Jianfu Lands, a river transport dock somewhere.
A scholar was waiting for a vessel, preparing to enter the Provincial Capital for the Provincial Examination.
He waited and waited at the dock. At last, he spotted a suitable passenger ship and immediately stepped forward.
Just then, another, smaller ship arrived. A yellow flag flew from it, bearing four large characters: "Fast Transport Shipping Company."
"Esteemed scholar, take my ship," the boatman on the larger vessel called out.
"Hey, scholar, come aboard my ship. I guarantee you'll reach the Provincial Capital safely," shouted the yellow-flagged boatman.
The scholar glanced over and was about to board the larger ship.
A large ship was certainly more comfortable than a small one.
At that moment, a dock laborer whispered, "Master scholar, you'd be better off taking the yellow-flagged ship."
"Why is that?" the scholar asked, puzzled.
"That yellow-flagged ship belongs to Governor Wang's household. Since you're taking the examination, shouldn't you show the Governor some respect?" the laborer said quietly.
"That makes sense." The scholar boarded the yellow-flagged ship.
Seeing this, the owner of the large vessel immediately shouted, "My fare is even one tael of silver cheaper than theirs!"
The journey was long, and travel expenses were costly.
For a trip of several hundred li, one often had to spend several taels or even dozens of taels of silver. Traveling by ship was still cheap; going by ox or horse was even more expensive.
Thus, ordinary people could not afford to travel. Even successful provincial candidates heading to the capital for the examination often had to borrow money to prepare their expenses.
The scholar waved his hand.
Yet inwardly, he thought, *Once I pass all the way through to jinshi, I'll definitely impeach these corrupt officials who collude with lowly merchants to squeeze the