Chapter 114 City Streets 14

Chapter 114: Prefectural City Life, Part 14

Before Qin Rongshi could speak, Li Anyuan was also stunned.

But the surrounding students, having overheard, grew excited, looking left and right, searching everywhere.

"Where is he? Where is he?"

"Who is the top scholar, Qin? Where is he?!"

"Oh, this time the top scholar is from Fushui Town? Fushui Town… where is Fushui Town?"

"The name is unfamiliar, too—not from Xiangshan Academy, nor Caotang Academy!"

"Incredible! True talent often comes from humble origins. Small towns and cities are indeed hidden gems, not to be underestimated!"

"I really want to meet him! Hey, brother, do you know this top scholar?"

"Yes! You called his name, so you must know him! Please introduce us!"

...

Xie Baozhu was completely hemmed in, surrounded on all sides by people, stepping on feet and rubbing shoulders, unable to move an inch.

"Hey! Hey!"

He called out a few times, craning his neck to look over the crowd, only to see his two friends smiling as they hid outside, showing no intention of coming to his rescue.

"Hmph! Those two scoundrels!"

Xie Baozhu cursed under his breath, taking a long time to escape the countless pulling hands.

After everyone had seen the results, the group left the examination compound. Xie Baozhu grumbled indignantly the entire way.

"No loyalty! Absolutely no loyalty!"

Two hundred people in Jiangzhou passed the imperial exams this time, earning their *xiucai* degrees. Li Anyuan’s ranking was a bit lower, but he had passed nonetheless. It was a credit to himself and his family!

A huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he was overjoyed, smiling all the way.

Beaming, he said to Xie Baozhu, "Yes, yes, our bad. We should have come to your rescue."

Xie Baozhu huffed and turned to look at Qin Rongshi.

Only then did he realize that after complaining the whole way, his friend hadn’t even looked his way.

With such an outstanding result as top scholar, Cui Lanfang and the others were ecstatic! Liu Guyu was also thrilled and excited, though upon calming down, he felt it wasn’t unexpected—after all, this was Qin Rongshi!

Banban’s eyes shone as she kept asking, "Second Brother, you came in first? You’re amazing!"

Qin Rongshi maintained a humble demeanor, but when he turned to Liu Guyu, he couldn't help straightening his back, a hint of pride in his eyes, as if waiting for Liu Guyu to praise him.

Liu Guyu immediately praised, "That’s our guy! You don’t take the exam often, but when you do, you blow everyone away!"

Cui Lanfang was so happy she cried, sparkling tears welling in her eyes as she clasped her hands and whispered her late husband’s name, saying, "Can you see this from heaven? Our Erlang has made something of himself! He passed, and as top scholar no less!"

Seeing this, Xie Baozhu lowered his voice and got serious, muttering quietly to himself:

"You’re really something, becoming top scholar just like that... Hey, wait—does that mean I’m friends with the top scholar? Wouldn’t that be something to brag about?!"

Hearing the first part, Li Anyuan was already figuring out how to comfort Xie Baozhu, the only one who hadn’t passed, but before he could speak, he heard the second part.

He pressed his lips together, his face stern, and snapped, "Can’t you brag about yourself? What’s so great about showing off about someone else?!"

Xie Baozhu grinned, shaking his head, muttering, "I’m proud! It’s not easy to become friends with the top scholar! Besides, for someone like me, becoming a child scholar was already a blessing—becoming a *xiucai* is too much to hope for!"

Li Anyuan: "I wish you'd aim higher!"

The two argued playfully as they walked out of the examination district streets. At the intersection, three paths stretched before them.

Xie Baozhu said, "We’ll set off back to Fushui Town tomorrow. Yuanyuan wants to bring some things back for the family, so we’re going to do some more shopping. Rongshi, you and Aunt should head back first."

Xie Baozhu and Li Anyuan both knew that if Qin Rongshi’s name was on the list, he would move to the prefectural city to study at Xiangshan Academy. They had prepared for this and guessed he wouldn’t return immediately, likely staying to look for housing.

Qin Rongshi nodded and raised his hand in a salute to the two.

Cui Lanfang was happy and smiled the whole way. She also nodded to the two young men and said, "Buy, you should buy! I think that kelp we had last time was good—it makes great soup! We don’t have it in town, so buy some for your mother to try something new!"

Li Anyuan quickly nodded in agreement.

Xie Baozhu also dropped his joking manner and showed a genuinely happy smile, patting Qin Rongshi’s arm. The usually talkative man only said two words this time.

