My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 47 Searching

The next day, Lin Ziping went to the school as usual and met He Jinbao under the academy's archway. Two pageboys were supporting him as he walked with a limp.

Upon seeing Lin Ziping, He Jinbao gestured for the two pageboys to stop.

"Lin Ziping, you went home yesterday... were you alright?" He Jinbao asked, approaching Lin Ziping, seeing that he seemed normal.

"What's wrong? What happened to you? You needed help going to school. Did you fall? Or..."

"Young Master Jinbao, Young Master Ziping..."

Before Lin Ziping could finish speaking, he heard Zhang Mo's voice coming from behind him. He turned around and saw Zhang Mo limping towards him.

"How come you fell down too?" Lin Ziping asked Zhang Mo.

“Ah Mo, you also went home yesterday…” He Jinbao looked sympathetic.

Zhang Mo nodded: "Yes, I got a few lashes when I got home and had to kneel for half the night."

"Hey, you're all here," Zhao Xiancheng said, with Ji Xun and Fang Zhili also present.

Wow, all the members of the Chunhua Tower half-day tour group have arrived.

"Were you punished when you got home last night?" Ji Xun asked in a low voice.

He Jinbao looked pained: "You didn't have any?"

"Of course not!" Zhao Xiancheng said, "Hiss..."

Fang Zhili patted Zhao Xiancheng's butt.

“Young Master Zhili, you…” Zhao Xiancheng pointed at Fang Zhili.

"Hiss..." This is Ji Xun touching Fang Zhili's knee.

"Ah..." Zhao Xiancheng patted Ji Xun on the shoulder.

The scene became somewhat chaotic, and the group started hurting each other.

"Lin Ziping, how come you're alright?" Ji Xun's eyes widened when he saw Lin Ziping looking perfectly fine.

Lin Ziping patted his clothes: "How should I know? My uncle let me leave without saying anything."

The others glared at him angrily: "Lin Ziping, you're so unfair! Why did you call people over yesterday?"

“I told you yesterday it wasn’t me, otherwise I would have called my uncle. Yesterday it was three taels of silver, which we split evenly. Remember to give it to me.” Lin Ziping said, glaring at him.

“You’re asking us for three taels of silver? Lin Ziping, you’re too stingy,” He Jinbao said.

"Hey, the Lin family isn't as wealthy as the He family. Three taels of silver, three thousand copper coins, five hundred per person. We accept payment in copper coins or silver." Lin Ziping said, hands on his hips, looking at the group.

Fang Zhili smiled and said, "I didn't expect Young Master Ziping to be so strapped for cash. Instead of five hundred each, we'll each give one tael of silver, and the rest can be considered as helping Young Master Ziping out of poverty."

Lin Ziping spread his hands: "Then thank you very much, Young Master Zhili. Young Master Xun, Young Master Xiancheng, Young Master Jinbao, and Young Master Mo, each give me one tael!"

The group seemed to have never encountered Lin Ziping in this situation before; their faces flushed red, whether from anger or something else, it was unclear.

“I do have a way to make money. I wonder if Young Master Ziping would be interested?” Fang Zhili said.

Lin Ziping's eyes gleamed with a desire for money: "Please speak, Young Master Zhili."

"Zhili will be starting school soon." Ji Xun tugged at Fang Zhili's sleeve.

Fang Zhili glanced at Ji Xun and smiled, "Alright, time for school."

The group dispersed, and He Jinbao pushed away the two people supporting him, then followed the others, limping towards the school.

Ji Xun walked to Lin Ziping's side: "Master Li is back. You can go and ask Master Li about Tao Ju'an's situation."

Lin Ziping looked at Ji Xun in surprise, not understanding how Ji Xun knew about Tao Ju'an.

“I saw you and him looking at the rankings for the Level 3 Ordination Examination last time, so I thought you might know each other.” Ji Xun touched his nose and said awkwardly, “Master Li is his mentor, so he should know his situation quite well.”

“The entrance exams are coming up soon. Everyone is paying close attention to the three-level entrance exams and the prefectural exam. Everyone knows that Tao Ju’an was in the top five in the entrance exams but failed the prefectural exam.” Seeing that Lin Ziping did not speak, Ji Xun added.

"Thank you, Ji Xun," Lin Ziping said sincerely.

"Alright, time for school." With that, Ji Xun strode forward.

Hearing Ji Xun's "hiss...ha..." sounds, Lin Ziping suppressed a laugh and walked to his side: "Slow down."

After school, Lin Ziping took the address he had obtained from Master Li, which stated that Tao Ju'an lived in the north of the city.

Qingyang County has four directions: east, south, west, and north. The Lin family mansion is in the west of the city, while the county government office and academy are in the east. Granny Liao said that the south and north of the city are too chaotic and dangerous and forbade Lin Ziping from going there.

Looking at the address in his hand and remembering what Granny Liao had said, Lin Ziping hesitated for a moment, but still decided to go and take a look.

After waiting for a while at the entrance of the academy, I met the other members of the "Chunhualou Half-Day Tour" group. I showed them the address that Master Li had given me and told them about my idea of ​​going there.

Zhang Mo glanced at the address: "My family has a shop over there, I can take you there."

"I should let Jiazhong know. My parents never let me go to the south or north of the city, saying it's unclean there," He Jinbao said, frowning.

“Amo’s family has a shop in the north of the city, how could it be unclean?” Zhao Xiancheng retorted.

“It was my parents who told me, how would I know?” He Jinbao said.

Zhang Mo tugged at the hem of his clothes: "Although my family has a shop there, my parents never let me go there."

"Alright, that's enough. I'll go to the county office and find two people. Didn't they say they'd never been before? This is a good opportunity for everyone to go and see," Ji Xun said. "Zhili, what about you?"

"Everyone, go ahead," Fang Zhili decided.

Lin Ziping helped the group limp down the mountain, feeling a surge of emotion.

Several people waited for Ji Xun at the entrance of the county government office. Soon after, Ji Xun came out with two yamen runners and went with everyone to the north of the city.

Unlike the east and west sides of the city, the north side of the city lacks the cobblestone streets. The roads are dusty, the houses are low and cramped, and sewage flows everywhere.

This... Lin Ziping had a sense of déjà vu as if he had entered an urban village. Although they were in the same city, they were two completely different worlds.

Two constables kept reminding them to "watch their step," and the men covered their mouths and noses, tiptoeing, as if their aches from the morning had been instantly healed.

"Zhang Mo, your family actually owns a shop in this place?" He Jinbao said in surprise.

Before Zhang Mo could answer, Zhao Xiancheng said, "Everyone in the world is driven by profit. Why differentiate between 'here' and 'there' when it comes to making money? The rich have their ways of making money, and the poor have their ways of spending it. Does Young Master Jinbao only associate with the rich?"

"This...this..." He Jinbao began to stammer, unsure how to refute.

"Xiancheng is right, different people have different ways of making money," Fang Zhili said with a smile, praising Zhao Xiancheng.

"Hehe, this is what my dad taught me, and I think it makes a lot of sense." Zhao Xiancheng scratched his head.

"Alright, let's go find Tao Ju'an first. We'll talk about these things when we get back," Ji Xun said. "Lin Ziping, is this Tao Ju'an's address?"

The group arrived at a small alley. The alley was shady and never saw sunlight. The ground on both sides was covered with moss. There was only one narrow path, about the width of a person. It was probably dry because people often came and went, and the yellow soil was exposed.