Heavenly Dao Formula

"Brother Xia, what do you think?" Seeing that he didn't respond, Wei Wushuang couldn't help asking.

Xia Fan smiled slightly, "I was thinking, instead of guessing randomly, it's better to ask someone who knows."

"Huh? Who would know?"

He raised his hand and beckoned to the waiter in the store, "Xiaoer, please come here!"

"Hey, come on!"

Xia Fan tilted his head, "Look, someone who knows is here."

Wei Wushuang couldn't help opening his mouth wide, and asked in surprise, "Do you think... the waiter in this teahouse can know the inside story of Shi Kao?"

"Actually, I was very surprised at the beginning. Why is there a hotel and a teahouse in the center of a remote village built on the mountainside?" He put down his teacup and slowly expressed his doubts, "It is neither close to the big city nor close to the city. It’s on a major traffic road, if it’s not for the scholar’s ​​examination, who would come here to shop and stay overnight? No one in this world would be willing to do a purely loss-making business.”

"Uh..." Wei Wushuang was also stunned, "What you said seems to make sense."

"Look at the blue brick floor. It's been decades at least. It doesn't look like it was built temporarily. The reason why this shop can last for so long must be supported by other sources of income. I don't care about book profits and losses. I'm willing to Who do you think is the one who invested money in such a place?"

"Could it be...the Privy Council responsible for holding the examination? But even so, what does it have to do with the waiter?" Wei Wushuang was still puzzled.

"The scientific examination only needs a paper and a pen, and the martial arts examination only needs an open space and weapons. There are basically no restrictions on the location of the two. As for the scholar's examination, you can't just find a place, right? Otherwise, the Privy Council will not I will go to great lengths to gather everyone to this remote town." Xia Fan coaxed, "After all, in terms of office and administrative costs, going to a big city is always the best option, which is why the two exams are the last one. The reason why they are all set in Gyeonggi."

"Administrative... cost?" The fellow villager repeated with difficulty.

"Hey, don't worry about the words, you can understand it as the difference between the cost and the profit needed to hold one time." He stretched out two fingers, "In short, it is not difficult to deduce two points from the above. It must be unique, the number should not be too much; and to maintain such an examination room, it needs a steady supply of money."

"Although the Privy Council is extremely important, they can't spend money indiscriminately. They have kept Qingshan Town alive for a long time, and they must not be just for this exam. In other words, there should have been many scholar exams held here." Xia Fan In the end, he concluded, "If Xiao Er is a local, then he should have experienced similar battles."

Wei Wushuang was speechless for a moment.

"Guest officers, what orders do you have?" During the discussion, the waiter also came to their table.

Xia Fan ordered braised beef first, then changed the subject, pretending to be casual and asked, "By the way, how long have you been in this teahouse?"

"Guest officer, I have been running errands here since I was a child, at least for more than ten years." Xiaoer replied enthusiastically.

"The usual business should not be so hot, right?"

"You're right. The last time I was this busy was about five or six years ago."

"The people who came here were also people like us?" Wei Wushuang asked hastily.

The other party smiled, but did not answer immediately.

Xia Fan came to a sudden, it seems that this is a lot of experience... He coughed twice and pointed to his waist.

Wei Wushuang was stunned for a moment before he realized it. He took out a half-dime from his pocket and put it on the table.

Xiao Er suddenly smiled, and took the money with a slight sweep of his sleeve, "It should be about the same. I remember that the topics they talked about were all about scholar examinations, spells, etc. Of course, I don't know the specifics."

Wei Wushuang immediately became excited, "Then do you know the content of their assessment?"

The other party shut up again.

This time there is no need to remind, the fellow countryman has already pushed another Yinjiao into his hands.

"Honestly speaking, I don't know very well." Xiaoer said happily, "I dare not touch the things they said. And most of those people are active late at night, and they even go to the back of the mountain. It's too late for everyone to avoid it. How could I go up and ask about it? If anyone in the town knows, it’s probably just a few old hunters. It is said that someone invited them to be guides at that time, and they earned more than ten taels of silver in one night.”

When Wei Wushuang was about to put on his pocket again, Xia Fan held him down, "Okay, you can go to work."

"Okay!" The shop waiter responded.

"Wait, I still want to..."

"Look around." Xia Fan interrupted Wei Wushuang.

Only then did the latter realize that several tables of people had noticed the situation here. Although they still pretended to be eating and drinking, their glances were obviously much more frequent.

"Xiaoer, this way!" Seeing the waiter turn around, a table of people immediately shouted.

"Look, there's no need to spend all the money on this." Xia Fan picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth, "Since other people are willing to pay this money, it's better to give them the opportunity, as long as we can make sure that the It’s not the first time that the scholar’s ​​examination is held, so it’s the same for everyone. Besides, if we can think of this, the Privy Council must also be able to think of it. If the invigilator does not prohibit us from communicating with the locals, then we must be sure that we will not leak the questions in advance. Ask more questions Otherwise, it may be detrimental to us.”

