The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

It was a hot summer day. There was not even a trace of wind in the air at noon. The sun had baked the dirt roads in the countryside so hard that even straw sandals would burn your feet.

Zhangjia Village is a large village backed by mountains and facing water. It is close to Ezhou, with fertile land. There is a large wharf in Ezhou City, and transportation is convenient. Therefore, every household here lives a good life, and as long as people are diligent, they will always have something to eat.

It was the busy farming season at that time, and the villagers of Zhangjia Village were rushing to harvest in the fields. Even though Xu Sanniang was a pregnant woman who was about to give birth, she was only assigned to do light work such as bundling rice and could not rest. Now even her hair was sweating. She gritted her teeth and worked for the whole morning without even straightening her back.

The belly was so big that it made the person feel uncomfortable and dizzy, so the speed of tying the rice gradually slowed down.

"Ah, some people are so slow to do even the easiest work, feeling uncomfortable here and there. In my opinion, this is the typical fate of a young lady with the body of a maid. I don't know if you are pregnant this time, but you should be happy for nothing." This was said by Xu Sanniang's sister-in-law Ma.

Because when the work was divided, she was assigned to harvest rice, which was much more tiring than bundling rice. She had been resentful of this job for a long time, but she had never shown any anger due to the authority of her parents-in-law. However, she really looked down on her second sister-in-law. Who made Xu give birth to five girls and no son in ten years after marriage?

"Third sister-in-law, who are you talking about? Everyone in the family knows that you, Ma, are the best at being lazy and slacking off at work. How dare I!" Xu retorted.

Although she spoke in a tough tone, Xu knew in her heart that her mother-in-law would definitely try to smooth things over in the end. If it had been in the past, she would have just listened to it and it wouldn't have hurt her at all, as she was used to it. But today it was really too hot, and she felt dizzy and her stomach was bloated and painful, which made Xu irritable and she couldn't help but retort.

When Xu was a girl in her parents' home, she was actually a fierce and strong-willed girl. However, in the ten years since she got married, she gave birth to girls one after another, but she never had a son. She felt insecure and had long lost her previous energy. She was always ashamed among her sisters-in-law, and her mother-in-law looked down on her. She was only in her twenties but looked older than her eldest sister-in-law, Li.

"Hmph, whoever answers will be blamed. Second sister-in-law, who are you saying is being lazy and slacking off? Mother hasn't even scolded me yet," Ma said, not afraid at all, with her hands on her hips.

Farming work is tiring in itself, and Ma was a delicate woman. Now she was covered in rice stalks while working, which made her feel itchy and hot. She was extremely uncomfortable and had been looking for something to vent her anger.

The eldest sister-in-law is a smiling tiger with a deep mind, so Ma doesn't dare to feel uncomfortable. Only the second sister-in-law Xu is a soft persimmon. She knows that not having a son is a thorn in the second sister-in-law's heart, so she says hurtful words to her. She is also a little surprised that the second sister-in-law, who is usually sullen, is so angry today.

"Aunt San, my mother must be feeling unwell. She used to be very efficient at work." Daya was picking rice ears at the side. Hearing this, she couldn't help but speak up for her mother. Although she was young, she knew that her mother was in a difficult situation at home.

"Mom, are you feeling unwell? Let me help you." The little boy, who is less than ten years old, already knows how to help his mother share her worries.

"No need, go pick some rice," Xu stood up and patted her lower back, replying impatiently. She didn't speak in a nice tone to her daughter. The unhappiness of life had long worn away the little maternal love that Xu had left, and now she felt annoyed when she saw her daughters.

Xu was not without anger at Ma's words, but what was the use of being angry? She couldn't count on anyone to help her in this family. Her husband hadn't even bothered to talk to her since Wu Ya was born. If this baby was also a girl, she probably would have no way to survive.

As she thought about it, tears unconsciously welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her sisters-in-law, so she raised her head and tried to hold it back several times but failed.

"Second sister-in-law, why are you crying? It's like someone bullied you, Qi~" Ma curled her lips, and seeing Xu's expression, she seemed to be enjoying the show.

"Yes, second and third sister-in-law didn't mean it," said the eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Li, to try to smooth things over.

"Okay, third brother, stop talking. Second brother, you go back and cook first. Send it to the fields when it's ready. The weather is good these two days, so hurry up and harvest the crops so you can feel at ease. The rice and meat are in the cupboard. I took them out this morning," said mother-in-law Zhang after hearing the conversation. Then she took out the cupboard key tied around her waist and handed it to Xu.

