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

The results of the county examination would not be announced until three days later. Master Lin specially gave the three examinees three days off so that they could return to the academy for classes after seeing the results.

Liu Shengyuan was a little restless, so he took the initiative to go to Zhang's house to discuss study problems with Zhang Pingan. Liu's father had not returned since he came to the county town before the New Year. Fortunately, there were not many things to do in the town now.

There was another sister at home, so Zhang Pingan directly pulled Liu Shengyuan into his small study to talk, "Ayuan, how did you feel about the exam?"

"Ping'an, I feel like the exam went pretty smoothly. It's just that there are so many people taking the exam, I'm not sure if I can make the final list. Only 40 people are admitted in total, so the number of places is too small," Liu Shengyuan said a little nervously.

"It's okay. We'll know the results in three days anyway. In fact, I think I answered quite well in this exam. The teacher has given us many similar questions before. Although there are many people taking the exam, they have taken it so many times and failed. This shows that their comprehension ability is still a little lacking. You don't have to worry too much. Even if you fail, it's okay. We are still young and there are still many opportunities." Zhang Pingan could only comfort them like this, otherwise the two of them would become more and more nervous as they talked.

Liu Shengyuan sighed and said, "This is the only way. My dad has been more nervous than I have been these past two days. I've heard him get up in the middle of the night many times. If I don't pass the exam, I really don't know how to face him."

"Don't feel too stressed. How about we go for an outing at East Lake tomorrow? It's the time when camellias are in full bloom, and we'll feel better if we go out for a walk. Xiao Yifei wanted to invite us out for an outing before, but we didn't make it. It just so happens that they have a day off tomorrow," Zhang Ping'an suggested.

"Okay, then we'll go to the academy to find them later," Liu Shengyuan agreed.

In the afternoon, the two went to the academy to find Jin Bao and Xiao Yifei and talked about this matter. Both of them were very positive and made an appointment to meet at the gate of East Lake at 9:00 tomorrow.

There are fewer people coming to Donghu in February, so it seems very quiet, and the camellia flowers are in full bloom.

When Xiao Yifei came, he brought a lot of food, filled four or five baskets, and planned to have lunch in the pavilion at East Lake at noon.

Liu Shengyuan felt a little embarrassed and said, "This is too expensive for you."

Xiao Yifei rolled his eyes and said carelessly, "Ayuan, you are good in everything except being too polite. You feel embarrassed when doing anything. You should learn from Jinbao and be thick-skinned so that you won't suffer any loss."

"Well, I can't learn it," Liu Shengyuan scratched his head, still embarrassed.

"I think your father is just too strict with you. You're actually quite self-disciplined," Zhang Pingan said as he ate a piece of pastry. "You know what, eating out like this is kind of like the elegant and elegant people enjoying a cup of wine."

Jin Bao nodded: "Eating like this is better than at home."

It was a rare opportunity for several people to relax.

Xiao Yifei suggested: "How about I accompany you two to look at the list the day after tomorrow? I'll ask the academy for half a day off. Anyway, it doesn't make much difference whether I study or not."

Zhang Pingan shook his head and said, "Forget it. It's not good to ask for leave. Anyway, we will know the final result eventually. My father will accompany me to see it."

Liu Shengyuan also refused: "Yes, you can't slack off in studying for a single day, don't ask for leave."

The four of them chatted and laughed, looked at the water and flowers in the open space in the wild, and their mood became much better.

On the day of the results announcement, Zhang Laoer got up at 3:00 AM. He sat down on the edge of the bed, afraid that he would disturb his son's rest by washing up in the yard. Xu rubbed her eyes and half sat up and said, "Master, why are you up so early? It's still early."

"It's okay, you go to sleep. I can't sleep, so I got up and sat for a while." Zhang Laoer whispered.

Xu didn't sleep anymore. She put on her clothes and sat up and said, "You're worried about Ping'an's test results!"

"Yeah," Zhang Laoer nodded.

Xu was more content than Zhang Laoer: "I think my life now is pretty good. I never dreamed I could live like this. I don't have to worry about food and clothing, and I don't have to work in the fields. What is there to worry about?"

Zhang Laoer was silent for a while and then nodded: "There's nothing to worry about, let's go to sleep"!

Then he turned off the lights and went back to sleep.

Zhang Ping'an slept well all night. He got up in the morning, had breakfast, and then went to check the list with his father.

When the two of them arrived, the area under the list was already crowded. Zhang Laoer had his son teach him names in advance and said, "You just wait over there. I'll go in and take a look so you don't get squeezed in."

As soon as he finished speaking, people had already squeezed in. Zhang Laoer had been doing heavy work for many years and had a very strong body. He just kept rushing forward, and the well-mannered scholar couldn't squeeze in at all.

After squeezing to the front of the list, Zhang Laoer looked from the last one forward. He looked at more than ten names in a row before he saw the three characters "Zhang Ping'an". Worried about making a mistake, he couldn't help but grab the scholar next to him and pointed at the name and asked, "Excuse me, can you check for me? Are these three characters Zhang Ping'an?"

The scholar next to him had his hair messed up by the crowd, but luckily he was a good person. He took a look and replied, "Yes, his name is Zhang Ping'an."

"Okay, okay, thank you for your help. Haha, he is my son." Zhang Laoer couldn't help laughing after saying that, and squeezed his way out again.

"Son, you passed the exam, you really passed," Zhang Laoer shouted to his son from afar. The people who were looking at the list next to him saw that the person who passed was just a teenager, and they couldn't help but sigh: "The blue is derived from the blue, but the blue is better than the blue!"

Zhang Ping'an had a feeling that was both unexpected and expected after hearing this. No matter what, he had passed the county exam and could breathe a sigh of relief temporarily. He would then prepare well for the provincial exam.

"Dad, I finally passed. Don't be too nervous. Mom told me that you couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and got up to sit by the bed, which scared her," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Zhang Laoer looked a little embarrassed: "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense, I couldn't sleep yesterday because I drank too much water, not because I was nervous."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say is fine. Let's go back quickly. I'll go to Ayuan's house to ask if they know the result." Zhang Ping'an didn't ask any more questions. Now that the results were announced, his father should be able to sleep well.

"Okay, let's go to the City God Temple to fulfill our vow first. We can still have time to go back and ask later. We should thank God for his blessings." Zhang Laoer was overjoyed and insisted on going to fulfill his vow first and not delay.

So the father and son went to the City God Temple to fulfill their vow before returning home. When they got home, Xu said that Liu Shengyuan had just been there and had also made the list. The two families could then go to take the provincial exam together, but he had now returned to the academy to attend classes.

Zhang Pingan nodded and was happy for Liu Shengyuan. It would be best if the two of them could pass the provincial examination in one go and get the title of Tongsheng. That way at least they wouldn't have to take the exam again and wouldn't be considered useless.

After lunch, Zhang Ping'an returned to the academy early to continue his classes. The teacher should also talk about the exam results, which is a good opportunity to find out the gaps and fill them in.