Wei Wushuang frowned and thought for a while, then raised his head suddenly, "You mean money and silver?"

"Ten taels of silver is not too little, but it is by no means too much." Xia Fan nodded. Converted according to the purchasing power of grain, a tael of silver in this era is about five hundred yuan. Twelve taels of cash is a huge sum of money for him and cheap master, but it is just a drop in the bucket for the disciples of the big family. "Why you can only carry this amount before entering the town, I'm afraid it has something to do with the exam. Didn't that person mention it just now? Hiring a local guide costs more than a dozen taels of silver, which is enough for several people to pool together Number of."

"This... is something I didn't expect." Wei Wushuang sighed after a long time, "I wonder who is the master of Xiongtai?"

"Expert?" Xia Fan couldn't help but see the image of a cheap master—a middle-aged uncle who tells everyone that your seal is black, and I can solve your problems for you. If you can’t make it all up, you still need the disciples to fill it up first, do you have any misunderstandings about the master?”

"But Xiongtai's insight really amazes me. I have been in shops since I was a child, and I think I am quite sensitive to money, but it is still much worse than you." Wei Wushuang admired, "If it wasn't for the reason of respecting the teacher, then you must have Traveled to many places."

Xia Fan couldn't help laughing, he had indeed stayed in many places with Master Cheap, but it was by no means wandering, but wandering aimlessly.

If you count the experience of the two lives, there will be more.

It's just that he naturally wouldn't tell the other party these things.

In addition, the teahouse was not the only place where Xia Fan noticed something strange.

Like the reaction of the locals.

There are at most one or two hundred residents in Qingshan Town, and there are as many as four hundred candidates. If a large group of outsiders flood into this closed place, it will inevitably bring conflicts and defenses. But after walking around, he found that the behavior of the locals was a little too natural, doing what they should do, and even greeted the candidates, as if... they were used to such things.

"Is your family running a shop?"

"The Big Bowl Grain Shop is my store." Wei Wushuang replied.

"Pfft," Xia Fan almost choked. Isn't this the grain store with the best business in Fenghua County? Moreover, the store will occasionally distribute some porridge for relief, and Master often goes to take advantage of it. Those who can open a grain store in Qiguo, even if they are not from aristocratic families, are not ordinary merchants and hawkers.

"Brother, have you met?"

It's strange if you haven't seen it, but it's the most central location in the county. Xia Fan rolled his eyes at him, and in his heart he had classified him as an enemy of the bourgeoisie, "Well, it is."

"Hey, when the doctoral examination is over, I will definitely treat Brother Xia to have a good meal in Fenghua County."

"No, this one meal is enough." Xia Fan stood up and cupped his hands at him, "Thank you."

"...Wait, wait," Wei Wushuang didn't react for a moment, "You don't want to be with me—"

"Cooperate?" He shook his head, "Actually, you are right in one point. The advantages of those sects and aristocratic disciples are far greater than those of retail investors. Even if they can pass the scholar's examination, their rankings will not be too high. Therefore, for you, the best A good choice is to fail intentionally—whether you enter the Privy Council will have little effect on you, and because you failed the assessment, your father should have nothing to say. When you return to Fenghua County, you are still the second young master of your family, and you will live and eat for the rest of your life. Worry-free, at least it is much better than being assigned to a certain town and eventually dying of a certain evil."

"So hurry up and go home—" Xia Fan waved his hands at this point, "Isn't it good to be a rich second generation with a dull life?"

He could see that Wei Wushuang didn't have the determination to pass the scholar's examination.

The latter's face flushed visibly.

For a moment, he thought that the other party would become angry and yell at him, but in the end Wei Wushuang endured it.

This is not common, Xia Fan secretly praised - boys from the age of fifteen to adulthood value face the most, and they can lose everything, but face cannot be lost. However, while the other party was not convinced, he faced up to his own heart.

After a while, Wei Wushuang said, "What about you? It's as difficult for you to get a good ranking as me. Aren't you afraid?"

"Who said that, I care about my own life."

"Then why..."

"Because of ignorance." Xia Fan sighed softly.

"Ignorance?" Wei Wushuang was full of surprise, he really couldn't connect the person in front of him with ignorance.

Because I don't know anything about this new world, I want to learn more about it. Xia Fan knew that the sense of disobedience in his heart came from the opposition between reality and common sense, and from the feedback from the unfamiliar environment. It would be fine if he was just an ordinary person in his life, but he happened to be talented, and paying off the debt for the cheap master was just an introduction. Even if such a thing didn't happen, he would take this step sooner or later. As the Privy Council that manages all visions, it is undoubtedly an ideal platform.

What's more, for him who has received systematic education, seeking knowledge and solving doubts has become an instinct carved into his soul.

But even if these things are said, people in this world probably won't be able to understand them.

He waved his hand, turned and walked outside.

The one-year period has come, Ermu Xiaoxiao is back again!

The background of the new book is oriental fantasy, alternate history. Ask for collection, please recommend!