When you come out to buy grain, you don't bring farming tools for digging the soil. Fortunately, the ground is not very hard, and it can be dug up with the broken tiles that fell from the City God Temple.

As soon as he dug a small soil pit, Chen Yuansheng stopped, "Don't dig it." ”

“？”

Wang Er didn't speak, he looked at Chen Yuansheng and expressed his question with his eyes.

Chen Yuansheng put down the tiles and pointed to the position in front of him, in the middle of the red sand, mixed with a small section of white bones, "There are people down there, bury them here." ”

"Oh." Wang Er nodded.

As the sand buryed, the crows hovering in the sky gradually flew away.

Chen Yuansheng looked at the slightly bulging dirt bag and felt very depressed.

Whether it is a Northern Song Dynasty or a modern person, there are not too many people who can understand Chen Yuansheng's mood at the moment.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, although it was a peaceful time, deaths caused by various reasons were commonplace, and those who died of illness, starvation, and were killed, and so on.

In such an environment, the people of the Northern Song Dynasty have long been accustomed to the passing of people around them.

In modern times, where life is affluent and medical care is developed, the frequency of death is too low for individuals. Even, many people have no concept of death.

A modern person, suddenly back to the past, even if it is the peaceful and prosperous era described in the history books. Perhaps, in his opinion, it is hell on earth.

At least, that's the case for Chen Yuansheng.

Looking at the sky, the sun was hanging high, and although it was a little hot, I couldn't rest any longer.

Put the person in front of the car and move on.

The road gradually flattened, and a small city appeared in view. There are several families scattered outside the castle, and the city gate is in and out, which seems to be quite lively.

"Owner, we're here." Wang Er pointed to the castle and shouted, and the enthusiasm that seemed to be extinguished was ignited again.

"Don't call the owner of the village." Chen Yuansheng said.

"Okay owner." Wang Er replied.

"Stop talking."

"Oh." Wang Er closed his mouth aggrievedly.

"Uncle Li, where to put these wooden guns, it doesn't seem good to bring them in." Chen Yuansheng looked at the city gate in the distance, although the soldiers guarding the gate were lazy, but who knew how they would react when they saw the wooden spear.

Lee, who was old and more experienced, looked around, found an inconspicuous place, and stuck three wooden guns on the ground.

Chen Yuansheng confirmed again that there was nothing taboo in the car, so he mustered up the strength to pull back and move forward.

"Owner, I'll come." Li Bo untied the hemp rope tied to Chen Yuansheng and said.

"Okay." Chen Yuansheng patted his head, he was almost tired and forgot that he had specially prepared a scholar's clothes today, just to avoid trouble.

I'm going to go to the pawnshop in the city to buy gold. It is impossible and does not have the physical strength to pull the wooden cart to run, and besides, pulling the wooden cart is easy to cause unnecessary trouble.

Although I don't know if the "Prodigy Poem" of "everything is inferior, only reading is high", "Chao is Tian Shelang, and twilight ascends to Tianzi Hall" has been made. But the Song Dynasty's respect for scholars is deep-rooted, otherwise Xiao Er, who pours tea, would not be called Dr. Tea.

After a while, Chen Yuansheng finished changing his clothes, and the image of a down-and-out scholar appeared in front of Li Bo and Wang Er.

"Zhai ......" Wang Er stretched out his thumb and was just about to praise it, but he was stared at by Chen Yuansheng and swallowed back.

"Uncle Li, I'm still like a scholar, right?" Chen Yuansheng asked Li Bo.

"It's like it." Li Bo nodded, and when he saw his feet from his head, he suddenly hesitated, "But, these straw sandals ......"

"Not like a scholar?" Chen Yuansheng asked.

Lieber nodded again.

Chen Yuansheng retracted his feet, his wide clothes covering most of the straw sandals, revealing only a small edge, "Uncle Li, what do you see now?" It's not like a down-and-out scholar. In this way, when I am with you and Wang Er, it will not arouse suspicion. ”

"Zhai ...... Childe was right. Li Bo felt that what Chen Yuansheng said was very reasonable, but it was still difficult to change the name, and if he didn't pay attention to it, he almost missed his mouth.

Chen Yuansheng walked in front of the car with his head held high.

"Childe ......" Li Bo looked at Chen Yuansheng's back and shouted hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Chen Yuansheng turned around and asked.

"Otherwise, let's stop buying grain, you might as well keep the money for the imperial examination." Li Bo said, and Wang Er, who was pushing the cart behind him, nodded in agreement.

Chen Yuansheng shook his head, turned around and continued to walk forward. Even if the book has Yan Ruyu and the book has a golden house, far water can't quench the thirst.

When he succeeds in the imperial examination, how many people can still live. He is not stunned, and he will not think that the imperial examination is the only way out.

