Chapter Six: Going on an Outing

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  Autumn maple, winter snow.

  In the territory of Jiangzhou, there are two famous mountains. One is Fengshan - here refers mainly to the front mountain. To know that Fengshan's overall terrain is vast and continuous, although most places have maple trees growing in forests, but the rugged and deep back mountain area has few tourists visiting, belonging to an undeveloped wilderness area.

  Another mountain is called "Pen Rack Mountain".

  Compared to Maple Mountain, Pen Holder Mountain is much smaller and higher; the mountain is like its name, solitary and alone, just like a standing pen, climbing high and looking far, very suitable for viewing.

  Watching snow scenery.

  Living at the top, looking around the world, seeing white snow fluttering, the vast land is vast, what kind of magnificent emotion is it? Adding that Pen Rack Mountain is not far from the front, the surging and majestic Mirror River rushes eastward, shocking waves hitting the shore, as if injecting soul into the entire landscape, suddenly coming to life.

  When snow falls on the Yangtze River, it's even more magnificent!

  So every year when winter comes, especially when it snows, is the time when tourists flock to Bijiashan like fish.

  This year's first snowfall is particularly heavy.

  In the midst of heavy snowfall, Chen Jianchen was sitting in a comfortable carriage on his way to Bishan Mountain. Accompanying him was the owner of the carriage, named Wang Fu, also known as Futai.

  Wang Fu was also a Xiucai, but his family background far surpassed that of Chen Jianchen, being a landlord class with hundreds of acres of good land, and could be called a rich young master.

  Of course, this rich young master also depends on who he is compared to. Generally speaking, the Wang family was just a landlord of the common people's class, at the level of a rural gentry, and cannot be mentioned in the same breath as those powerful aristocratic families.

  Chen Jianchen and Wang Fu were fellow townspeople, studied in the same private school in their hometown, and coincidentally obtained the title of Xiucai in the same year. They also took the exam together at Minghua Academy in Jiangzhou, thus having a certain camaraderie as classmates.

  Wang Fu, this person, indeed inherited his father's meticulous and calculating personality, but he was not one of those arrogant and bullying young masters who would cheat men and bully women, rarely doing anything to harm the common people, which is quite rare.

  However, Chen Jianchen now has little good impression of him.

  This has nothing to do with family background, it's purely a matter of earthly thinking habits.

  Although the Chen family was poor, Chen Jianchen had been familiar with the Four Books since childhood and was known as a "prodigy". In this world where imperial examinations could change one's fate, this title was very useful. Those who were naturally talented in writing eight-legged essays, no matter how humble their origins, were not to be underestimated by ordinary people, for who knew when the poor boy would pass the imperial examination?

  In ancient China, being an official often meant holding office.

  Time and again, countless examples have proven that when the time comes, it's the poor guy who settles old scores, repays grievances, and returns kindness.

  So, Chen Jianchen and Mo Sanniang have been living a relatively peaceful life all along, rarely having anyone come to their door looking for trouble. And in daily life, they often receive enthusiastic help from their neighbors.

  After Chen Jianchen ranked first in the third trial and became a student of Minghua Academy, the status of the Chen family rose sharply and underwent great changes; while Chen Jianchen was already respectfully called "Mr. Chen" by others.

  In the Tianyun dynasty, the status of scholars was also different. The main standard is age, and scholars under 40 are all "potential stocks" with a significantly higher status; Scholars over 40 have a tendency to go downhill, and by the time they reach their sixties, they become "old scholars".

  What is "old"?

  Eyes dimmed, memory faded, wanting to hold on, it's hard; if old and poor, even more unbearable...

  Chen Jianchen obtained the title of Xiucai at the age of 16, which is not as remarkable as some prodigies who became Xiucai at the age of 12 or 13, but still can be considered a person with "boundless prospects", and naturally becomes an object of admiration for his fellow villagers.

  Within the class, including even those petty-bourgeois landlord elements.

  For example, Wang's family.

