In early spring in February, white magnolias were already blooming on the branches. Standing at the foot of Xiaokun Mountain, Shen Rui felt a little excited and a little confused. What he was excited about was that he was finally going out to see the Ming Dynasty world; what he was confused about was that the place in front of him was empty. , except for the few people in front of me, there is nothing. Where are the cars and horses?
Traveling hundreds of miles requires guidance, and everyone's guidance was arranged a few days ago.
The luggage for leaving the house started to be packed before the fifth announcement was made.
Shaolin Temple is in Kaifeng, 1,800 miles away from Songjiang. Whether by water or land, one way trip takes more than a month. As a result, even if you don't stay in Shaolin Temple for a long time, it will take at least three or four days to go back and forth. Yue and Shen Rui thought that even if Wu Xuan packed few things, he would only need one or two boxes, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be unexpectedly simple.
I don’t know what happened to Zen Master Hongshan, but Shen Rui and the others were here. In addition to the clothes on their bodies, each of them only packed two sets of middle coats, a set of jackets, a pair of shoes, a few plasters, and two small bottles of pills. These things Press it tightly and make it into a backpack, which Wuzhi carries on his back.
Although Wang Shouren did not have a backpack, he did have a heavy belt, which was specially sewn by Wu Xuan. There was a circle of gold leaves as long as a thumb's length around it. It looked like an ordinary belt was slightly thicker, but thirty taels were sewn into it. There are sixty gold leaves and half a pound of silver leaves. Shen Rui also has a belt like this, with only ten silver leaves. If you don't touch it carefully, you can't feel it at all.
In addition to the gold and silver hidden in the belts of Wang Shouren and Shen Rui, there was also gold and silver in the sash purse that Wu Xuan carried outside. As for copper coins, they brought a total of more than a hundred coins.
Today, the price of gold is the highest on the market. One tael of gold is worth thirteen taels of silver; one tael of silver is worth seven hundred cents. This is the first time Shen Rui has seen Hongzhi Tongbao. This one is heavier than Yongle Tongbao. One penny is worth two cents. It weighs only twelve kilograms. Such a heavy weight is really not suitable for carrying on long journeys.
As for the Jiaozi issued in the early Republic of China, due to severe inflation, it was officially discontinued a few years ago. The so-called "bank notes" are actually a kind of "redemption notes". Like the time deposit certificates of later generations, they can only be issued after It can only be exchanged and collected at a single bank, and it can be circulated locally, but it is just a piece of waste paper when you leave the house.
Although Shen Rui didn't have a backpack, he was still responsible for carrying three oil-paper umbrellas.
When the Five Announcements were being prepared, Shen Rui didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until the four of them reached the foot of the mountain that they couldn't see the carriages and horses, that they realized something was wrong.
The luggage is simple and simple, with enough gold and silver, but everyone is carrying a bamboo hat on the back of his neck and holding a wooden stick in his hand. What do you mean? This kind of dress looks familiar.
Shen Rui thought of Shen Li's conversation with Wang Shouren a few days ago. Shen Li asked him about his itinerary and whether he needed to book a car or a boat first. After all, compared with Wang Shouren, the Shen family was a local snake in Songjiang. Both booking a boat and a car were cheap. But Wang Shouren said Zen Master Hong Shan goes to Shaolin Temple every year. He is already familiar with this journey and does not need to make any other arrangements.
Shen Rui's mouth twitched, he raised his head and said, "Sir, do you have to walk?"
Wang Shouren said "haha" twice: "How can you know the real taste by reading thousands of books, traveling thousands of miles, traveling by boat and horseback?"
Shen Rui was speechless for a while and looked at Zen Master Hong Shan next to him. Although he didn't know the exact age of Zen Master Hong Shan, since he was an old friend of Wang Shouren's grandfather, his eyebrows were gray and there were age spots on his hands, so he must be in his sixties at least.
This journey of nearly two thousand miles, even if it is a slow journey, can this old monk bear it?
Zen Master Hong Shan had kind eyebrows and kind eyes. He smiled and nodded at Shen Rui. He leaned on his Zen staff and walked side by side with Wang Shouren.
Wu Xuan whispered: "Don't worry, the old Zen master was born in Linquan Temple in Putian, and he is very agile... He only travels dozens of miles every day, so in the eyes of the old Zen master."
"Putian Linquan Temple?" Shen Rui asked in surprise: "Is the Zen master a martial monk?"
Not many people may know about Linquan Temple in later generations, but it can be mentioned by another name that everyone knows. Putian Shaolin, also known as South Shaolin Temple. It became famous in later generations. Hongmen, which has existed in southern China for hundreds of years, originated here.
Wu Xuan said: "I don't know whether the old Zen master is a warrior monk or not, but I heard that my elder brother's 'Arhat Fist' and 'Yun Yang Gun' were learned from the old Zen master when he was a child in Beijing."
Shen Rui felt relieved after hearing this.
It doesn't matter if you walk a thousand miles. Wang Shouren, who is both civilized and martial, is here, and there is an old monk who knows Shaolin Kung Fu. There is nothing to worry about on this journey.
His steps also became brisk and he asked Wu Xuan: "Brother Wu Xuan, why are you not surprised about walking? Did Mr. Tong walk before?"
Wu Xuan said proudly: "That's natural. Last year, I went from Yuyao to Nanjing with my eldest brother. This year, when we came to Songjiang, we walked all the way, just for fun."
When Shen Rui heard this, he couldn't stop talking. From Yuyao to Songjiang, it's only five or six hundred miles; from Yuyao to Nanjing, it's a thousand miles. No wonder Wuxuan streamlined the packages and brought enough money. It seems to be a lesson learned from the past.
