Although there is not much money on both sides of the pharmacy and the Shen family yard, there are a lot of broken silver and copper plates on the counter. Hui Niang and Zhou also have gold and silver jewelry. There are also precious medicinal materials such as "century-old ginseng", "thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum" and "deer antler" in the warehouse.

Why don’t you throw it away? Just throw it away only one decorative box?

Chen Xi thought that even if it wasn't done by Xier, she would have found someone to do it.

If this is true, then she will not be just a fairy woman.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "Is it considered "thieves are also good at stealing"? However, even if I give me another 100 taels of silver in the future, I don't want me to paint for them."

Fortunately, the family did not suffer any losses, so Chen Xi originally wanted to find an opportunity to return the decoration box, but now he took it away by himself, which saved him a lot of trouble.

In the next two days, Chen Xi was at home to do his monthly exam questions. Chen Xi repeatedly considered the two articles and thought about them... In fact, he was just spending time. He occasionally walked around the yard or went around the backyard of the pharmacy and made a meditative look, and no one dared to disturb him.

It was not until June 30 that Chen Xi finished his article and sent it to the Confucianism Department that day.

It was an informal exam. This time, you can open the book and even compare Chengwen to select excellent paragraphs to make a replica version. It took up to three days, and the students who took the exam were all about to take the scholar. The quality of the article was much higher than that of the provincial exam.

Chen Xi did not expect his articles to be outstanding. He was not very concerned about such exams that had nothing to do with his future and destiny. He was very particular about quotations and was simple and easy to understand, and he would not do such a unique thing as writing poems and essays in the eight-legged essays.

After leaving the Confucianism Department, I happened to meet Su Tong and others... However, Su Tong and Zheng Qian made an appointment with a few friends to prepare to relax after the monthly exam.

"Brother Shen, when you see you, I said I would wait a while to call you at your mansion, but I was afraid that you wouldn't finish the article." Su Tong greeted Chen Xi with a smile.

Zheng Qian next to him said, "Brother Su has forgotten that Brother Chen is quick-witted. He appeared on the first time he released the vent. How could such simple topics and articles stump Brother Chen?"

Chen Xi smiled bitterly. I really can't hide even if I want to.

In desperation, he could only accompany Su Tong and others to go to the palace school to hand in the papers. After he came out, Su Tong told him about the plan he had discussed with Zheng Qian and others:

"... First rafting on the Ting River. The midsummer scene is full of wind, and the river is filled with joy. At dusk, the colorful clouds are everywhere, and the tired birds are thinking of returning home. We will go to the teaching office to look for flowers and ask about the moon. Brother Shen, but he said that **** went to paint for Miss Xier, what happened in the end?"

Chen Xidao: "I painted it, but I didn't even drink a cup of tea, so I went home to prepare for the exam."

Su Tong smiled and praised: "Brother Shen, you are so diligent and studious. I have to admire you for your brother... Unfortunately, the older you are, the more you think about it. When I am at my age, it is difficult to calm down and review your books occasionally."

While the group was chatting and laughing, they walked straight towards the Tingjiang Wharf in the city. Su Tong had prepared the boat in advance, so he was waiting to hand over the paper and board the boat for a trip together.

For people like Su Tong, they are already the patriarch of a family with a rich family at the age of only twenty. After their wife is married, they are still planning to take concubines. Even if they fail the exam again and again, they can rely on the houses and land passed down from ancestors to collect rent and lend money to pass on the family business from generation to generation.

If Su Tong is good at learning, it does not mean that he must go to the exam for fame and fortune. Su Tong does not do business and is not a prodigal son. It is difficult to lose his family property in a short period of time.

It can be said that Su Tong had achieved his life goals at the age of 20, and for the remaining decades, he could slowly pursue fame and fortune. Even if he couldn't pursue it, he could still pin his hopes on his son and grandson. He could find friends to have a drink and chat, or even travel around, and have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of his life.

Life goals are different. The two have twice the age difference, and their personal preferences and pursuits are also different. In fact, there is not much common language between Chen Xi and Su Tong.

But Su Tong took the initiative to extend an olive branch to Chen Xi. In addition to wanting to make friends with Chen Xi, he also liked Chen Xi at a young age and might make a difference in the future and make investments earlier.

As for what he did during the party, he would not deliberately accommodate Chen Xi. These young men in their twenties were just talking about the romantic relationship after meeting. With Chen Xi's age, they could not make any comments.

Su Tong was quite sincere in dealing with people. He knew that Chen Xi was afraid of being worried at home, so he sent a servant to the pharmacy to inform him and promised to send Chen Xi back.

But Chen Xi also felt that Su Tong was not very reliable in doing things. From the last time when Jiaofang Sita and Gao Chong started conflicting, he could realize that Su Tong was impulsive and ignored the future.

...

...

The group arrived at Tingjiang Wharf, and there were crowds of people along the way.

Because of the establishment of the Tingzhou Prefecture Chamber of Commerce, the cargo transportation around Tingzhou has become more and more abundant, and the number of ships traveling on the Tingjiang River has also increased.

At this time, the cargo transportation on the dock had been monopolized by Song Xiaocheng's gang members.

Before, the wharf had several conflicts due to snatching territory. The Chamber of Commerce was no longer as easy to talk as before, but with the foundation of money and connections, Song Xiaocheng was much more decisive after several hard work. After several small-scale battles, the "Water Road Gang" on the ground of Tingzhou Prefecture has basically been integrated and governed by Song Xiaocheng.

