Li Xiaotian didn't use honorifics this time because he really couldn't say it.
The yamen guard didn't seem to care very much, thinking that Li Xiaotian was a lowly man who didn't understand the world. Even the matter of the notification fee must have been found out by asking the young man just now.
He was not even half as good as he was. Seeing that he was a poor scholar, he paid three visits to the Yamen and was too lazy to make things difficult. He just said: "You don't even have half of the money I told you about the journey. You are a pauper. It doesn't matter. I don't bother to argue with you."
, come in with me."
Li Xiaotian followed one of the government guards into the government office, but there was still no courtesy. Anyway, the two of them regarded him as a country bumpkin who didn't understand the rules, so they simply stayed with him until the end.
Needless to say, the interior of the yamen is luxurious. After twists and turns, we finally arrived at the honest house where the city lord held his official duties. The yamen guard knocked on the door, and the two of them entered in response. The yamen then closed the door and left.
I saw a person lying on his back on the rocking chair in front of the case. This person had a fat head and big ears, a short stature, which made him look even more bloated. He had a long beard and showed a bit of shrewdness. Needless to say, this short and fat man was none other than Wenzhou City Lord Tan.
Cai really lives up to his name, especially with the four-character plaque on his head, which is ironic.
"Li Xiaotian from Lijiagou came to collect the general examination documents. This is Mr. Zhang's recommendation letter."
Li Xiaotian was not in a hurry to send the money, and put the letter on the case as he spoke.
Tan Cai closed his slightly squinted eyes and fell asleep without even looking at the letter of recommendation. He lazily said, "I didn't see your general examination documents."
No matter how many books Li Xiaotian has read and how well-educated he is, he can't help but greet Tancai's ancestors in his heart. When Li Xiaotian was about to withdraw the money, he suddenly glanced at the white paper on Tancai's table that read "To convince people with virtue"
Four characters, the writing power is very average, the ink is not fully dry, obviously it was just written recently.
People in the world who are greedy for money must also be greedy for fame. So, Li Xiaotian had an idea and made a plan. Although this plan was suspected of being a rainbow fart, he might be able to leave a lot of money. After all, this plan
The money was half of his parents' life savings, and now he had to hand over a lot of it to this corrupt official. How could Li Xiaotian be willing to part with it?
Li Xiaotian took a deep breath and said to Tan Cai: "Does the city lord know what the people in our mountains think of you?"
After hearing this, Tan Cai became interested, opened his small eyes and said, "How do you see it?"
Li Xiaotian thought for a while and said: "Since the city lord took office, Wenzhou City has been in good weather. The number of people committing crimes has been greatly reduced, and there have been no natural or man-made disasters. As the saying goes, God bless a good official, the elders in the village all say that the city lord must be a
A great good official and an upright official."
Although it is flattering, what Li Xiaotian said is true. Since Tancai took office, the people of Wenzhou City have not been rich and powerful, but they have not had any major disasters. Food and clothing are not a problem, there is still plenty of money, and their lives are comfortable.
The elders in the village talked about it after tea and dinner, attributing God's mercy to the virtue of the city lord. Naturally, Li Xiaotian did not believe this conjecture. Sometimes he did not even know the character of the friends he spent time with day and night. How could he talk about his character after living in the mountains for a long time and never meeting him?
Now it seems that the Lord of Wenzhou City is not an upright official. He is a corrupt official and a rotten mediocre person. If he didn't know how to govern and didn't care about people's livelihood, he would continue the old governance after he came to power. He would be lucky. This kind of injustice
Instead, it allowed him to do some small things, which can be regarded as governance by doing nothing.
Tan Cai knew that Li Xiaotian was flattering him, but he also enjoyed it very much. He asked, "How do you feel now that you have met me?"
"How do you feel? There is a corpse, a vampire." Li Xiaotian cursed in his heart, thinking that the top priority was to get the general examination documents as soon as possible, and said again against his will: "Just now I saw the city lord was taking a nap because he was tired at work, and there was something written on the case:
The people in Defu who come to the police department to push themselves, who work so tirelessly on official duties, and who are so restrained and self-disciplined, are truly honest and good officials. Having you in charge of Wenzhou is really a blessing to the people."
All farts stink, only flattery smells good. When Tancai heard such sweet words, it was as sweet as the sound of nature. He smiled and said: "Sure enough, he is still a scholar. Those flatterers are the wise and wise city lord. Listen.
It makes my ears feel calluses. Since you are so eloquent, I don’t think you need to take the national exam. I happen to be short of a master, so how about you stay and be my master?”