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Since this road has been walked by Zen Master Hongshan several times, everyone does not need to worry about asking for directions or getting lost. They follow the official road all the way north. Everyone is not walking very fast. Shen Rui estimated that it is almost ten miles in one hour.
Although Shen Rui's steps are small, he can still keep up with everyone.
He looked at Wang Shouren's back and smiled. Since the New Year, Wang Shouren has ordered Shen Rui to carry water every day at dusk. Shen Rui is young and frail, and he can carry a full tank of water three or four times between Wu Xuan and Shen Rui.
, it takes about ten round trips.
Although the distance between the back mountain stream and the monastery is less than one mile, we can go back and forth more than ten times, and it is more than ten miles away. Shen Rui worked hard at the beginning and gradually got used to it. Now it seems that Wang Shouren arranged it like that
, also let Shen Rui prepare for the long journey.
Because the four of them were traveling along the official road, there were plenty of places to rest in the countryside teahouses and dining rooms. The four of them were an old monk, a young scholar, and two bookboys. They all looked different from ordinary people and could not help attracting attention.
However, Wang Shouren was wearing Confucian clothes, and the people were afraid of scholars, but no one tried to provoke him.
But if you want to spend the night, everyone can't stay out and have to find a place to stay.
Even though it was already spring, the weather started to turn cold in the afternoon. They were still in Songjiang Prefecture, but they had left Huating County and now entered Shanghai County.
What surprised Shen Rui again was that the group did not stay in a temple, but entered the county town and chose a large inn at the gate to stay.
In today's peaceful and prosperous times, one tael of silver can buy two stones of rice, enough for a family of four to chew for a month.
An ordinary room in this inn costs eight cents of silver per night, and a room costs two cents of silver per night. This price is considered expensive, equivalent to that of a star-rated hotel in later generations. You must know that the big shops where common people live in the market are not worth more than one night.
Ten cents, twenty cents.
Of course, there is a better hotel like Guanyi, but it is not accessible to ordinary people. To check in at Guanyi, you must provide promotion, business transfer and other procedures issued by the relevant government.
Even in this private inn, there is no mixed bag of good and bad people as expected, just because the accommodation at this time requires verification and identity registration.
Wu Xuan asked for two upper rooms, gave the waiter a handful of copper coins, and asked him to fetch water for everyone to wash.
Shen Rui saw that Wuxuan's robes were quite empty and asked, "All the copper coins have been spent. What will we do tomorrow?"
During the day, prices in tea shops on the rural tea roads are calculated in Wen. Today, at noon, a pot of tea for four people, two plates of rice cakes, a plate of fried rice cakes, and a plate of dried prunes cost sixty-two Wen.
Wu Xuan laughed and said: "You can exchange money at such an inn, but you have to take three points as a fee. Even if it costs a few dollars, it's not much better than going out with money on your back."
Shen Rui calculated the exchange rate in his mind and felt that Wu Xuan was right.
At the end of the day, Shen Rui was fine for the first half of the journey, but in the afternoon he felt really tired. Now he only feels weak in his calves and the soles of his feet are burning.
After Wang Shouren washed up, it was Shen Rui's turn.
Seeing that he still looked weak after washing his face, Wu Xuan said: "Soak your feet in the evening. You are just starting now. You will be tired for a few days. Once you get over it, it will be fine."
Shen Rui knew that this required a process of adaptation. He thought about how he had lived in luxury for decades in his previous life. Although he had envied those "backpackers" and "travel friends" and had made preparations for several long trips, he always failed because of
Couldn't make it for various reasons.
Now this time, he had fulfilled his wish in his previous life. He was very willing in his heart. Compared with the mental fatigue, the physical fatigue was really nothing.
Wang Shouren had already changed into clean Confucian clothes and looked refreshed. He looked at Shen Rui and said, "That's enough for the Big Characters and Arhat Boxing. If it's inconvenient on the way, you can stop for a while. I still need to continue memorizing the Analects."
Although Wang Shouren was used to being strict with Shen Rui in his homework, the teaching progress was not hasty. In one and a half months, half of the Analects of Confucius was not finished yet.
Shen Rui knew how to learn the principle of "sailing against the current", so he naturally responded honestly.
At this time, Zen Master Hong Shan was able to wash up and came over from the private room next door, and the four of them went downstairs together.
There were six or seven square tables in the lobby downstairs. Since there were many people eating at meal time, only the two tables near the door were still empty. Wang Shouren made one at random and asked Hong Shan to sit at the head. He made it himself
Accompanying the guests, Wu Xuan and Shen Rui were also ordered to sit down.
Even though the inn was occupied by wealthy country squires, the appearance of the four people in this group was still very conspicuous. However, everyone's eyes turned around and looked at Wang Shouren's Confucian clothes and scarf, and then took them back. In this way, the New Year
If you are selected as a candidate at the age of 10, even if you are only wearing commoner clothes, you will have a bright future, and you will not dare to judge others based on their clothes and hats.
Wu Xuan ordered the dishes and asked the waiter to prepare a plain table.
After a while, the food was ready. Although there were no meat dishes, fungus and mushrooms were all available. Everyone only had some snacks at noon, so they were already hungry, and the food was delicious. A few people looked polite, but their appetites were really high. One big white
After finishing the porcelain rice, I ordered two plates of rice cakes.
Although I also had rice cakes at noon, the food in the mountains was not as exquisite as this inn. Shen Rui was just thinking about whether he should advise Wu Xuan to pack some snacks tomorrow, when he heard someone say: "Hello, Master, my mother is sending me a kid."