Yun Jiao quickly came up with a simple and practical idea.

She had Uncle called over and explained to him with gestures and words, putting in a great deal of effort before Uncle understood what she meant.

Uncle performed it in front of Yun Jiao, making her burst into laughter, confirming that Uncle truly understood.

Uncle changed into some old ragged clothes he couldn’t bear to throw away and went out with the two servants.

It was still the lunar new year, with more than half a month to go before the spring exam.

All the inns in Xiang City were fully booked.

Especially places like Gaosheng Inn and Zhuangyuan Building, where scholars could be seen coming and going at any time.

Uncle waited with a basket on a quiet small street.

A servant made a gesture from afar, and Uncle knew the person was coming.

Uncle slowly carried his basket over.

At the corner, a young man came over.

The young man’s cotton robe was a bit thin, so he kept his hands in his sleeves, walking quickly forward.

The servant pointed at him from behind, and Uncle understood, heading straight for a collision with the man.

The man, with his head down, didn’t notice, colliding full on with Uncle, sending the basket in Uncle’s hand crashing to the ground.

Several eggs in the basket broke instantly, with yolks and whites spilling out.

The man looked at Uncle in astonishment.

Uncle grabbed hold of the man’s clothes and pointed at the eggs on the ground, babbling incoherently.

The man looked around. This quiet street had no one else.

He stayed at an inn in this area because it was secluded and the room rate was cheap.

He looked at Uncle with disdain, "Want me to pay for it? Dream on!" He pushed Uncle away forcefully and walked off quickly.

Uncle didn’t chase after him, picking up the basket and walking slowly forward.

The servant shook his head, "This definitely won’t work, let’s move on to the next one."

Uncle cleaned up the eggs in the basket and, with the servant, turned corner after corner to another inn nearby.

This inn wasn’t famous in Xiang City, and its location was also a bit remote, with a setup that wasn’t great and fees only half of those at Gaosheng Inn.

Uncle carried the basket and waited for a long while before the servant signaled him, quietly pointing at a man in a blue robe who had just come out of the inn.

Uncle pretended to head toward the inn and bumped straight into the man, dropping the basket to the ground simultaneously.

Before Uncle could grab the man, the man grabbed Uncle back, "What are you doing?"

"With such a wide road, you had to bump into me."

"What, trying to extort me?"

Uncle hurriedly gestured, pointing to his mouth, making strange, unintelligible sounds.

The man looked at his clothes, seeing no egg liquid on them, and then saw that Uncle was mute, releasing his grip, "Forget it, forget it, it’s not easy for a mute, I can’t be bothered with you."

With that, he walked off in large strides.

Uncle tidied up the basket and went with the servant to the third location.

The servant, walking, said, "I can’t be sure whether this scholar named Zhao will work or not."

Uncle gestured a few times, and the servant nodded, "Well, in any case, we’ll just report back to the young mistress as it was."

This time, the location was quite far, in the southern city.

The servant and Uncle walked for a long time before reaching nearby.

The last one remaining was Li Juren from the south.

Li Juren had only stayed a few nights at the inn and had rented a place nearby to stay.

The southern city area was mainly home to laborers doing small businesses, with cheaper rent compared to staying at an inn.