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

"Although this restaurant is not big, the food is delicious. The lotus root soup with pork shank is a specialty. I was brought here by a guy from our rice shop. He is a native of the city," Liu Shuisheng introduced.

Three people ordered three dishes and a soup, which was more than enough. Zhang Pingan tasted it and found the lotus root soup to be tasty, powdery and a little sweet. "It's really good, but I don't know how the store keeps the lotus root so fresh."

Liu Shuisheng gulped down half a bowl of soup to get rid of the coldness, and then replied: "As long as it tastes good, it's fine. Every restaurant has its own secret recipe anyway."

"That's true, just curious," Zhang Pingan smiled and shook his head. The three of them ate and chatted.

Liu Shuisheng has gained a lot of experience since he came to the provincial capital for more than half a year. Now he deeply feels that his original decision was really wise. He will never achieve anything if he stays in Liujia Village.

"I will work hard in the rice shop for the next two years. When I understand the ropes, I will open a small rice shop and be the shopkeeper myself. This is much better than relying on others for a lifetime," Liu Shuisheng said with anticipation.

"This is also good. I can do what I want to do. Being happy is the most important thing," Liu Shengyuan said enviously. He always felt that it was a rare thing to be able to do something he liked freely.

"Haha, what are you envious of? It would be best if both of you could pass the imperial examinations and become a scholar or juren, so you can protect me. This way I won't be afraid when doing business. Otherwise, I'll be skinned alive if I deal with thugs," Liu Shuisheng laughed, his mouth full of oil, his eyes almost overflowing with joy.

After dinner, Liu Shuisheng had to go back to work. The few of them said goodbye to each other and agreed to come and see him again if they could go to the examination again and pass by the provincial capital next time.

Liu Shengyuan sighed, "Actually, I really envy Brother Shuisheng. His family has three sons, and they don't expect him to set up a family. He can do what he wants, whether it's studying or doing business. His family supports him. But I only have one way to go, and I must succeed."

Zhang Pingan knew what Liu Shengyuan meant. He patted Liu Shengyuan on the shoulder and said, "I don't think you need to think so much. One day, when you are strong enough, you will be able to rule yourself and not be influenced by others. Moreover, it is obvious that you are both talented and hardworking. The path of the imperial examination is also suitable for you."

"Yeah," Liu Shengyuan felt a little excited after hearing that.

"By the way, I plan to go to the bookstore to see if there is any suitable work to do. Anyway, I have nothing to do these two days, so it might be good to earn some pocket money. I want to buy something nice for my parents," said Zhang Pingan.

"Okay, just use it to kill time. I'll go with you." Liu Shengyuan was very positive about this suggestion. He didn't want to go back to the inn so soon.

Zhang Ping'an had already found out yesterday that the largest bookstore in the city was Tongxuezhai Bookstore in the east of the city. Not only did it have the largest store area, it also had the most and most complete variety of books.

After asking for directions, the two of them walked to the door of the bookstore. Looking around, they saw that the bookstore was a series of six connected shops. It was spacious and bright, with a total of two floors. They could faintly smell the fragrance of ink at the door. There were endless students coming and going, but once they entered the bookstore, it was very quiet, with almost no one making loud noises.

Zhang Ping'an shamelessly asked the shopkeeper, "Does your shop need copyists? Or do you accept storybooks?"

The shopkeeper was a round-faced, middle-aged man who paid close attention to detail. His long beard and clothes were immaculately groomed. He showed no sign of impatience when he heard this, and replied slowly, "You can copy books, and we accept storybooks, but you two gentlemen must first demonstrate your calligraphy."

Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan each wrote the character "Fu". The shopkeeper looked at it and nodded: "You two have good handwriting. You can both copy books. It's up to you to choose between copying the Three Hundred and Thousand Books or the Four Books. The price varies depending on the number of words."

Zhang Ping'an thought about it and realized that he could only stay in the provincial capital for two more days at most, so he said, "Copy the Thousand Character Classic."

"A copy of 'Thousand Character Classic' contains 100 characters. The font size and line spacing must be similar. We will provide you with five extra sheets of paper for each copy. If there is not enough to write on, you will have to fill in the remaining paper yourself. Is that okay?" the shopkeeper asked.

Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan looked at each other and nodded: "Yes!"

"Should I copy it in the bookstore or take it home to copy? If I take it home to copy, I need to pay a deposit."