  Wang Fu is twenty-nine years old this year. He took the imperial examination ten times before he got the title of "Xiucai". In terms of talent, he was naturally inferior to Chen Jianchen. After entering Minghua Academy, he also had an ordinary "student" qualification. Therefore, he felt it necessary to take advantage of his relationship with Chen Jianchen and establish a good relationship in advance, rather than waiting until the other party's name appeared on the golden list before trying to curry favor, which would be too late.

  Moreover, in this world where transportation is congested, local friendships have always been valued by people.

  King Fuyi set out early in the morning and rushed to Chen Jianchen's home, first presenting a valuable purple sandalwood book holder as a gift, then inviting Chen Jianchen to go to Bishan Mountain to admire the snow.

  That purple sandalwood book box, two feet long and nine inches wide, is exquisitely crafted and easy to carry. Inside, it can hold the four treasures of the study: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. It's a must-have for scholars. As for the purple sandalwood material, its color is deep and rich, with a natural fragrance that repels insects and moths. It's truly a rare and precious item, priceless and hard to come by.

  King's gift was so valuable that it caught Chen Jianchen off guard, and he accepted it with a mix of reluctance and gratitude. He truly liked the new bookcase, and from then on, he could finally get rid of his old, crude wooden one and use it as firewood.

  The book rack is a must-have for scholars traveling outside, its practicality far surpasses that of packages and the like, with advantages such as sturdiness and large capacity. On top of it, there are poles carrying canvas canopies to block out the sun and rain, making it an all-in-one multi-functional item - typically carried by a book boy for scholars of status and position, but Chen Jianchen's current situation forces him to carry it himself.

  For some reason, when he put the inkstone, paper, books, and evil-repelling brush into the book bag and tried to carry it on his back for the first time, he suddenly thought of the classic "A Chinese Ghost Story" where Leslie Cheung played Ning Caichen, who carried a book bag with elegance and nonchalance.

  This purple sandalwood ruler is not large in size, but due to the material, it is very heavy. If Chen Jianchen hadn't practiced, it would be difficult to carry.

  When sending out the book, Wang Fu felt a pang of heartache, but he couldn't find any other more suitable gifts, so he just let it go. As long as he did this favor for Chen Jianchen, he would double his returns when Chen went to high school.

  Unfortunately, he calculated everything, but never expected that there would be such a thing as crossing over in this world.

  If we say that Chen Jianchen's high school had a 50% chance before, now Chen Jianchen only has 1%, it is extremely elusive.

  Inside the carriage was laid with thick and solid brocade, and there were also charcoal fires, which made it very warm. Chen Jianchen and Wang Fu surrounded the charcoal and chatted, talking about some irrelevant trivial matters.

  Ah!

  Wang Jia's coachman, Ashui, suddenly shouted and stopped the running horses, bringing the carriage to a halt.

  "Master, there's a woman lying on the road..."

  "What's going on?"

  Two scholars pushed open the car door curtain and stepped out. Wang Fu was wearing a luxurious fox-fur coat, while Chen Jianchen wore a plain and bulky cotton-padded jacket with a brand new face.

  Outside, the snow is falling heavily, and the ground is covered with a thick layer of snow. By the side of the road, a young woman wearing a red jacket, with disheveled hair, was leaning to one side, her attire suggesting that she might have encountered some unexpected event while going out and had fainted from the cold.

  Wang Fu slightly furrowed his brow, but when he took two steps forward and saw the woman's appearance clearly, he was suddenly electrified, his mind went blank, and his whole body was paralyzed.

  Beautiful, too beautiful!

  The world has such a beautiful color, it's absolutely stunning!

  Wang Xiuzai's eyes widened like a cow's, and in an instant, he only felt dry mouth and tongue, and a surge of evil fire suddenly rose uncontrollably from his lower abdomen, stiffening like a conditioned reflex.

  At this time, Chen Jian also saw the woman's appearance clearly, and a similar sense of surprise arose. However, soon his unusual emotions were thrown aside, replaced by inexplicable doubts and vigilance.