They might be upstairs. I heard Tan Yaoqi's voice."

Master Yang led the three of them to the fourth floor. The stairs were wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Master Yang and Zhang Pingan walked side by side, and Jiang Yaozu followed behind. After reaching the fourth floor, they found that Lin Junhui and the other were indeed there, and they instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the expressions of the two men were not good. One young man was heard to mock with disdain: "How dare the nephew of a mere county magistrate show off here!"

Zhang Pingan saw that Tan Yaoqi's face was pale and blue, but he didn't refute it. He knew that this young man must be someone he couldn't afford to offend. If Tan Yaoqi knew that the three of them had witnessed his embarrassing scene, it would only make him jealous. So he hurriedly stopped Master Yang and Jiang Yaozu and said, "They must have met someone they know on the fourth floor. It would be bad for us to go up and disturb them rashly. Let's go back to the third floor and wait for them!"

Master Yang looked careless but he was actually very smart. He turned around and went downstairs without asking anything. Jiang Yaozu wanted to open his mouth to ask something, but Zhang Pingan made a gesture to silence him.

The three of them returned to the third floor. They had almost finished their meal, so they simply sat in the corridor and waited. Leaning on the railing and looking out, they saw the vast Cangwu River in the distance, and the sound of shallow waves lapping against the shore.

About a quarter of an hour later, Lin Junhui and Tan Yaoqi came down. After finding the three people in the corridor, they said, "I'm sorry, I just met an acquaintance and left for a while. I guess you've been waiting for a long time!"

Master Yang burped and shook his head, saying, "Burp, we were almost done eating and seeing that you guys hadn't come back, we were about to go out and look for you, but we didn't see you, so we sat down on the corridor to rest for a while to sober up."

Tan Yaoqi said gloomily, "Did you hear anything?"

Master Yang held his stomach and said dizzily, "Burp, what did you hear?"

After hearing this, Tan Yaoqi's expression looked a little better.

None of them had the appetite to continue eating. Lin Junhui paid the bill and led them out. He then instructed his coachman to take the three of them back to the inn, and he and Tan Yaoqi left together.

Zhang Pingan secretly exclaimed in shock, this free dinner is not tasty at all!