In the cold winter, people are often rare, and people who are on the go have to go home for a reunion year, and even the north-south canal, the main transportation artery that maintains this dynasty, has greatly reduced the number of ships coming and going.

But once every three years, there is a strange state of affairs on the canal, with a lot less big boats and more small boats.

The reason is very simple, most of those big ships have backgrounds behind them, even if they pull out a Nanjing Shangshu and Beijing Shilang level, it is not surprising, except for the eunuchs who want money to die, the money customs often do not collect taxes.

Small boats are different, they are the target of the banknote customs, and when they are unlucky, it is not uncommon for families to be ruined.

Therefore, the triennial examination has become an opportunity for these small businessmen, as long as they take a test, they can be safe, for which most of them will pay a sum of silver.

It is precisely for this reason that not only the people of Jiangnan, Fujian, Liangguang, Jiangxi, and even Yunnan and Guizhou will choose the North-South Canal to enter Beijing.

Qian Zheng lifted the curtain slightly, looked at the awning boats around him, and said with a smile: "I still remember that when I went to Beijing to take the exam, I took this kind of boat." ”

Lu frowned, and said casually: "Husband also made a sum of silver?" ”

"Not really." Qian Zheng shook his head, "I entered Beijing in October, and my brother took the silver and asked me to rent a small house to concentrate on preparing for the exam. ”

After a pause, Qian Zheng said with a smile: "Brother Yuan is lucky, he will enter Beijing in August...... Don't worry, Brother Yuan is thoughtful, and it must have been arranged a long time ago. ”

"These concubines are not worried." Lu sighed: "How can you talk to Brother Yuan when you enter Beijing." ”

Qian Zheng's brows also furrowed, his brother Qian Rui really had nothing to say to him, he was originally studying to gain fame, and he went to the county exam and the government exam for the first time, and won the deputy list in the college exam.

But then the family and the clan fell out and were swept out, Qian Zheng gave up his business and turned to business, earning silver taels for Qian Zheng to study, and when Qian Zheng won the Jinshi, he insisted on separating the family, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Qian Zheng patted the railing hard, with his thoughts, in fact, he was not willing to enter Beijing to be a general political secretary who did nothing, and he was more willing to serve in the southeast.

While pondering, the boat slowed down with a slow shock, and Gu Chengzhi lifted the curtain and came in, "Brother Gangsheng, sister-in-law, I'm in Tongzhou, I'll go down and rent two carriages first." ”

"Let's go together." Qian Zheng regards Gu Chengzhi as a friend and does not just regard him as a staff member.

The two stood at the bow of the boat and slowly approached the dock with the boat.

Generally speaking, the Tongzhou Wharf is the end point of the canal boats going north, and at this time it is a lively scene when people are stirring and mules and horses are shuttling back and forth.

"Huh?" Gu Chengzhi opened his eyes wide and looked at it carefully, and hesitated: "That's Brother Yuan?" ”

Qian Zheng hurriedly looked over, but he couldn't see clearly, so he simply went back to the cabin and took out the telescope brought by his nephew at the beginning of the year, "It's really Brother Yuan." ”

"On such a cold day, it's all a family, it's necessary to ......" Qian Zheng stopped halfway through his words, and turned his head to see his wife's resentful gaze.

It is supposed to run from Beijing to Tongzhou to pick up the elders, but now is the critical moment to prepare for the exam, and it makes sense to only send people to come, but the problem is that the Tan family, the Huang family and Qian Xiaomei are all here in the previous letter, how could Qian Yuan not come to pick up his mother?

"Don't come down!" Seeing the ship approaching, Qian Yuan roared, and the guards on the side raised the long pedals that had been prepared long ago and put them on the side of the boat, and cautiously got on the boat.

"Uncle, aunt, Master Gu." Qian Yuan saluted again and again, "You don't need to get off the boat, just transfer to the Huihe." ”

Gu Chengzhi was extremely familiar with the rules and regulations, and said in surprise: "That is only the passage of the Cao transport ship." ”

Originally, Qian Yuan was going to rent a carriage to pick up people, but it happened that when he went to see the new house the day before yesterday, he ran into Sun Yan, and he was friends with Fang Yi, the youngest son of the Hubu Shangshu Fang, so it was so convenient.

Fang Yu is a fifteen-year jinshi in Zhengde, and Nie Bao is a friend in the same year, and he is the magistrate of Huating County, and the two have a deep relationship.

Qian Yuan casually explained a few words, Gu Chengzhi was upset, Qian Zheng was suspicious in his heart, he knew Fang Dut, this is a stubborn personality, and he dares to confront Xia Yan and Yan Song in the court.

