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

"Where there is a will, there is a way. Master Luo once said that your talent is even better than mine. I am looking forward to taking the provincial examination with you. When the great roc soars up to 90,000 miles with the wind, you can definitely do it," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Liu Shengyuan's eyes turned red after hearing this, and he forced out a smile that was uglier than crying. The calmness he had been pretending to be for these days finally couldn't be continued. "Do you really think I can do it?"

"Of course you can do it. You are both talented and hardworking. It is only a matter of time before you pass the exam. Don't be discouraged just because you failed once," Zhang Pingan encouraged, without saying anything nonsense that he just got in by luck.

He knew that what Liu Shengyuan lacked now was confidence. Under the influence of his father, Liu Shengyuan had always had a bad attitude when taking exams and often doubted himself. Moreover, he had to adapt to the new learning environment after going to the county school, which would take time.

Liu Shengyuan felt that he had a lot to say, but the escort agency was not the place to talk, so he adjusted his mood and said with a smile: "Ping'an, thank you! When we return to the county, let's make an appointment to go on a boat tour on Donghu Lake."

"It's a deal. I've made a note of it," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile. He then took a handful of tangerine peel from his purse and handed it over. "Here, smell the tangerine peel. You'll feel much better after smelling it, and it won't be so hot. My father specially prepared it for you to prevent seasickness."

Liu Shengyuan complained, "You know what, I'm really seasick. I vomited all the way here, and when I got off the boat, I felt like everything around me was shaking."

Zhang Pingan laughed out loud, "Hahaha, then we really are in the same boat. I also vomited all the way to the provincial capital. Luckily, my father took care of me. This time on the way back, my father prepared a lot of tangerine peels. Smelling them from time to time is very refreshing."

After the two chatted for a while, the big man leading the escort agency shouted, "Get ready to go."

Originally there were two teams, and Master Yang knew the teacher who led the county school. After discussion, they decided to merge the two teams and go together, which would be safer.

It was only when they were setting off that Zhang Ping'an saw Liu's father. It turned out that Liu's father had just gone to the toilet. He still looked gentle and elegant, but it was obvious that he was in a bad mood. When he saw Zhang Laoer and the others, he greeted them politely.

Zhang Laoer called it fate and wanted the two children to sit together and talk so that they wouldn't be so bored. In the end, the two families got in the same car.

Because of the robbery that happened during the last provincial examination, everyone was very alert this time. When they camped outdoors at night, half of the people were selected to take turns on duty.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful.

When we passed the hills, I don’t know if it was because of the autumn harvest or because there were few hunters in the city, but from time to time pheasants, rabbits and badgers would come out from the woods on both sides of the road.

Master Yang didn't care at first, but then he saw too many rabbits jumping out, and he couldn't help but spit, "It would be a shame to God if you don't eat the meat that's been delivered to your door!"

On a whim, he borrowed the bow and arrow from Tan Yaoqi's followers and shot more than a dozen rabbits and a badger. Several other people who had bows and arrows were also eager to try, but the weather was hot and the meat could not be kept, so they thought about it and gave up. There was no need to shoot for fun.

In the end, everyone agreed to light a fire and roast the dozen rabbits and badgers during dinner. Liu Sanlang was the one who did it. Firstly, he was a butcher with good skills. Secondly, he wanted the dozen skins so that he could make rabbit fur hats and scarves for the children in his family in winter.

Watching Liu Sanlang slaughtering and skinning the animals quickly, fiercely and accurately with a dagger, Master Yang stroked his beard and praised: "Before, there was the butcher Ding who butchered the ox, and now it's you, Sanlang, who butchers the rabbit. Not bad, not bad, your skills are excellent, and not even a drop of blood is splattered on your clothes."

Liu Sanlang didn't understand what the word "cooking the rabbit" meant, but he knew that Master Yang was praising his cooking skills. He smiled innocently and took the killed rabbit to the river to wash it.

A short while later, he returned carrying a cleaned rabbit and exclaimed in amazement, "Oh…my god, the people in the capital are so rich! There's…no one fishing in the river, just…jumping around on the surface. Last time I went back in April, there weren't so many fish."

Master Yang leaned against the car, holding a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth, and said lazily, "It's not surprising that there are so many fish. It was still cold in April before, and now it's hot, of course there are more fish."

Liu Sanlang said anxiously: "No...no, he is really much older!"

Upon hearing this, Tan Yaoqi said impatiently, "You have no experience! You're frightened by a few fish. Go roast the rabbit!"

Liu Sanlang knew that the Tan family was very special and must not be provoked. He dared not say anything and quickly followed Tan Yaoqi's followers to roast rabbits.

Zhang Pingan frowned when he heard this. Tan Yaoqi was too arrogant and looked down on others.

Zhang Laoer also heard it, but as an ordinary citizen he could do nothing, so he secretly shook his head at his son.

Zhang Ping'an already knew that it would be useless to step forward. Tan Yaoqi was so narrow-minded that if he stepped forward, his family would suffer even greater losses. He couldn't help but snort in his heart. With Tan Yaoqi's personality, someone would deal with him sooner or later.

Tan Yaoqi's followers roasted the rabbit with seasonings such as oil, salt, and even brushed it with honey. In the end, it tasted pretty good.

After eating, everyone set off again. They were only fifty or sixty miles away from the county town. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, the setting sun was picturesque, and the sky was filled with brilliant clouds.

Frogs and rats popped out in droves from the roadside, and dragonflies buzzed about. Tan Yaoqi waved his hand to shoo them away, cursing, "Where did all these disgusting rats and frogs come from? When I get back, I'll have my uncle fire the director of the Shanyu Police Station. They're a bunch of good-for-nothings, just sitting there doing nothing!"

Zhang Pingan and Master Yang felt something was not right.

Zhang Ping'an had memories of his past life. When he was in elementary and junior high school, the school organized many earthquake prevention documentaries to be watched. This scene was very similar to the movie "Aftershock" he had seen before. He couldn't help but tell Master Yang about his concerns.

Master Yang's many years of military experience made him more alert than ordinary people. He knew that there must be something wrong when something was abnormal. After hearing what Zhang Ping'an said, he asked the escort driver to call the leader over.

In fact, the leading escort had also sensed something was amiss. Their line of work was like living on the edge of a knife, and they escorted convoys all over the province year-round, making them very sensitive to unusual places. Now that Master Yang had mentioned it, the leading escort didn't hide it anymore. He frowned and said, "This isn't right. It's either a natural disaster or a man-made one. I've already sent two escorts to investigate ahead."

Master Yang said solemnly, "When strange phenomena appear in the sky, there must be demons; when strange phenomena appear on the earth, there must be disasters; when strange phenomena appear among people, there must be evil. If there are people lying in ambush on both sides with evil intentions, how many people would it take to alarm so many snakes, insects, rats and ants? I think this is 80% likely a natural disaster."

The leading escort was barely literate and had never read Zuo Zhuan, but he thought Master Yang's analysis made sense. He nodded and said, "I just don't know if it's a flood or something else. I think we should find shelter quickly. If it rains heavily, it will be troublesome!"

Master Yang gathered everyone together to discuss whether to rush back to the county town or find a place to take shelter outside the city.