Li Xiaotian was shocked. He never expected that Tan Cai would actually fall in love with his flattering skills. Those flattering words just now made Li Xiaotian feel uncomfortable in his heart. If this happened for a long time, wouldn't life be worse than death?
So, Li Xiaotian hurriedly declined and said: "For a good and upright official like the city lord to be your master, is this a blessing earned by ordinary people in their previous lives? However, after all, ordinary people have studied hard for more than ten years, and it is important for them to be able to take the national examination.
It is a great honor for a scholar. If you give up the exam, you will regret it for the rest of your life. The city lord is also a scholar. I hope you can understand."
Tan Cai showed a look of regret on his face and sighed: "Although I am greedy for money, I am even more greedy for talents. I don't know how many people are trying to be my master. Why? This master is a fat guy. It's not me.
Although he sounds like a local petty official who is as big as sesame seeds and mung beans, his salary is not lower than that of some official officials in Kyoto. I didn’t like those people, but I fell in love with you today. Do you know why?”
Li Xiaotian asked knowingly and shook his head: "Why?"
Tan Cai continued: "Those guys either have brains but no culture, or they have culture but no brains, and you have a brain and culture, but the ink in your belly circulates into your head. It's a pity that you don't want to be my master. I'll talk about it."
Money has never been difficult for others. Since you insist on taking the national examination, I don't want to waste words to keep you away. But the rules are the rules, and you can't break them. You still have to pay the money you have to pay. However, considering that your background is not easy, I also appreciate you.
I'll give you a discount, leave two silver coins, get the general examination certificate and go on the road. One more thing, young people, it is a good thing to have ideals. If you don't go through ups and downs, how can you realize the cruelty of reality? This life is full of hardships.
He was enlightened from me in the first class.”
Li Xiaotian was speechless. He didn't expect that the flattery he had been flattering for so long would have to be settled with money in the end. The only consolation was that he spent half less than the young man just now. The remaining expenses would have to be extremely frugal to get to Kyoto.
.
Li Xiaotian climbed mountains and waded for nearly a month, and finally arrived at Pianzhou, the last city on the way to Beijing to take the exam. After entering the city, he could take a dozens of miles of waterway to reach Shang'an, Kyoto.
Li Xiaotian stood at the foot of Pianzhou City. He had traveled a long way, and his clothes were slightly tattered, but not dirty at all. He had obviously been washing them frequently. His face showed a lot of vicissitudes, and he was not rich because he was not rich, and when he received the general examination documents,
After being asked for most of the bribes and extremely short of money, Li Xiaotian could only economize excessively. He mainly had dry food for three meals a day, and stayed in abandoned houses and temples. He was exposed to the wind and sun, and naturally he changed from a white-faced scholar to a black-faced scholar.
Wanderer, if he hadn't been carrying a schoolbag, who would have thought that he was a scholar coming to take the national examination?
Sure enough, life is the real makeup artist.
Li Xiaotian didn't pay much attention to the rough changes in his appearance. To be honest, along the way, his body was tired, but his spirit was enriched a lot. He saw the customs and customs of various regions, and appreciated countless mountains and landforms, which greatly enriched his mind.
My horizons have been broadened, and I feel an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and a bohemian attitude.
All this can be seen from Li Xiaotian's still clear and energetic eyes.
Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles, that’s what they say.
After entering Pianzhou, Li Xiaotian immediately went to the stall to buy some cheap dry food, then asked passers-by for the direction of the dock and headed straight away.
Halfway through, three or four unkempt children suddenly appeared from nowhere, pulling on Li Xiaotian's clothes and begging.
Li Xiaotian felt compassion and took out the dry food he had just bought to give to them. This was a big deal. Suddenly, five or six more children popped out from all directions, surrounding Li Xiaotian, talking here and there.
Tongue, it was so noisy that Li Xiaotian was confused.
After a while, the children suddenly dispersed in unison, leaving Li Xiaotian stunned in place. When he came to his senses, he found that his shoulder bag had been opened, clothes and books were scattered on the floor, and the luggage inside was already gone.
After disappearing, Li Xiaotian suddenly realized that he had fallen into the trap of these guys, and he sighed that this Pianzhou City was really a "liar state" worthy of the name.
Even though Li Xiaotian was annoyed in every possible way, he had no choice but to pick up his things and continue walking towards the pier. Now penniless, he could only pray silently in his heart that a kind-hearted boatman would give him a lift.