Chapter 45 Entering the City

Chapter 45: Entering the City

The rest of the journey went without incident. When they passed through a town, Song Tingzhou had his wound re-dressed. Fortunately, it hadn’t worsened, but he had other bruises he hadn’t mentioned, none too serious. After the physician treated and bandaged him anew, Meng Wan finally felt at ease.

On the 20th of the third month, a full five days later than Meng Wan had anticipated, they finally entered Changping Prefecture’s city gates.

The Yu Kingdom had a total of 280 prefectural cities, governing 1,500 county towns. Among them, eighty were major prefectures, each with eight counties under its jurisdiction, with each county having its own towns and villages. There was an unusually large number of remote minor prefectures, some so impoverished they governed only two or three counties.

Changping Prefecture was one of the eighty major prefectures, but it ranked near the bottom, several levels below the famous Fengtian Prefecture in the north.

Despite this, Changping Prefecture still governed eight counties, and its walls and gates were built on a grand scale.

Changping Prefecture had eight city gates. Meng Wan and his group entered through the West Gate, crossed the moat, and walked over the drawbridge. Two gates, each over ten meters high, were guarded by garrison soldiers, and every passerby and carriage had to be searched and questioned one by one.

“Scholar Song, is that you on the carriage?”

A delighted voice came from below the outer city wall. Song Tingzhou turned to look and saw the two coachmen who had fled midway.

They were clever enough not to go back to look for the carriage, fearing they’d run into the bandits, but they still held onto a sliver of hope, knowing that if they survived, they would definitely come to the prefectural city. So they decided to come and try their luck first. After all, forget the carriage, but those two horses were their bread and butter—each horse was worth at least twelve taels of silver. Who would have thought they’d actually be right?

The two middle-aged men rubbed their hands together, looking nervous. “We’re willing to return the down payment. We hope Scholar Song will return the carriage to us.”

Song Tingzhou got off the carriage. The wound on his arm had scabbed over, but his movements were still hindered. “The carriage is returned to its rightful owner. Everyone was innocent in this disaster. Forget the deposit, and you should head home early.”

After returning the carriage, the two owners thanked him profusely and drove off.

Song Tingzhou didn’t get back on the carriage but walked over to Meng Wan’s. “Brother Wan, call Mother down. It’s time for us to go into the city.”

The two of them picked up their baskets and got off. Fang Jinrong, holding a stack of permanent deeds and his household registration booklet, stuck his head out the window and said to them, “Then we’ll go into the city first. Brother Wan, come find me at the Zhu residence in the south of the city when you have time.”

Meng Wan waved to him. “Okay, the Zhu residence in the south, right? I’ve got it.”

Huang Zheng was at the front. Song Tingzhou had Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua line up behind him, and took out the household registration booklet and Meng Wan’s slave deed from his book chest.

Yu Kingdom travel regulations: Within one’s registered prefecture, crossing county lines or entering a prefectural city required carrying the household registration booklet.

To travel to another prefecture, one had to apply for a travel permit at the local county office or the Household Bureau of the prefecture’s three bureaus and six departments, stating the destination and purpose of the trip.

If the reason was deemed legitimate, the Household Bureau would stamp the permit, which was then required to enter another prefecture.

The permit also had a time limit. If it expired, the city guards wouldn’t accept it.

Song Tingzhou, dressed as a scholar with a book chest on his back, was among many such students heading for the April prefectural exam. Most guards glanced at the household registration and let them pass. When it came to Song Tingzhou, his registration included his mother, plus Meng Wan’s deed, causing a slight delay. But in the end, they entered the city without trouble.

Meng Wan breathed a sigh of relief. He only had a vague understanding of his slave registry. This time in the prefectural city, he was determined to thoroughly study the Yu Kingdom’s laws; otherwise, he’d be stuck at every turn.

Once inside the city, the usually quiet Chang Jinhua finally let out her pent-up amazement. “That gate was so tall? Made of such big wood? How many years must those trees have grown?”

“And that wall—how did people stack it so high?”

“Big Lang, what official was that asking you questions? He spoke like his nostrils could catch the rain.”

Meng Wan couldn’t help but laugh. “Auntie, let’s first get Huang Zheng to the bookshop.”

Huang Zheng opened his mouth, wanting to ask too. After the bandit incident, no matter how he’d felt coming here, he now respected Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan.

Otherwise, back in Quanshui Town, he’d have snapped at Meng Wan:

Do I need a young man like you to escort me?

They asked around and finally learned that the Baojin Studio, which Manager Huang had mentioned, was on Linxiang Street in the western part of the city.

