Four years later.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, February 17.

In the early morning, Changning County is foggy and rainy, and the cold wind of early spring is still encroaching on the bones.

The empty streets are quiet and cold, and the whole county is shrouded in mist, like a city in the fog.

A certain moment.

In the north and south alleys of the city, a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy walked out of the mist and came to Nanshi Street.

He was dressed in azure and wore a Lingyun scarf, his jade-like face was angular and angular, and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, just like a humble and elegant Confucian student.

"Yo! Isn't this Yu Xiaolang of Sister Hu's family? I heard that Yu Xiaolang took the high school county test yesterday? Aunt Wang wants to congratulate you! ”

As soon as the teenager walked out of the north alley, he was met by a middle-aged woman wearing a floral cloth skirt.

The woman was also holding a fan in the cold, her waist was twisted like a rattle, and when she spoke, a pair of phoenix eyes looked at the young man full of brilliance.

When the young man heard the voice, a smile bloomed at the corner of his mouth, and he leaned over slightly:

"Aunt Wang, morning! Thank you, Aunt Wang! ”

The boy is Zhao Yu, now thirteen years old, because he has been practicing martial arts all year round, he is taller than his peers, and his face is much more mature than his peers.

Just a few days ago, the Changning County Examination was held, and Zhao Yu went to high school for the first time after the imperial examination.

When the list was released yesterday, Zhao Yu's name was impressively on the list, although he was not the first to be the case, but he also ranked second!

And that woman is Aunt Wang, the tooth man who rented a house for Zhao Yu's family back then, lives near here and is familiar with Zhao Yu's family.

Seeing that Zhao Yu was so humble and polite, her face was full of smiles, and when she saw Zhao Yu carrying the wine jar and snacks in her hands, she smiled and said:

"Yu Xiaolang is really polite! Are you going to visit early in the morning? ”

"Yes! See you back Aunt Wang! ”

Zhao Yu smiled and nodded, and after finishing speaking, he took the things in his hand and walked straight to the street.

Aunt Wang stood in place and didn't move, looking at Zhao Yu's standing back in the distance, looking at his energetic steps, her eyes flashed:

"The Mo master is like a jade, the son is unparalleled in the world, but he is really a rare young man! Now that I have taken the high school and county exams, the future is immeasurable...... Thirteen years old, right? It's time to talk about marriage......"

Aunt Wang's eyes rolled twice, then with a smile on her face, she twisted her waist and walked towards the Zhao noodle restaurant in front.

Over there!

After Zhao Yu left Nanshi Street, he came to the private school.

Long before the county exam, Zhao Yu didn't come to school every day, but he had to come today.

Because he took the county exam in high school yesterday, he wanted to report the good news to Han Liru.

The person guarding the door of the private school is still the hunchbacked old king, who is sitting in the gatehouse looking at the fog and rain outside, and when he saw Zhao Yu coming, he slowly got up and walked out of the gatehouse:

"Hehe, Yu student is here? I heard that you took the county exam in high school yesterday, and I congratulate you here! ”

The old king smiled, and when he spoke, he greeted Zhao Yu, who had just stepped into the threshold, and stretched out his hand to pat away the fog on Zhao Yu's body, as kind and kind as he treated his juniors.

"Rejoice, rejoice! Grandpa Wang doesn't need to bother, this bit of fog is not in the way! ”

Zhao Yu avoided the old king with a smile, and then walked straight into the gatehouse.

Immediately after, a voice came from the room:

"Grandpa Wang, I brought you a jar of sweet potato wine today, and some sweet potatoes and snacks made of sweet potato candy, and put them on the table for you!"

"Oh, you bring something for the little old man every time you come, it's too expensive!"

When the old king heard the voice, he politely walked into the gatehouse, but his face was full of smiles.

