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

After the banquet, the guests gradually dispersed. It was a rare time for farmers to have some free time, so Xu asked Daya to come and help look after her younger brother so that she could also help clean up the tables, chairs, dishes and other items.

Most of the bowls, chopsticks, tables and chairs were borrowed from villagers and had to be washed and returned quickly. While cleaning up, Xu was thinking about how lively today's banquet was and how everyone was enjoying the meal.

She looked at Zhang Laoer who was busy beside her, and couldn't help feeling happy in her heart. She and Zhang Laoer hadn't been so happy for a long time, and it was a proud moment.

It was already the afternoon when we finished cleaning up. We got up too early today and were busy all the time, so everyone was a little tired. We went back to our rooms to rest first, and it would be enough to just heat up the leftovers for dinner later.

After returning to the west wing, the couple sent their children to rest on their beds, and then began to count the gifts they had received that day. These would have to be returned accordingly when other relatives held banquets. Reciprocity is the key to good deeds, and neither too much nor too little would be good.

The gifts given by the child's grandparents are the most valuable. Even the child's biological grandparents, Old Man Zhang and Mrs. Zhang, did not express any gratitude. In Mrs. Zhang's words, it was good enough to help you organize this full moon banquet. She has fulfilled her responsibility and don't expect anything else.

Zhang Lao Da and Zhang Lao San gave 50 coins according to normal etiquette. Ma was reluctant and only gave 30 coins at first. Later, when Zhang Lao San found out, he added another 20 coins. Xu was too lazy to argue.

"Sanniang, you said that your parents-in-law gave such a valuable gift. Shouldn't we wait until your elder brother and younger brother have their wedding and then add more gift money to avoid making things difficult for the elders?" Zhang Laoer frowned. This was not a small amount of money. His parents-in-law were getting older and older, and they would have to live by their son's wishes. They couldn't ignore the thoughts of their two brothers-in-law.

"You are right, we have to return the favor. It's easy to deal with my elder brother, his wife and younger brother, but the main thing is that my sister-in-law is probably feeling very jealous. It's hard for you to think about my parents," Xu nodded.

"What are you talking about? Aren't your parents also my parents? When they get old, we, as their daughter and son-in-law, have to be filial to them," Zhang Laoer said with a smile as he hugged Xu.

"How much gift money did we receive today? Please write it down and tell me so that I can have an idea," asked Xu.

She is illiterate. Although Zhang Laoer never went to school properly, his brothers learned a few words from Old Man Zhang since childhood and know some basic arithmetic, so they are still acceptable.

"I estimated that, excluding the silver bracelet my parents gave me, it's worth about one or two taels. After deducting our expenses, there will be three or four hundred coins left," Zhang Laoer replied.

"That's not bad. I saw you bought so much meat, and I thought we could only break even," Xu said happily, a little surprised that today's banquet was quite grand.

"Well, the butcher Liu and my second brother-in-law are acquaintances. He gave us a fair price, which saved us a lot. The remaining fruits and vegetables are mostly grown by our family, so they are not worth much," Zhang Laoer replied.

"That's also a favor from my second sister's wife. My second sister is very good to me," Xu said in a low voice.

"Well, let's visit each other more often in the future," said Zhang Laoer.

"Hey, who was it that used to urge me to leave as if there were nails under my butt when I went to visit relatives for a meal?" Xu joked.

"I...I just don't want to chat with them," Zhang Laoer stammered. He was also afraid of embarrassing himself when talking about children.

"Okay, I don't know you yet," Xu said with a low laugh. Then she stood up and tried to take off the silver bracelet on Zhang Ping'an's hand. Seeing that Zhang Ping'an was still awake with his eyes open, she coaxed him, "Be good, Ping'an, I'll put it away for you first. We'll wear it when we visit relatives."

Hearing what Xu said, Zhang Pingan thought to himself, no, the jingling sound of the bracelet is so fun, I can pull it to play with it when I'm bored, and I don't even have a toy normally. Zhang Pingan didn't want to give it to her, so he stuffed his hand into his arms. Xu stopped her hand for fear of hurting him.

"Hey, daddy, Ping'an seems to really understand what I say. The more I hold it, the more he stuffs it into my arms." Xu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Such a valuable thing must not be left in the hands of a child. It would be terrible if someone with bad intentions took it away or dropped it.

"Let me try," said Zhang Laoer.

After saying that, he walked over to Zhang Ping'an to tease him, and said in a soft voice, "My dear son, please give it to your father. If you don't want to give it to your mother, please give it to your father and he will keep it for you."

Neither mom nor dad can do it. Mom and dad are treated the same by him, so he can't be partial to one over the other, Zhang Pingan thought happily in his heart, if he turns his head aside, then what if they don't give it to him? He will keep it for himself to play with, hehe!

Zhang Laoer saw his son turned his head away and wanted to gently take off the bracelet, but Zhang Pingan kept moving his hands to the side. In the end, Zhang Laoer gave up, mainly because he didn't want to hurt the child.

"Forget it, Sanniang. If your son likes to wear it, just let him wear it. It looks so nice and noble, just like a young master," Zhang Laoer touched Zhang Ping'an's head and said lovingly.

"You just spoil the child. What if he gets lost?" Xu said unhappily.

"The child is still so young, at most he will just take a walk around our house, he won't fall, it's okay."

"Forget it, just let him wear it. Otherwise, I, as your mother, will look like a bad person, little guy." Xu helplessly tapped Zhang Ping'an's little forehead, this clever guy.

Yeah, he saved his little bracelet. Hearing the conversation between his parents, Zhang Pingan clapped his hands and laughed.

When Zhang Laoer and Xu saw the child like this, they looked at each other and laughed.

"Sanniang, I have something to tell you. The baby is now a month old, so we can put the farm work aside for a while. I plan to go to Ezhou Prefecture with my third brother, Daqiang and Erqiang to find work tomorrow. I still have some baskets, winnowing baskets and other things I made before. If someone comes to buy them, we can sell them directly if they are ready. If they are large items, I can ask them to pay a deposit first, and I will make them when I come back. However, the busy farming season is over now, and I guess there will be fewer people buying bamboo utensils. You will have to take care of the family. I will be back in about a month," said Zhang Laoer. Now that he had a son, he had to go out and make more money while he was still young.

"Ah, why are you leaving so soon? Aren't you going to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival at home?" Xu was not very willing.

"But it's easy to find work at the docks now, with large ships transporting grain. There will be less work towing ships later on. I should have left a long time ago, but I waited until my child was one month old to leave," Zhang Laoer replied. He didn't want to leave either, but he had no choice because he had to support his family.

"Have you agreed with my third brother Daqiang and the others? Are you really leaving tomorrow?"

"Well, we're leaving tomorrow. We decided it while we were drinking just now."

"Okay, then I'll prepare some more dry food for you. Things outside are very expensive and still not enough to fill you up. Don't worry about the family. I'm here. We lived like this before. What's more, Da Ya and Er Ya are grown up now and can help me." After saying that, Xu couldn't sit still anymore and went out to the kitchen to knead dough.

I mixed a large bowl of coarse flour and baked about twenty dry pancakes. I didn't put any fillings in them, just salt, so that the pancakes would keep for a few days. I also took a few handfuls of soaked sour cowpeas from the jar, chopped them up, fried a large bowl, and put it in a small jar. I ate it right away, because otherwise, in such a hot day, the hard pancakes would be hard to swallow.

Hearing that his father was going on a long journey, Zhang Pingan was reluctant to let him go. He cried "Ahhh". Zhang Laoer picked up the child, patted the swaddling clothes, and coaxed him, kissing him for a long time.