Since they’d entered through the West Gate, they didn’t need to take a cart elsewhere. Relying on their legs and mouths, the four of them indeed found Baojin Studio.

Huang Zheng, carrying his bundle, pulled out a letter from his pocket, bid farewell to Song Tingzhou and the others, and walked nervously into the antique bookshop ahead.

After a short wait, Meng Wan said, “He didn’t come out, so he must have found the right place. It’s getting late; we should find lodging too.”

The exam hall in Changping Prefecture was located in the eastern part of the city, opposite their current western location.

Song Tingzhou said, “I’ve stayed at inns in the northern part of the city before. They’re closer to the exam hall and reasonably priced.”

Seeing Chang Jinhua’s weary expression, Meng Wan replied, “Then let’s head north and find an inn for the night.”

The sun was setting, and they couldn’t make it on foot before dark. Song Tingzhou hired an oxcart by the roadside, paid the owner five copper coins, and the three of them rode to the inn in the north where he’d stayed before.

The inn had two floors. The first floor had a few square tables for guests to dine in, while the second floor and the backyard offered lodging.

As they entered, dusty from the journey, a waiter greeted them. “Honored guests, looking for a room?”

Traveling, Meng Wan kept a low profile and let Song Tingzhou handle things. Song Tingzhou said, “One men’s dormitory and one lower-class room.”

Meng Wan tugged at his sleeve. “You’re not staying in the dormitory.”

The sharp-eared waiter caught this and smiled. “No worries, young man. Our place is clean. There aren’t many in the dormitory tonight, so it won’t be crowded.”

Meng Wan let go and said nothing more.

The lower-class room was for Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua. Like the dormitory, it was in the backyard, windowless, with a large bed and no other furniture—enough for two.

Song Tingzhou ordered hot water three times. They took turns bathing in the room and changing into clean clothes, finally feeling revived.

“Take Brother Wan out to get something to eat. There are still flatbreads in the bundle. I’m not hungry; I’ll just nibble on those,” Chang Jinhua said, fretting over the money.

Prices in the prefectural city were high, and she’d only seen the tip of the iceberg. Back in the village, two copper coins could get them to town by oxcart, but here, they’d paid five for a short ride. And the inn—besides the room, they’d even charged for the three rounds of bathwater.

They’d earned twenty taels selling fried dough sticks, plus their old savings, last year’s tofu money, Song Tingzhou’s copywork earnings, Meng Wan’s betrothal gift, and the lantern painting money from early this year—altogether about thirty taels. Fifty taels total—how many days would that last in the prefectural city?

Meng Wan didn’t want to go out either, not because he was stingy, but because he was exhausted. “Let’s just order three bowls of noodles here. We can eat them with the flatbreads and rest early. Tomorrow, we’ll look around for a yard to rent.”

Chang Jinhua was about to argue, but Song Tingzhou had already taken the money pouch and gone downstairs. Their luggage was in the lower-class room; the dormitory was too crowded and risky.

In the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Song Tingzhou brought up three bowls of noodles. Meng Wan quickly took them. “Your wound just scabbed over—why didn’t you ask the waiter to bring them up?”

“It’s fine. Be careful, don’t burn yourself.”

The room had no table, so Meng Wan set the tray on a basket. When it cooled a bit, they each took a bowl and ate.

Song Tingzhou had a big appetite, so he broke the leftover dry flatbreads into the soup to soak.

After this hasty dinner, Song Tingzhou returned to the dormitory to rest, while Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua bolted the door and got into bed.

The bedding had no odd smell but wasn’t very warm. Meng Wan was so exhausted he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Chang Jinhua did the same.

The next morning, Song Tingzhou gave the waiter two copper coins and asked about nearby housing agencies. The waiter said there were two: one to the east and one to the north. The eastern one was registered with the government, while the northern one was a smaller, cheaper agency.

They bought a few steamed buns from a stall outside the inn for breakfast. Meat buns cost five coins each, while vegetable ones were five for two. Six buns cost fifteen coins, leaving Chang Jinhua stunned—that was the price of a catty of meat.

Because of the buns, they decided to check the cheaper northern agency first. But as they reached its entrance, they saw several people cursing the agency for renting the same property to multiple tenants and swindling their money. Terrified, Chang Jinhua quickly pulled Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan away. “Let’s go to the eastern one. It’s pricier, but at least it’s reliable.”

The broker at the Eastern Brokerage, seeing their shabby clothes, sent a teenage boy to deal with them. A boy would have to do—Meng Wan was not disdainful of him. The kid was articulate and spoke logically, and Meng Wan felt he was way better than those adults who judge people by their looks.