Looking at Zhao Yu in the room, he put down one of the two jars of wine in his hand, and half of the dim sum was put down, the old king smiled and smacked his lips:

"Hehe, this sweet potato wine is a good thing! It has the degree of liquor, but it is fragrant but not strong, it tastes like a clear spring, moistens the throat, tastes sweet, and is unique in the wine, but I don't know where you got it, the sweet potato made of dim sum in the city 'Tulip Zhai' has to be sold, but this sweet potato wine is old and can't be found in the city! ”

"The kid is familiar with the owner of 'Tulip Zhai', and the wine is from him, he only brews it for himself, and does not take it out!"

Zhao Yu turned his head and smiled at the old king's teeth, and after putting down his things, he took the remaining jar of wine and half of the snacks in his hand, and gestured:

"Grandpa Wang, I'm going to visit Master Han!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Go, go! Don't delay here in old decay! ”

The old king hurriedly waved his hand and smiled to open the door.

After Zhao Yu walked out of the room, Lao Wang looked at Zhao Yu's back full of kindness.

Zhao Yu went out of the gatehouse and went straight into the backyard.

Han Liru's courtyard.

Everything is as in the past, the bluestone floor, the courtyard bonsai, the stone steps, the platform and the hall house are just like Zhao Yu's familiar appearance.

At this time, on the platform in front of the hall, there was a tea table, on which a pot of boiling water was boiling.

The boiling water was bubbling hot, and it had a unique flavor in the fog and rain.

And on a chair next to the tea table, Han Liru, who was dressed in a gray shirt, was sitting there making tea, as if he knew that Zhao Yu would come, he also made a cup in the vacant seat opposite him, and when Zhao Yu walked into the courtyard, he smiled indifferently at Zhao Yu without surprise:

"Coming?"

"Yes, Teacher!"

Zhao Yu stepped forward quickly, put the things in his hand on the tea table, and after Han Liru bowed to the end:

"The disciple is here to tell the teacher, the disciple has passed the county examination yesterday, thank the teacher for his teaching over the years!"

"Don't be polite, you already know the old man who passed the county test, sit down!"

Han Liru put down the teapot and pointed to the empty seat opposite.

"Thank you!"

Zhao Yu got up and sat respectfully on the chair.

Han Liru glanced at Zhao Yu with a smile, and then looked at the wine jar on the table:

"This is a sweet potato bar again? This wine does have an endless aftertaste, even the old man thinks about it if he doesn't drink a glass every day, but he has no place to buy it, and the old man wants to drink it and you have to send it to have this mouthful! ”

"The teacher is serious, you can drink this wine, when you finish drinking, the disciple will bring it to you!"

Zhao Yu smiled dumbly.

"It doesn't have to be like this, the old man just talks about it casually!"

Han Liru smiled and shook his head.

After a few idle sentences, Han Liru's expression immediately converged, and he said slowly:

"With your strength, the old man is not surprised that you can take the county exam this time! Even the old man heard yesterday that you were the head of the county case this time, but the county magistrate saw that you were still young and feared that you would not be convinced and cause trouble, so you were relegated to second place. ”

"The first and second places are not important to the disciples, as long as the disciples can go to high school!"

Zhao Yu smiled and shook his head, not showing surprise at Han Liru's words, and not paying much attention to them.

Seeing that Zhao Yu was so tranquil, Han Liru nodded with satisfaction:

"It's good that you can have such a mentality, the ranking of the county exam is really not so important, it's good to pass!"

After that, Han Liru asked again:

"When are you going to go to Hengzhou Mansion to take the provincial exam?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yu frowned and muttered:

"The government test is in April, and now it's the end of February, and the disciple is ready to leave in a few days!"

"It's better to go early, you have to report to the yamen over there!"

Han Liru nodded, then looked at the right end of the tea table.

On that table, there were two stacks of paper, one thin and one thick.

Han Liru picked up the stack of thick paper and handed it to Zhao Yu:

"This is the government examination questions of Hengzhou Mansion over the years, as well as the college examination questions of Huguang Province over the years, you can take it and take a look!"