Chapter 46

The river breeze blew incessantly.

Lin Qianqian lowered her head, her eyes blinking rapidly.

Lin Yanchao smoothed the hair on Qianqian's forehead that had been blown by the river breeze, wanting to give her a farewell kiss or a handshake, but in this era, such actions would be shocking and invite criticism, so he decided against it.

After suppressing the words in his heart for a while, Lin Yanchao was about to speak when Hou Zhongshu ran over and said, "Brother Chao, Brother Chao, the boat has arrived."

Lin Yanchao nodded and said, "Qianqian, I'm leaving."

Two tears slid down Lin Qianqian's cheeks, splashing on the ground and breaking into eight pieces. Lin Yanchao seemed to hear the sound of the tears breaking, pattering and pattering.

"Study hard, don't worry about home," Lin Qianqian choked out, turning her head away.

"Okay," Lin Yanchao said, then turned and left.

The boat waiting for Lin Yanchao at the dock was a donation boat from the river station. This time, Lin Yanchao also experienced the taste of using public resources for personal use, not a car, but a boat.

The patrol officer on the boat, who was a subordinate of Lin Gaozhu, bowed to Lin Yanchao and said, "Young master, please."

Climbing onto the boat via the gangplank, Lin Qianqian covered her face and turned away. Lin Yanchao also felt a sense of parting, and he waved goodbye to Lin Qianqian, Hou Zhongshu, and Zhang Haoyuan, who had come to see him off.

Hou Zhongshu, carefree, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Brother Chao, when you make it big, don't forget us!"

"Got it," Lin Yanchao waved his hand.

Zhang Haoyuan also walked over, cupping his hands around his mouth and said, "Yanchao, take care!"

The boatman raised the sail, and the boat sailed down the river, gradually moving away from Hongtang Township.

The three people on the shore ran a few steps, and Lin Yanchao saw Lin Qianqian tiptoeing, trying to make herself taller, waving her hand.

Lin Yanchao waved back with all his strength, then entered the cabin. Gradually, the figures of Lin Qianqian and Hou Zhongshu on the dock became increasingly blurry and indistinct.

"Young master, is this your first time leaving home? Cry out loud, don't be embarrassed," the patrol officer, who was escorting Lin Yanchao, said with a smile while looking at the river scenery.

Lin Yanchao turned to the patrol officer and said, "Leaving home is nothing, I am a scholar, and scholars travel the world, a tradition passed down from Confucius. What sadness is there to speak of?"

The patrol officer gave a thumbs up and said, "I didn't expect you to have such great aspirations, young master. You are indeed a scholar. I come to Hongtang Township every few days, so if you have any letters for home, just entrust them to me."

"Thank you."

"Ah, young master, no need to be so polite."

Lin Yanchao stood at the bow of the boat, the long sleeves of his robe flapping in the river breeze. The Min River was vast. The river was filled with fishing boats, which moved slowly and were narrow at the front and wide at the back, resembling ducks swimming in the water. In the local dialect, these small boats were called duck boats.

The donation boat from the river station was an old Fuchuan ship, retired from the county maritime defense office. Although the old Fuchuan ship was old and could no longer sail the sea, it was large and could cut through the waves on the Min River. As it sailed, the fishing boats along the river saw the official boat and made way. The old fishermen on the fishing boats could tell at a glance whether it was an official boat, a merchant ship, or a civilian boat by the direction of the dragon's head on the bow.

The old Fuchuan ship turned at the river mouth and sailed down the Wulong River. Although Hongtang and Lianpu were both on the large island in the middle of the Min River, one was at the upstream head and the other at the downstream tail. The water route was much faster than the land route.

As they approached Lianpu, the river widened and there were more boats.

The sea ships returning to the port had tall sails, swaying left and right in the wind, but they avoided the river patrol boats flying the flags of the maritime defense office from a distance. The Lian family boats, three or four of them, were moored along the riverbank, where the Lian people lived, born, and died.

"Look, young master, that's a Ryukyu ship from the Rouyuan Post!"

The patrol officer on the boat pointed to the distance, and Lin Yanchao saw a large sea ship indeed sailing in the middle of the river, a tribute ship from Ryukyu. The ship sailed downstream, and in a moment, the two ships passed each other. After a long while, the boat arrived at the dock outside Lianpu Village.

The lunar eighth and ninth months were the time of the spring tide, when fish and shrimp entered the port, making it the season of abundant fish.

The dock was crowded with fishing boats, and dead fish and shrimp were washed onto the dock by the rising tide, rising and falling. As the boat reached the shore, the smell of fish filled his nose. He couldn't help but think, is this the place favored by the god of literature? It doesn't seem to match his understanding at all.

After getting off the boat, Lin Yanchao, carrying a heavy book basket and luggage, walked step by step among the fishermen.