“Your scholar is taking the prefectural exam next month, right? The east part of town is all government offices for official business, and the officials live there—you definitely wouldn’t be looking there. The north part is a bit of a mess, but it’s the cheapest area in all of Changping. Many scholars have rented courtyards nearby to prepare for exams over the years. But I’ll warn you, the closer you get, the pricier it is.” The young broker talked like a grown-up.

Short-term rentals were always pricier than long-term ones, but even with Meng Wan bracing himself, he hadn’t expected it to be this expensive.

“Five people sharing a yard, and it’s still three taels a month?” Chang Jinhua was almost shocked.

The young broker said, “This is only because you came early. In a couple of days, this one will be rented out too.”

Meng Wan blurted out, “Are there any others?”

The young broker held a ledger and flipped through a couple of pages. “There’s one further north, but it’s a bit farther. Do you want to see it?”

Song Tingzhou said, “Yes, please, thank you for the trouble.”

The young broker shot him a look. In past years, when he dealt with these scholars, each one thought they were too good for this world, as if they’d shoot straight to the top right after the exam, and they’d grit their teeth at us brokers, acting as if we brokers were deliberately overcharging them.

This Scholar Song was different. He hadn’t complained about being assigned to a kid like him who hadn’t even come of age. His family, though they seemed like country folk new to the city, weren’t noisy or troublesome. The whole family treated him politely.

The young broker had a good impression of them and actually found a suitable small courtyard. It was about seven or eight li away from the exam hall in the east, also a shared rental, but with only three rooms, making it simple and suitable for a family with kids.

The three rooms were about the same size, two taels per room, paid monthly. The perk was that each room came with an iron pot, so they didn’t need to buy one.

Meng Wan gritted his teeth and had Song Tingzhou rent two rooms. When they went to the broker’s office to sign, they paid the first month’s rent.

Back in town, Song Tingzhou had been cramped. Now, with the prefectural exam so important, he couldn’t afford to squeeze him.

After renting the place, Song Tingzhou went back to the inn to fetch their luggage, while Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua cleaned the rooms.

“That’s four taels gone already. We still need to buy pots, bowls, bedding, and everything else quickly. Prices in the city are high, and I don’t know how much more we’ll spend.”

Chang Jinhua secretly regretted coming along with Meng Wan. She felt she wasn’t much help and only added extra expenses. If Song Tingzhou had come alone, he could have stayed a few days later and just used the inn.

But Meng Wan had other concerns. “Aunt, no matter how much we spend, it’s not as important as Cousin’s exam. As long as he gets through it smoothly, it’s worth every penny.”

Her words touched Chang Jinhua, and she stopped complaining.

Meng Wan added, “When Cousin gets back, should we go buy some ready-made bedding?”

Chang Jinhua quickly said, “That’s too expensive! Buy some cotton and cloth instead. We still have most of the day. I can sew a quilt in no time. The small one we used on the cart can do for tonight. That’ll save us ten or twenty coppers.”

“Alright, that works. I saw a well at the alley entrance. I’ll go fetch two buckets of water.” Otherwise, Song Tingzhou would insist on doing it when he got back. His arm had just scabbed over, and he needed to rest.

Chang Jinhua understood his meaning—he was worried about Song Tingzhou. That was a good sign, and it pleased her. “I saw there are a few wooden buckets and basins in the yard. When you two go buy the cloth, I’ll soak the dirty clothes.”

After traveling so long, none of them had truly rested in one night. Now in a new place, they had to rush to tidy up, and without finishing, they couldn’t settle down.

When Song Tingzhou returned with the luggage, he and Meng Wan went to the fabric shop to buy cloth and cotton. It was indeed half as expensive as in town—ordinary coarse cloth was 220 coppers a bolt. But the colors were vibrant, and there were all sorts of expensive silks and satins on display, dazzling Meng Wan.

They only bought coarse cloth, cotton, and a few needles and thread, a small order. The shop assistant barely acknowledged them, taking a while to fetch their items and settle the bill.

They brought the cloth and thread back, then went to a stall to buy some second-rate pots and bowls. Everything cost money and was expensive. Rice, flour, oil, and grain were all pricier than in Quanshui Town. After half a day out, another two taels had vanished from their purse.

Chang Jinhua sat on the kang, fluffing cotton to make a quilt. Meng Wan washed the clothes she’d soaked, and Song Tingzhou tied a hemp rope in the yard. When Meng Wan finished washing, Song Tingzhou helped hang them up.

They each busied themselves. In the evening, Meng Wan cooked a pot of porridge and stir-fried some cabbage slices, using the leftover firewood in the yard—though there wasn’t much left.

“Tomorrow, we’ll need to ask around where to buy firewood.”