I couldn't help muttering: "It's not a big deal. There are so many things to do every day. I think it's just because I've been eating too many idle meals!"

Zhang still spoke with authority in this family. Ma snorted and started to cut rice obediently.

Xu didn't dare to cry anymore.

"Okay, mother," Xu wiped her tears and replied.

Unexpectedly, just as she stepped onto the ridge of the field, she felt something long and thin under her feet. Xu looked closely and saw that it was a black snake. After being stepped on, the snake twisted its body and tried to wrap around something. Xu let go of her foot and screamed "Ah"!

Then the snake slithered away quickly.

Xu felt water flowing down her legs. After all, she had given birth to five children. She immediately realized that her amniotic fluid had broken and she was about to give birth.

"What's the matter?" Zhang looked up and asked in the field.

"Mom, I think I'm about to give birth," Xu shouted to her mother-in-law Zhang, holding her belly.

"What, she's going to give birth now? Now is the time for harvesting, why can't the child survive these two days? I'll help you go back and call your sister-in-law, she can help." Zhang picked up the rice stalks on her body, patted her pants and walked over.

There are many children in the family, and all of them were delivered by Zhang, so she was not at all panicked when faced with this situation.

The men were working far away and had no time to pay attention to this side.

"Grandma, I'll go back and help you," Daya kept an eye on this side, worried about her mother. Now her mother was extremely thin, with only a frighteningly big belly. She didn't know if she could give birth to a younger brother this time.

Although he is still young, Daya has long understood the importance of a boy to their family. With a younger brother, their family can stand tall in the village and will no longer be scolded as a family with no descendants. It will also be easier for her sisters to get married in the future.

"What can a little girl like you do to help? The family doesn't need you, so just pick rice in the fields." At this time, the eldest sister-in-law Li finished her work and came over, and together with Zhang, she supported Xu.

"It's okay, mother, sister-in-law, let Daya go back with us. We'll need someone to bring us food from the fields later," Xu said, holding her stomach and breathing heavily. She didn't know why, but this time the childbirth felt different from the previous times. Her stomach was particularly painful, and Xu had a bad feeling in her heart.

"Okay, then let Daya go back with us so she can lend a hand," Zhang said finally.

There was a delivery room prepared at home. It was called a delivery room, but in fact it was half of the woodshed separated. Larger pieces of wood were used to make a bed, and a lot of dry straw was placed on it. In addition, a two-foot-long square cloth bag was sewn with rags and filled with wood ash to pad under the body. Don't even think about a quilt.

After Zhang and Li helped Xu lie down, they went out to boil water. The scissors needed to be boiled in water for easier use, and the baby also needed to be washed after birth. Fortunately, there were two large pots at home, so they could boil water and cook at the same time.

Mrs. Li is busy cooking, and Mrs. Xu will need a while to start, so there's no need to rush.

"Mom, how are you? Here's something to eat. It'll give you strength," Daya said as she walked in. She insisted on following her mother back just to give her the piece of malt candy she had secretly saved up during the Chinese New Year. The piece was as big as a fingernail, and Daya had secretly licked it many times. In addition, the weather was hot, so it had melted a little. It felt sticky in her hands, almost stringy.

"If mother doesn't want to eat, you eat it," Xu smiled weakly and touched Daya's head. She still felt a little pity for her first-born daughter.

"Mom, I'll keep it and give it to you when you want to eat it." When Daya heard her mother say she didn't want to eat it, she wrapped the candy in oil paper again and licked her fingers to eat the candy threads stuck on her fingers.

When giving birth this time, Xu had a premonition that this would be her last child. She hadn't eaten anything good, but her stomach was particularly big. She also felt very weak and broke out in cold sweats at the slightest provocation.

But fortunately, the experienced elders in the village said it was a son because her belly was pointed and she especially liked sour food during this pregnancy.

If I can't give birth to a son this time, I probably won't have a place to stay in this family. My parents-in-law have been whispering to my husband about divorcing my wife since she gave birth to Wu Ya, but they haven't found a suitable person. In addition, I got pregnant again less than half a year after giving birth, so they gave up for the time being.

Even her family members couldn't help her because she couldn't give birth to a son. After enduring these years, Xu was very tired. She thought, let's just wait and see this time.