A blessed wife leads her husband to wealth and prosperity!

He'er, I'll be back in just a few days.

I'm going with my classmates this time, so I don't need to worry about safety. As for food, I heard there are food vendors outside the examination hall in Fucheng, so I can just buy some more pancakes.

That won't do. Eating only flatbread won't be enough for my body. Forget about whether I'll be full; what if—and I mean what if—I get sick from eating something from those street vendors?

Where can you find a cleaner and more hygienic place than your home?

If you don't take me with you, I'll get angry. Seeing that this person absolutely refused to take her, Lin He'er had no choice but to resort to being unreasonable.

He'er, come along with us. Staying at an inn is not as comfortable as staying at home.

Wen Yuning thought back to the county exam. His wife had to get up early every day to take care of him and worry about his meals. During those days, not only did he feel physically and mentally exhausted, but the little girl was also not in good spirits.

I plan to take only Mengxing with me to the prefectural examination this time, so as not to trouble my wife.

But if I don't take this girl with me, I really won't be able to appease her. I've said a lot of nice things, but no one has said a word to me.

Fine, I surrender! Follow me if you want.

He'er, don't be angry, let's go together.

Hearing that the person agreed to let her come along, Lin He'er turned around with a smile on her face.

If I had known that getting angry would be useful, I wouldn't have said so much to this person.

We'll be staying at an inn, and it'll probably be a mess because of the students taking exams. Don't complain about how noisy it will be.

Wen Yuning said this because he had discovered it while sharing a room with this girl. As long as his wife was asleep, if there was any noise outside, this girl would toss and turn in bed, suggesting that she was a light sleeper and couldn't tolerate loud noises.

"Don't worry, Brother Wen. Even if I don't sleep well, it'll only be for three days. You all go to take the exams during the day, and I'll catch up on sleep at the inn." Lin He'er was perfectly capable of overcoming this small difficulty in getting her to go to the prefectural city.

With the exam date fast approaching, Wen Yuning decided not to go home on her day off.

So make the most of every available moment and go to the Master for more advice.

The county examination selected 150 candidates from each county, while the prefectural examination selected 200 candidates from each prefecture.

Although it sounds like there are fifty more people being admitted, there are actually six counties participating in the exam for one prefecture.

Leaving aside other places, take Guangde Prefecture for example. It has six counties under its jurisdiction, and nearly a thousand students took the exam this time.

With only 200 out of 1,000 applicants, the competition is fierce.

Furthermore, through the selection process of the county examination, there were absolutely no students among these thousand people who were not very knowledgeable.

Standing out from a thousand people again is extremely difficult.

Even someone like Wen Yuning, who is usually calm and composed, wasn't entirely confident about participating in the prefectural examination.

Now, we're only taking the preliminary exams, and we already have to face so many competitors. When we have the opportunity to take the higher exams in the future, the difficulty will only increase!

Thinking about it too much makes me feel suffocated. Just focus on the present.

No one can take the exam for Wen Yuning; she has to do it herself. Lin He'er could only express her helplessness regarding the exam.

As a poor student, I can't offer much help in terms of academics. However, I can still think about other aspects.

That day, Lin He'er called Meng Xing to her side.

Mengxing, I have a favor to ask you to do. Brother Wen is going to the prefectural city to take the exam in a few days, and I was thinking of taking you with me.

Brother Wen came back earlier and said that we might stay at an inn, but we are in the county town and don't know how much the inns in the prefectural city would cost, let alone how far the inn we choose would be from the examination venue.

Tomorrow, once you have the money, go to the prefectural city yourself and inquire about the inns there. While you're at it, find out where the examination hall is located.

Once you get there, first inquire about inns. If there are no inns close to the examination hall, then inquire about houses that are rented out for a short period.

Size doesn't matter, as long as it can accommodate the few of us. If it's hard to find out, just take the money and go find the broker.

It must be a quiet courtyard close to the examination venue.

Yes, madam. Then I will get up early tomorrow morning to take a boat to the prefectural city. I can also familiarize myself with the route there.

Meng Xing always followed Lin He'er's instructions. She was his benefactor's wife, and therefore his benefactor. As long as she didn't ask him to do anything illegal or against the law, Meng Xing never questioned her.

In this respect, he is quite similar to the Li family.

The next morning, Meng Xing took the silver from Lin He'er and headed to the prefectural city.

Traveling from the county seat to the prefectural city by waterway is more convenient than by road.

It only takes half a day to go to the town's dock before arriving in the county seat, take a passenger boat, and travel for a whole day to reach the prefectural city by evening.

Meng Xing took the money, rented a carriage from the carriage shop, and hurried to the town's dock.

Because I left early, I arrived at the pier just in time to catch the passenger ship bound for Tainan that day.

After paying and boarding the boat, Meng Xing, who had a lot of money on him, simply found a place to rest on the boat and sat down without moving.

He didn't talk to anyone along the way, only looking out of the boat.

For lunch, I ate the flatbread I brought from home, and with water from my water bag, I spent the whole day on the boat.

After the passenger ship docked at the pier, the passengers disembarked one by one. Meng Xingcai got up from his seat and slowly disembarked.

Since it's almost dinnertime, it's not convenient to inquire about short-term rentals today.

Let's go check out the guesthouses first and find out the prices.

The city was indeed bustling; even as evening approached, the wide streets were still teeming with pedestrians.

The streets were lined with open shops, and in addition to the various street-facing stores, there were rows of small stalls selling all sorts of snacks and other trinkets.

Meng Xing was truly dazzled by the prosperity of the prefectural city at first glance.

However, he still remembered why he had come. After asking around for directions to inns, he headed straight there.

When Meng Xing arrived at Ruyi Street, he saw that most of the shops on the street were inns.

The reason there are so many inns here is that Meng Xingzhen came to the right place, as this street is the closest to the government office.

The prefectural examination, held every three years, was conducted at the prefectural government office, which was just across the street.

Therefore, this street is mostly lined with inns, providing accommodation for students from all over the country who come to take exams.

Besides students, merchants who travel to and from the prefectural city for business also like to stay here. Business often involves signing contracts, and the final procedures always require going through the government offices, so staying here is convenient.

Therefore, this street was named Ruyi Street (meaning "Good Fortune Street") to bring good luck to students and merchants.

Besides the street having a good name, the inn located on the street naturally put a lot of thought into its name as well.

Meng Xing was dazzled by the variety of names, such as Denggaolou (Ascending to the Highest Building), Zhuangyuanlou (Top Scholar Building), Zhaixingge (Star-Picking Pavilion), and others that had auspicious connotations related to imperial examinations and business.

I randomly picked an inn and went in. The waiter immediately came up to greet me warmly.

After all, all the businesses are on the same street. Besides trying to make the rooms as nice as possible, the only way to outperform other businesses is to focus on service.

Are you looking for a place to stay, young master?

"Yes, I'll stay one night, a medium-sized room." Meng Xing replied woodenly.

"Please come with me," the waiter said, and warmly led the customer to the counter after hearing that the customer had requested a medium-sized room.

Shopkeeper, one middle room!

Alright, sir, the second room on the left upstairs. Your bill is one hundred coins.

"How much?" Meng Xing couldn't help but ask when he heard the price.

"One hundred coins, young master." The shopkeeper looked at the man before him. "If he wants a middle-class room, he should be able to afford the money, right?"

Why is the price so high? Meng Xing compared it with the price when he stayed at the inn in town with his benefactor before, and couldn't help but gasp.