Brother Xia, what do you think?" Seeing that he didn't react, Wei Wushuang couldn't help but ask.

Xia Fan smiled slightly, "I'm thinking, instead of guessing, it's better to ask someone who knows." ”

"Huh?

He raised his hand and beckoned to the shopkeeper, "Little Er, come here!"

"Hey, come on!"

Xia Fan tilted his head, "Look, the person who knows is here." ”

Wei Wushuang couldn't help but open his mouth wide, and said with a look of surprise, "What do you think...... Can the junior in this teahouse know the inside story of the Shikao?"

"Actually, I wondered from the beginning, why is there a hotel and a teahouse in the center of a remote village built on the mountainside?" he put down his teacup and slowly expressed the doubts in his heart, "It's not close to the big city, and it's not on the main traffic artery, if it weren't for the taxi exam, who would have nothing to do here to buy a store and stay overnight? ”

"Uh......" Wei Wushuang was also stunned, "You seem to have a point. ”

"Look at this green brick floor, to say the least, it has been decades old, and it doesn't look like it was built temporarily. The reason why this store has been able to survive for so long must be supported by other sources of income. Who's not caring about the book profit and loss, and is willing to invest money in this kind of place, guess who?"

"Could it be...... Is it the Privy Council that is responsible for organizing the taxi examination?But even so, what does it have to do with the shopkeeper?" Wei Wushuang was still puzzled.

"The scientific examination only needs a paper and a pen, and the martial examination only needs a piece of open space and weapons, both of which are basically not limited to location, so what about the scientific examination, you can't just find a random place, right? Otherwise, the Privy Council will not take the trouble to summon everyone to this remote town. "After all, in terms of office and administrative costs, going to a big city is always the best option, which is why the last test of the two exams is set in Gyeonggi." ”

"Administrative ...... Cost?" the fellow repeated with difficulty.

"Ahem, you don't have to worry about the words, you just understand the difference between the cost and the profit required to hold a one. He held out two fingers, "In short, it is not difficult to deduce two points from the above, the examination rooms that can hold the taxi examination have certain particularities, and the number should not be too many, and to maintain such an examination room, it is necessary to have a continuous supply of money. ”

"Although the Privy Council is extremely important, it can't spend money indiscriminately, and they have maintained Qingshan Town for a long time, and it will definitely not be just for this exam. In other words, there must have been many taxi exams here. Xia Fan finally came to the conclusion that "if the shopkeeper is a local, then he should have experienced a similar battle." ”

Wei Wushuang was speechless for a moment.

"Two guest officers, I don't know what to order?" During the discussion, the shopkeeper also came to their table.

Xia Fan ordered a stewed beef first, then changed the topic, pretending to be casual and asked, "By the way, how long have you been in this teahouse?"

"Back to the guest officer, I have been running errands here since I was a child, and I have been running errands for more than ten years. Xiao Er replied enthusiastically.

"Business isn't usually so hot, right?"

"You're right, the last time I was so busy was probably five or six years ago. ”

"People like us came back then?" Wei Wushuang hurriedly asked.

The other party smiled, but did not answer immediately.

Xia Fan suddenly seemed to have a lot of experience...... He coughed twice and pointed to his waist.

Wei Wushuang was stunned for a moment before he reacted, he took out half a dime of silver from his waist bag and put it on the table.

Xiao Er suddenly smiled, and swept the silver slightly with his sleeve, "It should be about the same." I remember that they were talking about things like the Priest's Exam, the Spell, and so on, but of course I didn't quite understand the specifics. ”

Wei Wushuang suddenly became excited, "Then do you know the content of their assessment?"

The other person shut up again.

This time there was no need to prompt, the fellow had already pushed another silver horn into his hands.

"Honestly, not very clear. Xiao Erle said, "I don't dare to touch the things they said." And most of those people are active late at night, and they also go to the back mountains to drill, and everyone can't even avoid it, so how can they come up and ask what happened. If anyone in the town knows, it is probably only those old hunters, it is said that someone asked them to be their guides at that time, and they earned more than ten taels of silver in one night. ”

When Wei Wushuang was about to put on his waist bag again, Xia Fan held him down, "Okay, you go get busy." ”

"Okay!" replied the shopkeeper.

"Wait, I want to ......"

"Look around. Xia Fan interrupted Wei Wushuang's words.

The latter only then realized that several people at the table had noticed the situation here, and although they were still pretending to eat and drink, their glances had become noticeably more frequent.

"Xiao Er, this way, this way!" Seeing that Xiao Er turned around, a table of people immediately shouted.

"Look, there's no need to spend all your money on this. Xia Fan pinched a peanut and threw it into his mouth, "Since the others are willing to pay this money, it is better to give them the opportunity, as long as we can be sure that this is not the first time that the taxi examination has been held, then it is almost the same to ask anyone." What's more, if we can think of this, the Privy Council must also be able to think that the invigilator does not prohibit us from communicating with the locals, so we must be sure not to leak the question in advance. If you ask too many questions, it may be against us. ”

Wei Wushuang frowned and thought for a moment before he raised his head suddenly, "You mean—Qian Yin?"