Zhang Pingan saw that it was still early, so he said, "Let's copy it at the bookstore."

After Liu Shengyuan and I received the papers, we went to the second floor, where a waiter found a table for us.

Unknowingly, more than an hour had passed. Zhang Ping'an put down his pen only after he finished copying the second book. He stretched his sore neck and eyes, and shook his right wrist.

Liu Shengyuan's speed was about the same. After a while, he finished copying the second book. He looked up and said with a smile, "You are faster than me."

"The paper provided by the bookstore is good. I got addicted to writing without realizing it, and my speed has improved rapidly," Zhang Pingan replied.

The two men took the copied "Thousand Character Classic" downstairs to show it to the shopkeeper. After the shopkeeper checked to make sure there were no typos or stains, he paid each of them 200 coins.

It was a windfall, and both of them were in a good mood on the way back to the inn.

Zhang Ping'an plans to write a short story after copying the book tomorrow to see if he can sell it to a bookstore. The remuneration should be higher than copying the book.

When Zhang Laoer learned that his son had earned 200 coins by copying books today, he was both pleased and distressed, but he didn't say anything in the end. His son had grown up and he couldn't always be kept by his side.

This is not the only good thing. Liu Sanlang went to work at the dock today. He earned about 200 coins just by carrying goods in one day, and he didn't feel tired at all. This money came too easily and required no capital. It was a pity that he couldn't stay in the city for a longer time.

Have a good night's sleep!

When I woke up in the morning, the sky finally cleared up.

On the afternoon of the second day, after Zhang Ping'an finished copying the book, he wrote a story similar to the story of lying on the ice to catch carp. In this era, filial piety was highly valued, so it was neither taboo nor taboo, and it was also quite popular. The shopkeeper thought it was quite good after reading it. He stroked his long beard and said, "Although this article is written in the form of a vernacular novel, the words are touching and the meaning is rich. Unfortunately, it is too short. I will accept it for 500 coins. Is that okay?"

This was Zhang Ping'an's first storybook, and the price was quite good, so he nodded and said, "Yes, thank you very much, boss!"

This time he was paid 700 wen, which was not a small amount of money for an ordinary student. Liu Shengyuan couldn't help but glanced at him and joked: "I didn't expect that you could write storybooks. If you write a few more, wouldn't it solve your livelihood problem?"

Zhang Pingan replied with a smile, "It just so happened that I had this talent and some free time. Besides, whether it's copying books or writing storybooks, this kind of work doesn't always exist in bookshops. If I'm lucky enough to prepare for the imperial examination later, I'll still prioritize the imperial examination."

"That's right!" Liu Shengyuan nodded.

In a blink of an eye, it was the next day when the results were announced. The students in the inn were very restless early in the morning. They all got up before the hour of dawn and gathered in the lobby on the first floor. Even Zhang Pingan was infected and could not sleep anymore, so he simply got dressed and got up.

The results were announced at the time of Si, and there was still one or two hours left. Everyone drank tea and chatted, waiting for the sky to brighten completely.

Zhang Laoer couldn't sit still and insisted on dragging Liu Sanlang to wait under the list in advance. Zhang Pingan had to persuade him to stop. Liu's father was also very nervous. He drank two or three pots of tea and ran to the toilet several times.

Only 35 people were admitted to the provincial examination this time, which was even fewer than the county examination. Generally, there would be hangers-on in the yamen who would come to announce the good news, so Zhang Ping'an felt that there was no need to go to the list in advance to squeeze in with the crowd. Even if there was no good news, he could just check it later, the list would not change.

Not long after, a yamen hanger-on passed by the entrance of Tongfu Inn, beating a gong and shouting, "Congratulations to Yu Youning, a student from Fengming County, for ranking 30th in the provincial examination." He must have gone to another inn to announce the good news.

Zhang Laoer and Liu's father could no longer sit still after hearing the good news, and the inn suddenly became as quiet as a chicken.

After a while, another gong sound was heard, this time it was "Congratulations to Zhang Ping'an, a student from Wushan County, for ranking 28th in the provincial examination."

Zhang Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, thinking that he must have won the prize. Zhang Laoer was still a little suspicious that he had heard it wrong and couldn't believe it until Liu Sanlang became so excited that he ran to the door to see, and then he realized that his son had really won!

He quickly pinched his thigh and forced himself to calm down, then took out a bag of copper coins from his pocket to send away the person who brought the good news.