"Congratulations."

Xie Baozhu had a big heart. He wouldn’t be discouraged by his own failure or jealous of his friends’ success but was truly happy for them.

After speaking, the group parted ways, and Qin Rongshi and the others returned home.

They ate a simple meal and began discussing their plans.

Cui Lanfang had lived in Jiangning Prefecture for over a month but hadn’t quite adjusted.

Their village home wasn’t luxurious, but it was spacious and bright. She could step outside and wander around or visit Lin Xingniang across the street to make clothes and chat. Moving to the prefectural city would take some getting used to!

Life in the prefectural city was inconvenient. Every household kept its doors closed. After living here for over a month, she still didn’t know the family name of her next-door neighbors and had no one to talk to.

Of course, these weren’t the most important things!

The most important thing was the cost!

Everything in the prefectural city required money—buying vegetables, meat, even firewood, and the prices were higher than in Fushui Town!

Take the simplest example: a meat bun in town cost two coins, but in the prefectural city, two coins could only buy a vegetarian bun!

But seeing how excited her children were, already discussing what to do next, she kept her thoughts to herself.

Liu Guyu had also brought money to buy a house. He wanted a comfortable place to live, choosing a good one to settle down in. As for a shop, they could rent first and change later if it wasn’t suitable!

Qin Banban added, "There’s a female doctor on Xinglin Street! I went to see her the other day—she’s amazing! So many patients go to her! I watched for a while but didn’t have the nerve to ask if she takes students!"

Besides, she wasn’t sure if the family would really move to the prefectural city, so she didn’t want to ask prematurely and get her hopes up or bother the doctor.

Liu Guyu said, "Since we’ve found someone, there’s no rush. Once we move to the prefectural city, I’ll go with you to ask!"

Qin Banban nodded excitedly.

Qin Rongshi also said, "Then let’s go to the housing market tomorrow and have a realtor show us some houses! Mother, what do you think?"

Seeing how happy her children were, clearly already imagining their future life in the prefectural city, how could she object? Especially since this concerned her daughter’s serious pursuit of studying medicine.

She quickly changed her mind and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Okay, okay, okay, let's do as you say! We'll go tomorrow!"

With that settled, the next step was looking at houses.

Looking at houses was a troublesome task that couldn't be resolved in just a day or two. They spent four consecutive days looking, covering all the main streets in the east, south, west, and north, yet still couldn't find a satisfactory place.

The real estate agent, surnamed Ding, was in his forties, with a goatee and a black mole on his forehead. Though unremarkable in appearance, he was enthusiastic and honest in his work, never trying to overcharge them. Even after showing them around for four days straight, he remained as warm and welcoming as on the first day.

Despite his enthusiasm, he couldn't help feeling a bit exasperated. Agent Ding sighed and said, "Sir, this is the tenth one! Still not good enough?"

He had been guiding this family all over the city for four days and had figured out who among them had the final say.

"I thought today’s place was quite nice! It’s in the East Street area, the house is fairly new, and many of the larger furniture pieces are still there—you could move in right after packing! The courtyard is spacious too, perfectly suitable for your family of four! The location is expensive, but if you think money is tight, I can try to negotiate further. Still, I doubt they’d go below a hundred and fifty taels!"

He called the courtyard spacious, but that was only by the standards of the city’s smaller yards. Liu Guyu, used to the large courtyards in the village, found it too cramped.

East Street was the busiest area in Jiangning Prefecture, and the location was indeed excellent, with the place kept clean and tidy.

It was said that the original owner was also a scholar who had passed the imperial exams many years ago but had never advanced further.

Earlier this year, he had suddenly been assigned to a poor county in the north to fill a vacant magistrate position and had taken his entire family with him. They had bought this courtyard less than two years ago, so many things were still quite new.

The agent wasn’t lying, but Liu Guyu felt that something was still missing.

He smiled and said, "Isn’t there one more place? Let’s see it tomorrow!"

Ding Fangya clapped his hands together, seemingly unsurprised by Liu Guyu’s response, and finally said readily, "Alright! We’ll see it tomorrow! But that really is the last one. If you’re still not satisfied with that courtyard tomorrow, I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do for you!"

Liu Guyu readily agreed, "Sure thing, I get it."

Ding Fangya added, "That’s settled then! Ah, I remember you folks are staying temporarily on Heyan Street? Oh, what a coincidence—tomorrow’s house is also on Heyan Street!"

...

It was indeed on Heyan Street, but Heyan Street was quite large. The area they were currently staying in was called Xiaohe Alley, while the new house was in Fruit Alley, located at opposite ends.