"Ten taels of silver is not too little, but it is by no means much. Xia Fan nodded. According to the purchasing power of grain, one tael of silver in this era is about 500 yuan. Ten taels of cash was a huge amount of money that he and the cheap master couldn't come up with, but it was just a drop in the bucket for the disciples of the big family. "Why you can only carry this amount before entering the town is probably related to the exam. Didn't the man mention it just now? It would cost a dozen taels of silver to hire a local guide, which was already enough money from several people. ”

"This ...... It's something I didn't expect. Wei Wushuang sighed for a long time, "I don't know who the master of Brother Tai is?"

"Master?" Xia Fan couldn't help but think of the image of a cheap master in his mind - the image of a middle-aged uncle who said that your Yintang is black, and I can solve disasters for you, "I can't even make up the reference fee for the Shishi exam, and I still need the disciples to pad it first, do you have any misunderstanding about the masters?"

"But my brother's insight really amazes me, I grew up in a shop, and I think I'm quite sensitive to money, but it's still much worse than you. Wei Wushuang admired, "If it weren't for the reason for respecting the master, then you must have traveled a lot of places before. ”

Xia Fan couldn't help but want to laugh, he had indeed stayed in many places with Master Cheap, but it was by no means a wandering, but an aimless wandering.

If you count the two lifetimes, it's even more.

It's just that he naturally won't tell the other party about this.

In addition, the teahouse was not the only place that made Xia Fan notice something unusual.

Like the reaction of the locals.

There are only one or two hundred residents in Qingshan Town at most, and there are as many as four hundred candidates, and if a large group of outsiders pour into this closed place, it will inevitably bring resistance and defense. But after he walked around, he found that the locals behaved too naturally, what to do, and even greeted the candidates, as if they were ...... I'm used to this kind of thing.

"Your family owns a shop?"

"The big bowl of grain shop is my storefront. Wei Wushuang replied.

"Poof," Xia Fan almost choked, isn't this the best grain store in Fenghua County? And the store will occasionally distribute some relief porridge, and Master often goes to take advantage of it. Those who can open a grain store in Qiguo, even if they are not family gate valves, they are not ordinary merchants and hawkers.

"Brother Tai has seen it?"

It's strange that I haven't seen it, it's the most central location in the county. Xia Fan glanced at him, and in his heart he had already classified the other party as a bourgeois enemy, "Well, it's counted." ”

"Hehe, when the taxi exam is over, I will definitely invite Brother Xia to have a good meal in Fenghua County. ”

"No, this one is enough. Xia Fan stood up and arched his hand at him, "Thank you." ”

“...... Wait, wait," Wei Wushuang didn't react for a moment, "You don't want to talk to me-"

"Cooperation?" he shook his head, "You are actually right about one thing, the advantages of those sects and family disciples are far greater than those of retail investors, and even if they can pass the Shi Exam, their ranking is estimated to not be too high." Therefore, the best option for you is to fail deliberately - whether you enter the Privy Council or not will not affect you much, and because you fail in the assessment, your father should have nothing to say. Back in Fenghua County, you are still the second young master of the family, and you will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your life, at least it is much better than being assigned to a certain town and finally dying of a certain evil. ”

"So hurry up and go home-" Xia Fan said here and waved his hand, "Isn't it good to be a rich second generation with a dull life?"

He could see that Wei Wushuang did not have the determination to pass the exam.

The latter's face flushed visibly.

For a moment, he thought that the other party would be annoyed and angry, but in the end, Wei Wushuang endured it.

This is not common, Xia Fan secretly praised - boys from the age of fifteen or sixteen to adulthood, the most important thing is face, everything can be lost, only face cannot be lost, to put it bluntly, it is love to be strong, and likes to drill the tip of the horns. However, the other party was not convinced, but also faced his own heart.

After a while, Wei Wushuang spoke, "What about you, you are just as difficult to get a good ranking as I am, aren't you afraid?"

"Who said that I care about my own life. ”

"Then why ......"

"Because of ignorance. Xia Fan sighed softly.

"Ignorance?" Wei Wushuang's face was full of surprise, he really couldn't connect the person in front of him with ignorance.

Because I don't know anything about this new world, I want to know more. Xia Fan knows that the sense of disobedience in his heart comes from the opposition between reality and common sense, and from the feedback of an unfamiliar environment. If he was just an ordinary person in this life, it would be fine, but he was talented, and paying off the debts of the cheap master was just an introduction, even if he didn't have this kind of thing, he would have taken this step sooner or later. As the Privy Council that governs all visions, it is undoubtedly an ideal platform.

What's more, for him, who has received systematic education, seeking knowledge and solving doubts has become an instinct engraved into his soul.

But even if you say this, people in this world probably won't be able to understand it.

He waved his hand and turned to walk out.