Qian Yuan leaned his neck and looked in, "Uncle, mother, little sister?" ”

Lu Shi swallowed his saliva silently, beckoned Qian Yuan into the cabin, "Brother Yuan, don't worry, your mother and little sister are fine, before leaving, your sister-in-law suddenly fell ill and couldn't afford ......"

"Sister-in-law is sick again?" Qian Yuan blurted out that he didn't feel right, but in the past few years, sister-in-law Huang has rarely taken care of housework, not because she doesn't want to, but because she is sick in bed all the year round, think about it, her husband is gone, she doesn't have a son and a half daughter, she hasn't reached the age of thirty yet, how can she survive the rest of her life.

"Yes, the doctor said to avoid wind blowing and typhoid fever." Lu sighed: "It's all about to leave, your mother decided to stay, and your uncle didn't have time to send the letter at that time." ”

Qian Yuan lowered his head and thought for a while, "Uncle, there is no need to hide it, nothing happened to my mother and little sister, right?" ”

"No, of course not, fine." Lu's eyes were firm, and he reassured again and again.

Qian Yuan was even more suspicious, and he sent someone south to see how he could put his mind at ease, you must know that after his father and brother suffered a tragic accident, his mother's mind was all on Qian Yuan alone, and he said as early as the township test that once he was lifted, he would go to Beijing together.

In the past few years, Qian Yuan has been on the battlefield one after another, especially when he was taken away by the Japanese invaders, and the Tan family has been staring at almost every moment, not letting his son leave his sight, and he suddenly changed his mind before leaving......

After a moment of silence, Qian Yuan smiled and said that everything in Beijing had been arranged, the furniture had been ready, and he just had to move in.

The boat turned into the Tonghui River, and arrived at the Shichahai and Jishuitan in the later generations before getting off the boat, Zhang San and the people had already hired a carriage and waited, and the group soon arrived at the new house.

Qian Zheng was dumbfounded as soon as he got out of the carriage, he had been a Beijing official for many years, and he knew very well that Xicheng was an inch of land, and he was elected as a scholar in the middle of the year, and he had no oil and water to share a house with his colleagues, and in the end, his brother Qian Rui sent silver to find a place to stay.

"Only the main gate, the main hall and the backyard were built, and the gardens on the left and right sides were built after the spring began." Qian Yuan led the way in front, "The backyard is also very empty, and there are only three separate courtyards, one uncle and aunt, one nephew, and one Master Gu." ”

"My uncle brought my mother-in-law and maid, and I asked my uncle in the backyard, and handed it over to Yang Wen and Zhang San in the front, and the nursing home lived in front."

This time, the Lu family moved to the house, and the house was entrusted to relatives and friends, and the maids alone brought more than a dozen.

Qian Zheng frowned and whispered, "It's too extravagant." ”

"Uncle, is this a luxury?" Qian Yuan's eyes widened, "Compared to the food garden, it is at least three grades worse, and it is just a little bigger." ”

"It's just a little bigger?" Gu Chengzhi shook his head with a smile on the side, "Don't look at where this is?" ”

Qian Yuan smiled silently, and the group entered the backyard, met two maids, retreated to the side of the road and curtsied, with a delicate voice and respectful manners.

"A pair of twos." This time, the Lu family couldn't help but look back at his nephew, well, Brother Yuan has also grown up.

"The two maids who serve me, Keqing and Xiangling." Qian Yuan casually mentioned it and asked, "Is it all arranged inside?" ”

"It's all set up, and the paint from yesterday has been dried."

Qian Yuan led the way into the courtyard, this is the house where his uncle and aunt live, a main hall, side rooms on both sides, a residence behind it, and ear rooms on both sides, a total of eight or nine rooms, enough to live.

After taking turns, the more Lu looked at it, the more he liked it, and he had already begun to discuss with the maid how to arrange it, and Xiangling also got in, adding a few words from time to time, which was lively.

And Qian Zheng is getting bigger and bigger the more he looks at it, it's too public, I'm afraid Yan Shifan is not so public!

In fact, Qian Zheng was wrong, thinking like this can only prove that he is a dirt bun, his family was swept away when he was a child, although he is not without food and clothing, but he is not from a family.

Yan Shifan has several other courtyards in the capital, except for the place that is not as big as here, and everything else is the top in the world.

Qian Yuan didn't think about this garden so much, and he didn't deliberately publicize it, please, I'm a southerner in Beijing, and I can't live better and eat better? ! Diagram of the Avenue of the Heavens