As for the "Drought Road Gang", because the government is still suppressing, Song Xiaocheng dared not intervene too much, but he also gathered many gang members, preparing to make some achievements after the prefect of Tingzhou and the magistrate of Changting County stepped down.

Although the "Water Road Gang" is all under the name of the Chamber of Commerce, there are still regions on the wharf. The halls under the "Water Road Gang" are in charge of different areas, and the well water between the halls does not interfere with the river water.

As for the surroundings of the wharf, it is also a famous cargo distribution center in the city. There is no distinction between the ruins and the morning market and the evening market. A large number of vendors gather every year all year round.

It was still very annoying for a group of young men wearing glamorous clothes to walk through the crowd. Ordinary businessmen and Lifu had to avoid seeing each other. Nowadays, social class divisions are very clear. If they collide, they can easily be retarded by these young men... The clothes on Su Tong and others are enough for these Lifu to work hard for a month or two, and they are not able to afford it.

On the edge of the dock, a voice shouting to greet guests came: "Tell fortunes, seek good fortune and avoid bad luck, and divine fortune and fortune. Destiny will be determined by heaven, and misfortunes will come soon..."

It was the "blind" Lao Xu who played the three strings for several people in the restaurant that day.

Lao Xu sat on the side of the road with a cloth banner in his hand, with a gray cloth in front of him, and there were vaguely words on it, which were nothing more than the Zhou Yi Bagua that you must learn when telling fortunes. He still pretended to be blind and sat on the side of the road. Even if he shouted loudly, no one would care about it.

This is obviously because the wrong place to set up a stall. The people who come to the dock are not only rushing vendors, but also mostly find a job. Where can I find spare money to tell fortunes? This kind of business is best to set up stalls near Kaiyuan Temple and Tianqing Temple in the city, and at least the money of good men and women is better to make.

"It's really where we meet in life." Su Tong saw Lao Xu from afar and couldn't help but smile. "Brother Shen, why not go over and ask him to tell you the fortune-telling?"

Chen Xi shook his head. He didn't believe this old man's words at first. Now, Old Man is in a dilemma to the pier to set up a stall. Maybe he was hated by the people in the winery because he had privately hiding rewards, so he could only change places to make a living.

Su Tong didn't insist. He was not an ignorant person. The young man with strong energy did not believe in the innate Bagua and Yi principles, so he gave up.

The group walked past the dock and boarded a small boat and entered the cabin.

Su Tong apologized: "The boat is a little crowded. If you see a big boat on the river later, just lean on it and rent it out for money to let you enjoy it."

The cabin was narrow, and after setting off the tea table, it was difficult to surround four people at a table, not to mention that there were as many as nine people in a row.

Two tables were temporarily set up, with some relying on the inside and some relying on the outside, and Su Tong also asked someone to prepare a chess board. These scholars were very interested in playing chess, and they always had to find something to do when they went out to play. It was a good choice to taste tea and play chess, and they could also appreciate the scenery along the river. They did not do any knowledge.

The boat left the dock and began to sail on the river surface. Soon, the boat passed through Changting Shuimen and arrived at the river section outside the city. The river surface gradually became wider.

Su Tong sighed: "I was lucky enough to go to Jiangnan. The wind and moon of Qinhuai and West Lake are really sad. Just talking about the Qinhuai River, the surface of the river is not as wide as the Ting River, but it is full of carved railings and pleasure boats. The jade man sings lightly. If you board a flower boat, you can still live with the beautiful woman, so you can be free and easy."

After Su Tong said this, all the young men were fascinated by leisurely.

The style of Qinhuai has been praised by literati since ancient times, and many people can only appreciate the glitz of Jiangnan from their poems.

At this moment, a large ship descended along the river from the opposite side. Judging from the depth of the draft, it was not a ship carrying cargo, but rather a passenger ship coming and going.

"Boatman, lean over and let's go up and take a look."

It was a two-story building boat with a wide deck. It would be a good thing to stand on the deck to appreciate the scenery of Tingjiang.

As the boat leaned towards the big ship, the big ship had no intention of decreasing at all. Originally, the big ship was going down the river, but suddenly he saw a small boat approaching and hurriedly dodging.

He barely passed by the boat.

"Do you want to die?"

Someone on the boat shouted, and the man looked rough and had no intention of being polite.

Su Tong was originally standing at the bow of the small boat, looking up at the big boat, but almost fell into the river because of the huge waves raised by the big boat.

After barely standing firmly, Su Tong was about to curse back, but Chen Xi pulled the corner of his clothes and whispered: "It's an official boat."

Su Tong immediately stopped talking and could only watch the ship descending along the river.

The direction the ship was heading to should be to enter the city first, and it is unknown where it was going. Su Tong later cursed: "What's so great about the official ship?"

At most, this is to show off. Although the official ship is not necessarily an official, it may be a family member of an official, or it may be an empty ship, it is not something that ordinary people can provoke.

Zheng Qian smiled and advised him: "Brother Su calmed down. We were originally in the wrong, so we should have asked clearly before leaning over the boat. There was a boat over there, and it seemed like a cruise ship, so we went there."

Only then did Su Tong angrily flick his sleeves, his face still a little unwilling.

After going up to inquire about the specific situation of the cruise ship and negotiated the price, the group arrived at the side of the ship, put a ladder down, and everyone went up the ladder.

When I arrived on the big boat, my feet were finally no longer shaking. The big boat was stable and there were special tea and snacks to entertain, which happened to be a cruise ship for the scholars who traveled to Tingzhou Prefecture.

***************

ps: Chapter 3! It is also an additional update for monthly tickets with a total of 15oo tickets!
Chapter completed!