With the enrollment of new students in the prefectural school, rents in the area around Kangxue Street all increased.
However, their landlord, the Yu family, did not raise the price and still rented to them at the previous rate.
In the words of the Yu family’s landlord, if it weren’t for them, his house would not have been rented out even at a lower price, let alone sold at a reasonable price in the future.
Just like the Xiao family across the street now.
Now that the rents in Kangxue Street had increased quite a bit and many people couldn’t find a place to rent, the Xiao family, though in jail, had also listed their house with the agency.
But basically, as soon as people made inquiries, the rent was pushed down to one tael a month, and still no one rented it.
Especially since most of the renters in Kangxue Street were scholars, who were particularly concerned about their reputations.
If you lived in a place like the Yu’s, with only rumors of hauntings, tenants could justify it by saying "a wise man does not believe in ghosts and spirits." But if you chose to live in the Xiao’s, even if you were upright in behavior, outsiders would speculate whether you shared the Xiao’s tastes.
Or if you were also interested in the house of the Yan family next door.
Wei Chen followed them into the alley and looking outward, he admired, "This location is good, quiet amidst the hustle and bustle, most suitable for studying. Eh, this place looks familiar; I seemed to have heard about it when I came here."
Bai Shanbao invited him in and replied with a smile, "This alley had a haunting situation, so Brother Wei might have heard about it."
"Ah, I remember now, I heard that a household tried to take over their neighbor’s house by staging hauntings to scare people, but three kids exposed them..."
"You’re back–" Bai Erlang, finally free from his studies, heard Bai Shanbao’s voice and ran out of the study room like a madman, stopping only when he got to the entrance of the courtyard and noticed an extra person.
Bai Shanbao introduced Wei Chen, "This is my Junior Brother, Bai Cheng, the second son in our family; this is our new friend, Wei Chen, Young Master Wei."
Wei Chen immediately smiled and said, "My parents only have me as their son, so you can just call me Wei Da..." He paused slightly, looking doubtfully at the three people standing together, and hesitantly asked, "The three kids who discovered the Xiao’s haunted house in the stories..."
"That’s us," Manbao said. "But the rumors are a bit exaggerated; we’re not kids anymore."
Wei Chen smiled sheepishly, yet he was also a bit curious, "How did you first discover that the Xiao’s place was haunted?"
"We didn’t find out," Bai Shanbao said with a slight smile, "We thought he was a real ghost at first, so we wanted to have a chat with him. Who knew he was so cowardly that he screamed himself, and then we knew he was fake."
Bai Shanbao took him to see Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang was very surprised that Bai Shanbao had made a friend so soon and even brought the friend home as a guest.
If it were Manbao, that would be reasonable, but Shanbao...
Mr. Zhuang’s gaze wandered over Bai Shan’s face with suspicion, but when he looked up at Wei Chen, a kind smile appeared on his face.
Let it go for now, better to take care of the guest first.
One of the great benefits of having a cook in the house was that they no longer worried about not having enough food for visitors who showed up unexpectedly.
Because she could add dishes at any time, and besides dishes, there were some desserts in the kitchen that the young masters loved. Not just Bai Erlang, even Manbao and Bai Shanbao also liked them very much.
The cook spent a whole day stocking the kitchen with enough ingredients, so she made some snacks in the afternoon.
When the guest arrived, she presented the snacks.
Since coming to Yizhou, the three had not tasted the cook’s dessert for a long time.
Manbao calculated and expressed a special sentiment, "More than a month already."
"Yes, more than a month already," Bai Shanbao echoed with the same sentiment, then yielded to Wei Chen, offering a piece of dessert to their teacher and contentedly started eating his own piece.
Wei Chen took a bite and praised, "The dessert from your house is indeed delicious, not worse than the ones outside. How come it’s been more than a month?"
"Our cook just arrived yesterday."
Wei Chen quickly grasped the situation, they had only just started school after all. It seemed that the cook was assigned later.
He was then surprised by the wealth and magnificence of Bai Shan’s family, thinking to himself: In his own family, his father didn’t mention bringing him a cook, the Bai Family from Longzhou?
Wei Chen felt a bit embarrassed and thought he’d have to write to his father for information about this Bai Family from Longzhou.
Mr. Zhuang was very amiable toward people, and with his experience, although he had not deliberately inquired, after a few words with Wei Chen and inquiring about the family, he figured out the other’s background.
Mr. Zhuang smiled slightly, "So, your father is the Wei Prefect of Longzhou."
Wei Chen did not expect that merely mentioning his father’s name would lead to recognition, and he felt slightly embarrassed, "Does Mr. Zhuang know my father?"
Mr. Zhuang paused before replying with a laugh, "I’ve only met him, but that was a long time ago. I didn’t expect you to be so grown up already."
Wei Chen smiled somewhat awkwardly, realizing he probably met an acquaintance of his father without knowing it.
Mr. Zhuang continued, "You’ve just entered the prefectural school, is there anything you’re not accustomed to?"
"There isn’t, the school hasn’t officially started classes yet."
Mr. Zhuang nodded, "It will take a few days; some students come from far away and don’t bring many books, inevitably missing many, so these two days are the school’s time for getting organized. In fact, you need not be so anxious, just ask which books the instructor plans to teach this year, buy those few books first, and the rest can be added slowly later..."
Mr. Zhuang had been a student at the prefectural school for many years, and although much time had passed, the school was more resistant to change than the imperial court. So even after many years, most aspects of the prefectural school hadn’t changed.
Even the scenery had hardly varied, let alone other things.
Therefore, Mr. Zhuang’s advice was well worth listening to.
While there were some experiences Mr. Zhuang wouldn’t tell Bai Shanbao, as he wanted him to experience them on his own, he would still mention them to Wei Chen. It might not be of much use, just a heads up.
There were some things Bai Shanbao truly heard for the first time, so he felt a bit unhappy. After dinner and bidding farewell to Wei Chen, he complained to Mr. Zhuang, "Teacher, why did you tell him and not tell me about the preferences of the old instructors?"
Mr. Zhuang asked with a smile, "If I told you, would you try to ingratiate yourself with those instructors?"
After a pause, Bai Shanbao said, "I wouldn’t."
"Well then, isn’t that all right?" Mr. Zhuang said with a smile, "Your character is different from his, and it would be a waste of breath to tell you such things. By the way, what made you think of bringing a friend home to visit?"
"Since he’s a friend, naturally he can be brought home as a guest," Bai Shanbao responded.
Mr. Zhuang looked at him with a mock-serious expression, "A friend you’ve known for half a day?"
Bai Shanbao, feeling a bit embarrassed, smiled and lowered his head, but he did not tell the teacher about being targeted by the instructor at school.
Mr. Zhuang didn’t ask further but sighed, "Although the prefectural school is still a school, because it’s involved with the officialdom, social niceties have become a part of learning. While it can’t compare to the deceit of the imperial court, there is plenty of competition, like a miniature imperial court."