Chapter 88 Drunk Behavior
The county examination that lasted for more than ten days finally came to an end. In this most basic examination, most of the students and scholars failed. More than a thousand people In the end, only about 150 students and scholars passed.
Zhu Pingan was always on the top list from the first to the last game.
I still remember that when the results were released in the last exam, my uncle Zhu Shouren and others were dumbfounded. If three fellow villagers had not also passed the county exam, they would have made trouble with the county magistrate. Even so, a few people still shouted that the county magistrate was unfair, why they were only ranked second in the list of poets and books, but Zhu Ping'an, a foodie who was bitten by snakes and heard the singing of birds, was ranked first.
After the results of the county examination were released, those who stayed in the inn were all students and scholars who were ranked in high school. There was no deer singing banquet in the county examination, so these people celebrated by themselves in the inn. There was a lot of poetry and wine in the inn, and students and scholars were dissolute, drinking and singing, just like we had finished the college entrance examination.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and several people from his hometown sat at the same table, congratulating the three of them on passing the county examination. They were drunk and discussed about setting off to the prefecture and county tomorrow with a bit of drunkenness.
Zhu Pingan was sitting alone at the table by the window in the lobby, and was vaguely ostracized by everyone. No one in the lobby thought that Zhu Pingan's talents could pass the county examination. Even though everyone would be slapped in the face every time the results were announced, but Still willing to stick to his point of view.
Probably this is the disdain between literati.
The government examination was held in April, and it is now the end of February. Plus the time on the road, there is no time to go home.
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but miss his family at this moment, his dull father, his fierce and protective mother, his honest eldest brother, and even the hero of the family - the big black cow.
The inn was filled with the smell of wine, and the students and scholars who used to care about image no longer cared about image or image. They all drank with their tongues and sleeves raised.
"Come, come, come, our top talents, let's drink this cup together."
A swaying fellow countryman came over carrying a jug of wine and gave it to Zhu without any explanation. Ping An poured a glass of wine.
Zhu Ping'an raised his head and glanced at him. Before the words were spoken, the man continued with a big tongue:
"If you don't drink this glass of wine, you are looking down on me."
Why should I think highly of you? Zhu Pingan really wanted to say this, but he couldn't say it out loud as more than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at him.
No matter how cunning you are, it will be useless in front of this group of drunk people.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and other villagers also came over with wine glasses and looked at him eagerly.
That's it
Zhu Ping'an had no choice but to pick up the wine glass and drink it all in one gulp. Although he could spit the wine into his sleeve while wiping his mouth, but when he thought that this robe belonged to his mother, Mrs. Chen, It's sewn with stitches and threads, so I can't bear to do it.
It was helpless at the Mountain Temple, forget it here, it would just be a drunken moment.
Seeing Zhu Pingan finish his wine, other onlookers gathered around him like wild wolves that smelled blood. It was probably jealousy and revenge. Everyone wanted to get Zhu Pingan drunk and make him look ugly.
Don’t talk about the low alcohol content of fermented wine in the Ming Dynasty. It’s still too much for so many people to drink one cup at a time. Besides, my body is only thirteen years old now, so I can’t drink much wine.
Zhu Pingan is not a person with a good face. When everyone was around, Zhu Pingan felt that his head was stuffy. In order to avoid being drunk into a puddle, he simply lay on the table and pretended to be drunk.
“This is where the skills stop.”
"The capacity to drink is so small"
"Not worthy of being a man"
The fellow student and scholar insulted Zhu Ping'an who was lying on the table, and then left in low spirits, each catching his opponent. They started drinking together, and in the end, everyone got very drunk and acted ugly.
There are those who imitate the ancients and openly say that they are showing off their books;
There are also those who are big-tongued and brag shamelessly that they alone account for three thirds of the world's talents;
There were even some people who made some speeches as if they had won the first prize, saying that everything was taught well by His Majesty. They really felt like they had won the first prize in the imperial examination;
Of course, they also uttered truths and muttered after drinking. He said that the county magistrate was short-sighted and ordered a foodie who was bitten by a snake and heard the song of a bird to be the first choice, but he didn't realize that he was full of food. Economics, confusion, really confusion
The inn owner and waiters are worried about these drunken scholars and students. These have all passed the county examination. Who knows who will win in the future? Scholars and even candidates did not dare to dampen the interest of these people, so they had no choice but to watch them go crazy with alcohol, leaving a large area on the table and floor drunk.
"Please prepare a bucket of hot water."
A sound came, shocking the worried boss and the waiter.
Wasn't that the young man who was drunk by everyone at the beginning? Why did he act like a normal person again? He even left dozens of money for meals on the table.
Fucheng is different from the county town. From Huaining County to Anqing Prefecture, you need to cross two counties to get there. Early the next morning, uncle Zhu Shouren and others hired two carriages to prepare for the journey.
Before departure, the uncle went to Zhu Ping'an's woodshed. He just stood at the door and refused to enter, fearing that the woodshed would hinder his luck in taking the exam.
"Xie'er, have you packed your luggage? We are about to set off." Uncle Zhu Shouren stood at the door and asked.
"Excuse me, uncle, please wait a moment." Zhu Pingan answered while packing his things, "Uncle, please come in and use some tea."
Uncle Zhu Shouren naturally refused. He was joking. He was just cannon fodder in the firewood shed, so how could he enter it?
"Xie'er, we need to raise the cost of the carriage together. The journey is long, and each person needs half a tael of silver." Uncle Zhu Shouren waited for Zhu Ping'an to come out and said.
Zhu Pingan was carrying his luggage. When he heard this, he glanced at his uncle Zhu Shouren and asked quietly, "I heard what my uncle and other uncles and brothers said yesterday. They said that they were bargaining with the coachman. Madams can do it." A hundred coins are cheap, maybe it’s a pig’s ear That's wrong."
Uncle Zhu Shouren seemed to be just waking up from a hangover, and sighed with emotion: "Uncle was so drunk yesterday that he forgot about this."
Uncle didn't notice at all. Sorry, I'm so open-minded.
Zhu Ping'an naturally didn't say anything clearly. He had already prepared the four hundred coins and handed them to his uncle. He expressed his gratitude to the uncle for his hard work in preparing the carriage.
Seven people squeezed into two carriages. It was not too crowded, but the journey was too boring. The carriage space was small, and the uncle and others were full of irritating sounds along the way.
The carriage stopped and went. When the uncle and others saw the mountains and rivers, they were all inspired by poetry. Then they got off the carriage and wrote a few poems that didn't sound good enough. Everyone complimented each other for a few words before they finished. This delayed a lot of time.
I was traveling during the day and staying at night, either in an inn, a temple or a farmhouse. Although there were some twists and turns, it was not a big deal. I kept walking for five days before finally arriving at Anqing Mansion. (End of this chapter)