Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 8 The Honest Young Man

"Mother, I'm not in a hurry. I plan to go to the county town today to tell the instructor, and then we'll set off in a couple of days," Zhou An said.

"Then I'll go hitch up the oxcart right now!"

Zhou Li got up and walked outside.

"Brother, be careful when you're out and about, and never get into any conflicts with anyone."

Madam Hao cautioned, "I've heard that Nanjing is a big city with many powerful and influential people."

"I know, Mother. You know my temperament. When have I ever had a conflict with anyone?" Zhou An said.

"Big brother, I want to go to Jinling too!" Yu Jie'er ran over and pounced on Zhou An's lap.

"You're asking for a beating!"

Madam Hao glared at him and said, "Your older brother went to school, why did he take you with him?"

"Then I want to study too," Yu Jie'er said, blinking.

Although she was six years old, Zhou Li and Hao Shi did not favor boys over girls because they only had one son and one daughter.

Therefore, she did not know the difference between boys and girls studying; she only knew that studying would allow her to go to the county town and to more prosperous places.

"Haha, studying is good!"

Zhou An laughed and said, "Once your sister-in-law marries into the family, she can teach you to read."

"What kind of books does my daughter read?" Madam Hao muttered.

Just as Zhou An was about to say something, Zhou Li, who had just left, returned and brought in a servant-like man.

"Brother, this is Scholar Kang's attendant. He said he's here to see you," Zhou Li introduced.

"Greetings, Scholar Zhou!" Xiao Si bowed respectfully.

Zhou An stood up, puzzled, and asked, "I wonder why Scholar Kang sent you here?"

"My young master is rarely in Qinghe County. In three days, he will be hosting a poetry gathering at Qingfeng Tower to make friends through literature. I have specially sent this humble servant to deliver an invitation to Scholar Zhou!"

As he spoke, Xiao Si took out an invitation from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm going on a long trip soon and I really don't have any free time."

Zhou An said, "Please convey my apologies to your young master!"

He was going to Jinling in three days, so he wouldn't have time to attend any poetry gathering.

Even if he didn't go, he wouldn't bother attending such gatherings.

Don't assume that just because many ancient poems have been passed down to later generations, and anyone who has read a book can recite a few lines of Tang and Song poems, that the ancients really enjoyed writing poetry.

Yes, the ancients did enjoy writing this kind of thing, but it was mostly for cultivating their character and venting their emotions.

People who are truly focused on their studies during their school years rarely write this kind of thing.

The great poet Su Shi only started writing lyrics when he was nearly forty; he had no time to study these things before that.

Therefore, poetry gatherings and such events are all just things that scholars organize to appear cultured.

"This…"

Xiao Si was clearly surprised that Zhou An would refuse. He was stunned for a moment, then had no choice but to say goodbye and leave.

Zhou An didn't take the matter seriously. After his father hitched up the oxcart, he went to the county town to find Lu Wang and tell him his plans.

Lu Wang was very pleased to learn that Zhou An was preparing to set off in the next few days. He took out the letter he had written to his classmate and handed it to Zhou An, and even introduced the other party's identity.

Zhou An was somewhat surprised after hearing this, because Lu Wang, who was the same age as him, was actually a member of the Jiang Ninghai family.

The Hai family of Jiangning boasts five members who have passed the imperial examinations, making them one of the most distinguished and prestigious families in the Zhou Dynasty.

Sheng Changbai's future wife, Hai Chaoyun, is the eldest daughter of the Hai family.

Zhou An didn't know what relationship Lu Wang, who was the same age as Hai Chaoyun, had with Hai Chaoyun's father, but after calculating their ages, he figured it was unlikely that Lu Wang was Hai Chaoyun's father.

He didn't ask too many questions, chatted with Lu Wang for a while, and then said goodbye and left.

After leaving the county school, Zhou An met up with his father, who was waiting outside, and suggested that they go and take a look at the house that Sheng Wei had given him.

Zhou Li was reluctant, but when Zhou An suggested that there were still servants arranged by Sheng Wei in the house, and he planned to take one of them to Jiangling, he immediately changed his mind.

