Chapter 255： tea tree township

On the second day, Chun Niang went to the dock early to check. Until noon, there was still no sign of Xiao Chengjun's ship.

By this time, she had understood that the young master of the Xiao family had really left her mother and daughter here.

Chunniang was angry, but for the present she had to find a way to get home.

Ying Bao was not in a hurry and went to the market leisurely with Chen Zhao, eating, drinking and shopping along the way.

Not only did she buy a small charcoal stove and a basket of charcoal, she also bought a lot of local vegetables. At a fair, she met a man carrying a load selling mandarin oranges, so she picked out the ones with ripe yellow skin and bought a large bamboo basket.

Satin mandarins are indeed mandarins, sweet and sour, with a fragrant fragrance.

She collected all the peeled mandarin orange peels and secretly put them in the cave to dry before going back to steam the tangerine peels.

Chunniang was anxious and wanted to go to the county town to hire a carriage to return to her hometown, but Yingbao stopped her.

“Don’t worry, Mom, this is a dock, and there are many merchant ships coming and going. We just need to catch a ship to Qinchuan County, and at the worst we can pay them for the ship,” Ying Bao said.

Chunniang sighed and nodded in agreement, but she would go to the dock every day to stay on guard. Whenever a large merchant ship approached, she would ask if it was passing by Qinchuan County.

After several days of guarding, I didn't encounter a merchant ship that could pass through Qinchuan County, but I saw an acquaintance.

Li Xu, a thin scholar, came to the pier carrying a bookshelf on his back. When he saw Chun Niang sitting under a big tree, he was startled and hurriedly came over to greet her.

“Xiao Sheng has met Aunt Jiang, why are you here alone?”

Chun Niang returned the gift and said with a wry smile: "To be honest, the ship that originally carried us has sailed away. I am here to find a merchant ship going to Qinchuan County to take us back."

Li Xu frowned: "Aunt Jiang, there are very few long-distance large merchant ships berthed at the wharf here. You might as well follow Xiao Sheng and take the ship from my house."

Chun Niang was shocked: "There are very few large merchant ships anchored here?"

Li Xu nodded: "This is a small wharf. It is good if two or three long-distance merchant ships dock within a month. Most of them are short-distance ships carrying passengers here. Xiaosheng's hometown is close to Mingjiang River, and there are quite a few. You may encounter a large merchant ship that goes directly to Qinchuan County."

Chunniang frowned and thought for a while, then said, "I'll go back and discuss it with my daughter."

For the first time in her life, she was alone outside. She had no idea what to do and could only seek advice from her daughter.

Li Xu nodded: "Xiao Sheng is waiting for Aunt Jiang here."

Chunniang responded and hurried to the inn to find her daughter.

Ying Bao and Chen Zhao also just came back from the market. Seeing Chun Niang's anxious face, they quickly asked: "Aniang, what's wrong?"

Chunniang told the story of her encounter with Li Xu.

“Li Xiucai said that there are very few long-distance large ships docking here. He asked us to follow him to his house and look for a transfer ship.”

Yingbao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Then let's go with him."

It is definitely safest for a group of people to follow Li Xiucai, a man of great fame.

 Chen Zhao quickly packed his things when he heard this: "Then let's leave quickly."

She was tired of staying here and wanted to change places.

So Chun Niang and Chen Zhao each carried a basket filled with groceries they purchased one after another.

When he arrived at the dock, he saw that Li Xiucai had found a fishing boat and was negotiating the price with the fishermen.

"To go to Chashu Township in Anyang County, there are too many boats. The boat Xiaosheng hired last time is just one boat."

"We are more than a hundred miles away from the tea tree town, and the waterway is more than a hundred miles away. How can there be more?" The boatman said unconvinced: "Go and ask elsewhere. Are there any prices that are more fair than what I charge?"

Li Xu thought for a while, and turned around to ask other fishing boats.

Seeing that the business was about to run away, the boatman became anxious. He jumped ashore and grabbed Li Xu's back, "Hey, hey, hey, don't go. I haven't finished speaking yet. Let's do it this way. At least it's consistent. You can't." No more.”

Li Xu hesitated for a moment and nodded: "That's good, but Xiaosheng still has three companions, you have to wait a moment." "What? Is there anyone else?" The boatman felt that he was at a disadvantage, but he was afraid that the scholar would go to other boats to inquire. I had no choice but to agree: "Okay, okay, I'll make it clear first, I'll only wait for an hour."

As soon as he finished speaking, a girl's voice was heard: "Li Langjun, we are here!"

Li Xu was very happy to see Ying Bao and bowed to her respectfully: "Little doctor."

Yingbao also returned the greeting: "Thank you, Mr. Li."

“Wherever, let’s get on the boat.”

Li Xu got on the boat first, put down the carrier on his back, and went to help Ying Bao and the others.

When everyone is on board, the fishing boat poles off the dock and goes downstream.

Yingbao sat on the fishing boat and kept observing Li Xu. Seeing that he was still very weak, he coughed from time to time and asked, "Li Langjun, are you feeling better?"

Li Xu said softly: "It's much better, thanks to the doctor's medicine."

“Since it’s much better, why don’t you go and take the exam?”

This year is the year of the rural examination, which is held every three years. As long as Li Xu rushes to the state capital, he should still be able to catch up with the examination in August.

Li Xu shook his head: "The young man didn't know something. He had been ill for several months. Not only was his body exhausted, but his homework was also delayed, so he thought about ending his career in a few years."

In fact, there is another important reason. His travel expenses to the state capital are gone.

The reason why he has money to hire a boat to go home today is because he sold two pills given by the young man and got four coins.

When he did this, he was quite ashamed. After all, the pills were given by the young man, but he sold them to outsiders for double the amount to earn money.

But if he doesn’t sell it, he won’t have the money to return to his hometown, so…

Li Xu glanced at Ying Bao guiltily, covered his mouth and coughed a few times.

“Oh.” Yingbao nodded, seeming to understand.

The fishing boat went with the wind and hung its sail again, traveling very fast.

The waterway of more than a hundred miles was covered in just one day.

Li Xu took Yingbao and others ashore, and it was getting late.

So a few people went to find an inn nearby to stay.

No words all night.

 He checked out of the house before dawn in the early morning, and Li Xu hired an ox cart to take the three of them back to his hometown first.

He wanted to go home and see his old mother first, and then personally send them to the big dock on the other side of Mingjiang River.

While he was ill in Anping County, he also sent a letter back to his hometown, but no one came to pick him up. I don’t know if something happened at home.

A few hours later, the ox cart finally arrived at a small village in Tea Tree Township.

As soon as he entered the village, someone recognized Li Xu and shouted loudly: "Hey! Isn't this the scholar of our village? Did he go to Fucheng to finish the exam? Did he win the imperial examination?"

Li Xu raised his hands to the man and said, "Fourth uncle, I didn't go to Fucheng."

“Didn’t go to Fucheng? Where have you been for so long?”

The middle-aged man known as Fourth Uncle glanced at the bullock cart and said in a fuss: "Hey, why did you bring a wife back? Are you getting married outside?"

Yingbao said coldly to this person: "We are doctors passing by here. Uncle, please don't talk nonsense."

Chunniang also had a dark face and quickly picked up the bamboo hat and put it on.