I studied abroad in modern times

The words of the old man driving the cart made Huang Yu, who got on the cart later, fall silent.

Zheng Fa did not speak either, leaving only the sound of the old man's long whip crackling in the wind.

After a quiet and rapid journey, the ox cart arrived in Jingzhou City an hour later.

The inside and outside of the city seemed to be two different worlds.

The scenery outside the city was a large expanse of farmland, open, comfortable but desolate.

The only living people that could be seen occasionally were the one or two farmers bending over to work in the fields.

Although Jingzhou City was large, the dense flow of people on the street made it seem cramped and crowded.

The three of them were probably walking on the main road of Jingzhou City.

There were shops on both sides of the road, and many people came to stroll around.

The mighty and majestic Danzhu cattle, which traveled thousands of miles a day, could only squeeze in the crowd here aggrievedly, like a kitten, pacing forward timidly.

Huang Yu also came to life at this time. He sat on the car, holding the guardrail, and stretched his neck to look at the shops on both sides.

The greasy sweet smell in the snack shop made him swallow his saliva.

The small things sold in the grocery store made him unable to move his eyes away.

The ladies of noble families lingering in the silk and satin shop made him secretly look at them. He dared to look back and take a few more glances after they walked away.

When he recovered from the excitement of entering the city, he found that Zheng Fa was sitting steadily beside him. Although he was also looking at the bustling streets on both sides with a smile, he was not as excited as him.

As if sensing his gaze, Zheng Fa turned his head and looked at him curiously.

Huang Yu coughed lightly and sat upright.

Zheng Fa smiled at him, and a look of shame and anger flashed across Huang Yu's face.

...

The ox cart passed through the street and headed towards the west city.

"There has always been a saying in Jingzhou City that the rich in the east and the noble in the west, and the merchants in the south and the humble in the north. Our Zhao family is in the most prestigious West City." The old man driving the cart said proudly.

Sure enough, the further west you go, the fewer pedestrians there are.

But this place is by no means desolate.

On the contrary, there are continuous deep courtyards with strict gates, and ordinary people dare not wander here at all.

Huang Yu, who was a little excited just now, now has a bit of trepidation on his face.

After walking for another half an incense stick of time, they came to a courtyard.

It's called a courtyard, but in fact it can be said to be a continuous, magnificent and vast building complex.

From the street, they can't even see where the end of the white courtyard wall in front of them is.

Huang Yu was already amazed by the many wealthy families he passed by just now, but when he saw this one, he still opened his mouth wide and showed deep admiration on his face.

At the main entrance of the courtyard, there stood two lions more than two people tall, looking down at the passers-by with arrogant eyes.

The plaque at the door reads "Zhao Mansion".

The oxcart did not stop at the main gate, but bypassed the main gate, then the corner gate, and finally stopped at an inconspicuous back door.

"Are you here?"

A middle-aged man who looked like a servant was already waiting at the door. When he saw the old man driving the cart, he immediately urged him: "Hurry up! The steward is waiting! We are waiting for them!"

"Aren't they the farthest away?"

The man waved his hand to signal Zheng Fa and the others to follow: "In my opinion, these two are just here to make up the numbers."

The old man did not refute, but just snorted: "Madam said that everyone of this age in the family should come, how dare you leave one behind?"

"Ah, I told you!"

Neither of them avoided Huang Yu and the others when they spoke.

Huang Yu seemed to find it harsh and opened his mouth as if he wanted to refute.

But he looked up at the high courtyard wall, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face, and he kept silent again.

But his expression became even more uncomfortable. He shrank his head and moved with restraint, as if he dared not lift his feet when walking.

He turned his head to look at Zheng Fa beside him, but found that this person seemed not to have heard what he said, and even looked around leisurely, as if he was very curious.

"What are you pretending for?" Zheng Fa heard Huang Yu muttered in a low voice, and saw him straighten his back secretly from the corner of his eye.

Zheng Fa looked at the small expression on Huang Yu's face that changed from time to time, and guessed a little bit of the boy's thoughts.

Whether it was Jingzhou City or Zhao's compound, he had never seen it before. To be honest, he was not without excitement in his heart.

But compared with when he first arrived in modern times, this excitement was a little less.

What's more, he had seen high-rise buildings with his own eyes.

He had also seen this kind of deep courtyard on TV.

Now when he stepped into this courtyard, his mentality was not so much inferiority as novelty.

It felt like he had come to a tourist attraction.

Compared with Huang Yu, he naturally seemed calmer.

…

The servant led the two to a beautiful lotus pond. At the end of the lotus pond was a waterside pavilion.

“This is the second study room in the mansion. You two go over there!” He pointed to the main entrance of the waterside pavilion and said to the two without moving forward.

Huang Yu followed Zheng Fa from the plank road on the lake to the entrance of the waterside pavilion.

He found that dozens of teenagers of the same age as them were standing in front of the door.

When they saw the two of them, the teenagers first looked them up and down.

Then they ignored the two of them unanimously, and almost surrounded them in groups of three or two, with almost no reaction.

Huang Yu gritted his teeth secretly on the side.

Zheng Fa saw that these people were all competitors for the position of book boy.

At this time, if they greeted them with fear or even malicious attitude.

It would be more satisfying for Huang Yu than ignoring them.

But after taking a closer look at these young men, Huang Yu showed a trace of dejection on his face, as if he was ashamed of himself and lowered his head.

Let's talk about clothing.

Zheng Fa was wearing old coarse cloth clothes.

Huang Yu was of course better, wearing clothes made by his mother with new cloth, but the material was also rough and hard.

Many of the young men here wore silk clothes, and even if they were not silk, they wore neat Confucian robes.

This was something Huang Yu's family could not afford.

This was not enough to make him give up all hope, after all, the position of a book boy was not determined by family background.

But the turbans on the heads of the three people at the door really made him unable to have any idea of ​​competition.

After several years of elementary school, he already knew that only scholars who had obtained the title of Tongsheng could wear turbans openly.

The dress of these three people had clearly shown that they were already people with official titles...

It was precisely because of this that Huang Yu was truly desperate in his heart, and finally understood what the old man said:

What if I have studied for a few years in elementary school?

His elementary school teacher was just an old student...

Now, the breath he had been holding since he got on the ox cart seemed to have a hole in it, leaking out bit by bit.

He looked at Zheng Fa, who still looked calm, but he was no longer disgusted.

He even felt a little sympathy.

He was already suffering so much.

Zheng Fa was dressed worse than himself and had less education than himself.

It should be...more painful, right?

Zheng Fa felt the kindness in the boy's eyes and felt a little puzzled: he hadn't said a word, why did he look at him so kindly?

As for the pain...

To be honest, Zheng Fa didn't know what a turban was.

It seemed that he was waiting for Zheng Fa and the others. As soon as they arrived, the tightly closed door in front of the boy opened, and a male servant came out and said to everyone: "Line up and enter one by one!"

Inside the door, dozens of desks were arranged in rows, with pens, inkstones, paper and inkstones on them.

Zheng Fa took a deep breath and felt like he was back in the monthly exam. Not only did he not feel panic, he even had a familiar sense of security.