He was indeed a little worried about Zhou An going on a long trip alone. He would feel more at ease if Zhou An brought an attendant with him.

…………

Although Tongzhou is not located on the Grand Canal, it is situated on the banks of the Yangtze River, and its waterways are highly developed, allowing direct access to both the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River.

On this day, a covered boat was drifting downstream on an inland river that was seven or eight meters wide.

Zhou An sat listlessly at the bow of the boat, watching the reeds along the riverbank and the water birds that occasionally took flight.

The warm sun shone on me, making me feel a little drowsy.

"Young master, we're almost at Tongzhou Wharf," Jiang Fan reminded him.

Jiang Fan was one of the servants Sheng Wei kept in the house. He was twenty years old, with an honest face, but he was also quite clever.

When he was with the Sheng family, he had accompanied Sheng Wei to the surrounding counties of Qinghe County, so he was quite knowledgeable.

Zhou An took him with him on his trip to Jinling to study.

"Hmm~"

Zhou An rubbed his eyes, sat up straight, and noticed that there were more boats nearby.

Looking ahead, you can see many boats moored at the dock in the distance.

However, this is an inland river dock, and most of the boats are small or medium-sized.

They needed to disembark here and then go to the Yangtze River dock to take a boat to Nanjing.

As the boat slowly approached the shore, Jiang Fan paid the fare and disembarked with Zhou An, carrying his luggage.

"Please wait a moment, young master, I'll go and hire a carriage."

Jiang Fan was very efficient. He soon found an oxcart. After the two got on, the driver drove the cart to Tongzhou City.

The dock wasn't far from Tongzhou City. After entering the city, they found a place to have a simple lunch and went straight to the Yangtze River dock without wandering around.

I found out that the passenger ships to Nanjing all depart in the morning.

Although boats can travel at night, they will reduce their speed for safety reasons.

If you depart from Tongzhou to Jinling, you can normally arrive in the afternoon if you leave in the morning. Even if there are some unforeseen circumstances, you will arrive in the evening.

But if we leave in the afternoon, we won't get there until midnight.

However, they were lucky; although it was past noon, they found a cargo ship bound for Nanjing.

Zhou An didn't want to stay in Tongzhou for another day, so he chose to take a cargo ship.

The cargo ship was already loaded with goods; if Zhou An and his group had been any later, the ship would have already set off.

Therefore, after the master and servant boarded the ship, they were placed in a room in the cabin, and soon the ship set sail.

The room wasn't big, but it was fairly tidy. After Zhou An felt the ship was stable, he was about to open the window to look at the scenery when there was a knock on the door.

Jiang Fan went to open the door and led in a boy who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old with an honest face.

"Young master, the boat has entered the river. You can go out of the cabin, but there may be rough seas tonight, so it's best to stay inside," the young man said nervously.

"Thank you for your trouble!" Zhou An smiled and nodded.

"You're too kind, young master."

Seeing that Zhou An was gentle and kind, the young man relaxed a bit, said he would let him know when it was time for dinner, and then left.

"Let's go for a walk!" Zhou An said.

"yes!"

Jiang Fan followed behind, and after leaving the cabin, he closed the door. The two, master and servant, went out of the cabin and came to the bow of the ship.

Looking at the vast Yangtze River, much of the frustration from the journey dissipated.

The scenery is even more breathtaking when the sunset appears at dusk.

"Young master, the meal is ready!"

The previous honest and simple-minded man has come through.

"Please lead the way!" Zhou An said with a smile.

Taking a cargo ship is cheaper than a passenger ship, but the conditions are much worse.

When they boarded the ship, they told Zhou An that they would not be provided with special meals, and that Zhou An and his servants would eat whatever they ate.

The kind-hearted young man led Zhou An and his companion to a place to eat, but they didn't see anyone else around.

Zhou An learned that there were four people on the boat. His elder brother and another boatman were to steer, while his sister-in-law had gone to deliver food, leaving them to eat on their own.

Zhou An casually asked, "May I ask how I should address you, young man?"

The honest-looking young man scratched his head and said, "My name is Shi Qiang, you can just call me Shi Tou."