The name Fruit Alley had its origins—it was said that many households in that residential alley made candied fruits, some with their own storefronts, others selling from stalls.

Liu Guyu found it amusing—if they were to live here, all their neighbors would be competitors.

As they entered Fruit Alley, they quickly caught the sweet smell of fruit fillings—someone must have been making candied pastries again!

The agent led them to the new house they were to view, unlocked the door, and entered.

This courtyard was likely the largest they had seen in the past few days, but it was terribly overgrown—weeds had grown waist-high, lush and green! A pebble path lay beneath, completely hidden by the wild grass.

The place was dilapidated and remote, and upon opening the door, they even caught a musty smell.

There was a well in the yard, its mouth covered by a stone slab. It was unclear how long it had been since anyone lived there, as a layer of moss had grown over the slab.

There were four rooms, with a layer of dust on the door rings—a single touch would leave a dusty handprint.

Against the wall stood a grape trellis, but the vines had long dried up, leaving only a bare wooden frame.

The best feature was the spacious courtyard—though a bit smaller than their old village home’s yard, it was still plenty roomy!

It was just too broken-down and old!

Roof tiles were missing, one of the room doors was broken, and several windows were shattered—all requiring repair and renovation.

Yet Liu Guyu thought it was quite good, especially drawn to the cherry tree in the yard.

It appeared to be an old tree, over ten feet tall, with dense branches and lush, shade-giving leaves. The branches were heavily laden with fruit, little red lanterns hanging temptingly—the most striking feature of the courtyard.

Noticing Liu Guyu’s gaze, the agent quickly said, "Ah, this place is a bit remote and overgrown, but it’s very spacious! Let me show you the rooms—each one is spacious! I recall you, sir, are a scholar—you could easily set up a small study in one corner!"

"This house is quite nice, but it’s been on the market for a year without selling. There’s one reason for that: the owner insisted that the cherry tree in the yard must not be cut down! Some potential buyers were interested but found the cherry tree takes up too much space!"

This suited Liu Guyu perfectly, but he didn’t show any excitement or fondness. Instead, he turned to his family and asked, "What do you think?"

Cui Lanfang liked it—she was fond of this courtyard.

But she still frowned and said, "Such a large yard can’t be cheap, can it?"

Qin Banban looked at the cherry tree and said, "I think the tree is lovely—it must be beautiful when it blooms in spring! I just wonder if the fruit is sweet."

Qin Rongshi considered more practical matters: "The location is a bit remote—it’s quite a walk. But I noticed the Dan River behind the house flows toward East Street, so taking a boat should be convenient. The courtyard and rooms are spacious—the kitchen looks bigger than ours, with three stoves. It’s just too run-down—renovations will cost a fair bit, but if the price is right, it could work."

Liu Guyu thought to himself that Qin Rongshi truly understood him!

What he liked most was that spacious kitchen!

But Liu Guyu remained calm, acting as though the courtyard was only barely acceptable, even frowning as if making do.

"It seems alright. After so many days of looking, we should settle on one. How much is this courtyard?"

Ding Fangya, who had just heard Qin Banban’s comment, was picking a bunch of cherries for her to taste. Upon hearing the question, he quickly answered, "A hundred and fifty taels!"

The East Street courtyard from the previous day was priced at a hundred sixty-five taels. Though far less spacious than this one, it had the advantage of location and came fully furnished!

Liu Guyu still frowned, seeming unsatisfied. He walked around the yard again, poking at the broken door and pointing to the leaky roof.

He said, "It’s a bit expensive. The courtyard could be nice once fixed up, but it’s too messy now—clearing the weeds and tidying the yard will take time and effort. Especially with so much damage—I’ll need to hire people for repairs, which could easily cost twenty taels."

Ding Fangya understood perfectly what Liu Guyu meant. He chuckled and asked, "What do you suggest, then?"

Liu Guyu smiled faintly, his tone softening considerably.

"Please help me ask the owner if they’d be willing to sell for a hundred thirty-five taels. If so, I can sign the contract tomorrow!"

He spoke decisively, and Ding Fangya grasped his meaning immediately, promising to get a definite answer by the next day.

The house had been on the market for a year, and the owner was likely worried that further delay would only drive the price down further. They agreed to the price!

That was splendid—the seller was willing, the buyer was willing, and the deal was quickly arranged. The next day, they met in the courtyard, paid the money, signed the contract, and received the keys.

Excellent—they now owned a house in the prefectural city!