Of course, he did not deny that in this era, the imperial examination was the easiest way to change one's fate. He didn't want the imperial examination, not because he was against it, but because he didn't have the conditions for the imperial examination, which was completely different from the uselessness of studying.

Reading is useful.

In the past two days, Chen Yuansheng was still thinking about how good it would be if he had watched "Heavenly Creation".

entered the city gate without any danger, the soldiers guarding the gate were already lazy, and when they saw Chen Yuansheng dressed as a scholar, they didn't bother to check.

After entering the city, Chen Yuansheng said to Li Bo, "Li Bo, you are watching the car here. Wang Er and I went to the pawnshop to see how much money we could exchange for gold. ”

"Don't worry, Childe, I'll just wait here and won't go back." Li Bo found a shady place to park the car against the wall, leaned against the car and said.

Farewell Li Bo, Chen Yuansheng took Wang Er around the city, Wang Er looked at the baked cakes sold along the street, and his saliva almost flowed all over the ground.

One baked cake costs two pennies, Chen Yuansheng thought to himself, after exchanging gold for a while, he would buy three baked cakes, one for each person to pad his stomach, saving the strength to pull food back.

There was no name written on the gate of the small city, and Chen Yuansheng knew that it was called Xinyang from the people passing by.

There are three main streets in Xinyang City, the north and south are slightly shorter, the east and west runs through the small city, this side is the east city gate, and the end of the road is the west city gate.

The first pawnshop was next to the East City Gate, but it was only about 30 steps away.

Chen Yuansheng and Wang Er plunged into this pawnshop.

The pawnshop house is dark, and the counter is very high, estimated to be 1.7 meters.

Chen Yuansheng needed to look up to see the guy standing at the counter.

"When what?" The guy leaned against the wall, looking down, and his voice was lazy, giving people a feeling of being slighted. Think about it, there is no difficulty in ordinary people, who will come to the pawnshop.

"I'm going to be gold." Chen Yuansheng said, he twisted out a golden bean, stood on tiptoe and handed it to the pawnshop guy.

The pawnshop guy was a little more energetic, put the gold on the small brass scale and said, "One penny and two cents, live or die?" Live as 800 texts, and die as consistent. ”

Chen Yuansheng took back the gold and said, "No." ”

When it is inappropriate, Chen Yuansheng had an idea before entering the pawnshop.

Unsuitable.

Why not? It's simple, as simple as the principle of this tall counter.

Who has nothing to do with ordinary people to come to the pawnshop? Coming to the pawnshop is bound to be urgent and difficult.

A little reasoning leads to a conclusion that pawnshops are bound to drive down prices.

In this case, why did Chen Yuansheng come to the pawnshop. That's because he didn't know how much the gold was worth, and he didn't know how much gold was exchanged for coins.

Chen Yuansheng took back the gold, left the pawnshop, and left without hurrying. Walking down the street at a slightly slow pace, occasionally looking at this and that. But the details are appropriate, and there is no particularly long delay.

"There's a pawnshop up front." Chen Yuansheng was afraid that Wang Er would be suffocated, so he said to him.

When I entered the pawnshop, it was still a high counter, a casual attitude, the weight of gold was one dollar and three cents in this house, and it was seven hundred and eighty wen for life, and it was consistent for death.

Chen Yuansheng memorized the numbers and went to the last pawnshop in the west of the city that he had just heard.

After walking through the three pawnshops, the pattern of the entire Xinyang City was probably imprinted in Chen Yuansheng's heart.

There are a total of five rice shops in the city, among which Liao Kee rice shop in the city has the best reputation. One is because the people who sell are all users in the city, and the other is that the shopkeeper of the Liao family is a reader.

Through the efforts of the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties, the power of the gate valve was greatly weakened, and the status of intellectuals who could become officials became higher and higher.

Even if it is a scholar who has never achieved fame, he will be supported by the public.

To use an inappropriate analogy, the identity of an ordinary scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty is like the status of a college student when New China University did not expand its enrollment.

Xiucai is a little higher than undergraduates, close to key undergraduates.

It is equivalent to a master's degree or a doctorate.

Jinshi can be said to be an expert professor.

However, the Northern Song Dynasty was different from New China. Its education system, the people it cultivates, and the final way out are in the bureaucratic system.

The aura of intellectuals, plus the aura of bureaucrats. The intellectuals of the Northern Song Dynasty were far more respected than the college students of New China.

After all, no one wants to offend a reader. Even if he is down now, who knows if he will be promoted next year, and he will be a big official the year after next.

When the time comes, when a terrible giant hand is pressed down, it will be too late to regret it.

Therefore, although Chen Yuansheng was dressed in a down-to-earth manner, wearing a pair of broken straw sandals. However, the people he asked were still kind to him.