The stone path leading from the river dock was only wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side, called a palm street. In the middle was a narrow walkway, and on both sides were shops lined up.

The path was already difficult to walk, and it was made even narrower. Lin Yanchao was surrounded by people, and the fishermen and porters, with dark skin and large hands and feet, carried large bamboo baskets of fresh fish and oysters past him. There were many fish and oyster shops on the dirt road.

Fish and oyster shops were wholesale markets for fish and oysters.

The fish and oyster shops were separated by firewalls, with stone beasts on the roof ridges. The doors were open, and people came and went. The shops had three street-facing rooms, with a row of sliding doors, giving them a grand appearance. Some counters were separated by wooden grilles, with two small openings, similar to today's bank counters.

The fishermen and porters carried the fish and oysters through the crowd, one basket at a time, into the shops.

The clerks in short shirts did not act arrogantly but helped carry the goods, then began to count them. The shopkeepers in long robes were using abacuses, and the fishermen's net leaders were smiling and speaking loudly, "Old shopkeeper, the oysters this year are especially large, give us a good price!"

The other fishermen and porters also chimed in, "Old shopkeeper, fishermen are poor, please be kind and make less profit!"

The shopkeeper with white beard stopped his abacus and glanced at them, "Alright, I'll give you a little more, move to the side room!"

The fishermen cheered.

As he walked down the street, besides the fish and oyster shops, there were also fishing net shops, shoe shops, tofu shops, and money shops. The entire Lianpu Village was a bustling fishing town. Even next to the residential areas, it was rare to see scholars in long robes; instead, there were rows of low benches in front of the doors where the elderly, women, and children sat, skillfully prying open oyster shells.

What a lively town, Lin Yanchao couldn't help but marvel.

Looking up, Lin Yanchao saw a white wooden archway overhead, with the words "Jinshi" (imperial scholar) written in large characters, clearly an archway for imperial scholars.

There were many imperial scholar archways in Fujian, and Lin Yanchao had long been used to them. In the past, if a village or county produced an imperial scholar, they would erect as many archways as possible, ideally lining them up in a row. But in Lianpu Township, there seemed to be only one imperial scholar archway, standing inconspicuously.

Next to the carp turning into a dragon pattern was a row of small characters. Lin Yanchao approached and read each word carefully.

On the right side, it read, "Erected on the first day of the first month of the year of the tiger in the Zhengde era, and repaired on the first day of the tenth month of the year of the rat in the Jiajing era."

In the middle, it read, "Father Lin Yuanmei, passed the imperial examination in the year of the ox in the Yongle era;"

"Son Lin Han, passed the imperial examination in the year of the dog in the Chenghua era;"

"Grandson Lin Tingji, passed the imperial examination in the year of the goat in the Hongzhi era;"

"Lin Tingji, passed the imperial examination in the year of the goat in the Jiajing era;"

"Nephew Lin Tingwen, passed the imperial examination in the year of the goat in the Jiajing era;"

"Great-grandson Lin Xuan, passed the imperial examination in the year of the dog in the Zhengde era;"

"Lin Rong, passed the imperial examination in the year of the goat in the Jiajing era;"

"Lin Rong, passed the imperial examination in the year of the dog in the Jiajing era."

Lin Yanchao counted in his hand, one, two, three... seven, eight, eight imperial scholars. Well, eight imperial scholars are written on one archway, quite environmentally friendly, saving a lot of wood, isn't it?

Lin Yanchao asked a man in his thirties, "Where is the Lianpu Academy?"

"Follow the imperial road, go up the slope and turn left."

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" The man, seeing Lin Yanchao bow, also returned a bow, thinking, indeed, this is a land of etiquette, even a villager is not vulgar.

Lin Yanchao, carrying his luggage, followed the path indicated by the man and arrived at a walled courtyard. The courtyard was paved with stone slabs, with white walls and tiled roofs, and the curved mountain walls were in the style of white walls and black tiles. Entering the arched gate, the plaque read "Lianjiang Academy" in large characters.

On the opposite side of the plaque, two black-oiled doors were tightly closed.

Finally, he had arrived, Lin Yanchao sighed, and went up to knock on the door.

A gatekeeper opened the door, reported, and then led Lin Yanchao into the academy. In a side room next to the main hall, a steward received Lin Yanchao.

The steward was like a school staff member, not responsible for teaching but in charge of management.

Upon seeing Lin Yanchao, the steward said, "The academy admits students four times a year. The last registration ended five days ago. If you want to register, please come back in three months!"

Lin Yanchao was about to be turned away.

Lin Yanchao quickly said, "Wait, I have a letter!"

Lin Yanchao took out the recommendation letter from Lin Chengyi, and the steward took it and read it carefully. After reading, he looked Lin Yanchao up and down with a suspicious look.