Xu Xiake's ancestors were famous families in Jiangyin, and his great-great-grandfather could be called extremely rich. By his grandfather's generation, his family had fallen. His father, Xu Youmian, worked hard to start a business, and the Xu family business recovered. However, this family business still cannot meet the travel cost of Xu Xiake from the age of 22 to the age of 55. In Xu Xiake's later years, this family business has been used almost. When he spent the last four years of his life on his last and most important outing, his financial situation was already stretched.

51-year-old Xu Xiake met Jingwen monk, and the monk said that he copied a Hokkekyo with his tongue and blood, and he was going to Jizu Mountain in Yunnan to offer sacrifices, so Xu Xiake went with him. Chongzhen left home on September 19th, and entered Hangzhou on the 31th of that month. On the same day, Xu Xiake wrote: "It is a day to borrow twelve taels of silver from Zhanrong to benefit from hot money." He began to borrow money only after going out for 11 days, which shows how much his travel expenses are. There is still a lot of money waiting for Xu Xiake to borrow in the future.

Xiangjiang river was stolen. After being robbed, he only had clothes, so he couldn't continue his trip. He borrowed money from his friends for 21 taels to move on. Later, when he arrived at the horse brand, Xu Xiake became a government civil servant and could use the resources of the post office. For some time after that, Xu Xiake used horse cards to solve the accommodation problem. Along the way, the post office began to requisition civilian workers to carry sedan chairs for him, and some people supplied him with food.

After entering Yunnan, I met Tang Dalai, a famous person in Kunming. Tang Dalai not only funded the travel expenses, but also wrote many "letters of introduction" for him to ensure that he was received in the later journey. This kind of friend recommendation, to a certain extent, ensures the sustainability of Xu Xiake's travel. This kind of help continued until the last stop of his trip, Jizu Mountain. In Jizushan, Xu Xiake had a rash all over his body, and both his feet were useless. Lijiang Mu Tuguan, who admired him, funded the trip and sent someone to escort him home. He died after returning home for half a year. If there were no wooden officials, Xu Xiake would probably die in another country.