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

From then on, every three to five days, Zhang Ping'an would make an appointment with Mr. Fan to go to the chess hall to play chess. Zhang Ping'an would write down his doubts in advance and ask Mr. Fan for some advice during the game. He really benefited a lot from Mr. Fan's guidance.

There is a qualitative difference between a scholar and a juren. At the beginning, juren Fan also took the provincial examination three times before he passed, which took nearly ten years.

Master Lin had expected that Zhang Ping'an would win Mr. Fan's favor. He was very optimistic about this student. He believed that Zhang Ping'an had the humility that children from wealthy families did not have, and he had more courage and insight than ordinary children from poor families. He had enough patience in both studying and working. If nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely have a good future.

It is an honor for a teacher to be able to cultivate an outstanding student.

Ten days passed in a flash. At noon that day, while eating in the cafeteria, Jin Bao suddenly said mysteriously, "Don't leave after school today. I'll treat you to dinner at Fuwei Restaurant."

Zhang Pingan and Xiao Yifei were both shocked. Although Fuwei Restaurant was not particularly expensive, Jinbao was always short of money.

"Why are you suddenly inviting us to dinner? Have you made a fortune?" Xiao Yifei asked curiously.

"Hehe, keep it a secret. I'll tell you later. Just eat it without worry," Jin Bao said proudly with his eyes narrowed in smile.

"Okay, I've known you for more than ten years, and this is the first time you want to invite me out for dinner, so I must go," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

The three of them walked together after class. Zhang Pingan and Jinbao wanted to go home to say hello to their families before going out. Xiao Yifei said, "Take my carriage. I'll go say hello to your two families first, and then go directly to Fuwei Restaurant."

Zhang Pingan nodded: "Okay!"

Jinbao didn't want to explain too much to his grandparents, so he lied and said that Xiao Yifei wanted to treat them to a meal. Jinbao's grandparents knew this classmate, so they didn't think much of it. Jinbao's grandfather even smiled and said, "Come back soon!"

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but laugh when he saw it, "You!"

"Hehe, my grandparents are old. No matter how much I say to them, they won't understand. Instead, they will keep asking questions. It would be best to just tell them that Xiao Yifei treats us." Jin Bao scratched his head and laughed.

Zhang Ping'an told his family that he would not be going home for dinner tonight. Xu's face was full of reluctance, and she muttered, "It's true that a grown-up son is no longer under the control of his mother. Lately, you've been out every night and I haven't even had a word with you."

After muttering, he repeatedly reminded: "Come back early."

"Okay, I understand, Mom," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Xiao Yifei's eyes were filled with envy and jealousy: "You are all the treasures of the family. No one cares if I come home late at night. My father is very busy every day, and my mother only cares about how to win my father's heart."

Since it was a private matter concerning their elders, Zhang Pingan and Jin Bao were not in a position to respond and could only smile and remain silent.

After the three of them arrived at Fuwei Restaurant, they asked for a small private room. Jinbao said generously: "Just pick the expensive ones, and make sure to eat and drink well!"

Zhang Ping'an and Xiao Yifei each ordered two dishes and a pot of rice wine before asking, "Now, can you tell me what's going on? Where did you get the money?"

Jin Bao chuckled, "This is the money I earned from writing storybooks. It's my first writing fee, and it's very meaningful. I can't tell my parents and grandparents about it, so of course I have to treat you to a meal and share my joy with you!"

Xiao Yifei slammed the table excitedly and said, "I was wondering why you kept writing with a pen every day. I thought you were studying hard and diligently, but it turns out you've been writing storybooks for a long time!"

"Which book are you writing? Be sure not to break any taboos." Zhang Ping'an was happy but also a little worried. Generally speaking, writing a storybook does not affect the imperial examinations for scholars, but if it breaks any taboos, that is another matter.

"Don't worry, I just write stories like talented scholars and beautiful women. Xiao Yifei told me a lot of melodramatic love and hatred stories in the mansion before, so I polished it a little and wrote a similar storyline. I didn't expect that the shopkeeper would say that my writing is very good and full of emotions, which makes it very suitable for writing storybooks. He immediately accepted it from me and gave me a fee of 500 coins," Jin Bao said proudly. This was the first time he earned money by himself since he was a child. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep well last night.

Zhang Pingan was relieved. "That's good. It seems you are quite talented in this area."

"Hahaha, I didn't expect that you could write a storybook. What's the name of it? I'll go to the bookstore tomorrow to buy a few copies to support you," Xiao Yifei laughed. He really didn't expect that Jin Bao, who looked silly, could write a storybook about talented men and beautiful women.

Jin Bao felt a little embarrassed by being laughed at, and blushed as he whispered, "The name is "The Story of the First Beauty"."

"Poof!" Even Zhang Pingan couldn't help himself. What a vulgar name!

"Hahahahahahahahaha, The Legend of the First Beauty, I'm dying of laughter", Xiao Yifei slapped the table and laughed, "Ouch, my stomach hurts from laughing".

Jin Bao couldn't hold back his smile because of the two people's laughter. He said with a sullen face, "I told you my names because I treat you as brothers. You are not allowed to tell anyone else! Otherwise, we will be separated!"

Zhang Ping'an drank two cups of tea before suppressing his smile. He nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will never tell anyone. Just keep up the good work and strive to produce new works next time."

Xiao Yifei also raised his hands in surrender and said with a smile: "Me too, I will never tell anyone, don't worry"!

Only then did Jinbao let the two men go.

After the dishes arrived, the three of them ate and chatted. Jin Bao said, "To be honest, I'm not cut out for studying, and I can't do manual labor either. I can only think of other ways. After all, I've studied for so many years."

Xiao Yifei nodded and praised: "That's good. We also make a living by our own abilities. I'm not good at studying. After staying in the academy for another two years, I will go to work in the county government."

Zhang Ping'an also felt that as long as one was careful not to violate taboos when writing storybooks and had the talent, it would be much easier for him to make money than ordinary people. "Jinbao, I actually think you can strengthen your study of calligraphy and painting. Then, when the time comes, you can add illustrations to the storybooks while writing them, and the effect should be better."

Jin Bao's eyes lit up: "Oh, that's right, why didn't I think of that."

"You can try it. If it were me, I would definitely prefer to buy the one with illustrations," Xiao Yifei nodded in agreement while eating.

It took the three of them almost an hour to finish their meal, and Xiao Yifei then ordered the driver to take them home.

When Zhang Pingan got home, he found that all three rooms in the house had lights on, which was unusual. He couldn't help but shout, "Dad, why are all three rooms in the house lit?"

As soon as he finished speaking, San Ya ran out of the kitchen and shouted, "Little brother, you're back? I came to the county town with your third brother-in-law, your second sister and her husband."