After all, respecting and complimenting you now will not lose a piece of meat, and if you don't respect and compliment now, you may lose your life in the future.

Weigh the cost, or choose to be more respectful and flattering.

Returning to the east of the city to find Li Bo, Chen Yuansheng directly took Li Bo, Wang Er and the car to Liao Ji Mixing.

Why don't all Mi Xing take a walk and take a look, one is that there is not enough time, but the degree of necessity is not high.

Pawnshops are such things, except for pawnshop-related people, basically don't say anything good. And the rice line can be roughly measured according to the evaluation of good and bad.

When I came to Liao Kee Rice Shop, the façade was not large, and like most shops in this era, there were shops in front and warehouses in the backyard.

Chen Yuansheng entered the pawnshop and said directly to the guy, "May I ask where your shopkeeper is?" ”

"Who are you?" The guy didn't dare to slack off when he saw the scholar's dress, and hurriedly asked.

Chen Yuansheng didn't pretend to be a big-tailed wolf, he flickered and bragged about himself, he said directly, "I want to talk to your shopkeeper, I have heard of the name for a long time, is it convenient?" ”

"I'll ask you!" After the man finished speaking, he turned around and ran towards the courtyard.

After a while, a middle-aged man wearing a turban and a plain loose robe slowly walked out of the inner courtyard.

"You're looking for me?" The middle-aged reader asked.

"Yes." Chen Yuansheng replied.

"What's the matter with me?"

"I want to buy some rice."

"The rice shop is all rice, why bother looking for me?"

"There is something unspeakable, so I can only ask Brother Liao to come out."

"No money?"

"I don't have any money, but I have this." After Chen Yuansheng finished speaking, he squeezed out the golden beans from his belt and handed them to the middle-aged scholar.

Although the scholar is reluctant to talk about money, the middle-aged scholar is also a businessman after all. He took the gold, looked at the luster, pinched the softness and hardness, and asked the guy next to him to take it to weigh it.

After the guy finished measuring it, he whispered a few words to the middle-aged reader, and the middle-aged reader said, "This golden bean weighs one or two or four dollars, and it is worth 1,500 yuan." How much food does Brother Xian want to buy? ”

Chen Yuansheng, who didn't know when he became a middle-aged scholar, looked at the wooden sign inserted in the grain, pointed to the rice and asked, "I want to buy four stone rice." ”

The middle-aged scholar looked at the rice, looked at Chen Yuansheng, looked up and down, and did not mention the price of rice, but said, "There is a poetry meeting in Daming Lake in the middle of the month, I don't know if the virtuous brother can come, this is the largest poetry meeting at the intersection of Jinghu South, Jinghu North, and Jiangnan West Road." ”

Chen Yuansheng searched his memory and found that he remembered a lot of Tang poems and Song lyrics in his mind, so he nodded, "Brother Liao invited, how can it be reasonable not to go?" ”

The middle-aged scholar laughed heartily a few times, and took out an invitation card from his cuff, "I will wait for the virtuous brother then." ”

Just as the two of them were chatting, there were suddenly several loud noises outside the store.

The guy came in in a panic and whispered a few words, and the middle-aged scholar methodically arranged for other guys to carry rice to Li Bo's car.

Seeing that Mi finished moving, he said to Chen Yuansheng, "Brother Xian, there is something to deal with for my brother." ”

Chen Yuansheng said a few polite words, and followed behind the middle-aged scholar with a little curiosity. He craves any information of this era.

Outside the rice shop, there was a man dressed as a peasant, who fell to the ground crying and grabbing the ground. When he saw the middle-aged scholar, he quickly crawled over, hugged his thighs and cried, "Liao Dashan, there is really no food at home, the old and the young, can you borrow some food?" ”

His voice attracted the attention of many people, and people passing by pointed at him.

The middle-aged scholar who was called Liao Dashanren had an expressionless face, waited for a while and said, "Two buckets of rice, thirteen out of ten." ”

"Thank you Liao Dashanren, Liao Dashanren, you are my reborn parents!" The farmer holding his thighs thanked excitedly, his voice was so loud and his tone was exaggerated that people from near and far could hear it.

"Liao Dashan is really a good person!"

"Yes, Liao Dashan is a great good!"

The onlookers talked one after another.

The middle-aged scholar came back to his senses, saw Chen Yuansheng, bowed slightly and said, "There was a farce, which made the virtuous brother laugh." Brother Xian frowned, do you have doubts? ”

"Thirteen out of ten, will the interest be too high?" Chen Yuansheng asked.

"Thirteen out of ten return high? Others return out of nine, and they don't borrow anything from eight! Who knows if the lent grain will be recovered? ”

Someone heard Chen Yuansheng's question, and said indignantly for Liao Dashan.